Jack looked at his aunt and quietly confirmed for her, "No, I didn't."
"Would you excuse me, please," he said as he got up. This time no one stopped him from leaving the table.
Jack walked out of the house, through the front door. Sydney followed him. She found him standing on the porch, with his gaze once again fixed on the house across the street.
"Dad, why are you so fascinated with that house?" she asked.
"That's where I grew up," he told her.
Sydney looked at the house with a different perspective, "I didn't know."
"I hated that house, Sydney." He told her. "Nothing good ever happened there. Whenever I could I would come over here. The people in this house were happy. They liked each other. Over there, they were just sad and miserable."
He turned and looked at Sydney with a smile, "Except Sean. You would have liked Sean. He knew how to have fun. He made whole rooms light up, just by laughing."
"Who's Sean?" she asked curiously, as she had never heard his name mention before.
"My brother." The smile that had briefly crossed Jack's face disappeared quickly, as he added, "He died along time ago."
"I turned my back on these people, for her, Sydney. She was the one that wanted to move to California. I could have done Project Christmas right here." Then as though he was figuring it out for the first time, he said, "She needed to get me away from here so that she could manipulate me without any interference. God, Sydney, every time I think I know how much of a fool I was, something else surfaces."
"Dad, I'm so sorry." Sydney told him.
"I'm going to take a walk." Jack said as he walked off the porch.
Sydney asked if he wanted company. He said that he didn't. He just wanted sometime alone, to think. He wouldn't be long, he promised her.
When Sydney returned to the house Sara and Carolyn had cleaned up the lunch table.
"Where's Johnny?" Sara asked.
"He said he wanted to take a walk." Sydney told her. Then she added, "I'm sorry for what my mother did to all of you."
"Don't be silly, your not responsible for any of that." Sara told her. "Your mother had an agenda when it came to your father and there was no stopping her."
Sydney knew this was true, but she was surprised to hear Sara say it. "Why do you say that?" she asked.
Sara sat in her favorite chair and motioned for Sydney to join her as she attempted to explain what she meant. "They were both so young when they meet. They only knew each other for a few months before they moved in together. They married a short time after that. That's when we saw signs that something just wasn't right."
"What kind of signs?" Sydney asked.
Sara's first reaction was that she shouldn't be telling these types of stories to Sydney, but Sydney told her that she really needed to know. She felt that if she knew who her father was when he lived here, it would help her better understand who he is today. Sara agreed to tell her what she wanted to know.
"Well, first of all, they didn't invite us to the wedding." As Sara told her this, Sydney could hear the hurt that was still in her voice. "When your father told me about having gotten married, I could tell by how he looked at me that it wasn't his idea to not invite us."
"Let's see, what else?" Sara said as she paused to recall other signs that showed Laura did not want to be a part of the Bristow family. "Oh yes, they spent holidays alone, or if they did come over they only stayed a few hours. When you were a baby, she never let anyone hold you. We tried to throw her a baby shower, but she refused."
"But none of that was as bad as what she did to the relationship between Johnny and Don. Laura never missed an opportunity to start an argument with your grandfather. Usually they argued over politics. The worst part of that was that she always managed to pull Johnny right into the middle. She forced him to take sides. And she always made sure he took her side." Sydney was startled as she heard signs of rage in Sara's voice. "It was as though she deliberately wanted to sever their relationship. Not that there was much of a relationship to start with."
Then Sara said, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but one time, after they had a really bad argument, I swear to you, I saw her smile as though she was proud of what she had accomplished."
Sydney had no doubt that was exactly what her mother did. She also realized that her father was right, these people loved him. If he stayed in Maryland, for too long, someone was eventually going to force him to open his eyes and realize that there was something not quite legitimate about his wife.
Sydney's attention shifted to Carolyn as she said, "It took a lot for Uncle Don to call that day and apologize to your mother. He was going against all of his principles, but he didn't want to lose complete communication with his son, so he ate his pride and called her. And now it turns out, that all that was for nothing."
"Your father didn't even call and tell us that Laura had died." Sara told her sadly.
"How did you find out?" Sydney asked.
Sara and Carolyn looked at each other. They didn't know if they should tell Sydney. Sydney suspected, by their reaction, that it was probably an official source. "Was it the FBI?" she inquired.
The two women were surprised to hear Sydney ask that question. Yes, it was the FBI. They came about a month after Laura died. They asked all sorts of questions about both her parents. They refused to tell them why they were investigating her death. The family asked to speak to Jack, but they were told that he was not available. When they asked about Sydney's whereabouts they were told that she was being taken care of.
Sydney told them that she knew the FBI investigated her mother's death. She told them that the driver in the other car was reported to have been a postal worker, but in fact he was an undercover FBI agent. The FBI investigated just to be sure the accident was just that, which they concluded it was.
Sydney suspected that neither Sara nor Carolyn completely believed her.
She was right, of course, but they didn't hold it against her as they assumed that was the story Jack had told her. Although they didn't know that Laura had stolen government secrets, they did assume that what Don said he saw was in fact correct. They assumed Laura was stealing industrial secrets.
They told Sydney that they had tried calling Jack, after they found out about Laura's death, but his phone number had been changed and their mail was returned unopened. This visit was their first contact with him in nearly 25 years.
"I guess we shouldn't be too surprised." Sara said, "your father never handled death very well."
There was a time, not long ago, that Sydney would have been shocked to hear this. But the more she gets to know her father, the more she realizes that somewhere under that emotionally detached persona is a man who feels deeply, when it comes to his family.
"Will you tell me how his brother and mother die?" Sydney asked.
"Would you excuse me, please," he said as he got up. This time no one stopped him from leaving the table.
Jack walked out of the house, through the front door. Sydney followed him. She found him standing on the porch, with his gaze once again fixed on the house across the street.
"Dad, why are you so fascinated with that house?" she asked.
"That's where I grew up," he told her.
Sydney looked at the house with a different perspective, "I didn't know."
"I hated that house, Sydney." He told her. "Nothing good ever happened there. Whenever I could I would come over here. The people in this house were happy. They liked each other. Over there, they were just sad and miserable."
He turned and looked at Sydney with a smile, "Except Sean. You would have liked Sean. He knew how to have fun. He made whole rooms light up, just by laughing."
"Who's Sean?" she asked curiously, as she had never heard his name mention before.
"My brother." The smile that had briefly crossed Jack's face disappeared quickly, as he added, "He died along time ago."
"I turned my back on these people, for her, Sydney. She was the one that wanted to move to California. I could have done Project Christmas right here." Then as though he was figuring it out for the first time, he said, "She needed to get me away from here so that she could manipulate me without any interference. God, Sydney, every time I think I know how much of a fool I was, something else surfaces."
"Dad, I'm so sorry." Sydney told him.
"I'm going to take a walk." Jack said as he walked off the porch.
Sydney asked if he wanted company. He said that he didn't. He just wanted sometime alone, to think. He wouldn't be long, he promised her.
When Sydney returned to the house Sara and Carolyn had cleaned up the lunch table.
"Where's Johnny?" Sara asked.
"He said he wanted to take a walk." Sydney told her. Then she added, "I'm sorry for what my mother did to all of you."
"Don't be silly, your not responsible for any of that." Sara told her. "Your mother had an agenda when it came to your father and there was no stopping her."
Sydney knew this was true, but she was surprised to hear Sara say it. "Why do you say that?" she asked.
Sara sat in her favorite chair and motioned for Sydney to join her as she attempted to explain what she meant. "They were both so young when they meet. They only knew each other for a few months before they moved in together. They married a short time after that. That's when we saw signs that something just wasn't right."
"What kind of signs?" Sydney asked.
Sara's first reaction was that she shouldn't be telling these types of stories to Sydney, but Sydney told her that she really needed to know. She felt that if she knew who her father was when he lived here, it would help her better understand who he is today. Sara agreed to tell her what she wanted to know.
"Well, first of all, they didn't invite us to the wedding." As Sara told her this, Sydney could hear the hurt that was still in her voice. "When your father told me about having gotten married, I could tell by how he looked at me that it wasn't his idea to not invite us."
"Let's see, what else?" Sara said as she paused to recall other signs that showed Laura did not want to be a part of the Bristow family. "Oh yes, they spent holidays alone, or if they did come over they only stayed a few hours. When you were a baby, she never let anyone hold you. We tried to throw her a baby shower, but she refused."
"But none of that was as bad as what she did to the relationship between Johnny and Don. Laura never missed an opportunity to start an argument with your grandfather. Usually they argued over politics. The worst part of that was that she always managed to pull Johnny right into the middle. She forced him to take sides. And she always made sure he took her side." Sydney was startled as she heard signs of rage in Sara's voice. "It was as though she deliberately wanted to sever their relationship. Not that there was much of a relationship to start with."
Then Sara said, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but one time, after they had a really bad argument, I swear to you, I saw her smile as though she was proud of what she had accomplished."
Sydney had no doubt that was exactly what her mother did. She also realized that her father was right, these people loved him. If he stayed in Maryland, for too long, someone was eventually going to force him to open his eyes and realize that there was something not quite legitimate about his wife.
Sydney's attention shifted to Carolyn as she said, "It took a lot for Uncle Don to call that day and apologize to your mother. He was going against all of his principles, but he didn't want to lose complete communication with his son, so he ate his pride and called her. And now it turns out, that all that was for nothing."
"Your father didn't even call and tell us that Laura had died." Sara told her sadly.
"How did you find out?" Sydney asked.
Sara and Carolyn looked at each other. They didn't know if they should tell Sydney. Sydney suspected, by their reaction, that it was probably an official source. "Was it the FBI?" she inquired.
The two women were surprised to hear Sydney ask that question. Yes, it was the FBI. They came about a month after Laura died. They asked all sorts of questions about both her parents. They refused to tell them why they were investigating her death. The family asked to speak to Jack, but they were told that he was not available. When they asked about Sydney's whereabouts they were told that she was being taken care of.
Sydney told them that she knew the FBI investigated her mother's death. She told them that the driver in the other car was reported to have been a postal worker, but in fact he was an undercover FBI agent. The FBI investigated just to be sure the accident was just that, which they concluded it was.
Sydney suspected that neither Sara nor Carolyn completely believed her.
She was right, of course, but they didn't hold it against her as they assumed that was the story Jack had told her. Although they didn't know that Laura had stolen government secrets, they did assume that what Don said he saw was in fact correct. They assumed Laura was stealing industrial secrets.
They told Sydney that they had tried calling Jack, after they found out about Laura's death, but his phone number had been changed and their mail was returned unopened. This visit was their first contact with him in nearly 25 years.
"I guess we shouldn't be too surprised." Sara said, "your father never handled death very well."
There was a time, not long ago, that Sydney would have been shocked to hear this. But the more she gets to know her father, the more she realizes that somewhere under that emotionally detached persona is a man who feels deeply, when it comes to his family.
"Will you tell me how his brother and mother die?" Sydney asked.