Chapter 14

The next three weeks were everything I had hoped they would be. I got up each morning and helped launch Tad. We’d skip the bus most mornings and I’d drive him to school.

I looked for little projects around the house to help Sarah keep the place in great shape. I’d never been much of a do-it-yourselfer, but if it was something that looked undemanding, I would take it on and, if unsuccessful, I’d call in a professional.

Peggy continued her busy schedule, driving east three days a week for classes, and then west five nights a week for her job at The Naked Truth.

I visited the club a couple of nights, once staying for the duration, driving her over on a Friday and watching her all evening, on and off the little raised platform, doing her thing. I didn’t get drunk, but Peggy did drive the car home.

The other time, I drove over alone during her regular shift as bartender.

Late in October, after the Giants had whipped up on the Red Sox in a five-game World Series, I told the family one afternoon at lunch that I was going to go back to Albuquerque to get the rest of my worldly goods – including my beloved F-150 pickup.

To my surprise, the reaction was all out of proportion to that routine bit of information. Sarah looked mildly shocked; Tad stared over at his mother as if seeking guidance.

And Peggy burst into tears and immediately left the table.

“What?” I asked Sarah. “What happened?”

“She thinks this is it,” Sarah said. “You’re leaving.”

“No! ... Oh, HELL no! That’s just so...”

Tad was looking uncertain, looking first at Sarah and then over to where I was suddenly speaking too loudly and coming off as being angry at everyone in the room.

Seeing Tad’s confusion brought me back closer to equilibrium. “Tad! Tad, I’m not leaving! Not for good. I just want to go get my stuff! It’s ... it’s nothing at all, son!”

Sarah hugged the little guy, turned to me and said, “Go talk to her.”

I found Peggy out back of the house. She’d already stopped crying.

“Peg, what’s going on?”

“You’re leaving.”

“Not for good! Jeez, I just want to go see my Dad, and get my truck. My clothes ... you know?”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” I repeated. “Okay – what? Okay, you understand? Is that what you mean, or ... what do you... ?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I understand.” But she said it in a sullen tone that suggested anything but understanding.

I was losing patience. Oh, I knew damned well that getting hyper myself was not a smart thing to do. Her reaction was all out of proportion. Unreasonable. Hysterical, even. It was clearly not a good idea at all for me to lose patience. Get hysterical myself.

But, damn it, this was craziness! Why in blazes couldn’t this beautiful woman get it through her head that I was batshit crazy about her; that I would never voluntarily desert her?

I’m crazy about her, I was thinking – but this woman is maybe just flat crazy!

“Peggy! Damn it! Stop this! You know I’m not leaving for good! I couldn’t fucking wait to get back here to be with you. C’mon!”

I was yelling at her by this time, my hands squeezing both her arms way too hard. All the time, I was telling myself, “this isn’t the best way to handle this situation.”

Finally, Sarah came out, grabbed my left arm and tugged on it. I looked at Sarah’s face; her eyes were blazing. At last I realized I was hurting Peggy. I let go – abruptly – and almost caused her to lose her balance. Her mother hugged her.

There were big red blotches on both Peggy’s arms, above the elbows.

“Let’s go inside and talk about this,” Sarah said.

“What about Tad?” I said.

“Tad, too. We’re all going to talk about it,” she answered.

Sarah took the lead. She told Peggy, quietly and calmly, that she didn’t believe for a moment that I was planning to leave and not come back. “And you know that yourself, Peggy. You can’t really believe Marty wants to leave!”

“I don’t know what to believe,” she said. That tone of voice again -- like outside, when I’d gotten that “yeah, okay” response.

“I don’t think Marty is going to leave,” Tad said.

Now Sarah lost her cool a little. “Even though you’ve told Tad over and over again that Marty wouldn’t come back, he did come back, and made a liar out of you, Peggy! You see there? Tad still knows how to trust people!”

Well, we were ganging up on her, big-time. Sarah and I both could see that, and we took a step back. Tad, bless him, went to Peg, hugged her, and said, “It’s okay, Mama. I promise Marty will come back to us.”

Peg gave him a little laugh. “You promise?”

Serious and undiscouraged, Tad just gave her a calm “Yes.”

We had all calmed down now -- Peg included. It was a Thursday. Peg had to tend bar that night. She’d leave home just after six.

Nothing more was said that afternoon about my excursion to New Mexico.

After Peg left and Tad was in bed, Sarah and I turned off the TV. I brewed us each a cup of English Black tea and brought it into the living room. “What if I took her with me to Albuquerque?” I asked Sarah.

“Wouldn’t that just be indulging her? Giving in?”

“Well. Yeah, I guess. But what better way to show her I wasn’t skipping town? Anyway, hell, I’d love to introduce her to my dad. And my step-mom. Hey! I could take them both out there with me!”

“Tad’s got school.”

“Well, we could make it pretty quick. Fly out, see my folks, show them the city a little bit -- just for a couple’ days -- and then load up the truck and get on back here! We could do it all in a week, easy. And Veterans’ Day’s coming up; Tad probably gets a day out that week.”

“It’s not going to solve Peg’s problem, you know, if you just cooperate and never let yourself get out of her sight.”

“We’ve got some time, Sarah. All winter. I don’t have to be anywhere until the middle of next February. We can work on Peg’s problem slow and steady.”

“You think she’d take the time off work? What about her classes?”

“Well. I can ask.”

I brought up the idea with Peggy and it was clear from the start that she liked it. “You know I’ve never been on a plane in my life?” she said. “Tad hasn’t either.”