The Governor's Sons (29 page)

“Yeah, Mom,” Gavin said.
 
“Okay.”

Charlene held Gavin’s hand.
 
“Every child is a blessing, honey.”

Gavin nodded, but didn’t respond immediately.
 
“Why don’t Aunt Mikki and Uncle Heath have any kids?”

“Well…” Charlene had to think about this for a few seconds to get the facts straight. “When Mikki was in that internment camp—she was married to a Japanese man, but he died.”

“Was he shot for being a Jap—a Japanese spy?”

“No Gavin.
 
It was nothing as dramatic as that.
 
He was a Japanese
American
, and as loyal as most of those people locked up in those dreadful camps for no reason.
 
He was an architect helping to build a school on the camp grounds when he fell off a ladder and injured his head.
 
That’s what killed him.

“Your Aunt Mikki was pregnant at the time, and when she delivered, the baby was stillborn.
 
Then Mikki almost died because of an infection.
 
Of course, she survived—but she couldn’t have any more children.”
 
Charlene hesitated.
 
“That’s devastating for a woman.
 
And it’s especially sad for Mikki-- since she’s an obstetrician.
 
I can’t imagine delivering babies everyday and knowing…”
 
Charlene sighed.
 
“Well, I suppose Mikki’s a lot tougher than I am.”

She looked at Gavin.
 
He sat quietly with his head down.
 
“I’m gonna see what your sisters are up to.
 
I think they’re in the drawing room.”
 
She picked up his chin.
 
“Why don’t you join us, too?”

“I will in a little while,” Gavin said.
 
“I just wanna finish up the chapter I’m reading.
 
I’ve only got a few more pages.”

Charlene stood from the bed, thinking that might take him an hour.
 
“Alright, honey.” She smiled.
 
“We’ll see you when you’re finished.”

****

Gavin had only pretended to read
Mr. Lincoln and the Negroes,
and as soon as Charlene was gone, he pulled out his copy of
The Thunderbolt.
 
He’d hidden it in his nightstand when she’d knocked. Gavin had almost completed an article about the detriment of race mixing and now picked up where he left off.

As he struggled through the last paragraph, he thought about Aunt Mikki and Uncle Heath.
 
Maybe that story about an infection causing her not to have kids was a lie.
 
They were both doctors.
 
They knew that if they had children, their offspring would be considered mongrels.
 
They knew the truth.
 
In order to stay strong, the races needed to remain pure.
 
They’d married in spite of this, but had no children to prevent the weakening of either race.

A chill skidded up Gavin’s spine.
 
If integration succeeded, and there was love between black and white, that
would
be the beginning of the end for white America!

****

Leigh Ann threw her copy of
McCall’s Magazine
on the coffee table.
 
After glancing at her gold Bulova wristwatch, she said to JoBeth, “It shouldn’t be too much longer until they get here.”

They sat in the Governor’s private drawing room.
 
The closest airport to Clarkstown was an hour away, over the state line in Monaco, Georgia.
 
Ash had sent a car to pick up Heath and Mikki upon their arrival from San Francisco.

Leigh Ann strode to one of the tall windows.
 
Her long hair, stiffly sprayed in an upward flip at her shoulders, remained perfectly still as she crossed the large Oriental carpet.

From the second floor of the Governor’s Mansion, Leigh Ann could see its expansive front lawn.
 
The white brick structure, built in 1856, resembled a French villa.
 
Aunt Mikki was still in awe of its grandeur.
 
The magnificent front portico, lined with eight columns rising two stories, and the stone balustrade and terrace, created an entrance way worthy of royalty.

The mansion, set on the east lawn of the State Capitol grounds, was situated on a bluff high above the Coleridge River.
 
The State House sat at the opposite end of the State Capitol campus, directly across from the mansion, a good 15 minute walk away.

With one knee on the window seat and her hands on the sill, Leigh Ann could see the oak tree lined drive and walkway, along with the beautifully landscaped lawn and flower gardens that lay between the two buildings.

JoBeth, in a pink silk dress, sat on the Chippendale sofa reading a medical romance,
Nurse
Judy in Love
.
 
Without looking up, she said, “You waiting there’s not gonna make them get here any faster.”

Leigh Ann turned away from the window, then smoothed her dress and sat on the pale green velvet window seat.
 
Her sleeveless gray satin scrunched above her knees.
 
Crossing her legs she said, “What do you think Aunt Mikki will be wearing today?”

JoBeth flipped a page in her book.
 
“She always wears black when she travels.”

“And pearls.”
 
Leigh Ann fingered her own long strand.

JoBeth stopped reading.
 
Looking thoughtful she said, “Remember that time when we were little and Aunt Mikki was reading us fairy tales?”

“And she said, ‘I’ll tell you about a real fairy tale.’” Leigh Ann smiled.
 
“Of course I remember!”

“I wish she’d tell us the whole story again, and how when she first saw Uncle Heath at the camp—”

“He was like a knight in shining armor that came to rescue her from a barbed wire dungeon.”

Both girls sighed dreamily.

“It’s such a romantic story,” JoBeth said, “at least after Uncle Heath showed up.
 
“But Mom says never to bring it up unless Aunt Mikki does.”

“I know.
 
I can’t imagine how painful the whole thing was for her.”

“Yeah, being locked up in that nasty place, losing all her family.
 
At least, after the war, when Aunt Mikki was out of there, she and Uncle Heath were finally able to get married--and live happily ever after.”
 
JoBeth placed her book on the table. “I just love happy endings.”

The sisters sat quietly for a moment until JoBeth spoke. “Do you think--if Daddy had fallen in love with a Japanese girl, whose parents had forbidden her to see him, that he never would’ve forgotten her?
 
And that if he’d been a doctor during World War II, like Uncle Heath, that he would’ve given up his practice—and moved to Arizona to work
 
as a physician in an internment camp—just so he could be with her?”

Leigh Ann reflected on this briefly, then laughed.
 
“Daddy, are you kidding?
 
Uncle Heath was the only white doctor working at that hospital.
  
And at first, all the Japanese doctors thought he was a spy.
 
And remember what Uncle Heath told us?
 
If he and Aunt Mikki were ever caught alone—Uncle Heath could’ve been accused of ‘fraternizing with the enemy’ and then charged with treason and conspiracy.
 
I can’t see Daddy risking that.
 
Besides, Daddy never would’ve been interested in some girl that wasn’t white.
 
What kind of segregationist would he be then?
 
I mean, look at Mom.
 
She’s about as Aryan as they come!”

JoBeth smiled.
 
“You’re right.
 
Besides, Daddy’s not that romantic.”

“That’s not true,” Charlene said as she walked into the room.
 
“I heard that.
 
Your father’s very romantic.
 
You girls just never see that side of him.”
 
She sat on the pastel toned sofa next to JoBeth.
 
“Why, when he proposed to me—”

“Mom!”
 
Leigh Ann rolled her eyes as she moved from the window seat to sit with them on the sofa. “We’ve heard this a million times!”

Charlene continued, ignoring Leigh Ann.
 
“He picked me up in a long black limousine.
 
The chauffeur drove us all around town, and then we ended up at the fanciest, most expensive dinner club in Clarkstown back then.
 
It was called the Peacock Room.”

“And then,” Leigh Ann said dramatically, “after you finished shrimp and filet mignon, the lights dimmed in the restaurant. The stage was lit, and the show began.
 
The emcee announced that the opening number was a song especially written for that evening’s audience.”

“And,” JoBeth put an arm around Leigh Ann’s shoulder, “it was called, ‘Marry Me, Marry Me
,
Please, Charlene.’
 
Rory Slade, the best big band singer in town sang, and there were lots of beautiful showgirls dressed in feathers and sequins.
  
And when the number ended, all the lights went out.”

“The room was completely dark.” Leigh Ann took over again. “But then, a spotlight came up on your table.
 
Daddy walked around to you and fell on one knee.
 
A performer, hidden in the darkness, held a microphone for him so the whole restaurant could hear him propose.
 
And when you said yes, the lights came up.
 
Balloons and confetti fell from the ceiling, and then cake and champagne were served to all!”
 
The two girls collapsed against each other laughing.

Laugh all you want,” Charlene sounded hurt, “but it
was
romantic.
 
Why, I think that was the most romantic night of my life.”

“So,” Leigh Ann pulled away from JoBeth and crossed her arms.
 
“What’s Daddy done lately that’s so romantic?
 
Besides
forget your last anniversary?”

****

Dinner was served at 7:00 in the private dining room.
 
Dim light glistened through a Waterford crystal chandelier and 19
^th
Century oil landscapes adorned the oak paneled walls.
 
The long black walnut table, set with sterling silver, crystal stemware, and Limoges china, was draped with a green damask cloth covered by an overlay of ivory lace.

Charlene sat at the foot of the table.
 
She glanced toward Ash.
 
Seated at the head of the table, he appeared more distracted than usual.
 
He had too many things on his mind, too many problems to solve, too many issues to fix, too many crises to deal with.
 
Although Charlene tried to be as supportive as possible, sometimes she resented Ash being Governor at all.

At times Charlene just wished for a normal family.
 
She wanted Ash to be there for Gavin—and she wanted magic and romance back in her marriage.
 
Heath and Mikki had never lost theirs.

The girls were crazy about them.
 
All three kids sat on one side of the table across from their aunt and uncle.
 
JoBeth and Leigh Ann referred to Uncle Heath as cute.
 
At 55, he was tall and good looking with a full head of silver hair and gentle brown eyes.
 
And they adored glamorous Aunt Mikki, who always provided a wealth of fashion and makeup tips.
 
She’d accentuated her almond eyes with black liner and painted her full lips a deep red.
 
A trim size two, Mikki
 
never failed to look like she’d just stepped out of
Harper’s Bazaar.

Today she wore a red silk shawl over a simple short sleeved black Dior dress, accessorized with a long double strand of pearls.
 
Her dark hair was wound up in a large spiral bun with bangs resting on her forehead.
 
When down, it fell like a sheet of black silk to her waist.
 
Although in her fifties, Mikki didn’t look a day over 35, and for such a tiny thing, she had an appetite nearly as large as Heath’s.

Tossed salad and tomato bisque were followed by a main course of Cornish hen, wild rice and asparagus.

“I know when I come South I’ll never go hungry,” Mikki said, as she finished off the last of an entire Cornish hen.
 
“Charlene, is Heath’s favorite dessert on the menu tonight?”

“Of course,” Charlene said politely, “Izolla’s famous pineapple coconut cake.”
 
Mikki would devour a large hunk and it wouldn’t show.
 
Charlene couldn’t help but feel envious.
 
Since her 40
^th
birthday, she’d subsisted mainly on salad, tuna and cottage cheese to maintain her figure.

“Oh, by the way,” Mikki smiled, while nudging Heath.
 
“We have news to share. Darling,” she looked at her husband, “do you want to tell your brother about what happened today, or should I?”
 
Heath put his arm around her.
 
They were affectionate, Charlene thought, just like newlyweds.