“Mom, leave him alone.” She turned to Jimmy and said, “I’m so sorry. My mother can be rather overzealous when it comes to my brother and me.”
Turning back to me she said, “Mom, Jimmy and I are going out tonight. I don’t have to work.”
“Oh…oh.” I was grateful Sarah was okay, but felt stupid at my impulsive behavior. So I added, “Have fun.”
“Where’s Adam?” I asked.
“I think he’s upstairs taking a nap,” she responded with a shrug. “He talked about going out with his friends again tonight. Including Uncle Rob.”
So both my kids are hanging out with the guys who were their bodyguards last night. Interesting.
I excused myself and took Clancy outside, thinking about one of my many faults. George was probably right. I was turning 43 tomorrow, and it was definitely time to grow up in a few areas. In elementary school I had always gotten in trouble for talking. I was thrown off the cheerleading squad in 8th grade at St. Francis Elementary School for “talking in line repeatedly.” And I was given an F in Conduct that same year for my comment to Sister Margaret when I said, “Pipe down, Maggie.” So when people talk about my impulsivity, they aren’t telling me something I don’t already know. And I’m much too old for it to be charming.
I knew I needed to think things out much more carefully than I had been. And that included my life with George.
“C’mon, Clancy, let’s go to bed,” I said as she finished her business. We walked back into the house and I noticed that Sarah and Jimmy were sitting rather close on the couch. Deciding to mind my own business for once in my life, I said goodnight to them and took Clancy with me into my room.
“Maybe I need to get some therapy myself,” I whispered to my best friend as I crawled into bed.
She didn’t say anything, because she was already snoring.
I snuggled up to Clancy until her snoring started bothering me, and I turned to my other side. It did feel good though to have her in the bed. It helped me not miss George so much.
“Maybe I do need to talk to someone,” I whispered again before I fell asleep.
I sat up abruptly as I awoke to noises that scared the hell out of me—banging, horns blowing, yelling. At the foot of my bed stood Adam, Sarah, and George, each making obnoxious noises of some kind. Adam held two saucepan lids, Sarah had a whistle, and George blew on a birthday horn.
I blinked and smiled and groaned when I realized what was going on. I was definitely glad I had a T-shirt on. Sarah led in the singing with her usual exuberance, and even dour Adam was grinning.
I also noticed that Clancy was with them. Normally she wouldn’t enjoy the noise, but she was smiling. My surprise was keeping me quiet.
Finally George said, “Happy birthday, honey. Welcome to my age.” He leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He was quickly followed by Adam and then Sarah. Sarah excused herself and left my bedroom.
Soon we heard her voice saying, “It’s ready. Come in.”
I expected some coffee and toast, which is what the kids had always made for my breakfast in bed ever since they were little. After asking Adam and George to leave so I could put on some sweats, I looked around for some clean ones. Failing that, I put on some dirty sweats, anchored a bra in place, and kept on my oversized T-shirt.
Stumbling out of my bedroom I noticed it was dark in the kitchen. Too tired to care, I kept walking. Of course I noticed something was up. But when I got to my living room and still didn’t see anyone, I got suspicious. I looked around, which didn’t take long, and then went upstairs to look at Sarah and Adam’s bedrooms. Even Clancy was gone.
Finally I opened the door and walked outside. What I saw startled me and once again I couldn’t talk. There stood George, Sarah, Adam, and all of my sibs and most of their spouses. Everyone was raising a glass of something or other. I couldn’t tell if it was orange juice or champagne.
“You guys,” was all I said when I could finally talk. My eyes were filled with happy tears, but all at once I remembered what I looked like, and shrieked. “Yikes!”
“I told you, Sam,” said George, “no one says ‘Yikes’ anymore.”
“She does,” said Adam. I smiled at him sticking up for his old mom. At the same time I tried to cover myself with my hands, even though I was already covered by raggedy clothes.
Since they were all relatives, except for George, I relaxed and just let it go. George had seen me at my worst and at my best, and still said he loved me.
“So what’s this? Whose idea was it? Don’t you all have to be at work? Why is it so dark? Where’s breakfast?”
George looked into Adam’s dark eyes for sympathy, “Was she always like this, with the questions one after another.”
“I’m afraid so.” Then Adam addressed me, “Mom, we wanted to have a birthday party for you. It’s the Fourth of July and no one has to work. Thought you’d remember that. Anyway, we couldn’t get everyone together easily, so this was our compromise. We knew you didn’t have to work today, so George took a day off too—”
“And then,” Sarah continued, “we decided to have a breakfast party. Everyone was able to clear an hour or so early in the morning before the holiday got into full swing, so that’s what we did.”
“Thank you,” I said as I hugged all three of them and made my way down the line of all the rest of my family. Jenny first, the only sib shorter than I was. Her dark blonde hair was natural, unlike mine. Her husband Manh was on duty at the hospital and couldn’t be there, she said, but sent his well wishes.
Ed and Angie were next. I wondered if we always stood in birth order without thinking, or if this was something they had planned. He was tall and slender, an anomaly, but did have the tow-colored hair and blue eyes that were the norm. Pete was another anomaly. One because he was even taller than Ed and two because he was a priest. Not much celibacy going around our family. Everyone had kids except Pete and Rob, who wasn’t married yet. Jill had her usual blonde pony tail. She and her husband Ben stood holding hands, which made me smile. Rob was the only one with a hint of red in his hair.
I must have been in shock because I hadn’t noticed my nieces and nephews moving about—Rosie and Annie, Jack and Marty, Alice, Susan, John, Robert, and Skeeter.
I was attacked with hugs and cries of “Happy Birthday, Aunt Sam!” Smiling was the only thing I could do, except hug back.
Robert had on a blue GCHS sweatshirt. I remarked on it. He reminded me that he went there instead of St. Francis High because of a special program they had for students who were bright but had a learning disability. I told him I’d want to talk to him a little later, because he was the only one in the family who went there.
In the meantime, George took my arm and escorted me toward Gus and Georgianne’s. I dutifully went up the back stairs with him, followed closely by Clancy, but George wouldn’t answer any of my questions about why we were there.
As he opened the screen door I smelled some lovely food. Both Georgianne and Gus had on aprons and we followed them as they carried food from the kitchen, past the breakfast room/butler’s pantry, and into the formal dining room. Of course. My house couldn’t hold everyone so George and the kids had to be resourceful and make other arrangements.
I stopped Gus before he went back into the kitchen.
“Gus, this is so sweet. Thank you.”
“I would have been mad to have been left out. You getting me involved in your shenanigans has made a new man of me. So it’s I who should thank you.”
I hugged him and then approached Georgianne.
“Thanks, Georgianne. I appreciate this so much.”
“Nonsense, Samantha. I’m pleased we could be in on the surprise.” Then she hugged me, which upped the quality of surprise exponentially.
There weren’t enough chairs for everyone, but Gus spread tablecloths on the floor and the next generation ate there, even the ones in college. Clancy sat with them, saliva dripping from her mouth. But she didn’t dare to tak
e anything without permission.
Then Georgianne put some scrambled eggs in a small bowl, put it on the floor, and in a voice others used for talking to infants, said, “Here, you sweet little poochy-woochy.”
And Clancy did what Clancy always does, she showed Georgianne how much she loved her by rolling over on her back so her belly could be rubbed. Even before eating the eggs. These two had developed a very close relationship since Clancy and I had moved into the carriage house. In the beginning I hated it because of my intense dislike of Georgianne. Then I began to tolerate it. Now I loved it. My feelings about their relationship echoed the way my feelings about Georgianne had changed.
Even before I cleaned my plate, I sat back and surveyed the room. I thought that I must be the luckiest gal alive. The man I loved was sitting next to me. My two kids were there. All my sibs and most of the in-laws. And tons of nieces and nephews.
As I thought about them, my eye was caught again by Robert’s blue Gem City High School sweatshirt. I also saw his plate was about empty, and quickly finished my breakfast.
“Robert, can we talk for a minute?” I asked, as I pulled his chair back from the table.
“Yeah, but I was gonna get more of…”, he tried to talk but I cut him off.
“You can get more in a minute. This is important.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Okay, okay,” I said, but grudgingly. “Hurry up, hon. I really want to talk to you.”
The strange look he gave me didn’t cause me any trouble. I was used to it. My nieces and nephews loved me, but I was an oddity among a group of people who were not a traditional family anyway. Jenny and I had raised the smaller sibs after our parents died, so I was kind of a grandma figure to some of the younger nieces and nephews. Robert was one of the older kids, so he saw me as an aunt, and not a grandma.
Everyone knew that patience was not a virtue I possessed. So I grumbled, shuffled my feet, came off like I had restless leg syndrome, and in general was insufferable. My vibes were making me uncomfortable. I just knew that the unusual blue color was a major clue in the mystery.
“Sam, what’s the matter?” asked George. “This is a party. Why are you so antsy?”
“I have an idea about the murder. I have to talk to Robert, but he keeps wanting to eat.”
“Come here,” he said as he stood. He put an arm around me and smiled, so it was hard for me to be mad, but I knew he was going to yell at me. In a nice way of course. After all, he was George.
“Stop it,” was all he said, as we stood alone in the kitchen.
After that, it was easy for me to be mad.
“What in the world are you talking about?” I almost yelled.
“Shh. There’s no need to upset the others.” His head moved almost imperceptibly in the direction of the dining room.
“George, you’re shushing me. You’re actually shushing me!” George had always been so kind and understanding, and seemed to even like my idiosyncrasies. I guess he’d had his fill.
“You’re going to break up with me, aren’t you?” I continued with a whiny voice even I didn’t recognize.
“Of course not. Why do you think that every time we have a disagreement I’m going to break up with you?”
“It’s a long story, but my ex-husband threw it up to me every time we got in an argument. He always threatened to leave. Maybe I’m not over that yet.”
George took my hands as he said, “I’m not him.”
“I know,” I said as I started to lean into him.
“Don’t try to change the subject, and don’t try to hug me out of talking to you about your behavior.”
I was silent.
George continued, “You sat there like a little kid. At least you didn’t make faces, but it was obvious you were impatient. We all put a lot of effort into making your birthday special, and I’d appreciate it if you acted your age.”
“You’re right.” And then at George’s request, I repeated it. “You’re right,” I said again.
Inside I felt turmoil. I recognized he was 100% right. Normally my sibs would tease me out of my moods. But it seems they were letting George deal with me assertively, instead of the passive-aggressive family way using sarcasm. I made another silent promise to myself to improve. And said to myself yet again, Maybe I should talk to someone about this. It was almost a “physician heal thyself” moment.
I tuned back into George just as he was ending his message with, “…I love you, Sam.”
What a great thing to hear after berating myself, and being corrected by George.
“I love you, too.”
By the time we walked back into the dining room, Robert was finished eating, and was exhibiting my previous behaviors as he waited. I felt relieved that I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t wait.
I walked up to him and asked appropriately and maturely, “Are you done, hon?”
He said yes, so I asked him to walk into the kitchen with me.
I started with asking him how school was going for him.
He said that since he started on his ADHD medicine, he was having an easier time of it.
After my aunt duties were satisfied, I told him about the murders and how the murderer had worn the same color of hoodie, but without the GCHS logo.
“Do you have any notions of how they could be connected?” I asked him.
“Well, there’s a huge rivalry between GC and St. Francis. I know my family at St. Francis feel that way, but at Gem City there’s even more. It’s like animosity. Hatred. I don’t know why, except a lot of times St. Francis beats GC in sports and St. Francis is a lot smaller.” He paused for a deep breath. “Have you checked to see if the victims were from the same school?”
“No, I haven’t. And that’s an excellent idea. Thanks.” I hugged Robert as I thanked him. And like a typical teenage male he half-heartedly hugged me back.
I couldn’t wait to tell George this idea, but as soon as I returned to the table and sat, Gus went into the kitchen and returned with a cake. There were so many candles that there was a danger of the smoke alarm going off.
After they sang happy birthday to me, and before I blew out the candles, I said, “I’m so grateful for all of you in my life.” I couldn’t say any more because of the lump in my throat. I made a wish and blew out the candles.
When I was able to talk again I said, “Six months ago, you guys surprised me in the ER, congratulating me on my new job after my return to Quincy. Today you did it again. I loved it! But I promise that I won’t fall prey to this one more time. I’ll be on the lookout from now on.”
People smiled and chatted, some of them loudly. As I looked around the table, and around the blanket on the floor, I knew I was absolutely blessed. What a crew! And they loved me.
As soon as the cake was eaten, some people had to go to work. A lot of us didn’t have traditional jobs with regular holidays off. Others stayed, along with the kids, and gave me presents. Tears again on my part.
Each gift was thoughtfully purchased or made and showed how well people knew me. Gus and Georgianne gave me gourmet coffees from around the world. Generous and appreciated. Jenny and Manh had bought an SFU hoodie, in brown and white, along with a baseball cap in the same colors. Pete and Rob joined forces to give me gifts for Clancy—a pink blanket with paw prints on it, and a new leash and collar in bright pink. I sure wouldn’t miss her in the snow with those on. Ed and Angie went in with Jill and Ben to get me gift certificates to the Dairy and the Rectory.
The kids made me drawings, which warmed my heart. Some of them were quite sophisticated in their technique.
Soon, the gathering broke up. I thanked everyone, and George, my kids, and I went back to my house. As we placed my gifts on the dining room table, I was struck by the brown hoodie I’d been given. What was it about the blue hoodie in the murders? I couldn’t let it go.
“George, Robert gave me an idea. Why don’t we check to see if all the victims went to the same school? That might gi
ve us more info about why the person used the blue hoodie.”
“Yeah, good idea,” he said, but seemed to have his mind elsewhere.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Us. Well, us and what a great family you have.”
“Thanks.” I went to give him a hug.
“I love you, Sam.”
“I love you, too.” But I was beginning to get worried because of the tone of his voice.
By then Adam and Sarah knew they needed to vanish. So they did, and they took Clancy upstairs with them.
George took a step back and took my hands before he spoke.
“I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”
SEVENTEEN
For a moment I was too stunned to say anything.
“Get out,” were the first words out of my mouth.
“But you don’t even know what I—”
“Please leave.”
He waited a beat, and the look on his face showed both anger and hurt. As George opened the door to leave, he said, “You really need to work on that.”
I ran to my bedroom, threw myself on the bed and began crying. He was going to break up with me. Despite what he had said earlier. I was sure of it.
Or was he? For a moment I feared I had done something terrible. Caused him to walk out when he just wanted to talk to me.
The tears came hotter and faster.
What in the hell is wrong with me that I would sabotage the best relationship I ever had? Now I would never know if I had ended it with my own stupid temper.
I heard a noise and turned over. George hadn’t left after all. He’d returned and just stood in the doorway. It was now or never for me. I rolled off the bed, and stood at a respectful distance from George.
“You probably shouldn’t forgive me. But I’m begging you to. I am so very sorry. I was stupid, impulsive, and immature. I don’t know why. But I promise I’ll get help…” Then I finished the thought, “…whether or not you stay with me.”
“Sam, what I said a few minutes ago is still true.” He held up his hand in the universal stop motion.
Can You Picture This? (Sam Darling Mystery #3) Page 9
