Murder is Academic (21 page)

I gave them the abridged version, because I was curious to know more about Sandy, how they met and the upcoming wedding. I was surprised and pleased David was so obviously enraptured with a gal who was funny, unpretentious and adventuresome, characteristics one could not apply to my son.

I wiped a bit of sandwich from my lips. “Enough of murder, arson and suicide. I think it’s time we talked about the two of you.” That set Sandy off on a monologue about their meeting, courtship, engagement and wedding plans. I was surprised to learn that she, like David, was a tax accountant and was a recent hire in the firm for which David worked.

“He was just such a stick-in-the-mud.” She poked him in the ribs affectionately. “It became a real challenge to me to get him to laugh. Finally I convinced him going out for a drink after work with me wouldn’t kill him.”

David smiled at her verbal and physical ribbing. “Sandy showed me a side of life that’s a lot different from what I’ve been living. I moved into my own apartment on Seventy-second and Riverside.”

I couldn’t help but interrupt him. “You have your own apartment? And it’s not on the East Side or overlooking the park?” I could hardly believe such common behavior in my yuppie son.

“Well, it’s very nice, Mother.”

“I’m sure it is. I was just surprised you would move out of your father’s condo.”

“Mother, really. I’m over twenty-one, have a great job, and a life of my own. It was time I moved out. It got embarrassing telling everyone I still lived at home.”

My mouth dropped open. Living at home didn’t appear to be embarrassing just a few months ago, but once Sandy came into the picture, things seemed to change for David.

“We’re going to have our wedding this fall.” Sandy looked around the yard and her eyes strayed to the lake and back again to the dock sitting serenely on the placid water. “I’ll bet this place is really beautiful in the fall with the leaves changing color.”

“It’s spectacular in September with the contrast between the deep green of the pines and the red and gold of the maples and yellow of the oaks. You should see it.” An idea hit me.

“Why not have the ceremony here?” I suspected, changed though he might be, David would veto such a suggestion.

Sandy threw her arms around me and then around David. “Oh, yes, let’s do it.”

To my surprise David seemed to give the idea serious consideration. “It would be kind of quaint.”

“It’s more than quaint. It’s what I want, it’s perfect, it’s great, it’s wonderful. It’s so generous of you, Laura.”

David nodded his agreement and the three of us talked wedding plans for the next hour until we were interrupted by the sound of Guy’s bike coming down the road and pulling into my drive.

“Someone’s coming,” David said, “a biker, Hell’s Angels type.” David looked concerned and then puzzled as I arose to greet the man with a kiss.

I made introductions and offered everyone coffee and a piece of cheesecake I bought especially for the occasion. Sandy sprang out of her chair to shake hands with Guy, while David nodded his hello from behind his Gucci shades. Guy ignored my son’s slight and offered to show him and Sandy the bike. To my surprise, David agreed to take a ride on it with Guy. Part of David’s cooperation had to be the outcome of Sandy’s contagious enthusiasm over it and her interest in riding too. David gamely clapped the helmet on his head, and they roared out of sight down the road.

“We sure have a couple of great guys.”

I nodded my agreement, but was puzzled at her comment
. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t think Guy and David have a lot in common except they both were anxious to see the two of us have some time alone together for girl talk.”

I thought that was pretty perceptive of her and told her so. I also told her I thought David seemed different this visit.

“How so?” She settled back into her deck chair.

“He seems more relaxed, more outgoing, less judgmental. Frankly, Sandy, I must admit to you I have no illusions about my son. He used to be all name brand this and that, money is all, work obsessed. He appears to be far less so now, more…” I searched for a word to describe David’s change.

“Human?” Sandy laughed.

“I guess that says it all.”

“Well. It hasn’t been easy, but when I met David I found him just as you described, but I also had a sense there was more to him than met the eye. He was searching for something more, so I just began urging, cajoling and goading him into other things. He always acted as if he hated doing anything out of character.” She squirmed forward on her chair and leaned toward me. “Like, he came over to my place one Saturday around noon. I had nothing on hand except peanut butter and jelly. I thought he would go hungry instead of condescending to have a sandwich that didn’t come from a gourmet deli, but when he made his way through one, he actually ate another. He said it made him feel kind of good inside. I know he never had them in his father’s house, so I assumed the sandwich must have stirred an earlier memory, perhaps when he was with you?”

I chuckled remembering his weekends visiting me when my salary wouldn’t support much more than peanut butter and jelly and an occasional movie on a Saturday afternoon.

“He seemed to hate being with me, but, on the other hand, he always ate with a hearty appetite all the while telling me how much better the food was with his dad and his stepmother.”

“Well, I think those times had a staying effect on him. They were a welcome counterbalance to the materialistic life he was leading in the city. Oh, I know he’s not perfect, and he slips back into his snobbish routine when he’s around his father, but he’s really a nice guy a lot of the time. I figure he’s worth taking a chance on. Especially now I’ve met you.”

I was so moved by her statement I got teary-eyed, but tried to hide my emotions. “And how about you, Sandy? What’s your family like?”

She told me her father was a doctor, her mother a teacher. They were comfortably well off, but a very down-to-earth, no nonsense kind of family.

“I got loans and worked my way through the state university, and my brother went to a university in California. He also worked his way through school. My parents would have footed the bills for us, but they instilled in us a drive for self-sufficiency and independence, so we did it on our own.”

“Do you like your work?”

“I do, but I don’t have the feeling I’m making any real difference in the world. I just make certain rich people’s books balance.” A sad look settled on her face. “What I really want to do is to teach at the elementary level. David and I have talked about this, and he thinks I should go back to school to get my teaching certificate.”

Sandy continued talking about her plans. As she did so, her face began to light up. She leaned forward with her arms on her knees and spoke about her interest in young children and her desire to become an educator. I listened carefully, overjoyed that my son was going to marry this engaging, lively and dedicated young woman.

David and Guy’s return interrupted our conversation. I was worried about how David fared on a motorcycle, but I shouldn’t have concerned myself. He appeared exhilarated by the ride and was talking with Guy about horsepower, options and cost. They seemed comfortable with one another and were sticking their heads in the fridge looking for “some cold ones” as Sandy and I carried the cups in from the outside deck.

As the afternoon wore on, I found myself relaxing as I hadn’t done for a long time. The ringing of the telephone brought me out of this pleasant world.

Guy told me to stay put. “I’ll get it.”

After a brief exchange he called out to us. “David, it’s your dad.”

David’s demeanor seemed to change before our eyes. He scowled and walked into the kitchen like an old, arthritic man, taking the receiver out of Guy’s hand.

“Hello, Father.”

After a few yeses and nos, David proclaimed in a firm voice, “Look, Dad. We’re having a really nice visit with Mom and her boyfriend. Yes, she had a boyfriend. And he’s got a motorcycle. No, he’s not a Hell’s Angel. Just a minute.”

David yelled out to us, “Guy, Dad wants to know if you have any tattoos and if you’re on welfare. What? Why was that rude, Dad? You asked, didn’t you? Okay, bye for now. Oh, wait, Dad. We won’t be able to attend that Sunday brunch tomorrow. Sandy and I are camping tonight at the state park not far from Mom’s house, and we’re going to go somewhere for breakfast here tomorrow. That is, if we can find a restaurant that will let Guy in without a shirt. No, Dad, he never wears a shirt, and he’s missing several teeth in front. Bye now.”

David returned from the kitchen. He tried to keep a serious expression on his face, but the twinkle in his eyes finally got the better of his mouth. We all joined him in his glee. I tried to reprimand him for putting on his father in such a way, but couldn’t get the words out without erupting into gales of laughter once more.

Wiping tears from his eyes, David said, “I hope you don’t mind, Mom, but we’ll be taking Guy and you out for breakfast.”

“Maybe I’d better cook breakfast here so that Guy won’t be embarrassed eating in public with those missing teeth.”

We again erupted into laughter.

Chapter 19

“He called me ‘Mom.’”

Guy and I waved David and Sandy off to the state park to camp for the night. “And he hugged me and said he loved me.” My eyes were wet with tears as they drove off. Guy put his arms around me and laughed.

“What’s so funny?” I wiped my eyes on his shirtsleeve.

“Didn’t you notice how much like you Sandy looks?”

“Whaaaat?”

“She’s a little shorter than you, it’s true, but she’s blonde with blue eyes. David couldn’t have picked someone closer to you in appearance unless, of course, he had you cloned.”

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

“Well, considering how alienated David and you have been all these years, I’d say it’s a sign that he finds a lot about you attractive without really knowing or saying it.”

“It’s the Oedipal Complex blooming late. I hate it. Freud was right.” I slapped my forehead in frustration.

“Don’t be goofy. It’s not Oedipal. It’s merely an indication he’s admired you all along, but was in an environment that wouldn’t allow him to express his feelings.”

“Don’t be so dismissive of the idea, Guy. He could marry her and then one day wake up to find he’s married his mother.”

I bit into a cuticle, a habit I gave up once I completed graduate school. All this tension over David’s new life, my relationship with Guy and the murder was getting to me. Funny, though, I wasn’t eating as much, unless my thumb was a substitution for a chocolate donut.

“Guess what he said to me?” Guy said.

I continued to nibble on my thumb, not really caring what Guy said at this point so involved was I in worrying about my son’s damaged psyche.

“He said to me, ‘isn’t it funny how much Sandy looks like my mom, but then, I always thought mom was a knockout anyway.’ I think he’s about two steps ahead of you in self-analysis. I don’t think you need to worry. He’s a nice young man who’s coming into his own and has found a great gal to share his life with. Try not to make a psychological case study out of it.”

He was right. David seemed just fine, better than ever. I was crazy about Sandy. I let go my cuticle nibbling and threw my arms around Guy.

“Thanks.” I transferred my nibbling needs to his earlobe.

“I think we should continue this in the house before your neighbors and any passers-by get too curious.

“Frank’s not home now, my other neighbors aren’t close enough to see without binoculars, and few people pass by here.”

“Regardless, I’m a little shy.”

That extracted a guffaw from me. “Okay, into the house and upstairs to a nice private…”

“Nope.” Guy shook his head. “Food first, then dessert, then a ride in the moonlight, then brandy on the dock, and then we’ll see.”

It didn’t turn out as we expected. The only food left in the house was bread. All the lunch meat was gone. We didn’t feel like going out, so we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, polished off the cheesecake from lunch and were preparing to take the bike out for a ride when it began to thunder.

The wind blew in a rainstorm fierce enough to make me worry about the kids camping out in their tent. I wanted to go up to the state park to see if we should rescue them, but Guy convinced me that was hardly the thing David needed right now.

“How do you think he’ll feel if his mom comes charging in to take care of him? If he’s having a hard time getting through this camping thing, he certainly doesn’t need you to witness his embarrassment in front of Sandy. He’s an adult. Let him be one.”

The phone rang, and Guy went to answer it.

“That was David. He figured you’d be worried so he called and told me to let you know they were safe and snug in a motel up the road. Their tent blew down so they thought they’d retire to safer and drier territory. And before you say anything, I told him they should have come here, but he informed me man-to-man that he thought the two of us could use some privacy.”

Guy went to the kitchen cupboard and pulled out the bottle of brandy that was the gift from Der. Pouring a healthy couple of shots into two snifters, he raised one eyebrow at me inquisitively. “Is it okay to take these up to the bedroom?”