Four Seasons…November II

Paige followed Dean up the surprisingly narrow staircase, down a slightly wider hallway and into a small room with a ceiling that aspired to sky. He pointed toward a closed door at the other end of the room. “There’s a bathroom in there,” he said. “Take all the time you need. Libby said the two of you practically shared a wardrobe, so I took the liberty of getting you a dress in her size.” Paige didn’t know what to say, so she offered Dean a modest smile and matching nod then went into the bathroom and closed the door quietly behind her.

The bathroom was small but opulent. An intricate pattern of sage green and bright white tiles ornamented ninety degrees of the room, stopping just beneath a small window that opened to a view of the front drive. Paige poked her head outside, surprised to see a scattered collection of minivans and Japanese sedans. A small vase of rust colored roses and lavender tulips sat on one side of the counter, the subtle scent of narcissus drifted from the candle flickering on the other.

Paige noticed the dress hanging on the door and felt like crying. It was a simple dress that had probably cost Dean no more than thirty dollars, but it was a near replica of the one she was wearing in her favorite photograph of she and Libby together.

Paige stepped into the shower, turned the water all the way to searing and thought that although Libby had regularly babbled endlessly about Dean, she hadn’t said nearly enough.

She finished her shower then took her sweet time getting perfectly ready. Her hair was too short for a ponytail, but she wasn’t exactly going to wear her hair net to dinner. She combed it back, blew it dry and ignored the thought of the hair clip sitting on the passenger side floor of her Prius. Paige looked in the mirror a final time and then descended the stairs into the kitchen. She looked at the food with a smile and walked to the counter.

“You must be Paige,” a heavy-set woman, maybe in her late fifties, greeted her with a gentle touch to the shoulder.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Hi, I’m Sophia. Mr. McGee said to tell you to go ahead and go on inside. Enjoy the fiesta, he said. I’ve got all this covered.” She noted the look on Paige’s face and added. “I know what everything is and I’ll make sure it gets where it needs to go.” She punctuated the end of the sentence with what was perhaps the kindest smile Paige had ever been given. “Promise.”

“Well okay then!” Paige raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders. “Thanks.” She crossed the quiet kitchen and opened the door to a flurry of noise on the other side. Paige entered the room in half disbelief. Most of her had believed that Dean was only being modest. The words intimate affair hadn’t rinsed her of the expectation of evening gowns and dinner jackets. She didn’t anticipate short sleeved shirts or denim, and certainly didn’t expect to see children, but there they were. In the corner were two girls and a boy sitting in a sem-circle with a pile of Uno cards face up between them. The boy yelled, “uno!” and the oldest girl released a sigh Paige could clearly hear even from her side of the room.

Solomon was still in bed, but the TV was now off and a small crowd of people draped him like a comforter. There were three matching boy girl sets, but Paige couldn’t see any of them clearly. A bristle of instinct told her the tallest guy was familiar, but then again the entire evening had started to feel like deja vu and despite her craving for a strong drink, she was starting to wonder if it was such a good idea.

The kitchen door opened and Sophia entered the room with a giant bowl filled with soup, which she then placed on the buffet. The tall man turned around at the sound, looked slightly confused for a moment as the warm draft of recognition passed between him and the fair hair girl standing at the far side of the room. He said, “Paige?” in a voice which harbored only the slightest uncertainty.

Paige nodded. Hunter whispered something to the woman standing next to him, then kissed her on the cheek and crossed the room. “Wow, it is you. It’s me Hunter, we met once up at the Grove about three years back. I told Libby she had to let me take her to see The Dark Knight. She said sure and then brought you along because she said you’d help her hate it less.”

“Of course,” Paige smiled. “I remember.”

“What are you doing here? You friends with Dean too?”

“Nope, just met him this morning. Until then our relationship only existed through the endless ramblings of your sister.” A quiet current of knowing laughter passed between them. “I’m the cook, Dean invited me to take care of the spread. I guess he wanted me to mingle too.” Paige raised her eyebrows.

“Got it,” Hunter nodded.

A long silence lingered in the air. Finally, Paige said, “I’m sorry I didn’t go to the funeral. I just… couldn’t deal, you know?”

Hunter nodded. “I do.”

“Mind if I ask you something?”

“Shoot,” Hunter said.

“What is all this?” Paige made a little circle with her pointer finger.

Hunter sucked in his breath. “Let’s see now, where do I start? The old guy over there is my wife’s grandpa. Apparently, he took all kinds of care of Dean when he was growing up. You know how his mom was always loaded right?” Hunter covertly gestured toward an older woman sitting on the edge of a sofa holding her arms out to a baby that looked about a year old as it tried to stand for a few seconds before collapse. “That’s her. Apparently they’ve made up.”

Paige looked surprised.

“I know, but the world keeps turning I guess. In the it’s a small world department, my best friend Brian is married to Dean’s sister Maya. She says their mom has been better for years and that mostly Dean just harbors a grudge. But you know, two sides and all. That’s Brian over there.” Hunter nodded toward a good looking guy with a goofy grin standing next to an exhausted looking woman in a loose fitting blouse.

One of the three couples that had been standing by Solomon’s bed turned around to head for a buffet now entirely filled with everything Paige had prepared. The man was nice looking and struck her like the quiet type. The woman on his arm looked to be about ten months pregnant. They both nodded at Paige as they passed.

“Who are they?” Paige whispered.

“That’s John and Lisa. Lisa is also Saul’s granddaughter. Nicest girl in the world. She was a location scout until last March when she decided to ditch her job to marry that dude right next to her. And that’s his other granddaughter Laney and her boyfriend Jake.” Hunter pointed to a somewhat awkward looking woman with strawberry blond hair standing next to a man who looked like the super sized version of the kid who was crying uno! when she first walked in the room.

“Wow,” Paige said. “Thanks for the rundown.”

“No prob. Only one we missed is Saul’s son in law. He’s this real big guy, a cop. He was married to Saul’s daughter, but she died earlier this year. He was here earlier, but he disappeared. I heard he’s been in bad shape since he lost his wife. I met him a couple times before and he always struck me as kind of an asshole. Today he just seemed… I don’t know, sad I guess.”

“Makes sense,” Paige said. “So which one of these girls is his daughter?”

“None of ‘em. They never had any kids. Hey, mind if I ask you something.” Hunter changed the subject.

“Not at all.”

“It’s kind of random.”

“Some of the best questions are.”

Hunter laughed. “Is that the same dress you’re wearing in that picture with my sister? The one where you two are at the fair or something and Libby has an ice cream cone and the top scoop is about to fall off?”

Crimson bloomed across Paige’s cheeks. “No,” she shook her head, “but Dean had a change of clothes for me. Maybe he thinks this is the only thing I wear and I have a closet full of them.”

“Like a cartoon character.”

“I was thinking more like a super hero.”

Hunter laughed. “I should get back,” he said after a few seconds of silence, “but it was great to see you again.”

“You too.” Paige smiled at Hunter and watched him walk back to the bed. Three seconds later she heard a soft chorus of laughter with Solomon smiling in the middle.

Paige stood still, feeling as though she was wearing someone else’s dress over another person’s skin. The call of the kitchen was loud. She backed out from the living room and headed toward the certain comfort.

“No, no, no.” Sophia wagged a thick finger in an exaggerated gesture. “Mr. McGee said I am not to let you back in the kitchen. “

“I just want to get a drink.”

“The bar is in the living room.”

“Fair enough.” Page smiled into an about face. Guess I’ll just jump in, she thought. Paige never had difficulty with social settings, at least once she was warmed up, but the first few minutes of introduction always seemed to hold a rather specific sort of torture. Exiting the kitchen, Paige collided with the missing guest.

“You!” she gasped.

Lemmin dropped his drink sending shards of glass sailing in every direction.

“The fuck are you doing here?” Paige spit, almost feeling sorry for the sad sack of shit trembling in front of her.

“I’m spending Thanksgiving with my father in law.” He looked down. “Excuse me, I need to clean this up.” Lemmin dipped his head, took a step back, then turned around and retreated to the kitchen.

Paige stormed across the room and into the fresh air outside, cigarette lit before she ever smelled ocean. “You’re supposed to smoke after dinner.” Dean was sitting in one chair with his feet resting on the one next to it.

“Sorry. Guess I’m restless. Why’d you bring me here anyway? Did you know he would be here?”

“Of course I knew. I invited him, and I invited you because Libby loved you.”

“Couldn’t you have sent me a card or something?”

“No, tonight’s a special night and Libby would’ve wanted you to play a part.”

“I don’t understand and I don’t appreciate being manipulated.”

Dean’s eyes, arrogant just a moment before, softened. “Libby told me one time that your food was what she imagined the Gods must’ve feasted on up at the top of Olympus.”

“Yeah,” Paige said. “She said the same thing to me a bunch of times, usually when she wanted something.”

“She also said that anyone dying with a kind heart still inside them deserved a last meal as fine as all that. That old man is important to me, and everyone in that room is important to him. There are others, sure, but that in there is the best I could do on short notice. I gathered the farewells, you supplied the meal.”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Paige snapped. “I doubt he has a taste bud left, and you’re talking like you have his death certificate already filled out. You can’t predict death unless it’s on purpose.” Paige put the cigarette to her lips, closed her eyes and inhaled.

“Wanna bet?” The arrogance had returned to his eyes, though it was more playful than anything. Paige said nothing, just blew the smoke in a neat stream headed toward the sea. Dean continued. “Saul won’t eat a thing. Even if he had every taste bud still sitting on his tongue, he’s got a hole whistling in his stomach that should’ve killed him six months ago. But I guarantee you, he’s laying in that room right now happier than he’s been in maybe ten years. He may not be able to smell the food, but he can see the looks on everyone’s faces.”

Paige was quiet. Finally she walked over to the ashtray on the end table in between the two chairs and smashed her cigarette to a nub. “Thanks for including me,” she said. “I’m glad to be here. Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Thanks for being here.” Dean smiled and nodded. “I’m glad you’re here too.”

Paige imagined Libby. Her bright smile and constant desire to make everyone happy. Dean was right. This was exactly what she would have wanted. “My pleasure,” she said.

Paige went back in the house and piled a plate full of food, then made camp next to the newly expanded game of Uno that now included the boy’s father Jake, John and his very pregnant wife Lisa. “Can you deal me in for the next round?”

“Of course,” John said.

“Actually, you can have mine.” Lisa handed her cards to Paige, obvious relief on her face. She rubbed her belly and said, “I was looking for a way out.”

Paige balanced the plate on her lap while holding the cards in her left hand. She chewed slowly. Looking around the room, she noticed that everyone else was doing the same, as though every bite mattered for everyone. Lemmin sat alone, sipping his soup and holding each spoonful in his mouth before swallowing. Something in Paige crumbled. She finished the game, then surrendered her cards to the pile and crossed the room.

“I know it wasn’t your fault,” she said.

Lemmin looked up, his eyes were hollow sockets of sorrow. He choked through a thank you and then said, “I’m sorry.”

“I know.” Paige squatted beside him. “How would you like some chocolate?”

“I’d like that.”

Paige brought over a full plate and the two of them passed chocolate between them, allowing the memory of their mutual friend to linger. From the other side of the room they watched as Solomon’s eyes brightened and dimmed along with each new wave of passing family drifting by his bed, holding his hand or whispering a joke, sometimes for the third time that night. Finally his eyes grew heavy and his smile started to fade. At eleven minutes to nine, he closed them for the final time, an eternal smile frozen on his face forever.

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