CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It was dark outside and Alice had just been about to go to bed when Drew shouted:
“Mom! Telephone!”
She picked up the phone.
“Hello?” she asked, trying to keep annoyance out of her voice.
There was a moment of silence. Then a male voice with a South Asian accent replied:
“Hello, Alice.”
Alice’s heartbeat quickened.
This strange, yet familiar voice was a welcome surprise. Not that she was surprised to hear from Sid at all—he’d done her a favor recently so of course he would have called at some point to make sure everything had worked out.
“Hello, my friend. It is so good to hear your voice again.”
“It was very good to hear from you when you contacted me.” He paused. “Alice, are you okay?”
Real concern permeated his tone.
Alice closed her eyes, letting the voice wash over her. She wanted this voice to caress her all night, stroking her with words of sympathy, of endearment, of support, but she knew she couldn’t keep him on the telephone for longer than was decent.
“Yes, Sid. Everything is better now. My garden will be as beautiful as ever; the hedge will frame everything perfectly. Thank you so much for sending those seeds—that was wonderful of you.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” he asked.
Could he! It seemed to Alice that something else permeated his tone this time, something Alice wasn’t sure if she’d imagined or not but she could think of many things he could do to help her feel better, starting with staying on the telephone.
“No, no—not at this time, but thanks for asking. Everything is taken care of.”
“Of course. Your husband…”
“Has passed away. No don’t feel too badly—it was coming. And I’m okay. Really.”
“I’m very sorry, Alice. I hope you have good friends and family around you at such a tough time.”
“Yes, I do.
“Good. And you can call me anytime if you need something, okay?”
Alice smiled.
“Okay.”
She heard him let out a deep breath.
“Please make sure you are taking care of yourself Alice,” he said, and she also heard the words he didn’t say.
She couldn’t stop smiling to herself.
“I will.”
As they said their goodbyes, Alice found herself unable to return the telephone receiver to its proper place, holding on to it as if it were a live connection to the body containing the voice that had spoken to her just a few seconds ago.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw movement in the darkness. She blinked then stared in the direction of the movement for a few more seconds but saw nothing. She figured it was guilt making her see things—ghosts in the dark. She quickly replaced the receiver and slipped into bed.
She had trouble sleeping that night.
***
Friday, June 30th 2006
Alice and Elaine were tying up loose ends for the funeral the next day, while Drew held down the fort—watching the kids, and fraternizing with David—when the doorbell rang.
Alice was closest to the door and headed toward it, guessing at who it could be. A few neighbors had stopped by with baked goods and chit-chat and she was wondering who else had a cinnamon loaf or cherry cheesecake for her.
Alice found herself surprised when she opened the door, although she realized she should not have been: Miriam looked about the same as she did thirty years ago except her long blonde hair was now ear-length. Alice had always thought a shorter haircut could never work on Miriam because her face was so androgynous, she could easily be mistaken for a lanky boy. She thought her waist-length hair clued people in to her gender—even if it was fairly common between both sexes in the early seventies. But the cut worked for her; perhaps it was the ten pounds or so she had added to her small frame.
Alice remembered those few moments when she had envied Miriam’s super-slim build in the past, but now, although Miriam was still small—especially for her height—and Alice had added some meat to her own body, she no longer felt a longing for a different form, or regret over her own.
Miriam’s face was also virtually the same, except she looked a little bit more like a woman now.
She also seemed to be more settled in general, as if her spirit had finally calmed down. To Alice, it seemed Miriam was constantly exploring things to think about—theories, alternate lifestyles and religions, philosophy—never able to sit still. But now it seemed she had either found what she had been looking for, or realized there was nothing specific to find.
“Why hello, Miriam.” Alice smiled and hugged her. “Come on in you two!”
Alice waited patiently for Miriam to introduce her companion.
Miriam wasted no time in doing so, and gazing up at her companion while holding on to his arm, said:
“Alice, this is my life-mate Ahmik.”
“You can call me Dennis,” he said, giving Miriam a playfully chastising look.
Alice shook his hand and tried not to stare at him. He wore his hair long and it was dark and silky, like the Indians she had seen on television shows and movies. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt however.
Alice suddenly realized his dark eyes reflected amusement.
“In case you were wondering,” he said, “yes, I am Native—Ojibwe in fact. I left my spear in the car.”
His eyes twinkled.
Alice felt her face grow hot.
“No, I didn’t…I just…Well it’s certainly nice to meet you!” She smiled as widely as she could. “Really, I just…”
He put up a hand.
“It’s okay, I understand. It happens more than you think.” He looked around. “You have a nice home here. Sorry I get to see it under these circumstances.”
Alice waved away his words. “I’m glad you were able to come. You haven’t seen anything yet! Miriam, you can show him around. Why are you guys still standing out there? Come on in!”
Alice ushered them in.
Alice felt some regret that she had not kept up with Miriam more over the years. The last she had heard was she’d been living in Minnesota.
She found herself wondering what kind of life she’d led, and missed the tales of her adventures.
At the moment, Miriam appeared to be content; she and her Indian boyfriend seemed happy with each other. But then again, Miriam always seemed pretty content. Even now, she did not appear to be particularly distraught over the circumstances—it didn’t seem to bother her that her brother was dead.
Alice made a mental note to get her alone as soon as possible so she could have a talk with her.
Alice heard Drew’s cheerful voice as the couple ran into him but her mind was on its way elsewhere. She was now thinking about who else she had lost touch with, who else she needed to check up on, what other relationships she had let disintegrate. Then, as her mind ran across her old friends from college, she heard Elaine’s voice.
Elaine was calling out to her daughters, Jack, and David to come down and meet Dennis.
There was a stampede of shoes coming down the stairs and more voices, then the voices eventually faded as they all headed toward the family room.
Alice considered joining them for a moment, then decided to wait.
Alice saw her opportunity when David, Dennis and Drew were chatting in the family room, and the kids had gone back upstairs, Elaine with them.
She indicated to Miriam that she join her in the kitchen, away from the male bonding.
When Miriam arrived, Alice asked:
“So, what’s been going on? What have you been doing since the last time I saw you?”
“Well, I’ve been working on a reservation in Minnesota. It’s where I met Ahmik.”
She looked back briefly in the direction of the family room.
“But what else have I missed? Please, catch me up on your life, Miriam, I’m curious; it’s been quite a while.”
Miriam paused a moment as she looked at her, then said:
“Well, all right. I have a daughter now.”
Alice felt herself almost choke on air. Miriam had never had any children, and Alice did not know it at the time those decades ago, but as she found out recently, Miriam was barren.
She figured Miriam must have sensed her thoughts for she chuckled.
“No, not my own. Ahmik’s daughter died some time ago and she left a daughter we’re looking after, his granddaughter. She’s really beautiful. Her name is Migisi. She’s twelve.”
Alice smiled, watching how Miriam’s eyes lit up as she spoke of the child.
“So you’re experiencing mothering at last.”
“Well, I experienced some of it once before with Elaine remember? Granted, it stopped when she was school-aged but still. I’ve been experiencing a sort of continuation with Migisi I guess. It’s wonderful.”
Alice smiled at her.
“I’m very happy for you,” she said, meaning it.
Suddenly, Miriam’s expression changed; she looked very serious.
“So what exactly happened to my brother?” she asked.
Alice stiffened.
The way she said it, and the way the dark pupils of those large, hypnotizing sky-blue eyes pointed at her unnerved her.
“What do you mean?” she asked, feeling her heartbeat quicken. She knew it was silly but she couldn’t help it—Miriam had a way of looking at her that made her feel she was seeing into her soul. Alice had forgotten how strange Miriam’s eyes had always seemed to her, to a lot of people. It was her trademark.
“I mean what killed him?”
Why wasn’t she blinking?
Alice looked away, thinking about what she had been told.
“From what I understand, cause of death was a plain old heart attack.”
Miriam nodded although after a few seconds of it, Alice was no longer sure why she was nodding.
“Do you miss him?” Miriam asked.
She was still staring at her like a cobra; those pale blue eyes almost seeming disembodied for they were all Alice was able to see.
“Of course! Every single minute! Quite frankly, I’m surprised you haven’t shown more emotion. Doesn’t this upset you?”
Miriam looked away for a moment at last, freeing Alice from her stare.
“I understand the sadness, but he is always with me. And yes, I am sad at the physical loss of my brother, but I am fully aware that he is just fine, wherever he is. I take comfort in that. It is the one thing that happens to all of us, and it is nothing to be afraid of.”
“I never said I was scared...”
“You didn’t have to.”
Miriam touched Alice’s hand gently. “He’s around. I know it, even if I can’t see him. I can still talk to him if I want. And he can talk back if he wants.” She shrugged. “It’s okay.”
Alice was quiet a moment.
“So tell me, how long have you been settled?” Alice asked.
“I did a lot of traveling before I ‘settled’—which I haven’t really done by the way,” she said. “But I guess that’s nothing new. This time more so in the eastern hemisphere. I met all sorts of people, heard all kinds of stories, listened to many viewpoints. And I’ll tell you this: everyone is right.”
Alice decided not to ask her to decode her statement; Miriam had not changed much after all.
Perhaps she was still smoking marijuana, and that was what was keeping her so mellow. The other drugs she’d been into had clearly fried her brain.
“In fact,” Miriam continued. “Speaking of travels, I brought gifts for everyone. Let’s gather everyone in the family room.”
Miriam set about calling everyone together.
She sent Dennis for her bag, and started sorting through it, pulling out the children’s gifts first.
Alice sighed in relief when she saw that they were semi-normal items.
Miriam took out and presented to Amber and Jade what appeared to be hand-crafted jewelry—bracelets, chains and earrings—as well as a beaded purse for each of them.
Elaine did a good job of appearing grateful although Alice wasn’t sure if it was just an act or if she really appreciated the gifts.
“Why thank you, Miriam—they’re lovely. A little old for them but…girls, do you like them?”
Elaine hardly needed to ask—the girls could barely contain their excitement and joy.
They started trying to put all of the items on right away with light chastisement from Elaine to wait until later.
For Jack, Miriam pulled out an art kit, complete with a sketchpad, colored pencils, paint, markers, shading pencils, an easel and other tools.
Jack’s eyes grew round like saucers, his mouth in a huge, surprised smile.
Even Drew appeared to be thrown off guard.
“Wow, Aunt Miriam! How did you know Jack had a thing for art? You know, he told me he wants to be an artist if soccer doesn’t work out—I don’t remember telling you that.”
“Oh, it was told to me.” She looked at Jack. “Never stop expressing yourself through art,” she said. “It is the waking dream.”
The adults tried not to glance at each other while Jack looked confused.
“What does that mean?” he asked his dad.
“You will know,” Miriam answered with a serene smile.
Elaine and Drew sent their children away to hang out with each other elsewhere.
“So what’s for me? A dream catcher?” Elaine said, grinning. She looked at Dennis as if making sure the joke did not offend him but Dennis appeared to be barely paying attention.
Miriam did not return Elaine’s smile; instead, she started fiddling around in her bag.
She pulled out a pink necklace, a separate pink pendant and a stone mostly pink with some black patches.
“I gave your children their names,” Miriam said to Elaine, “and for you, I have more gems. This...”—she indicated the pretty stone in her hand—“...is a rhodonite gemstone. And this is rhodonite jewelry. Wear them—they will help you find your way back home.”
Miriam placed the gifts in Elaine’s hands. Elaine’s expression looked confused initially, then she stared at the gifts as if Miriam had handed her a dirty diaper, but Miriam did not seem to notice, too busy digging in her bag for the next gift.
Alice wasn’t sure why Elaine did not like them; they were quite pretty, even though Miriam had attached strange meaning to them.
“Drew, even though you did not let me name your son Jasper like he should have been named, I have something similar for you.”