Underbelly (13 page)

Germaine understood Shirley’s intentions and she saw how upset she was just talking about those times – back then she would have wept buckets, Germaine imagined. Germaine took her hands in her own and took the plunge; “If he had been my son I might have done exactly the same thing. It scared me too, at first.”

“
Sorry?”

“
His powers. He’s not mad,” Germaine said, seemingly glowing as she gushed over Grey and his gift. Germaine couldn’t stop smiling as she praised Grey; telling Shirley that she should be so proud of him for the integrity and compassion with which he used his powers. Shirley heard her out, listening intently as she heard how her son claimed to have been in communion with his father-in-law.

Grey walked some of the journey home with a colleague, Eddie, who was feeling down because of how he was treated. Grey cheered him up by pointing out the close resemblance between their hated foreman and Bluto, Eddie telling him he’d be taking some spinach sandwiches in for bait for his next shift. Grey understood that their foreman was under a lot of pressure because they weren’t always making their target, but any sympathy he might have had for the difficult position he was in evaporated when he laid hands on his fellow employees.

Grey finished work at ten and made it home at twenty to eleven, looking forward to a late dinner with his wife. He entered the house quietly, in case his parents were in bed, taking his boots off by the door to make as little noise as possible, and as he put his coat up on the hanger he noticed that Germaine’s was missing – he hoped she wasn’t out this late, which seemed unlikely. When he opened the sitting room door he saw that she was wearing her coat as she sat down teary-eyed, as his parents stood grim-faced.

“
I’m sorry, James,” she spluttered, beginning to cry again at what she had wrought. He had not seen those perfect green eyes so moist for a long time and it angered him that his parents had caused her to feel pain again, oblivious or uncaring that she had already suffered so much.

“
That’s okay, I know whatever’s happened isn’t your fault. Why is my wife crying then, Dad?” he said forcefully, challenging him to give him a good explanation and making his displeasure evident.

“
Your wife’s told us about your little secret. I knew we should have gone ahead with the operation. You were never cured. You’re still a raving loon!”

“
I’m sorry, but we can’t let you stay here, son, not unless you agree to go back to the hospital,” Shirley said, dictating terms that she knew he wouldn’t accept.

“
There’s no way I’d stay now anyway, not after how upset you’ve made my wife.”

“
You’ll cause her more tears than that in the long run. She doesn’t like home truths – you’ve sucked her into your fantasy world,” Abner said contemptuously. “I’m ashamed that you are my son. Don’t just leave town, leave the state.”

“
Cheers for not overreacting, Dad, for letting me stay in the country,” Grey said sarcastically, walking to Germaine and taking her hand, pulling her to her feet and leading her to the door, throwing his boots and coat outside before returning inside for their case. “You won’t see me again,” he said with finality, his words sounding tired rather than angry. He was cross that Germaine had been distressed but he largely felt deflated.

“
James, if you just got help,” his mother said desperately.

“
There is no cure,” Abner said, looking away from his son who left without a backward glance.

Germaine was disconsolate as they walked the streets; her husband’s kind words and supportive touch only making her feel guiltier for her huge indiscretion. Grey retraced his steps to arrive back at Eddie’s small one-bedroomed terraced house for shelter. Grey apologised for calling at such a late hour and asked if they could stay the night before they left town in the morning. Eddie obliged and fetched them some blankets for the sofa and left them to it. As soon as he left them alone Germaine burst into tears again and said penitently, “I’ve ruined everything for you. I thought she’d understand.”

“
Do I look upset? I’m not.”

“
You’re angry.”

“
Not with you though.”

“
You were getting on with them so well.”

“
But it was fake. I wasn’t letting them see what I was and they couldn’t handle the real me. When I start doing the shows it would have come out anyway.”

“
You’d tell me if you were mad with me, wouldn’t you?”

“
It’s them I’m mad at, they’re the intolerant ones – you’ve always accepted me as I am. I don’t think there’s anything that you could do that would make me mad with you. If you have any annoying habits they’ve been concealed perfectly and I think they would have been revealed by now if there were any.”

“
I have a big mouth.”

He brushed her lips with his forefinger and middle finger and said, “No, it seems fine to me.”

She smiled and said, “You know I didn’t mean that.”

“
I know, but I managed to get a smile so that’s a result. The only thing that upsets me is that you’re upset so you have to stop crying or you’ll upset me.”

“
I can’t stop because I keep thinking of you telling them about your gift as a child and I can imagine how nasty they would have been to you.”

“
They did upset me back then, yes. Not just now though. Okay?”

Grey managed to compel Germaine to promise not to blame herself for his parents’ actions, though she added a promise of her own, that she would never again tell anyone what he was without his permission. Germaine eventually drifted off to sleep and Grey went outside to smoke on the doorstep as he thought about what the night signified – the complete dissolution of any contact or relationship with his parents. There had been a distance between them for over a decade and now any bond that remained (and he had still had affectionate feelings towards them prior to the eviction) was severed. It was a bitter night and while he did not feel tearful, his stomach ached and he was too worked up to sleep, angry and upset with them. He vowed to himself that he’d only let them affect him for one day and by the next morning he was solely looking forward, trying not to resent them and looking to his own life instead, a life that didn’t need them in it.

Over the next few days Germaine obsessed about Grey’s parents and the rift more than he did, Grey continually reassuring her that he wasn’t upset and working at raising her spirits. He pointed out how little he’d talked of his parents the previous year and she realised that, while for her being disowned would have been emotionally crippling, it didn’t have the same impact on him. It would have been the end of the world to her while to him it was a minor setback. Realising this didn’t lessen her regret at her actions, but it did make it easier and she allowed herself to enjoy the tour – brooding about what she’d done wrong would just hurt him more. While she dwelled a little on the consequences of her blabbermouth, Grey had no time to pay his parents much mind, too busy passing on messages as they travelled, organising their trip so that they passed through towns and cities where he had promised he would go. He passed on two messages in Nebraska, both going remarkably smoothly, while Colorado was less successful – he passed on one message to a widow who seemed disinterested and he was unable to find another address and gave up (only until he passed through the State again, whenever that would be). He put a lot of effort into their vacation, striving to be an entertaining tour guide as he showed her places he hadn’t seen before and knew (generally) little about. Already Germaine was starting to get an idea of the enormity of America and the diversity: the industrialised East (which they had seen in transit as they travelled through it to get to Keokuk), endless acres of greenery in one part and deserts in the next state. The Rockies impressed her – the Grand Canyon left her and Grey in awe. She was expecting a huge gorge, but nothing prepared her for the sheer scale of it. It was not exactly a thing of beauty, though it was undoubtedly spectacular, but seeing it with James, the experience was beautiful. He had proposed a honeymoon in Paris, which would have been fine, but this felt truly epic to her.

The tour was generally dictated by the messages and the sights. Phoenix was an exception, and after spending the day looking around the sprawling city, Grey knocked on the front door of the Delgado residence and was pleased to see Isdel Delgado answer. Delgado was jovial and welcoming, amazed to see Grey walking around without even crutches after what happened to him. Grey introduced his best friend in the army to his wife, Grey telling them that while it was the first time they had met, their paths had crossed twice before.

“
Do you know what he’s talking about?” Delgado said to Germaine, who nodded coyly – even though Delgado seemed a kind man, from his description and demeanour, she wasn’t going to share any of her husband’s secrets again.

“
I’ll explain later, Isdel. It’s been a year so there’s a lot to catch up on – this part-timer wants to know what the endgame was like. Sorry I haven’t sent you many letters – I told you I was bad at writing.”

“
They were fine, Jimmy. News of your recovery cheered everyone up because you were written off as a lost cause. Where are you two staying?”

“
We haven’t booked anywhere yet just because I didn’t know if you were back. If you have a spare room we’d pay board and we’d only be here about a fortnight. If not, that’s cool, we’ve seen a place not too far away.”

“
Don’t be stupid, of course you can stay here. Come on through and meet my folks,” Delgado said, leading them through to the kitchen where his parents were seated. Delgado introduced them and asked his parents, Cuauhtémoc and Solymar, if they minded his friends staying with them for a little while, a formality which they readily agreed to.

“
Hello, Mr Delgado. After everything your son has told me about you it’s an honour to meet you,” Grey said, shaking his hand.

“
Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you, James,” Cuauhtémoc said warmly, gesturing for them to sit down. “Would you like something to eat?” he asked, to his wife’s displeasure, as she knew the meal she’d cooked wouldn’t stretch that far.

As Grey and Germaine accepted his offer she moved her chair back only for her husband to put his hand on her shoulder and say, “I’ll cook for them, don’t worry.” He was an able cook and she left him to it. Grey saw that Cuauhtémoc was leaving his own meal to cook for them and it made him feel bad and he said that they’d prefer to eat a little later and would sooner unpack first.

Delgado showed them to their room – his room which he gave up for them, meaning that he would have to sleep on the settee for the duration of their stay, which he didn’t mention. Even if Grey had come by himself Delgado would still have given him his bed. Grey reminded Germaine that she could be candid with Delgado, who knew of his powers and of Laura’s, versed on most of the supernatural occurrences in Maramont. When they went back downstairs Cuauhtémoc cooked for them as they all sat round the dining table even though the Delgados had all finished their meals. Germaine heeded her husband’s advice and came out of her shell and joined in with the conversation, though not to the degree of the other four. Grey remembered that Delgado didn’t believe in telling his mother the hard truths of the war and he was mindful of what he said as they talked about their experiences overseas – both felt a little stifled and Delgado’s parents and Germaine went to bed early to give them a chance to talk openly. Delgado approved of his choice of bride but was very curious as to what happened with Laura and wanted to know about how his path had crossed with Germaine, Grey telling him that she was the girl who’d visited the farmhouse. Delgado told him of what followed his departure from their unit, telling him of the difficulties in Belgium and Holland and of the abject devastation in Germany which achieved the impossible and made him want to stay there to help them.

“
To see this once fine city reduced to a collection of debris. It’s effectively Troy,” Delgado said emotionally, still moved by it several months after he’d left it.

“
I’ve read about that story too and a couple of other books about Greek myths, though I doubt I know as many as you. I wasn’t there, Isdel, so I can’t say how I would have reacted. London was a state too early on in the war and was it Coventry got very, very badly bombed in the early days, practically decimated? I’m not saying two wrongs make a right, because they don’t.”