The Letter - Chapter 35

At that moment, I hated my mother for making me feel this way.  A hug.  My father had just tried to hug me.  The seed my mother had planted made it feel dirty, and I had pulled away from him.

“I should start dinner,” he said.  I looked at him.  He looked older than the image of him I carried around in my brain.  His gray hair was almost completely white.  His trim figure had developed a paunch that hadn’t registered with me, even though he sometimes jokingly pointed to it, saying, ”Beer did this to me!” and vowed to lose the ten pounds that had somehow attached itself to his frame.  The most striking change was the overwhelming sadness I saw in his blue-gray eyes and I suddenly hated myself for subconsciously buying into my mother’s suggestion.  I walked over and hugged him and he hugged back, patting me on my back with one hand as the other held me tight.

“Is everything all right with you?” he asked softly. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, taking a step back and wiping my eyes.  I couldn’t bear to tell him about my awkward conversation with Mom. 

“How are plans coming for the big dance on Saturday?  Do you even have a dress?  I should have taken you shopping, shouldn’t I?”

“It’s okay, Dad.  I have a perfectly fine dress that will go great with the pearls from Aunt Karen.”

“I’m sure you’ll be the belle of the ball.  That Jeff will be the envy of all the fellows from your high school.”

“No way, Dad.”  I tried to smile.  “Less than a week before the dance and none of them had asked me.”

“It’s only because they’re all too dazzled by your beauty and too intimidated by your brilliance.”  He beamed at me, the sadness gone.  “So, what would you like for dinner?”

“I’d like to start with a bit of foie gras on melba toast, then a fresh beet salad, followed by chateaubriand in a red wine reduction with new potatoes and fresh asparagus spears.”

“No soup?  I could add a vichyssoise without too much effort.”

“On second thought, I think I’d prefer some of that leftover chicken from Tuesday, unless you want to make that pizza I saw in the freezer.”

“Go do your homework,” my dad smiled.  I’ll call you when the pizza’s ready.”

I felt like the rift created by my visit with Mom had been somewhat healed as I walked upstairs to my room and my dad walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner.  Twenty minutes later, he called me downstairs to eat.

“Hey Jen.  I forgot to mention to you earlier that I have a new Facebook friend.”  My father put a bowl of salad on the table and sat down.  “The pizza has a few more minutes.”

“So who’s the new Facebook friend?”

“Ellie Kosko – the mystery letter writer.”

“Really!?  Just out of the blue?”

“Yeah.  Go figure.  When I accepted her friend request, I decided to send her a message.  She responded and we went back and forth for a while.  She said she had sent me a letter inviting me to the basketball game last Friday.  I told her I never received it.  You don’t know anything about it, do you?”  He looked at me expectantly.

“Dad, I learned my lesson the first time she sent you a letter.  As you know, my Nancy Drew alter-ego spent much time and effort to bring you two together.”

“And you snagged a male admirer in the process.”  Dad chuckled and went to the stove to pull out the hot pizza.  “Looks perfect.  You couldn’t get a better pizza at Danny’s.”

“Dad, don’t try to compare a frozen pizza to the heavenly pies that Danny’s serves.”

Dad put a slice on my plate.  “Anyway, another missing letter, another unsolved mystery.”

I recalled the glimpse of lavender in my mother’s purse, but decided to not say anything that might destroy the good mood we now both felt. We continued to eat our pizza.  “So is she coming back to Pittsburgh anytime soon?”

“She has no immediate plans, but told me her son and his wife are expecting.  They live in Cleveland and she’s looking forward to being a first-time grandmother. Cleveland is only about a two hour drive.  She also offered to show me the town if I ever get to Seattle.”

“You’ve talked about taking a vacation there.  You should go.”

“I’ll think about it.  For now, I’ve got this custody thing to deal with.” He got up and started to clear the dirty dishes.  “So how was your visit to Sewickley Heights?”

“You wouldn’t believe her place.  Two libraries, a pool, racquetball court, and a billiard room.”

“Billiard room? Jen, why don’t you ask your mother if she has a room there for me?”

“I knew the billiard room would be the clincher.”

Does she have a room picked out for you?”

“Yes, it was a bit shabby though.  It has a gas fireplace and solid mahogany canopy bed – queen size.”

“Oh yeah?  Well, that can’t compare to the Ikea twin bed you have here.”

“Don’t forget the furnace vent under my desk that blows warm air onto my cold feet.”

“Yep, you’ve got a pretty amazing set-up at this place.  That’s for sure.  Besides, you’ll need to work up to a queen-sized bed.  Right now, you’re still only a princess.”  He finished filling the dishwasher.  “Well, young lady.  You’ve got homework, and I’ve got a major re-write to do thanks to your literary critique.  I suggest that we go to our respective rooms and get to work.”

“Dad.  I love you.  No matter what happens, let’s make sure that we don’t let anything change that.”

“You’ve got it, princess.  See ya later, alligator.”

“After a while, crocodile.”  I smiled as he walked toward his study.