So Much Trouble When She Walked In (19 page)

Mrs.
Davidoff, on the other hand, looked totally relaxed as she leaned against her
husband’s arm, looking over onto the racetrack below.  She hadn’t seen them yet
so Silken had the opportunity to take a good look at her future mother-in-law.

She’d
let her long, black hair fall free to flow over her shoulders and down her back
and Silken could see a few strands of gray.  The soft smile on her face made
her look approachable and pleasant and it made Silken wonder if Max had gotten
his parents mixed up.  Based on what she could see, Mrs. Davidoff looked like
the easy-going one.  Now she didn’t know what to believe.  To be on the safe
side, she would have to tread carefully with both of them.

And
then it was time for the introductions.  It wasn’t the ideal place, not with
the amount of noise in the stadium, but they made do.  Max took Silken’s hand
and took her through the stands to where his parents sat.  As soon as they saw
Max they waved, both of them sporting broad smiles.  Duke and Reed greeted
them, too, then Duke waved Suave over to sit in the free seat beside him. 

When
they got close, Max pulled her in front of him.  “Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet
Silken, the wonderful woman who’ll be making a good man out of me.”

“Pleased
to meet you, Silken.”  Mr. Davidoff reached out to take her hand and the
fingers that wrapped around hers were warm and strong.  “We’ve heard a lot
about you.  Great to put a face to the name.”

As
soon as he released her Mrs. Davidoff took her hand, and where her husband’s
hand had been big and callused, hers was soft and tiny, almost like a child’s. 
Still, her handshake was anything but weak.  “Welcome to the family,” she said. 
“We have a lot of catching up to do.”  She patted Silken’s hand.  “We’ll talk
later.”

And
that was it, at least for the moment.  Silken was smiling as she waved goodbye
and went with Max to find their seats but her smile hid a tiny prick of
apprehension.  Mother Davidoff was planning to have a talk with her later and
she was not at all sure she was looking forward to that.  When Suave had called
her impetuous she’d been right.  She just hoped that side of her didn’t rear
its ugly head while she was under interrogation.

As
she sat down beside Max and he put his arm around her, she leaned her head
against his shoulder and a renegade thought sneaked into her mind.  Suave
always knew the right things to say.  Could she ask her sister to represent her
during the daughter-in-law-to-be interview?  But as soon as the thought entered
her mind she shook it free.  No, that would not do.  She was the one marrying
Max, not Suave.  It was only fair that his mother should know exactly what her
son was getting into.  She would just have to face her fear.

After
a successful first day at the racetrack, a day filled with the roars of
high-powered engines, cheers and screams, it was an exhausted Silken who piled into
the back of Max’s SUV.  “You take the front seat,” she told Suave.  “I need a
nap.”

“Not
too much, now,” Max said as he buckled up.  “We’re heading over to Duke’s,
remember?  We’re all going to have dinner there.  My parents want to get to
know you guys.”

“Me,
too?”  Suave glanced over at him. 

“Of
course, you, too.  You’re part of the family.  Don’t think that just because
you’re the sister you’re going to escape the cross examination.”

Silken
groaned.  “Do we have to?”

“Yes,
you have to.  Now relax.  They’ll be gone in another couple of days and then
your life will be back to normal.”

In
the end, the evening didn’t turn out to be quite the torture that Silken was
expecting.  The atmosphere was so casual at Duke’s place that she began to
wonder what she’d been so uptight about.  There was no fancy dinner food, just hot
dogs, hamburgers and barbecued chicken that Duke prepared himself.  And he
roped everybody into the dinner-making project with Daddy Davidoff making
lemonade, Mother Davidoff whipping up a batch of Duke’s favorite cupcakes – he
begged her till she gave in to his pitiful whines – Suave making the salad, Max
doing the potato salad and Silken roasting corn in the husk.  The only lazy one
was Reed who complained that he had absolutely no talent in the kitchen.  Duke
ended up sending him out to get ice cream.

The
whole evening they were all so busy preparing food then gobbling down helping
after helping that there was really not much talking going on…and definitely no
‘sit down and get to know you’ interview.  As they worked together in the
massive kitchen, laughing and getting into one another’s way, the Davidoff
parents, and especially the mother, shot off questions to Silken and even to
Suave, but while she was bustling around Silken was so relaxed that she shot
the answers right back.  She didn’t skip a beat.  

By
the time they’d finished dinner and sprawled in the TV room with dessert, they
were all pretty much knocked out.  Mr. Davidoff – he’d told Silken and Suave to
call him Herbert – was dead to the world, stretched out in the reclining chair,
half a bowl of uneaten ice cream melting in his lap.  Mrs. Davidoff – now
Charlene to Silken and Suave – stifled a yawn then got up to pry the bowl from
her sleeping husband’s grasp.

Duke
and Reed were sitting on the big sofa, Suave between them, as they watched the
last few scenes of Madagascar.  Silken had commandeered the love seat and
dragged Max over to it so she could curl up beside him.  His body was so big
and warm and she felt so comfy that she didn’t know how she’d budge when it was
time to head home.  She felt like she could stay like this all night. 

But,
of course, she couldn’t.  The movie ended and then it was time to go. 
Uncurling her body from where it had been tucked into Max’s side, she slid off
the seat and stretched.  Then she reached out her hand to pull him to his
feet.  “C’mon, buddy.  Time to take us home.”

When
they got to the apartment building and Suave had gone inside to bed, Silken
walked Max back to the elevator.  There, she wrapped her arms around his waist
and pulled him into her.  “I had a wonderful day with your parents.  You were
right.  They’re really cool.”

He
smiled down at her.  “Glad you think so.  And, based on what I heard through
the grapevine, they think you’re cool, too.”

She
tilted her head.  “What grapevine?”

He
put up a hand to stroke her hair.  “The one where my mom pulls me into the
living room when nobody’s watching and tells me she really, really likes you.”

Silken’s
eyes widened and her mouth fell open.  “She didn’t.  Really?”

Max
smiled.  “Really.”  He dipped his head and gave her a smack right on her parted
lips.  Then he pulled away, a look of regret in his eyes. 

“I
wish I could have had you tonight but I guess I’ll have to wait.”

And
then, as he stepped into the elevator and the door began to close, he yelled
the words that made her eyes smart with sudden tears.

“Did
I tell you?  Mom always dreamed of having a daughter.”

The
elevator door closed so she couldn’t give him her answer.  Instead, she
whispered it to herself.  “And I’ve always dreamed of having a mom.”

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

Time
was flying like the wind and Silken wanted to slow it down and speed it up both
at the same time.  Her wedding day was fast approaching and there was still so
much to be done.  She needed more time.  On the other hand, she could hardly
wait for the day when she would walk down the aisle and take Max’s hand in
marriage.  She was caught smack in the middle of a tug-of-war that was driving
her round the bend.

“You
need some time off,” Suave told her.  “You need to focus.  The wedding is just
a month away.  Don’t bother to come into work this week.  I’ll hold the fort
while you finalize your wedding plans.”

“Are
you sure?”  Silken had never left Suave alone before.  She’d always been there
to share the workload.  

“Very
sure.”  Suave gave her a little push toward the door.  “I want everything to be
perfect on your wedding day.  Now meet the wedding planner and tie up all those
loose ends.  Go on, get out of here.”

And
so Silken went and she was happy she did.  You never knew how much it took to
plan a wedding until you were in the middle of it yourself.  Even with the
services of a wedding planner it was a lot of work.  She wanted to be sure things
went just right.  After all, this wasn’t just her wedding.  This was a Davidoff
wedding and that meant it had to be perfect.

The
fact that Max didn’t seem to be worrying himself about anything was small
consolation to Silken.  Typical man, he didn’t care if the wedding ceremony
took place in a palace, on a beach, or in the back of a pick-up truck.  He just
wanted to show up, stick the ring on her finger and move her into the house
where he could make love to her twenty-four-seven if he so desired.  And,
knowing Max, he would probably so desire pretty often.

But
Silken knew better than to take the affair so lightly.  This would be the most
important day of her life.  Not only that, but the world would be watching. 
She had to get it right.  And even more scary, Mother Davidoff would be
watching.

And,
as nice as she’d been on the visit when the track opened, the last thing Silken
wanted to do was give the family’s mother hen reason to regret her son’s choice
of bride. 

And
so she went all out, spending the entire first week of May on the road, leaving
Suave to run the show until she got back.

And
then, just three weeks before her wedding day, a tsunami of disaster barreled
in and Silken’s world came crashing down around her. 

***

“Silken,
can you head back to the office?  Something’s going on with Suave and I can’t
figure it out.”  Bill’s voice came crackling into the phone, the sound weak
like he was out of range.  One thing came over loud and clear, though.  He was
worried.

A
feeling of dread rose inside Silken.  She gripped the cell phone tighter. 
“What’s wrong?  Is Suave hurt?”  She’d made sure to put Suave in charge of the
books, particularly because she wanted to keep her out of the work area and out
of harm’s way.  Now it looked like her plan had failed.

“No,
nothing like that.  She looked pale when she came in this morning but she
insisted she was all right.  But then by lunchtime she came over and said she
felt weird, like half of her was numb and the other half was tingling.  But
still, she didn’t look sick…”  His voice trailed off as if something was
distracting him.

“And
then what, Bill?  What happened?  Where is she?”  Silken’s heart pounded as she
waited for the news. 
Dear God, please let Suave be all right
.

“And
then she started walking funny, like she was off balance, and she said she felt
dizzy.”

Oh,
Jesus.  A stroke
.  “Where is she, Bill?” Silken yelled.  “Can she talk?  Call
an ambulance.”

“No,
no, she can talk.  She’s fully conscious.  And I know what you’re thinking but
this doesn’t look like a stroke.”

“Put
her on the phone, Bill.  Let me talk to my sister.  Now.”  It took her frenzied
shout to shock Bill out of his seeming stupor.  Within two seconds Suave was on
the phone.

“Silken,”
she said, her voice weak, “I don’t feel too good.”

“What’s
the matter, honey?  Where does it hurt?”  Silken had to fight to keep the fear
out of her voice.

“It
doesn’t.  I just don’t feel right.  And my body…it’s going numb all over.”

“I’m
calling 911 right now.”

“No,
don’t,” Suave said, her voice breathless.  “Can you come?”

“I’m
on the highway, heading to you right now.  Just hang in there.”

When
Silken hung up she had to bite her lip to keep a sob from escaping.  Suave’s
question cut her to the quick.  Can you come?  There was nothing that could
keep her away.

But
what made things worse was that she knew she’d left a huge burden on Suave’s
shoulders and her sister ended up paying the price…all for the sake of Silken’s
happiness.  She would never forgive herself for that.

When
Silken arrived at the office eleven minutes later she wasted no time in
bundling Suave into the car and rushing her off to the emergency room.  There she
ran into another frustration - a three-hour wait.  What part of emergency
didn’t these people get?

Finally,
after Silken had practically worn a path in the coarse carpet with all her
pacing, Suave was wheeled inside for a battery of tests – blood, urine, ECG and
MRI.  The good news was, they could find absolutely nothing wrong with her…which
was also the bad news.  Nobody could pinpoint what was wrong with Suave.  And
as long as they couldn’t figure it out they were not letting her back out the
door.

That
evening Silken did not leave Suave’s side.  When her sister drifted off to
sleep she was still holding her hand.  When Max came, carrying a brown paper
bag and a cup of coffee, she was still sitting there, the thoughts racing
through her head, the guilt eating into her heart.

“Any
news?” Max asked as he sank into the empty chair beside her.

Silken
shook her head.  “Not yet.”  Her voice was hoarse from lack of use.  She drew
in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying not to look as scared as she
felt.  What if this was a really serious illness?  What if…

She
couldn’t even think it.  If anything happened to her sister she would just die.

“I
brought you some dinner,” Max said, setting the bag on the nearby tray and
putting out a Styrofoam container and a fork.

“I
don’t want any.”  She didn’t even have the strength to be gracious.

He
shook his head.  “You have to eat.  You’ll have to stay strong so you can help
Suave.”  He lifted the lid and the smell of sweet and sour chicken rose into
the air.  “Now come on.  Eat.”