The Perfect Family (6 page)

“Feeling nostalgic?” his dad asked.

“Very. They’ll both be gone soon.”

“Some people like it when their kids go to college.”

Mike scowled. “I can’t imagine
any
benefit from having the boys out of this house.”

“I couldn’t either. Every time one of you left, I felt like I lost a limb.” BJ shrugged. “It’s not all bad, though. There are perks to an empty nest, you know.”

“You and Mom have a full life.”

“Well, we miss your brothers and sisters. But we love having you nearby. You’re busy, too, with church, with your friends.”

“Yeah.” He told him about the Contemporary Issues group.

“Hmm.”

“What?”

“That pastor of yours is conservative.” Mike had grown up in Sherwood, and all his family had attended St. Mary’s. But Father Pete had come to the parish after his parents moved to the lake.

“I agree with his views, Dad.”

“Sometimes that scares me.”

“Why?”

A knock on the door. Brian peeked his head in. “We’re gonna leave in fifteen, Dad. Picture time.” He grinned. “Come on, Grandpa. I want one of you and me.”

BJ stood and clapped his namesake on the back. “My pleasure, young man.”

Mike got the camera out of the drawer and headed for the living room. He caught a glimpse of Maggie in the kitchen, shot her a smile, and took his place in line with the other parents.

First the couples. Wide angle…snap.

Then the girls. “Aw, come on, show some leg,” Brian teased.

Finally the boys. They were too far apart, and Mike made them move close. Tony Simonetti quipped, “Keep your hands to yourself, guys. No gay stuff.”

Mike didn’t like the remark, and Jamie was frowning when the picture was taken.

Finally the kids donned coats and herded out the door.

In the living room, Mike asked, “Now that they’re gone, who would like a drink?”

Everyone but the Cranes. Dr. Crane had been checking the time for the last ten minutes. “Sorry you can’t stay,” Maggie said to them as she and Mike escorted the couple to the door.

Erin pulled her coat tight around her. “Some other time.”

Luke’s father gave a stiff good-bye.

Mike closed the door. “Chilly.”

“Luke seems like a nice boy.”

Back in the family room, after everyone had been served drinks, they toasted. “To our children. Ah, to be young again.”

*

At ten o’clock in the downtown Convention Center, Brian came up to Jamie with his coat in his hand. The band had taken a break, and they could finally hear each other talk. “We’re going outside on the balcony. Wanna come?”

“You’ll freeze your asses off.”

“That’s part of the fun. Makes the girls cuddle.”

“No thanks.” He angled his head across the room. “Jules is in deep discussion with Eric Cummings, and I need to keep an eye on her. The guy brought another date and she’s still talking to him.”

“That’s right. He asked her out a while ago, then dumped her. Never could figure that whole thing out.”

“He’s a loser.”

“He’s hot for Heather, too. There she is…gotta go.” Brian headed off.

At least his brother wasn’t drinking. Nobody was allowed outside during the proms, except on the wraparound balcony, which was chaperoned. Kids who were busted with booze suffered major repercussions. Brian wouldn’t risk his baseball career for that, at least not here. Maybe at the lake. He wondered if the other guys would drink up there. Would Luke Crane?

Julianne, dressed in a pretty sage-colored dress, rose from the table and came toward Jamie. Her cheeks were flaming and her eyes were wet. He pulled her behind a pillar and hugged her.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have talked to him.”

“Want me to go beat him up?”

“Oh, yeah, Mr. Pacifist.” She swiped at her cheeks. “I must look awful.”

“You need to fix your makeup.” He smoothed a hand down her hair. It was soft and curled around her face. The other girls had theirs sprayed and set like concrete. He liked Julianne’s natural.

Kiki appeared at Julianne’s side. “Jules? What happened?”

“Come to the ladies’ room with me. I’ll tell you then.”

Jamie watched them go. His throat got all tight, like he had a sock stuffed in it. He leaned against the pillar and jammed his hands in his pockets, wishing he was going to the lake with all of them, wishing he could be…

“Having fun?”

Luke’s deep voice startled Jamie, and he pivoted. Dressed in a dark tux, Luke wore red accents to match Kiki’s dress. They were definitely a couple tonight.

“It’s okay. You?”

“I’m not crazy about proms.”

“Me, either. You look great, though.” Hell, why had he said that? Guys didn’t say stuff like that to other guys.

“You, too, Jamie.” Luke’s gaze was direct, intense, and it made Jamie fidget. But he couldn’t break the eye contact.

Finally Luke glanced in the direction the girls had gone. “Julianne all right?”

“Cummings keeps stringing her along.”

“He’s a complete prick. You should have heard him in math class the other day. Mr. Granberry shot him down, but Jesus, he mocks everybody, from queers to girls to black people.”

Jamie’s hands fisted. He said, “I gotta get some air,” pushed off the pillar, and made his way outside to a deserted section of the balcony with a view of the city. The night air felt cold on his heated skin. Damn it, he had no idea Luke was a bigot. He actually thought…

“What’d I say?”

Surprised that Luke had followed him out, Jamie glanced over at the guy. He should lie to Luke like he did to everybody else. But fuck it, he was so tired of pretending. So tired of covering up who he was.

And Ms. Carson had said,
I’m not telling you what to do, Jame, but keeping secrets can make you sick. I know, I’ve seen it up close.

Luke asked again, “Jamie, what did I do wrong?”

Okay, he’d do this, but he couldn’t look at Luke, so he stared at the Rochester skyline. Gripping the balcony so hard it hurt, he blurted out, “You could start with your use of the term ‘queer.’”

A long, long silence. Great, now he’d done it.

Then he felt Luke’s hand on his shoulder. Strong, muscular fingers practically seared through Jamie’s tux to his skin. “Gay people get to use terms like ‘faggot’ and ‘queer’ and nobody can say anything about it.”

Jamie’s whole body sagged and he felt his eyes sting. Had the time finally come? Circling around, he lifted his chin. On the heels of his relief, something big and rich and potent shot through him. He’d never felt the bolt of lightning-like attraction before. Staring at the cool guy before him, who’d just made his own huge revelation, Jamie’s stomach played leapfrog with his emotions. “How’d you know?”

Luke’s face was shining with the same feelings churning inside Jamie. And right out there in the open, his hand moved to Jamie’s biceps and rubbed up and down. “Same way you knew about me.”

Jamie swallowed hard.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Now Luke’s voice was throaty, turned on, too, Jamie hoped.

His heart galloping, Jamie took the biggest step of his life so far. “Yeah, you’re right.”

The Monday after the Valentine’s Ball, Maggie was sitting on the bed with a book in her hand and watching the president on television—she’d volunteered for his campaign in the last election—when the house phone rang. Since everyone else was out, she was tempted to let it go, but ultimately decided to pick up the extension on one of the shelves of the headboard. “Hello.”

A hesitation on the other end. At first, she thought it was one of those irksome computer-generated calls, but then a real voice came across the lines. “Maggie Davidson?”

“Yes, this is she.”

“Did you used to be Maggie Lorenzo?”

An ominous feeling went through Maggie, making her tense. “Yes. Who is this?”

“Did you grow up in Cornwall, New York?”

“I’ll answer that after you tell me who you are.” The woman’s voice was soft and hesitant, but her questions disconcerted Maggie.

“My name is Teresa DeAngelo.”

“You called when I was in Cancun.”

“On Christmas Day.”

“Do I know you, Teresa?”

It sounded like the woman took a deep breath. “No, but I know you. Or at least I know of you.”

“How?”

“I’m your sister Caroline’s daughter.”

Maggie dropped the phone. It fell onto the dark green and blue quilt. How many years had she waited for this contact? She took a deep breath to control the swell of emotion inside her.

Finally she picked up the phone. “I’m sorry, this is a shock.” Then a thought hit her, making her mouth go dry. “Oh, no, is Caroline…isn’t she well?”

“Not like you mean. Mom’s alive and physically fine. I know you haven’t seen her in years.”

“Thirty-seven. I haven’t seen her in thirty-seven years.” Since the day Caroline was forced out of the Lorenzo household and left Maggie behind with the fallout.

“I know why she didn’t contact you,” Teresa went on, “but why didn’t you ever find us?” Now Caroline’s daughter sounded bitter. “Mom said you two were close.”

Maggie cleared her throat. “I was eight when she left, so of course I was powerless then. Even in high school and college, there wasn’t any Internet, so I had no way to conduct a search for her.”

“What about when you got older?”

“I got married in the eighties and my husband hired a private detective. But by that time there was no trace of Caroline. Teresa, we didn’t even know the name of who she married. She never told us.”

“I guess I understand.”

“Please, tell me why you’re calling. How is Caroline?”

“Not good, Maggie. Not good at all.”

*

Mike arrived home after a grueling budget meeting at work. His wife wasn’t in the kitchen so he climbed the stairs and found her sitting on their bed, phone in hand, a bereft expression on her face. “Mag, what’s wrong?”

She lifted the phone. “You won’t believe this.”

“Is it the boys?”

“No, they’re fine.” Shaking her head, she seemed mystified. “Remember a Teresa DeAngelo called over the holidays?”

Relieved, he sank down on the bed. “Yeah, I forgot all about it.” He glanced at the phone. “Did she call again?”

“Yes. Oh, Mike, she’s my niece. She’s Caroline’s daughter.”

Knowing how badly his wife had been hurt by the events in her childhood and how it had affected her adult life, he grasped her hands. “Your sister Caroline?”

Maggie nodded.

“Wow, this is a surprise.” Shock was more like it. “What happened to her?”

“She married the divorced man she told my parents about and had one child. By Teresa’s account, they were a happy family and had a good life.” Maggie shook her head and smiled. “She’s a teacher like me.”

“Oh, sweetheart.”

“I’m thrilled she was happy all those years. I missed her so much and worried about her.”

“I know.” He waited. “Why did her daughter call now?”

“Because Caroline’s husband, the love of her life according to Teresa, died a few days before Christmas. He was quite a bit older than she, and Caroline’s been depressed. Her daughter’s worried and decided to call her family.”

“So they knew what happened to you?”

“Yes, apparently Caroline knew I was married, had kids. Even where I lived.”

“That’s more than we could find out about her.”

“Because we didn’t know her last name or the identity of her husband. Actually, I still don’t. Teresa wasn’t very forthcoming with details.”

“Did she say why Caroline never contacted you? You were so close.”

Mike’s comment was an understatement. Caroline had been more of a mother to Maggie than Gertrude Lorenzo was. And when her older sister left, Maggie’s world had been turned upside down.

“No. She said Caroline should talk to me about all that.”

“What did Teresa want, honey?”

“Help with her mother. Who, by the way, doesn’t know her daughter called me.”

“In any case, it’s good news. What’s next?”

“Teresa’s going to tell Caroline we talked. I told her I wanted, very much, to see my sister. I’d fly out there, meet her anywhere. Or she could come here.”

Smiling at his wife’s excitement, Mike smoothed a hand down her hair. “I’m so happy you’ve found her.”

And, he thought with a sudden burst of inspiration, maybe God was at work here. One of the reasons Maggie had such trouble with the Catholic Church was because the Lorenzos’ pastor had been the one to advise her parents to disown Caroline if she went through with the marriage to a divorced man.

Suddenly Maggie’s eyes widened. “Oh, Lord, Mike, my mother will have a fit.”