The Night's Legacy (6 page)

His cheeks reddened at this.  “No.  Look, if I’d known that you were going to be working here—”

“Hey, come on, shit happens.”  A woman with a basketful of souvenirs interrupted the conversation.  While Tony checked out the woman’s items, Lois put them in bags.  As she stuffed a half-dozen postcards of the museum and Ren City night scenes into a tiny paper bag she thought of all the souvenir stands she’d passed by without buying anything.  She could have bought hundreds of postcards like these and mailed them to Mom, but she hadn’t, too afraid of giving herself away.

She felt a hand on her shoulder.  She instinctively batted the hand away and took up a fighting stance.  “What’s wrong?” Tony asked.

She forced herself to relax.  “Oh, nothing.  I was just thinking.  I’ll go check the stock.”  Looking over the shelves gave her a chance to try and think about everything that had happened in the last two days.  Her old life on the run was rapidly becoming a dream, a movie of someone else’s life.  Or maybe this, working at her mother’s museum with a cute guy, was the movie and she was really still in the hospital in Durndell.

Another hand touched her shoulder, but she resisted the urge to bat it away.  “I’m all right, Tony, really—”

But it wasn’t Tony this time.  “I was looking for something for my niece.  What would you recommend?”

“Dr. Johnson!”
Lois squealed.  Not caring about protocol she wrapped herself around him in a hug.  Only after she let go did she get a good look at him.  His curly brown hair had some gray in it, but not as much as Mom’s.  His skin was still as tanned as a movie star’s, although it was a bit more wrinkled now.  He wore an unfamiliar mustache that tickled when he kissed her cheek.  “Mom said you were in Washington.”

“I was.  I got someone to cover the rest of the presentation for me.  Couldn’t miss welcoming back my only niece.”

They weren’t really related.  Aunt Betty was not actually Mom’s sister, but they had been so close growing up that Betty encouraged Lois to think of her as an aunt.  She hadn’t been able to call Dr. Johnson “Uncle Richard” though; probably because she had always yearned to call him something else.  When she was little she had imagined that like a fairy tale he would eventually reveal himself as her father.  As she got older, she hoped that one day she would call him her husband.  Neither of these had come to pass yet, nor did they seem very likely.

“You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“I would have been on the plane with your mom, but it would have taken too long for me to get back.  As you can expect, she was in a bit of a hurry.”

“I’m really sorry about what I put you both through.”  She looked down at her feet.  “I’ve been kind of a brat.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it anymore.  The important thing is that you’re here now.”  He took her by the shoulders, holding her back so that he could look at you.  “Look at you, all grown up now.  And just as pretty as your mom.”

Her face turned so warm she felt ready to pass out.  That would be really embarrassing, although maybe Dr. Johnson would give her mouth-to-mouth.  “Thanks,” she whispered.

A customer slipped past them, carrying a baby in her arms.  “I should probably let you get back to work.  We can catch up later.  I’m sure you have some exciting stories.”

“Oh, yeah, exciting.”  A lot of her stories wouldn’t be fit for telling in front of her mother and surrogate uncle and aunt.  “How’s
Betty doing?”

It was Dr. Johnson’s turn to look down at his feet.  “Your mom must not have told you, did she?”

“Tell me what?”

“
Betty died two years ago.”

Lois
grabbed a clothes rack for support.  “She’s dead?”

“Cancer.  It was really aggressive.  Nothing we could do.”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry.  If I’d known—”

He flashed a tired smile.  “It’s all right.  It’s not your fault.”  He patted her on the shoulder again.  “I’ll see you tonight for dinner.”

Lois didn’t want to go back to the stock room and have to explain to Melanie why she was crying.  So she waited until Dr. Johnson was safely gone and then bolted for the ladies room down the hall.

* * *

Tony was still at the counter when she came back.  “If you’re not feeling good—”

“I’ll be fine,”
Lois snapped.  She jammed a stuffed mammoth into a plastic bag.  “It’s nothing, all right?”

“Sure.”  After the customer had gone, Tony turned to her.  “What’s the story with you and Dr. Johnson?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain.”  Her family had always been hard to explain to other people.  For years she had lived with her mother and her aunt who wasn’t really her aunt.  For the daddy-daughter dance in fourth grade she had brought Dr. Johnson, who at the time wasn’t even her surrogate uncle yet.  She had had to explain to her teacher that he was a family friend and that her own father was missing.  “He’s a family friend.”

“That’s cool.  That’s probably your picture on his desk.”

“Probably.”  She thought of what Melanie had said earlier.  “You hang out with him a lot?”

“Sometimes.  Egypt is kind of a hobby of mine.  That’s where the grandparents on my mom’s side came from.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, they decided to get out after the Nazis left.  Dr. J’s been helping me with some genealogy stuff, looking up records and whatnot.  I’ve traced it back to the 5
th
Century so far.”

“Maybe you’re related to Cleopatra or King Tut.”

“Could be.  He’s a really nice guy about it.  Hey, that reminds me:  the research staff gets a 75% discount on items.  Custodial staff—that includes us—gets a 25% discount.  In case you wanted to buy a T-shirt or snow globe or something.”

She grinned at this.  “There’s not a special discount for the director’s daughter?”

“I don’t know.  We haven’t had to worry about that before.  I offered to let your mom take whatever she wanted, but she insisted on paying full price.”

“Yeah, that sounds like her.”

There were no customers in the store and Melanie was singing a Lady Gaga song in the back room, so Lois didn’t mind when Tony brushed up against her.  His hand rubbed the small of her back while he leaned down to whisper, “I was thinking if you’re not busy tonight, there’s going to be this really awesome party down by the waterfront.  I thought we could check it out.”

“I’d love to, but Mom and Dr. Johnson are taking me to dinner.”

“Hey, no problem.  The party doesn’t start until eleven.  Plenty of time for both.”

She smiled at this.  “You’re probably right.  How about I meet you there?”

“Sure.”  His hand went down to give her rear a squeeze.  “Make sure you wear something sexy.  I want everyone to see the hottest girl in Ren City.”

“Flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere—at least not until later.” 

They separated just as Melanie came bursting out of the back room.  “Hey guys, what’s going on?  It’s so quiet out here.”

“I was just giving
Lois some training,” Tony said.  He gave her a covert slap on the rear before opening the register to pull out his drawer.  “Why don’t you take over?  I’ve got to fill out some reports.”

“Sure thing,”
Melanie said.  She waited until Tony had gone to squeal and whisper, “Oh my God, what were you and Tony doing?  Dish.”

“Nothing,”
Lois said.  Melanie was a nice girl, but she was also the gossipy type.  If Lois mentioned anything about her and Tony it wouldn’t be long until Mom found out from her secretary or the janitor or something.  “He was just showing me the ropes.”

Melanie
shook her head and then looked back to the stock room.  “I would totally be all over him, you know?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,”
Lois said with a sigh.

Chapter 5

Her first day ended without incident.  She had worked enough odd jobs that she didn’t feel any more tired than usual.  Melanie gave her a hug and said, “See you tomorrow!”  She pressed a slip of paper into Lois’s hand.  “Here’s my cell number.  I leave it on all the time and I don’t sleep a lot, so call me up whenever, OK?”

“Sure, but I don’t have a cell phone yet.”

“You don’t?  You need to totally get out of the Dark Ages.”  Melanie squealed and then said, “Oh my God, I have the best idea!  We should go shopping this weekend.  We could get you a phone and some clothes and stuff.  It would be so fun!”

“Great idea,”
Lois said.  She could use a phone and some clothes that didn’t smell like cigarettes, whiskey, and worse things.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She slipped out of
Melanie’s grasp.  Tony was still filling out some reports, but gave her a wink to indicate he would see her later.  She gave him a little wave and then went to the elevator, punching the button for the fourth floor administration offices.

Mom’s secretary was just packing up her purse when
Lois showed up.  Lorna Miner had been the closest thing to a grandmother Lois had ever known.  Unlike Mom and Dr. Johnson, Lorna didn’t seem changed at all by the last seven years, probably because she was already old. 

She looked up and clucked her tongue.  “Why as I live and breathe, is that little
Lois?”

“Not so little now.”

Lorna put the glasses dangling from around her neck on her eyes.  “Oh my, you’re so grown up now.  I don’t think I could bounce you on my knee anymore.”

“I guess not.” 
Lois worried the old woman might start crying, but she only gave Lois a hug.  “Is Mom still working?”

“Oh yes.  She’s always keeping herself busy.  Sometimes I think she invents work so she’ll have something to do.” 
Lorna didn’t have a Glare like Mom, but it was stern enough for Lois to understand what she meant.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t want to hurt her.”

“I know, dear.”  Lorna patted her arm.  “I hope you’ve got all that out of your system.”

“Yeah, probably.” 
Lois looked towards the door, but she couldn’t see anything through the frosted glass with Mom’s name and title stenciled on it in gold.  “How is she?”

“She’s doing fine—all things considered.” 
Lorna’s knowing look indicated that Lois was one of those things to be considered.  “She’s always worked herself very hard.  Maybe now that you’re back she’ll take some time off.”

“Let’s hope so.”

“I best let you in to see her.  Feel free to stop by whenever you want.  I may not be able to bounce you on my knee, but I still enjoy seeing you.”

“I’ll do that.” 
Lois waited for Lorna to open the door and announce her.  Then she brushed past Mom’s secretary, into the office.

Like Mom, the office wasn’t pretentious at all.  The walls had a couple of cheap landscape paintings inherited from her predecessor and Mom’s degrees from
Michigan and Cornell.  The desk was an old wooden one, more functional than a trendier glass one.  All of the files and papers on the desk were stacked in neat piles, far too many piles for Lois’s liking.  The only decorations on the desk were two photographs and a pink blob Lois had made in second grade that was supposed to have been a horse.

“I’ll be done in just a minute,” Mom said as she wrote on a form.  “You can sit down if you want.”

Lois sat in one of the leather chairs across from Mom.  The office didn’t look any different than when she had used to sit in the corner with her blocks.  Later she had sat on this same chair with a book, reading while Mom worked.  Some things never changed.

“How was your first day?” Mom asked.

“It was fine.  Tony and Melanie are really nice.  Dr. Johnson stopped by.”

“I know.  He came in here earlier.”  Mom looked up from the piece of paper, her expression sad.  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about
Betty.  I was going to mention it later, once you had settled in.”

“It’s all right.  I wish I’d known.  She was a good person.”

“Yes, she was.”  Mom turned back to the form and continued writing. 

“What about you?  How are you feeling?”

“Dr. Pavelski said I’m healthy as a horse.”

“You’re still seeing her?”

“Is there some reason I shouldn’t?”

Lois
shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I just thought she might have retired or something.”

“You haven’t been gone that long.”

“But too long, right?”

Mom stopped writing and then took off her reading glasses to Glare at
Lois.  “I wasn’t going to say that.”

“You were thinking it, weren’t you?”

“Seven years is a long time for a mother not to see her child.”

“I know and I’m sorry.”

“I know you are, sweetheart.”  Mom stood up with a slight wince.  “I can finish this tomorrow.  How about we go out for dinner now?”

“Sure.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know.  Anywhere is fine with me.”

Mom shrugged.  “Maybe Dr. Johnson will have an idea.”  She picked up the phone and dialed his extension.  “Hi, Richard.  She’s up here with me.  We’re about ready to go if you’re ready.  All right, see you in a few minutes.”  Mom hung up the phone.  “The car will be out front.  Let’s go.”

Lois
resisted the urge to grab her mother’s arm to support her as she toddled over to the door, seeming even older than her secretary.  Lois hoped Lorna was right and that Mom might finally start to relax.  Otherwise she might be joining Aunt Betty before long.

* * *

For dinner they went to the Palm Palace, which had been Lois’s favorite growing up because it was Dr. Johnson’s favorite.  He claimed they made the best Middle Eastern food in the city, though it still didn’t compare to the authentic restaurants he frequented when in Egypt.  The place hadn’t changed much in nearly ten years, except the fake palms seemed a bit faded and the waiters in their billowy pants and vests seemed cheesier than before.

While they munch
ed on complimentary pita bread, Lois gave a PG-rated account of her travels.  She didn’t mention any of the boys she had slept with along the way or the grosser details of living on the run like eating out of trashcans and sleeping in an alley with rats running across her feet.  Mostly she talked about the towns she had visited and the friends she had made, albeit briefly.

“Sounds like quite an adventure,” Dr. Johnson said.  “Like something Kerouac would have written about.  Hitting the open road and all that.”

Mom didn’t say anything; she just nibbled on her pita bread.  “It was pretty interesting,” Lois said, choosing her words carefully.  She didn’t want it to seem like she had been having too much fun out there.  “It was hard too.”

“Have you given any thought to going back to school?” Dr. Johnson asked.  “I could help you with your thesis—”

“I really haven’t thought about it yet.”  Lois stuffed a slice of pita bread into her mouth.  She knew Dr. Johnson and Mom were going to press her about finishing her doctorate.  She had been so close when she had dropped out of school.  “I think I’d just like to get through the summer and then worry about it.”

“I was thinking we should do some shopping this weekend,” Mom said.  “We could look for some new decorations for your room—”

“Actually Melanie already asked me to go shopping with her.  If that’s all right.”

“It’s fine.  We can do that some other time.”  From the way Mom looked down at her plate,
Lois knew it wasn’t fine.  After seven years, Mom wanted some time with her, to catch up on what they had missed.  That was only fair, wasn’t it?

“We can go on Sunday, unless you have any plans.”

“No, Sunday should be fine.”  Mom smiled a little, though she was clearly still stinging from the rejection.  “I’m going to use the ladies room.”

She held onto the edge of the table as she levered herself upright and then shuffled along the rows of tables, disappearing behind a palm tree.  As
Lois watched her mother go, she asked Dr. Johnson, “How long has she been like that?”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” he said, hastily taking a piece of bread.

“You know, so
old
.”

It was Dr. Johnson’s turn to pick his words carefully.  “It was hard for her, losing you and then
Betty.  Plus there’s been a lot going on at the museum.  Donors aren’t as generous as they used to be with the economy and the government threatened to take away some of our research grants.  And you know how much trouble she has with delegating any of that.”

“Yeah, I know.” 
Lois sighed.  She took a piece of pita bread, but wasn’t hungry anymore.  Instead she kneaded the bread in her hands.  “I should have been here, to help her through it.  Shouldn’t I?”

He reached across the table to take her hand and give it a squeeze.  “Don’t beat yourself up about it.  You were doing what you thought was best.  It took a lot of courage to do what you did.  Not many people could have done it.”

“Not many people are that stupid.”

“
Lois—”

“She’s right.  I could have at least sent her a postcard so that she’d know I was OK.  She probably thought I was dead.”

“We never thought that.  We always knew you were too strong for that.”

“Thanks.”

“Look, the important thing is that you’re here now.  Your mom is going to be a lot happier now, so long as you stay out of trouble.”

Lois
couldn’t help smiling at that.  “Get into trouble?  Me?”

“I know, it’s preposterous.”

As they laughed at this, Mom came back to the table.  “What did I miss?”

“Nothing much,” Dr. Johnson said and winked at
Lois.

* * *

When they got home, Mom gave Lois a kiss on the cheek.  “I think I’m going to do some reading and then hit the hay,” she said.  “Try not to stay up too late.”

“I won’t, Mom.”

“I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you too.”

Lois watched the seldom-used TV for an hour and then went upstairs to change.  She stopped at Mom’s door and heard her mother snoring softly.  Lois eased the door open and saw Mom lying in bed with her glasses still on and a book on her chest.  Lois took both of these to set on the nightstand.  In a bit of role reversal she pulled the covers up to Mom’s chin and then kissed her forehead before turning out the light.

For the next hour
Lois rummaged through her closet.  She had never owned many dresses and the ones she did own were too small now.  Mom’s clothes would be too big, not to mention nothing Mom owned could be construed as “sexy” by any definition. 

Then
Lois saw the slip of paper Melanie had given her sitting on the nightstand.  Melanie’s clothes would probably be too big as well, but they might be closer in size.  She picked up the old pink telephone and dialed the number.  Melanie picked up on the second ring.  “Oh my God, Lois!  How are you?”

“I’m all right.  Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Of course!  What are friends for?”

“I need to borrow a dress.  I’ve got a date at this club—”

“A date?  I thought you got here yesterday?”

“Well, yeah.  I met him at this bar last night.  He called earlier and he wants me to meet him at this club, but I don’t really have anything to wear, you know?”

“I get it.  What’s his name?”

“Sam,” she said, thinking of the first name to pop in her head other than Tony. 

“Is he cute?”

“Totally.”

Melanie squealed so loud Lois had to hold the receiver away from her ear.  “I think I’ve got a dress that would look totally hot on you.  I’ll bring it over.”

“Great.  I’ll be on the front porch.  My mom’s sleeping, so we need to keep this on the down low, you know?”

“I’ll be totally ninja about it.”

“Thanks.”

Lois sat on the front porch with a book while she waited for Melanie.  She only had to wait twenty minutes before Melanie came galloping up the front steps, her face red and a garment bag slung over her shoulder.  “This is
so
exciting!” Melanie whispered.  “I was going to bring some shoes, but then I figured none of my shoes would fit, you know?  My feet are kind of small compared to yours.  Not that yours are huge or anything—”

“They are pretty big,”
Lois said.  She had inherited her mother’s big feet as well as Mom’s red hair and blue eyes.  The rest of her came from someone else, the father whose name she didn’t know.  “Thank you so much for this.”

“Anything for a friend, you know?”

Lois gave Melanie a hug and then said, “I’ll give this back to you tomorrow at work, all right?”

“Sure thing.  Good luck on your date.” 
Melanie squealed, but managed to keep the volume down.  “Whatever happens, you totally have to tell me tomorrow, all right?”