No Place Like Home (Holiday Classics) (5 page)

Hannah looked around the tiny apartment. “This place looks worse in the daylight than in the dark. Oh, look, Freddie is waiting outside the bathroom door. Thank God for that dog’s devotion. Listen, let’s take Cisco out today. I say we head for town and get that second opinion we were talking about. Since this is a holiday weekend, doctors might not be too busy. I’ll call the AMA and see if they can recommend a good eye surgeon. What do you say, gang?”

“Let’s go for it,” Sam said. “There goes that pesky phone again.”

The cranky nurse with the wiry gray hair barged into the apartment, a breakfast tray in her hands. “Answer the phone!” she ordered.

“We don’t want to,” Sam said. His tone clearly said she better not want to either.

“Smart-ass,” the nurse said under her breath. “Is she still in there?” She gestured to the bathroom.

“Yes, she’s still in there,” Sara said.

The phone stopped ringing just as Cisco appeared, fully dressed, her hair brushed back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck, a rosy glow to her features. She looked wonderful.

“I brought your breakfast, Mrs. Cisco,” the nurse said as she prepared to set it up.

“Oh. What is it?”

Sam lifted the dome off the plate and frowned. “It looks to me like a cold scrambled egg.” He touched the yellow glob with his index finger. “Yep, a cold scrambled egg. Four cooked prunes. You hate prunes, Cisco. One slice of…yep, cold toast. Some kind of spread on top of the toast that leads me to believe it’s artificial. A cup of coffee. Now, why did I know it was going to be cold, too. A packet of powder for cream and one sugar packet. I wouldn’t eat this. Would you guys eat it?” he asked his sisters.

“Nope.”

“Let’s see if Freddie’s interested.” Sam set the plate on the floor. Freddie sniffed it, looked up at Sam as though to say, “you’re kidding, right?” She walked away.

“We’ll be going out to breakfast,” Hannah said, picking up the plate.

“Cisco, how does blueberry pancakes, eggs over easy, crisp bacon, hot toast, warm syrup, soft butter, and fresh-squeezed orange juice sound? Not to mention pots of
hot
coffee, “Sara asked.

The phone started to ring again. The cranky nurse looked like she was about to pick it up, but Sam’s scowl stopped her.

“You can’t take patients away from the premises unless the guest has a pass. All the office personnel are off for the holiday, so no passes can be issued. These matters have to be taken care of in advance. We have rules!”

“Oh, well! I guess we’ll leave it to you to explain when the office personnel get back. We’re going out!”

“You can’t do that! We have rules. They’re for the patient’s benefit,” the cranky nurse grumbled.

“I’m sure they are, but we’re just going to ignore those rules for now,” Hannah said.

A knock sounded on the door before it opened cautiously. A young girl, a volunteer by the look of her uniform, stuck her head in the door, and said, “Mr. Cisco called and said he’s been calling his mother and there’s no answer. He wants to know if something is wrong. He’s on hold. What should I tell him?”

Hard-Hearted Hannah marched over to the door. Her voice was syrupy-sweet when she said, “Tell Mr. Cisco the Trips have the situation under control.”

Sara held the door open for the nurse, who was carrying the breakfast tray. “We won’t be needing you anymore today, Nurse. We’ll be back at some point. I’m just not sure when that will be exactly. You have a real nice day now,” she added as she shut the door.

Cisco clapped her hands. “Oh, you don’t know how I’ve wanted to do that. Thank you.”

“You know, Cisco, part of this is your own fault. You should have called us. We would have dropped everything and come here. I know, I know, you don’t whine, and you don’t complain. But there are exceptions to everything, and this is one of those times when you should have made an exception,” Sam said.

The phone rang again. The Trips looked at one another. Hannah nodded as she picked up the receiver. “This is Hannah Cisco speaking. How may I help you?” She made a face as she held the phone away from her ear to listen to her father’s tirade. She waited until her father paused to take a deep breath before she spoke. “I think the question should be, what’s gotten into you, Dad, not the other way around. You washed your hands of us, remember? You got yourself a new life. We prefer the life we’ve always had. Mom must be spinning in her grave at what’s going on. No, I’m not going to let you speak to Cisco. Not after what you did to her. Sara, Sam, and I are going to make this right. Our arrest? Cisco took care of it for us since you couldn’t be reached. We can take care of ourselves. I don’t hear you saying you’re rushing here to check things out. We are not screwups!”

Sam snatched the phone out of his sister’s hand. “Listen,
Pop,
your squeeze said you were sleeping and couldn’t be disturbed. She said she’d tell you in the morning. I’m just damn glad it wasn’t a life-or-death matter. Stop pretending you care. I know what you care about, and it isn’t us, or Cisco. You’re just trying to make yourself feel better. You told us a man or a woman is only as good as their word. You also said a promise is something to be honored and never taken lightly. The three of us talked about that, and, you know what? Those were
Mom’s
words. You just repeated them. Mom was always as good as her word, and she never, ever broke a promise. You have a nice day now.”

“Wow!” Sara said.

“Oh dear, now your father is going to be upset,” Cisco murmured.

“That’s a good thing,” Hannah said. “Maybe he’ll finally wake up to what’s going on. We didn’t want you to worry about us, Cisco.”

Cisco made her way to the couch and sat down. “He really hurt you three, didn’t he? You led me to believe everything was all right between you and your father. Why didn’t you tell me how unhappy you were?”

The Trips clustered around her. “At first we thought he was just working too hard and didn’t have time for us. As you know, it all started when he didn’t show up at our high school graduation. That was his way of telling us we were on our own. He was going to start living his own life. A set of teenage triplets didn’t help his image,” Sara said.

“When we’d ask to go to New York, he would always say it was a bad time. I guess it was because of his different girlfriends. We called, he was never there. He never called. As you know, holidays were the only time we saw him. We just gave up. You never said anything either, Cisco. We all just sucked up the hurt. It’s not that we begrudged Dad a life of his own. He was there every step of the way after Mom died, just the way you were, Cisco. He took what we consider a wrong turn on the road. Who knows what he thinks. Come on, this is getting us nowhere. Let’s just go out and have a nice, productive day,” Sam said, reaching for Freddie’s leash.

There wasn’t a happy face in the group as they trooped out to the Rover. Except maybe Freddie, who loved to ride shotgun. She yipped her pleasure, dancing around Sam’s feet until they finally arrived at the car.

Jonathan Cisco stared at the phone for a long time. The headache was still pounding away at the base of his skull. He looked around the new modern kitchen, hating it. He missed the old wooden table with the claw feet and the chairs with the red-checkered cushions. Cisco’s rocking chair that she’d kept in the corner by the pantry was gone, too. In the past, she’d sit in it, rocking contentedly while she waited for a pie to bake or a stew to finish simmering.

She’d never really liked the apartment, though, preferring to live back in her cottage in the mountains.

He tried to clear his throat. The last time he felt this bad was the day of Margie’s funeral. A part of his life had died that day. Another part of his life died yesterday when the Trips tossed what they called the promise list at his feet.

Head pounding, he made his way through the apartment to his mother’s bedroom. Inside, with the door closed, he went straight to the old-fashioned dresser filled with photographs. He picked up a picture of Margie smiling into the camera. He remembered the day it was taken. They’d picnicked at the lake, played Frisbee, eaten too much, canoed, and rolled around on the spiky grass. When the sun set, and the temperature dropped, they’d built a fire and toasted weenies and marshmallows. Margie had looked up at him, and said, “Even when they grow up and leave us, we’ll still worry about them. We’ll be forever parents.”

Margie would have been a forever parent. He’d dropped the ball. His eyes burned unbearably as his fingers traced the outline of his wife’s face. God, how he’d loved her. Even now, just looking at her picture, he could feel a stabbing pain in his chest.

Jon sat down on the edge of the bed, aware suddenly of his mother’s scent. The Trips always made a point of saying she smelled wonderful, just the way a grandmother was supposed to smell. Margie had had a special scent, too. There were times when he had literally felt drunk just being in her presence.

Margie would not approve of what was going on in his life. Margie with the laughing eyes. Margie who only saw good, never bad. Like his mother, she’d been the wind beneath his wings. Everything she did and said during those wonderful, far-too-short years, was an indication of her love for him. And the Trips, of course.

She always packed him a lunch even though he could afford to buy it on the outside in those early days of their marriage. He never knew until later that the reason she discouraged him from buying his lunch was so she could put notes in from the girls and always one from herself, too. Sometimes they would be silly little notes, sometimes serious, always loving. He’d never wanted to give that up. More often than not if there was a client in town, Margie would pack a picnic basket.

She ironed his shirts, too, saying no Chinese laundry was going to take care of her husband. She saw to every side of him, the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. Margie was all things. God, how he’d loved her. How he missed her.

No, Margie would not approve of Alexandra. She would say she was shallow, all facade and no substance. Margie would have stayed in the cottage with Cisco, seeing to her wants and needs until it was time for cataract surgery. She would not tolerate what was happening between him and the Trips. Not for a second. He could hear her now. “You make it right, Jon, and you make it right, now.” If Margie were here, alive and well, none of this would be going on. He’d stepped off the path and gotten lost.

An unforgivable sin. One that hopefully could be rectified.

He didn’t stop to think; he barreled out of the room in search of his car keys and heavy jacket. He swallowed a handful of aspirin before he headed for the elevator. Maybe he could still make it right.

Maybe. Such a little word for such a monstrous problem.

L
arkspur, a small residential town nestled in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, had one claim to fame—a small, private, top-notch hospital staffed with Pennsylvania’s best doctors, surgeons, and nurses. The Trips eyed the pink brick structure with the stately columns by the front entrance before Sam swerved the Range Rover off the main road to follow a winding brick road to the main entrance of Larkspur Community Hospital. “You guys go in. I’ll park and take Freddie for a long walk. Run up the flag if you need me.”

“Why are we here?” Cisco asked nervously, as Hannah helped her down from the car.

“We’re getting a second opinion on your eyes if we can, Cisco. Our thinking is the hospital won’t be busy the day after Thanksgiving, and we might luck out and be able to get you an appointment with a good doctor. Just think of it as another checkup. By the way, when was the last time you had a medical checkup? Why did you wait so long once your sight started to go?”

“I waited because Harry Nathan said I had to wait. I had shadowy vision and could get around, so it wasn’t really a problem. Harry said the cataracts had to be ripe before they could be removed. My last checkup was cursory at best, but to answer your question, it was done when Jonathan brought me to Laurel Hills. Jonathan said Harry Nathan was too old to be practicing medicine and couldn’t see any better than I could. They did tell me my arm was healing nicely. The therapy helped a lot. The soft cast comes off in three weeks. When you’re older like me, your bones take longer to heal.” Her voice sounded so sad, Hannah and Sara cringed.

“We’re more interested in your cataracts than we are in your bones, Cisco. I just wish you had told us how bad your eyesight was,” Sara said gently. “Look, this might not even work. It seems these days you need to make appointments months in advance. I look at it this way: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

“I didn’t want you to worry. When you get old and you say you’re starting to fall apart, you tend to believe it. If you don’t talk about it, it doesn’t seem so bad. Then there’s the fear factor. You are absolutely right, nothing ventured, nothing gained,” Cisco said smartly.

They had reached the lobby, and ushered Cisco to a seat next to a luscious-looking ficus tree. The furniture was tasteful as well as comfortable. Seasonal paintings of the famous mountains decorated the walls. The carpeting and drapes covering the plate glass windows were lightly tinted with restful colors that were easy on the eyes. An enormous fish tank with colorful tropical fish covered one entire wall. All in all, it was a homey, comfortable lobby.

A small reception area was manned by a pretty young girl with a ponytail tied with a bright yellow ribbon. She smiled as Hannah approached the desk.

Sara sat down on a chair next to Cisco and picked up a magazine. She looked up when a tall man with a shock of red hair stood over her. “You’re one of the triplets, right?”

“I beg your pardon,” Sara said stiffly. Her first thought was that the authorities were closing in on them for hijacking Cisco. She almost swooned with relief when she didn’t see a state trooper behind the tall man.

“Joel Wineberg,” the man said, holding out his hand. “My sister Clair belongs to your sorority. We met during your fundraiser last year at Penn State. I’m sorry to say I don’t remember which one you are, though. You and your sister are identical as I recall.”

Sara pointed to Hannah at the reception desk. “I’m Sara. Yes, I remember you. I also remember your robust donation. I hope we thanked you properly for that. You’re a pediatrician, right? It’s nice to see you again. Do you work here?”

“Raising money for elder hospices is at the top of my priority list. I was happy to make the donation, and, yes, the sorority sent me a glowing letter of thanks. To answer your question, I’m on staff. Are you visiting someone? Can I help?”

“You know what, maybe you can help us.” She leaned over to Cisco. “I’ll just be a minute.” Cisco nodded, as Sara walked a short distance away, the pediatrician at her side. She quickly explained why they were there. “Is there an ophthalmologist on call today? We only have till Sunday to make arrangements, then we have to head back to school for finals.”

“This is really your lucky day. Zack Kelly is on duty. All of us single guys gave the married doctors the weekend off so they could spend it with their families. Zack turned down twenty-seven hospitals to come here. When I tell you he’s the best of the best, believe it. Your instincts were right on about this being a slow day. Let me see what I can do.”

“Okay, I appreciate it. Thanks.”

Hannah wiggled her eyebrows when she rejoined Sara and Cisco. “We’re here five minutes, and you’re hitting on some guy. Let’s get real here. This isn’t going to work. You need an appointment. The hospital is shorthanded because of the holiday. I made an appointment for the week after Christmas. The doctor’s name is Zack Kelly. That child over there,” she said, pointing to the girl behind the reception desk, “said Dr. Kelly was a hottie.” She wiggled her eyebrows again.

“What’s a hottie?” Cisco asked.

“A super good-looking guy who has everything going for him,” Hannah replied, laughing. “Who was that guy you were talking to, Sara?”

“Clair Wineberg’s brother Joel. Don’t you remember, we met him at the sorority fundraiser last year? He gave us a real healthy donation. He’s on staff here. Right now, he’s trying to get Dr. Zack Kelly to take a look at Cisco. It’s all in
whom
you know,” she said airily.

Thirty minutes later, a nurse with a crinkly smile and twinkling eyes approached them, pushing a wheelchair. “Mrs. Cisco, Dr. Kelly will see you now. Dr. Wineberg said the rest of you should go to lunch and come back at three o’clock. Dr. Kelly is personally going to run some tests on your grandmother and will make his evaluation. Is that all right with you?”

“Don’t we have to sign her in or…or something?” Sara asked.

“I can handle all that, Sara,” Cisco said. I have my medical cards. I’ve done this before. Run along and do what the nurse said.”

“And we all know who Mrs. Cisco is. We sell her boxed candies in the gift shop. They’re one of our best sellers. Scat now,” she said, waving her arms toward the door.

“Cisco, is…are you okay with this?”

“Of course I’m all right with this. Explain to Freddie, she’ll understand. Here, give her my scarf. She’ll curl up with it till I get back.” The girls hugged her, their eyes wet.

“She told us to go,” Hannah said, sitting down.

“Since when did we ever do anything someone else told us to?” Sara responded, sitting down next to her sister.

“I think this is one of those times when we should do what we’re told,” Hannah said, getting back up. “Look, there’s Sam and Freddie at the door. Tell me we did the right thing here.”

“We did the right thing,” Sara assured her sister, walking to the door. She opened it, Cisco’s scarf dangling from her hand. Freddie threw back her head and howled.

“It’s okay, girl, she’s coming back. We’re coming back. We have our marching orders,” Hannah said, filling her brother in on what was happening. “Are you okay with it, Sam?”

“I’m not important. Is Cisco okay with it?”

“Yeah. Yeah, she is.”

“Then let’s go to lunch.”

Jonathan Cisco heard his name being called as he blasted through the lobby, but he didn’t turn around. When the call became more shrill, he did turn because some of the early-morning tenants were staring at him.

“Jon, where on earth are you going so early in the morning? I thought…we did say we were going to spend the day together, didn’t we?” Alexandra Prentice asked breathlessly.

His step slowed so she could catch up to him. As always, he was struck by her beauty. “Yes. No, I’m going to have to take a rain check, Lexy. I have to go to Pennsylvania. Why didn’t you wake me last night? I didn’t get your note till this morning.”

“Darling, I did try to wake you. I did everything but douse you with ice water. Actually, I did think about upending the ice bucket but thought better of it. If you’re going to Pennsylvania, I’m going with you. I think we should talk about it first, though. Rushing off like this without a plan could backfire. You don’t want that, do you?”

She was right, of course. “All right, let’s go around the corner and get a cup of coffee.”

Alexandra linked her arm with his as they walked out of the building and around the corner. She hated steamy little coffee shops because she invariably ended up smelling like whatever they were cooking. Jon loved the cozy atmosphere and the early-morning bustle. She particularly hated the thick mugs coffee was served in and the plates with the cracks going down the middle. Cups and saucers of fine china were required to drink her gourmet coffee. She detested paper napkins, preferring fine linen. When they were married, these early-morning excursions to local coffee shops would come to a screeching halt.

She sensed that something had happened between the time she’d left Jon’s apartment last night and her meeting him minutes ago. Something serious, something Jon wasn’t going to share with her. It was probably some damn, noble, family thing. Whatever it was, he was going to have to get over it. Fast.

“Now tell me what happened. Two heads are better than one, darling. Let’s see if we can make some sense out of whatever it is that’s bothering you. Please don’t tell me it’s those tacky, childish lists the children threw at you.”

He bristled at her words. “That’s part of it,” Jonathan said. His voice sounded defensive to his ears. “Sam plowed down the gates at Laurel Hills with his Range Rover. The guards called the troopers, and they were taken to the station. My mother managed to post their bail. I’m sure I can get the administrator to drop the charges.

“What’s really worrying me is they took their grandmother out of the facility. I don’t know where they took her or if they plan on taking her back. For all I know they could be on a plane bound for Europe. I’m sure she’s safe with them. They would never do anything to hurt their grandmother.”

I should be so lucky,
Alexandra thought. “Darling, why do you always jump to the worst possible conclusion? The children probably took your mother for an outing. Yes, they are thoughtless; yes, they are acting childishly, even infantile. They’re spoiled rotten, Jonathan, and you know it. It’s their way or no way. How did you let that happen? They didn’t show you one iota of respect yesterday. Forget about how brutal they were to me. You’re their father, they owe you respect.”

“The Trips aren’t like that at all, Alexandra. Cisco and I brought them up to be independent. They think for themselves. Their first loyalty is to their grandmother, and I can’t fault them for that. They feel like I let them down, and I did. I regret that,” Jonathan said miserably.

“Good heavens, Jonathan, they’re acting like snotty little vigilantes. They thumb their noses at you, and you still defend them. I just don’t understand that kind of thinking. You did everything you could. You made sure your mother was taken care of. How can that be wrong? Just because they think like the children they are doesn’t make what you did wrong. You would never forgive yourself if something happened to your mother, and I understand that. Now, what is it you want to do? Whatever it is, I’m behind you a hundred percent. Just know this, darling, you can find out everything you need to know and get the same results on the telephone as you would by traveling six hours.” Alexandra reached across the table to take his hand and squeeze it.

“I guess I’m overreacting. You’re right about the trip versus the calls.”

“I know I’m right,” Alexandra purred. “If there’s one thing we should both know for certain, it’s that your mother is safe with your children. I’m just as certain as you are that they won’t let anything happen to her. They’re probably all having the time of their lives while you sit here stewing and fretting over their antics.”

It all sounded good and plausible, and yet something nagged at him. How easily he could be swayed. He forced a smile he was far from feeling.

“Now, that’s the Jonathan I know and love,” Alexandra trilled.

It was two o’clock when the Trips returned to the Larkspur Community Hospital. They agreed to take turns staying in the car with Freddie. Hannah took the first shift.

“You know what I notice about this place?” Sam said.

“No, what?”

“The smell. Remember when Ben Foster broke his leg hang gliding, and we visited him almost every day at the hospital?” Sara nodded. “Well, this place doesn’t smell like that. You know, disinfectant, alcohol, brewing coffee, and all those other awful smells. This place smells like…vanilla and oranges. Kind of like Cisco’s kitchen when we were little and she was whipping up all those different-flavored caramels for the holidays.”

“You’re right, it does. What do you think they’re going to say, Sam?”

“I don’t know. I wish I did. Do you believe even for one minute that Dad stuck Cisco in that place for all the right reasons?” Sara shook her head. “He’s going to be pissed to the teeth when Cisco doesn’t go back.”

Sara looked at him sharply. “We
have
to take her back to Laurel Hills, Sam. Cisco has to stay there till we break for the holidays. It’s just for a few weeks. We also have to think about Freddie. We can’t take her to the sorority house, and you can’t take her to your frat house either. Cisco will die without Freddie, and we all know Freddie has never been separated from her. I don’t see what other choice we have.”