Dear Katherine
Oh yes, I know how funny Robert Ironside can be... he always could. But I have to admit that I'm quite happy not to be at the receiving end of his pranks anymore!
In addition to the commotion around Danny's arrival in our home I have a random problem: Suzanne is a grown woman now, but it is still a challenge for her to lose her privilege of being my only child.
I asked her how she would feel if she got a little brother.
It almost blew her mind. "A little brother... at your age?!"
"Well, not exactly that little."
"As long as he's not one of Ed's punk... no... don't tell me... Oh my God, he is one of Ed's punk kids...!"
"Please don't call them that. And no, he isn't exactly one of the juvenile offenders either."
Dear Eve
You must be beside yourself with excitement about the new member in your family! At any rate that's how I would be.
There was enough excitement for my liking in Sonoma yesterday.
Late in the evening we saw some smoke on Luke Derringer's vineyard. Luke lives a little further down our valley with his wife.
A fire is a serious problem in a vineyard, so we went out to see if there was one – and indeed, dozens of grapevines were already burning. Moreover a strong wind was driving the flames towards our property!
You should have seen my Robert. He took care of everything. He organized the entire fire-extinguishing action.
All our neighbors came over to help, and thanks to Robert's talents the fire was put out before the firefighters even reached the place.
Afterwards we wondered about what had caused the fire. Maybe a careless motorist had thrown a burning cigarette out of his car. One would think that by now everybody knows that they aren't to do this!
Dear Katherine
It's been a while, but I'm sure you will understand why I didn't write for some time: Danny is here now! He is a very skinny boy with an angelic face, his light brown hair is neatly parted on the right side.
He doesn't smile or cry. He is extremely clumsy but has skilled hands. Loud noise, bright light, animals or crowds scare him terribly.
He can't cycle – for the time being he gets the second seat on our tandem. Going out on cycling tours seems to make him happy.
I have found out that he panics when I expect him to take a shower. Fortunately we have a bath tub. Washing his hair is a major problem. Ed takes care of that for now.
He eats pasta, bread, some fruits and potatoes, but no vegetables, salad or meat, and nothing containing different foods all at once.
We bought him a few toys: puzzles, an Erector set and Legos. He plays with them all alone for hours, especially with the Legos. When he is stressed he just sorts them by color on the floor.
Once I wanted to vacuum. He started to scream and hid under his bed, sobbing helplessly. Therefore I did the cleaning when he was at school, but I must have touched one of his Lego stacks accidently. When he noticed it he did his screaming-and-hiding routine again.
Yesterday I was annoyed because my mixer broke down. I didn't object when Danny took it to his room. Half an hour later he brought it back and the mixer was working.
Today he cracked the password on Ed's computer.
Dear Eve
Your description of Danny almost made me cry. I can hardly imagine how difficult life must be for him – and now for you too! May you find a way to his heart.
We have a very troubled person here as well.
Ellen Crawford, a very nice new friend of mine, lives with her husband not far away from us.
They had a cute dog named "Peppermint", don't ask me why he carried this name. Unfortunately he was run over by a car or more likely a truck.
Poor Ellen is heartbroken about her loss. The little dog brought so much joy into her life!
I feel so sorry for her, especially since her husband Bill is not always easy to live with.
Robert and I are thinking about how we could cheer her up. Maybe we will invite her for a trip to the countryside tomorrow.
Of course "Peppermint" can't be replaced in her heart, therefore we can't just buy a new dog for her. She must put her grief behind her and be ready for another one first.
Dear Katherine
I started to read "The Leatherstocking Tales" to Danny, overarticulating the protagonists' emotions for him. He watched me eagerly, and sometimes he grimaced as if he was trying to express the same feelings.
Ed has found a solution for Danny's hair-wash problem. He found out that Danny is afraid of water getting into his eyes. Hence he bought him diving goggles. Now Danny manages to wash his hair himself! You really have to get inventive with such a child.
He gets surprisingly good marks at school, at least in certain subjects like math and science. He doesn't seem to like foreign languages. Funny – Ed has never learned French and Spanish either, just a little German. I'm tempted to say: Like father, like son!
Patiently Ed taught Danny how to ride a bike. It was like having a very small child. Finally they managed, and for the first time I saw Danny smile. Yet his muscle tone is too low to cycle long distances. "We'll improve on that," Ed promised.
They have started to build a model aircraft together. Since both of them are perfectionists they spend many evenings on their project. It's an infinite joy for me to see the graying and the dark-blond heads stuck together, their eyes shining, understanding each other without any words.
These times with Danny are very important to Ed, but he doesn't want to neglect me either. Now he has taken to work entire nights or get up at four in the morning. I don't know where this will end, but up to now it seems to become him. I have never seen him happier.
Dear Eve
It is wonderful to read how you are developing into a real family! It will be your job to protect your husband from himself. He doesn't get any younger. Like my Robert he seems to have a tendency to go to his limits and beyond. But I'm sure you are aware of that.
My husband has a little relapse into his former life right now.
The house of our neighbors, the Stravinskys, was burglarized.
It happened while they were at their daughter's marriage in New York. When they came home the door was broken down and all their valuables were gone.
And I thought that such things only happened in town!
Of course Robert feels that he has to solve the case. It will be very difficult though. Robert doesn't have access to the means of the police, and they don't want him to interfere. As you can imagine this only makes Robert furious but doesn't stop him!
Dear Katherine
Yesterday was a day worth marking in my calendar...
First of all I overslept and as a result Danny was late for school, which made him awfully nervous. Suzanne had announced that she would come and look after Danny in the evening. I wanted to have the spare bedroom ready for her, but the vacuum cleaner broke down, and Danny, who might have been able to repair it, was at school. Then I burnt the cake. After lunch I thought that Danny really needed a haircut, or Suzanne would make a flippant remark about him. But he looked at me as if I wanted to kill him with the scissors. Fleeing under the couch he stumbled over my beautiful floor vase – he can be so awkward! – and it broke into pieces.
I was so beat that I sat down and cried.
That's how Suzanne found me. She picked up the shards of the vase – it had been a gift from her and she was really hurt – and shouted, "Give that brat back!"
It was our first evening off together since Danny has joined us. The occasion was the ball in honor of the newly-graduated police officers. Ed had to be there as an official and I was invited because everybody was supposed to be there with their spouse, if any. We explained to Danny that we would be back before 10 pm and he nodded his agreement.
It was nice to be out together for once.
Nevertheless we left early, but on our way home Ed's car phone rang.
It was headquarters.
"Sir, there is a problem on Gaylord street, at the 'Red Lion' bar. Most colleagues are still at the ball; could you please take a look yourself?"
Of course Ed could. He wanted me to drive home, he would take a taxi later, he said. But I didn't want this evening to end like this. Perhaps it would only be a minor problem.
When Ed pulled into a parking space in front of the bar a dozen or more youths came running out, splitting up and fleeing in all directions.
My husband hurried towards the venue, I followed suit.
I almost ran into him since he had stopped at the door. He blocked the entrance with his outstretched arm.
Inside there was chaos: overturned tables, broken chairs, shards from dishes and glass, food stuck on the walls. A waitress was crying hysterically, an older man clad in black was shouting around, a couple of guests were huddled together in a corner.
And then I saw Danny. He was standing in the middle of the room, holding a knife to the inner side of his left wrist, ready to cut his artery.
With the combined authority of his official position and his 6 feet and 2 inches my husband shouted, "Police, I'm Chief Brown. This is my son. Leave me alone with him!"
Everybody obeyed instantly. The guests left through the door, the personnel disappeared into the kitchen.
I remained standing in the doorway. Slowly Ed moved towards the thin figure.
I got a glimpse of Danny's face and was startled: An expression of deep shock showed on his face. The knife dropped from his hand and he stood there like petrified.
Very carefully Ed stepped nearer, ready to pull back instantly if Danny showed another sign of aggression.
"Is this true?" asked Danny. His voice sounded hushed and a little flat, but never in my life had I heard a sweeter sound. Danny was talking!
I think the insight hit us both in the same second. "Danny, I am so, so sorry. I have never told you that you are my son, have I? Please forgive me," said Ed.
Tears were running down Danny's cheeks now. He threw himself into Ed's arms. He didn't utter another word. It was not necessary.