by Nancy Adams
Beth placed her hand atop of Kyle’s and looked at him with a compassionate expression.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” she said sweetly to him. Turning to Claire, she added, “Neither of you. All your mom did on the flight over was apologize. Ain’t nothing that any of you have done except your father. You were just as much a victim”—and here she gave Claire a knowing look—“as anyone in all of this.”
A somber silence pervaded the table for a moment and no one seemed to know what to say.
After at least a minute of this, Sam, wanting to change the mood, let out, “What do you think of the boy?”
Everyone smiled, the mere thought of David enough to appease their moods for the time being.
“He’s beautiful,” Beth was first to say. “He looks so much like you, Claire.”
“Thank you, B,” Claire replied with a grin.
“He’s a cool kid, by the looks of things,” Will added.
“I haven’t really gotten to know him yet,” Kyle began in a voice overflowing with emotion, “but I swear to you now that I will be the best gosh-damned uncle ever.”
This made Claire grin widely at her brother and reach across the table. She took his face delicately in her hand and continued to smile at him.
“You’ve become so sweet,” she remarked.
This made him blush, and he boyishly shrugged her hand away by pulling his face back. As he sat there, still blushing, the rest of the table smiled at his embarrassment.
“Are his other folks here?” Beth suddenly asked Sam and Claire.
“Yeah, they’ve gone for a walk,” Claire replied. “You’ll get to meet them a little later when we all have dinner together.”
“Beth said the wife had dementia,” Will then stated.
“She does,” Claire agreed.
“My grandma got dementia,” he went on. “It came on real quick. It was awful to see.”
“The doctor I’ve got looking after her at the moment,” Sam informed them, “says that her illness is rapidly getting worse. She was only diagnosed two months ago, but it’s moving forward quickly. Some moments she’s good and the next she gets confused and doesn’t know where she is. Her husband—Jules—is taking her for a walk today. She likes the fresh air and the doctor thinks it’s good for her to be active.”
“That’s so sad,” Beth remarked.
“You should see the way they are together, B,” Claire told her friend. “He’s so delicate with her, so devoted to her. Their love is so eternal, B, that you just wanna cry when you watch him hold her and whisper sweet words of love into her ear to calm her down.”
“And the way David is with them is amazing,” Sam interjected. “When I checked them out and then learned they’d bolted to Mexico, I imagined a real troublesome family and that David would be some kind of problem child. But the moment I saw them together, my paranoid doubts all melted away and I saw love; real love standing there before me, a halo of light glowing around them.”
“I hope that he’ll be as happy as that with us,” Claire remarked.
“Of course he will,” Beth exclaimed.
Will swept his hand in a line, signaling the surroundings, and commented, “Come on! I’d just like to say that what kid wouldn’t wanna be raised somewhere like here with—and I apologize if I embarrass you in anyway—Sam Burgess, founder of Techsoft. I mean, I just have to say that if you’re looking for any other children, I’d like to offer my humble services to you both. I will be the best behaved little boy and won’t make a fuss at all. Just give me my huge allowance and luxury room and you’ll hear not another peep out of me.”
Everyone was giggling and Beth took the opportunity to elbow her husband in the ribs.
“You’re about to be a father,” she scolded, “and here you are wanting to return to childhood.”
“With Sam Burgess as my dad,” he added, as if that would somehow save him.
“He does make a good point, Beth,” Kyle put in. “It does sound like a pretty alluring prospect to have all of this. If you’re ever looking for something a little younger than Will, then don’t hesitate to call.”
“Hey, you’re already practically family,” Will argued.
Sam simply heard it all while laughing. The strange image of both men as his sons was a rather comical thought.
After that, the conversations stayed within the same light-hearted realm and the sounds of June and the children playing in the swimming pool not far from them joyfully filled their ears. It was a beautiful day and somehow seemed to mark something special for the people there, something unspoken of, but sensed by all present. It was a new dawn for all of them. Even Jules and Juliette, out in the woods walking with the doctor, felt as if something new were occurring, and a light illuminated the souls of everyone at the Cliff Face.
A new dawn indeed.
CHAPTER FOURTY
Later on, Sam was informed that Jules and Juliette had returned from their walk. He wished to speak to the couple before dinner, which was imminent. So he left the others at the table outside and went into the house, where he made his way to the couple’s room. Having knocked once on the door, Jules called that it was open and Sam stepped inside the room to find the couple sitting on the end of the bed together.
“I’m a little tired,” Juliette said to him for some reason when he came in.
“It was a long walk?” Sam inquired.
“Yes, very. But it’s so beautiful here, Mr… I’m sorry.”
“It’s Sam, Juliette.”
She placed a finger on her lips and tried to recall it. But she felt nothing for the name and her face became slightly sad.
“It’s okay,” Sam went on. “I’m not the most recognizable person.”
She smiled at this, and Sam felt a warmth run through him at the sight of her shining green eyes.
“David tells me that you were born in Italy,” Sam said to her now that she looked happier.
“Yes,” she pronounced with enthusiasm. “Have you ever been?”
“Yes, many times.”
“Where?”
“Oh! I guess all over.”
“Name a place.”
“Well, Tuscany was one place.”
This had the result of lighting up the old woman’s eyes even further.
“That’s where I grew up. Just outside the village of Sorano in southern Tuscany.”
“I’ve been there.”
“You have!? Isn’t it beautiful? I’d love to go back someday.”
“When was the last time you were there?”
Juliette had to think about this for a long time, but it didn't come to her, so she shone her eyes at Jules and he answered for her.
“We were last in Italy back in 1969,” he stated.
“Wow!” Sam exclaimed. “That long ago? Perhaps you’d like to see it again?”
Juliette smiled widely and nodded her head.
“However,” Sam continued in a more solemn tone, “there is something more serious that I’ve come to discuss with you.”
Juliette’s eyes darkened and, noticing, Sam did his best to reassure her that it was good news and not bad, which appeared to appease her concern. Although no sooner was she relieved than she forgot what the initial concern had been in the first place.
“What is it, Sam?” Jules inquired, a little less reassured than his wife.
“It’s about your case,” Sam began, “but, like I said, it’s all good. My team have met with the state social services of California and managed to persuade them to place Juliette in my care.”
“Hey! Wait! What do you mean ‘my care’?” Jules let out.
“It’s okay, Jules. It’s the easiest way to do this. The state aren’t happy that you took Juliette to Mexico; they’re real pissed in fact—pardon, my French! They weren’t willing to place her within your care and they’re also threatening to take legal guardianship of David away too.”
Jules got up from the bed and began to back away from S
am, feeling that something was up. He couldn’t be sure as to what that something was, but he felt it all the same.
“Jules, this changes nothing,” Sam attempted to reassure him. When he’d gotten off the phone with his law team earlier that day, he’d expected that Jules would react like this, become defensive when Sam explained to the old man that in order for him to keep both his wife and his son, he’d have to hand over their legal guardianship to Sam. “They’re after your blood,” Sam went on. “I thought that we’d be able to blow this out of the water because the initial decision was weak. But your little getaway across the border has stirred things up. Plus because you didn’t appear at the hearing, you waved your right to appeal against the judgment.”
“But hand them over to you,” Jules exclaimed gently, “just like that?”
“You have no other choice. The court will place both of them in my legal custody, but you will still remain a major part of both their lives; I promise that on my life. Please, Jules, have I given you any reason to distrust me?”
Jules was about to retort something, but Juliette caught his arm and stopped him.
He looked down at her from where he stood and she said, “I have no idea what he is talking about, but when he said to trust him just then, I looked deep into his eyes and I saw, Jules, that he was telling the God’s honest truth. I’ve known many liars in my life and he doesn’t look like one.”
“It’s not just a case of lying, my love,” Jules replied with a soft look to her, “it’s that I have to hand you over. I feel like you’re being taken away from me.”
“It’s not like that, Jules,” Sam pleaded with him. “If the courts were a little more lenient and my guys could find a way for you to keep legal custody of both David and Juliette, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. But the state has a real bug up its ass and wants both of them taken away from you. However, if I have legal custody, you will have full access to both of them. This whole thing is nothing more than a legal procedure to beat the system. You, Jules, will always have emotional custody of both of them. I could never take you out of David’s life and I could never part you and Juliette. Both would be deep, deep sins that I could never live with.”
Jules stood there motionless. He’d taken in every one of Sam’s words and understood now that he had no choice. He had to trust Sam with the lives of both of his loves.
“Okay,” he said, shaking his head and sitting back down on the bed. “Okay. I was stupid to take them to Mexico.”
“You did what you thought was best for your family,” Sam said.
“But it wasn’t though, was it?”
“It was a desperate move, I’ll admit. But desperate people do desperate things. I haven’t told you about my family, have I?” he added at the end as if a thought had suddenly hit him.
“No,” Jules muttered from the bed, Juliette sitting beside him and gazing up at Sam, pleased by the softness of the man’s face and the way he spoke so elegantly, even though she had no clue as to what any of it meant.
“I suppose you think I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth?” Sam asked them both.
“Probably,” Jules said gruffly. “Money usually makes money.”
“Well, you’d be wrong. I was one of six brothers and sisters brought up on low wages and food stamps. My father worked for the forestry in Oregon as a low-level lumberjack and my mom was a full-time mom, although she used to pull shifts at the local diner just to keep our heads above water.”
“Then how did you get all this? Start your own company?”
Sam knelt down in front of them and looked up at the couple.
“Like David,” Sam said softly, “I was smart. I was hailed as a child genius and got a scholarship to MIT when I was only fourteen. That’s where I met my first wife. We then started our own company and that’s what Techsoft is today. When I look at David, even though it’s only been a couple of days, I see that he’s been nurtured in a way that I wasn’t. My parents had so much going on in their hands that they had little time for the youngest of six. But what I see in David is the love of nurturing parents. For what you’ve done for him these last five-and-a-half years, I want to give you something in return. For the love and security you showed David, I want to make sure that you never have to worry ever again. I know what it’s like to be poor and I know what it’s like to reach sixty and have nothing. My own parents reached that age and had very little except a few handouts. I should have looked after them but I didn’t. So I guess what I’m saying is that I will never let either of you down. I will always look over you and help in everything. The act of handing over their legal custody, Jules, is nothing but me helping you.”
Jules took Juliette's hand in his own and they entwined their fingers, Juliette placing her head upon his shoulder.
Jules looked down at Sam, who was still kneeling there at the foot of the bed, and said in a sad tone, “Then I’ll do it.”
Sam smiled up at him and placed his hand over theirs.
When Sam had finished with the couple, he left and they changed for dinner, the walk having made them a little grubby, and everyone reconvened in the dining room. Once Jules and Juliette were introduced to all present, and greeted with cordiality and warmth from all who are there, they all took seats around the table. David had insisted that Juliette sit to one side of him and Claire on the other. When he had asked to sit next to Juliette, instead of the place set for him between Sam and Claire, the young mother had felt a little hurt. But no sooner had David asked that Juliette be in one chair than he had turned to Claire and insisted that she take the seat on the other side, to which she smiled joyfully and felt an ecstatic shudder move through her.
On the other side of Juliette sat June. It had been prearranged that Claire’s mother would sit next to the old woman so that she could both keep an eye on Juliette, as she was a trained nurse, and also pick her brains about her grandson, although she’d been warned that Juliette’s memories came and went, and that she often mixed David up with her former son Danny, who was now dead. So it wasn’t entirely certain which memory she would be describing anyway. However, when informed of this, June had simply shrugged her shoulders and said that at least she could talk about him to some extent.
Opposite Juliette sat Jules, of course, so that she had as many familiar faces around her as possible. Facing Claire across the table was Beth, and next to her were Will and Kyle, with Sam at the head, Jess to one side of him, Maud next to her, the little girl’s eyes constantly surveying her little brother, whom she had already come to love.
They were then served the delicious food that came from the kitchen and all ate heartily while they talked away about different things. June asked Juliette about her life and the old woman was able to tell much, often with the help or prompting of Jules. Meanwhile, as June had Juliette’s attention, Claire chatted away with David.
“So do you like it here?” she asked the boy.
“I like it a lot,” he replied.
“And you’re happy to be here?”
“As long as Momma and Papa get to stay.”
“Of course they get to stay.”
“Forever?”
“Always. We’re all family now; everyone at this table.”
David looked up and surveyed all those in attendance. He smiled to see so many happy faces. For the whole of his short life, he had always wanted a brother or sister and some more family. Jules and Juliette had always been alone and it had merely been the three of them. But now he felt such joy at realizing that they weren’t alone and that he had so many people that appeared to love him. During the day with June and Jess, the boy had allowed himself to forget his worries concerning his mother, even if when they had parted in the morning he had felt an instant hollowness open up inside at the sight of their leaving for the walk. As the day wore on, he had felt closer and closer to these people and it gave him some respite from the thoughts of his sick momma.
Without thinking of what he was doing, David
leaned toward Claire and placed his little arms around her, kissing her on the cheek. A shiver of ecstasy moved through her and she closed her eyes. From along the table, Sam watched this with an instant grin. Like his son had a moment ago, he too surveyed those present and also felt a happiness ignite inside of him at the thought of his newly acquired extended family. There was such warmth around the table—Will joking with Kyle, Beth and Claire placing all their concentration on little David, smiling at his answers to their questions; June chatting away with Jules and Juliette, smiling all the time and showing great interest in their tales of their lives on the road; Jess sitting peacefully with Maud, quietly eating her food and feeling the same warmth as the others.
There was something special happening in that room and Sam decided that it was a perfect time for his big announcement. He stood up from his chair, picked up his wine glass and tapped it several times with a fork. All instantly stopped talking and turned to him.
“I’d like to say a few words if that’s okay?” he began. “Firstly, I’d like to say that looking around this table and feeling the aura that appears to spread from each of you, I feel honored to be among you and to call you—if you’ll permit me—my family.” Everyone smiled at this sentiment. “I feel that some unseen hand has somehow brought us together,” he continued. “I’ve always been skeptical of God, but I certainly feel that all the trials and tribulations that each of us at this table have suffered over the recent days—heck, over the recent years—have somehow served a higher purpose: they have brought us together as one at this table.” He now raised his glass and added, “I want to raise a toast: to family.”
Everyone raised their glasses and called out as one, “To family!”
All those at the table took this to mean the end of his speech and began chatting among themselves once again, but Sam interrupted them.
“There is more that I want to say,” he went on. He turned his crystal blue eyes on Claire and looked at her with a fire glimmering in them, one that instantly grabbed ahold of her gaze and held it transfixed. “Claire,” he said with trembling solemnity, “as you know, I have loved you since the first time our eyes met. I have loved you through everything, through all the trials of my life since I first saw you, I have always held your image, your essence within the chambers of my heart. Now I feel complete for the first time in so long. So complete,” he repeated as if it echoed from the depths of his own heart. “Claire,” he went on, as if beginning again, her eyes still fixed upon his, an unseen energy moving between them as she already surmised in her heart what he would say next, “will you be my wife forever?”
