Family of the Fox, #1

by F. M. Isaacs

  “Well, I'll be in college next year, and he's only a few years older.” Okay, I also hadn't determined quite how many... “You're older than Mom.”

  “Yes, but right now you're in high school.”

  “I'm almost done, and you were involved with Mom in high school.”

  Exasperated, he burst out, “Yes, but we broke up when I went to college! Corinne, just be careful, okay?”

  Mom stuck her head out through the back door. “Lenny and Jade are here, Julian!”

  “Send them out!” he responded, evidently relieved that our conversation was over. He placed the vacuum in the shed and made his way over to greet his friends on the patio. Following close behind, I welcomed them before Dad could say anything, and Jade handed me an envelope.

  “A gift for college,” she said, smiling. “Your parents are so proud of you, Corinne. We are so happy for you and your family.” Jade's accent was so exotic – it kind of reminded me of sleigh bells. My father had told me she was a native Mandarin speaker. Lenny spoke Mandarin too, but he was American-born, so he just sounded boring and unaccented like the rest of us.

  “Yes, we're very happy for you all!” exclaimed Lenny. He twisted around and patted my dad on his back. “It’s been a while, our savior!”

  My father blushed furiously. He always got like that when someone expressed appreciation for his talents. He was a great doctor, and patients were always thanking him. Still, his reaction surprised me, since Lenny’s greeting had been so over-the-top that it seemed more ridiculous than embarrassing. What had Dad done for Lenny? I knew he’d introduced him to Jade – perhaps that was reason enough for the grand salutation?

  Aunt Bella and her family came in next, and she immediately pulled me aside as several other guests arrived. She leaned in toward her husband, whispering, “Josh, take the kids so I can give this to Corinne.”

  Her husband complied, and she fished something from her purse. “We're so proud of you. You'll be going to college soon. I can't believe it,” she sniffled. “I wanted to give this now to you personally.” She held out a small white box and opened the lid with a shaking hand. Inside lay a sparkling emerald pendant on a gold chain. She lifted it up and placed it around my neck. “Perfect.” She had some trouble fastening the clasp, and I was about to do it myself, but she managed.

  “It's beautiful,” I murmured, admiring the stone. “Thank you, Aunt Bella.”

  “I inherited it from my mother. Your father helped her so much that emeralds held deep meaning for her.”

  “Because my dad's last name is Greene?”

  “Yes.”

  I fingered the jewel. If anyone else had said this to me, I would have found it a bit creepy. But Aunt Bella was such a loving, good person that I was able to let it go. “What did my dad do?”

  “He helped us get into this country, he and his parents taught Mom and Dad the language, and helped them get jobs.” She sat on the couch, and I settled down beside her. I didn't get to talk to her much, and she really was an interesting person.

  I thought back to Jade and Lenny, who had a similar story to Bella's parents. “Dad helped other people into the country too. I guess he used to be involved in things like that.” I knew he did volunteer activities even after he graduated from medical school.

  “Your father did lots of wonderful things. After your parents married, your mom joined him, rescuing...helping people.” She coughed.

  “Rescuing,” I giggled, imagining my father in a superhero outfit. No, that wasn't a good picture. Dad probably wouldn't look so good in tights.

  “So,” I prompted her, “what happened to your parents after?”

  Sweeping a strand of her auburn hair from her face, I could see her search for words. “They...died,” she answered cautiously, “in accidents.”

  I remembered a story of her mother being some kind of philanthropist, and I knew that her dad had been a scientist or professor, but I was not aware of their tragic demises. “I'm...so sorry...”

  “Oh, Corinne, it was so long ago...” She gazed beyond me, as if she were looking into her past. I knew I had to change the subject, so it was back to genealogy.

  “You're related to us on Dad's side, right?” I asked.

  She fumbled again for an answer. “Well, I'm not really your aunt...”

  “How are you related?”

  “We’re not sure if I am. If so, it’s distantly.” She rose. “Let's go find Josh. The kids are probably driving him crazy.” She sprinted away, calling to her husband, and I was left alone.

  “Distantly” again. No one knew how they were related. It was always “distantly”.

  I really had to see that family tree. As soon as possible.

  TO BE SOCIALLY CORRECT, I mingled with my guests for a while, chatting with my friends and relatives while monitoring the front door for Allen’s anticipated arrival.

  Jack came by, looking a bit forlorn. He handed me an envelope. “Something for college. You’re going to Cornell, I hear?”

  “Yup.”

  “Brian’s alma mater,” he grumbled.

  “My mom went there too.”

  “Yes, I went to her reunions...when we were still married,” he said with little emotion. Then he grew silent, and I tried to make more conversation since he was still standing in front of me.

  “I’m glad you’re better, Jack. It’s amazing.”

  “Yes,” he replied, casting his eyes to the floor. “Thanks for visiting me. Sorry I got a bit crazy on you – the meds and all...”

  “So what happened? Dad says the doctors couldn’t believe that you recovered. ”

  He searched around for a moment, then, with some relief, he located my mother. He turned back to me and murmured, “They tried out a new medicine on me. Great stuff.”

  What kind of new medicine restored such a sickly man so completely? Something like this would be all over the news! Nobel Prizes would be won!

  Perhaps some experimental drug had worked a miracle on him. But no one had mentioned anything about it. No one told me anything! Ever! My irritation was increasing by the second. And now, I almost didn’t want to be at this party. I just wanted some answers!

  I started to ask another question, but Jack cut in, “Now let me go to Patricia. I should thank her for the invite.”

  “Well, of course. Who wants to talk to me, anyway?” I muttered when he was out of earshot.

  As I watched Jack trudge away, my father came by, a couple in tow. “I got Rollo and Eliza! Remember them, Corinne?”

  First of all, what did he mean by “I got”? Did he buy them at the store or something? Second, I hated when adults asked me that. We'd know someone for years, and they'd still ask if you remembered the person, as if you'd just met them.

  “Yes, Dad. I remember them. Nice to see you both,” I replied, gritting my teeth slightly.

  Rollo asked how I was doing, but even his English accent held little interest for me today. Where was Allen? He had assured me that he would be present, but I was beginning to doubt if he'd live up to his promise.

  Dad flicked on the outside lights as the skies darkened. People jumped in and out of the pool, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. But Allen was still not there, and all my questions were eating away at me.

  “Ah, Corinne Lisette! Congratulations! How you've grown!” a man named George came to me, clasping my hand. His face was wistful, and I vaguely remembered him from past celebrations. According to Mom, he was another cousin. My middle name was from his great-grandmother, Lisette. I'd have to look for them on the tree, too.

  George wandered into the crowd, and I scanned the yard for my parents. Mom was with her father, pointing at the bleeding heart plant I had saved. She tugged at it, and he scratched his head.

  Dad sat back on a chaise, slightly removed from the guests, talking to Daniel and Matthew. They were flushed and animated, as if something wonderful was happening. I assumed it was not the fact that Jack was lurking nearby.

&nbs
p; Since everyone seemed busy, it was the perfect time to slip inside. I needed a break from trying to act happy anyway. As I neared the house, my friend Marnie grabbed me from behind and spouted out, “Did you invite the guy?”

  She was drenched from the pool, and the water fell onto my sandaled foot. I shook it off, sending my shoe flying across the grass.

  “Yes, but I don't know if he'll be able to make it.” I loved that. Allen was simply “The Guy” to her. “How's the pool? Warm?”

  “Great! I'm going back in! Rob is there with Emmy. You know Emmy wants to take a year off? She was all set with college but there's a study abroad program she's checking out–”

  But I was not listening to my friend's chattering. “I'll be right back, Marnie,” I said, interrupting mid-sentence and pushing past her. She seemed a bit put off, but I wasn't too worried about hurting her feelings. She'd forget the slight in seconds, for there were more important matters for her to be concerned with. Like men.

  After retrieving my sandal, I ventured back into my house. People roamed back and forth through the main floor. Several guests greeted me, but I didn't slow down to talk. I had something to do.

  I entered the office and shut the door quickly behind me, switching on the light. This room served as a study to both parents, and their most prized books and albums were sheltered away on the top shelf of the closet. I dragged the desk chair over to it, and climbed up to search around. A thick black binder bearing a Post-it note caught my eye.

  “For Patricia – Fox family tree, updated Nov 4, 2029,” the slip of paper read in Jonas' scrawl.

  So it had been updated two years ago. Excellent. Sitting down on the chair, I began to flip through the pages. Starting from my own name, I worked backwards. There was Mom, Grandpa Brian, his father Simon and Uncle Jonas...

  “Simon Aaron Fox, born 1903, died 1965” and “Jonas Benjamin Fox, born 1908.”

  There was no death date for Jonas, of course, but even so, if he had really been born in 1908, he would be around one-hundred twenty-three today. He looked remarkably good for one-hundred twenty-three!

  But as I thought about it, all of my grandparents seemed extremely healthy for their ages. Grandpa Brian was about eighty-six and hard at work. Grandpa Ron was around the same age, and he was still performing surgeries! Both of my grandmothers could pass for sixty-year-olds; I had once asked if they'd had any cosmetic work done and my mother had laughed it off.

  We must have longevity genes on both sides of the family, was all I could think, but it was starting to freak me out a little now that I really considered it.

  I pored over the list of recent cousins, close and distant. There was no mention of Hannah, and none of the names were similar to hers. Next up, I looked for Bella.

  I knew her official first name was Sarah, with a middle name of Bella, but there was still nothing. No matter how far off. Maybe Jonas had not been able to tie her to the family? Maybe he couldn't link Hannah either?

  The only George I found was born in 1822, and there was no death date for that particular man. Of course this didn't mean much because many of the earlier dates on the tree were approximate or missing. The records for this man's death could have been lost, or the death might never have been recorded.

  Interestingly, however, this George's great-grandmother was a “Leah (Lisette), born 1761, died 2013”.

  I stared at the entry for a moment. Undoubtedly Jonas had made a typo with the death date, but even so, this could not be the line of people I was looking for. It was too far back.

  Now even more disturbed than before, I stood back up to replace the book when I heard someone clear their throat.

  “Corinne?” It was Uncle Jonas' unmistakable, gritty voice.

  He peeked through a crack in the door. Slightly abashed, he pushed it wider, entering and then shutting it carefully behind him. “What are you doing?” he inquired gently.

  He could see very well what I was doing. I put the book back in its place and stepped down to the floor. He waited for me to speak, but I took my sweet time, replacing the desk chair and then reclining back on it. “I have lots of questions, Uncle Jonas, and you're the one to ask.”

  “The family?” he replied, not wavering in the least.

  “Yes, the family.”

  Pushing aside some papers, he sat down on the small loveseat beside the filing cabinet. “Well, I'm the unofficial Fox historian, so go ahead.”

  “Why don't I see Bella on here?”

  “She's not related.”

  “So why do you say she is?”

  “I never said that. She was so close that your parents called her 'aunt' when you were kids and the name stuck.”

  “But my mother said she was related.”

  “Maybe – I only went so far back on that tree.”

  “And Hannah?”

  He smiled, crossing his legs. “She's probably related, but too far back for me yet.”

  Yet? As if at some point he would get there? He'd already gotten into the 1700s.

  “So why do you think she's related?”

  “She comes from the same place, same name – well, the last name was Fuchs before they came to this country and changed it to Fox.”

  “Well, you guys are lucky for that.”

  “Yes,” he agreed with a laugh. “It's a tough name to have in America.”

  I loved Jonas. I loved everything about him – his stories, his personality, and just the way he sat there grinning at me. I almost couldn't get myself to ask him about the death certificate. But not quite. “Uncle Jonas, how old are you?”

  This time he hesitated. I could see it. I half-expected him to give me the stupid, “It's not nice to ask older people their age” comment, but he didn't.

  Instead, he uttered, “Around your grandfather's age.”

  Grandpa Brian's age? “But, if you're his uncle?”

  “It's possible. I'm Simon's younger brother.”

  Possible? Was it? He was only about five years younger than Simon, if I were to go by the impossible birth dates on the tree.

  “Uncle Jonas, you made a mistake on the family tree. There's a woman that was born in 1761 and you wrote she died in 2013.”

  I could have sworn I saw a flash of pain on his face, but he covered it nicely if so. “I'll have to take a look at that. Come, Corinne. You're being rude to your guests.” He rose, taking my arm.

  I allowed him to get me up, but I was not done. “There's a death certificate for you, and everything says you were born in 1908.”

  He paused and released my arm. “Corinne, do I look dead to you?”

  I gulped. “No.”

  “Good. Now let's go have some food.”

  And he left.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  After Jonas walked out on our conversation, I couldn't bring myself to go outside and make small talk. My uncle had not helped the slightest bit, which was very unlike him. In my youth, he had always been willing to answer any question my brothers and I asked. We would explore the woods for hours on end, and Jonas would identify each living creature we chanced upon. He was a naturalist and a science professor in every sense of the word, and he taught us at every opportunity.

  Yet now he was holding something back.

  I felt so let down that I was desperate to speak with someone who would listen. Allen was so easy to talk to, and he seemed so interested in me. But where was he?

  I glanced out the front door, but no one was coming up the walk. So now he wasn't going to show up? He seemed willing when I had invited him! Was he was ashamed of being too forward with me? I cursed under my breath. Maybe I should have gone into his house, after all. He was so old-fashioned, it was probably innocent...

  To get my mind off of Allen, I figured I’d go inform Bella that she wasn't related. Was she lying to me, or did she also think she was related further back than Jonas could go? I fingered the emerald pendant, suddenly remembering it was there, and I thought about what she had said:

 
“I inherited it from my mother. Your father helped her so much that emeralds held deep meaning for her.”

  Her mother loved emeralds because Dad helped her? Still weird.

  I'd let George and Hannah know that I couldn't find them on our tree either. Hannah had to know something about the family. Maybe George did too.

  When I went back outside, Bella and Uncle Jonas were speaking with my mother, so it was not the best time to talk to them. Jonas' eye was on me as I walked through the door, but I pretended not to notice. Instead I strode over to Dad and my brothers. They were having fun, which, despite the festivities around me in my honor, I was not. Listening in, I could tell that Daniel, who almost never drank, was partaking in a glass of wine, and it had greatly loosened his tongue.

  “I hear you scared the crap out of my father once with that, Julian!” he burst out merrily.

  Dad smiled impishly, and Jack, beer bottle in hand, frowned.

  “Well, we had our fun back then,” my father admitted with a sheepish shrug.

  “Hmm. Right,” Jack mumbled. “Some of us have an unfair advantage when it comes to freaking people out.”

  Daniel raised his glass. “Amen to that!” he cried, finishing the rest of his wine in a single large gulp.

  “And you better not drink too much or you might just scare people too, Daniel,” Matthew said, taking the glass from him. “Daniel showed me, Dad. Several times. Wonder if I have it.”

  “What you have saves lives,” Jack stated proudly, touching Matthew's arm.

  “I can save lives too. Like Julian did.” Daniel pointed to Andrew, who was ambling past. “Well, my mom helped you two also, right, Andrew?”

  Andrew nodded, and then indicated to the others that I stood nearby.

  “Corinne, come!” Daniel called. “Join us! You too, Prince Andrew!”

  I approached, but Andrew's expression of irritation at Daniel kept me silent. Andrew sat down in the chair next to Jack and uttered, “Cut it out, Daniel.”

  “Cut it out? Come on, you could have been king! But you fell in love with a commoner, the daughter of the most powerful wizard in the land! And the wizard forbade her to see you, but you both ignored him, and he changed her into a peahen to join the queen's flock!”