Into the Woods (17 page)

I
could see the anxiety in her eyes. She called me from the restaurant and told me she and Dallas had a private conversation, and Dallas was going to speak to Warren about Phoebe. I tried to eat but pecked at my food and finally gave up on dinner.
When the phone rang again
I
was sure it was Randy, but it wasn't. It was Augustus.
"Where are you?"
I
practically screamed into the receiver, so happy to hear from him.
"It doesn't matter." he replied. "You heard about Mrs. Dorahush, I guess."
"I heard about your grandmother." I said.
He was silent a moment. "Yes, my
grandmother."
"I'm so sorry. Augustus. I know how much she meant to you and how much you meant to her." I added.
"Yes. Well, she's returned to a pure state of energy. As you know. I am working on that.
I
expect to meet her again very soon."
"What do you mean? How?"
"Disappearing."
"You're not going to hurt yourself, are you?" I asked, frightened by his tone of voice. He sounded so far off, as if he had begun to disappear already.
"No, no, just the opposite. Don't worry. They're sending me to New Mexico to a top-secret facility, something known as pure research. I'll have whatever
I
need. and I'll be with other people like me, but I'll miss you." he said.
"Can't you write or call me?"
"No. I can't do anything to keep myself from disappearing. I can't hold on to this level of existence."
"I
don't understand what you're saying, Augustus."
It's all right. I just wanted to say goodbye and to thank You again for being so nice to me. Take care of Queenie and Quackie," he said, and hung up.
Of course, none of it made any sense to me.
I
had known so many people for a short time, but somehow I thought I might get to know Augustus better, I had wanted that, and now that chance was gone. Would I ever get to know anyone well? It made me afraid of even trying. Mommy had told me love was an investment. It meant taking risks, Would I ever even get the opportunity to take a risk?
I cleaned up the dishes
and
straightened up the kitchen, Afterward I sat in my room and went through all my dolls, recalling each and every one. where Daddy had found them, and how excited I had been to receive them. I fell asleep with a teddy bear from England in my arms and this time didn't wake when Mommy came home.
She was up before me the next morning and already dressed.
I
kept apologizing for putting her through this ordeal, but she had become steely-eyed and determined.
"We're not going to be victims all our lives. Grace.
I
wasn't brought up that way or to accept it as inevitable. You come from a long line of resilient people." she assured me.
On the way to the school
I
told her about my short, strange conversation with Augustus.
"Every one of us has a destiny to fulfill. I guess," she said. "He was either blessed or cursed with his. We'll probably read about him someday after he invents something fantastic. Don't worry about him now. Grace. Your shoulders are too small to carry too many burdens. You have enough with your own."
Mrs. Greenstein made us wait in the outer office after we arrived, even though we arrived on time. Her secretary offered Mommy coffee, but she refused. Twenty minutes after our appointment time. Mommy went to the secretary's desk and told her in clear, firm language to inform Mrs. Greenstein that her time was just as important.
"If eight o'clock wasn't a good time to schedule this meeting, why was it scheduled for then?"
The secretary flitted about and went into Mrs. Greenstein's office. When she emerged she left the door open. and Mrs. Greenstein appeared.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. but I had some rather important phone business to clear with a much higher priority than a student's misbehavior, and that took longer than I had anticipated. Come in." she said.
Mommy and I entered, and Mrs. Greenstein closed the door. There were two chairs in front of her desk now. She asked Mommy to sit and just nodded at me.
"I
hope you understand the significance of all this," she began. "Violence has become all too common a thing in our schools today, and we have to be vigilant about preventing it."
"Of course," Mommy replied. "I applaud you for that. However. I want you to understand that Grace has never had an incident like this before. She has been, as you can readily see from her transcripts, an ideal student, always an A student."
It takes only one incident to cause a bigger problem, Mrs. Houston. Someone's past history is important, of course, but violence is violence."
"Do you know the whole story?" Mommy countered. unflinching.
"I
was told a story, yes," she admitted.
"They've been ganging up an her, baiting her. Grace shouldn't have fallen far it, but the others are not total innocents. Mrs. Greenstein, and in your dispensing of justice you should consider all of it."
"If I involved myself in the intrigues and soap operas of our students
I
wouldn't get anything accomplished. Maybe at the schools your daughter has attended the administrators had the time for all that nonsense, but we don't."
"Grace hasn't attended anything but regular public schools. Mrs. Greenstein, and judging someone or something with all the facts is not nonsense."
"Um. Well, here's what we'll do," she said, obviously either impatient with the argument or uncomfortable facing someone as strong as my mother, "She's suspended for the remainder of this week. She's on probation for the remainder of the year. Should she commit any other acts of violence, no matter how she is baited, she's out of here. I still expect letters of apology to the teachers who had to pull her off the other girl."
"And as far as the others go, no reprimands, nothing?" my mother asked.
"Let's be concerned only with your daughter. Mrs. Houston, It would seem to me you have enough with just her. I'll look after the remaining students," she said with a cold smile.
"Grace will suffer her punishment because she did act in an improper manner, but if
I
hear another incident of her being baited or persecuted and nothing done about that.
I
will be back." Mommy said, and returned the cold smile. "There are all sorts of forms of violence, same even more painful than physical violence."
Mrs. Greenstein said nothing for a moment and then stood up. "Thank you for coming," she told Mommy. She looked at me. Have those letters on my desk when you return on Monday." she said.
I nodded, and we left the office. Mommy said nothing, but I could feel the rage burning inside her as we marched out of the office and through the corridor to the nearest exit.
"That woman." she said through clenched teeth, "Your father would say, 'I wonder where she keeps her steel marbles.'Another Captain Queeg from
The Caine Mutiny"
^-
I was afraid to say a word. Before we got home, she shook her head. "I'm sorry you're in her school. Grace. I wish I could put you someplace else."
"I'll be all right. Mommy."
"Yes." she said, but not with her usual tone of confidence. Since
I
wasn't attending school for the next three days, she suggested
I
come with her to the restaurant. Randy called and promised to get me all my homework. At least I would have that to do during the day.
I was glad to go to the restaurant and be with people. I was still feeling very sad for Augustus, as well as myself. Dallas was very sympathetic and nice to me. I put on one of my prettier dresses and helped her with the hostess work, as I had before. On the second night Phoebe showed up with Roger and saw me. She smiled and said. "Glad you found a job that suits you."
I didn't respond. but I glanced at Roger. He looked away guiltily. He followed her into Warren's office and then left with her.
All the next day I sensed that Mommy was excited about something. She spent more time on her hair, makeup, and fingernails before we left for the restaurant, and she was never as anxious about getting there.
It
puzzled me until a distinguished-looking older man arrived, and I noted he had a reservation for one under the name Winston Montgomery,
I had the feeling he knew who I was when he came into the restaurant. He approached the hostess desk and stood there for a moment smiling at me without speaking.
"Can
I
help you?"
I
asked.
"Winston Montgomery.
I
had a reservation far eight. Not for eight people," he quickly corrected, "For eight P.M."
I smiled and looked at the seating chart, realizing he was in Mommy's section.
"Right this way,"
I
said, taking a menu.
I
led him to his table, the one in the far left corner.
"Thank you." he said when
I
pulled out the chair for him and handed him the menu. He spoke in sharp, crisp tones like someone who was conscious of every syllable, vowel, and consonant. His voice had the resonance of a radio personality's.
"Enjoy your dinner. The waitress will be with you right away."
"How well do you know my waitress?" he asked me before
I
could return to the desk. The impish glint in his bluish gray eyes assured me he already knew the answer,
"Fairly well, since she's my mother," I said.
"I
had a feeling she might be. You look just like her."
"I
wish,"
I
said, and he laughed.
He was a tall man, about two inches or so taller than Daddy had been. His hair was thick but completely gray and cut stylishly. He had a narrow jaw but a strong, firm mouth and a nearly perfect nose. I saw he wore a beautiful gold pinky ring with a triangular diamond at the center. His Rolex watch had a band of gold that matched the gold of his ring,
"Like it?" he asked. seeing I was eyeing the watch. He held his wrist up so I could get a better look. "I just bought it this morning. I've never owned a Rolex before, I'm rarely extravagant when it comes to myself. I'd much rather spend my money on pretty ladies," he added with a demure smile.
"Oh. I see you have met my daughter," Mommy said, coming up behind me.
Winston Montgomery rose from his seat and gave a gentle bow. "I have indeed," he said. "I would have known her anywhere, Jackie Lee. She has inherited your best qualities."
"Thank you," Mommy said. blushing. I had never seen her like this. She was standing there with her eyes twinkling like a teenager's.
"I'd better get back to the front," I said sharply, and walked away.
When I looked back I saw Mommy standing beside him and looking down at him as if he was a movie star. Actually he was looking up at her the same way. It gave me a very funny feeling, a feeling of surprise but annoyance as well.
Winston Montgomery took hours to dine. He seemed content with simply sitting there watching Mommy move about the restaurant. I noticed that every chance she had she paused to speak with him at his table. Whenever I brought someone new into the dining area, he smiled and nodded at me.
Finally Dallas noticed how I was studying him and watching every move Mommy made around him.
^-
Do you know who that man is?" she asked.
"I know his name. Winston Montgomery," I said.
"He has an estate in Palm Beach. He's very, very wealthy. Grace. His family had major interests in pharmaceuticals. He's mostly retired now. I understand, Recently he lost his wife. They had no children." she added, raising her eyebrows. "There's no one immediate to inherit all that money."
I looked his way again. Mommy was serving a table nearby, but her eyes were catching his so often she nearly dropped a plate in someone's lap.
"How old is he?" I asked. He was good-lookng, but the lines in his face and his gray hair made me think he was very old.
"Only in his sixties," Dallas said. laughing. "These days," she whispered. "older men are better catches, especially older men with money. Oh, hello." she said to a couple who had just entered the restaurant.
I digested what she had said and looked again at Mommy and Winston Montgomery.
She can't be thinking of him in a romantic way
, I thought.
Not a man that much older.
She was just thirty-eight. She's just being extra nice, I told myself, so she will get a bigger tip.
When Winston Montgomery was finished with his dinner he didn't leave the restaurant. He went into the small bar. At about ten-thirty, things began to wind down. Mommy and Dallas were off whispering in a corner so often I thought I was at a high school dance. By just about eleven P.M. all her customers had paid their bills and left their tables.
When I looked for her I found her in the bar talking to Winston Montgomery. She saw me watching from the doorway and excused herself and came to me.
"We're going home," she said.
"You don't have to wait for everything to be proved as usual?" I asked.
"Dallas is covering for me. C'mon. honey. You did very well tonight. She has some tip money for you. too."
I glanced back at Winston Montgomery, who smiled my way and turned to the bartender. Mommy hurried me out of the restaurant and into our car.
It
was a good night." she said. "I did much better than I expected."
"I
never ask you about money. Mommy. How are we doing?"
"We're okay, honey, but," she added, turning to me with her eves bright and steely, "we're going to do better. Cruel fate has had its way with us. but
I
am determined not to let it enjoy its success too long." She spoke through clenched teeth.
"What do you mean?"
I
asked. I had never heard her speak with such vehemence.
It
was as if she truly knew cruel fate's address and would soon pay it a visit.
"I
go to work in Dallas and Warren's beautiful upscale restaurant, and I see these women, some not much older than I am, bedecked in diamonds and gold, wearing the latest fashions, dresses that run in the thousands. and
I
think, why do they have so much happiness? What's their secret? What did they do to be so lucky?"
"What is the secret?" I asked her.
"Knowing what you want and going for it with resolution. Maybe even becoming obsessed," she said more to herself than to me now.
She didn't sound like herself.
I
couldn't help but wonder if what had happened to me at school was partly responsible for it.