Part 5.3 – Racamoni and Cheese
Martin was upstairs now, clipboard in hand, directing traffic for what seemed like an army of women in maid's uniforms who scurried from room to room with sheets and blankets and bedspreads and pillows. The delivery men were now carting small pieces of furniture as well as lamps and mirrors up the stairs.
"People!" he shouted above the din of banging hammers and buzzing undercurrent of chatter, "this is kindergarten color-coding. Yellow sheets go in the yellow bedroom, blue sheets go in the blue room, and green sheets go in the green room. Why do I see blue sheets in the yellow room?"
Alice Street was even more stunned by the upstairs, an almost exact replica of the Martin house. The bedrooms were different colors – the Martin's bedroom had been blue and Gregg's room had been red – but they appeared to be in the same location and roughly the same size as she recalled. Even the blue tile and claw foot tub in the big bathroom was the same. It was uncanny. She watched this man her daughter loved, trying to figure out why he went to such lengths to recreate a house from someone else's memory, and was struck anew by his appearance and overall demeanor. She found it easy to believe he was successful at his career and that his clients must feel very secure with him as their attorney. Della would most assuredly be attracted to his good looks, but what was it about him in particular that she found irresistible?
Perry had taken their luggage from the car and carried it up the stairs while Mae and Alice oohed and aahed over each room as they neared completion. The yellow room contained a double bed with an oak spindle headboard, two matching bedside tables upon which had been placed clear double ball crackle glass lamps with brass bases and silk shantung shades. A highboy chest and a dresser with an attached mirror were arranged on opposing walls, and a cane-bottomed oak captain's chair sat in the corner by the window, a yellow crocheted afghan draped over it for effect. Perry put Alice's suitcase in this bedroom on top of the soft white chenille bedspread.
Mae's suitcase he brought to the smallest room, which had been painted a soothing grass green. Perry liked this room, the cozy dimensions, the color, and how the white curtains made it look fresh and inviting. Mae would like this room, too. A plain Russel Wright Conant Ball twin bed, matching tall dresser and round lamp table in maple took up most of the space in the room. A Leviton tile lamp in green and white had been abandoned on the floor and he moved it to the table. He hefted Mae's suitcase to the bed and then wandered out into the hallway to find the ladies.
Perry poked his head into the blue room, which now contained two twin beds with whitewashed panel headboards and simple cedar blanket chests at the foot of each bed. A sturdy whitewashed bench separated the beds, and two hand-blown Blenko cobalt blue glass lamps were set in relief against the cornflower blue wall atop the bench. Cornflower, cobalt and white patchwork quilts were being shaken out and laid across the beds by one of the maids hired to put the house together quickly. This room Perry planned for Jamie and Robbie to stay when they needed to rest. Later, before heading back to the hospital, he would get their suitcases from the car and take them upstairs
Martin joined him in the blue room to excitedly bring Perry up to date on what he had arranged to be brought into the house. In addition to the bedroom furniture, Martin had found a breakfront to match the sideboard already in the room, as well as a chandelier that an electrician was installing at this very moment. He nearly jumped out his skin when telling Perry about the leather couch and chair he had selected for the little den off the dining room, and that he also planned to put in a desk, if Perry didn't think that would cause him to think about work too much. Perry assured him a desk would be fine, and that he had always wanted a den with leather furniture, and thanked him again for all he had done to make the house habitable in such a short time. Martin bustled out of the room, exceptionally pleased that his efforts were appreciated and approved of, grateful that someone like Mr. Mason had trusted him so implicitly. This house had been his biggest project to date, and he had designed it with details from a woman's childhood and a bit of information about the woman herself. He wished he could have met her before she became ill, if only to get a sense of what she liked best about what he had done to the house.
Perry continued down the hallway and found Mae and Alice in the yellow room. Mae was seated in the cane-bottomed chair wrapped in the afghan sipping tea, while Alice was moving between the bed and the dresser, swiftly and efficiently transferring clothing from her suitcase to the drawers. He stood in the doorway and watched the two women with an amused smile, seeing so much of Della in both of them.
Mae motioned him into the room as Alice quickly shoved a handful of undergarments into the drawer and slammed it shut. "Mae! I'm unpacking my unmentionables."
"Well, you just mentioned them," Mae retorted, "so if Perry didn't notice what you were doing, he certainly knows now."
Perry grinned. "I'll stay in the doorway, far away from the unmentionables, ladies. I just wanted to let you know that I'll have dinner ready in an hour. Also, the bathrooms have been outfitted with towels and soap and just about anything else you might need. Martin says everyone will be cleared out in a few minutes to work downstairs, so please make yourselves at home."
Mae took a sip of tea. "Alice already has. What room am I in?"
"I put your suitcase in the green room across the hall. Jamie and Rob will be in the blue room. I'll bring their luggage up later before I go back to the hospital. I'm afraid the telephone won't be working until tomorrow, so we can't call the hospital and check in on Della. Originally I hadn't wanted a telephone here, but recent events have changed my mind."
"You don't need to cook us dinner," Alice Street said a bit stiffly. "Mae and I can forage for ourselves."
"Take that stick out of your behind, Alice and let the man cook for us," Mae said tartly. "Thank you, Perry. I'm looking forward to a shower, changing, and eating a hot meal I didn't have to prepare. I'm sure by the time dinner is ready my sister will feel the same way."
Alice waited until Perry excused himself to turn on her sister with hands on hips. "I'm capable of speaking for myself, sister dear."
"Of course you are. Except right now you sound like you have to pass gas and can't, so I thought I'd spare the poor man words you'll say now but regret later." She got to her feet. "I've got dibs on the big bathroom."
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Perry rummaged through the cabinets gathering what he would need to make dinner, laying everything out on the counter, and turned on the oven to preheat. He quickly grated a large brick of extra sharp cheddar cheese, another of Gruyere, and yet another of Pecorino Romano on wax paper. Then he filled a pot with water and put it on to boil, dropped a stick of butter in a large saucepan, cut crusts from a half dozen slices of bread, tore them to bits and threw them into a glass bowl. After the butter was melted, he drizzled a couple of tablespoons over the breadcrumbs and set the bowl aside. When the pot of water boiled he poured elbow macaroni into the roiling liquid, salted it, and stirred it. In a small saucepan he measured out milk and set it to warm while adding flour to the melted butter and whisking it smooth until it bubbled. He poured the heated milk gradually into the larger saucepan, whisking constantly until completely mixed, and then threw in nutmeg, black and cayenne pepper. He removed it from the flame, added most of the grated cheese, stirring briskly as it melted into a smooth sauce. The macaroni was cooked short of al dente, so he poured it into a colander, ran cold water to rinse off the starch residue, and dumped it back into the pot. He spooned the cheese sauce over the steaming pasta, folded it thoroughly, and transferred the mixture to a large speckled blue roasting pan. Next the reserved cheese was sprinkled over the top, then lastly the breadcrumbs.
Perry slid the heavy roasting pan into the oven with satisfaction, wiping his hands on a dishtowel. He glanced at his watch to mark the time, moved to the cabinet designated for liquor and pulled out the bottle of bourbon. Eschewing a glass, he took two generous pulls directly from the bottle, replaced the cork, and was just about to put it back in the cabinet when he heard a cough in the doorway. Knowing it was Alice Street before turning around, he closed his eyes and heaved a resigned sigh.
"Is that private stock, or can a lady get a drink around here?"
He faced her with a smile. "As long as it's bourbon, scotch, or wine, you may have anything you'd like."
"I'd kill for that bourbon right now. Tall, with a splash of water, please. On the rocks, if you have ice."
"Do I have ice? It was the first thing I asked Martin to do when I called him to set up the house," he replied, taking a glass from another cabinet, opening the refrigerator, then the freezer compartment and removing an ice cube tray.
"At least you have your priorities straight, Mr. Mason." Alice moved to the table and sat down in the chair he had claimed as 'his'. "I'm assuming that you haven't owned this house very long."
He set her drink in front of her and took Della's chair. "I've actually owned it for several months. It needed a serious spiffing up, so I hired Martin to take care of everything. Della and I have been very busy and it was wearing on her. I had planned to bring her here for her birthday, but she needed to get away now." He sat back, pulled his cigarette case from his pocket, and offered it to her. She shook her head and even though he really wanted a cigarette, the look on her face made him set the slim case on the table in front of him. "I thought you would want to clean up before dinner," he remarked.
She took a healthy sip of her drink and eyed him over the rim of the glass. "I decided to listen to my sister and take the stick out of my butt," she told him.
"I believe Mae said 'behind', but I'm glad you removed it from wherever it was and came downstairs."
"I'll take a bath before bed. If I took one now I wouldn't make it through dinner. It smells delicious, by the way."
Perry nodded briefly. "'Racamoni' and cheese," he said with an amused twinkle.
"Oh, Della's actually told you about that!" she said brightly, referring to her daughter's childhood mispronunciation of 'macaroni'. She set her glass down on the table with sober deliberation. "You know my daughter very well, don't you?"
"As well as a man can know a woman." He smiled at his little attempt at humor.
Alice Street regarded him searchingly. "I've never known two people to be so tight-lipped about their feelings for one another. You're a bit more open about it than Della, but not much. She did admit that she loves you and is happy."
Perry picked up the cigarette case and flicked the mechanism that opened it, closed it, and then flicked the lever again. "I won't say I told you so."
Alice Street actually cracked a smile. "But you told me so."
Perry shrugged. "Mrs. Street, in doing what I do, I've become somewhat of a celebrity. I didn't seek it out; it just happened due to the notoriety of a few murder trials that went my way."
"From what I've read Mr. Mason, trials always go your way."
"That's what I mean. I've been fortunate to represent innocent clients and to work with people dedicated to providing the best defense possible. Now whenever I step into or out of a courtroom, or into or out of a restaurant, there are cameras present. Reporters are little more than vultures, circling to get something on me that no one else has managed to get, something explosive or exploitable that they can run back to their editors with. When Della and I first became involved, it was very important to her that our feelings remain ours alone so my professional reputation would be protected. Our relationship is unconventional, deeply thought out, and serious. She wouldn't have it any other way, and since I love her and want nothing but her happiness, I go along with it."
"But given your druthers you would be more public about your relationship?"
"Given my druthers, I would be married to your daughter, Mrs. Street."
Alice Street drained her drink in one gulp and set the glass back on the table. "I see. And she won't marry you, will she?"
He shook his head. "I've asked her more times than I can count. She says I'm not the marrying kind, that marriage would change us and therefore ultimately fail."
"Is she right, Mr. Mason?"
Perry shrugged and Alice thought she saw a longing or sadness or both in those startling blue eyes. "She thinks she's right Mrs. Street, and so far I haven't been able to convince her otherwise. Our relationship is the best thing I've ever experienced – except when it comes to that one topic. She won't even discuss the possibilities. She's built a wall I can't break through."
"Mr. Mason, exactly how much did Della tell you about those summers at the shore and her relationship with the young Martins?"
"She's spoken in general about how she loved it there and how they all got along. Kathy was the one who – she told me about Gregg Martin and Della."
Alice regarded Perry somewhat cautiously, noting how his eyes never changed expression. She was learning more about this man her daughter loved with each passing hour. She had promised Della she would try to be more accepting of him and their relationship and she was keeping that promise. He had opened his home – their home – to her and Mae and she was beginning to see how truly kind and caring he was, not only with Della but with her and the rest of the family. She had a feeling Jamie and Robbie would be a harder sell but she knew if she made an effort they would as well, albeit grudgingly. It would be up to her to bridge the gap between how she and her sons felt Della should conduct her life and the way in which she actually conducted it. She made a decision and suddenly reached across the table, taking hold of Perry's hand. As the big man gave her a surprised but pleased look, she smiled and spoke in the same quiet, clear way as her daughter.
"I think it's time we were on a first name basis. After all Perry, we're family, are we not?"
A genuine smile crossed Perry's face. "We are indeed Alice, we are indeed."