I STORMED INTO Ruby's house and found her and Valerie fussing around the kitchen, putting away groceries Valerie had brought. I realized I should have gone to the grocery store during Ruby's hospital stay, but had forgotten, "Sorry, I didn't know we were out of so much." I helped put the food away.
"That's okay," Valerie said. "I dropped by the store on the way home." She stopped and stared at me for a moment. "You look like you just had a run-in with a mad dog."
"I did."
"Gladys was home?" Ruby asked.
"You went to see Mother?" Valerie sat a bag of Dixie Crystal Sugar on the counter, but didn't move her hands from it.
"Yeah, I guess I should have been ready for a fight." I sighed and leaned against the counter. "Any time I'm around her, she gets me so unnerved. I end up yelling; she ends up yelling. Do you know she thinks Vernon is going to pave the way for a big political family in Washington? She actually believes that Mark or Mike will one day follow him into national politics."
Valerie released the sugar and brushed her hair away from her face. "I didn't know his boys wanted a career in public service."
"Public service?" I quipped. "There's nothing service-oriented about running for office. It's all money, power, and influence, getting your way, helping out your contributors. Policy-making is just another way to grant, or repay, favors."
" Vernon won't get elected," Ruby pronounced. "He's too dumb for that. People will see through him."
"George W. Bush got elected," I pointed out. "All you have to do is say what the people want to hear."
"I don't want to talk about Vernon." Valerie shut the cabinet doors and scrunched up the plastic grocery bags.
The rustling crinkle of the bags reminded me of Edwina's wind suits. "If Vernon leaves the company to go to Washington, who takes over?"
"The Board will decide." Valerie stuffed the bags in the recycle box. "Why?"
My mind tried to link the possibilities. "Mark or Mike? What about Tim?"
"Tim? My brother?" Valerie laughed.
Ruby didn't smile but sternly said, "Edwina and Roscoe think Tim could do a good job. They talked to Walterene about getting him moved up once Vernon was gone. In fact, I may vote for him myself."
Valerie and I stared at her as if someone else possessed her body, talking of company business and strategic moves.
"Well," Ruby began to sound like herself again, "Tim isn't that bad. And if Vernon leaves, it would be good to have someone to represent us."
"Us?" I asked.
"Me, Walterene, Edwina, Roscoe, Sam, Odell. Vernon and Gladys have always run that Board, the other cousins need some say in what goes on." Ruby crossed her plump arms over her ample chest.
"Edwina been talking to you?" Valerie asked.
"Walterene talked about it. Edwina says Tim needs to be on the Board to look out for our interests. It's not Vernon Construction; it's Harris Construction. We all own it."
"But what if Vernon doesn't get elected? The Board continues as it does today," I said.
Ruby thought about it. "I suppose Vernon will get elected, even though I hate to see it. Edwina and Roscoe said he will."
I laughed. "Edwina and Roscoe aren't astute political analysts."
"Let's talk about something else," Valerie pleaded. "Politics and Vernon are not my favorite subjects." She turned to me and smiled. "So, you spent the night at Daniel's?"
Daniel. I had some questions for him. The thought of the folder on the family and me, plus his attitude toward Mark, propelled me to go directly to his house, but because I had spent so little time with Ruby since she left the hospital, I squelched the urge to call him. "Yes, I saw him," I answered in a slate-cold tone.
"Sounds like Mom wasn't the only one you had a fight with."
"Just some things I need to get settled." Now it was my turn to change the subject. "What time's supper?"
"Seven o'clock," grinned Ruby. She loved having people around at mealtime. "Valerie, stay for supper."
"I need to get home and feed the cat," Valerie said, "but I'll be back."
"Yeah, I want to go for a run." I kissed Ruby's soft powdery cheek. "All this energy needs to be burned off."
RUNNING DOWN POINDEXTER, I took a left onto Park Road and headed north. The spring sun warmed me as I passed blooming white dogwoods and pastel tulips. Traffic and exhaust fumes were heavy as rush hour picked up and uptown Charlotte emptied. I hit a tempo in my run, exhaling on the fourth step, feeling like a chugging train. I hooked left to follow Park Road into Dilworth, or Lower Dilworth, where the houses were more mill houses than the mansions surrounding Dilworth Road and Latta Park. Lower Dilworth, where Daniel lived. Maybe I had this in mind when I decided to go running, but now, as I ran along the shaded sidewalks, the thought of talking to him seemed like fate, something I had to do. Turning the corner, I saw Daniel sweeping off his front porch; how domestic, how serene. He must have noticed me, because he leaned the broom against the railing and waved.
"Hey, Derek," he greeted. "I can't believe you jogged here."
"It's…" I panted, finally stopping and realizing how far I'd come, "It's not…" I tried to catch my breath. "It's not that far."
"Come on in and get some water." Daniel led me inside, and I glanced at his desk and the folder as we walked through the den. "I'm glad you came. I've been thinking about you all day."
Sweat streamed down my face, but I felt strong and energized. He handed me a glass of ice water, and I drank it down with greed. I gave him back the empty glass to refill. "Thanks." I pulled off my wet shirt and walked out to the back patio.
Daniel came up behind me and trailed the cold glass of water down my back. I drew back. He kissed the back of my neck, and I flinched again. "You okay?" he asked.
I decided to get right to the point. "I saw that folder on your desk."
Confusion clouded his face. "What folder? My desk?"
"The one labeled 'Vernon Harris.' This morning, I started to straighten up the house after you left for work… I just saw it." I hated to admit I snooped. "There on your desk, with Vernon 's name on it." Walking a few steps away from him, I ran my hand along the rough bark of a silver maple hovering over the patio. I had thought confronting him would be so much easier; his deep brown eyes bored into me, his smile fading. "I thought you said everything between us was off the record…" My voice trailed off.
"You went through my files?" Hurt and anger cracked his voice.
"No, not files, just one. But it was out and had Vernon 's name on it," I explained in a weak, small voice-the tone of a boy begging for forgiveness. That sound sickened me.
Fuck 'em blasted through my head.
"Never mind how I saw it. I did." I took the offensive. "Why are things I said to you in confidence written down in a file on Vernon 's campaign?" I took a few steps toward him, and he backed up. "I trusted you. I thought you cared for me."
"Hold on." He reached out to touch my shoulder, but I dodged his grasp. "Derek, I didn't have anything in there concerning you."
"No?" I asked. "Let's just see about that." I brushed past him and retrieved the file from his desk. Coming back to the patio, I grabbed the glass of water and gulped it down. "Here." The folder slapped the table as I sat down and rooted through it. "This handwritten page with my name at the top. Who could that be about? You know another Derek Mason?"
He sat down across the table and reached for the page, but I jerked it away. "Says here: 'Derek Mason is the gay nephew. Living in San Francisco. Works at a computer software firm. Here for his mother's cousin Walterene's funeral. Staying with Ruby Harris on Sedgefield Road. Brother to Valerie and Tim. Estranged from Mother and Father.'"
"But, that was stuff from the article." Daniel interrupted.
That statement pissed me off. How dumb did he think I was? "How do you explain the rest?" I continued reading. "'Doesn't understand the dynamics of the family. Visited Vernon Harris, Mark Harris, and Bill Robertson. Received harassing phone calls after article. Investigating something from the 1940s-find out what. Attacked in the morgue of the Observer, claims he heard the same voice as the phone calls. Ruby Harris hospitalized after a home invasion-could be connected to the phone calls. Research family's history especially related to views on gays/lesbians. Likely a family dispute-research police records for past incidents. What happened between Derek and his parents?'"
Staring into his eyes, I said, "You are shit. You used me. I want to know why." A sick feeling wallowed in the bottom of my stomach; maybe it was from drinking the water so fast after running, maybe it was the stress of confronting Daniel, maybe it was knowing he was ready to tell a hell of a lie.
Strong hands ran along the edge of the table as he stared at the paper I held across from him, obviously churning up a performance so believable an Oscar would be awarded. He took a deep breath, frowned, eyes darting to the right. "I always take notes." His eyes met mine. "Derek, believe me, I'm not using you for any political reasons, no professional reasons. What has happened to you in the past two weeks mystifies me; I just wanted to get the facts, see what I could find out to help you."
I sat stone-faced, allowing him to go deeper.
"I know you haven't told me everything that's going on. Things don't fit," he said clasping his hands together on the table. "Your uncle's campaign doesn't warrant the things that happened to you or Ruby, there isn't that much risk to justify the means. No opponent or activist opposed to him, and there are plenty, would go to such extremes." He rubbed his mustached lip. "Besides, anyone wanting to defeat Vernon Harris would welcome you."
"Politics. That's where you took this discussion." I stood and grabbed my wet shirt from the back of the chair. "I should have known. Your first interest in me was because of Vernon, now I guess that was all there was."
"No!" He bounded from his seat and held my wrists with his hands to keep me facing him. "That's not true. You attracted me, physically, mentally. Being Vernon Harris' nephew had nothing to do with it-it only complicated things."
"Sorry." I pulled loose from his grip and headed around the side of the house toward the street.
"Derek!" Daniel called, but he didn't follow.
VALERIE, RUBY, AND I fixed an incredible supper of vegetarian lasagna, crusty-garlic rolls, and drank a couple of bottles of smooth Merlot. By the end of the meal, giggling dominated any attempted conversation. I dismissed Daniel as a wrong turn on the road of life; in fact, the mention of his name never surfaced after I returned to Ruby's. The women probably sensed he wasn't a subject to be discussed, like a pimple on the end of a nose. We all knew it was there, but we also knew it would be impolite to call attention to it. Daniel, a pimple, seemed appropriate to me.
Ruby sipped her wine, but as she raised the glass to her mouth, the burgundy liquid wanted to slide to the side. She titled her head to maneuver it toward her lips, almost spilling on the table. Valerie glanced at me to see if I had witnessed our aunt's drunken stunt. I winked at her, and we both burst into laughter.
"What's funny?" Ruby slurred.
"That vino is getting slippery in the glass, isn't it?" I asked.
A crooked smile slid across her lips. "You making fun of your old aunt?"
"No, no, never," I lied.
Valerie kicked me under the table. She grabbed the glass as Ruby tried to sit it on the rim of her plate. "Let me help you, Aunt Ruby."
The thought of Ruby letting loose a little delighted me, especially after all she had been through. Then it hit me. "Val, do you feel okay?"
"Yes, why?"
"Me, too. Why is the wine walloping Ruby?"
Our aunt giggled at my choice of words. "Wine wawa ping Wuby," she repeated.
I retrieved her medication from the kitchen counter. "Avoid mixing with alcohol," I read. "Shit, what should we do?" I circled the table, ready for action: rush her to the hospital, call the ambulance, perform CPR.
Valerie tried to calm me. "We'll just let her lie down."
We led her back to her bedroom, and she stretched out, yawning. "Time for bed already?"
"Yes," Valerie soothed, "Just relax while we put away the dinner dishes."
"Oh, I can help." She tried to lift herself off the bed, but soon gave up. "Come get me if you need something." Ruby's heavy eyelids won their fight, and she drifted off to sleep.
As Valerie loaded the dishwasher, I called the pharmacy to confirm we hadn't killed her. "Val," I yelled into the kitchen, "the pharmacist said wine will just make her sleepy."
"Good, she needs her rest." Val finished up in the kitchen and joined me in the den with more wine. "So, what about you?"
"Me?" I lit a cigarette and offered the pack to Val.
She declined. "You. As in what's going on with Daniel?"
Leave it to Valerie to want to pop the pimple. "Daniel was a mistake. I thought I was more than a news story to him, but today I found out otherwise."
She didn't push it. "We all misjudge people from time to time."
We sat in silence for a moment as if in memory of the relationship.
Val hooked her hair behind her ears and cleared her throat. "So, you saw Mother today?"
From one problem to the next. The memory of Gladys and her ranting sent my head back into a vise. "Let's talk about something else. Her agenda is self-serving, just like Daniel's."
"Mother thinks of us more than you know." She raised her glass to her lips, but stopped when she saw my face. "Really, she does."
"Can't prove it by me. Everything she said to me was meant to run me off. I can't believe a mother could hate her son so much." I knew what Val would say to that.
"She doesn't."
"Val." The defense of Gladys began to wear thin. "I know what she said. I know how she treats me. The Bitch wants me to leave." I couldn't understand this blind devotion to Gladys, and why Val cared so much that I join her in it. Valerie had always been more of a mother to me than Gladys ever dared. Born so late in Gladys' life, I must have been a burden, and she never let me forget it. I glanced back at Val. "She told me to get out, that I wasn't needed here."
Her eyes searched the stem of her glass for an answer, all she came up with was, "She loves you." "If that's love, I don't need it." Valerie sighed and sipped her wine.
THE NEXT MORNING, Ruby and I slept until almost ten. After a light breakfast of cereal, we drove to the Farmers Market to get four flats of impatiens for her front flowerbed. I planted the flowers while she supervised. The wine from the night before had given her a good night's rest, and she bounced around the yard like a young girl.
During our lunch break, the phone rang. Daniel came to mind with the first ring, so I convinced Ruby to tell him I wasn't home; he wasn't worth arguing with.
"It's Mark," she handed the phone to me.
Taking the receiver, I said, "Hey Mark, what's up?"
"Kathleen left this morning for Asheville. Going to spend a few days with her girlfriends at the Grove Park." His voice held a tinge of excitement as if he was a teenager again and his parents were on their way out of town. "Meet me at the office, and we'll go down to the Y for a workout and then dinner."
"Is that a command or a request?" I kidded him because I knew there was no chance of me saying no. Kathleen out of town, Mark and me together again; how could I refuse?
Mark laughed, "Sorry, that was a request. Are you available? Or does Daniel Kaperonis have dibs?"
"I'm available." I smiled into the receiver. Am I ever.
"Listen, I want to apologize about the other night at the restaurant when I saw you and Daniel together. I was rude; I admit it."
"Daniel wasn't what I thought he was." I hated to own up to it.
"What do you mean?"
"We'll talk about it over dinner." I knew I would need a couple of drinks to explain it all. "So where are you taking me?"
"Taking you?" he asked. "I'm cooking," he added with pride.
Dinner at his place, alone, my mind jumped to many scenarios until I physically knocked the ideas out of my skull with a whack of the phone receiver to my forehead.
"What was that noise?"
"Nothing. What time?"
"Come by about five, and be ready to work up a sweat."
Damn. The images flooded back into my mind in a tsunami of anticipation. How could I think of anything else for the rest of the afternoon?