Here's the next installment:
* * *
Hot himself picked up Lottie’s folks
at the airport—he had to get out of the house. Even if it meant an hour ride
alone with them from Newark Liberty. It took two days for Maggie and Joe to make
the various connecting flights from their home in Natchez, Nevada, and Hot knew
he’d be dealing with some weary and frayed travelers. He parked the car in
short-term parking even though it would’ve saved 10 bucks if he just had them
call him in the cell lot so he could snatch them up at the curb in Terminal C.
But Hot knew better, the crazy traffic and chaos would have been overwhelming
for his in-laws, and maybe it would be little less awkward to meet them on foot
than from the driver’s seat.
It wasn’t.
Hot met Maggie and Joe at the
luggage carousel and, at first sighting, Maggie exploded into tears, Joe
sullenly patting her arm. Hot gently hugged her and felt the uncomfortable
dampness of her cheek, followed by the dampness of Joe’s flaccid handshake.
“I still can’t believe it, my
Lottie!” Joe was the first to speak. Hot nodded.
“I’ll never survive this. I mean it.
It’s the worst thing ever,” sup-supped Maggie.
“Maybe it would be better if I…which
bags are yours?” Two broken parents and Hot in extended turmoil over the past
couple of days needed to keep his hands busy. His total focus was on finding
the suitcases. “Is it this one is it this one is it this one?” Indeed, Hot’s
commitment to task caused a break in Maggie’s tear-storm and Joe, standing by,
kept shaking his head until, finally, a nod and, finally, Hot was rolling two
large suitcases from Baggage Claim and leading the bereaved parents to the car
and the highly anticipated task of a maneuvering the Previa van around and
through the tangle of roads and ramps constituting egress from Newark Liberty
to the rapid flow of the New Jersey Turnpike. By then Maggie had regained her
footing and was finally back to…being Maggie.
“Why couldn’t you save her,
Anderson? She was so young and strong. It’s inconceivable. You were home. You
could have done something before…before. Why didn’t you help my daughter?”
“Please, calm down dear, I’m sure he
did everything he could,” said Joe. “People can go suddenly. Remember, Peter
Briggs just the other day…massive cardiac. Nothing could have saved him.”
“I’m sorry, Maggie. Lottie was gone
when I got home.”
“GOT HOME? GOT HOME? Where the hell
were you at 6:30 in the morning? That’s when she died isn’t it?”
“I was running.”
“RUNNING? RUNNING. WHAT THE FUCK?”
“Dear! Dear. Please.”
“I can’t believe it. You selfish
bastard--out jogging while my daughter is home dying. I can’t believe I’m
hearing this. You could have saved her life but instead you’re running around
the neighborhood like some stupid kid. I’ll never live this down. Oh my god!
Your supposed to take care of your wife and all you care about is yourself. And
this is what we get!”
“Now Maggie, Lottie had a massive
brain hemorrhage--there was nothing anyone could’ve done. She went instantly. I
could’ve been standing right next to her when it happened. She could’ve been in
the Emergency Room and it wouldn’t have made difference. We are all devastated,
but there was nothing anyone could have done.”
“We understand, Anderson,” said Joe.
“We’re just devastated. Maggie knows that you can’t be blamed for anything.
We’ve lost our daughter, but you’ve lost your wife.” Hot was also afraid that
he was beginning to lose his mind. His nerves tingling, snapping. He thought
the drive to the airport would help calm him down, but the ride to the airport
culminated in the arrival of his mother-in-law, who was, unfortunately, a living
cliché. It was clear that Maggie never thought much of him and that he was
clearly not an acceptable mate for his daughter. On paper, perhaps, she had a
point. Hot hadn’t attend Swarthmore, but Trenton State was nothing to sneeze
at. Neither was he ever in any honor society, nor did he hold high office in
student politics. But gee, that was more than 25 years ago, and still his
mother-in-law’s opinion had not softened when it came to him. Yes, Lottie got
the law degree and was on a partner track at McDougal, McCray, and McCrumb
while Anderson held anonymous back-office positions at Provident Investments as
Lottie scored victory after victory in McDougal’s Litigation Department. But
hell, he was a director in the shareholder reporting division by the time
Lottie left the law to raise the kids--a career killer for which Maggie
continued to hold Hot responsible. Maggie had big dreams for Lottie, all of
which were dashed when the siren call of motherhood lured her from the path of
wealth and prestige of the law. Useless, feckless Anderson Hot. A nothing in
his own life trying to perpetrate a similar fate for her gifted and only child.
No, Hot held a keen distaste for his
mother-in-law.
“You don’t seem that sad, Anderson.
Are you sad?”
“Of course I’m sad, Maggie.”
“Of course he’s sad--what are you
saying?” said Joe.
“I’m just saying he doesn’t seem
sad. He never seems like anything. Maybe once or twice I’ve seen him laugh.”
“I don’t like being spoken about in
the third person,” said Hot.
“Oh, the Stoic speaks!”
“Please stop it,” said Joe.
“I can say whatever I want. My
daughter’s dead. And my so-called son-in-law doesn’t seem to give a shit.”
“That’s enough!” said Joe. “Besides,
everyone grieves in his own way. Anderson is heart-broken, just like you. But
he shows it differently.” Joe reached for Maggie’s arm, but she snatched it
away, dabbed at her eyes and killed the rest of time in the care with gentle
weeping.
“Thank you, Joe. So how was your
flight?” said Hot.
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