Totlandia: Spring (18 page)

“Mummy, what’s a hippie?” Lily yanked Bettina’s sleeve for attention.

“What? Oh…Do you remember those scary old people in rags who we see when we venture into the park beyond the de Young Museum?”

The little girl nodded slowly as the vision came to her. “You mean, the ones who are always begging for loose change?”

“Yes, dear.” Bettina held up a finger to shush her daughter.

Lily shook her head adamantly. “But Daddy told me those people were bums.”

“Same thing,” Art muttered under his breath.

“Is that what you tell the keepers of our future, that ‘hippies’ are bums? That the brave souls who brought about Civil Rights and women’s liberation and the end to a ridiculous war are nothing but loony panhandlers?” Hera asked. “What elitists!”

“In all fairness, you’ve just brought the term ‘loony panhandlers’ into the conversation,” Art pointed out. “However, if the Birkenstock fits, feel free to steal it.”

Hera glared at him. “Your aura is pitch black!”

He nodded to the rest of the group. “And she’s a racist to boot! If I happened to be African-American, I might actually be offended. I rest my case.”

“I was referring to the color of your soul! Talk about aura blockage! No wonder Dante is autistic!”

Eleanor eyes flashed angrily. “What did you say about my grandson?”

“You say you love him, and you’re around him almost every day! And yet, you’re so blind to his condition! How can that be?”

Seeking the answer to this conundrum, Hera turned to Lorna.

Eleanor’s eyes followed hers to Lorna’s as well.

Lorna looked from one to the other. After what seemed like an eternity, she stood up and lifted Dante out of his high chair. Holding him to her chest, she turned to Eleanor. “It’s true. I suspected something was wrong about eight months ago. The tests are ongoing. Thus far, the results haven’t been good. Dante has been going to a specialist. The best in the state when it comes to diagnosing autism in babies. You know him. Dr. Remfeld.”

“Remfeld?” Eleanor’s voice trembled. “I’ve donated generously to his department. The least he could have done was—”

“Eleanor, please don’t hold anything against Dr. Remfeld,” Lorna pleaded. “He’s been very good to Dante. And in his defense, he’s been encouraging me to break the news to the family from the very beginning.”

“‘Family.’ I guess in your mind that doesn’t mean us Connaughts, just
her
!” Eleanor stood up. “After all we’ve done for you, Lorna, you take it upon yourself to hide this from us? From me?”

“Eleanor, you don’t understand.”

“Don’t…patronize me. At least grant me that.” Eleanor stood up. “Please feel free to show yourselves out.”

She walked out of the room. Her heavy footsteps could be heard climbing the grand staircase.

Lily ran after her.

Slowly, Lorna walked out of the house with Dante.

Matthew ran out after them.

Hera looked at Bettina. “Happy Mother’s Day. I think you got exactly what you wanted.”

2:30 p.m.

“Here’s to the best mother in the world!” Christian took the last of the champagne and poured it into Ally’s empty glass.

“Really I shouldn’t! I’ve already had too much.” She giggled, then stuck a pinky finger into the sticky liquid and swirled it around. Watching her, Zoe did the same, only in Barry’s champagne glass.

Barry shrugged, then lifted her fingers to his mouth and pretended to eat them. The little girl squealed with delight.

Barry turned to Ally. “It’s your day! You can do anything you damn well please. Besides, you’re not driving. You’re in the privacy of your own home.”

“Really, it’s your home. I live next door.” Ally’s giggle sounded silly and far away. She caught herself in the mirror over the breakfront and smiled as wide as she could. “What would you call this, ‘drunk smiling?’”

Christian snickered. “As long as it isn’t drunk dialing.” He moved toward the window and opened a blind. A beam of sunshine splashed over the teardrop crystals of the dining room chandelier, making a rainbow on the ceiling.

Zoe cooed as she reached up over her head.

Ally, too, was entranced.

Ally wagged a finger at him. “Oh, no. I’ve never done that in my life. Don’t see the point. When I humiliate myself, I’m totally sober. It’s smarter to remember every gory detail.” She sat up straight and proud. “Gives you a reason to lick your wounds and regroup. It’s made me the woman I am today.”

Christian moved away from the window. “Speaking of humiliation, Brady is out front, again, ringing your doorbell. This time with two dozen roses.”

“Ignore him, Christian,” Barry warned.

Christian stamped his foot in frustration. “But he’s so pathetic, the way he comes loping around, begging to see our girl.” He turned to Barry, all pouty eyes. “Have a heart already.”

“They’re two of a kind,” Ally growled. “Brady doesn’t have a heart, either.” She looked down at her chest. “And neither do I.” To make sure she was right, she peeked under her blouse. “I can’t hear it. So I guess it’s broken.”

Brady and Christian’s doorbell was different than Ally’s. It rivaled Big Ben’s chimes in tone, if not clarity.

“Omigod, too loud! It’s giving me a headache!” Ally put her hands over her ears. “Make him stop, please!”

Barry rapped on the window and yelled, “Go away! She doesn’t want to see you!”

But the doorbell kept chiming. Only Zoe found it funny.

“I can’t stand it any longer,” Christian shouted. He opened the door.

Brady seemed surprised.

Even more so when Christian took the roses out of his hand, and shut the door again, locking it firmly.

He looked down at the bouquet. “I was wrong. Make that
three
dozen roses.”

He tossed them at Ally, who caught it with one hand. “Ow! Bloody thorns!” She tossed them onto the table and sucked her wound.

The doorbell’s chimes now sounded like a Westminster royal wedding had just ended.

“My turn,” Ally declared. She rose and stumbled to the front door. Before Barry could stop her, she opened it.

The next moment, she was gone.

Silence.

Barry and Christian looked at each other and shrugged. “Well, at least we can hear ourselves think again.”

They clinked glasses, then filled them again.

Now that Ally was actually face-to-face with him, Brady didn’t know what to say. Finally, he stuttered, “Why won’t you take my calls?”

Ally wrapped her arms around her waist. Glaring at him, she muttered, “Why can’t you take a hint?”

He couldn’t believe his ears. “After what I did for you, the least you owe me is an explanation.”

“Owe you?” She stood up straight. “Tell you what—I’ll infiltrate your boardroom, diss you to its members, and sell you down the river. Then we’ll call it even!”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You don’t think I know what you did at Bracknell, how you stood by Ellis, and against me?”

She came at him, both fists flailing.

He fought the instinct to raise his hands to cover his chest from her blows. When finally she stopped, exhausted, he held her close and whispered in her ear, “Ally, that’s not true. In fact, I quit the board, too. The very next day.”

She raised her head and sought out his eyes. “You did?...But Jade said…”

He frowned. “What did she say?”

“That you were in cahoots with Ellis. That you encouraged him to kick me off.” She gulped hard, but she choked nonetheless when she added, “I thought you’d quit believing in me.”

He shook his head. “Never.” He put her down gently on the porch bench. “And I’ll never stop believing in us, either. But you have to believe in us, too.”

Before she could answer him, before she could ask him to forgive her and tell him she loved him, he was gone.

By the time she got back into the house, that prism rainbow had disappeared, too.

3:14 p.m.

“Please don’t slam the door in my face.”
Of course if Eleanor does, I can’t blame her,
Lorna thought.

Her mother-in-law shrugged. “The drama queens live in the Castro. This is Pacific Heights, dear. We try our best to be civil.”

She stood aside so that Lorna could enter.

For the past two hours, Lorna had been composing her thoughts. But now that she was standing in front of Eleanor, the lump in her throat kept the words from coming out.

Until Eleanor asked, “Do you hate me that much?”

“No! Oh no, please!”

Then the words and emotions came tumbling out and over each other. She described how, since their very first meeting, she’d felt intimidated by Eleanor. How she felt she’d never measure up or be accepted, no matter how much she loved Matthew.

No matter how much he loved her back.

She was quite aware that Eleanor’s acceptance came with a heavy price, her sister-in-law’s resentment.

And she admitted her biggest fear was that Eleanor would blame her for Dante’s condition.

Or worse yet, blame Dante for being a blemish on the Connaught line.

When she was done, Eleanor didn’t speak at first.

Finally, she reached for Lorna’s hand and squeezed it. “I’ll be the first to admit that we Connaughts are an intimidating clan.” She held out her arms for Dante.

Lorna gave him up.

Then she gave Eleanor a hug.

Suddenly the lump was back in Lorna’s throat. “Now that Bettina knows…”

“Now that Bettina knows, she’ll do what she can to make her nephew always feel loved and accepted,” Eleanor declared. “I’ll see to that.”

3:33 p.m.

“Pack up. You’re out of here.”

“What?” Jade didn’t look away from the television. She was too enthralled with the Borgia brothers, who were snarling at each other while a naked wench lay on a bed between them.

At C.R.’s suggestion, she was doing her best to delve into the classics, but she found Shakespeare a bore. Masterpiece Theatre came in a close second. At least HBO and Showtime’s take on history was leavened with some spicy sex scenes. She loved well-defined men in tights. She loved them even more out of them.

When Jade didn’t respond, Brady dragged her off the couch, onto the floor. Watching from his playpen, Oliver put all his fingers in his mouth and started to whine.

Jade scrambled out of reach. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m kicking you out. I said grab your stuff, and I meant it. I’ve called a taxi. It’ll take you to the airport. You’re out of here, now.”

“But…why—?”

“You know why. Because you lied to Ally! You told her I was in cahoots with that creep Ellis!”

“Yes, okay, I admit it. I told her all that, and more. And I’m not a bit sorry. Quite frankly, you should be thanking me. She’ll never love you like I do. You’re mooning after someone who’ll never appreciate you.” Jade stood up, her head held high. “Do you know what? She never even questioned it! Ask yourself, Brady. Why did she find it so easy to believe such awful things about you? Don’t you get it? She knows that, deep down inside, you are totally despicable.”

He raised his hand to slap her.

She didn’t flinch. She didn’t move a muscle. In fact, she hoped he would hit her. Because then he’d hate himself for doing so. And he’d take her in his arms and say he was sorry.

Once she was in his arms, she knew what to do so that he’d never let go of her, ever again.

Instead, he lowered his arm. “Don’t you get it, Jade? I’ll never love
you
like you love me. I’ll never appreciate
you
. And right now, I only despise you.”

He picked up Oliver and walked up the stairs.

She heard the lock on his bedroom door turn and click.

Right now, he said. But ‘right now’ wasn’t forever.

No, she wasn’t going to move out. Her home was here. She’d done exactly what Brady had asked of her, so he’d have to put up with her.

She’d made herself a part of the club. The last thing she was going to do was give that up.

She grabbed her purse and her keys and walked to the door.

It was time to buy a little insurance.

4:20 p.m.

“I have a confession to make,” Jade began. Her voice was shaking.

Bettina yawned. “Make it snappy. It’s Mother’s Day, remember? My family needs me.”

In truth, she had Art trussed up against the upholstered tuffet in their master suite.

Not everyone had walked away feeling that the gathering at Eleanor’s had been a fiasco. She for one was elated with how things went.

Granted, it saddened her to learn of Dante’s autism. She could see how much it upset her beloved brother. Even Lily was aware that Dante needed extra loving. She had insisted on going home with Uncle Matthew “until Dante gets well” is how she put it.

Bettina didn’t have the heart to tell her that he would never get better.

Hera had been right. The best gift she’d received all day was getting under that old hippie’s skin. Metaphorically, that is. Physically was too grotesque to even consider, as it was obvious the woman hadn’t used sun block a single day of her life.

Okay, make that the second best thing to happen today. Watching her mother blow up at Lorna certainly took the prize.

On the way home, Bettina squealed with delight. “I did it! Finally! I can ax Lorna from the club and Mother won’t give a hoot!”

“What excuse will you use?”

“Simple. She hid Dante’s condition. That’s a club no-no. Granted, there may be some outcry about political incorrectness. But I’ve got a good answer for that.” She lowered her lashes, as if practicing her spiel. “Even the best-bred children can be cruel sometimes. Almost always, in fact. I’m sure the Top Moms will agree with me that it’s for his own good that he join a group with children who will be more accepting of him.”

“Brilliant!” Art declared.

Bettina lowered her voice to a sultry growl. “Do you real think so?”

“No. It sucks.” His lips raised into a naughty smirk.

She slapped him in the face. “You’ll pay for saying that.”