Plantation (31 page)

So I did. I had engaged a lawyer to draw up a separation agreement, and Richard immediately agreed to the terms. He would pay a generous amount of alimony and child support. His visitation was limited to one month during the summer and any weekend he 2 4 4

D o r o t h e a B e n t o n F r a n k wanted to visit us in South Carolina. He would pay for all of Eric’s tuition and tutors and whatever other medical or physical therapy he needed. I knew he would honor the agreement. He honestly felt pretty bad about everything—bewildered is probably more accurate, since he couldn’t fathom that I still didn’t understand the difference between love and sex—and he surely didn’t want the world to know what he was up to after hours. Not that I would have exposed him. I wasn’t feeling vindictive. Just deeply saddened.

I understood what he meant about love and sex, I just didn’t agree.

One bit.

I had thought Richard might come to the apartment to say good-bye. He did not. Did shame keep him away? Or had he simply cut us out of his heart again? When we were waiting for the cab to arrive, Eddie the doorman, practically bursting with the need to say his piece, finally spoke.

“Mrs. Levine, I know I’m just a doorman, but if I can ever do anything to help you and the boy there, you can call on me. In this world, we all are having hard times. We are all needing our friends.”

The cab pulled up and he turned to take our luggage. I choked back a burst of tears and hugged Eddie’s shoulder. How sweet! I had hoped that Richard would appear at the last moment, but still he did not. His absence reinforced my resolve.

On the taxi ride to the airport, Eric turned to me and said,

“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll take care of us.” I squeezed his hand and kissed his dear, precious forehead. I had enough love in me for two parents. I’d give it all to Eric. Even though I still couldn’t bring myself to name the disease, we were going home to heal.

Twenty-three

I Knew It Would Come to This

}

OW, don’t tell me how to handle my daughter.

Caroline Wimbley has always had a head like a pile Nof bricks. And I don’t know where she got it from either. I told her not to marry that man, but no child of mine ever listened to a damn thing I had to say. But, she can’t say I never warned her. I knew it would come to this one day. It had to. They had nothing in common. Nothing! You can’t put a field horse out to stud with a purebred Arabian mare! It’s a crime against nature!

Unnatural!

The first thing I did after she called was to take a deep breath and a shot of Jack Daniels. Then I called Millie at her cottage.

“Millie? Get out of bed, you old fool. Caroline’s coming home and we have work to do!”

“I already made up two rooms yesterday, Miss Lavinia. Now, leave me alone and let me sleep!”

“I swear to God, Millie, sometimes you spook me!”

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D o r o t h e a B e n t o n F r a n k And do you know that she had the nerve to hang the telephone up in my ear? I should have gone right over there and thrown cold water in her face! If I hadn’t had so much to do, I might have done just that!

Next, I called Sweetie and Nancy on conference call.

“Y’all? Something’s gone wrong in Caroline’s marriage and she’s coming back to Tall Pines for a long visit. I think she’s leaving that skunk, but I’m not sure.”

“She didn’t say?” Nancy said.

“You didn’t ask?” Sweetie said.

“She did not say and I did not ask. If she wants to confide in me, she will,” I said. “But, I know this, she’s pulling Eric out of school and I don’t know how she’s going to handle that. I mean, the boy has to go to school!”

“I can’t believe you didn’t ask, Lavinia,” Nancy said, “that’s not like you at all.”

“When are they coming?” Sweetie said.

“This morning. Their plane lands in Charleston at eleven.”

“I just made up some chicken casseroles,” Nancy said. “Want one for y’all’s lunch?”

“And I made strawberry bread yesterday,” Sweetie said. “I’ll bring a loaf over right away.”

“Now, see here,” I said, “if y’all come over, you all are not to say anything. Is that clear?”

“Jesus, Lavinia,” Nancy said, “I wouldn’t dream of it!”

“Don’t mind her, Nancy,” Sweetie said. “Lavinia’s just excited.”

And, I was excited. I couldn’t wait for her to arrive. I fussed around the house while Millie gave instructions to her staff, to recheck the bedrooms for hangers and drawer space and things like that.

“The cable television man will be here by ten,” Millie said,

“and the phone company will be here this afternoon.”

“Whatever for?” I asked.

“Miss L? Don’t you think that boy wants to watch the World P l a n t a t i o n

2 4 7

Wrestling Federation? And don’t you know Caroline needs a modem? How else is she gone do her business?”

“Well, you just think of everything, don’t you, Miss Smarty!”

“Your green eyes are showing, Miss Kitty!” Millie said and started laughing. So did I. By golly, she was right!

Oh! This would be wonderful! I stopped and called Trip.

“Get over here and make sure you have gas for your boat, boy!

You need to take your nephew fishing!”

“Mother? What are you talking about? I have to be in court this afternoon!”

“Your sister is coming home with Eric. I have to hang up.

Gotta cut roses for their rooms. Come for lunch!”

I took my largest basket and my best clippers and went out to my garden to see what I could find. Lost in thought, I gathered up roses and small magnolia branches and filled my basket to capacity.

When I looked at all the materials I had cut, I had to laugh. I had enough to fill every room in the house! Maybe I should cut some camellias and float them in the toilet bowls like they did on those silly house tours! Oh, I was having such a good time, planning Caroline and Eric’s visit.

I walked the whole way to the bluffs by the chapel. I put my basket down on the chapel steps and went to check on Nevil. Dear Nevil! Lord, I missed that man! I wondered what he would say to Caroline about her trouble.

She hadn’t sounded heartbroken to me. I hoped she wasn’t because I didn’t have the strength to listen to a lot of babble about that man. Richard! Dear God! He had my power of attorney! Oh, hell! I’d have to change it again.

Well, I was sure that Trip had told Frances Mae that Caroline was coming home with Eric. Ever since Caroline had put Frances Mae in line, she had behaved better. Meek, in fact. But, Lord! I hated a meek woman. Especially when I knew it was an act. No one could act like Frances Mae. I hoped she wouldn’t come around for at least a few days.

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D o r o t h e a B e n t o n F r a n k I wiped off the dust from Nevil’s headstone and had a little chat with him. “Nevil? Do you hear me? That girl of yours is coming home with our grandson. Do you think you could help me figure out what I can do to help her? Dead, you say? Now, Nevil Wimbley, I’ll have none of that. You wake up, you old slackard, and think!”

Satisfied that I had put him on notice, I left the graveyard. I leaned over the chapel steps to gather up my basket and garden shears, and don’t you know a wind came out of nowhere and blew my Kaminsky straw hat clean off my head. That was my Nevil for you. My hat sailed right back into the graveyard and landed on his plot.

“You don’t scare me, you old devil!” I said, and picked my hat right up. I knocked the dirt off of it and thought for a moment.

Either he didn’t like my hat, or he wanted to let me know he was around. Either way, Nevil apparently thought he’d have the last word. Not so. “Nevil? Lunch is at noon! I expect you to be there and to behave! Is that too much to ask?”

My wristwatch said ten o’clock. The sun was climbing the sky and I went home, singing a little tune and thinking about where I’d put all the beautiful flowers. No one could spoil my good mood.

Not the living or the dead. Caroline needed me and this time I wouldn’t let her down.

Twenty-four

Ace in the Hole

}

Friday, March 17, 2000

took the aisle seat and Eric sat by the window. We were headed for the only place I could logically think I of to go—Tall Pines. In between us, our mountain of carry-on—his backpack, my purple sack, magazines, newspapers—

seemed like a statement of a long trip ahead. It was. He stared out the window. I tried not to appear unsettled should he look in my direction. I was.

I flipped through a magazine and tried to rehearse what I would say to Millie, to Mother, and to Trip. Maybe they wouldn’t ask until I offered to tell. Sure. I wondered if anyone would meet us at the airport. In spite of my nerves, I was feeling brave and had nearly convinced my emotions that this was not a permanent move. But there was no question that it was. At the same time, intellectually I knew our marriage had taken the ultimate swan dive. I couldn’t see any conditions under which Richard and I could ever honestly reconcile. I was thoroughly repulsed by what 2 5 0

D o r o t h e a B e n t o n F r a n k he found to be perfectly acceptable and irresistible. And I wasn’t about to apologize about being a normal conservative person. I had married an imposter. On one hand, I felt pretty stupid that I had never realized this was how he was. Plain and simple, I had been tricked. Or maybe I had tricked myself.

I may have felt stupid, but I had tried to be a good wife to Richard. I had also loved taking care of Eric. I had married the Prince of Darkness and, by the grace of God, given birth to a cherub.

At least I had Eric to show for all those years. Sure, maybe I had my MBA from Columbia, and I had worked as a decorator and had some success. But my most important job had always been as Eric’s mother. I was profoundly grateful for that assignment. I knew that boys needed their fathers and I prayed that Richard and I could work that out. I didn’t have a lot of hope that Richard would give Eric the emotional support he needed right now, because he never really had. I would have to discuss that with him at some point. And, I would have to give Eric extra reassurances.

At the moment the thought of Mother flashed through my head, along came a slice of guilt. Maybe all mothers tried their best.

Maybe mine had too. She had warned me that marrying Richard was dicey. I wondered how she had known that fifteen years ago.

I reached over and took Eric’s hand from the armrest.

“Wassup, Mom?”

“Just thinking, that’s all.” I held his hand up to mine, palm to palm, and measured the difference in their size. “I remember when I first saw this hand, you know.”

Eric just smiled at me. “Bigger than yours, now.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” I took a deep breath and looked at him.

“Eric? Everything’s gonna be all right.”

“I know that, Mom, I’m not worried a bit. I just thought it was so weird that he didn’t come tell us good-bye. Didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but you never know, baby. He might have had an emergency. We can call him later just to let him know we arrived safely.

How’s that?”

P l a n t a t i o n

2 5 1

“You don’t think he’s, like, furious at us for leaving?” Eric’s eyes searched mine and I knew I had to deliver some kind of truth or he would know I was placating him.

“Eric, he might be a little bit angry, but you know what? It’s okay for him to be angry. Any judge in the country would agree that you belong with me. And, I’m going to take the responsibility from your shoulders of worrying about it. Worrying is my job.

Dad and I need some time apart to think, so I want you to view this as an extended vacation. How’s that?”

“Vacation?”

“Sort of.”

“I would’ve picked Disney World.”

I knew his feelings were confused. Hell, mine were. I also knew I had to keep his spirits up. I would find the moment to tell him about the separation papers.

“Did you know that Disney World is only six hours away from Tall Pines by car?”

His face lit up. “You’re joking! That’s the first good thing I’ve heard in a while!” He looked out the window again. “Hey! That’s Charleston, isn’t it?”

I leaned over and looked. “Yep, it sure is!”

“Boy, what a quick trip!”

“It’s a quick trip, baby, but it’s a million miles away.”

Eric nodded his head and the bell pinged, followed by a flight attendant reminding us to replace our carry-on bags and all the usual landing instructions. That accomplished, I looked over to Eric again. “Hey, know what? This could be a real adventure.

You’re going to become a Lowcountry boy! I’ll bet Uncle Trip can’t wait to teach you to cast a seine net!” Sure. Well, who knew?

Maybe!

The plane rolled up to the jet way and we gathered our things.

It occurred to me that not one week ago I had considered coming back for another visit for fun. Now I wondered how long I would stay. Was I moving home permanently? More truth? I really didn’t 2 5 2

D o r o t h e a B e n t o n F r a n k know
what
I was doing! For now, I was just going to spin a cocoon around Eric and myself and try to recover from our trauma.

To my utter astonishment, Mother, Mr. Jenkins, Miss Sweetie, and Miss Nancy were in the baggage claim area. What a reunion!

We ran to them and hugged them, raising such a ruckus in the airport that I thought we would get in trouble for disturbing the peace!

“We thought y’all would have a lot of luggage!” Miss Sweetie said, smoothing the arm of my jacket.

“
Oui! Mais,
not just that! We wanted to see y’all!” Miss Nancy said, giving me a hug.

“No, we all wanted to see if y’all were all right, Caroline. Now let me have a look at my grandson.” Mother looked right past me and took Eric’s chin in her hands and examined him. Then she turned to her friends and said, “Y’all? I want you to meet the finest boy in all the world!” Miss Sweetie and Miss Nancy cooed and smiled but, to our surprise Mother put her arm around his shoulder and walked away with him, saying, “All right!
Now
I’ve got my
boy!

It’s been far too long since I’ve seen you, sweetheart! I am going to show you things you’ve never
dreamed
of ! There’s a whole
world
in the ACE Basin! A whole new world just waiting for
you!
”