Chapter 2: Picking up the Pieces, Part II

May-June 1982, Milford, Ohio

I awoke with a start on Monday morning, and quickly remembered the events of the previous day and why I was in Kara’s bed, with her cuddled to me and Joyce spooned behind her. I lay quietly for about fifteen minutes, then decided I should make breakfast for everyone. I carefully slipped out of bed and was happy when Kara simply stirred a bit but didn’t wake up. I went to the bathroom and relieved myself, then headed downstairs.

I hunted around the kitchen for everything I needed and added a few things to the grocery list that was hanging on the fridge. I’d go out shopping later, once my dad arrived. I started the coffee, and mixed the batter for waffles. I then started on the eggs and bacon, and turned the waffle iron on to preheat. I saw that the pitcher of orange juice was almost empty and took the remaining can from the freezer to make another pitcher. I added that to the grocery list as well.

As I put the first batch of waffle batter on the iron, Nancy Blanchard walked into the kitchen wearing a long red robe. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked quite haggard. I poured her a cup of coffee and a glass of juice and she sat down at the table.

“Thanks,” she said. “I heard from Kara that you were a good cook. I don’t think Alan cooked a thing in his life, except on the grill.”

“Mrs. Blanchard, Joyce stayed the night as well. We all cuddled in Kara’s bed. How are you doing this morning?”

“I feel lost, Steve,” she sighed. “I don’t even know the first thing to do. Alan handled everything.”

One more reason to have a partnership in marriage instead of running things the way her husband had. But this wasn’t the time to say anything like that.

“My dad is coming over this morning with his attorney, so they should be able to at least help you start sorting things out.”

“Pastor Kent warned me against listening to him,” she sighed.

“Of course he did,” I said, fuming. “But when it comes to financial things, my dad really knows his stuff.”

“It’s OK, Steve. I trust you and your dad. I wasn’t happy with what Pastor Kent said at the hospital. What happened between you two at the door when he showed up yesterday?”

“I tried to apologize for throwing the punch and he basically told me to stay away from Kara.”

“You can see my opinion on that, Steve. Just stay calm. You’ll probably hear a lot of stuff you don’t agree with at the funeral.”

“I know. I promised Kara that I’d stay calm no matter what is said.”

“Thanks. I’ll take some waffles now if you don’t mind.”

I served her the first waffle that came from the iron, a couple of strips of bacon and some eggs. I turned on the oven and put the rest of the bacon and eggs in a covered dish and put them in the oven to stay warm, and started a second batch of waffles. I heard footfalls upstairs, and knew that at least one of the girls, if not both would be down soon, so I set out plates and poured glasses of juice. I sat down with a cup of coffee.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Mrs. Blanchard asked.

“Not until the girls are served. Then I’ll eat,” I said.

She smiled, “You are so different from the men at church. Every day I see more and more why Kara loves you so much.”

“I just wish her dad could have seen that.”

Mrs. Blanchard smiled softly, “He did, Steve. He couldn’t handle the fact that you two were sexually active, but he did see it. He was going to tell you that yesterday afternoon when you came by to get Kara.”

A tear ran down her face and she wiped it away.

“Did Kara know?” I asked.

“No. On Saturday, while she was with you, Alan was fixing a broken drawer in Kara’s desk that she’d asked him to take care of. When he opened the drawer, the top piece of paper was Kara’s class registration form from IIT with your Chicago address on it listed as her home address. He became extremely upset, as you can imagine, and brought it to me. He asked if I knew what was going on and I told him. He was in a rage and ranted for several minutes about how horrible you were and how you had corrupted his daughter and so on.

“He eventually calmed down, we talked. I asked him if he’d ever seen Kara happier and he said that he hadn’t. I asked him if, putting aside the intimacy, he thought you were a good person and he agreed that he had thought you were until you took Kara’s virginity. I reminded him that she’d given it to you, willingly and thoughtfully, and that according to her, you had put her off for months. He still had trouble seeing his daughter in that light, as I’m sure you can imagine.

“I asked him what he was going to do and he sat down, put his head in his hands and said he didn’t know. He finally realized that the harder he tried to keep you apart, the more determined you two were to be together. I asked him if he really wanted to keep widening the rift between him and you, when it was clear you were going to be his son-in-law and the father of his grandchildren. I asked him if his principles were so important to him that it was worth the risk of alienating Kara and never seeing our grandchildren.”

I interrupted, “Mrs. Blanchard, I would never, ever have done that. And I can’t imagine Kara doing it, either.”

“Don’t be so sure, Steve. I know you tried hard to be nice to Alan and not let it interfere with your relationship with Kara, but over the years the animosity would have made things tougher and tougher. At some point, you two would have had enough. But, the more Alan and I talked, the more he realized that you and Kara were going to be together and, that in the end, he loved her too much to hurt her. He was going to tell you that while he didn’t approve, he would no longer interfere and, most importantly, that he would accept you as his son-in-law.”

“I don’t know what to say. I wish I could have heard that from Alan, and I know how much it would have meant for Kara to hear it.”

“I’ll tell her,” she said.

“Mrs. Blanchard, I added some things to the grocery list on the fridge. I planned to go out later this morning. If you would put anything on the list you need I’ll take care of getting it. Also, I’ll take the spare car keys and we’ll get Alan’s car for you.”

“Thank you, Steve. If you don’t mind, I’d prefer you took Joyce so Kara and I can talk.”

“Sure. As long as Kara is OK with that,” I said.

She nodded. A few minutes later the girls came downstairs. They’d clearly showered and Kara looked like she’d had a decent night’s sleep. I got up and hugged Kara and then told them to sit down and served them breakfast. I started another batch of waffles on the iron and then put some food on my plate.

“How did you sleep, Kara?” her mom asked.

“OK. I was cuddled to Steve and Joyce spooned with me. I felt really safe and secure. How about you?”

“Alone, but I guess I have to get used to that now,” she sighed. “But I have you, Kara.”

Kara’s brow furrowed, “Only for another month or so, mom.”

“It’s OK, honey. We’ll just take each day as it comes.”

“Kara, after I get a shower, I’m going to go grocery shopping. If it’s OK with you, I’d like to take Joyce to help me out and bring your dad’s car back from church. We’ll be right back.”

Joyce arched her brow, questioningly, but caught the slight shake of my head.

Kara nodded, “OK, I guess. But you’ll both come back, right?”

“Yes, of course!” I said, and Joyce nodded in agreement.

We finished eating and I went up to take a shower and dress. When I was ready, I went downstairs to find that Joyce had done the dishes and was ready to head out. I hugged and kissed Kara and hugged her mom. Joyce hugged them both and then Joyce and I headed to Fazio’s.

“Her mom wanted to have a talk with her, alone, so that’s really why I brought you with me,” I explained to Joyce. “How was she this morning?”

“OK. She’s clearly in shock. She’ll break down crying a lot, Steve. Just remember that.”

“I’m not sure I should leave,” I said. “I was supposed to go back to Chicago on Wednesday. The latest I can go is Friday morning, but I wonder if I should just cancel my trip.”

“She told you not to,” Joyce said. “I talked to her this morning while we were showering. She wants you to go. I promise we’ll take care of her.”

“Maybe I should cut the trip short,” I suggested. “I could still see my friends, see my class graduate, and see Karin to resolve things with her and be back in about three weeks instead of five weeks.”

“You could do that, I suppose,” Joyce said, nodding. “Talk to Kara about it.”

We arrived at Fazio’s, did the shopping, drove to the church so that Joyce could bring Alan’s car to the Blanchards’ house, and then headed there with Joyce following me. Joyce and I unpacked and put away the groceries, figuring out where the Blanchards kept everything in the process. I also put a blank sheet of paper in the clip for the grocery list on the fridge, and then we went to sit with Kara and her mom.

“The ladies from church will be in and out today, bringing food,” Mrs. Blanchard said. “I asked them not to worry about breakfast.”

“I can do the cooking, Mrs. Blanchard,” I said.

“It’s OK, Steve. This lets the ladies from church feel like they’re doing something. And it is a nice gesture.”

I started coffee using the large urn in the kitchen, and then went to sit in the living room again. We talked, but there was quite a bit of silence. Neither Kara nor her mom were crying at the moment, but based on what Joyce had said, and my own experience with Birgit, I figured that was short-lived. Just before 10:00am my dad arrived with his attorney, Larry Walsh. Stephanie was with them.

“Steve, why don’t you take the girls in the other room so we can talk with Nancy,” my dad suggested in a voice that made it clear that it was an order.

“OK,” I said, taking Kara’s hand and going to the den.

We all sat down together, with Kara again leaning against me.

“Kara, I was thinking of shortening my trip to about eighteen days. I can still do everything I need to do, and really, I don’t need two weeks in Stockholm at this point.”

“Don’t change anything right now, Steve. Let’s talk about this after the funeral, OK? Please?”

“Of course.”

Just before noon, I saw my dad and Larry Walsh get up and move towards the door. I excused myself and got up and went to talk to him.

“How are things?” I asked.

“Reasonably good, I think,” my dad replied. “Alan Blanchard had a will and some life insurance. Not a lot, but enough to pay off the mortgage and give Kara and her mom enough to live on for a while. Her college funds are separate, and those are in her name, so they don’t have to go through any probate. They also have enough savings to easily cover their living expenses until the insurance proceeds are available. I’m covering the funeral home expenses and the gravesite until she can pay me back.”

“Thanks, Dad, I really appreciate it.”

“They’re going to be family according to you and Kara, so it’s the least I could do.”

“Will it be Greenlawn?”

“Yes, Greenlawn is the best option. Larry Walsh is going to make those arrangements today for me. I spoke to Bill Noakes and made all those arrangements as well. The only question is which day the funeral is, and her pastor is going to confirm that this afternoon. If he comes here, you be on your best behavior.”

“I will. He tried to provoke me yesterday when I tried to apologize. I didn’t take the bait.”

“Good. You’re the better man, Steve. If you apologized and he didn’t accept it, the problem is his, not yours. Just don’t let any clergyman ever get under your skin. If there is a god, and I don’t believe there is, I can’t imagine someone like Kent van der Meer would be his spokesman!”

“On that last part, we agree. Thanks for everything.”

“I assume you stayed here?”

“Yes, Joyce and I both did. We all slept, clothed, in the same bed at Kara’s request and at Mrs. Blanchard’s invitation.”

“Let me know if you need anything. Stephanie said Bethany is coming by later and she’ll get a ride home with her.”

“Thanks again, Dad.”

Just as he and Larry Walsh left, a couple of women from the church came to the door. There was a steady flow of women coming to the house that day, bringing food, sitting with Mrs. Blanchard, and doing things like cleaning and laundry. Kara made a point of closing and locking her door so that nobody would see my things there, which would only cause further trouble.

Pete and Melanie arrived just after noon, and Bethany at 1:00pm. About 1:30pm Pastor Kent arrived and, as he had the day before, looked at me with a haughty, accusing sneer. I simply smiled at him and Kara and I went to sit with her mom while they talked about the arrangements. The funeral service would be held at 10:00am on Thursday with burial directly following. Afterwards, there would be a reception at the church. The funeral home would call to confirm, but the visitation was planned for Wednesday evening.

I realized that I’d need a suit and I hadn’t brought one with me. When Kara and I went back to the den to be with our friends, I commented that I needed to get a black suit by Wednesday night, and it was already Monday afternoon.

“Grandfather has a fantastic tailor,” Joyce said. “I bet they can fit and alter a suit for you in a few hours. Let me make the call.”

She was back three minutes later.

“We need to head to Kenwood as soon as we can. They’ll fit you and alter the suit overnight and you can have it in the morning. And grandfather is paying. He said he would not accept any argument from you on this matter. He said to bring Kara as well, and they will custom fit a black dress for her, and her mother if need be.”

“Your grandfather is a wonderful man,” Kara said to Joyce. “Let me ask mom about it.”

She was back two minutes later.

“Mom doesn’t have a black dress, either. She wants to get out of the house as well, but the pastor is advising her to stay home.”

“Oh of course he is,” I said, shaking my head. “If it’s something I want, he wants the opposite. This man is, to quote Saint Paul, ‘a thorn in my side which I wish God would remove’.”

Kara smiled, “Cute, Steve. At some point, I think I’ll lock you two in a room armed only with Bibles. I’m sure you’ll come out on top.”

“If I don’t strangle the man in the first two minutes,” I said in a low voice. “Let me go talk to your mom.”

I walked into the other room and was greeted with an evil look from the pastor.

“Mrs. Blanchard, a good friend of mine, who also happens to be my boss, is going to cover the cost of your dress and one for your daughter, and help me get a black suit fitted in time for the funeral. We’ll need to head to Kenwood pretty much right away.”

“We can take care of Nancy and Kara, Steve,” Pastor Kent said.

“Sir, with all due respect, my friend is a very, very generous man and he would consider it a grave insult for us to refuse this gift. I can’t speak for Mrs. Blanchard, but Kara knows this man and she’s going to accept the gift. I believe that Mrs. Blanchard should as well. Please don’t ask her to do foolish things simply because you do not like me!”

“Kent, the young man and his friend are trying to do the right thing; let them,” a nicely dressed woman who was about fifty years old, said. “Forget your problems with this young man for a few days.”

Kent van der Meer sighed, “Yes, Dear.”

Aha! The wife heard from. And the pastor let a woman tell him what to do! In front of me! It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud.