Heartwood (28 page)

I
n the end there was a service for Theo—a nondenominational memorial service held in the auditorium of the hospital where he had given lectures and taught several seminars. The room was big, but not nearly large enough for the crowd that spilled out into the hospital corridors. As she stood at the door greeting people it seemed to Laura as if everyone who had ever met her father had turned out to honor him. There were those he’d worked with: the nurses, doctors, technicians, secretaries and janitors at the hospital, some of them still wearing their uniforms so they could hurry back after the service to finish a shift. There were the patients he’d treated, and their families. His students came, as did many of Iris’s students and colleagues. And then there were the friends and neighbors who had shared lemonade on the porch with Theo and Iris and had attended barbeques in their small backyard. On and on the
people came to celebrate the life of a man who had arrived in this country knowing no one. Only in America.

There were flowers in vases—at the end of the service each woman would be handed a rose as she left the auditorium—but no music. Flowers were not a part of the Jewish tradition—but then, as Janet pointed out, this was not even close to being a traditional ceremony. In the days before the service so many friends had asked if they could say a few words that it became clear to the family that they would have to choose a list of speakers or they’d never be able to leave the auditorium. Steven gave the formal eulogy, stumbling a bit over the words he’d so carefully written, but it was Robby who had brought them all to laughter and tears with the stories he told. But then, Laura thought, Robby had always been good in front of an audience.

It felt unreal to Laura to watch how easily he slipped back into the role of a beloved son-in-law to Iris in the days that followed. He brought her cups of tea and little meals on small plates that she could nibble, and Laura could see how grateful Iris was to have him there. Laura couldn’t begin to figure out how she felt about her husband’s return. There was a comfort in the fact that he was a familiar presence, and he was eager to please in a way that he hadn’t been for a long time. But in some ways he seemed alien, like someone she had known years ago when she was a totally different person. That didn’t make any sense, she knew, but she wasn’t thinking clearly. She was too raw from her father’s death—and her confrontation with her mother.

That had been so ugly … She’d thought surely she and Iris would have to talk about it again when they were both cooler. But they hadn’t, not until a week after the service. Then Iris had
asked Laura to come upstairs to her bedroom—she’d taken to sleeping in the master bedroom again—when Robby and Katie were out on the porch.

“After your father died … that day when we came home from the hospital … I shouldn’t have done what I did,” Iris said. “I was too upset. I said things the wrong way. And it was the wrong time. I’d just lost my husband, and I was in pain, but you’d just lost your father. I forgot that. And for that I apologize.”

But you’re not apologizing for what you said
. Laura thought.
You meant every word of it
.

“I’m sorry you found out,” she said, keeping her voice cool.

“So am I. It’s not something I wanted to know about you.”

“I’m sure.”

Laura started for the door, but Iris called her back. “When I told your father, he told me not to say anything to you. He said you’d work it out, and he had faith in you.”

“But you don’t.”

“I’ll wait and see what you do. And you do have to do something. You can’t go on like this.”

“I know that.”

“Good.”

–—

Laura had told Iris the truth, she did realize she had to do something. She just hadn’t been able to face it. But with Iris’s words ringing in her ears, she knew she had to go to Blair’s Falls. So after Robby had flown back to Ohio, she booked a flight of her own, cleared her schedule, and hired one of her workers to stay in the house with Katie while she was gone. Then she went into the city to see Nick.

“I’m going to Ohio,” she told him.

“Is this the scene in the movie where you tell me that you’re going to try to make your marriage work?”

“I don’t know what it is,” she said and the tears started to come. She couldn’t stop them.

“Laura, don’t cry … Oh for Christ’s sake, what does that husband of yours think he’s doing? You’ve never talked about him, and I don’t want to start, but does he have any idea what he’s asking of you? Does he realize what you’ve accomplished here? And he’s asking you to leave it all.”

“I owe it to him to go out there.”

“Why? What has he ever done to deserve that? Or you? And what about what you owe us?”

“Nick, I have to do this.”

“Because you’re married to him.”

“And you said you understood.”

“Well, I don’t. Because he doesn’t appreciate you and he damn sure doesn’t love you, and … and I do.”

“And I love you. I always will.”

“But you’re going out there to be with him. What happens if you stay, Laura? What the hell do I do?”

“I’m sorry … so sorry …” She was sobbing now. Suddenly the anger seemed to melt out of him and he put his arms around her and held her until the sobs stopped.

“No, I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just … the thought of losing you …”

“You won’t. Not ever. I promise.”

“But you can’t promise that, sweetheart. You never could.”

He was right. She couldn’t make any promises.

“It’s all right.” He stroked her hair the way she used to
stroke Katie’s when she was little and had had a nightmare. “Do what you have to do. I promised you I’d take what I could have for as long as I could have it, and that it would be worth it to me. It has been and it still is. Whatever happens.”

But the pain was in his eyes.

T
he pretty part of Robby’s hometown—the actual downtown—had fallen on hard times. It was the same story as that being told throughout the country; there was a charming Main Street, which had been deserted by the shops and restaurants that had once lined its sidewalks. Those businesses had relocated to the nearby shopping mall, and the gracious old homes that surrounded the town green had been chopped up into rental units—usually with more people crammed into them than they could comfortably accommodate.

The house in which Robby had grown up was on the outskirts of the town, in what had been a working-class neighborhood, but it too had gone downhill, and Mother McAllister proudly announced that she would be selling it and moving into what she referred to as a condo complex. Laura couldn’t see any difference between the apartment her mother-in-law had
picked out and the other two hundred and fifty units in the place, but Mother McAllister was ecstatic about it. She was also pleased to see Laura, or at least she said she was, and she seemed very enthusiastic about showing her around town while Robby was working at the store. This was a new twist, since Mother McAllister had never tried to hide the fact that she wished Robby had chosen a different wife. Now, surprisingly, it seemed she wanted to be friends.

And that wasn’t the only surprise for Laura. She soon discovered out that her mother-in-law wasn’t the only one who had been shopping for real estate; Robby had been doing that too. And he was eager to show Laura what he’d found. On her second day in Blair’s Falls he took her to see a house in a brand-new gated community built on a golf course.

“Now, this isn’t going to be a historic old manse you’ve lovingly restored with your own hands,” he teased. “But it’s bright and airy … just wait until you see the way the sunshine pours in! Plus, buying in Windsor Estates is a great investment.”

He drove past the security gate at the entrance—the real estate agent had given him a visitor’s pass—and after a bit of searching, he found the house he was looking for. He led her inside, and immediately began a running commentary. “That bay window overlooks the golf course!” he cried. “All the appliances in the kitchen are brand-new.”

He loved the place.

“This is just what we need, Laura. We’re starting over and this house is modern and cheerful. I know Katie will love it too.”

But I haven’t agreed to move here
.

–—

Their next stop was Landon’s Department Store—the family business. Once the store had been the anchor of the downtown, housed in a gray stone building that had been a Belle Epoque gem. Ten years earlier Uncle Dan had sold the gem, which had been bulldozed to make way for a parking lot. Now, according to Mother McAllister, gang members sold drugs there. Meanwhile, Uncle Dan had reopened the department store in a small shopping center. There was a bigger mall nearby, but it was home to several glitzy chain outlets and pricey restaurants. The shopping center was a much better spot for a family-run store that specialized in mid-priced goods and old-fashioned service. Uncle Dan knew his customers well.

Once Laura was inside the store, she realized that Uncle Dan was clever in other ways. In the back offices she was introduced to two people, both of whom held the title of senior manager. It was soon clear to Laura that their real job was to stay on top of the details—particularly in the area of finance—that would bore Robby. Her husband was the vice president of the company, but Uncle Dan had seen to it that he was supported by two professionals who knew what they were doing. Clearly, he was aware of his nephew’s weaknesses.

But out on the floor, Robby was in his element. It was apparent that the staff adored him, and with reason. Not only did he know the name of every employee and the names of their family members, he had taken the time to learn something about their history as well. Laura soon had a demonstration of his main contribution to the smooth running of Landon’s Department Store.

“Hi, Agnes,” Robby hailed the gray-haired woman standing behind the lingerie counter. “I want you to meet my wife,
Laura.” He gave Agnes a big smile, which she happily returned. “Agnes has been with the store since nineteen fifty-six. Her husband, Johan, used to have a flower shop downtown; it was over on Third Street. Johan’s shop was responsible for filling the planters outside the windows at our old building. Those were the days, weren’t they, Agnes?”

Agnes’s face was now pink with pleasure as she reminisced with the boss, and the lift she was getting from the exchange would carry her through her next encounter with a difficult customer who came in determined to buy a bra in the wrong size. It didn’t matter that Robby’s personal touch sprang from his own neediness, it was a definite asset to a small independent department store that was holding it’s own by offering hometown friendliness.

Robby was even more charming with the customers than he was with the staff. When he stopped to chat with a Mrs. Granby—she told him her name in the first thirty seconds—who couldn’t find a handbag in the color she wanted, he suggested that she come back in two weeks when they’d have a bigger selection. He also managed to learn that she had a dog named Buster and he told her about the new pet beds over in housewares. Laura was reminded of his days on the archaeological dig, when everyone had adored him. No wonder he was so happy working here.

Then suddenly everything changed. They were walking through the shoe department when a girl called out to Laura, “Oh my land, you’re the lady from
Good Day USA
!” Being recognized by total strangers was something that had been happening to Laura more and more frequently. Her wedding book had been a hit, and while she was waiting to negotiate her
contract with
Good Day USA
she’d appeared on it three more times. With the result that there were now people in Ohio who knew her face. The power of television was amazing!

The girl and her companion had reached Robby and Laura. “It
is
you! I told Edna here that it was!”

Laura still wasn’t completely comfortable with this kind of attention—although her publicist at the publishing house informed her that she would get used to it—but it touched her. People just wanted to be nice, she’d discovered. Plus, being polite to potential readers was good for book sales. So she began talking with the two girls—the more aggressive one was named Dottie—and within minutes there were five women surrounding her, telling her how much they had enjoyed her TV interviews. And even though Robby was smiling, she could feel that he was fading into the background and he wasn’t liking it.

“For heaven’s sake, why is a star like you in this little backwater town?” one of the women asked Laura.

“I’m not a star—” Laura started to say.

But another woman cut her off. “And what are you doing in Landon’s Department Store?” she demanded.

“Don’t try to tell us you come to Ohio to shop for your clothes.” Dottie rolled her eyes and everyone laughed.

“My husband works here,” Laura said, and knew immediately that she’d made a mistake, as Robby stiffened at her side. “This is his store … I mean, his family … his uncle owns it …” she stumbled, making things worse.

“I’m Robby McAllister.” Robby stepped forward with his most endearing smile. “This store has been in my family for four generations. My wife and I are moving back here from New York, and you know, I don’t think this town is a backwater one at all.”