Chapter 53

It didn’t register for a minute when Mom said, “Oh, Nicole was here,” then I thought to myself, ‘Wait! Could she be Nicole Fell, the banker’s wife from Cantil? I have to get hold of Karen and talk to her.’

Dad went back into the house, and Mom said, “Take your time. It’ll take us a while to get ready,” as she was leaving.

I was tying my shoes and thinking about what Mom had said when the phone rang again. My silent question was answered when a voice said, “Hi, Pete; it’s Nicole.” It took me a second to gather my thoughts, then I said, “Uhh, hi, Nicole. It’s good to hear from you. What’s up?”

A serious-sounding Nicole went on, “I just left Karen and I’m calling you on my cell phone, Pete. Karen tells me that you and she have been seeing each other and that you like each other a lot. I’m happy for both of you, but I need to talk to you about something. She’s my sister’s child, and she and I have been close since she was a baby. I’ve never been able to raise a child of my own, so I gave her all the love I would have given to my own daughter, however, I’ve kept my private life a secret from her. She thinks that I’m a married woman who talks a good game, but would never follow-up on anything, and that’s the way I’d like to keep things. You know better. You and I have been together; you saw me with her father in the room over the garage, and you know about my feelings for other women. I’m afraid it would destroy our relationship if she found out about any of this, and that would break my heart. I’m going to ask you a big favor. Will you please promise that you won’t tell her about me?”

I had never before heard a grownup ask for anything with such emotion in her voice. I immediately said, “Of course, I promise. You have my word.” There was quiet for a few seconds, then she said, “Thank you, Pete. I believe you, and I owe you.”

There was such relief in her voice that I wanted to cheer her up a little, so I said, “You don’t owe me anything, Nicole. The time I spent with you in Cantil was wonderful, and I think about you all the time.”

Surprising me, she excitedly asked, “Do you really, Pete? Do you really think about me?”

I was about to answer her when what she said earlier finally hit me! SHE was the girl whom Mr. Gilroy was making love to, the night that I saw Dad and Clair in the room over the garage. I thought that it was Mom for a long time, and I remember how relieved I was when I found out that it wasn’t.

Nicole suddenly asked, “Are you there. Pete?” A little flustered, I answered, “Oh, uhh yeah. You must have been driving through a dead area. Yes, Nicole, I had a great time that night, and I miss you, and think about you often.”

“I miss you, too, Pete. Can I give you a call the next time I get into town?”

I told her, “I’ll be looking forward to it,” then I hung up and sat thinking about that night in Cantil, and how she looked in Kate’s big bed. Karen showed up a few minutes later, and we all went out for breakfast. It was a beautiful day, and we went to one of the upscale Sunday brunch places that California is famous for. We sat outside and everyone was laughing and joking. The mood was light, but I could tell that Mom was a little nervous.

Karen got along well with everyone. I was surprised that Kate knew her at first, then I remembered that she and her family had been to Cantil. She was talking with Erin and Amy, and they seemed to be having fun, so I watched Kate and Ben for a while. They looked wonderful together. I’ve always heard that pregnant women can be radiant, and it was true in her case. She really is more beautiful than ever. Even though her belly is getting big, it looks great on her. She looks like she belongs in one of those ‘Family Living’ magazines.

I tried to remember her as she was when we were together, but she’s almost a totally different person now. It’s also really nice to see the way Ben behaves around her. Mom and Dad are pretty affectionate with each other, but the way Ben acts when Kate is around is amazing. He never passes her without touching her, and he often rests his hand on her belly when they sit together. That bothered me at first, I guess that I was jealous, but the more I see them together, the better I feel about things, and the happier I am for both of them. I still kind of miss her, though.

We sat around for a long time after breakfast. I watched Erin, Amy, and Karen talking, and it struck me how beautiful my little sister has become. She could easily pass for the same age as the other girls with her long blond hair, her electric-blue eyes, and her tall, athlete’s body. I thought about the time we had gone dancing, and the guy and his son had come to the table. The son had flipped over Erin then. He’d probably have a seizure If he saw her now.

We drove home after breakfast, and Karen stayed till about two in the afternoon, then she said that her dad was coming home and she wanted to be there, so I walked her to her car. “You have a nice family, Pete.”

“Thanks. They seem to like you, as well.”

“Friday was wonderful, Pete. I haven’t been able to think of anything else since then.”

“Yes, it was. You were wonderful to be with, and I hope that we can continue seeing each other. but you already know that Mom is going in for an operation, so I’ll be pretty busy for a while.”

“I understand, and I talked to my dad this morning. He’s pretty upset about Clair, so I want to hang in there with him for a while. You and I will see each other at school, and I hope that we can date and talk a lot.”

I told her that I was sure we would, then I watched her drive away. Part of me wanted to run after her and start another boyfriend-girlfriend thing, and I was pretty sure that she wouldn’t take much convincing, but I knew deep down that it was better this way. I just wished that this way didn’t leave me feeling so lonely at times.

The next thirty days went by in a flash, but there were some surprises. Mom went to the hospital on Tuesday and we all went with her. Ben couldn’t make it, but Kate and Dad were there. Erin, Amy, and I got excuses from school so that we could be there, too. There were several phone calls before we left. One was from Sylvia. She wished her well and said that she was in New York or she would also have been there for Mom.

The first surprise was the doctor. He turned out to be Andy, the guy we met at the dance! I was pretty sure that the first time he met Mom was at the dance, and I made a mental note to ask her how he ended up being her doctor.

Another surprise was Dad’s cell phone. It rang throughout the day, and he got up and moved far enough away that we couldn’t hear his conversation every time it did.

The operation took most of the day, and we sat on pins and needles the whole time. Karen dropped by after school to see how things were going. She couldn’t stay, but she made me promise to call her after it was over. Doc Andy said that it had gone very well when he finally came out. He made a point of telling everyone that the cancer had been confined to her bladder, and that he was able to remove it all. He informed us that Mom was in recovery, heavily sedated, and wouldn’t wake up until tomorrow morning, but she was doing fine, and that we should all go home.

Dad didn’t want to leave, but the doctor promised us that he would contact us if there was any change, then he told us to come back by at seven in the morning if we wanted to be there when she woke up. We were exhausted by the time we got home. Amy and Erin put something together for dinner, and we all sat in silence while we ate.

Amy went to her room to work on Tomaso’s stuff, and Erin went in to call Kelly after dinner, so Dad and I went into the living room to relax. I kept wondering about the phone calls he was getting, so I asked him.

He answered, “It was Mariani. He’s concerned about your mother.”

“Does that bother you?”

“Yes.”

“C’mon, Dad. Tell me what’s going on.”

He closed his eyes and sat there for a full minute or more. He finally sighed and nodded. He said, “Yeah, you deserve to know the whole story. Your mom has been ill for a long time. She would go to the doctor in the beginning, and she would say that everything was okay, that it was a minor thing, that it would pass when she came home. Our lovemaking grew less and less frequent, until ... until, one day, she told me that she just couldn’t have sex any more because she had an illness that had no cure.”

Dad paused to clear his throat, then continued. “That was ... That was when she told me to see other women. I refused for a long time, but she kept urging me to go ahead, saying that she was okay with it. I don’t claim to be a saint, but I swear to you that I would never have done it, except that she kept insisting. It was exciting to be with another woman and be able to talk to your Mom about it for a while. I thought we were being Avant-guard, new-age, or something, but I found that I just couldn’t do it anymore before very long. I don’t want to be with other women, Pete. I want to be with your mom, so I started looking into things. I found out that there IS an operation, and that she knew about it, but it’s serious surgery and she was frightened. She met Andy Epstein about that time. She met him that night you kids were with her at that restaurant in Universal City, and she said that they ended up talking most of the night.”

“He called me the next day. We talked about the surgery and he gave me his credentials. It turns out that he’s one of the most respected urologists in the country, and he’s done many of these operations. He encouraged us to have it done, but I just changed jobs as you know, and we’re having problems with the insurance. It’ll eventually come through, but she needs the operation now. We can’t wait any longer, and that’s where Robert Mariani comes in. He’s going to loan us the money.”

I was thinking about what he said, and I asked, “Is he doing it because he’s generous, or because Kristen and I have been going together?”

“Neither one. He’s doing it because he has feelings for your mother.” I suspected that something like this was going on, but I was shocked that Dad knew about it. I asked, “And this doesn’t bother you?” right away.

“Of course, it bothers me. It drives me crazy, but who am I to say anything after what I’ve done? The important thing is for her to get well. What happens after that is up to her.”

“You won’t let her go, will you, Dad?”

“Not without a fight.”

Kate and Ben were with us when Mom woke up the next morning. She was spaced out on drugs, and had a lot of tubes sticking out of her, but the nurse said that the doctor had already been there and said that she was doing fine. Erin, Amy, and I had all kissed her as we were leaving for school when Tammy showed up. I wanted to ask her what was happening with Tony, but we had to get going.

We visited Mom after school every day, and we noticed that she received new flowers each day. She really liked them, but the room was so full of flowers by Saturday that she had to tell the nurse to give some of them to other patients. All her friends and most of her dance students had sent some, and nearly all of them came to visit her. She liked the flowers, but she especially appreciated the visitors. Some of the nurses made comments about how good they were for Mom.

I always checked the cards that came with the flowers to see who sent them. I would write the names down, and Amy would write thank-you notes that night. Mom would sign them with a big smile on her face the next day, and I would mail them.

A huge new bouquet would arrive every day, and it never had a card on it. I figured that it was probably from Mariani. Mom was shuffling around with a walker by Saturday afternoon, and she came home late Sunday. Some more flowers arrived during the next few days, but nothing from Mariani. I guessed that she had told him to stop.

Mom was able to walk a little, but she spent most of the time in bed for the first week. Dr. Epstein came by and checked Mom after school on Monday, then he came into the living room and talked with Dad about getting a temporary nurse. Amy was there, and she immediately said that she could take care of things. Doc Andy looked a little apprehensive, and warned that it would involve changing dressings and such, but Amy said that she could do it. Dad started to protest, but Amy said, “I can do this, Dad! I’ve taken care of my brother since he was born, and in later years I even took care of my mother.”

She and Dr. Epstein went back into Mom’s room, where he showed Amy what to do. Dad was home for another week and a half, and he watched Mom during the day. Amy took over the nasty stuff -- changing dressings, emptying bedpans, etc. when she got home from school.

Amy left as late as she could in the morning after Dad went back to work, then she drove home at lunch to check on Mom, and she came home right after school. It was almost five weeks before Mom was able to care for herself, and I never heard Amy complain once,

I began looking in the papers and asking around for a job the week that Mom came home from the hospital, then Mrs. Devon stopped by on Wednesday evening. Dad and I had installed an intercom system in what I jokingly called my ‘apartment’. It had two buttons on it. One was a buzzer to let you know that someone wanted you, and you pushed the other one when you wanted to talk. I was in my room when the buzzer went off, and Dad asked me to come to the house.

I went there, and Mrs. Devon was sitting in the living room with Amy and Dad, showing them some pictures. Some were of her daughters and me, and she told us which ones the school had picked. They were great looking, and I really looked forward to seeing them in the yearbook and in the school newspaper.

She then showed us some others. The first group were the ones including the gorgeous girl with the long wavy hair. They showed her and me standing on the sidelines of a football field. She looked like she was cheering for a play that had just taken place in some, and she was standing in different poses in others. I was in them, but the focus was always on her. I had forgotten how pretty she was.

There were three others in the first group, and both of us were highlighted in every one of them. I was a little closer to the camera than she was in one of them. Whoever had done the photo work had slightly outlined my body, and I looked twenty-five years old and seven feet tall in my football uniform. She was leaning with her back against me, and I was looking down at her. The artist had put little stars in my eyes, and I looked like I wanted to make love to her right there.

She was facing me in the other two. It made me appreciate how good an actress she is because the look in her eyes was pure, innocent love. I was shocked at how good we looked together. I actually didn’t even recognize myself at first.

I looked at Mrs. Devon to say something, and she was staring at me with a very intense look on her face. It was as though she was trying to see what I was thinking -- and it was a little scary.

The final set was five pictures of Margo and me. Mrs. Devon had been showing them to Dad, and she said, “The camera loves you, young man,” as she handed them to me.

The backdrop and the floor at the studio where we took the pictures was a medium shade of blue, but two of the photographs showed us standing in a field of flowers. Margo was close to me and we were both smiling in them. In person, Margo is very pretty in a wholesome, all-American way. She was drop-dead gorgeous, and amazingly sexy-looking in the photos. She has large eyes, and, they seemed have a life of their own in the photos.

The next picture was one where I wasn’t wearing my shirt and I was holding her up. It was taken low and from the side. The fluid they had sprayed on me looked like perspiration, and my muscles were standing out like those of a body-builder. The photo looked like a still picture out of a ‘B’ movie when I first saw it, but it seemed to come alive when I looked closer. It looked like it was part of a scene where the next shot would be making love us in the flowers.

The last two were truly amazing. They looked like they were taken at night. The background was city lights, and we were in silhouette. You could barely make out our features. The first one showed us as though we were getting ready to kiss. Our lips were almost touching, and it somehow radiated sex. I actually gasped when I first saw it.

The final shot was even more unusual. The background was the same city lights, but the foreground was a close-up of just our heads this time. Our faces were black against the background, and there were flecks of light in our eyes and on our lips. My mouth was slightly open, and Margo’s tongue was snaking out, almost touching me. It was so sexy that it almost looked pornographic. I became disturbed as I stared at it. It wasn’t me there; it was a couple making love, and that made me want to see what happened next.

Mrs. Devon’s voice brought me back. She was talking to Dad when she said, “I don’t like pornography. I’m very careful with my daughters, and I’ve raised them to know and respect my views on this. I’m also careful with the other people I manage, but times being what they are, especially in today’s advertising, I sometimes have to place them in jobs that require mature behavior. Now, I want to assure you that ‘mature behavior’ does NOT mean pornography. It means suggestive poses like these last photos, and that’s the reason I’m here.

“I represent some other clients besides my daughters. Pete and Amy met two of them at the photo shoot. The first set of pictures are with a girl named Jasmine. She’s a seasoned model with a long resume. The second girl is named Margo. She’s also a popular model and actress. I showed these pictures, and a number of others we took with her and Peter, to a client of mine and he’s interested in using them in an ad campaign.”

Dad asked, “What kind of an ad campaign?”

“The company is called ‘Perfect Care’. They have a line of personal care products aimed at a particular area of the youth market. They make hair care products for young people with blond hair.”

“But the girls in the photos have brown hair?”

Mrs. Devon replied, “I know. This is a brand-new product. It’s an inexpensive, easy to use, hair bleaching process. It takes several weeks to work, but it’s very gentle on your hair, and leaves it nice and soft. You can stop and maintain the color you want, or you can go completely blond. It could be worth an awful lot of money if it sells like he thinks it will. He plans a TV campaign where a dark-haired girl will gradually go blonde using the product over a period of about a month. The company is the brainchild of Seth Greenberg. He’s the stepson of Tom Erickson, the CEO of Erickson Foods.”

“You mean, the girl will have to dye her hair blond?”

“Yes, that’s it -- and she’ll get paid extremely well to do it.”

“Have they tested it?”

“Yes, they have, with outstanding results.”

“Hmm, that’s interesting. But why are you doing this? Erickson Foods is a giant company! Don’t they have their own ad agency?”

“Yes, they do, but, this is something that Seth Greenberg wants to do on his own. I really think that he wants to prove himself, and this product could let him do that. He wants to test market it locally and see how it goes.”