“Ashton is not my husband, not possible. And I would love to have coffee with you. But then I’d need a ride home.”
“I’ll take you home.” He looked up, and a white patrol car pulled up, double-parking and blocking traffic. “Traffic can go around,” he said, answering her concerned look. He gave her hand a squeeze and let go of it. She immediately held on to it with her other hand, resisting the urge to put it to her face and smell it.
He spoke to the officer and gave him information, and then luckily Zach returned and provided his license and documentation. The officer left when he had everything he needed to file a report, telling Zach it would be ready in the morning at the station.
“Shall we go?” Ben asked.
Natalie looked at Zach, who was fighting not to smile at her, remembering the conversation they’d had less than three hours ago about what her goal was for the summer. It looked like she might be reaching it sooner than she thought.
She turned to Zach. “Ben’s asked me to go for coffee. Will you be okay getting Ashton?” Zach nodded yes, leaning forward to kiss his future mother-in-law on the cheek.
“Love you, Nats,” he replied as Ben Lawson put his hand up on her back, a gesture of possession after a ten-minute meeting.
“Love you, too, Zachary,” she said as they walked up to the pickup truck. Ben opened her door, and as she sat down, she explained. “My daughter’s boyfriend.”
“Oh, okay,” Ben said. “He seems like a great kid.”
“He is.” She wondered if she needed to launch right into the story about the unwed birth and the entangled relationship with Ted and Ashton and decided it wouldn’t be necessary for a long time. She wanted to know about him first.
“So, tell me, Chief Ben. Did you work your way up the ladder to chief of police?”
He laughed, but shook his head. “No, I really didn’t. I actually left here right after college and taught elementary school in Boston for ten years. When my father got ill, there was nothing keeping me in Boston, so I came back home to help. I went to the police academy, the oldest guy in the class by the way, and that brought me to this place twenty years later.”
“I’m impressed!” she said sincerely.
“Well, you don’t need to be. It’s more a managerial position. The captain does the real police work.” He looked over at her. “What do you do?”
“Teach,” she said. “Anthropology.”
“Wow! College? Well, of course, it must be college.”
“NYU,” she said. “‘The destroyer of Greenwich Village’.”
“I’ve read about it in the paper,” he said.
“They need the expansion, and the buildings are practically there for the taking. I feel sorry for anyone who lives nearby and tries to get any sleep at night. It’s living next to a college campus, I guess.”
“Divorced? Widowed?”
She was a little taken aback by his questions, but then decided it was perfectly reasonable; he was interested enough in her to ask her to coffee, so the next step would be to determine her marital status. She’d mentioned she had a daughter; now the question would be “where was the father?”
“Neither. Never married. I was wondering back at the car how quickly I’d be doing any explaining, and I guess it doesn’t take long.” She smiled at him, hoping she didn’t sound too defensive.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be nosey.”
“No, you aren’t at all. I’m sort of flattered you want to know. I had Deborah when I was young and unmarried and gave her up for adoption. Her father, Ted, and I didn’t have a relationship to speak of, but we are good friends now. Ashton is his husband.”
Ben slowly nodded his head, but didn’t say anything sarcastic or politically incorrect or ask how the reconciliation came about.
“What about you?”
“Divorced. Part of the escape from Boston was getting away from my ex-wife. We didn’t have kids, so there was no reason to stay in touch at all. I haven’t heard from her for almost fifteen years. She remarried and has a houseful of children, rumor has it.”
“Yes, well, I’ve never been married. Sort of pathetic, I think.”
Ben looked at her and smiled. “I don’t think so. It’s nice to be baggage free, one of the reasons I left Boston. Here in New York, I had a clean slate.”
She didn’t want to ask too many questions, afraid he’d go into too much detail about his ex.
“So where do you go on vacation?” she asked. “I’m afraid I’d never leave here if I was a resident.”
“Never leave it,” he said, smiling. “I was going to say the same thing about living in New York. Where do you live in Manhattan?”
“Greenwich Village. In the same apartment I was raised in.”
“Are your parents still alive?”
“They are, but in a retirement home in Queens. They’re doing well. How about yours?”
“My dad is alive, but my mom died shortly after I moved back. It was ironic; I moved here to help my mother take care of my father, and then she’s the one who died.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t even think about my parents dying.”
He pulled the pickup in front of a café with tables and chairs arranged on the sidewalk.
She smiled. “Oh, how cute.”
“They have good coffee and baked goods. You’re not one of those women who won’t eat a donut, are you?”
“Do I look like it?” she asked, astonished.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said, grabbing her hand. “If I may say so.”
“Thank you,” she said, hoping he’d drop it, thinking, He’s either blind or insane.
He pulled a chair out for her. “Do you mind sitting out here?”
“This is great,” she said. “I walk past open-air cafés in the city everyday and wonder what it’s like to sit in one and never have anyone to go with because I’m always alone.” She blushed, aware that her words revealed more than she wanted. Giggling embarrassedly, she said a silent prayer that he wouldn’t ask her to elaborate. The gentleman that he was trying to project ignored the comment, but saved it for later use.
Chapter 8
Big Ed and Gladys left the beach and drove to Ed and Lisa’s house in silence. Something bad had happened the night before; it was obvious. When Pam told them they needed to go to the kids’ house, the first thing Gladys asked was, “What’s wrong?” Pam put her hand on her shoulder and said there had been a misunderstanding, and the kids wanted to explain everything to them in private, away from the crowd. Gladys understood from Pam’s demeanor that it was going to be something embarrassing. She took a deep breath. Admitting her children had been a source of continuous disappointment and stress ever since she’d had them was difficult. Was every family like this?
“Do you want to do all the talking?” Gladys asked Big Ed. It was a normal question; they liked showing a united front, and whoever did the talking could be assured of receiving the support they needed from the other person.
“Okay, but let those two take the lead. I have no idea what they’re going to tell us, unless it’s that they’re expecting again. And if that’s the case, we’ll just have to move in to help them because I don’t see Miss Priss taking care of the one kid, let alone two.
“She does okay,” Gladys said loyally. She wouldn’t let anyone, even Big Ed, bash their only daughter-in-law. “It’s our son who concerns me. Will he be able to support another child?”
“I don’t see it, frankly. But a pregnancy might not be what the problem is. Let’s wait until we get there to speculate, okay? We should’ve stayed in New Jersey for the weekend.”
Gladys snickered. “You’re not kidding. As much as I love going to Pam’s, I can’t stand the drama we usually find there. And it seems like where Ed goes, drama follows close behind.”
Big Ed pulled the Buick down the tree-lined path to his son’s house. They both admired what their son had accomplished, and this grand house was just one of
the things he did that made them proud. They had no idea about trust fund money and allowances. His venture into the priesthood and the later exodus was simply a misguided step he had to take toward manhood. If he’d stayed, there’d be no Megan, and Gladys couldn’t imagine life without her precious granddaughter.
“Every time we pull up to this house, it makes me so proud,” Big Ed said, choking back tears.
Gladys grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. “We are really snobs in disguise,” she said, and Ed laughed.
“I’m living vicariously through my son’s material success.”
“It’s because he married a rich girl, Eddie. Don’t get carried away,” Gladys warned.
He pulled the key out of the ignition. “Let’s get this over with. I hope it’s nothing bad.”
“Me, too,” she said, acid indigestion flaring up.
Lisa was watching them come up the walk to the front door. It irritated her to no end; they were visitors enough times that they should know she hated anyone coming through the front door.
“Your parents are here,” she announced.
Ed was sick to his stomach and confused; why he had to deal with them now was baffling him. He didn’t care if they found out about it by watching the evening news.
“Come on, Ed, you have to face up to it.” She walked into the kitchen where he was hiding, and pulled his arm. “Come on.”
He resisted stamping his foot. The whole thing was ridiculous. “What am I going to say to them? And why? It might never come out and then upsetting them would have been for nothing.”
Lisa didn’t know if he had a valid argument, but thought the sooner they started the dialogue about him having psychological problems, the better for her. She didn’t want to deal with his issues alone.
“Tell them the truth, Ed. We need help, and no one else is going to care enough to give it.”
His father knocked on the front door again, and Ed reluctantly went to answer it, Lisa getting Megan out of her high chair.
“Hi, Dad,” Ed said. “Sorry to bring you away from the party.”
Lisa walked out with the baby and handed her over to Gladys. “Do you want coffee?”
They shook their heads. Gladys went to the rocking chair and sat down.
“What’s going on with you two? Why’d you leave the beach last night?” Big Ed asked.
Ed looked at Lisa, pleading with his eyes.
“Dad,” she said, and then to Gladys, “Mom, did you ever notice anything unusual about Ed?”
Big Ed looked over at his wife with his lips set. “Like what?” he asked. But he knew, and he looked from Lisa to Gladys, who was trying to send her husband a telepathic message to shut the hell up.
“Dad, I think there’s something wrong with me,” Ed cut in.
“Like what?” he repeated, stalling.
“Something mental.”
“We thought you might be retarded,” Big Ed said finally, but Gladys struggled to get up, the baby adding to her weight.
“That’s a goddamned lie,” she said, startling everyone in the room, including Megan, who began to cry.
Lisa went to her and took the crying baby from Gladys, offering an arm to pull on. When she was on her feet, Lisa left with Megan. She didn’t need to hear the rest of the conversation, which was clear. It was bad enough that they’d hidden their concerns so that she’d end up being responsible for their childish son. What was she going to do? She’d let them fight it out, and when some resolution was reached, she would rejoin them. They didn’t even notice she left the room.
“What did you think, Mom?” Ed asked.
“I knew you weren’t retarded. You did too well in academics. There was something about you that was so innocent and unsophisticated. That was all it was. Everyone expected more from you. It wasn’t enough that you were polite and quiet. They wanted you to be outgoing and popular, too. Dad was upset because you didn’t do well in sports.”
“Gladys, think back. Is that really true?”
“Yes! You may have expressed concern, but you were disappointed. Your first-born son couldn’t play football. God knew Ryan wasn’t going to play. All of his hopes rested on you.”
“Is that true, Dad?” Ed asked, more interested in this disconnected conversation about him, as if he wasn’t even in the room. “I mean, it had to be more than just sports, didn’t it?”
“It did. You hated being with the other children,” Big Ed said. “You were such a loner, even your own brothers and sisters couldn’t be around you.”
“And you were obsessively neat as a little boy,” Gladys piped in. “Also, the way you ate was weird. You would only eat two things: apples and bologna. And the apples had to be whole, not cut. You went from drinking milk from a baby bottle to only drinking apple juice. The doctor said you would get rickets if we didn’t find a way to get more variety into your diet, so Daddy dissolved a multivitamin in your juice and a tablespoon or two of orange juice every time you drank it. The dentist had a fit because of all the sugar you were getting.
“I was so worried about you that when you said you wanted to be an altar boy, I thought we’d found the answer. You could live a cloistered life in the monastery. But that backfired. When you met Lisa and got married, we thought that might be the final solution. And it has worked out, hasn’t it? You’re happy; you have a wonderful life with her and that gorgeous baby. We were just saying how proud we are of you. Oh my God, a parent couldn’t be prouder than we are of what you’ve done with your life.”
Ed plopped into an upholstered chair. “What have I done with it?” he asked, frowning. “I hid in a monastery for eight years and got a girl I didn’t know pregnant. What’s so great about that?”
“You made something of yourself,” Gladys said. “That’s what so great about it.”
“Because of your worry I’d live with you for the rest of my life instead? Was that a concern?”
Big Ed put his hand up to Gladys when she started to speak. “Yes, it was. I didn’t think you’d be able to support yourself. Tell him Gladys. Even the priest asked if there was something wrong with you when Mom took you to sign up for altar boy training.”
“Why are you asking us these things?” Gladys asked.
Ed started to laugh. It was ludicrous that his parents may have suspected all along that there was something wrong with him and never addressed it with the right experts.
“I’m pretty sure I’m autistic. Lisa will tell you I probably definitely am. And now I’m in so deep, with a teaching license and a wife and baby that I really don’t know if I can take responsibility for.”
“That’s bullshit,” Big Ed roared. “You take responsibility for it! You don’t have a choice. What are you going to do now? Maybe things are a little tough so you’re going to use some bullshit mental diagnosis to worm your way out of it? I don’t think so, by golly. I won’t let you do it.”
“It might be done for me. I’m in trouble.”
When Big Ed hollered, Lisa returned. She lurked outside a set of walnut sliding doors that led from the living room to the library. She’d let Ed do the job, and if she thought he needed help, she’d come in at that time. But he was doing okay. He was hanging in there.
“What’s wrong?” Gladys said. She walked to Big Ed, and they grabbed hands.
“Are you ill?”
“Did you lose your job?” Big Ed asked.
Ed shook his head and stood up from where he was perched on the chair. He hated the chair; it was one of a pair of expensive linen-upholstered armchairs that Lisa just had to have. He’d discovered she paid a small fortune for something that looked like a wrinkled shirt after he sat in it. He paced in front of the fireplace, wanting to cry but controlling it. Years of talking to Big Ed in times of stress had served its purpose.
“I was arrested,” he said. “I could lose my job because of it.”
Big Ed frowned again, his eyebrows squished together. He looked up at Ed. “For what?”
�
��Masturbating in public.”
Gladys screamed and fell back on the matching linen-covered chair. Neither man went to her assistance. Big Ed grimaced and shook his head.
“Eddie, boy, you need to keep your Johnson hidden away at all times. That’s the rule, you know that.”
“Dad, I know. I just wasn’t thinking. Now I’m in trouble. I won’t know what’s going to happen until Tuesday when the courthouse opens again.”
“Why couldn’t this be what I was worried it might be, that you were going to announce you were returning to the priesthood,” Gladys said wistfully. “I was dreaming you were going to leave Lisa and Megan and go to Chicago and join your group again. That’s what I was hoping this would be.”
“I thought you were going to tell us Lisa was pregnant,” Big Ed said sadly. They heard the squealing of tires, and Ed moved the drapery fabric over to look out the window just as Lisa sped away in her car. He hoped she’d taken Megan with her, wherever she was going.
Chapter 9
Ashton walked the two blocks to the car, carrying four plastic grocery bags, cutting off the circulation to his fingers, seething. Zach came into the store to tell him about the accident but didn’t stay to shop.
“I’ve got to get back to give information for the police report because I was driving,” he explained.
Ashton texted Natalie to say he was finished shopping and could they come to pick him up, but she never answered. It appeared the police were gone. Zach didn’t see him coming and didn’t get out of the car to help him with the bags. He leaned over the seat to open the door for Ashton, but that was the extent of his help.
“Where’s Natalie?” he asked querulously, tossing the bags in the back seat. “I’ve texted her twice for you to come and get me.” He slammed the door and reached for his seat belt.
“She’s having coffee with the village chief of police,” Zach said, smiling.
Ashton frowned, shocked. “How in heaven’s name did that come about?”
“He’s the one that hit us,” Zach explained.
“Oh, so he’s probably doing damage control,” Ashton said smugly.
The Tao of Pam: Pam of Babylon Book # 6 Page 10
