The Girl in White Pajamas (19 page)

As Jesus drove down the driveway in Weston, Isabella excitedly told her mother about her wonderful day again. “Mommy, you should have seen me. I did moves just like the big guys. They said I was a natural! Tommie taught me to use a sword!” When both of her parents quickly turned toward her, Isabella continued, “It was just a ruler from Aunt Rose’s desk. We pretended.”

Bogie faced forward again as he said to Jesus, “This morning she was a little girl, and now she’s a warrior!”

Jesus smiled and said softly, “She really is a natural!”

“I heard that, Jesus!” Isabella said. “See, Mommy, I told you!”

Kim waited for them in the kitchen with glassy eyes and no dinner. Reminding himself to keep his mouth shut, Bogie said, “Why don’t you give the ‘natural’ her bath and I’ll throw a salad together.” Noting their disappointed looks, Bogie added, “And a surprise.”

When Bailey took Isabella upstairs, Bogie turned to Jesus. “There’s a Shaw’s market in Newtonville.”

“I know where it is,” Jesus said quickly.

Bogie took some bills from his wallet. “Will you get some cooked chicken and fresh bread?”

Jesus nodded. “You want something to drink?”

Bogie considered this. “Spring water!”

“You animal!” Jesus joked.

By the time Jesus returned with the chicken, Bogie had made a salad and they were all ready to sit down. Bogie called out, “Kim! Dinner’s ready!”

“No, thank you,” she said from upstairs.

When the meal was over, Isabella’s eyes drooped and her shoulders slumped while she sat in her chair. Bogie looked at her then at Bailey. “The little pumpkin’s ready to fall off her chair. Do you want kitchen clean-up or kid duty?”

Without answering, Bailey picked up the half-sleeping child. “Did you enjoy your day, Baby?”

Isabella only nodded as she rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. Bogie kissed the top of her curls. “Good night, Isabella. Pleasant dreams.”

She nodded again.

The kitchen was clean when Bailey came downstairs wearing jeans and a tee shirt. Bogie smiled. He had known this woman since she was sixteen years old and this was how he thought of her, the real Bailey wearing blue jeans. Before she could move to the computer, he put his hand on her shoulder and said, “Come here. Sit down and talk to me!” He pointed to a chair at the small dining room table.

When she sat down, Bogie took a seat across from her. Bailey folded her hands in front of her. “What’s up?”

“You know I never got your letter until today?”

She nodded. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve both moved on.” She looked down.

“Have we?” Bogie asked.

Bailey shrugged.

“Is there somebody else in your life?”

Bailey shook her head.

“So what you’re saying is that you want anybody but me in your life?”

Bailey shook her head again. “No! What I’m saying is that--it’s probably too late. We’ve both been through…” She paused a long time and sighed. “We’ve changed. A lot’s happened.”

“It doesn’t matter. We can start all over.”

“Are you sure?” she asked as her eyes filled with tears. “We’re not the same people any more, we might not have anything—”

“We have a child!” Bogie said with more force than he intended.

Bailey nodded. “Little Boghdun!” They both smiled. “If there was ever a child who was a clone of a parent, she’s it. Her mannerisms, the way she looks at everybody. She’s made me so happy the past three years and also broken my heart.”

“She didn’t break your heart, I did,” Bogie said softly. He held her hands. “Do you want to give it a try?”

Bailey shrugged and started to cry. She pushed the tears off her cheeks with her knuckles as Bogie stood up and went to her. He helped her out of her chair, and held her. “I’m afraid it’s too late,” she said as she cried.

“It’s never too late. Think about it,” Bogie said as Jesus walked in the room then did a U-turn back into the kitchen.

The following night, the Escalade moved down the driveway, but the house was dark and there were no lights on upstairs. The carriage house also sat in darkness. Bailey turned to Rose, but Rose didn’t seem concerned. After they entered the basement and walked up the cellar stairs, the lights went on and the horns blared. Everyone shouted, “Happy Birthday!” Bogie held Isabella who was decked out in a paper party hat. Jack and George sat at the table. Jack wore a gold paper crown. He extended another one to Bailey and said, “Happy birthday to us.”

They feasted on an outstanding French dinner brought in from Lumiere in Newton. Jack stood up and toasted his sister. “Thirty-two years ago, in a manger far away, the dynamic duo of Jack and Bail were born. We can only be thankful that our parents’ favorite drinks were Jack Daniel’s and Bailey’s Irish Crèam. You can only imagine what life would have been like if they fancied Stolichnaya or Wild Turkey.”

Bogie laughed but then asked, “Are you serious? They named you after booze?”

Jack and Bailey nodded.

Bogie presented each twin with a square box. They were stunned to find a complete collection of Hank Hampfield’s music with everything from ‘Momma’s Bad Boy’ to a duet with Willie Nelson.

Jack shook his hand and Bailey kissed his cheek. “Where’d you find all these?” Jack asked.

“Where else? Ebay.”

Bailey smiled. “I really appreciate this. I grew up hearing him picking on a guitar or singing and rehearsing, but I rarely heard him perform. Thanks, Bogie.”

George winked at Isabella and she jumped from her chair and went into the living room. George and Kim followed her. When Bogie looked toward them, Kim held up a finger to indicate he should wait. After a few minutes the living room lights went on, and Kim motioned for the group to walk down the front hallway. As they looked in the living room, George and Isabella stood wearing white tee shirts and white shorts. Kim announced, “Happy Bird-day to Bailey and Jack from George and Izzy.” She pushed the button on the Bose.

The stomping and clapping started with George and Izzy clapping their hands over their heads. Then they pantomimed as Freddie Mercury and Queen sang:

..
.we will, we will rock you – Buddy, you’re a boy…

George did a great impression of Freddie Mercury while Isabella stomped her feet, strutted and clapped her hands over her head urging the others to join in. Soon they were all stomping, clapping, and laughing. As the guitar solo started, George bowed deeply. Izzy ran to him, jumped on his back and stood with her arms outstretched as the song ended.

They all cheered and clapped when the performance was over. Bailey and Jack laughed and hugged George and Isabella. Bogie stood laughing, and he shook his head. Rose smiled and whispered, “What’s so funny?”

“I was just thinking that’s a long way from
You are my Sunshine
.” They both laughed remembering Amanda’s nervous rendition of that song when she was in kindergarten.

After trying some birthday cake, Kim left with Jack and George. She was eager to light something up in the back yard. Rose kissed Bailey on the cheek. “Hope your next one’s a lot better.”

After Rose left, and the festivities had ended, Bailey picked up the half-sleeping child. “Did you enjoy the birthday, Baby?”

Isabella only nodded as she rested her head on her mother’s chest. Bogie kissed her cheek. “Good night, Isabella. You were wonderful!”

She smiled and nodded again.

When Bailey came back downstairs, the lights were low and music was playing. No Queen or shit-kicking Hank Hampfield music. This was Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, singing
Strangers in The Night
. Bogie opened his arms. “Wanna dance?”

“You. You never...”

“Even old dogs learn new tricks.” He held her as Frank sang:

Two lonely people, we were strangers in the night.

Up to the moment when we said our first hello –

Lovers at first sight, in love forever…

They stood in place holding onto each other as Frank Sinatra continued to sing. Bogie inhaled her scent, and his lips moved closer to hers until the basement door crashed open and Kim, followed by Jesus walked through.

“Oh…oh sorry...” Kim and Jesus Hernandez almost said in unison.

After an embarrassing pause and a lame invitation to eat leftovers and cake, Bailey said goodnight to all and went upstairs followed by Kim.

“Hey, man, I didn’t mean to barge in like that.”

“Forget it! We were just dancing.”

“Yeah. You were about a minute and half away from the horizontal tango, if you know what I mean,” Jesus said as he winked.

As Bogie walked toward Isabella’s room, he noticed that Bailey’s door was ajar. Then he heard the soft music. Edith Piaf was singing
Non je ne regrette rien
. That was Bailey’s favorite French singer, the music she played when they made love. He walked into her bedroom and closed the door. Bogie pulled off his jeans and tee shirt. He slid in beside her and placed his hand next to hers. He took her hand and brought it to his lips.

She moved closer to him. “This is a big mistake. You know that, don’t you?”

He nodded and started kissing her fingers one by one. When he rolled over and kissed her, he wasn’t gentle. His tongue probed hungrily over hers as his hands moved over her naked body. As quickly as he started the kiss, he ended it and glided down her front. He played with her nipples, sucked on them, and lightly bit them. His tongue moved slowly down her belly until she moaned. Bailey gasped when he slid down and spread her legs apart. His tongue rolled over her clitoris and drove her wild. She was gasping and moaning when he entered her. Their movements were slow then faster and faster until the lust exploded.

After the first mistake, the second and third just rolled along.

“Da-dee!” Isabella shrieked and she stood next to the bed where her parents lay naked entangled in sheets. “Da-dee!”

Bogie opened one eye and smiled at her. “`Morning, Pumpkin!”

Isabella glared at Bailey then opened her mouth and started crying. “No! No!”

Kim stepped in behind her and softly said, “How about some Cocoa Puffs?”

“No! No!” Isabella screeched as she ran from the room crying.

Bailey jumped off the bed and slipped on Bogie’s tee shirt and her panties. “What?” Bogie asked.

“I’ve got to talk to her,” Bailey said with a determined look on her face.

“Maybe we—”

“No, I’ve got to be the one. I’m not going to have another Amanda here.” Without another word, she turned and ran out of the room.

Bogie got out of bed and looked across the hall at the closed door. Woman talk. He got the message. Feeling helpless and frustrated, he knew this would be a great time to go for a run except his shorts and tee shirts were in Isabella’s room. Remembering that he threw a load of clothes in the washer the night before so that Isabella’s little karate outfit would be clean for another warrior day, he put on his boxers and sneakers. Grabbing the linens off the bed, he went down the back stairs and to the basement.

He put last night’s wash in the drier and threw the bedding in the washer. After ten minutes, Bogie stopped the dryer and pulled his shorts and tee shirt out. Dry enough!

Running on Loring Road, he realized that he hadn’t worn a jacket. It must be warming up around here he thought. As he glanced at furry pussy willows and yellow forsythia growing on the outer borders of neighboring homes, he knew that spring was coming to the Boston area.

By the time he returned from his run, the washer and dryer had finished their cycles. Sweating profusely he didn’t touch the clothes, but took deep breaths and went up the basement stairs.

Bailey, Isabella and Kim were huddled at the kitchen table with Jesus standing at the sink. Everyone stared at him. He looked around then said, “What!?”

Bailey studied him then said, “You didn’t tell us you were leaving.”

“You were…busy,” he said studying her then Isabella. Isabella’s bottom lip quivered, but she nodded.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Bogie offered. “I’ll be right back.” He dashed up the stairs and went into Isabella’s room. Rather than opening his suitcase, he carried it into Bailey’s room along with his sleeping bag. He went into Bailey’s bathroom and started the shower. Bogie reminded himself to get some soap. L’Air du Temps smelled incredible on Bailey but wasn’t doing a thing for him.

Bogie got out of the shower and stepped into a steamy bathroom. Bailey sat on the toilet with the lid down waiting for him. “Oh!” he said surprised.

“Where’d you go?” she asked.

“For a run,” he answered as he dried himself. “Why? What happened here?”

“Your daughter thought you left.”

“Geez, she’s got to get over that!” Bogie said. “Why would she think that?”

“Probably because she was looking out her window crying and saw you running down the road. She called out to you.”

“I never heard her, I never saw her.”

“She’s in a very delicate place right now.”

“Why?”

“She thinks I stole her man.”

Bogie’s mouth dropped open. “She couldn’t. She wouldn’t…”

Bailey nodded. “Yes. I know that look. I saw it on Amanda’s face when she realized we were sleeping together. It was pure hatred!”

“No!”

“Yes! The last six months we were together were tough. She would barely speak to me, and, when she did, it was with absolute contempt. She believed I ruined our family continuity, I was supposed to go through life as her big sister and you were to continue on as a monk. She was the lady of the house. When I asked her to give you that letter, I wondered whether or not she would even bother. If she knew what was in it, she probably would have handed it to you in Logan Airport.”

“That doesn’t make sense. I was married to Olga.”

“Did she ever find you sleeping with her?”

Bogie shook his head. “I slept on the couch.” He considered this then asked, “So now Isabella’s pissed at you?”

Bailey shook her head. “We talked. I explained the birds and the bees to her.”

“Isn’t she a little young?”

“She’s very smart. She understood.”

“What am I supposed to say to her?”

“Whatever you want. As long as you’re honest, she can handle it. Kids are a lot more resilient than adults think.”

“How’d you get so smart?” Bogie said as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I used to be a kid, a long time ago.”