A Family For Andi. Eileen Berger
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together. There are parades some nightspet parades, floats and fire equipment and vehiclesthat sort of thing. Our school band performs, as well as. any from other towns that can be coerced into comin’. And the Little Leaguers, 4-H members, Scouts and kids from twirling and dance studios are here, even nursery schoolsso there are many adults and children watching from the sidewalks.”
She got up, retrieved a half-gallon carton of butter pecan ice cream from the freezer, and scooped large servings into cereal bowls. “The Firemen’s Building and lot are one block back and two over that way,” she said, flicking her hand in a southwesterly direction.
“A day or two before the official opening, trucks arrive with the Ferris wheel, merry-go-rounds, Spiders, Moonwalks, slidesall sorts of things. In the meantime, the firemen and the Auxiliary, which is very active, set up things for chicken barbecues or pig roasts or whatever dinners are to be served. Others prepare the pizza, ice cream, and hot dog and barbecue stands. Or whatever.”
She returned the carton to the freezer. “By the time it’s all done, hundreds are involvedbaking cakes or pies, setting up tables, selling raffle tickets for a donated quilt, cooking for the dinners, overseeing a coin-toss booth where prizes are anything from stuffed bears to vases.”
“That sounds interesting. I almost wish I could stay.”
“Well” she placed Andi’s dessert in front of her and returned to her own chair “maybe you can.”
Andi was grateful for that, but tried to keep from appearing too eager. “Depending on the car…”
Andi hadn’t realized how tired she was until she tried to watch a comedy on TV. She sat with Gram in the room to the left of the front door, which Gram referred to as the “TV room.”
Gram seated herself in the center of the tapestrycovered couch and picked up her knitting. Andi chose the spindle-backed rocker with cushioned, petit point seat partly because it looked comfortable, but also to be facing the front windows looking onto the street.
She hoped others of Gram’s family might come, but they didn’t. She got up during a program break and walked over to the upright piano, where photos were displayed on its flat top. “Are these your children and grandchildren?”
Gram laid down her handwork and came over to pick up a framed picture. “This is our oldest, Phyllis, a second-shift nurse at the hospital, and her husband, Hal Bastian. He’s a mechanic. Did you meet him at the garage?”
She shook her head. “I arrived late and saw no one except Keith, who came when he heard the buzzer.”
“Well, they have only one child, Evelyn, and she teaches second grade. And this is her husband, Frank, and their kids, Brock and Melodyaged six and four.”
The children were leaning like bookends against their seated parentsbright-eyed, dark-complexioned Melody, with an impish look on her face; blond Brock, more serious.
Andi indicated the children. “They’re beautiful. Are they as different as they look?”
Gram laughed. “If they came in right now, Brock would sit with us and carry on a grown-up conversation, while Melody, the whirlwind, would be checking out the kitchen, running up and down the stairs and might very well be going through your things upstairs!”
“In that case, I’ll keep things locked.” She must do that, at least with her laptop. She didn’t need in-quisitive little hands revealingor destroyingdata!
Some pictures appeared to be recent shots and some, much older. Andi picked up one of a little boy, dressed in a striped T-shirt and blue jeans, who proudly held a disgruntled-looking calico cat. Although the boy looked to be only six or seven years old, his wide warm smile and sparkling eyes were unmistakable to Andi.
“Is that Keith?” she asked Gram, already knowing the answer. What a dear little boy he seemed. Her heart felt a rush of warmth at this precious glimpse into his childhood.
“Yes, Keith and one of his many pets. All the strays in town seemed to follow that boy home. Zack used to joke about opening a petting farm.” Gram laughed.
Gram took the picture from Andi and gazed down at the image with a loving expression. “Our Keith…I couldn’t love him more if he was my own blood.”
“What do you mean, ‘your own blood’?”
“Well, my son Zack isn’t Keith’s natural father. Keith’s father died when the child was less than a year old. It was maybe two years later when Zack married Shelby and legally adopted him.”
While Gram set the photograph back on the piano, Andi felt such a moment of sadness for Keith, having lost his biological father at such a tender age. Then a flush of excitement followed. She and Keith weren’t even distantly related. She need not feel any concern at all about her attraction to him.
Gram reached for another photo, showing a middleaged couple and a stunningly beautiful blonde. “This is BradBradley Eugene McHenrymarried to Paula, a lawyer. And their daughter, Vanessa. Her degree’s in computer science, but she works as secretary to the president of a computer technical support company.”
Hmmmmm, she thought. Gram didn’t mention Brad’s profession. But she hadn’t said what Frank did, either, so that’s probably not significant. “With that background, Vanessa’s probably invaluable to her boss.”
“She calls herself aan executive secretary.”
“Is that here in Sylvan Falls?” There was no mention of such a business in her file.
Gram slowly, precisely, replaced the likeness. “In Dalton. She lives there now, so I don’t see much of her.”
Is that disapproval in her tone? Andi wondered. “You saw a great deal of her when she lived at home?”
“Not as much as I’d have liked.”
The phone rang, and Gram went to the kitchen. She was talking into what she later referred to as her “walk-around” as she returned. “…There’s a lady from Chicago spending the weekend here…No, waiting for her car to be fixed…Yes, everything’s fine here. How ‘bout you?…Keith stopped for a few minutes, and all seems well with him.…I’d love to, Karlyn, if you promise not to go to a lot of trouble… Great! See you in church. And thanks…”
Andi had returned to her rocker, and Gram laid the phone among the balls of yarn as she returned to the sofa. “That was Karlyn, Zack’s daughter.”
Zack? That must be what they call Isaac Mark Mc-Henry, Gram’s younger son who owns the garageKeith’s dad.
“She lives on the other side of town, in one of those new houses. She’s a sweet girltough, though, thank goodness! That ex-husband of hers got another woman pregnant, one of Karlyn’s friendsor so she’d thought! Anyway, Karlyn divorced him and he married Danielle Catherman a month before their baby was born. At least Karlyn got the kids and the house and child support. And she teaches art in the elementary school.”
MaryJean’s such a willing source of information, Andi thought, that we wouldn’t have needed that investigator!
They watched one more comedy before Andi, using the arms of the chair to push herself up, said, “I’m bushed. I think I’ll soak in the tub, then go to bed.”
“I’ll bet you’re tired, especially with your leg…”
Neither Andi nor Gram had mentioned her injuries until now. “It’s better than it was, but does still bother me.”
Gram’s dark blue eyes showed concern. “What happened?”
“I” Did she want to get into this? “I mentioned my friend’s being killed in an accident. I was in the car with Jon when it happened, though I don’t remember much after the first few minutes. I…guess I knew he was dead, that there was nothing to do, yet I kept trying to free myselfto reach