Chapter 28: Strange Bedfellows

Lucy was done for the day, and once her make-up had been removed and she was back in street clothes, they climbed into the Mustang and drove back to Glendale. They made a stop at a strip mall to buy the makings of the planned barbecue and had a sandwich lunch at a coffee shop, before driving to Lucy’s house to unload. It was three o’clock by then but since Early would not arrive before five-thirty, they decided to make the four-mile trip to Wildwood Canyon.

After parking the car, they hiked up to a ridge overlooking the canyon and enjoyed the views until it was time to return.

“This is a neat place,” Helen commented when they climbed into the car again.

“It is, but it’s also a bit lonely out here, so I only come here when I have somebody with me,” Lucy explained.

Back at the house again, they all chipped in preparing side dishes for the planned barbecue. At around five, Danny fired up the charcoal. He and Helen sat side by side in a pair of recliners and held hands while Lucy and Ashley were in the house talking somewhere.

“Does Earl know about us?”

Helen grinned a little. “Why waste a perfect surprise? He never asked about you, and I didn’t feel like bragging.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “I’m not someone to brag about.”

“Right, you’re just someone I settled on because you’re rich,” Helen said dismissively, but then she giggled and pressed his hand. “Of course you are! You’re my prince. Of course, stupid as I was, I kept kissing frogs.”

“Don’t say that. I’ve got some serious flaws myself.”

“But they’re getting less and less. Plus, we click on just about every level. We’re both still a bit insecure, you about Irina and I about my own background, but even that is receding. You can be proud of Irina now, and I have Trudy and the Lloyds who are fine people. I’m proud of you, I love you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Well, that feeling is mutual.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. Just then, they faintly heard the doorbell going. “You wanna take that?”

“Nah, let him find us this way,” Helen grinned. “Better yet, scoot a little.”

With that, she quickly joined Danny on his recliner, straddling him and laying her head on his chest, just under his chin.

“Let’s not give him any mixed signals,” she giggled.

“ ... they’re on the deck already looking after grill and ... oh my, aren’t they cute?” Ashley’s voice sounded.

“They’re ... she and your brother? Well, hot damn!” Earl’s voice sounded, and Helen lazily lifted her head off Danny’s chest.

“Hey, ex-bro! Guess you caught us.”

Ashley snorted, but Earl did not notice.

“Since when?”

“New Year’s Eve. Let’s get up, lover!” She climbed off the recliner and pulled Danny up too. “God, I’m really happy to see you! There used to be a time when I’d rather have bitten off my tongue than admitting it, but I missed you!”

“Same here, Helen! Damn, gimme a hug already!”

She did and the hug lasted a minute or more. Then Earl held her by the shoulders and looked her up and down. “You look fantastic. Hey, since we’re just cousins now, we could totally fool around.”

Helen cuffed him. “Dream on, you perv! Say hello to Danny and be nice to him, or you’ll miss the season!”

With a grin, Earl disengaged from Helen and held out his hand to Danny.

“So you guys finally wised up? I could see that coming for years!”

“Yeah, we were kinda slow on the uptake,” Danny admitted, shaking Earl’s hand. “How are you doing?”

“Getting paid well for mostly warming a bench. The rest, not so good.”

“Your father screwed the pooch, huh?”

“Don’t ask!” Earl sighed. “I thought I’d buy a cool car with my signing bonus, but I had to pay his fines and his lawyer fees. Of course, the lawyer was a church member. Didn’t help Dad and didn’t give him a discount either. Next they tried to bilk Grandma out of her house. By the way, thanks for buying it. At least it’ll stay in the family.”

“You’ll get a share from the sale,” Helen said.

“Not right away. Grandma is tough. She established a trust fund with it. I’ll get access in five years, not a day earlier. Otherwise, Dad would be holding his hand out already. He’s desperate to make his usual big donation to stay on the board of elders, but Grandma has paid his debts directly, so he didn’t get a finger on that money.”

Helen nodded. “Talbot will have to economize.”

“Don’t get me started on that man! When I visited in June, he took me to the side and hit me for a contribution.”

“Did you pay?” Helen asked.

“Hell, no! I told him I gave all my money to bail out Dad. It’s almost true. But let’s change the topic before I burst a blood vessel. That ring on your finger, is that from your lover?”

“From my fiancé,” Helen answered with a degree of smugness. “It was very romantic. Danny asked me to accompany him to a gala dinner, and he proposed to me right on the dance floor.”

“Respect, man,” Earl nodded to Danny. “That was classy.”

“We had a great time, and I simply grabbed the opportunity when she was drunk enough to accept,” Danny said modestly.

“He’s an ass. It just happened, the moment was right, and — bam! — we were engaged. Let’s sit and get the food going. I take it you need to leave at some point.”

“I need to be in San Diego at 11 tomorrow morning at the latest. I thought I’d find a hotel room for the night.”

“The sofa in the living room folds out as a double,” Lucy offered. “It’s actually really comfortable.”

“Well, that’s neighborly of you, and I’ll get more out of this visit. Before I forget, I’m a huge fan, Miss Tanner. I’ve watched UI since when it first came out on cable. I thought Ricky Ryder was a great addition, but now, with you as a regular, it’s gone up one more notch. You and Pris are hilarious.”

“Thanks, Earl. I would call you Mr. Gunderson, but Helen looks kinda scary when she hears that name. You can call me Lucy, too.”

“Good point, Lucy. Honestly, someone calls ‘Mr. Gunderson’, I look over my shoulder and worry.”

They all sat down at the table except Danny who loaded the grate with marinated chunks of beef and pork. Helen brought him a beer can before she sat opposite Earl again who was now chatting up Ashley.

“How are you doing then?” he had just asked her.

Ashley grinned and held up her hand with the rings. “Been married for about five weeks, give or take. My wife Caitlyn couldn’t make it here. She just started her first job.”

“Your ... wife? That’s why ... you know, I had a feeling back then, when you guys visited for dinner.”

“Because I didn’t fawn over you?” Ashley mocked him.

“Yeah, something like that. Seriously, you were checking out Helen, not me.”

“I wasn’t!” Ashley sputtered.

“You were,” Helen said calmly. “Even innocent virginal me noticed.”

Lucy giggled. “You can’t help it, Ash. You checked me out too, the first evening we went out at Montmartre, but so did Lynn and Danny. What can I say, I am gorgeous.”

“Lynn checked you out?”

“Sure. She wasn’t as obvious as you, let alone Danny. But then again, guys are at a serious disadvantage to feign disinterest, especially at a nude beach.”

“That only proved he wasn’t dead,” Earl came to Danny’s aid. “I mean, you at a nude beach? Get real!”

“I like your brother,” Lucy told Helen. “Or your cousin, whatever. He’s astute.”

“He’s a pig,” Helen corrected.

“Again, whatever,” Lucy replied blithely.

Soon the meats turned crispy on the grate and Danny started distributing. The bowls of salads made their rounds, bread baskets were passed around, and then everybody was digging in.

“So what about your love life?” Helen asked Earl after she’d polished off a small steak. “You’ve still got them lined up?”

Earl blushed again. “That was never true, not in high school and not in college either. Guys just bullshit a lot. I was briefly dating Coach Williams’s daughter, Susan. She’s a great girl, smart as hell and funny, but she’s black. So when I sent a picture of us home, Dad exploded. I was so stupid. I should have known. Sue was with me when his text message popped up on my phone, and she saw it. I just wanted to die then. She was hurt I could tell, and she ended it. Word got around. I mean, she’s popular around the scene in San Diego. Now I’m the son of a racist and the pool of interested girls dried up like a puddle in the sun.”

“I can get that she was hurt, but to paint you as a racist was uncalled for,” Helen said vehemently. “You aren’t, are you?”

“I never thought of myself as one. When I was with Sue, she was just a girl, you know. Smart, pretty, sweet.”

“Not that smart if she can’t distinguish between your father and you,” Lucy retorted. “I can get it that she decided that a relationship was not going anywhere, what with your father dead set against her, but to slander you, that’s petty.”

“Does your dad know he’s making you a pariah?” Danny asked.

“He doesn’t care. In his opinion, I should find my bride at the church, or better, let the parents make the match.”

“They tried that,” Ashley giggled. “They wanted to pair you up with me.”

“Just like when they decided I’d have to marry Ed Talbot. He’s gay, you know. He had his coming-out and is an ordained LGBT priest now.”

“Oh, shit!” Earl blurted. “You know how lucky you are? I mean, you got to live with Grandma Trudy. It was shitty of Mom and Dad to chuck you out, but it was almost a favor they did you.”

Helen put a soothing hand on her cousin’s arm. “You know, sometime soon you will have to make a tough decision. I know it’s not going to be easy. For me it was, simply because they treated me like shit. You have better memories of them, and that’ll make it hard, but you can’t let your father fuck up your future.”

Earl nodded heavily. “I know. I was there at the sentencing, and I was, like, paralyzed. That was my dad, and he’d defrauded the people who paid him his juicy salary. I was so ashamed, and he was acting as if it had been a trifle. Then the thing with Sue happened. That was strike two. If strike three happens, I don’t know if I can keep seeing him with any form of respect.”

“Earl, whatever happens, you’ll always have me,” Helen smiled. “Grandma, too. There is a life beyond the Gundersons, and it’s great.”

Earl regarded Helen fondly. “You’ve come a long way. One of these days, I’ll want to visit and see my niece. She must have worked a wonder on you.”

Helen shrugged. “She had her part in it, Grandma did, but Danny, Ashley, Lynn, they all helped. Danny’s mother helped. She’s a great person. Danny’s father helped, and Marsha too. They all made me understand that I am worthwhile. And yes, you should visit and see your niece. You’ll always be welcome.”

Danny and Ashley nodded. “What she says,” Danny confirmed. “When you’ll come to visit and need a break from the troubles, drop by. You can meet Lynn too, Ashley’s wife. She has the gift to put things in perspective.”