As I started to go into the living room, Moiraine walked in, and said, “Hello, Daddy. Isn’t it exciting? We’re having a guest for dinner!”
“We’re having them TO dinner. We are not cannibals.”
“You sound like mommy when you talk like that.”
“You’re right, Moiraine. Okay, we are having a guest for dinner,” I replied, correcting myself.
“Daddy, you are so strange sometimes.” After Mo’s revelation, we went in the living room to await Karma. “Mommy, can I help?”
“Yes, Moiraine. You can finish setting the table. Everything is already there, remember to set four places.”
Mo started her task, but she was not happy, “I wanted to help cook.” Mo finished setting the table as the doorbell rang.
“Nathan, can you get the door? I’m right in the middle of something.”
There is no one at the door but the damn cat, Diego. He ran past me when I opened the door, “How do you ring the bell? Never mind, you might answer, and I don’t think I could handle the shock.”
After a moment, he found Moiraine. The sound of Mo saying, “Kitty,” was my clue. Another proud instance of my reasoning skills.
I went to close the door. The moment I closed it; the bell rang again. To no one, but myself, I said, “Of course.” This time when I opened the door, our intended dinner guest, Karma stood there. She was smartly dressed, sporting a sleeveless mid-length sky blue dress with a respectable size keyhole cut out the top. The keyhole showed no cleavage. I doubt Karma had any. This time her blonde hair was cut and styled in a wedge with an asymmetrical bob on the sides which came down in a sharp and curved point. In her left hand, she held a tote with wrapped packages inside.
I felt the presence of my wife behind me, “Nathan, why don’t you invite her in?”
I sheepishly said, “Welcome to our home.”
Karma replied, “Thank you for your thoughtful invitation. It is a rare thing indeed when I can enjoy a homemade meal.” As Karma crossed the threshold, I could hear the running feet of Moiraine heading toward us.
Moiraine pushed past her mother and me and exclaimed, “She’s pretty!”
“Yes, Moiraine, she is very pretty,” came out of my wife’s mouth. I am not sure if I read anything in her tone or not.
I stepped aside and introduced my family to Karma, starting with Charlene. When I introduced Mo, Karma moved down to eye level with her, and said, “Hello, Little Dear.” Diego barged in, so I introduced him too. He sniffed at Karma and rubbed his cheek against her hand. Satisfied, he trotted off to parts unknown.
Mo pointed to Karma’s tote, “What’s in the pretty wrapped boxes? Presents?”
“Moiraine, it is rude to ask her about those. She will tell us or not in her own time. Now apologize.”
“Oh, it’s alright. I would have asked too,” Karma smiled and winked at Mo. “Moiraine, you are a good guesser because you are correct. I have brought presents for all of you.”
“Which one is mine? I like her, Daddy.”
Char stated, “We should all go in the living room while dinner finishes cooking,” moving us to the living room. The ladies sat on either end of the couch, and Mo sat between them. I sat in the recliner but had to shoo Diego off first. Mo’s feet were tapping away on the floor. Char put a hand on Mo’s knee; her tapping stopped immediately.
“Charlene, you have a lovely home. One thing caught my eye, and it seems a bit out of place, but not out of place. Strange. The katana,” Karma stood up and reached for the blade, “It is so unique. May I examine it?”
“Sure, Karma. Please be careful.” She lifted the blade from its stand. Gently she revealed a short portion of the blade. Light reflecting off the metal created a band of light across Karma’s face at eye level. Without warning, Lar, the spirit who lived in mind since birth, appeared out of the ether behind Karma and showed his approval of her by quietly feinting a wolf whistle. Char coughed, and Moiraine started giggling. I thought I saw a hint of a smile on Karma’s face.
“Beautiful and fascinating. Tell me, does it always do that?”
I jumped up and looked at the blade. There in the metal of the blade is the hamon, the wavy black line on the blade. If you watched for a moment, you could see it moving. The hamon looked more angular than sinuous. I never noticed this undulation before. After rubbing my eyes, I took another look lest my eyes deceive me. How can this be, and what does this mean?
“Yes, the blade is shiny. The two of you can pretend to be crows later. Dinner is almost ready,” Char stated. Karma turned back to take her place on the couch. Lar positioned himself, so Karma could not see him as she moved. I got in Lar’s face and pantomimed I wanted him to go. Grudgingly he complied, but first, he had to motion his approval of Karma.
“Mommy, what about the presents?”
Karma asked, “Do we have time for the presents before dinner?” Charlene reluctantly agreed.
As I returned my blade to its stand and had a mild heart attack over the thought of trying to explain Lar to Karma. Karma this is Lar. Lar, Karma. Lar is a spirit who has been living in my head since birth. Oh, and he has done that for thousands of lifetimes all ending in the death of his host in a losing battle.
Karma handed out the gifts: one to each of us. “Okay, Moiraine, you open your present first.”
Mo feverishly tore into the wrapping and revealed a wooden box. It was carved in a design reminiscent of Celtic circles and knots. When Mo opened the box, a miniature ballet dancer appeared, and the tune “Music Box Dancer” started to play. “Oh, I love it!” Mo leaned into Karma and hugged the stuffing out of her, then she stood and started to dance to the music in her impression of a prima ballerina.
While Moiraine began spinning, Karma implored, “Please Charlene, open yours.” Char did as instructed. Glimpsing the box, Char became a wee bit feverish in the unwrapping as well. Char’s hands shook as she pulled the lid off the box. “Well, what do you think?”
“I don’t know what to say. No, these are too expensive. I can’t possibly take these.” Char pulled from the box a pair of shoes. They were nude in color and had a spiked heel. They had a red stripe on the heel and sole.
“Yes, you can take them! I bought them on sale, and when I returned home, it turned out I already had the exact same pair. You can’t return sales items to this store, so now they're yours.”
“Char, be careful. You have a bit of drool coming out of the side of your mouth.” Charlene ignored my comment as she often does.
Moiraine looked at the shoes and chimed in with, “They’re like the ones in the fancy store,” there was a momentary pause, then Mo said, “Mommy, I’ll trade you my music box for the shoes.”
What is it about the women with Gustafson DNA? They all seem to have a genetic predisposition to hold shoes like holy relics, I pondered.
Ignoring Mo for the moment, “They are the correct size,” Char stated, “I never dreamed I would own a pair.”
“Go ahead, Char. It’s a gift, and they can’t be too expensive,” I said.
“Nathan, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” next in reverence, Char said, “These are Christian Louboutin. Excuse me. I want to try them on.” Charlene left for the bedroom. She returned after a few minutes. “Nathan, what do you think?”
At first, I wasn’t paying attention to anything but my stomach, then I looked to Charlene and gasped out loud and stood as Charlene displayed the shoes. However, it wasn’t the shoes that shook my rattle. Charlene stood there wearing her rarely worn little black dress. She had changed her outfit. Gone was the buttoned all the way up blouse and pressed slacks. Her little black dress adorned her figure. The dress is for special occasions, and we don’t do fancy often. I haven’t seen her wear it in far too long. The dress came up a smidgen too short for modesty. Black nylons accentuated her gorgeous legs. Her feet were decorated with the shoes. Char displayed each shoe to me by turning each foot in turn with a pointed toe, which also gave me a lustful lo
ok at her legs. I started to feel an urge to take my wife right here and now. But I stayed my (gulp) hand. Yes, my hand is what I stayed. Besides, Moiraine would ask too many embarrassing questions, and I didn’t want Karma to become jealous.
Karma handed me a kerchief and with a giggle, “Nathan, here wipe your mouth. You’re the one drooling.”
After wiping my mouth, I said, “Nice legs, I mean shoes, Charlene. Is it getting hot in here? I’m going to check the thermostat.”
“The only thing hot in here is Charlene,” Karma sassed. Char started blushing. Wow, I haven’t seen her blush in a while. “Oh, I almost forgot. This goes with the shoes,” Karma pulled out another package from her tote and handed it to Charlene. After sitting back down, Char opened her second present. Her eyes widen as she pulled out a black clutch.
“It’s beautiful! It’s Christian Louboutin too! Oh my, oh my, I can’t take …”
“Shut up, Charlene! Yes, I used the s-word. Karma has seen fit to give you these gifts. They obviously bring you joy. Do not devalue what she has done by refusing them,” as I lectured, my voice started to slow down. It hit me like a sledgehammer; depression at the realization I would never be able to give my wife such gifts. Even if I still worked for the drug store and achieved the general manager position, I would never make enough money to give her those kinds of things. I am a failure as a husband; I am a failure as a man. Memories of all my failures came flooding over me. My own mind started tormenting me, and I was powerless to stop it. “Excuse me,” rushing out of the room, I tried to hide my anguish from Karma and my family. Charlene followed close behind me as I entered our bedroom and sat on the bed.
“Nathan, what’s wrong? I don’t understand,” Charlene asked as she put a hand on my head and played a bit with my hair.
“Nothing.”
“I thought you didn’t tell lies. Your statement was a whopper of a lie.”
“Saw through it, did you?” Filling my lungs deeply and letting it out loudly, I revealed my hurt, “Sometimes my failures best me. My high school years were a bust. In college, I was foolish. And a thousand other things too numerous to mention.”
“Nathan, are Moiraine and I failures also?”
“Oh God, Char, no. You are both the only victories I’ve had in life.”
“Nathan, defeating that thing when it came to kill us all. Was it a failure?” I started to point out Da’von was still all too alive in my mind, but Char interrupted me before I could speak. “Was forging your beautiful sword, a failure? Was caring for our daughter while I lay dying in bed, a failure? Was staying with the man while he bled to death after the horrible car accident, a failure? I can name a dozen more that I know about, and I am sure there are victories you have accomplished, but never told me. Husband Mine, you say your memory torments you. It is your memory, command it. Tell it to remind you of all those things, small and large, you did to change people’s lives for the better. So man up and quit feeling sorry for yourself. We have a guest, and you should be out there.”
Charlene is right, of course. Standing, I took a moment to hush the memory goblins in my head. I quieted all those voices save one. That memory is too strong, and my failure almost killed both my daughter and wife. The moment past, so I returned to the living room. “I want to apologize to all of you for spoiling the party,” I humbled. And for my weakness. I thought.
“Daddy, daddy, daddy, open your present. It’s your turn,” Mo blurted out with all the exuberance of a child on Christmas morning.
I sat back down on the recliner and picked up the wrapped gift. With the first rip of paper, I got a glimpse of my gift. Really?
Moiraine asked as I continued to rip the paper, “What is it, Daddy?” I showed her the box. “I don’t understand?”
Char was trying to contain herself, trying, “Moiraine, it’s an ear and nose hair trimmer.”
Mo processed what her mother said, and she burst out laughing, “Ms. Karma should have gotten you two!” Moiraine totally lost it and started rocking back and forth on the couch as she laughed hard. At one point, she even snorted.
I was wrong earlier. Rodney Dangerfield gets more respect than me.
With all the silliness over, we all proceeded to the dining room table to enjoy dinner, and if we can trust our noses, it promises to be one to remember. “Nathan, can you help in here?”
As I stood, Mo asked, “Can I help, Mommy?”
“No, Moiraine, I need you to entertain our guest.”
Standing up from the table to help Char in the kitchen, I heard Moiraine say in a low energy voice, “Okay.”
Charlene and I brought out a glorious meal and set it on the table. The main course is a beautiful pot roast lean and glistening with juices. The aroma filled your nose with a sweet meaty smell which promised to satisfy even the pickiest of carnivores. Roasted potatoes and carrots circled the roast on the platter. In one bowl, sat a rich and thick brown gravy with no hint of skin on top. A lovely classic Caesar salad topped with home-made croutons. The pungent Parmesan cheese promised to crown the Caesar salad beautifully. This all looked and smelled so magnificent, I didn’t even mind the bowl filled with steamed broccoli. Besides, I can always use gravy to camouflage it.
The conversation was sparse during dinner. Everything Char prepared is amazing. Everyone took seconds, and it astonished me how much Karma put away. How does she keep such a slim figure with her appetite? When I saw the roast, I planned for a couple large sandwiches from the leftovers, but by the look of things, we only had enough for dinner tomorrow if we ate small portions.
“Charlene, this has been the best home cooked meal I’ve had in ages. Thank you for inviting me.”
“It has been my pleasure. We don’t have company too often. It is a big boost to my ego to see people, other than family, enjoying my handiwork,” Char stood and started clearing the dishes, “I hope everyone saved room for dessert.”
Karma stood as fast as Char, “You cooked. Please let me do the dishes,” she started picking up dishes too.
“You’re our guest. I can’t let you.”
Karma suggested, “Why don’t we do them together?” Charlene agreed, and they headed off to the kitchen.
I have a very bad feeling about this. Another woman in Char’s kitchen and cleaning to boot. It could get bloody. I finished clearing the rest of the dinner dishes and took them into the kitchen. To my surprise, they are working well together, but things did become quiet when I walked in. The whole time, I was in there, they never said a word. Strange, the moment I left, they broke out into laughter.
“Daddy, why are they laughing?”
“Your father seems to be the butt of their jokes,” I said, as I sat in the recliner to contemplate my predicament.
Moiraine started laughing, “You said butt, butt, butt, butt.” It’s bad enough there are two grown women laughing at me, now my daughter is as well.
Charlene came in the room, holding a beautiful chocolate cake, and Karma was following her with plates and forks. “Gather around everyone. This cake is from scratch.” We all moved back into the dining room.
Mo asked as she sat down at her spot, “Is there ice cream?”
Karma answered with, “You don’t want to ruin this luscious cake with ice cream.”
“Ice cream never ruins anything!” Moiraine asserted. I nodded to her in agreement.
Charlene cut the cake and doled out the slices. I observed when both women took their first bite, they enjoyed the flavor a bit too much. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear they both had slight orgasms.
After the delight of dessert, Mo gave us a fashion show of all her new clothes. The money for which came from Karma. Moiraine was in rare form modeling for us as well as any supermodel on the runway. We all clapped and praised her choice of fashion. The rest of the evening, we filled with light conversation. Both women are getting along quite well. Should I be worried? The evening drew to a close, and we bid Karma goodbye. Moiraine gave her a big hug and thanked
her again for the music box. “Your welcome, Little Dear.” Char and Karma hugged at the door. “We should do wine sometime, and maybe squeeze lunch in too,” Karma proposed. Charlene agreed, but a date and time were left up in the air. To my surprise, we hugged also, and while we embraced, Karma whispered in my ear, “Give her more time. She is almost ready.” Her statement stunned me for a moment, I thought, What the hell did that mean? Karma was about out the door, when she turned, and said, “I was having such a good time, I forgot to give you these,” she reached into her purse and handed me a small envelope, turned and left.
Looking inside the envelope, I found three tickets to a psychic fair being held at Balboa Park. Humm, I guess a family outing is in the works.
I closed and locked the door. We stood there for a beat, then Moiraine spoke up, “I like her, Daddy. Are you going to marry her, too?” My jaw dropped at the question.
Charlene answered with, “Moiraine, your father can barely handle one wife. I think it would drive him mad if he had two.”
A truer statement has never been uttered.
Chapter Ten
After waking up early, I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I quietly made myself ready for the day and then left for work. Gone now were most of the aches and pains of yesterday, but I was still somewhat sore. There were a few things I needed to get done at the theater since I didn’t finish all my work yesterday.
The bus ride was boring; no change there. The walk from the bus stop to the theater brought to my ears the sounds of a city rising. As I put the key in the backdoor of the theater, I got a chill like someone walking on my grave. “Oh, please. Can we just not today Mr. Shadowman? I plan to be here only a short time today. We can play try to scare the janitor another day,” I shouted this loud enough to wake the dead, but I put none of my will behind it. So, here’s hoping no surprise visitors today.
Cleaning the green room is first on the shortlist of duties today. “Green room” is a strange term for just the place for performers to hang out and get nervous. It’s not even painted green. Since there was no performance last night, the green room is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy to complete. Mopping the stage, on the other hand, is a long, tedious job of soaping a section then rinse that section ad nauseam until the job is done all the while, trying not to mop yourself into a corner to sit and wait until the floor dries. While doing this task, I could feel Mr. Shadowman trying to get my attention by playing at the corner of my vision. “Nice try. I give you full marks for the effort, but having my wife meet Karma was way scarier than anything you’ve done.”
The Calling Page 10
