The Saturday morning after Thanksgiving, Roger sat finishing his coffee across the table from Cady who was finishing her breakfast.
"Daddy, when can Dorothy come over again?" she asked.
"Anytime you want and as long as she allowed to and it's not a school night," Roger replied.
"Okay. I wish I had a brother or sister sometimes," Cady said.
"I wanted you to, but it didn't work out," Roger replied. "Dorothy and you are very close, though."
"I guess she's like a sister," Cady replied.
"True. Lots of people are close like siblings to their cousins. It's not that rare at all," Roger replied. "You're fortunate that Dorothy lives in the same town as you."
"I guess," she replied.
"We'll see her and your aunt and uncle on the first night of Hanukkah, for sure," Roger said.
"When's that?" she asked.
"In a little over two weeks," Roger replied. He rubbed his temple and squinted a little.
"Do you have a headache, Daddy?" Cady asked.
"Yes," he said as he drank his coffee. "I thought the coffee would help."
"Why's that?" she asked.
"The caffeine that's in coffee can help headaches," Roger replied.
"Oh," Cady replied as she wiped her face with her napkin.
"Well, Baby….Do you want to help me clean up the breakfast dishes?" Roger asked.
"Sure," she replied, and Roger got up and went over to the sink.
"Remember that your momma's sleeping and we need to be careful about clinking dishes," Roger said.
"I'll be careful," Cady replied.
Roger filled a glass of water and got a bottle of aspirin out of a kitchen cabinet, took two, and drank the whole glass of water. Cady cleared the table and brought the dishes to the sink while Robert filled one side with soapy water. She pulled up her chair to the other side of the sink, grabbed a towel, and climbed up and kneeled on the chair to dry the dishes.
"So, what else would you like to do today, besides going to King's with me?" Roger asked.
"I don't know," Cady replied.
"Well, we'll have to go to lunch, of course," Roger replied. "Do you want to try that new hamburger place your uncle was talking about?"
"That sounds good, Daddy," Cady replied, distracted.
"Is something bothering you, Baby?" he asked.
"Gramma and Grampa," she replied.
"What about them?" he asked.
"They're mean to each other sometimes," she said.
"Oh. Well. They haven't been happy together, probably for a very long time," Roger replied.
"But they're married," she said as she dried a plate.
"That doesn't always guarantee happiness, Cady," Roger replied.
"Are you and Momma happy together?" she asked in a worried tone.
"Yes, Baby. Very happy. We love each other very much," he replied.
"I'm glad," she said with an audible sigh of relief. "Why aren't Gramma and Grampa happy?"
"It's complicated. Love is very complicated. People can think they love someone and it's merely infatuation, or they can think that they should get married because that's what they are supposed to do," he replied.
"What's 'infatuation?'" she asked.
"It's love that's not very deep and for really foolish, superficial reasons," Roger replied.
"Is that the kind of love Gramma and Grampa have?" she asked.
"No. Back when they got married…and people still do this, mind you…but they did it a lot more a long time ago – the primary reason that people got married was for financial security and to have families, and support those families. Love really wasn't the primary reason people got married," he explained.
"So, they don't love each other?" she asked.
"I think they did at one time, and they just fell out of love," Roger replied.
"Why did you and Momma get married?" she asked.
"We loved each other very much," he replied.
"Will you and Momma fall out of love?" she asked.
Roger stopped washing a dish and looked right at her and said, "Not a chance, Baby."
"How do you know?" she asked with a worried expression.
"Because your Momma and I were best friends when we got married. You see, Baby…Someday, you'll want to get married and the most important thing to remember is that love is not enough, money gets spent, and security is an illusion. The man you want to marry should be your best friend – someone you know supports you as a person – your dreams and goals and is interested in the things you are. You should have many common interests with enough different ones to keep it interesting. He should want your opinion and you should want his. The key to a successful marriage is trust and friendship. You should know that each of you is there for each other no matter what – like best friends do. Understand?"
"Is that what you and Momma have?" she asked.
"Absolutely," he replied.
"Then that's what I want," she said. "I want to be happy."
"I want you to be happy, Baby," he said and leaned in closer to her. "And if a boy ever hurts you, you just let me know and I'll set him straight, okay?" he said with a wink.
She smiled and giggled. "Okay, Daddy."
"And one more thing, Baby. You and your possible future husband should also share the same basic morality," he advised.
"We should believe the same things about what's good and bad?" she replied.
He leaned on the sink and put his opposite hand on his hip and smiled at her. "That's right, Baby. You're so smart." He reached out for the towel, and she finished drying a cup and handed it to him. He dried his hands and handed it back to her. "Well, when you're done drying those, finish getting ready and we'll go to King's."
"Okay, Daddy," she said, and continued drying the few dishes left. Roger went into the living room to read the Saturday paper. Cady eventually came into the living room with her navy blue pea coat over her pink sweater and blue jeans. "Ready to go?" Roger asked.
"Yes," she said, while sliding on her gloves.
The two left the house and drove to King's Department Store. Roger parked the car a couple blocks down from the store because there was no parking nearby. "I should have known the Saturday after Thanksgiving that King's would be this busy. I'm tempted to just forget about it and go do something else instead."
"Momma said you need a new suit," Cady reminded him.
"Okay…. You're right. We might as well get it since we're already here," he replied. The two walked down the sidewalk to King's, passing what seemed to be a swarm of shoppers along the way.
"Look, Baby…. They've decorated the windows with Christmas displays," Roger said as they approached the front of the store.
"Neat!" she exclaimed. The two walked along and inspected each window display. They stopped at one that was so jam-packed, they couldn't possibly look at everything. It was filled with banners and signs and many different versions of Santa figures spread out around a selection of children's toys. It was generously decorated with evergreen garlands, bows of different sizes, and electric candles.
"We should come back here at night when Momma is off from work," Roger said.
"Ooooo! Yes! I'd like to see this with the lights on at night," Cady replied.
"Me too," he said with a smile as he put his hand on her back.
They looked at the other windows. One had a post office scene with a postman and a boy who had a Christmas package. Another had a cake and candy shop scene with a woman behind the counter and a little girl peering into the dessert case while the woman smiled. All of the windows' scenes featured actual King's products.
The two walked into the store and headed back to the men's suit department where a sales clerk stood. Roger approached him and said, "Hello. I'm looking to buy a new suit – something nice, for work and going out with my wife."
"Two-piece or three-piece?" the clerk asked.
"Two-piece is fine," Roger said.
"Those are over here," the man said, and walked him and Cady over to the suit rack. "Are you looking for a particular color?"
"Gray, I'd say," Roger replied. "Black's for funerals."
"Light gray or maybe something in this charcoal gray?" the man asked.
"I think the charcoal looks pretty classy," Roger replied. Cady stood nearby with her hands in her coat pockets.
"Yes, sir," the man replied. "I'll just take your measurements and see what size you need." The man took out a tape measure and measured Roger's various dimensions while Cady watched with curiosity. Then the man looked through the rack and found a jacket and a pair of pants that would fit Roger. "Our fitting room is over here, sir," the clerk said.
"Thanks. Cady, just stay here while I try these on," Roger said.
"Okay, Daddy," she said. Roger walked off with the clerk and Cady looked at the table of ties that seemed to go on forever. While she was looking at the ties, a little black girl, around the age of four crawled out from under the table and said, "Hi!"
Cady was surprised, but said 'hi' in return. "Who are you?"
The little girl just looked at her. She wore a fancy white dress with matching winter knit leotards. Seconds later, a black woman came up and said, "Joanna! I've been looking all over for you, child." She took her hand and said to Cady, "And where's your Momma or Daddy, little girl?"
"He's in there," Cady said and pointed to the fitting room.
"Are you going to help him pick out a tie?" she asked.
"I don't know," Cady replied warily, having been taught to be cautious of strangers.
"Well, we have a lot of good ones here. You can't go wrong with a tie from King's," the woman replied. She turned to her daughter and said, "C'mon Joanna, we've got to go meet your daddy." She took her daughter's hand and said to Cady, "You have a good day, now."
"I will. Thanks," Cady replied. "You too."
The woman walked away as quickly as she had appeared. Roger came out in the suit shortly after the encounter and said, "Well, Baby. What do you think?"
"It looks nice, Daddy," Cady replied with a smile.
"Will you be needing a shirt, tie, or cufflinks?" the clerk asked Roger.
"I suppose so. We'll get the whole shebang. I think your momma would like that, don't you?" Roger asked.
Cady shook her head and smiled.
"Well, why don't you pick out some ties you like for me and I'll go pick out a shirt. Okay?"
"Okay," she replied. She picked out five ties she liked while Roger was away picking out a shirt.
Roger tried on the shirt with the suit and came back to Cady at the tie display. She held the ties in her hands. He said, "Those look nice, Baby."
"What do you think of the overall fit of the suit, sir?" the clerk asked.
"Fits like a glove," Roger said with that big Parsons smile and spun around for Cady like a fashion model.
She laughed at his antics.
"So, no alterations, then?" the clerk asked.
"I don't think so," he said as he was holding the ties Cady picked out up to his suit. He picked one out and gave it to the clerk and rested the remaining four back on the tie display. "I'll be right back," he said to Cady and went back to the fitting room with the clerk.
A few moments later, he came back dressed in the clothes he wore to the store and the clerk was behind him holding the suit, shirt, and tie. "I'll just package these up for you, sir," the clerk said, and he walked over to the counter and began wrapping up Roger's purchase.
"That was a good choice for a tie," Roger said.
"Thanks," Cady replied.
"I guess we'll go to lunch after we're done here. Then, I think we should go home and pick up around the house a little for Momma before she wakes up. Do you want to help me make dinner before she goes to work?" Roger asked.
"Sure," Cady replied.
"Then the Rice/Baylor game is tonight and we can watch it together before bedtime," Roger said.
"Okay, Daddy," Cady replied.
Roger approached the sales counter with Cady.
"That will be sixty-eight dollars, sir," the clerk said.
Roger pulled out his wallet from his hip pocket and counted out some cash and gave it to the man, who then handed him a suit bag and a box. Roger handed Cady the box. "Here, Baby. Would you mind carrying this to the car for me?"
"No, Daddy," Cady replied.
"Thanks for your help today," Roger said the clerk. Then he and Cady walked through a veritable sea of shoppers back to the car and went to lunch at The Chuc Wagun.
About a half an hour later, they were sitting outside the restaurant at a picnic table under a tent, and they had gotten their drinks and were waiting on their meals.
"Your uncle didn't say you had to sit outside at this place, did he?" Roger said.
Cady took a sip of her drink through a straw and said, "Nope," and smiled.
"Well, fortunately, it's not that cold or windy today," Roger said.
"Daddy, can black people shop at King's?" Cady asked.
"Most certainly…. Jerome King is black," Roger replied.
"Oh," Cady replied. "I saw little girl and her momma and she talked to me. I was just wondering because of what you said the other day."
"About segregation?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Did you catch their names?" Roger asked.
"The woman called her little girl Joanna," she said. "She didn't say her name."
"That's probably Mrs. King and their daughter, then. I think Bill said their daughter's name was Joanna. That's easy to remember for obvious reasons," he said as he rubbed Cady's head from across the table. She smiled.
"There were a lot of white people there buying things from a black family," she observed.
"Yes. People are peculiar, Baby, and not at all consistent," Roger replied.
"They don't mind buying from them but won't let them go to school with me?" she inquired.
"You have to remember that not all people are bigoted. Some genuinely don't care that King's is owned by a black family. It doesn't factor into their thinking. And some are bigoted but still need to buy the things that King's sells. Also, King's is fairly upscale because Jerome King has worked long and hard for this achievement his whole life, and the people with the most backward attitudes these days can't afford his merchandise anyway," Roger explained.
"Poor people are bigoted?" she asked.
"Not necessarily, but they often can't afford the schooling that would educate them otherwise, and some feel like they have to compete economically with poor blacks and, well, have to have some group lesser than them in their minds to feel better about themselves," he replied.
"That's sad," she replied.
"Yes it is," he said.
"How do people become bigoted?" she asked.
"Wow. That's a big question," Roger replied. He thought for a bit and continued, "Generally, it's fear or hate or a combination of the two – since fear and hate often come together."
She looked and him with a quizzical expression.
He explained further, "People fear who or what they don't know or have experience with. If there is a perceived or actual wound or slight from someone they already fear, then they hate them for it. And hate grows more hate over time, until people hate out of habit and don't even remember how they got to hating in the first place."
"I don't want to hate anyone, then," she replied, straightening up in her seat in a defiant pose.
"That's an excellent policy, Baby. Choose to be happy and not miserable with hate or the need to be right all the time," Roger advised.
"Happy sounds a lot better anyway," she replied.
"It is."
The food arrived and they ate, and afterward, headed back home. When they arrived, Roger put Cady to work cleaning and organizing her bedroom while he worked on the living room and then the bathroom. Finally, he worked his way to the kitchen and cleaned it. After all the cleaning, Cady colored on the coffee table, and Roger read the rest of the Saturday paper until it was almost time for dinner. When they heard Cynthia get up to take a shower to get ready for work, Roger got up and started reheating some Thanksgiving leftovers so they could all eat together before she went to the hospital.
Cynthia came out when she was dressed. She wore dark brown and white plaid pants with tapered legs and a belt and a camel colored turtle neck and the watch that Roger got her for their last anniversary. She walked up to Cady where she was coloring and held her cheeks and kissed her on the top of her head.
"Did you have a good time today?" Cynthia asked.
"Yes. I helped Daddy shop for a suit and then we went to the Chuc Wagun," she replied.
"Good. It's about time for that suit," she replied and went into the kitchen.
When she approached Roger, who was stirring gravy on the stovetop, she put her arms around his waist and rested her head on the back of his shoulder.
"Have a good sleep?" he asked.
"Yes, but I'm not looking forward to this shift tonight. You know the mayhem these local football games bring into the hospital between the drinkers and the brawlers," Cynthia said.
"Can't say I envy you…. I'm just glad I get to watch the game from the comfort of home," he said and turned around and put his arms around her waist and kissed her passionately on the lips. She responded in kind.
When the kiss was over and he was smiling at her in a peculiar way – like he'd never looked at her before, she asked, "What was that all about?"
"Nothing," he said as he smoothed back a lock of her hair away from her forehead. "I'm just so happy I married my best friend."
She felt his forehead and said, "You don't seem to have a fever," and smiled.
"I've got a fever for you, Sweetheart," Roger replied as he pulled her in closer.
"No, really…what's this all about?" she asked.
"Nothing. I was just thinking of a conversation that Cady and I had earlier today," he replied. He put his hands on Cynthia's backside and gently squeezed and said, "I sometimes marvel at the fact that I get to make love to someone that is also my best friend. I'm the luckiest man in the world."
She smiled and squeezed his backside, "That must have been a helluva conversation. You'll have to tell me about it later." She reached around him and turned off the gravy that had almost been boiling over. "Gravy's done," she said with a smile.
He kissed her again and said, "I love you so much."
"I love you too, Roger. You're the best thing that ever happened to me," she replied.
"Well, why don't you go sit down in the living room since the game is about to start and I'll bring the TV trays and serve up dinner to the 'best thing that ever happened to me' too," he said.
"Okay," she said and went back into the living room. Roger got the TV trays and served up the leftover food, and they all sat next to each other on the couch with the Rice/Baylor game on the television. After everyone was done eating, Cady returned to coloring and Roger put the dirty dishes in the sink to wash later. Cynthia put on her lab coat and her winter coat over that and grabbed her medical bag.
"C'mon over here, and give me a hug, Baby," she said. And Cady got up and hugged her. "You take care of your Daddy tonight."
"Okay, Momma. I'll see you in the morning," Cady replied.
Cynthia kissed Cady on the top of the head and Roger came over to Cynthia and hugged her. "I'll have a surprise for you when you get home in the morning," Roger said with a wink.
"Oh, dear….Well, I look forward to seeing you then, Mr. Parsons," she said coyly and winked back. "You two enjoy the game."
"Okay, Momma," Cady said while coloring. Cynthia left to go to work and Roger sat down in his chair and watched the game on television. After a while, Cady went back to her room and brought a book and snuggled next to Roger in his chair and read while he watched the game.
"That Raymond Chilton is an amazing player," Roger remarked.
"Uh-hmm," Cady said while reading her book, clearly not as interested in the sport. Roger smiled.
About a half hour later, he said, "Things are not looking good for Baylor. It's good that your momma's not a fan or she'd be pretty disappointed in her alma mater."
"What's 'alma mater?'" Cady asked.
"It's a Latin phrase used to indicate the school where one got their education," Roger replied.
"Julia is learning Latin at school," Cady remarked.
"Ah, yes. For the Latin mass," Roger replied.
"That's what she said," Cady replied and returned to reading.
By the time the game was over, Rice beat Baylor twenty to zero. Cady was still reading her book when Roger said, "It's an hour past your bed time. I guess we better do something about that."
Cady put her bookmark in her book and stood up as Roger did. "Okay," she said.
"Why don't you go get ready for bed and I'll rinse up the dishes and you can read to me tonight, instead. This headache of mine has returned."
"Okay, Daddy," she said and went off to her room to get into her pajamas.
Roger went into the kitchen and washed the small number of dishes and took a couple of aspirin and walked back to Cady's room and knocked on the door. "Ready, Baby?" he asked.
"Yes," she said through the door. He entered her room and she was under her blankets and was wearing her pink pajama set with the short sleeve, collared, button down shirt with pleats on the front and poufy sleeves, and matching tapered pants.
Roger sat down in the chair next to her bed while she had her book sitting on her stomach. "Did you have a good day today?"
"Yes," Cady replied. "The Chuc Wagun was good. We should go with Julia sometime."
"We will. That was pretty funny that it was shaped like a covered wagon, wasn't it?" Roger said with a smile.
She giggled and said, "Yes."
"Alright, let's hear some from this book you're reading," Roger said.
"Can I get some water, Daddy? I'm thirsty," she asked.
"Certainly," he said. "I think I'll get a glass for me too." He stood up and walked out of her bedroom and back to the kitchen. He filled two glasses of water and turned to head back to her room. Suddenly, he waivered in his gait, his eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed onto the kitchen floor, shattering both glasses as he fell.