Chapter 23

Sitting in the living room, Ed was watching the weather channel. Everyone was flying out the next day for the new academic school year at the Druid College and he wanted to make sure that the weather would be good for their flight. Betsy came running into the living room and ducked behind the couch. A minute later, Ling came in the room and looked around. “Where is she?”

Ed pointed to the end of the couch and said, “You’ve been found, Betsy.”

Betsy came out and started to tear out of the room. Ling caught her at the last minute and said, “Stay right here, young lady.”

She bent down and put a band around her daughter’s ankle. Observing the action, Ed asked, “What’s that?”

“A tracking device,” answered Ling. She shook her head in frustration. Trying to keep up with Betsy was a full time job that didn’t give her a minute of peace. She looked over at Ed and said, “You should never have taught her to play hide and seek.”

“I didn’t teach her,” replied Ed. Betsy had figured that game out all by herself.

“She didn’t make it up.” Ling straightened up and put her hands on her hips in frustration. Looking down, she saw that Betsy was already gone. She stamped her foot and started a tirade in Chinese.

Recognizing that his wife was at her wits end from chasing Betsy around the house, Ed stood and said, “I’ll watch her for an hour.”

He headed out of the living room searching for Betsy. It took him a minute to realize that she was running around the enclosure for the atrium, making sure to keep it between him and her. Kneeling down at one of the corners, he waited for her to show up. When she came charging around the corner, Ed grabbed her. Putting his head on her stomach, he blew air making a loud noise and tickling her. She giggled and kicked her arms and legs.

She kicked and wiggled trying to get free. Most kids learned to say mama and no as their first words. Betsy had learned a different word and said it now, “Go!”

Smiling, Ed said, “Bring me one of your toys.”

He set her down on the floor as she shouted, “Okay.”

Moving at her normal breakneck speed, Betsy ran down the length of the hall to get to her room. Within fifteen seconds she was rushing back holding a toy in her hand. Stopping in front of Ed, she handed the stuffed bear to him. Ed looked at it and said, “This isn’t the toy that I wanted. Take this back and bring another one.”

Grabbing the stuffed bear, she turned and raced back down the hall. Ling came out and watched as Betsy ran down the hall. In a minute she had returned with a wood block and handed that to Ed. Shaking his head, he said, “Different toy.”

Taking the block back, she headed to her room again. Ling said, “That’s cruel.”

“She wants a reason to move. I bet she comes back with the stuffed bear and then turns around before she even hands it to me,” replied Ed. His prediction proved true. As Betsy headed back to her room, he said, “She’ll bring a ball next, and then we’ll play a game of fetch.”

Ling frowned and said, “You play fetch with a dog!”

“She just wants to move. She doesn’t care why she’s moving,” replied Ed watching as she came back with a ball. He smiled and accepted it from her. He threw the ball down the hall and she turned to chase it down. Looking over at Ling, Ed said, “She’s a totally different person than Little John, Beth, and William.”

Ling watched as Betsy came back with the ball and handed it to Ed who then pretended to examine it. Betsy danced nervously for a minute and then said, “Throw it.”

Smiling, Ed threw the ball down the hall and Betsy chased after it emitting a loud squeal of delight. He laughed as she ran past it and then had to wait for it to come to her. It was amazing how fast the little girl was able to run. She was only a year and a half old. Ling went back into the living room and took the opportunity to relax.

William came out of his room and walked down to where his father was seated on the floor. He watched Betsy make a round trip in the time it took him to walk the length of the room. Without slowing down, she waved to him as she ran past. Laughing, William sat down next to his father to wait for her to return.

Betsy returned and handed the ball to William. The boy threw the ball down the length of the room. He turned to his father and said, “I was reading and saw her running past my room a dozen times. She likes to move, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, she does,” replied Ed.

William nodded and said, “She’s going to be a very physical person, but not as fast a learner as Little John and Beth. That’s going to be hard on her.”

“I don’t know. She’s going to get to experience school like the other children,” replied Ed as he waited for her to return with the ball. When she came, he accepted the ball and threw it to the other end of the room.

“She won’t have the patience to sit in a classroom,” countered William.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” That was the only answer to William’s comment. That was the only answer for every possible situation with the children. William was five and would be ready to head to college in one or two years. Little John was seven and Beth was eight. They had both basically passed their tests to graduate high school and could go to college anytime now. The parents were trying to hold the kids back a little to give them a chance to mature a little more before heading off to college.

Betsy returned with the ball and he threw it down the room. She raced away as William said, “I’ll be there for her.”

“I know you will,” replied Ed. The children looked out for each other and that pleased him a lot.

Ling came out of the living room and said, “I’m going to take this opportunity to train a little.”

“Okay, I’ll keep her busy,” replied Ed. He watched Ling go into the playroom. The floor of the room was covered with padding perfect for working out on.

As Ling worked out, Betsy made several more round trips before getting curious about what her mother was doing in the other room. When Ed threw the ball, she headed to the playroom. From the doorway, she watched her mother go through her practice routine. She started to imitate her mother’s moves as Ed watched. It was amazing the concentration that the little child put into the routine.

William noticed and said, “She’s a warrior. Mommy Ling should start training her.”

“I think you are right,” replied Ed as he watched Betsy attempt a kick. The poor child didn’t have the co-ordination to perform at the speed that Ling was executing her exercise. He wondered how he could get Ling’s attention so that she would see what her daughter was doing. He called out, “Betsy, come here.”

Betsy ran over to him, stopping once to look back in the room where her mother was training. She faced her father and, with significant impatience, asked, “What?”

“If you stand in front of your mother, she’ll see what you are doing and will give you hints on how to do it better.”

A wide smile plastered itself on Betsy’s face as she ran back to the playroom. William said, “Smart.”

“Go get your big brother and sister and join her in the playroom,” said Ed.

William looked at him and shrugged his shoulders, indifferent to the instructions, and then went to find his brother and sister. Watching him go, Ed smiled at the reaction his son showed to the news that he was to begin training in the martial arts. Indifference was the only reaction that he hadn’t predicted.

It was five minutes before William returned with Little John and Beth in tow. After they went into the playroom, Ed went to the door and watched the action. Ling was lining them up to teach them the basic moves.

He turned and headed towards the kitchen to spend the time drinking iced tea with Marguerite and to lament the loss of Shuana with her. Entering the kitchen, Ed found Marguerite at the table reading a cookbook.

Sitting down across from her, he asked, “Isn’t that a little advanced for you?”

Marguerite laughed and sat back in her chair to examine Ed. “So, what are you doing here?”

“Came to have some iced tea.”

“You know where it is,” replied Marguerite returning to her cookbook.

Ed picked up a glass from the cabinet and poured a glass of iced tea from the pitcher in the refrigerator. After bringing the glass and pitcher over to the table he sat down across from her. She didn’t look up from her cookbook and that was odd. Finally, he asked, “What’s the matter?”

“You guys are leaving tomorrow.”

“Yes, we are,” replied Ed.

“You’re having dinner at Maria’s tonight.”

Raising an eyebrow, Ed said, “Yes, we are. So are you and the rest of the staff. What’s the matter?”

“It’s going to be quiet around here,” replied Marguerite with a sigh. She said, “Shuana is serving hundreds of people every week.”

“Are you jealous?” asked Ed.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.”

Leaning forward, Ed asked, “Tell me who is the most respected private chef in the world.”

“I am,” replied Marguerite knowing that if she didn’t answer that way, Ed would call her on it.

“That’s right. Now who is going to be the second most respected private chef in the world, soon.”

“Shuana,” replied Marguerite proud of her former assistant. Shuana was a rising star in the culinary world.

“So who is going to be your next project?” asked Ed with a smile.

“With no one here, there’s no one to cook for,” answered Marguerite with a frown.

“So we don’t get tortured as your apprentice learns their craft. Sounds like a plan to me,” replied Ed.

Marguerite looked down at the cookbook for a moment and then closed it. She asked, “You’re willing to pay someone for me to train them?”

“No, I’m willing to pay for an assistant chef. If they happen to get trained by the ‘Magnificent Marguerite’ at the same time, that is an added benefit,” answered Ed. He winked at her and took a sip of his iced tea.

She looked down at the table thinking about what Ed had said. It was a tempting offer and training another chef would fill up her time. She asked, “Will the family be returning here to live for more than three months at a time?”

“I can’t promise that,” replied Ed with a sigh. The truth was that he didn’t know what was going to happen in the near future. In the upcoming December, John was consecrating the glade and no one wanted to talk about what would happen after that.

Marguerite shook her head and replied, “I’ll think about it.”

Taking another sip of his iced tea, Ed wondered if he was going to be losing Marguerite soon. It was possible. The long absence of the family was putting a strain on the staff. For all intents and purposes, they sat around with nothing to do for nine months of the year. Cathy was the only one that actually kept busy.

It was understood that she wasn’t going to say anything while she was considering his offer. The conversation was over and Ed left the kitchen disheartened by what Marguerite had said. At the door, he turned and said, “Before you accept another position, please talk to me.”

He didn’t have to explain what he meant and the lack of an answer from Marguerite confirmed what he suspected. Saddened by the conversation, he left the kitchen behind.

After wandering around the house, he found himself in front of the wall where the family pictures were hung. He stared at the picture of Beth for several minutes and wished that she were still alive. A picture of Leroy dressed in a suit had been added a long time ago. The inset picture showed him in the biology lab holding up a test- tube. Aloud, he said, “We were so young then.”

Kelly walked up behind him and watched as he studied the pictures. By the slope of his shoulders, she could tell that he was depressed. In a quiet voice, she asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I think Marguerite is looking for a job elsewhere.”

The news struck Kelly like a slap in the face. It was made worse since she understood the special relationship that existed between Ed and Marguerite. If Marguerite were to leave, Ed would be devastated. She asked, “What?”

“The staff is not happy sitting around nine months of the year doing nothing. Marguerite is a chef and she only gets to cook for us three months a year. That’s not good for her and we both know it.”

“You’ll be here more and so will Ling. Betsy doesn’t need to be at the Druid College.”

“Ling would never leave Little John alone for that long,” replied Ed knowing that Kelly understood that as well as he did.

She sighed as she considered his statements. Everything that Ed wanted and worked for was falling apart. She joined him in looking at the pictures of the family, understanding what had brought him there. “We were young then.”

“You still look as good today as you did that day when we took the pictures.” Smiling at the Medieval dress that she wore in the picture, he said, “I bet you can still wear that outfit.”

“Of course I can,” replied Kelly. She was proud of her figure and the fact that she had managed to keep it after giving birth to Beth. It had been a while since she had tried it on.

Sighing, Ed said, “I’m going to my room now.”

“Okay.”

She watched as Ed walked away. It was tempting to join him, but it was obvious that he wanted to be alone. Instead, she went to watch the kids in the playroom.

In his room, Ed went up to his office and sat down at his desk as he ran his hand over the wood. He reached over to the architectural drawings of his new office building and laid them flat on the desk to examine them. It was a simple two-story building with a lobby and a few offices on the first floor. The second floor was an open work area. He added some notes as to where he wanted power, phone, and internet outlets.