Charles Lorton did not need to be at his Seattle office until later in the morning, so he decided he would enjoy a leisurely breakfast in his stately mansion on the city's Capitol Hill. Maybe catch up on the news.
Audra always felt some unease when Charles stayed home. She knew he bored easily and if the timber business took a dip he could be quite cross with everyone around him. She had a saying she said in her head and never out loud: If business suffers, we all suffer.
Audra had no one she could say that to; there was no one in her life with whom she could share anything but the most superficial pleasantries. This was a result of Charles hating every woman Audra tried to befriend. She had hoped to find a friend he would approve of but then she just gave up.
Yet the Lortons' social calendar was usually full and they spent little time alone together. Charles worked long hours and was often away. Audra kept busy with running the house and serving on charity committees. Their 15 year old son, Charles, Jr., had been away at boarding school back East for the past several years and Audra still missed him.
When the telegram arrived, Charles naturally assumed it was for him so he received it and read it. Walking past Audra on his way to his chair at the grand table facing the bay window, he dropped the telegram on the table in front of her without saying a word, and sat down to resume reading the newspaper.
Tears welled up in her eyes when she read it but she did not cry. She looked across the table at her husband ignoring her.
"Charles," she said, "My mother died." She didn't know why she said that. He read the telegram; he knew what it said.
"Charles," she said when she got no response, "we need to go to California."
"Audra, you know that is out of the question," he said, still looking at the paper. "I have too much important business here."
Charles had always directed her life. At first, it was nice to have someone take care of all the details but slowly, over time, she learned not to question or challenge his decisions. This time, however, she felt a heat stir deep inside her as if igniting a spark of a former self.
She rose from her seat and announced, "Charles, I am going to California."
Charles, paper still propped in front of him, looked at her and said, "Audra! I said no! No one's going to California!" He had a very deep voice that boomed when he spoke loudly. Rather like a lion's roar, Audra used to think.
Suddenly, very suddenly, he softened and pointed out to her that it would be a two day journey from Seattle, at best, so even if she left right away she would likely miss the funeral anyway.
"If I wire them with my arrival and ask, I'm sure they would delay the service till I can be there," she tried to reason back to him.
"And the party this Saturday for Mayor Phelps?" he countered, the edge creeping back into his voice. "You know how important it is for us to be there."
Audra drew up every shred of strength she could find within her, looked at Charles and coolly explained, "I am certain that Mayor Phelps and his wife will understand." And with that she started towards the stairs.
With lightning speed he was on her. He grabbed her tightly by the arm, swung her around, and pushed her against a door frame with such force the crystals on the sconces chimed and a large and heavy, framed photo fell off the wall and crashed to the floor. He kept her pinned there, holding her arms above her head and put his angry red face into hers.
"You're not going anywhere, do you hear me?"
Other times, this had frightened her so but now, well, now she just needed to go home.
"Charles," she said calmly, "Everyone will know my mother has died and it will look bad if I don't go." It was a spontaneous and inspired manipulation and she forgot she had it in her.
It worked. He released her.
There was nothing more said between them as she walked up the stairs to pack.
He was gone by the time she was packed and ready to go. Charles was always generous with cash; It made him look good to others that his wife could spend freely. But Audra had been tucking away the cash for emergencies and this was one. She wasn't entirely certain she knew how to get to the train station and find her way to California, but she was a Barkley and she was determined.