Family Blessings (Cisco Family)

by Fern Michaels

  “How about dinner this evening even if Marylee and Corinne cancel out? My treat since I didn’t provide a decent breakfast for you, buddy.”

  “Yeah, okay. Dinner, but call and confirm. Pick me up around seven, so I can get my car from Mo’s. I don’t think we paid our bill last night either. Call me a cab, okay?”

  Zack obliged.

  After Joel left, Zack sat at the table for a long time, roll calling the special events in his life. He tried not to think about what Hannah’s reaction would be when he finally got up the nerve to tell her about the boat and the coming year. What had he been thinking when he coaxed Joel into going along with the idea? He knew he was standing on a slippery slope, and he was starting to get frightened. What if Hannah walked out on him? It would be his fault if Sara walked out on Joel. How could he handle something like that? For a doctor, you’re pretty damn stupid, Zack Kelly. You only thought about yourself. You aren’t single anymore, and those old rules don’t count. Why did you assume your dream would be Hannah’s dream, too? Why?

  Zack reached across the table and picked up Joel’s bowl of soggy cereal. His face crunched up into a look of pain as he pitched it toward the back door. He watched cereal and milk splatter the door, the curtain, and the floor. He didn’t feel one damn bit better, and now he had a mess to clean up.

  Instead of doing that, Zack headed for the bedroom, where he changed into a sweat suit and sneakers. A minute later, he was out of the house and ready to run his ten miles, something he tried to do at least three times a week. Outside, he was surprised at how cold it was. Not that it mattered. When he got back, he would take a shower, build a fire, and sit and think.

  As Zack started his ten-mile run, the Trips were on their way to New Jersey via New York, where they had spent the night at the family’s apartment at the Dakota, the historic building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, because Hannah had said she wanted to buy some special yarn.

  “I just want to know one thing,” Sara said. “Why are we doing this? Going to the cemetery to talk to Mom isn’t going to change anything if our husbands are having affairs. Sam isn’t sure about Sonia, so to me this whole thing is stupid. We’ve already been gone for an entire day. I say we just go back home and deal with this problem like the adults we’re supposed to be,” Sara said.

  “I’m all for that. Whose idea was it to make this trip in the first place?” Hannah demanded. Both of them turned to look at Sam, who clenched his teeth and told them to shut up.

  He spotted the overhead sign a half mile up the highway. He put on his signal light and moved to the right lane, where he went down the exit ramp to follow the signs. “We’re going to the cemetery, so shut up. We came this far, and I’m not going back till I talk to Mom. You, you, it’s all about you! Don’t you get it, we need to talk to Mom.”

  There was relief in Hannah’s voice when she said, “You’re right, Sam, but let’s stop and get a Christmas grave blanket. The YMCA sells them, or at least they did last year. It’s on the way, Sam.”

  “Good idea,” he said. “A really big one with a red bow and some holly. Mom loved big red bows. Do you guys remember how our Christmas presents always had those red shiny, feel-good bows on them? Sometimes the bows were bigger than the present. Cisco says there’s something about red bows that makes presents special.”

  “Yeah, yeah, Cisco always says that,” Sara mumbled as she struggled with what she was going to share with her mother.

  “We aren’t going to find any answers at the cemetery, you all realize that, right?” Hannah said.

  “So what?” Sam barked. “I always feel better after I leave.”

  “We do, too,” Sara and Hannah said together.

  “We should be solving our own problems now. We are adults, believe it or not. I’m not expecting answers. I just want to…to…unload. I like to believe Mom understands, and maybe one of these times she’ll show me a sign or something. Her spirit. You read about things like that all the time,” Sara said.

  “You were right,” Sam said. “The YMCA is selling Christmas trees and grave blankets. Okay, pony up, we split it three ways. That way Mom knows it’s from all of us. The sign says they’re a hundred bucks.” The girls dived into their purses while Sam rummaged in his wallet. He was back in five minutes with a fragrant balsam grave blanket. The heady scent immediately filled the truck.

  Ten minutes later they were at the cemetery. Sam carried the evergreen blanket with the huge red bow. They ran down the path shouting, “We’re here, Mom!”

  They cried as they dropped to their knees on the cold, frozen ground because they always cried when they visited their mother. Then they whispered the way they always did to their mother, one-on-one.

  They always rose at the exact same time, looked at one another with wet eyes, touched the stone, then waved good-bye. In unison they called out, “We’ll be back.”

  They would always go back, forever and ever. After all, it was their Mom who was resting here.

  An hour later, the triplets were back in the truck, riding in silence, an unusual occurrence for the three of them. Sam broke the silence. “It’s times like this when I miss having a mother,” Sam said. “Mothers know everything. They always have the right answers.”

  Sara leaned across the seat to pat her brother’s shoulder. “Cisco was a perfect stand-in. I don’t think our mom could have done a better job of raising us than Cisco did. She was always there for us, every step of the way. She still is.”

  “I know that, Sara. But a mom is a mom. No one can ever take her place. A person can stand in for a mom but can never take her place. Cisco told us that a hundred times. Sometimes I just want to yell, ‘Hey, Mom!’ and have her answer me. Just sometimes, Sara.”

  “Me too, Sam. Me too. I know Hanny feels the same way,” Sara said, speaking for her sister, who was busy staring out the window and not paying attention to the conversation.

  It was a little past noon when Sara suggested they stop somewhere for lunch. Sam drove until he saw the next exit and pulled off.

  It was a simple lunch, BLTs, the bacon crisp, the lettuce crispier, the tomatoes just right, french fries and soda pop. “You two go ahead and eat; I’m going to call Joel,” Sara said. “I meant to do it earlier, but, Hanny…I just didn’t do it. Not that it makes a difference—he won’t be home, and I’ll just get the voice mail or his pager.”

  Sam eyed the sandwich, then his sisters, who didn’t look like they were the least bit interested in the food sitting in front of them. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like eating. The truth was, he didn’t feel like doing much of anything.

  “Sam,” Hannah said, “I’m not hungry, and I don’t really feel well. I’m going out to the truck and take a nap. You and Sara finish your lunch. And don’t wake me up when you get back to the truck. Okay?”

  “Fine, Hanny.” After Hannah left, Sam moved around the food on his plate and tried to appear as if he wasn’t listening as Sara called her husband. He flinched when he heard her leave a message on their home voice mail. He continued to listen as she called Joel’s cell phone and left a second message. He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t leave her cell phone number or the number of the phone in his truck. Translated it meant, don’t call me, I’ll call you. He felt as sorry for his sister as he felt for himself.

  “I told you,” Sara said bitterly. “He wasn’t home. He never answers his cell phone. I don’t know why he even has one. The only thing he answers is his pager. Can you imagine if I was in some kind of predicament and needed to get hold of him? I’m last on his speed dial. Did you know that, Sam?”

  “No, Sara, I didn’t know that.”

  “Well, I am, and I’m damn sick and tired of it. If things don’t change real quick when I get back, I’m going to be making some serious decisions. I need to think…to deal with what Hannah said about him having an affair. I don’t want to believe that, I just don’t. Unfortunately, it all makes sense now.

  “I’m not really hungry, Sam. You kn
ow what, I’m going to call Cisco. I…I need to talk to her.”

  “Good. I’ve been wanting to talk to her all day. Let’s call Dad, too.”

  Sara whipped out her cell phone again and started punching in numbers. Ezra’s number rang and rang. After the fifteenth ring, Sara hung up. “I wish Ezra would consider getting an answering machine, but he refuses, just the way he refuses to carry a cell phone. Okay, let’s try Dad.”

  To Sara’s surprise, Jonathan Cisco answered on the first ring, almost as though he were waiting for Sara to call.

  “Hi, Dad, it’s Sara. I just called to see how everything is going.”

  “Well, young lady, you three couldn’t have picked a worse time to leave town. With a disaster like this, we need all the help we can get.”

  How chilly his voice sounded, how accusing. Sara bristled. “Look, Dad, we all did our share. We found housing and transportation for everyone affected by the tornado. We worked around the clock. We even made sure everyone had enough groceries to last them a week. We did the paperwork and followed through. It was Cisco’s decision to close the office and the factory. That left us free to…never mind. As a matter of fact, we’re on our way home as we speak.”

  Her father’s voice became even more chilly. “The town turned out to start the rebuilding. Your grandmother’s house is now up. Everyone was there to pitch in, with the exception of you three. They’re working in shifts and around the clock. The valley is lit up like a stadium. I just came home to get some warmer clothes. Is there anything else, Sara?”

  Sara’s voice matched her father’s in chilliness. “No. Tell Cisco we’ve been trying to call her.”

  “By the way, it would have been nice if your husbands and Sam’s wife had made an appearance. Sonia, you, and Hannah could have helped the women. You are not making a good impression on the town. Shopping in New York is not a valid excuse for your absence or the absence of your spouses. I have to go now, Sara.”

  Sara screwed up her face so she wouldn’t cry. She took a deep breath before she repeated the conversation to her brother. “That’s one of the many reasons why I rarely call him, Sam.”

  “Give me a break!” Sam barked. “Don’t let him get under your skin, Sara. Tell me something. Dad screws up, and we’re the ones who feel guilty. What’s wrong with this picture? Oh, yeah, he was full of remorse. Why, then, aren’t things the way they used to be between us and our father? Were our expectations too high? Aren’t we, meaning the three of us, still the same people? Dad slammed Cisco into an assisted-living facility when she broke her arm and was blind with cataracts. We took care of her and got her out of there. He screwed up with that gold digger he was going to marry. We got him to come to his senses. That means we’re the good guys. It doesn’t necessarily follow that he’s the bad guy, but he should have shaped up by now. Why hasn’t he?”

  Sara sighed wearily. “Because we’re all equal partners in the business even though Cisco still calls the shots. She hasn’t quite forgiven him. In Cisco’s eyes, Dad hasn’t redeemed himself. Yet. Dad wants to be in charge. It’s all I can think of, Sam. Listen, why don’t you try calling Sonia again. Or better yet, leave a message on your home machine, and maybe she’ll call in and hear it. You have to do something, Sam. You can’t just let her go without putting up a fight.”

  Sam fished a cold french fry from the plate, took a bite, made a face. “Yuk. Yes, I can let her go without a fight, Sara. I’m not being a fool here. I shouldn’t have to fight for someone I love. She knows my feelings since I was never shy about expressing them. Sonia’s the one with the problem. She’s the one who said she could adjust to small-town living. I believed her since she grew up on a farm out in the country. I never denied her a thing. The only thing we ever disagreed on was when to start a family. She wants children right now, and I want to wait a year or so. We need time together before our lives change, and they will change once babies come along. Sonia wants kids right away. I was not okay with that. It was the only thing we couldn’t agree on. Unlike your husband, I was home for dinner every night, and if she didn’t want to cook, we went out. I’m not calling her, and that’s final.”

  Sara stared at her brother. Sam was rarely vehement about anything, but he sure was now. “Okay, if you can live with your decision, it’s all right with me. She does love you, Sam. I know because she told me so. You know, at one of those girl lunches where you let your hair down and share a secret or two. We shared.”

  Sam scoffed. “Are you telling me Sonia has secrets? I find that hard to believe. If anyone is an open book, it’s Sonia.”

  “One,” Sara said curtly.

  “I suppose you aren’t going to tell me, is that what you’re saying? I hate it when you do that, Sara. If you know something, tell me. You want me to beg, is that it?”

  “Sam, I would never, ever divulge a secret if you or Hanny or some member of my blood family confided in me. We’re blood, you know. Sonia belongs to our family, through marriage, so I can tell you if you really want to know. I should have told you the other day, and I’m sorry I didn’t. Sonia is pregnant. Knowing your feelings, I assume she thought it better to leave. That other stuff she was telling you about why she was leaving was just…just to throw you off the track.”

  Sam stared at his sister for a full minute, his expression cold and hard before he got up, put on his jacket, and left the roadside cafe. Sara slumped even farther down into the captain’s chair and started to cry.

  What is happening to my family?

  Chapter Five

  SARA WAS JITTERY AND TIGHT-LIPPED, WHILE SAM was outright surly and hateful as they continued homeward.

  “I can’t wait to get home. Nothing is going right for us. Nothing,” Hannah said. “If you step on the gas, we can be home in time for dinner. I’m really sorry about this wasted day. I just can’t seem to think clearly anymore.” Sara and Sam remained mute. The rest of the trip home was made in total silence.

  Hannah was right, Sam thought, when he slid his key into the lock of his empty house, we made it home in time for dinner. If there was anything worse than coming home to a cold, dark, empty house, he didn’t know what it was. He dropped his bag by the front door and proceeded to march through the rooms, adjusting the thermostat and turning on all the lights. He carried in a pile of wood from the backyard and made a fire before he slid a chicken potpie in the oven. Then he headed upstairs, where he stripped down and headed for the shower.

  Ten minutes later, he pulled on a warm-up suit and went back downstairs. He tried his best not to look at the phone, but in the end he picked it up to see if his voice mail was beeping. It wasn’t. His shoulders slumped. His sigh was mighty as he headed for the kitchen and a lonely dinner.

  Surprisingly, he was hungry, and he wolfed down Cisco’s homemade potpie in minutes. Sonia could make potpies, too, and they were almost as good as Cisco’s. Where was she? Had she returned to the other side of the world and her parents? He knew that her parents would welcome her and the child she carried with open arms. Rage ran through Sam as the words “baby” and “pregnancy” ricocheted inside his brain. How could Sonia do something so underhanded, so sneaky? How? Well, she wasn’t going to get away with it. No damn way was he going to let her get away with something like this.

  Sam looked around. How neat and tidy the house was. Dusty, maybe, but when Sonia was home there had never been a speck of dust anywhere. He missed her terribly. He likened the feeling to what he’d felt at the hospital when Cisco was having her eye operation.

  Obviously, Sonia wasn’t the sweet, gentle, young woman he’d fallen in love with. Somewhere along the way, she had turned calculating and manipulative. She wanted a baby, and she got one. Did she care that they agreed to wait a year or two to make that happen? No, she did not. Then she lied to him, after which she dumped him and ran. He wondered if she’d cleaned out their bank account. He ran down the hall to his small office. He ripped and gouged at the contents of his desk drawer in his search for their check
book. He felt lower than a snake’s belly when he saw that there were no withdrawals. Where could Sonia go with no money? Maybe she did hit the account and it hadn’t shown up yet. He went online to access his account. The numbers were the same. Sonia hadn’t taken a penny. What the hell did that mean?

  He rifled through the mail until he came to their Visa card bill. Cash advances would give her money if she needed it. His tired eyes scanned the list of charges. They were all his. Sonia didn’t believe in charging things. She liked to pay cash for the few purchases she made. He’d always thought of her as thrifty, just like him. Maybe she’d sold her jewelry. Not that she had much, but Cisco had given her a valuable strand of pearls, and his father had given her diamond earrings. He himself had given her a diamond bracelet for her birthday.

  Sam took the steps two at a time, racing into their bedroom, where Sonia’s jewelry box, a gift from Sara, sat on the dresser. The pearls, the earrings, and the bracelet were still there.

  Sam lashed out and kicked the dresser. A yowl of pain escaped his lips as he hobbled over to the bed. He flopped down. What is wrong with this picture?

  Sam had a deep fear that he had never talked about to anyone. He’d tried a thousand times to figure out where that particular anxiety had come from. He still didn’t know.

  He lived in a world surrounded by women. Maybe that was it. At times he thought he’d been brainwashed. Other times he thought he was too smart to be brainwashed, but Sara and Hanny could be insidious. They were into all kinds of psychobabble—just for fun they said—that he didn’t even pretend to understand. Nor did he want to understand such female craziness.

  Who the hell am I kidding? The man who understands women hasn’t been born yet.

  He longed for a best friend, a buddy, someone to confide in, someone to shoot the breeze with, go to ball games with, have a beer with, but there was no one. Growing up in the valley, and being one of a set of triplets, Sam hadn’t needed to establish strong friendships. Hannah and Sara were his best friends. It was that way all through school, and even college. They’d lived in the same dorm and, after the first year, they had shared an apartment. There had been a tacit agreement between the three of them that they really didn’t need anyone else in any deep, meaningful way. For the most part, that was true. Siblings didn’t turn on you, betray you. Siblings were loyal, and they loved unconditionally. It always came down to family. Until now, it had always been enough.