JOAN'S FLASHFORWARD
Chapter 2 Will Wonders
(For FLASHFORWARD friends unfamiliar with JOAN: Joan's parents had three children in all: Kevin, Joan, and Luke. Kevin was dating a former nun, Sister Lily. In my invented future Lily has married Kevin and given birth to a daughter, Teresa, now two years old)
Long years of working in the police had given had given Will Girardi a sixth sense for knowing when something was up, and he was feeling it right now, as he drove home for a late lunch. What disturbed him was that the odd feeling was coming from the women of his family. His wife Helen and daughter-in-law Lily had invited him for the late lunch, and he had agreed. All very harmless, except that they had been very insistent that he come, and that it could not be served until a quarter to two, and that he shouldn't be late. Something important was apparently going to happen at the lunch.
He already had one theory, and involved Lily.
When Kevin died, a year and a half ago, Lily had been devastated. It wasn't just the usual grief of a widow, or the dismay of a mother left to bring up a kid on her own. Lily had spent much of her adult life as a nun, and when she had left the monastery, had entered onto several aimless years, until she met the Girardis. She had convinced herself that marrying Kevin was her destiny. Of course Lily was a modern woman with a job of her own – she was a counselor at the local Catholic church -- but her emotional life was bound up in Kevin. And now he was gone.
She and Kevin had been living with Kevin's parents, for several reasons. Kevin's medical costs were high, and Lily drew a low salary, so it was economical. The house had already been fitted up to accommodate Kevin's disability: ramps at the crucial spots, and a lift to help Kevin up the stairs. There was plenty of room, now that both Joan and Luke had gone off to college. Helen, whose job as an art teacher at Arcadia High was now part-time, was often available to babysit little Terry. Helen and Will had urged Lily to stay with them, continuing the arrangement, and for the past year and a half it had worked out well.
Then Henry came along.
Henry was a nice guy; all of Will's instincts told him that. He was also a Catholic, and he did voluntary work at a homeless shelter run by the Church, which was where he met Lily. Will still had his doubts about organized religion, but if it inspired somebody to help the less fortunate, then fine. Henry drew Lily out of her shell, and she had even trusted him to look after Terry on one occasion when Helen had a conflict. In one sense Lily had lucked out very well: a thirty-something widow with a baby and a somewhat abrasive personality did not attract many guys, and the fact that Henry got past all that and liked Lily was another thing that impressed Will.
But it was very awkward for a woman to date a new guy when she was living with the earlier guy's family.
Roughly a month ago there had been a crisis. Lily did not come home one night, and Helen had been convinced that she was spending it in Henry's bed. All of Helen's love for Lily and admiration for Henry had temporarily abandoned her: how dare the woman betray her Kevin? Will could see both sides of the question. He was saddened by the way Kevin was apparently being forgotten, yet Lily had to get on with her life.
Nowadays, it seemed, sleeping with a guy could be almost a tryout for marriage, and Henry would make her a good husband.
It had all been a misunderstanding. Lily had actually been with a severely depressed women who was threatening suicide all night, and had been afraid to leave her for a moment, even long enough to call home. Father Ken had confirmed that. Helen had been deeply ashamed of her suspicions when she heard the truth; fortunately she had not confronted Lily directly. But the incident had exposed fault lines in the relationship.
Something important was going to happen at the late lunch, Will was convinced. Maybe they were going to have Henry over, to prove to him and Lily that it was OK. Or maybe Helen had decided that it was time for her, Will, and Lily to finally talk things out.
Will pulled into the Girardi driveway. Almost unconsciously, he noted that there were only two other cars there, Lily's and Helen's. If he were Henry he would bring his own car along, in case things went sour and he had to make a quick departure. Ergo, Henry wasn't here.
As he entered he heard Helen and Lily working in the kitchen. Terry's crib had been set up in the dining room, within sight of the women, and Will stopped to kiss and dote over his grand-daughter.
"Hi, darling," said Helen, coming out of the kitchen with a bowl. "I was afraid you wouldn't make it."
There was an edge to her voice. Will's instincts told him that she had been VERY afraid.
"Got delayed by a last-minute telephone call, but it's all settled now." He straightened out and walked toward the stairs.
"You're going up?" Helen asked.
"I wanted to pay a visit to the bathroom."
"Oh—" said Helen nervously.
"Not too long a visit, I hope," Lily said, coming to the table with a plate of vegetables. "I'm starving."
It sounded casual, but Will had the distinct impression that Lily was covering for Helen.
Déjà vu.
There were several occasions in the past few years when Will had the impression that something was going on in the house, just beyond his purview. It had started with Joan's craziness. Then Luke and his girlfriend Grace suddenly seemed to understand Joan, without explaining her to her parents. A year later, shortly after the kids went off to college, Helen started sending Emails and making phone calls to Joan and Luke without discussing them with Will. Then Lily seemed to join in, though at the time she was pregnant with Terry and Will had mistaken it for mood swings.
Will felt frozen out, and Kevin had felt it too. They discussed it sometimes while working on the never-finished Boat. But after Kevin died, Will no longer had a way to verbalize it; he just kept feeling it.
Finally the three of them were seated at the table, with Terry's crib safely nearby. They exchanged small talk for a few minutes, but it sounded like stalling.
Helen kept glancing at the clock, and on one occasion Will imitated her. 1:59.
"Is something supposed to happen at two o'clock?" Will demanded.
"Well—" Helen began.
And then the flash hit.
TO BE CONTINUED
