Chapter 4
The dining room was beautiful. Chandeliers of crystal hung from the ceiling and the waiters wore black slacks and white button-up shirts. The room as a whole wasn't too large, enough to fit about twenty tables of various sizes. Alison scanned the room to find a large, half full, round table in the back of the restaurant. Alison could make out Felix, Sarah, Cal and Kira sitting on one side, with empty seats adjacent. Cal waved his hand to get her attention and she smiled, walking towards them.
"Auntie Alison!" Kira said, running over and giving her a big hug. Alison smiled. Kira was getting big now at eleven. She insisted she was too old to be a flower girl, but Cosima wrangled her into junior bridesmaid duty. Alison smiled at the memory of Cosima saying that she would not get married without her Monkey by her side.
"Hey, cute girl," Alison said hugging her back, "what have you been up to?"
Kira grabbed her hand and pulled her to the table, forcing her in the seat next to hers, "Dad took me bird watching earlier. We saw a yellow-billed cuckoo, and Dad almost got close enough to touch it!"
Alison paid attention as Kira explained all the nuances of bird watching. She was growing up to be a beautiful young lady. She had her mother's curls, and her fathers cedar streaks of light brown running through her now-darkening hair. She was very well mannered, but the second she got the go-ahead she loved to be outside finding new adventures. Her bold confidence reminded Alison of… Alison cut the thought. She would have to steer her memory away from Beth if she hoped to keep her a secret.
"Kira, Monkey, let Alison talk to the rest of us, honey." Sarah cut in.
"Oh, no," Alison insisted, "she's fine. We don't get to see one another often and I'm delighted to listen."
Cal put his arm around Kira's shoulder and ruffled the back of her hair. Kira shrugged his hand from her hair. Kira was getting to an age where she wasn't a child anymore. A girl like that needed to be independent.
"It was fun, I like this place." Cal cut into Kira's story, "I was telling Sarah that we may have to make it up here again, just the three of us."
"And I told him," Sarah cut in, "I don't do this thing often so he better soak it up."
"You do outdoors plenty," Cal laughed.
"I do outdoors," Sarah responded, "but I bloody don't do rich-people outdoors."
Cal had a laugh at this, one of his deep guttural guffaws that seemed to use every bit of him, while somehow seeming effortless. Alison tilted her head, looking at the two of them. They really were good together. The thought made her curious of Donnie's absence.
"Next time you get my sister here," Felix piped in, "You'll be the one having the wedding." He was thanked for his observation with a hard kick under the table from Sarah.
"Alison!" Felix protested, "Did you see that? She kicked me. Right here, in bloody rich-people outdoors, she kicked me!"
Cal began his signature laugh again as Sarah glared at Felix, "I swear, Fee, if we weren't related I'd-"
"Well technically…" Felix started.
"No, I learned long ago I don't get to pick and choose," Sarah said. "if I say you're not my brother now, then you'll just throw it back in my face when I need you to watch Kira later."
Felix mock-pouted, "But maybe I have plans, you ever think of that?"
"Plans with whom?" Sarah said.
"I don't know, maybe that waiter."
Sarah looked over her shoulder at the waiter. "Oh him? I saw him checking out a little blonde when we walked in. I hate to tell you, Fee, but I don't think he's interested."
"He's not interest now," Felix said, "we'll see if he's interested later."
The conversation was cut off with Donnie's late arrival. He was huffing like a train as he plopped down in a chair next to Alison.
"Oh, Donnie," Alison said under her breath to only him, "did you even bother freshening up before coming?"
Donnie shot an annoyed smile, "I did, but Cosima and Delphine came in right as I was heading here so I helped them with their luggage."
"They're here?" Kira said excited as she sat up in her seat looking around.
"They should be here soon," Donnie said, "they wanted to get a few things settled first."
"So, how's work Donnie?" Cal asked.
Alison cut in, "Let's not talk about work. Boring, boring, boring."
Donnie smiled, "Work is fine, thanks for asking."
Alison was relieved that the conversation was killed by the arrival of the soon-to-be-married lovers. Cosima and Delphine walked into the restaurant and it seemed that all eyes turned to them. They were laughing and beautiful. Alison saw them proudly holding hands and giggling at some inside joke as they approached. A pit rose in Alison's stomach at the thought of being that open with Beth. She brushed it aside for posterity and smiled at the couple.
"Well, look who showed up!" Alison said, standing up and hugging both.
"Yes, finally," Cosima said, "the drive was a lot easier the last time we came up."
"What she is trying to say," Delphine cut in, "is that she got lost."
"No. Delphine got lost, she was the navigator." Cosima said.
"Menteur!" Delphine protested, "You kept telling me you knew the way, I kept telling you we took a wrong turn."
Alison watched the two of them mock-fight as she settled back in her seat.
"We used a GPS. Thankfully Donnie handled all the driving." Alison said.
"I knew the way, the GPS was just a backup." Donnie insisted to Alison's chagrin.
"How is your head?" Delphine asked Alison, "Donnie told us what happened."
"Did he?" Alison asked with a side-glare at Donnie, "I wish he hadn't, it was nothing and I don't want to turn it into a big thing. Just a long drive."
"You gotta get that checked out," Cosima said, "You could have jumbled up everything. Concussions are legit."
Alison forced a smile, "I'm fine, really, let's not worry about me, let's worry about you two. What are your plans for tomorrow?"
Cosima leaned into Delphine's side; Delphine tilted her head to rest on top of Cosima's. "Whew, it'll be a busy one." Delphine said, "We have a meeting with the planner at nine to go over final wedding details."
"Tell her about after," Cosima added.
Delphine gave her a knowing smile, "And then Cosima is treating me to a spa-day."
"Hey now, not just you, I'm there too!" Cosima protested, "They do the massages naked. Now that's my kinda party."
"How... undignified" Alison quipped.
"I don't care about dignified," Cosima said, "we're going to get naked and own this place."
Delphine blushed. "Petit pervertir!"
Cal made a showing of fake-covering Kira's ears. Kira shrugged it off insisting she was old enough to deal with the topic of a naked Cosima. Alison wasn't sure anyone was old enough for that.
"This one," Delphine said motioning to Cosima with a flick of her wrist, "is a trouble maker. I can't take her anywhere."
Alison smiled, half at these two lovebirds, half at memories of similar embarrassing moments with Beth. Beth would find ways to sneak in words or phrases just to frazzle Alison. All because she loved to see Alison turn red and stumble on her words.
"What about you?" Cosima asked Alison.
"I remember a beautiful pond out back from a few years ago that I wanted to check out." Alison said.
"You've been here before?" Delphine asked, surprised.
"What? No, I didn't say that." Alison explained, "It was in a magazine I read. I have a bridal magazine subscription. I remember seeing it." Alison began rubbing her fingers nervously under the table.
"When did we get that subscription?" Donnie asked.
Alison rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it Donnie," Alison insisted, "you probably just missed it. If it isn't a golf magazine or a swim-suit issue, you don't really pay attention."
Cosima and Delphine shared a glance. "You would read those," Cosima joked. "I'm getting married in two days and I'm still yet to pick one up. I'd like to believe it's because I'm better than that, but I actually think it's because Delphine never puts them down."
Delphine over-acted a gasp and slapped Cosima on the wrist. "You know that we have the old copies you can look through."
Cosima smiled back, "No, I'll keep to my Scientific American. At least in that one I understand the words they are using."
Everyone laughed at that. "Only you, Cosima," Felix said, "would find a science magazine easier to comprehend than a bridal magazine."
"Everything about weddings seems to be in French anyway," Cosima defended, "and as she constantly reminds me, I'm not very good at French."
"Non, she's really not," Delphine smiled.
The night went on much the same. Small-talk turned into mock bickering and laughter. Alison would look around the table and fantasize about doing this more often. She thought about what Beth would add to the dynamic. Would she pester the lovebirds more, or would she cut into the jokes with serious revelations? Alison imagined her in Donnie's place, sliding her hand over Alison's and squeezing softly anytime Cosima and Delphine kissed or made jokes laden with innuendo.
Alison wondered how Kira would treat Beth. She imagined Kira running up and hugging her, dragging her down to a seat, much like she did with Alison. She imagined her rambling on-and-on with details of her out-door adventures. She imagined Kira bouncing between the two of them, one to speak out-doors with, one to speak gowns and fabrics.
Alison could see Beth and Cal sitting on the porch in rocking chairs talking about things Alison couldn't care less about. Alison would sit there, quietly, and listen to every word, watching Cal whittle a stick, or what ever that man did, and Beth would give him advice on shooting a gun.
"You're crying!" Felix unsubtly pointed out.
The entire table looked towards Alison.
"It's nothing," Alison said, "weddings and all that." Alison dismissed as she wiped a tear from below her eye.
"Aw," Delphine said genuinely, "she's so cute."
Alison blushed. "Don't mind the sappy housewife," Alison joked, "just enjoy your food."
Donnie placed a hand on Alison's knee under the table. Alison felt guilty at the annoyance she felt towards him. He really had been good to her the last few years, but with Beth back, it was complicated. Alison loved Donnie. She loved him for being the father of her children and never leaving her when things were hard. However, Alison could never put into words or understand how different her love for Beth was. She hated how wrong she felt for having it, but how right it felt to experience it. The whole thing didn't even feel contradictory to her marriage because the two loves were so completely and utterly different. Alison wasn't mad at Donnie for showing affection. She was frustrated because he wasn't Beth.
The dinner was beautiful, lasting over three hours. Long after the crowds died down and the waitstaff began cleaning tables, the group of them sat around the table joking and telling stories. Eventually, Cal and Sarah excused themselves to put Kira to bed. Cosima and Delphine followed soon after, broadcasting to everyone their intentions for when they got back to the room. Finally, Donnie left to go check a sports score, leaving Felix and Alison alone.
"Spill." Felix demanded.
Alison furrowed her brow, confused.
"Don't give me that look," Felix accused, "You're hiding something."
"I'm fine," Alison insisted, "I just have a lot on my mind today."
"Like how you fainted from road trip exhaustion?" Felix said, "I don't buy that for one minute, Alison."
She blushed. "Felix, don't," she said, "you know I can't keep things from you, don't pry. I don't want to talk about this one."
Felix scooted over to where Kira had been sitting, next to Alison. He placed his hand over hers and smiled. "Now, listen," He said, "I have a straight waiter that I intend to give a crisis of sexuality to, but I'm not leaving until you let me in on your little secret."
Alison sat silently.
"I'm waiting." Felix said.
"I've been here before. Five years ago." Alison said.
"What? You and Donnie?" Felix asked, "NO! You little minx, you were here with someone else!"
"It's not like that!" Alison said. "It wasn't naughty, it wasn't a Norma Desmond kind of thing, I assure you."
"No judgment here," Felix assured, "everyone needs a little Joe in their life. I need about five Joes."
Alison giggled. "It wasn't a Joe, more like a… Betty? God, Felix it's been too long since I've seen Sunset Boulevard to make the proper analogies. It was a woman."
"Well, this is interesting," Felix said, "what was her name. Oh, God, it wasn't Aynsley was it."
"Gross," Alison said, "no, it wasn't Aynsley. Why would you think it would be Aynsley?"
"I don't know," Felix said, "lonely suburban housewives and all."
Alison rolled her eyes. "She wasn't a housewife," Alison took a deep breath, "she was a police officer."
"A cop?" Felix mused. "Angie? No, you didn't know her th-"
Felix was silent but his expression said everything.
Alison squeezed her eyes shut and nodded.
"Clonecest?" Felix whispered before leaning back in his chair, "Alison Hendrix!"
"Don't call it that!" Alison snapped, "It wasn't like that."
"Wait, if that's true," Felix said, "then when she-"
Alison nodded.
"And when Sar-"
Alison nodded.
Felix grabbed her in his arms, a brotherly, loving embrace. "Poor thing," he said, "this has to be torture on you."
"It has," she affirmed, "it has been terrible."
Felix stood up and making a grand-show extended his hand to help Alison up.
"What are we doing," Alison asked, taking his hand.
"Forget waiter-guy, there is an old movie marathon on television, and I know where to find the largest tub of ice-cream."
Alison smiled and laid her head on his shoulder as they walked out of the restaurant, holding hands. She would let Felix play the shining knight today. She was glad she had someone she could talk to about Beth, even if she couldn't tell him that Beth really didn't die five years ago. That Beth was alive. That Beth was probably staying in this very resort. The thought made Alison look up as they walked through the lobby.
What room are you in, Alison thought, and how do I get in?