Chapter 35 A Rose by Any Other Name
Steve sat on the patio, a cup of coffee on the small table by his side, and tried to prepare himself for the day. Jo was suffering badly from morning sickness and was still in bed, Daniel had stormed off to his room the night before and Michael was in England. Of the three it was Daniel who concerned him the most, morning sickness, whilst not something he understood, he could sympathize with, Michael was on his way to his mother's house, having left a message on the answering machine to let them know he had arrived in London safely. Both Jo and Michael's problems were out of his control, but Daniel, Daniel was his responsibility and right now he wasn't making a very good job of being his dad.
Steve tried to think back to when he was fifteen, he'd gotten into trouble at school, most kids did some time or other, but never for fighting, never for flattening another child and getting a black eye in the process. The scare tactics he'd used the previous day hadn't worked, all they had done was cause a massive row, and ended up with one furious set of parents and an equally angry and very hurt son. Taking a drink of his coffee Steve let his mind run back to the meal the previous evening. He had picked up take-out from Bob's on the way home from the station, and it had been set out on the table as they had started to talk.
"Daniel, I know we have a nice meal an' all, but we really have to talk to you about what happened today." Jo had been laying the plates out as she spoke and Steve had been glad that she had started the conversation.
"You wanna talk about it you go ahead, I have nothing to say." Daniel already had a rib in his hand and took a bite from it, which, Steve knew, was to prevent him from having to say anything more.
"Ok, we'll talk about it, you just feel free to chip in any time you like." Steve was beginning to wonder whether a meal of barbeque was the best thing to be having when you wanted to have a serious discussion. He took a mouthful of his own rib and tried to enjoy it but found that at the moment it tasted of dust.
"You got sent to the police station today because you were fighting in school." Steve had wanted to sound relaxed, but knew he didn't, Jo's telephone call had horrified him, and he still felt that way.
"It wasn't school, it was break." Daniel had shot his reply across the table as if what he said would make all the difference and his black eye had stood out against the whiteness of his skin.
"You were fighting in school, whether it was in class or outside it's still just as serious. If you were sixteen we would have been bailing you out round about now."
"Yeah, well you didn't have to, so quit beefing on about it. I'll do the suspension and then go back and be a good little boy." The venom in his son's voice had surprised Steve and he had taken a mental step back.
"Oh right, just like you did after the incident with Francine, your mom talked with you, I talked with you, and then you promised that it wouldn't happen again and everything would be fine. I believed you then, I don't believe you now."
"Steve!" His voice had risen as he spoke and Jo had cut in. "Honey, we are both so disappointed in you breakin' your promise, but your father will give you the benefit of the doubt."
"No, Jo, don't do that, I don't need you to speak for me, or to tell him what I mean or don't mean. I don't believe him; I don't think he is sorry, not at all."
"Yeah, well, that's your prerogative I guess, isn't it?" Daniel hadn't looked at all upset by what Steve had said.
"Daniel, what the hell's the matter with you? We were going along just fine, you have always been happy here, oh sure, we had teething troubles to start with, but we settled down, and when your mom was taken you suffered just as much as I did. You asked to become a member of this family and now you … now …" He had tailed off, not knowing how to finish what he was saying.
"And now I'm what? Showing my true colors? Once a crim always a crim is that what you mean? Well, I'm sorry, Dad, if you feel that way, but I guess you don't know all there is to know about me after all."
"Daniel, Steve, please, don't do this. Darlin' can't you see what your behavior is doin' to this family? We have never argued like this before." Steve could tell that his wife was close to tears and that only increased his anger.
"Oh, well, look at me, now I'm to blame for breaking up the family as well as disgracing it in school! Dad, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you at work, I guess I'm just a big disappointment all round." Steve had half expected the boy to stand up and storm out, but he had remained seated.
"Daniel, stop it! Something is wrong, there must be to make you behave his way, you didn't just hit that guy you insulted him too, from what I understand you were lucky to get away with a suspension."
"Oh, I didn't just get a suspension did I? I had to spend the entire afternoon sitting on my butt waiting for some cop to get his ass chewed so that he could come take his temper out on me. How you work in that place is beyond me."
"Honey, it was for your own good." Jo hadn't been taking a very active part in the conversation, but Steve had just been glad for her company and silent support.
"It was for my own good? To what, sit with guys who had trouble keeping their lunch inside them, or smelled of booze so bad that I could have gotten drunk on the fumes? Yeah right."
"Steve, it wasn't supposed to be that way …" Jo had looked at him in horror and then stopped talking and Steve knew she had said too much.
"What wasn't supposed to be what way?" Daniel had looked at his mom for a minute and then realization had dawned on his face and he turned and glared at his dad. "You set me up; you damn well set me up!"
"Daniel!" Jo had been horrified at her son's choice of words, Steve had seen it on her face and heard it as she spoke and he too had been shocked.
"Yeah, I set you up, but trust me once you are sixteen if you pull that little stunt again that is what you'll get, and there won't be anything I can do about it."
"I can't believe you, what did you think I was gonna do? Break down in tears in your posh office, beg forgiveness and promise never to do anything like it ever again? Yeah, right, like you see me doing that. I'll bet you were just so disappointed when your plan fell apart, huh?" Daniel had finally stood up and pushed his plate away. "I'm not hungry." He had then turned, left the table and doors had slammed until he was in his bedroom.
Steve had sat with Jo for a long while, there had been very little conversation but he knew she felt as helpless as he did. By the time he had gone to bed his mind was so full of what he had done, hadn't done, should have and shouldn't have done, that his dreams had been that way too. When Rae had called he'd had a hard time getting refocused, but now a smile crossed his face as he realised that they had finally caught the Night Owl gang who had been burglarizing houses across Los Angeles for over eight years. Well, to be accurate Rae had caught them, but he wouldn't argue with her if she wanted to put his name on her report as well. He'd taken over the case when he'd arrived because it was Rae's house, but she'd made the bust, and he wouldn't fight her over it.
ooo
Jesse had woken with a start and taken in a gulp of air. He looked around him wondering what it was that had startled him and his eyes met those of his eldest daughter.
"Hi, Daddy, Yana get up now." The little girl had her dressing gown on and tied in a bunch around her waist, her slippers were on the wrong feet and her hair was tousled from sleep. Jesse didn't think he had ever seen such a wonderful sight and he put his finger to his lips so that she didn't wake Rae and then he slipped out of bed, took her hand and left the bedroom.
His decision to leave his own room and get back into the bed he and Rae had shared so happily had been surprisingly easy. Once he had realised that there were burglars downstairs all the old insecurities had started coming back, he had felt faint, slightly nauseous, his hands had been sweaty, but as the first few minutes had passed and Rae had visited with him twice to convince him everything was fine he had felt something else too, curiosity. He had needed to see what Rae was doing; how she was reacting to someone violating her home and so he had crept out onto the upstairs hallway and listened.
Although he had often worked with Steve, Jesse had only very rarely seen his wife on duty. He had seen her check out Neil Crosier's house, but this time had been different, this time she had been in total charge of the situation, and everything about her had been controlled, even when the burglars bad mouthed her to Steve or called out to her while she waited for her partner to arrive Rae hadn't been phased by it. He wished he had been awake to see her cuff them to the banister, but just the fact that she had thought of it cheered him considerably and he realised that her professionalism made him feel safe. The officers who had responded to the 911 call had deferred to both Rae and Steve, who had taken charge of the investigation, and it hadn't been until he had heard Rae begin to give her own statement that the fear had risen up in him again and he had bolted back to the safety of his old room.
As he made his way down the stairs, noticing the marks in the wood of the balustrades as he did so, Jesse realised that he had slept soundly next to his wife, the comfort of knowing she was near him in total contrast to the fear her being in close proximity had caused him only recently and he smiled to himself.
"TV, Daddy, Yana watch TV, peeze?" the little girl looked up and smiled at her daddy, but Jesse shook his head.
"Hold on a second, Sweetie, there are some places we can't go this morning, I need to just check." There didn't seem to be anything to stop him taking Eliana across the hallway to the kitchen but, as Jesse looked around, he saw that the other rooms on the first floor all had seals across them. "You'll have to watch it in the kitchen; there are things in the other rooms that Uncle Steve needs to check."
"Unki Teve, Unki Teve come here?" Eliana started to bounce and once again Jesse put his finger to his lips, "Shhh, yeah, a bit later on, I'm sure he'll be here. Now, would you like Daddy to make you some toast?"
"Es, peeze." The angelic look his daughter gave him almost broke Jesse's heart, how could he have thought to throw all of this away, to let fear take the things he had worked so hard for and leave him with nothing? He didn't know the answer to his ponderings and so he shook them away and, with a smile of his own, he took his little girl into the kitchen to make her breakfast.
ooo
The killing had made the front page of the paper and Dominic was extremely satisfied with himself. The cops still didn't know her name, he could help them, maybe he should drop them a line. Harriet, her name had been Harriet, she wasn't the type of girl he was usually drawn to, he had picked her up on a street corner and to start with she had been fun, they hadn't been together long, and Matthew had tried to come between them, but he had gotten rid of him, pushed him away into the recesses of his mind where he couldn't surface until it was too late. The memories of the evening were fresh in his mind, but they didn't excite him in the way that usually happened. The headlines, they were some of the best yet, but the girl, the killing, it hadn't been as good, and his trophies seemed hollow to him.
Matthew knew that he felt uneasy and was fighting him, fighting to get out so that he could release the fear and anxiety that was always around when Matthew was free. With a shuddering sigh Dominic relented and the weaker personality broke through.
Red Rose Killer Strikes Again
Matthew read the words with horror; he knew now for absolute certain that he was the red rose killer and he longed for the days when even if he was covered with blood he didn't know where it had come from. This girl had been a mistake, her name was Harriet, and she had been a call girl, a prostitute, she would have had friends who would miss her and identify her easily, he was sure of that. Dominic had argued with him, the words echoing around his brain, saying that hookers didn't contact the cops the cops contacted them; she would be just as hard to ID as the rest of the girls, naked, dead and no papers on her.
Matthew looked down again and began to read a little more of the article.
Detective Reagan Yeager (shown in file photo, far right) spoke at length to an eyewitness of this latest murder, according to our reporter on the scene. It is understood that the head of the profiling department of the local FBI field office, Agent Ron Wagner, is assisting Detective Yeager and Lieutenant Sloan, the lead detective, with this case. The killings have been occurring sporadically over the last few months with five known victims in Los Angeles and very few clues at this time.
At a recent press conference Lieutenant Sloan gave out details of a link between the killings in LA and other Californian cities, the murder yesterday brings the total so far to fourteen.
If anyone has any information regarding the identity of the latest victim or any other details relating this case they should contact the Homicide Department of the North Hollywood Bureau and speak with either Lieutenant Sloan or Detective Yeager. All calls will be treated in the strictest confidence.
There was a picture of Harriet slotted into the middle of the article and Matthew looked at it for a long time. She had been photographed in a way which was designed to make her look, well, not dead, he guessed, but it was obvious that she was. All calls will be treated in the strictest confidence. He could call, just to let them know who she was, that wouldn't do any harm, he would think about it.
Dominic was suddenly back, the thoughts coming from Matthew had alarmed him so much that he had asserted himself far more strongly than usual and for an instant the room swam around him. He had things to do, there was no way that he could let Matthew out if he was going to go making calls to the cops, there were rituals that had to be undertaken, procedures that had to be followed, and making telephone calls weren't involved.
For a moment Dominic thought about the tablets in the drawer of the nightstand next to his bed. They took about a week or two to take affect, but Matthew couldn't tolerate them and they sent him to sleep. If he was asleep he couldn't go wandering off on his own and land them both in serious trouble. Dominic ran his hand through his hair and felt the softness of it across his fingers, he did it again, it was such a beautiful thing, so personal, so individual, so special and it had been ruined, its enjoyment taken away from him, suddenly he grasped a handful of his own hair and pulled it hard, his fist coming away with tufts sticking out between all the fingers.
ooo
Steve had finished his coffee and wandered back into the house, it was almost totally silent and he knew that Daniel was still asleep or skulking quietly in his room. He climbed up the stairs, stopping only long enough to listen again for sounds of his son and then he went into the bedroom he shared with his wife.
Jo was lying against the pillows, her face pale and her hair pushed back off her face and over one shoulder, she turned and smiled weakly as she saw Steve enter the room.
"Hi, Cowboy, I heard you get up, but there was just no way I could follow you down. Think this little one's gonna be a girl? I sure didn't go through this with David."
Steve smiled, the thought of him having a little girl was a very appealing one, but a little boy would be just as wonderful. "I have no idea, but if they are as beautiful as their momma, as kind and generous, then they will get by fine."
"Oh, Steve, Honey, what a lovely thing to say, thank you." Jo felt her eyes fill with tears as her hormones made themselves noticed once again and she saw the look of horror on her husband's face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry, come here." Steve sat on his side of the bed took her into his arms, and felt the heat of her tears on his shirt. Almost without realizing that he was doing so he ran his fingers into her hair reveling, as he always did, in its softness, the silky way it slid over his hand, the little tangles that sometimes stopped him before they loosened themselves and let his hand pass.
"Don't be sorry, it was a lovely thing for you to have said to me, I just can't stop myself from cryin' or feelin' sick right now."
Steve laid his hand gently on her stomach and then smiled at her as she looked up at him. "Honey, when our baby arrives in seven months time you will forget all about this, he or she will lay in your arms and you will be a mom, not just to Daniel, but to a baby too, I … I don't really know what I'm trying to say, but I love you, Jo, and you will get past this stage." He felt embarrassed, his words had deserted him and Steve pulled her close again, hoping that she wouldn't mind what he had said.
"I love you too, an' I would go through mornin' sickness a hundred times over for this baby, our baby." Jo snuggled a little closer to her husband and felt his arm around her shoulders as he held her tightly, "He'll be alright, won't he? Do I ground him, or let him go see Maddie? Maybe beltin' the livin' daylights out of a punch bag for a couple of hours would do him good."
"That's a point, no, don't ground him, maybe a bit of the silent treatment, the cold shoulder, which I know without asking you will be totally hopeless at," he laughed as he spoke, knowing that there was no way that Jo would be able to ignore her son, "that might work."
"Steve, no, I couldn't, he's hurtin' inside, I just know he is, maybe it is the baby, he said he was ok with it, but things change, maybe now he wishes I wasn't havin' it." Jo was worried that maybe everything that was happening was her fault, and she felt the anxiety turn to the familiar nausea once again. "Excuse me." She struggled out of bed and into the bathroom just in time for Steve to hear the dry retching wrack her body.
ooo
The sun shining in through the window finally worked its way under her eyelids and Rae stretched out in the bed, enjoying the feeling of the comfortable mattress beneath her and the relaxing warmth of the covers over her. As she lay there she suddenly remembered that for the first time in months she hadn't slept alone, but her heart sank as she turned her head and saw Jesse's side was empty. Rae slid out of bed, put her feet into her slippers and then grabbed her wrap from the chair where she had left it the last time she took it off. As she put one foot onto the landing Anneya began to cry and, not wanting her to be alone in her silent world any longer than she had to be, Rae rushed towards the sound.
Eliana's bed was empty and Anneya was standing up, the almost permanently confused expression on her face as she tried to get used to another day when nothing was like it used to be. Every time that Rae saw her daughter she wanted to hold her close and not let anything anywhere near her ever again, but now it was a feeling of more than wanting to do that which consumed her. She felt guilty, guilty because her daughter had been home long enough for her and Jesse to have started to look into what was available in the way of treatment or assistance.
Rae made her way carefully down the stairs, nuzzling her daughter's hair as she did so, and trying to banish the deep sadness that she had accompanying her every time she looked at Anneya and thought of her future. As they got to the hallway and Anneya struggled to get down Rae heard laughter coming from the kitchen and so she kept a firm hold on her little girl and followed the sounds; as she opened the door she stopped and smiled, Jesse had obviously decided to be adventurous for breakfast and was making pancakes. Eliana had been given the job of beating the mixture and she had it everywhere, in her hair, down her nightclothes and gown, and her hands were caked in goo.
"Well, there seems to have been a busy little pair working in here. I hope there is going to be enough for everyone." Anneya's struggling got too much for Rae and she carefully put her daughter down on the floor and watched as she moved over towards her daddy.
"No, Sweetie, it's hot over here, go to Mommy." As Jesse spoke he realised that there was no point, the little girl, a big smile on her face just kept on walking until she could grasp him tightly around the knees and he looked down to see Rae, tears in her eyes carefully pry her fingers undone and pick her up, to a cacophony of sound as Anneya made her annoyance felt and Jesse knew that something had to be done, sooner rather than later.
ooo
The market was busy as Matthew made his way around the usual stalls buying fruit and vegetables for the week as well as stopping to look at the pet food stall, another one, which sold beautiful rugs, and then the one that had all the wonderful flowers.
"Hi, Matt, how's it going? I missed you last week." The lady with the money belt around her waist was baked to a golden brown hue available only to those who worked out of doors all the time. "You want your regular, or maybe you're goin' off red roses, what with that killer around an' all."
Matthew felt himself go cold, he didn't know how to answer this woman, should he just nod and keep walking, do nothing and keep walking, run? In the end he did none of those things, he stopped, picked up a bunch of yellow roses and sniffed them; unlike the red roses they had no scent. "They're not the same are they? No smell, and the colour of the others, so rich, but …" He didn't finish his sentence; it didn't matter to the flower lady.
"I know, red 'uns have always been my favourite too, but I can't see them in the same light, not now that weirdo is running around leaving flowers on his victim, I tell you what, I got some lovely black tulips, I don't put 'em up, they upsets some folks, but they're a good colour too." She rummaged around behind the stall and Matthew heard the sound of buckets being moved and water sloshing before the smiling, if slightly red, face of the stall owner re-emerged. "There, what d'you think of them, then?"
Matthew had to admit they were beautiful, long green stems and then a black bloom, which was magnificently dark. The woman was right, offer a woman a red rose at the moment and she would head for the hills, but if Dominic wanted to go out again tonight, and Matthew had a feeling he would, he'd insist on flowers of some kind, and so taking his courage in both hands he nodded. "They're lovely; I'll take a bunch please."
It was another half hour before Dominic decided to pay a visit to the market, he felt himself shudder into existence and he looked around him. The shopping and the flowers weren't that heavy and he had to agree with Matthew the tulips were special. The air around him seemed to frost over, and he knew that tonight he would have to go out again, but not like last night, Harriet hadn't helped, hadn't sated his appetite for the kill, and he looked around, once again seeing the world as if through a prism seeing women, rejecting them, moving on to the next one, and the next, until suddenly he knew, again, that he had found what he was looking for.
Daniel lay in bed and looked up at the ceiling. This was the only place that he could be honest with himself, could face the problems that he was having. He wanted badly to talk to someone, but there was no one, or no one who wasn't connected to his mom and dad. They'd all been together when he arrived, they would take the other side and he would find himself lost again, left, unwanted and unloved because he couldn't control himself long enough to make it a habit, to stop the bad behavior ruining everything again.
His mom had left, gone out one night and never come back; he remembered it vividly, although he didn't talk about it much. The day before she went he'd gotten into trouble at school for losing his temper and pushing a classmate over. The little girl had hit her head on the side of a desk and had needed hospital treatment. His mom had been the most furious he had ever seen her, she had taken the belt off a pair of his dad's pants and beaten him with it.
He'd been good the next day, drawn her a picture showing her how much he loved her, but it hadn't done any good and she'd left that night, she'd had her best clothes on, her leopard skin coat, he never spoke to her or saw her ever again.
It was his fault, she'd gone because he was bad, she'd told him how much of a disappointment he'd been, how she'd always wanted a little girl, and instead she got him. What if his mom now had a baby girl, would she hate him too? Maybe, if he got it over and done with now he'd never find out, would never know, because he would be long gone by then. With a deep groan he sat up, he would go to the gym, take his anger out on the bags for a while, maybe then he would see things clear enough to try and work out why he was trying to destroy the best thing that had ever happen to him.
The sounds coming from Daniel's room told Steve that his son was up and about and so he tapped on the door and waited.
"Come in." The offer wasn't made with any grace, but Steve accepted it and opened the door. Daniel was dressed in a sweat suit and sneakers, his sports bag was on the bed and it was obvious that he planned on going to the gym. "So, are you gonna tell me I'm grounded and ruin my weekend too?"
"No, I'm not, it would have been nice if you'd asked before deciding that you were going to go waltzing off, but I should have guessed. What I was going to say was that I have to go into work this afternoon, Michael is away and I don't want your mom at home on her own, so can you please be back in time for lunch?"
"Yeah, I can do that." Daniel looked as if he was going to say something else, but then he thought better of it. "Mind if I go, because Maddie is meeting me at the bus stop and I don't like to keep her waiting."
"Sure, but lunch is twelve thirty, ok?" Steve saw his son nod his head and then leave the room and he stood just inside the doorway, sorely tempted to stay and look around to see if he could find anything to give him an idea what was wrong.
ooo
The scene of crime officers had returned to Rae's house just as she was beginning to clear up the pancake disaster in the kitchen. The actual food had been wonderful and they'd had a good family breakfast together, but Jesse was used to having staff at Barbeque Bob's follow him around and tidy up after him, and Rae knew that she had been designated the same task at home. She heard the doorbell and saw Jesse go to answer it, then she plunged her cloth back into the hot water and began to attack some of the dried on stains on the counter.
"Mommy, can Neya an' me watch TV peeze?" Eliana pulled on Rae's t-shirt, which she had changed into along with a pair of faded and friendly jeans after breakfast.
"Sure, Honey, hold on." Rae dried her hands, pressed the button on the remote control and the children's Saturday cartoons came on. Eliana turned her chair around from the table and climbed up onto it. She made herself comfortable and became entranced by the antics of the animated children on the screen.
Anneya was sitting on the floor with a wooden jigsaw that Rae had given her, it was simple, and before her illness she had been able to complete it with ease, now though it was beyond her again, and she was concentrating hard.
"Look, Neya, look, toons." Eliana suddenly realised that her sister wasn't watching the screen and so she called to her. "NEYA!" she shouted when she got no response and so Rae dried her hands again and crouched down by the seat.
"Honey, Anneya can't hear you, I know it's real difficult for you to understand, but ever since she was poorly in the hospital she can't hear any more."
Eliana nodded her head gravely and Rae, knowing that she had done nothing to explain, but having no idea what else to say turned back to her chores. Suddenly the room was filled with the sound of the television blaring at her and she turned in anger to her daughter. "Eliana, turn that down this instant." Rae saw Jesse come rushing into the room and tears start in their eldest child's eyes as he took the remote control from her and hit the mute button.
"For goodness sake, whatever made you do that?" Rae was still shouting even though there was no noise to compete against.
"For Neya, Neya, can't hear, Yana make it for her to hear." Her chin wobbled, and the big tears rolled down her cheeks and Rae, unable to speak or even hug her child had to turn away, but she heard Jesse comfort her and again Rae knew that whatever else was going on in her life, she had to get this sorted, right away.
ooo
Jo had eaten a little dry toast and drunk a glass of warm water after she'd had a shower and washed her hair. The fact that she had only one more day before the wonderful Debs arrived for her visit wasn't lost on Jo and she planned to spend the morning going through some more of the letters that Victoria had written to Elle. She also needed to speak with Rae and Jesse and had called and invited them for lunch, hoping that their presence would help the meal to run a little smoother than dinner the previous evening.
Steve had spent an hour in his gym and was now going through the paperwork on the Night Owls case knowing that he could file the lot away when he got to the station.
The letters were spread across the dining table and Jo was carefully making a note of each one and what it said in a small notebook. Elle's secret had soon become clear and the letter she had in her hand made Jo eternally grateful that she hadn't been born at the same time as her distant relative.
My dearest Elle,
Your letter has brought tears to my eyes, and I have been quite unable to continue with my daily routines until I know I have sent my reply back to you.
I am glad that the house in Austin is suiting you fine, but I am distressed that your family has disowned you so completely. Surely you will be able to return once the child has been born and you are no longer shaming them?
James and I continue to see each other, and momma has met him now, and likes him very much. I thought it best not to mention that you and James were acquainted. We are officially stepping out together, (I have always wanted to say that about someone) and I really do think that he may ask me to marry him one day soon.
It would be quite wonderful to be Mrs Jardinero, Victoria Jardinero, I know how taken you were with him before your troubles, and I hope that you will forgive my relationship with him and remain my friend.
My momma is going visiting with her sister next week so I will be able to come stay with you then. It grieves me so that you are alone at this time, but we all have reputations to keep and I know you will understand my hesitancy in visiting with you too often.
You make no mention of Robert, and I wonder whether your relationship has faltered due to your indiscretion, I sincerely hope not, but know that you realize just how people other than yourself could view your current situation.
I must finish now so that Mary can take this to the mail box before momma calls me for luncheon, but I will visit with you as promised next week.
Take care of yourself
Jo couldn't believe how many times the prissy Victoria had condemned her friend in just one letter, and she knew that if all she'd had to look forward to when she had been pregnant with David was a visit from someone like this she would have barricaded the door.
She looked through the other letters; suddenly anxious to see what happened as the pregnancy got closer to the end, and she hoped that in those days of primitive medical care Elle hadn't suffered like she had done.
Moving all the letters over to the other side of the table as she scanned them Jo finally realised that she had what she was looking for in her hand, and once again began to read properly.
My dearest Elle,
What can I say? Surely you realised when you found yourself with child that there was no way your parents, or Robert for that matter, would let you keep it.
Your suggestion to me needs some serious consideration, and I am glad that you are planning on staying in town a little longer so that James and I can talk this through.
Elle, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to be married to this man, to have my own home, where I can receive guests, and entertain. Mary seems to be enjoying the change as well, she was so grateful, bless her, when I told her that I wished to bring her with me to the new house. She calls me Mrs Jardinero or Madam, and curtseys when she enters the room; apparently that is how a proper housekeeper should behave. I do not know that it is, but it keeps her happy, and I have no wish to train someone new.
I must close now my dear, I have the Ladies Circle coming here this afternoon, it is such a shame that your request for membership was turned down. I shall report back to you on all that happens though, that way you are almost a member.
Give a kiss to that beautiful boy,
Kind regards
"Kind regards, the woman wouldn't know kindness if it crept up an' slapped her!" Jo dropped the letter down on the table, forgetting for a moment how fragile it was. "Every chance she got she put that poor girl down." Jo slid the letter over to the pile of unread messages so that she could put it back in order. As she did so the first line of the last letter caught her eye and she picked that up.
Elle,
James and I have discussed this and we have decided that now we have adopted James Junior it really would be best for him and us if we did not see each other any more.
I understand from what James tells me that Robert is standing by you, I hope he will always realize how grateful you are for that.
Regards
"See, no kindness there, not even good wishes for the future, girl, you were better off without her, no doubt about it."
"Better off without whom?" Rae's voice cut into her thoughts and Jo jumped in her seat. "Honey, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Rae hurried across and put a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Nothin', I've just been readin' some letters from one of my ancestors, I'll let you see if you would like." Jo could see the interest flaring in her friend's eyes.
"Oh, yes please, I would love to read them, I'm guessing though that you are not a fan of the author or authoress."
"No, I was at first, but somethin' changed her, she became … I don't know, yes, I do, she became a snob."
"In what way? If these are letters to an ancestor of yours then they were written in the deep south, they weren't that forgiving, or considerate from what I've read."
"No they weren't, but if I was havin' this baby out of wedlock would you adopt it from me an' then turn your back?"
"No, of course I wouldn't, but if we were wearing long dresses and hooped petticoats I might." Rae smiled, she would quite like to have a go at wearing the costume of the period, but not all the time.
"Oh, let's forget Victoria an' Elle an' go have some lunch. I hope you are up for barbeque because I can't get near the kitchen to cook right now, too many smells, an' Michael's in England."
"In England?" Rae's voice was instantly wistful, "I haven't been back since Anneya was born, I just haven't had the time."
"But you miss it?"
"Yeah, I do, I miss my mum, my children, I miss them dreadfully, but I also miss all the things I could never understand other people missing, the rain, clotted cream, thatched cottages, and now I'll shut up." Rae had seen her friend pretend to yawn and she had laughed and taken her by the hand. "Let's go eat, Jesse and Eliana cooked breakfast, so I'm starving."
ooo
He'd been through the market and the local shops three times before he got a chance to speak with her. She was obviously looking for something in particular, and as she had gone into a small gift shop she had dropped one of her packages which he had been quick to pick up, but slow to return.
For a moment she had looked around her and Dominic had pretended to be looking in the other direction, then he had gradually turned so that they were facing each other.
"Hi, is this your package? I found it just outside the door?" He held it out with a smile on his face and saw her look appreciatively at him.
"Oh, thank you, thank you so much, I didn't know where I'd dropped it." She took it off him but didn't seem inclined to return to her browsing.
"You look pretty laden down, and all I have are some groceries, let me help you by carrying some of this stuff." He put his hand out to take one of the designer carrier bags that the woman was holding.
"That's ok, I'm sure I can manage." She took a step backwards and two more small packages fell to the floor.
"I don't bite," Dominic smiled, he didn't, it left too many clues, "and I really do think you could do with a hand."
"Ok, thank you, I guess I overdid it a bit with the retail therapy." She put one of the handfuls of bags down, "I didn't mean to be ungrateful."
"Hey, a strange man comes up and gives you gifts, even if they are your own gifts, in this town it could mean anything." Dominic smiled, "my name is Nic, and I'm pleased to meet you."
"I'm Krista, thanks again, I won't be buying much more, this is my last port of call, I have to be thinking about lunch, and getting all these things home." She didn't want to be rude and the man in front of her seemed pleasant enough so Krista smiled as she spoke.
"Well, let me buy you lunch, I need to eat too, and somehow I don't fancy tulips and zucchini right now."
The offer was a welcome one, but Krista hesitated. LA was her hometown and she thought of herself as pretty streetwise. LA was also hazardous though, and she knew the dangers of accepting anything from strangers. For a moment she hesitated, but then feeling suddenly bold she nodded. "Give me five minutes then, I have to buy a gift for my mom, it's her birthday next week and I need to mail it to her." Krista smiled, "I don't suppose?"
"Sure, leave them all with me; I'll just stand here on guard for you." Dominic smiled, "and you will be able to see me the entire time, I won't run off."
"Good, but I don't think most of the stuff is your colour!" Krista smiled again, he was a good looking guy, and he was right, the way the store was set out she would be able to see him the entire time. It would be nice to have lunch with him too, he seemed pleasant, sometimes Los Angeles could be a lonely place, it would be good to make a friend.
ooo
The barbeque was going well, Steve had cooked up a pile of food, which was keeping warm in the pit, and now the four of them were sitting chatting while Eliana and Anneya sat at a smaller table eating their meal too. Daniel had yet to arrive back from the gym and Steve was trying to keep his anger under control. He knew that Jesse and the girls would stay to keep Jo company until Daniel came home, but they shouldn't have to, he'd asked him to do something, and he'd let him down again.
Gradually as the food was all eaten the two little girls came over towards their parents, or in Eliana's case her Uncle Steve. "Peeze, I come up." She smiled at him.
"Sure, you wanna sit on me?"
"Es, peeze." Eliana didn't wait to be lifted but tried to pull herself up. Steve put his large hands underneath her arms and as she collapsed into fits of giggles he carefully positioned her on his lap.
Anneya had gone to her daddy and been picked up immediately, she was obviously very tired and she put her thumb into her mouth and her eyelids began to droop right away.
"Rae, Jesse, it's lovely to have you hear for lunch an' all, an' you know you can come any time, but …"
"You want us to leave?" Rae smiled as she spoke, her eyes sparkling.
"No!" Jo was tempted to stick her tongue out at her friend, and in the end she did so, not wanting her to be embarrassed by her interruption when she knew the real reason for the invitation. "We don't want you to leave, ever, but more than that, we know that as she gets older Anneya is gonna find life increasingly difficult."
"Pardon?" Rae wasn't sure how the conversation had changed so suddenly, and she began to get a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Rae, I can fumble around this for ever, so I'll just say it. We want to give you Oak Place, so that you have your own home, your own base, so that whatever happens in the future Anneya will have that security in her life, Eliana too."
Rae had her hand over her mouth, she had no idea what to say, or how to respond, and so she sat in silence, trying to get her head round the fact that her best friend had just offered her and her family a multi million dollar property in Beverly Hills.