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“What ‘and then’ ?”
“And then he met and began seeing Lucille Bennet more and more. I swear,” Uncle Perry continued with his young boy’s smile, “whenever he talked about her, he sounded like some lovesick teenager. I was actually embarrassed for him at times, especially when he gushed with compliments about her, making her seem like some sort of gift from the gods. Here was my older, wiser, stern, and correct brother behaving like a schoolboy with a crush, thinking and doing the silliest of things, like putting on two different socks or saying good morning to the same person three times. The employees didn’t know what to make of it, and many were worried he was losing his mind, until, of course, the word spread that he was in love. That seemed to be the excuse they’d accept for anything, and I saw, Sam, that they actually began liking him because of it.”
“What do you mean? Why would they begin liking him? Didn’t they always like him?”
He shook his head.
“Most of our employees respected your father, but they all feared him. I would never have said they liked him, but I can say it now.”
“Even when Mother was alive?”
“Maybe in the early days, but my brother can be and was quite a stuffed shirt. He had to live up to that image of what he believed a Heaven-stone should be. He hardly ever smiled or made small talk with an employee. He quickly began to resemble some of the men in those portraits on the walls in there. I’m glad your mother resisted sitting for one of those portrait painters. Anyway, as you admit, you see a big difference in him now, too.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, then, I guess we should both count our blessings and be happy that Lucille Bennet’s come into his life, which means our lives, too, eh?”
“I guess, Uncle Perry.”
He tilted his head a bit and smiled. “You don’t sound as convinced as I am.”
“I am,” I said. “It’s a little harder for me because . . .”
He nodded. “Once you fully accept her, you feel you’ve betrayed the memory of your mother?”
“Exactly.” I smiled. I’d never deny that Cassie had been right about me. I was so easy to read I really should have a library card for my face.
“It’s Hamlet, only reversed,” Uncle Perry said. “Right at the start, we learn he felt that way about his father and about accepting his uncle as a replacement.”
“I know. I love that play.”
“Well, then,” Uncle Perry said, leaning toward me, “beware of ghosts, Sam.”
“Mother doesn’t haunt me like that, Uncle Perry. She would never be the one to take away any of Daddy’s happiness.”
He studied me a moment, and then, again leaning toward me, said, “But Cassie haunts you?”
I was shocked. I had debated with myself about telling him. How did he know? I was sure I hadn’t given him any reason to think so. Was she haunting him as well?
“I can’t help thinking about what she would think, Uncle Perry. She never hesitated t
o give me her opinion about anything.”
He waved it away. “Fight it, or don’t care, Sam. I don’t like speaking ill of the dead, but I never had trouble believing what you told us Cassie had done. Cassie was an evil child, no matter what your father thought. I even saw that when she was no more than four, saw how she clung to your father but not your mother. I could see how she recoiled when she touched her. Why, she wouldn’t even let her brush her hair.”
I didn’t speak. I had no doubt Cassie was listening. He saw how I gazed about the veranda, and he raised his eyebrows.
“You’re worried someone will overhear me? Don’t worry. I don’t say these things to your father. I’ll stop talking about her. I can see it makes you uncomfortable. All right.” He changed his tone and folded his hands on the table. “Let’s talk about you instead. Have you given any thought to working with me? You’ve got that fabulous new car now. You can drive yourself, make your own hours, and get as involved as you wish. What do you say?”
“What would I do, actually?”
“Lots of things, Semantha. We’re constantly evaluating the new clothing lines, and you know how much I rely on your opinion about that, especially for the teenage market, and then there is the advertising, dealing with the magazines, newspapers, television, and radio. We’re also working with an Internet firm to dress up our Web site and start linking to our products everywhere. There’s a lot for you to do. It’s important we keep the younger perspective on everything.”
“Okay, Uncle Perry. I’ll really think about it.”
“Maybe you can start after the wedding. They’ll be off on their honeymoon, and it will be pretty lonely and quiet around here.”
“Yes, that sounds like a possibility,” I told him.
