Much Ado About Mother (21 page)

Erinn was the last in, her coat thrown protectively over her camera.

Everyone was laughing as they shook off the rain. It continued to pelt the building, the drama accentuated by thunder of Biblical proportions. Lightning lit up the sky for a few theatrical seconds at a time. The electricity flickered but appeared to be just goofing around. The lights held.

While Blu and Erinn consoled Dymphna that everyone would reassemble outside as soon as it stopped raining, Virginia and Suzanna opened up the tearoom and ushered the crowd inside. Most of the food was rescued in time, and while the pro-tree people and the anti-tree people kept their distance from one another, the mood was upbeat. The rain stopped but nobody seemed in a hurry to leave, so they headed back outside to finish what they had started.

The lighthearted mood of the crowd changed as a loud crack rocked the building.

“What was that?” someone asked.

“Sounds like something got struck by lightning,” Eric said, a protective arm around Suzanna.

Suzanna kept her eyes forward, but she could barely keep from turning to Blu and saying, “So there!”

The door to the foyer swung open. Everyone turned to see a drenched Rio breathing heavily. Something was terribly wrong, but Suzanna couldn't help noticing how great he looked in his rain-soaked shirt and trousers.

“El patio está en llamas!”
Rio said.

Half the people in the foyer gasped in comprehension, the other half murmuring, “What? What did he say?”

Virginia and Mr. Clancy were the first to reach Rio. The three of them raced out the door.

“Let's go,” Eric said to everyone. “The courtyard is on fire!”

CHAPTER 23

ERINN

“H
ow can the courtyard be on fire?” Dymphna asked as she and Erinn ran toward the blaze. “It's been raining.”

“And the courtyard is brick,” Erinn added. “Not the most flammable substance that comes to mind.”

They could see flames shooting skyward. Erinn realized that the tree, the poor tree that had withstood so many battles, had lost out to an act of God.

Virginia, Eric, and Suzanna raced past. Erinn was surprised to see the entire family sprinting toward the courtyard; usually someone was left behind watching her niece, but then she remembered that Lizzy was staying with Eric's parents at Disneyland. Erinn was grateful that Lizzy wouldn't be involved in such a traumatic experience as a neighborhood fire. She thought of the poet Edward Young's words, “How blessings brighten as they take their flight.”

She hoped more blessings were on their way. If that dance instructor had been at the courtyard he must have been teaching. Were his students all right? The stores were all closed and almost everyone was at the Bun, but who else might be there? Then it hit her.

Alice. Alice was at the courtyard.

She looked around for Christopher. He caught her eye and grabbed her arms.

“Alice is in there,” he said. “I've got to get her out.”

“I know, I know!” Erinn yelled over the crowd that had gathered. The fire department was already at work by the time the band of people from the Bun showed up. There were barricades already in place. Rio was standing with a group of stunned-looking students.

Everyone watched as the fireman sprayed the tree with a torrent of water.

Christopher was looking wildly around and ran at the barricade when Alice ran toward him through the smoke.

Erinn stood looking helplessly as they embraced. Erinn slowed her footsteps, realizing she had no part in this. As she turned away, she heard Alice's voice.

“Mandy is in there,” Alice said to Christopher. “You have to save her!”

“OK,” Christopher said, looking at the courtyard. “Wait here.”

Erinn took a step toward him; he couldn't go in there. But she was too late.

She watched in horror as Christopher ducked under the barricade at the far edge of the building nearest the studio. No one else saw him. Everyone was focused on the tree, still lighting the night sky with its branches going up in angry flames.

Erinn tried not to panic. Should she go in after him? The building itself didn't seem to be on fire but the smoke would be terrible. The smoke was getting thicker and she could barely see Christopher's door.

Suddenly, she heard a fireman yell, “Hey! What are you doing? Get out here!”

She saw Christopher, covered in ash, coming out his door. He was choking on the smoke, but signaled the fireman that he was OK. He crossed the barrier, carrying the moose head.

Mandy.

Was this man so in love with his ex-wife that he would risk his life for her
artwork?

She thought wistfully of David Grayson's “Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.” She stood, watching, and realized that this love affair, which she so very tentatively had dreamed about, was over before it had begun.

Erinn felt rooted to the ground. She knew she should join her family and friends as they watched the firefighters put the tree out of its misery. But she could only stare at Christopher and Alice. Alice had stepped back from him and was surveying the damage to the moose head. One antler broke off in her hand. Christopher caught Erinn's eye. He handed Alice the entire art piece, patted the top of his ex-wife's head, and walked toward Erinn. She tried to will herself to walk away, but she remained where she was.

“That was . . . brave of you,” Erinn said, as the firefighters finished spraying down the tree and started the cleanup.

“Really? I would have thought you would have found it . . . unwise.”

“Well, it was unwise. But brave.”

“Yeah. But it had to be done. For us.”

“I can see that.” Erinn looked up at the sky and hoped she wouldn't cry. “I mean, what woman could resist a man who saved her moose head?”

“Wait, no,” Christopher said, taking Erinn's face in his hands, tilting it so he was looking into her eyes. “Not Alice-us, us-us. You-and-me-us.”

“You had to risk your life for us-us?” Erinn asked. “I don't understand.”

“First of all, I wasn't really risking my life. The studio wasn't on fire. I'm not an idiot.”

“So it was just a dramatic gesture?”

“Don't tell Alice, but yes. I rescued her damn moose. She and I are even now. No more guilt. I'm free.”

Erinn tried to think of an appropriate quote to sum up her feelings, but the only thing she could think to say was, “Free to be us-us.”

They wrapped themselves around each other and watched the cedar smolder, a few dying embers drifting into space. Erinn felt sorry for the tree and for the Cause Courtyard people, of which Christopher was one. She studied him as he watched the tree lose the battle.

“All that hard work literally up in smoke,” Erinn said.

Christopher looked at her.

“I don't know,” he said. “We wanted to let that tree live out its life in the courtyard. But in a way, it has done just that.”

Looking at Christopher, Erinn thought that life was inexplicable. Here she was, standing near the rubble of a fire in her sister's neighborhood and yet she was totally happy. Nothing made any sense. She felt a tap on her shoulder and spun around to see Blu and Dymphna looking at her.

“The tree is toast,” Blu said. “Can we go home now?”

“I really need to make sure the heat lamp is on for the rabbits,” Dymphna said.

Yes,
Erinn thought,
nothing made
any
sense.

CHAPTER 24

SUZANNA

O
ne thing about Venice Beach: It was a resilient little town. A month after the fire, and fences were literally and metaphorically mended. Dymphna's wool got spun into yarn, thanks to the Cause Courtyard ladies. Mr. Clancy's insurance covered some of the repairs to his establishment, but not all. Volunteers from both sides of the tree issue labored toward restoring Mr. Clancy's Courtyard to its former glory. Mr. Clancy and Bernard worked side by side cleaning up the courtyard. Virginia seemed to be playing the field, first favoring one and then the other. Eric and Suzanna brought food to the volunteers, who scrubbed the charred bricks and painted windowsills. Bernard moved his Little Free Library to the courtyard. Christopher built the book box a gorgeous stand, which would have a place of honor at the front of the courtyard, surrounded by wrought-iron chairs.

“You better be careful with that library, Christopher,” Eric said. “You'll put me out of business.”

When the city came to take away the remains of the cedar, it seemed the entire neighborhood came out to bid it farewell.

“It's amazing how one ugly tree could tear the community apart and also bring it back together,” Virginia said to Erinn and Christopher.

They had been accepted as a couple almost immediately.

“I just don't understand why Alice is still around,” Erinn said to Suzanna as they hauled broken concrete to the sidewalk in front of the courtyard.

Suzanna looked at her sister. Suzanna, as well as everyone else, including Erinn, knew why Alice was still around. She was creating a metal tree sculpture to replace the cedar.

“It's the least I can do,” Alice had said grandly. “After you've all been so kind.” She flashed her white teeth at everyone.

“Why?” Erinn asked Suzanna. “Why is it the least she can do? Nobody asked her to build a tree! I mean, no one was overly kind, except Christopher.”

Suzanna continued to tug at a sack of concrete chunks. She really did not want to hear, yet again, the story of how Christopher had saved the moose head in order to free himself from the guilt of his divorce. But Suzanna always wished that she and her sister would find more common ground. She was happy to give Erinn a turn as the obsessed sister in love. Suzanna had to admit that it was more fun than listening to her discuss gerunds.

“Alice says she'll leave for Santa Fe as soon as the tree is dedicated,” Erinn said. “I'm sure she is expecting some sort of madness to break out over her artistic genius. The woman has delusions of grandeur!”

Suzanna tried to change the subject.

“How is the show with Blu coming along?” she asked.

“It's terrible,” Erinn said. “She comes across as spoiled and demanding. . . even more spoiled and demanding than she is in real life.”

“I don't know,” Suzanna said. She didn't want to be overly sympathetic to a woman who flirted brazenly with Eric, even if Eric seemed—for the most part—oblivious. “She must have a fan base that likes that sort of thing.”

“I can't imagine,” Erinn said.

“Eric sold one of her graphic novels.”

“One?” replied Erinn, who had listened to Suzanna's rages against Blu. “I bet some hormonal teenage boy just shoplifted it.”

Suzanna smiled. Only Erinn would think shoplifting sounded supportive.

“The best footage we have is of the rabbits,” Erinn continued. “Their fur has grown back, and I have fantastic video of Blu combing them and feeding them. She seems almost likable.”

“How is Dymphna with that?”

“She only really cares that the rabbits are happy. You know Dymphna.”

“Yeah, she marches to her own beat.”

“As Thoreau once said, ‘If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears the beat of a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.' ”

“Are you sure that was Thoreau?” Suzanna asked, trying not to smile.

Erinn stopped dead in her tracks.

“Of
course
I'm sure!”

“I'm just teasing.” Suzanna laughed. “I swear, Erinn, you can be such an easy target.”

Erinn laughed and the two sisters started lugging the concrete again. As they dumped the bag of debris in the recycling pile, Erinn caught sight of Christopher. Suzanna knew her older sister would be useless now that her man was in her eye line.

“Go see Christopher,” Suzanna said. “I don't think I could haul another bag of concrete if they paid me.”

Rio's studio was hit the hardest by the smoke damage, but he was still giving dance lessons to kids out in the open by the skateboarding area. Suzanna watched him at work. He was just so damn sexy she couldn't stand it. He was in control of every muscle in his body—quite impressive to a woman who had trouble not soaring into space when the going got tough. She and Eric mended some fences of their own, but Suzanna couldn't get her mother's Get Out of Jail Free card out of her mind. Maybe Rio was the one?

Suzanna noticed her mother had made her way over to the group. Virginia was laughing with a few of the teenagers who were standing around. She didn't want to interrupt whatever was going on, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. She wasn't close enough to hear, but it was obvious that Rio had turned on some music. He put out his hand and Virginia took it. She and Rio started doing some sort of disco routine that had the kids laughing and howling encouragement.

There was no denying that her mother was full of surprises these days. A day after the fire, her mother had practically adopted Rio and his kids. It was her idea to continue the dance lessons outside.

“You've got beautiful weather all year long here,” Virginia had said.

There was something about the way she said, “You've got beautiful weather,” instead of “We've got beautiful weather,” that sent up a warning flare in Suzanna's mind.

It wasn't long until she was proven right. Her mother had plans.

Virginia spent most days with Rio and his kids. She seemed renewed. Two weeks ago, after putting Lizzy to bed and taking Piquant out for a final stroll, Virginia joined Eric and Suzanna in the kitchen. She made small talk until Eric went to check on Lizzy. Suzanna saw her mother's eyes follow him as he left the room. She could tell her mother had something on her mind and the fact that she had waited for Eric to leave the room was not a good sign.

“I need to talk to you about something,” Virginia had said. “I'm not sure how you are going to feel about this.”

“OK,” Suzanna said.

“I've decided to move back to New York after the metal tree is dedicated.”

“Why?” Suzanna asked abruptly. She was hit harder than she expected. Her mother had fit so seamlessly into their lives. Yes, she drove Eric crazy with her passion for causes, but Suzanna took some satisfaction that Eric was, in the gentlest way possible, getting a dose of his own medicine. What would life be like without seeing her mother smiling every morning as Suzanna staggered into the kitchen to start the day? She had gotten used to a lovely routine: Her mother and her daughter would greet her every day, having already returned from their morning run. She could feel tears forming but blinked them away. Piquant was in a corner of the kitchen, resting in his doggy bed. He looked up at Suzanna and a tear finally escaped.

Suzanna wiped at her eyes. It wasn't fair to guilt her mother with tears . . . at least not yet.

“There's more,” Virginia said.

Suzanna tried to figure out what it could be. Was Virginia bored just being a grandmother? Had she started a romance with Mr. Clancy or Bernard and not told anyone? Did one of them break her heart? No, she decided, that would be impossible. Her mother was . . . well, her mother. Men weren't supposed to fall in love with a
mother
—especially hers!

“Well, Mom,” Suzanna prompted. “What is it?”

“I'm moving to New York with someone,” Virginia said.

Suzanna couldn't wrap her head around this announcement. So it
was
love! This was crazy. Suzanna commanded herself to keep a grip on her emotions. She knew this could not be easy for her mother. She was about to announce the man who would be replacing her own husband! Replacing Suzanna and Erinn's father. Suzanna wasn't sure she wanted to hear, but hear it she must!

“And . . . who is it?” Suzanna asked. “Mr. Clancy or Bernard? Who won?”

Suzanna tried to keep the moment light.

“Well,” Virginia said, “I hate to disappoint you, but neither one.”

“Oh?”

“Suzanna, when you get to be my age, your needs are different.”

“Please, Mom, you know I can't handle talking about your needs.”

“I just mean, Mr. Clancy and Bernard are both lovely, lovely men. But their lives are just fine without me. Neither of them
needs
me. A serious relationship with either one of them never really entered my mind. And besides, it would ruin the friendship they've had for all these years. I'm sure as hell not interested in that.”

“Who then? Who is it that needs you so badly?”

Virginia drew circles on the table with her finger, stalling. Suzanna stayed focused and waited. She would give her mother all the time she needed.

“Rio,” Virginia said, averting her gaze.

Suzanna grabbed the edges of the table. Usually when a stress float was upon her she was aware that liftoff was imminent. This time, her thighs banged instantly into the tabletop, which held her in place. She concentrated on the conversation as her legs banged again and again on the bottom of the table, trying to break loose, so she could float away and feel safe.

“Rio!” Suzanna almost growled, before trying a different tone. “I mean . . . Rio?”

“Yes, dear. I know this is probably coming as a shock.”

Eric popped his head through the doorway.

“You guys good? I thought I'd go for a bike ride.”

Suzanna and Virginia waved him away. They were so in tune with each other. Neither of them spoke until they heard the soft click of the back door below them.

“So, Mom, you were saying . . .”

“I'm sure you're aware of how much time we've been spending together.”

Yes! I have noticed and I've been damn grown-up about it! And now I find out my own mother is a traitor and a slut! Well, slut is probably too strong . . . a floozy, maybe—
Suzanna thought. But she knew she had to hold her tongue. Instead she said,

“I have noticed, yes. But I thought it was for the good of the kids.”

Virginia reached out her hand imploringly and placed it on Suzanna's arm.

“It was. It was about the kids. But he needs studio space. He can't keep teaching kids on the street. It's a fine stopgap, but the idea is to get them off the street. Rio got a call from a church in New York City that wants to offer him studio space—they have ten kids who have signed up for dance class. They're getting funding to start a citywide program. They are focusing on younger kids and they really, really need him.”

Suzanna couldn't help but think that Rio had sold her mother a bill of goods, but she kept quiet.

“He couldn't take the job because he wouldn't have the money for a place to live. He's such a good man, Suzanna. He should have this chance.”

“What has that got to do with you?” Suzanna asked.

“I've loved feeling needed again.”

“Oh, now I get it. Rio needs a place to live in New York, and you just happen to have one, so suddenly you guys are madly in love and all his problems are solved!”

Virginia stared at her as if she'd been slapped.

“Now, that's a bit harsh,” Virginia said.

“I'm sorry, Mother, but—”

“But what?” Virginia interrupted. “There's no fool like an old fool?”

“Now who's being harsh? Mom, he has you bamboozled. I told you who he was!”

“You told me who he
used
to be,” Virginia said. “By the way,
bamboozled
. Good word.”

Suzanna stared at her mother, who seemed to be enjoying this. Suddenly, Virginia burst out laughing. She stood up and kissed her daughter on the head. As angry as Suzanna still was, her thighs stopped thumping against the table and she settled down.

“Oh, honey,” Virginia said, dabbing at her eyes. “I know I should be insulted, but I am so flattered that you think Rio would try to seduce me . . . even if it were just for a place to live.” Virginia had another fit of what Suzanna might kindly call “the giggles” but was so intense it was more like a “bout of braying.” Her mother was practically honking with laughter. “That is so sweet of you to think that.”

“OK,” Suzanna said, when her mother had calmed down. “So . . . what's the deal, then?”

“Working with these kids, helping teach them something exciting, watching the wall come down one kid at a time has filled a void I didn't even know was there. Imagine what we could do if we actually start a real program for inner-city kids? Think of the difference it would make! I'm going to help set up the foundation or whatever it is and help teach. I have an extra bedroom and Rio is welcome to it.”

“So that's the need?” Suzanna asked, relieved.