The Secret's in the Sauce (8 page)

I grabbed Mother by an elbow and pulled her into a standing position. “Why didn’t you just use your crutches? They’re right here.”

“My ankle just hurts too much,” Mother huffed as she leaned on me and hobbled toward the bathroom.

“It’s probably just irritated from the cast.” I gritted my teeth as she rested her ninety-five-pound frame on me. “You see the doc Friday, maybe he’ll take it off. Won’t that be a relief?”

She was wearing her favorite pink velour jogging suit and would have looked cute if it weren’t for her sour expression. She ran her fingers through her short but stylish white hair. Her blue eyes flashed. “I don’t think I can last till Friday.”

I got Mother to the bathroom door. She practically slammed the door in my face. “I can manage from here.”

I let out a sigh and tried not to cross my eyes. It was bad enough Mother had slipped on the ice outside her condo in Frisco and broken her ankle those weeks back, but when Dad dropped her on my doorstep, she’d become my problem.

Oh sure, Dad visited, but I think the man was enjoying his freedom from her crabby disposition. I knew I was looking forward to saying good-bye.

I headed back to the kitchen, straightening the pillows on the couch as I passed. The house never looked tidy when I played caregiver. But it helped to be surrounded by so many friendly faces from my doll collection.

But that was only one more thing Mother hated about moving into my house.

“Aren’t you ever going to grow up?” she’d ask as she’d shove my favorite dolls off the couch. “There’s no room for real people in here.”

I stopped and straightened a newly framed photo of David that was propped on the hearth. He was the spitting image of his handsome father, Joseph Ray Jewell. Joseph had been killed in Nam and had been my first husband, a husband I’d never mentioned to my Fred—that is, until David had showed up on our doorstep. I was happy to have found my son after a lifetime forced apart, a separation for which I blamed Mother. So, in many ways David still felt like company as Fred and I were just getting to know him. Though I had to hand it to Fred. He was starting to adjust to the news that I’d held such a secret for three decades of marriage. Surprise, dear. Here’s David, my long-lost son who was raised by that famed Hollywood actress, Harmony Harris.

It had been touchy between the two of us for a while, but Fred was beginning to accept David as the child the two of us never had, God bless him.

Once in the kitchen, I finished slicing the apples and sprinkled them with cinnamon, sugar, and butter. It wouldn’t be long until my little house smelled sweet and cozy.

My mother’s voice shrilled, “Vonnie! How do you expect me to get back to my room?”

“Coming!”

I slid the pie into the oven then rinsed my hands in the sink.

“Vonnie, what’s taking so long?”

“Just a minute.” I sprinted across the house to find her holding on to the doorjamb. I offered her my arm, and she locked on with a vise grip as she hobbled back toward her room. “Does your ankle hurt more than usual?”

She nodded.

“We’ll have to ask Dr. Galloway about that when we see him.” I helped her back to her rocking chair, daring a smile. “Aren’t you looking forward to moving back home with Dad?”

The deep line between her eyebrows furrowed. “I can just imagine the mess he’s made of the place.”

“Fred says it’s not so bad. He was over there helping Dad install your new microwave after dinner last night. He said Dad seemed to be doing well.”

“Humph. Well, the man’s had all his evening meals here with us,” Mother said. “So hopefully I won’t have to face a sink full of dirty dishes. But I know he’s not dusted or swept. And I can just imagine the laundry. It will take me forever to get the place in shape.”

“I’m sure things will get back to normal quicker than you think,” I tried to encourage. “I’ll come over and help.”

As I lowered Mother into her rocker, she winced. “Careful.”

“Sorry. Is there anything I can bring you?”

“You already promised me a cup of tea, and don’t forget my lemon wedge this time.”

I hurried back to the kitchen. “Coming right up,” I called over my shoulder.

I was glad I hadn’t asked David the identity of his mystery guest, though I could have guessed. But at least this way, I could try to feign ignorance. Don’t fret about it. There’s no need to borrow trouble, I repeated to myself for the umpteenth time that afternoon.

I was in the kitchen pulling the pie out of the oven when David and his date scampered in from the cold February evening. I could see into the entryway from my vantage point in the kitchen. The couple and their coats were dusted with a few stray snowflakes. David called out, “Smells good, Mom.”

I set the pie down, speechless.

David’s eyes twinkled as he helped Velvet out of her coat. “Mom, you’ve met Velvet James?”

I nodded as I felt the corners of my mouth twitch into a smile that didn’t connect with my heart. I looked into Velvet’s thinly veiled glare and saw Donna’s look-alike sister. An evil twin sort, if you ask me. And the way she was dressed. Let’s just say the poor girl hadn’t been taught a thing about modesty.

She was wearing skintight black jeans and a shimmering black top that was so low cut it was almost no-cut. She had Donna’s blue eyes and blonde curls, though her hair was longer and pulled up into a high ponytail. Sprigs of ringlets framed her face, making her look even more like Donna, which had me asking, Is this why he’s dating her, because he’s still in love with Donna? I mean, it hadn’t been that long ago that he’d proposed to Donna, though she’d turned him down. It appeared to me David was dating Velvet on the rebound.

“David, Velvet, welcome,” I managed to stammer as I wiped my hands on the white bib apron I’d tossed over my red sweatshirt and jeans.

Mother’s bell started to ring, and I turned to David. “Be a dear and help your grandmother to the table.”

“Sure thing.” He turned with the blonde still attached to his arm. They dropped their coats on the couch and headed for the back.

I took a deep breath and tried to look calm as I reminded myself, Velvet is only his date, not his fiancée. A relieved smile curled my lips until I thought, At least, not yet.

I was busy putting a basket of fresh hot rolls on the table when David returned with his grandmother hanging on to his elbow. Velvet sulked behind them.

I hesitated for a moment, watching Mother with David. Something struck me about the way she looked, a little too frail, a little too pained. Goodness.

Fred was coming up from the basement, where he’d been tinkering in his workshop, and Dad had just walked through the front door, wearing his fleece-lined denim jacket over his khakis and his black-and-red-plaid flannel shirt. He hung his jacket in the hall closet and shook off the snowflakes that were rapidly melting into his thick gray hair. It’s funny how a home-cooked meal has a way of gathering men.

“What’s for dinner?” Dad called, rushing in to pull out a chair for his wife.

“Italian casserole.” I plopped the bubbling dish on the ceramic Raggedy Ann trivet in the middle of the table.

Dad looked up. “Well, hello, young lady, who might you be?”

Velvet had reattached herself to David as soon as his elbow was free.

David grinned. “Hi, Grandpa, this is my date, Velvet James.”

“Did anyone ever tell you that you look just like Donna Vesey?” Dad asked.

Velvet shifted her weight and cocked her head in an almost defiant look. “Unfortunately, she’s my sister. My half sister.”

Dad’s gray eyebrows shot up his forehead, and he glanced at me to see how to respond. I’m guessing my smile must have been stoic if my dad’s expression was any indication. “I see.”

Mother shot Velvet a glare. “Young lady, you look like you’re going to catch pneumonia, dressed like that.”

Velvet laughed as she took a seat next to David. “Flaunt what you’ve got, I always say.”

Fred had been busy washing his hands in the sink. “Want me to get the iced tea?” he asked me.

I sat down. “Please.”

Fred was soon seated beside me. I asked, “Fred, could you say our blessing?”

He bowed his balding head and reached for my hand. “Sure thing.”

One thing I could always count on with Fred was his long-winded blessings. And for once, I didn’t mind that the food was getting cold. I needed to catch my breath. I needed to ask God to help me get through this evening.

It was bad enough that Mother had never warmed up to David. Not that he’d seemed to notice. But I did. She was the reason why David had been adopted out to that Hollywood actress in the first place.

She’d only gotten away with it because she’d taken advantage of the circumstances.

She and her foolish pride. She’d been embarrassed that I’d married a man who was half-Mexican. She was even more appalled that I, her precious Swedish daughter, was carrying his baby. So, when she learned that Joe had been killed in Vietnam, she’d swooped in. There I was, out cold in an L.A. hospital because of the shock of Joe’s death, the onset of labor, and a cocktail of heavy medications given to me by the labor and delivery team. My lack of consciousness had set the stage to her advantage. As soon as David was born, but while I was still sleeping, she’d called in a Hollywood attorney.

“Here’s the release you need to sign for the baby’s burial,” she’d told me the moment I’d opened my eyes.

In my shock, I’d had no idea I was signing David’s adoption papers.

I’d only discovered the truth when he’d shown up in Summit View last fall, looking for me.

I still couldn’t get over the fact that my son had been raised by Harmony Harris, the star of the musicals of the sixties, God rest her soul.

So, it was ironic that Mother had moved in with me, only months after I’d learned of her betrayal. How I’d managed to hold my tongue these past few weeks, I don’t know. Because to tell you the truth, I was still seething.

But I kept telling myself, “Hang on, Vonnie; it’s only a few more days till she gets her cast off. You can make it.”

Velvet sighed at Fred’s continued prayer. Fred was saying, “Thank you for the loving hands that prepared this meal. Thank you for all who are gathered here. And dear Lord, we thank thee for all the blessings you’ve bestowed upon our family . . .”

I smiled. Poor Velvet, she wasn’t used to prayer time with Fred.

I tried to concentrate on Fred’s prayer, but my mind drifted back to Mother. I knew I’d have to forgive her, one day. I mean, I wanted to, but honestly, I didn’t know how.

Fred was winding down. “In Jesus’s name, amen.”

I looked up and exchanged smiles with my dear husband. His extra long prayer had helped me center myself so I could play hostess. Besides, this family needed all the prayer it could get.

I picked up the basket of rolls and handed it to David, who was sitting next to me.

“Thanks, Mom.”

Velvet was already helping herself to the casserole. “I sure hope this is a vegetarian dish. I don’t do meat.”

David looked surprised, which was a relief to me; I wondered if this was actually their first dinner date. I mean, maybe up until now they’d only done breakfast. Ugh. I blinked and tried not to shudder. Mother said, “Why not?”

“I don’t like to mess with the universe like that. I mean, we’re all one. The animals and us, I mean.”

Mother snorted. “Where’d you get that crazy notion?”

I looked up. “Mother, be nice.”

Dad reached over and patted her hand, which she pulled away. Mother looked incredulous. “I am being nice. I’m curious, that’s all.”

I looked up at Velvet and noticed that fury lit her eyes. “Don’t mind Mother, she doesn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

David tried to defuse the situation. “Are these rolls homemade? They’re really good.”

Mother interrupted. “There’s no need to apologize for me, Vonnie. I know exactly what I’m saying.”

My eyes snapped back to Velvet, whose cheeks were growing pink.

“Well, excuse me, old woman, for living and breathing,” Velvet said.

Fred turned to David. “You’re right, son. These rolls are good.”

Mother’s eyes sparked. “Young lady, I am trying to excuse you.”

Dad asked, “Vonnie, does this casserole have oregano in it?”

I nodded. “Yes, and garlic.”

Fred said, “Ah. That’s why it’s so good.”

I realized I was still posing with my first bite on the end of my fork. “Thanks, Fred.”

I put the bite of casserole into my mouth and tried to chew it, but my mouth was too dry. I reached for my glass of iced tea but somehow sent it spilling across the table, straight for Velvet’s lap. Direct hit.

She leapt into the air.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, dear.”

Velvet turned to David. “I think it’s time to leave.”

David looked from Velvet to me, then put another bite of roll in his mouth and chewed. “Uh . . .”

Velvet looked down at him in disgust. “Let’s get out of here.”

He washed the bite down with his tea. “Okay, uh . . . sorry, folks, guess we’ve got to run.”

“And take your date with you,” Mother said, triumphant.

I was busy with the paper towels, trying to blot up the mess. I handed a handful to Velvet. “I’m so sorry, dear.”

She looked me up and down. “I doubt that.”

Before I could respond, she and David had donned their coats and were heading into the night. She slammed the door behind them.

I turned back to Mother, who looked so pleased with herself.

“Mother, why do you have to act like that?” I asked.

“Do not take that tone with me,” she snapped.

Dad lifted his glass. “Vonnie, can I get you another glass of tea?”

I shot him a look. “Dad, let me finish. I’ve got something to say.”

Fred reached up and gently touched my arm, “Vonnie, now’s not the time.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Not the time? Then when? How long are we going to let my mother get away with her childish behavior?”

Mother’s eyes began to bulge. “Childish? You’d like me to be as silent as one of your silly dolls, wouldn’t you? You’re the one with a bit of growing up to do, if you ask me.”