Chapter 12

The Blake Industries jet landed at Riley airport. While rotary planes had gone electric with the corresponding reduction in noise, a jet was still a jet. The plane pulled to a stop on the apron where two limousines waited. The weather was beautiful which matched Daphne's mood as she saw Delilah standing at attention next to the lead vehicle – once a Marine always a Marine. But Delilah had changed. Not the changes of getting older, those were expected. Delilah had grown her hair out and now kept it carefully coifed to soften what had previously been the sharper characteristics of her face. Before, there was no doubt that she had been military. Now, if not for the strictly erect posture, she could have been an actress or a model.

But she was still really tall, which Daphne remembered as she came running from the bottom of the stairs and held out her arms only to find herself looking directly into her sister's shoulder. She had forgotten about that – and they had never been a real huggy family, anyway.

After a moment, they pulled apart and Delilah smiled, "Which one were you, Robinson Crusoe or Friday?"

Daphne laughed, "Totally, Robinson Crusoe."

Fred came up behind her, "That makes me Friday. Yeah… that fits."

Then the shocking happened. Delilah stepped up to Fred and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. She whispered into his ear, "Thank you for keeping my sister safe."

Having never been hugged by any member of the Blake Clan except for Daphne, Fred reddened, "We kept each other safe."

Respecting Velma's discomfort with human contact, Delilah didn't extend the embrace to her. But she stood directly in front of the smaller woman, came to attention and saluted sharply. "Velma, if I could give you a medal I would."

"Give me a lift home and we'll call it even."

Daphne, Fred, and Velma climbed into the first limousine and were startled when it pulled away without Delilah. Daphne turned and looked out the back window. "Why didn't Delilah get in with us?"

Velma glanced back, "Why don't you call her and ask?"

Daphne frowned, "I… I guess I could do that." She pulled her A-Eye out of her pocket, "A-Eye Thingy, call Delilah."

The placard popped up saying 'Calling Delilah' and then almost immediately turned into her face, "Something wrong, Daphne?"

"I was just wondering why you didn't get in the same car as us?"

"I just thought that someone should stay with the luggage." Delilah's smile was forced.

"Oh… okay. We'll talk more when we get to the mansion."

Delilah rung off quickly.

Daphne looked pensive, "Vel, when was the last time you spoke with my father?"

"Three days ago, I think."

"How was he?"

"He was tired, but he had been through a lot. Why?"

Daphne shook her head and smiled, "No reason. I just can't stop my mind from working sometimes."

Fred jumped when his A-Eye spoke from his pocket, "Incoming call from Orville Roberts. Do wish to accept the call?"

Fred looked at Velma, "My first call. How did he know how to find me?"

Velma shrugged, "With A-Eyes, everyone can find you easily unless you tell your A-Eye to hide you from them. Are you going to answer it?"

"Oh… yeah… sure. Yes please, A-Eye. Accept the call."

Butch's head appeared and his voice was gravelly but certainly not as bad as Fred's, "Fred, is that really you?"

"Yeah Butch. Thanks for calling."

"Of course. Of course. Look Fred, I left things pretty bad between us and I've had a lot of time to think about it…"

"Butch, it was a long time ago. I crossed a line, and you called me on it. You were right and I was wrong. I've had some time to think, too. If I didn't say it at the time, I'm sorry."

"But that doesn't give me the right to sever our relationship. Everyone needs to be forgiven sometimes."

Fred smiled, "I know you, Butch. You would have forgiven me. I just disappeared before you had the chance."

"If it's not too late, I'd like to forgive you now."

"Never too late, Buddy. Never too late. It really means a lot to me. I have missed you so much. I thought about you all the time."

"But you had Daphne with you."

"Thank God! I know I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for her. She's my everything."

Daphne reached and gently squeezed Fred's hand.

Fred continued, "What about you? What have you been doing for the last few decades?"

Butch smiled, "Life's been pretty good to me. I'm married and we have two kids who are both, thankfully, finally done with college."

"You're married cool…" Fred tried to come up with a name and looked to Daphne. She read his mind as wives are somehow able to do and mouthed Lewis. Fred nodded, "Did you get back together with Lewis?"

Butch shook his head sadly, "No. Once trust is shattered that badly it's impossible for a relationship to recover." Daphne squeezed Fred's hand a little harder.

"Well, tell us all about him and the kids."

Butch grinned, "Fine. You forced it out of me. My husband's name is Daniel and he's an accountant and wonderfully boring. He oversaw our investments, and we were able to retire about ten years ago. We moved out of that den of privilege, Danforth, and bought some property out in the country. We have our own pond! Our oldest is named Orville Jr…"

Velma's voice came from Fred's left, "Please tell me you're kidding."

Butch laughed, "Of course, I'm kidding. I wouldn't do that to a child. What are the odds that he would befriend someone named Norville so he would have the second weirdest name in the class? His name is Angelo and we've had him since he was two years old. He followed in his father's footsteps and is a CPA and a junior partner in Daniel's old firm. Our daughter is two years younger than Angelo and her name is Sandra. She followed in nobody's footsteps and got a degree in theater. Right now, she lives in New York but is already talking about getting her Master's degree so that she can teach. Apparently, the glamorous life of a struggling actor is not what she had hoped."

"I'm glad that you're happy."

"I am. I really am. When I was young, I used to think that happiness was something that everybody pretended to have. But it's real."

"I know." Fred turned his hand over so he could squeeze Daphne's in return. "Did you keep in touch with Red Herring?"

Butch's face fell, "He didn't last very long in prison. Like he thought, he was the target for every tough guy trying to make a name for himself. About three years after you disappeared, one of them got him. His mother had passed on, so it was just me and Sarah Handler at the funeral."

"That's sad. He always looked and sounded tough, but he was a really good guy at heart."

Butch brought back his smile, "But I better let you go. You probably have…"

Daphne stuck her head in, "Hi Butch!"

Butch struck and exaggerated look of shock, "That can't be Daphne! Nan, is that you? There's no way that the woman I'm seeing is over 40."

Daphne stuck her tongue out and blew a razzberry, "You were a lawyer too long, Butch. The truth has become elusive."

"To me, you will always be the most beautiful girl in the senior class."

Fred smiled, "Me, too." He was no longer jealous of Butch's talent with saying just the right thing. Whatever made Daphne smile was fine with him.

Without thinking, Daphne asked, "What about Alicia Clark. What became of her?"

Even after 35 years, Fred's face reddened and Butch glanced at him awkwardly, "Well, I see Alicia every so often. She still rides that old motorcycle of hers. She's a private eye and has a one-person office in Southeast Riley and works for most of the law firms in the city including my old one. She never married and, in my unprofessional opinion, is a pretty messed up person."

Fred nodded, "I think she always was but then, so was I. So, I can't judge."

Daphne tilted her head, "Southeast Riley! Is that safe for her?"

Butch shook his head, "Southeast Riley got gentrified. First the aging hippies, the hippy wannabes, and the social justice warriors moved in to prove how woke they were and bought houses that had previously been low rent and moved in. While doing this, they railed against white people moving into the neighborhood and taking low-income housing away from the previous occupants. As the area got whiter and whiter, property values went up and more and more low-income people were forced to move out. Then the gentrifiers moved in, property costs skyrocketed, and the last lower income people were forced out. With no place to live near the job center of downtown, their situations got worse and they still haven't recovered. But Southeast Riley is now the posh part of the city."

Daphne was blinking her eyes, "I see that you may have retired from the law but your interest in politics hasn't waned."

He smiled, "Give me a soapbox and I'll jump on. My kids leave the room when I start on one of my rants."

Daphne gave her parting words, "Butch, we love you. Know that."

"I never doubted it. And I love you guys… even Velma."

Velma's voice again came in from the left, "Don't get cocky Roberts. I know it's tough to keep your hands off. But I'm spoken for." Velma's deadpan voice made this funnier than it really was.

Butch closed out, "Guys, I'm so glad that you're okay. Enjoy seeing your families again. Say hi to the Shagster."

And he rang off.

The two limousines pulled up in front of Blake Mansion which was the first thing that Daphne had seen yet which was unchanged from her memory. No one came pouring out the front door for hugs and kisses in the driveway, that would not be the Blake way. The second limousine pulled up and Delilah got out and immediately started striding toward the door. Daphne jumped out and almost had to run to catch up, "Delilah, wait up!"

Delilah made it to the front porch and stopped. For a moment, she didn't turn around. When she did turn, her face was serious, "Maybe I should go ahead and tell you…"

The front door opened and a formal male voice intoned, "Welcome home, Ms. Daphne."

Daphne turned, expecting to see Aaron but saw someone she didn't recognize wearing the traditional butler's uniform, "I'm sorry but I don't think we've met."

"No ma'am. I'm Wadsworth. I've taken over from Jeeves."

"Is Aaron okay?"

The butler paused a moment before responding, "Yes, he retired and lives in Florida now. Your father was very gracious and provided him with an annuity which is financing his retirement quite well."

Daphne stepped up closer to him and brought his voice, "I'm sorry if this sounds like a silly question, but is Wadsworth your real name?"

"No ma'am. It's the name your family has given me after I took the position. They told me it was a family tradition."

"Sadly, that's true. What is your real name?"

"It's William, ma'am. Or Bill."

"Would it be okay if I called you Bill?"

"It would be appreciated."

"And please feel free to call me Daphne."

"That would not conform to proper decorum, Ms. Daphne."

She smiled, "That's exactly what Aaron said."

"He was a superior butler. Now, if I may, your family is waiting in the dining room."

"Where else would they be?"

He led them through the grandiose entry hall and through the house to the dining room. Daphne immediately saw her sisters together in a clump at the far side of the room – two maintained the signature red hair of the Blake Clan while one was allowing her hair to be a bright white. But the main thing that Daphne noticed in the room was that one face was missing.

"Delilah. Where's Father?"

Delilah started to answer, "I…"

Daphe's voice went up a notch, "Where's Daddy?!"

A frail but still potent voice burst in from the hallway, "I'm coming. I'm coming." Barty Blake entered the room, pushing his walker ahead of him and followed by a nurse, "Sorry to be late but, when you reach my age, you don't put off the opportunity for a decent bowel movement. You might not get another one for days."

Barty set his walker aside and held out his arms, "My daughter! Thank God that you made it back to us."

Daphne stepped into her father's arms and felt the emaciated appendages wrap around her. He was shaking slightly but he squeezed with what little strength he had. He whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "I love you so much."

Daphne's conscious mind did not register that this was the first time in her life that her father had held her in this manner and said those words with that amount of emotional feeling. But her subconscious mind heard it loud and clear, and it resonated with her soul. The love she felt for her father had always existed. But it had been an obligatory type of love – a requirement of being a daughter and knowing nothing else. All of the Blakes had shared an emotional aloofness with one another. It just took one of them to break through it for the walls to come tumbling down. For the first time in her life, Daphne dearly and whole-heartedly loved her father.

Daphne's eyes opened and she saw her sisters trying to look anywhere but at the public display of affection being conducted between their sister and father. It was… not Blake. Then Daphne noticed something.

"Jennifer?"

The third 'sister' that she had seen upon entering the room was not one of her sisters at all but her cousin Jennifer. Her hair wasn't white as she had first thought but a lighter version of the same blonde it has always been.

Daphne did a mental roll call. There was Daisy and there was Dorothy.

"Where's Dawn?"

Her father was still holding onto her, and she felt tears coming off of his face and onto her neck.

Delilah stepped up, "I probably should have told you before we got here but I was too chicken. Dawn died in a car accident."

Daphne's voice came out hoarse, "How long ago?"

Delilah was looking to the floor, "About ten years."

Barty stepped back from her embrace, "It will be exactly ten years next month."

Daphne's heart was just slowing from the few seconds that she had feared for her father, but the beat did not speed back up again. Instead, she was filled with a slow-spreading melancholy. Honestly, Daphne had hated Dawn. And the feeling had clearly been mutual. There had been something about Daphne's efforts to break out of the Blake mold that had seemed to infuriate her sister. There was no memory of a kind word or a pleasant interaction between them – even going back into childhood. But, deep down, there was always the hope that there would be an awakening of a relationship between them based on sisterly love. But that hope was now gone.

Her emotions were assaulted by the realization of a new loving relationship with her father occurring simultaneously with the loss of any chance for a reconciliation with Dawn.

No more delaying. Daphne walked over to Daisy, threw her arms around her, and said, "I love you. I've missed you so much."

Daisy stiffened but then leaned into the hug and began to cry. Dorothy stepped up and put her arms around both of her sisters. Daphne felt the arm around her shoulders, "I love you, too, Dorothy."

"And I love you, Daphne."

The words were then echoed by Daisy and then Delilah joined in. Barty didn't move but stood and watched his remaining daughters with his own tears continuing to stream down his face. Jennifer, on the other hand, was not particularly close to any of her cousins and had just shown up because the news of Daphne's return was really interesting, and she wanted to tell her friends at the club that she was a close family member and had been there when Daphne had first come home. All this hugging and crying and emotion was not what she remembered from her uncle's family, and it was not what she signed up for. She slowly sidled away to the other side of the room to watch from a distance. No one noticed.

On entering the room, Fred had seen his father waiting quietly in a corner and bee-lined over to him. For being 85 years old, his father looked good. Fred reached out to give him a big bear hug.

Fred Sr stepped back, "Gentle hugs only, Fred. I just had back surgery and I'm still a bit tender."

"Back surgery? How long ago?"

"Three days."

"And you're walking around?"

"Yeah, it was laparoscopic. I was up and walking the same day. Probably shouldn't have been but the pain was gone and I was enjoying being able to move."

Fred stepped in for a gentle bear hug – a cub hug, "Dad, it's so good to see you. I was worried… I thought…" Fred's voice ground to a halt.

Fred Sr smiled and gripped his son more tightly, "Don't need to think about that anymore, son. You're home now and I'm up and around for a few more years at least."

Fred stepped back and looked around, "Mom's not here."

Fred Sr shook his head sadly, "She's not accepting my calls anymore so had your aunt call her. She sends her love."

"I'm sure she does."

Bill (alias Wadsworth) stepped quietly into the room and tapped Fred on the shoulder, "Mister Fred, you have a visitor."

This was unexpected. "I have a visitor?"

"Yes sir. He's awaiting you in the front hall."

Fred made his way back to the front hall to find a man somewhat shorter than himself and significantly overweight with a bald top to match Fred's and wispy silver hair around the sides. Fred felt like he should recognize the man but couldn't pin down a name.

"I'm sorry. Have we met?"

The man nodded, "For a few weeks many years ago. And I have certainly changed a lot in that time. I'm Tim McAdams."

"Tim?" Fred's mouth dropped open, "What are you doing here?"

"Basically, I'm crashing your party." It was Tim all right.

"I mean… why have you crashed the party?"

"I wanted to speak with you. I freely admit that I wheedled the time and date from Velma."

"You're still her therapist?"

"No. She hasn't needed therapy in years. But we've stayed good friends. She was my first real client. And you were my third."

"I guess I'm still wondering what you want to talk with me about."

"Well… you're an intriguing case study. Do you remember our last session?"

"Vaguely."

"You asked Daphne for a divorce, and she agreed."

"Yeah. Things didn't exactly work out that way."

"I know. A few weeks later, she had the baby and you two were still together. Months pass after that and you were still together. And then you were trapped alone together on an island for 35 years."

"You followed us pretty closely."

"You fascinated me. It took me awhile to realize that what you did in my office that day was a performance. Both of you needed to tear everything down, including your marriage and relationship so that you could build it back on a better foundation. I ended up writing a book about it. No names or details, just the concept. I called it 'Destructive Reconstruction'. It got published but nobody bought it. It was the only book I ever wrote."

"Are you thinking about writing a second one?"

"A sequel to a book that nobody ever read? No. No reason to. But what I really want to know is how did the new foundation that you started in my office that day hold up for 35 years alone?"

Fred didn't want to answer. Tim was prying. And his and Daphne's lives were not fodder to quench his curiosity. But he had to admit that Tim had helped to lay the groundwork for that new foundation, as he had called it. Maybe he owed him something.

"It held up well. But it was just what held us together until Nan was born. She was the one that truly cemented it. And then, when we were alone on the island, that stripped everything away from us and left us with only the most real part of our relationship."

"Which was?"

"How much we loved each other and loved our daughter."

"That's pretty simple, Fred."

"Yes, it is, Tim."

Tim smiled and nodded, "I guess you've answered my question. Thank you. I'll be leaving now."

"Goodbye Tim and… all those years ago, you really did help."

"I like to think so."

xXx

In the other room, Velma stepped up behind Daphne, "Daphne, they're at our house now."

Daphne whirled around, "Really?!"

"Are you ready to see them?"

"I'm scared to death."

"I'm a little scared, too. This is a big change in all of our lives. But a good one. The best one."

"Let's go. I want to see my little girl and my… granddaughter. I'll gather up Fred."