Winter Journeys

Chapter 2 Accompanied by an Adult

The next evening the Girardi's celebrated with a relatively quiet dinner at the house, for the extended family: Joan, her brothers, her parents, Lily, and their cousins the Cavalos. Jean Cavalo was explaining a complicated incident at the party.

"It was sort of a comedy at errors. There was a poor girl there who is having a baby and is out of contact with her family. I invited her to spend the holidays with us so I can teach her what to expect--"

"So that's why I invited Bonnie," mumbled Joan.

"Pardon?" asked Lily.

"She said that 'that's because I invited Bonnie'," replied Luke. "It was a last-minute decision, and turned out to be fortunate."

Helen looked back and forth between her two youngest children. She had distinctly heard Joan say something different from Luke's explanation. And though she was used to Joan doing odd things and giving odd explanations, it was disconcerting to hear Luke chip in instead.

"At the same time," said Jonathan Cavalo, "I was talking to the Polonski girl. She was looking for work during the holidays and asked me if we would take her on as a 'hand'. Since she already knew her way around our farm, it struck me as a good idea, so I said yes."

"So what's the problem?" asked Lily. "Even if the two girls don't get along, they should have plenty of space on the farm to avoid each other."

"The trouble," explained Helen, who had visited the farm during the summer of 2004, "is there's only one guestroom. Bonnie and Grace will have to share. Talk about odd couples."

"When we spoke to our son Brian this morning and explained the arrangement," said Jonathan, "he said 'no problem. If the girls don't get along, one of them can move into my room.'"

The group laughed, and the jollity got even stronger when Will remarked, "Be careful what you wish for--"

"So Grace will be away for the holidays," repeated Kevin. "You think you'll survive her absence, Luke?"

Suddenly the joy evaporated and was replaced by tension. Kevin didn't know about Luke's and Grace's night together, or the subsequent estrangement. As Helen tried to think of a distraction, Luke spoke up.

"Actually, I've been making other plans. The counselor told me today that I might have a chance at Harvard. So I thought: why not spend the holidays going up to Massachusetts and looking the place over?"

The matter of Grace was forgotten as everybody reacted to this good news. Unfortunately, it soon ran into trouble with logistics.

"I'd like to go with you," Will said proudly," but I'm afraid there's too much work at the office."

"Lily and I are working on a Christmas pageant at the church," said Helen ruefully. "I promised to paint the backdrop. So I'm afraid--"

"I may slow you down," said Kevin, looking down at his wheelchair. It was very rare for him to make such an admission.

"I think I could go on my own," insisted Luke.

"No, no, you're only 17," said Helen. "You need an adult to travel with you."

"Next year I'll be going off on my own anyway," pointed out Luke.

"That's a structured environment," countered Will. "Dorms, campus, schedules. This time you'll be wandering about in a strange city."

"I'll go with him," said Joan.

It took a moment for that to register. Later Luke remarked that it was like the moment in LORD OF THE RINGS when the heroes took a minute to realize that a hobbit had volunteered for the grand quest. Finally," Helen said, "You're not old enough either, Joan."

"Why not? I'm 18 now. You said he needed an adult; well, I'm one."

"Just barely."

"Is this about 'crazy Joan' again? Because it's not fair. The crazy stuff was a year and a half ago, and it wasn't even my fault. I was poisoned by a tick, not soft in the head."

Helen opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it. It's her birthday, her 18th birthday. Don't ruin it with an argument. "Your father and I will discuss it tonight."

Joan looked dubious, probably suspecting that her parents would just be cooking up an excuse not to let her go. But the appearances were saved.

-----------------

Four hours later Helen was lying in bed with Will, and ready to talk. There was something magical about that bed, as if the simple act of lying there together connected their souls and made all discussions more intimate.

"So what do you think, Will?"

"After thinking about it all evening, I've decided that maybe we should let them go."

"What?"

"Joan's right," said Will firmly. "We've been letting that crazy period color our responses to Joan too much. Last spring, somehow, she figured out that Hunter was behind the sacrilege and told me. If I had acted on it, I could have saved myself and the department a lot of embarrassment. But I brushed it off as Joan being crazy."

"And you're going to make it up by letting her go off with Luke alone?"

"Not as a quid pro quo, but I think we should trust her judgement."

Helen hesitated, then finally brought forth the root reason for her fear. "When I went out in the world alone, I got raped."

Will scowled. "I know. But that was a personal tragedy, not a universal ordeal. Joan knows what happened, she knows to take precautions. And don't forget that it's not just Joan. It'll be Luke and Joan, looking out for each other."

Helen found her resolve wavering, now that she had acknowledged the trauma that underlay her fears. "Maybe."

"Let's give Joan her best 18th birthday present, Helen. Trust and independence."