Читать книгу Bad Dad - Alice Shane - Страница 11

Lester knocked on her office door and walked in without waiting for her response. He seemed almost elated as he settled into the stuffed rose velveteen chair next to her armoire. He removed his loafers, crossing one leg over the other, his facial features more relaxed. He was over 6 feet tall and husky, an overpowering presence in her elegantly appointed office with its hand carved, Italian-made mahogany bookcases and delicately patterned oriental carpet in soft shades of pink and blue.

“I spoke to Mary Lou. Sounds like a nice girl,” he said, avoiding her eyes, his face flushed. “Claims she wanted me to know about Gloria. Told me about the kid – says he does well in school – gets straight A’s.”

“Oh? What about Danny? Did you speak with him?” Margo asked, trying to sound casual, at the same time thinking that this sudden shift in Lester’s appraisal of Mary Lou was quite unbelievable.

“No. He’s working out of town but Mary Lou said he’d be calling here,” Lester reported, sounding a little too smug as far as Margo was concerned, as if he had become chummy with the girl.

“Oh, that’s nice” she said, not knowing what else to say, unable to see anything ‘nice’ about the situation.

“Well, let’s have dinner early. Mary Lou said he might be calling around 7:00 or so. I’ll want to have time to talk to him.” He looked away, embarrassed by his inability to conjure up a more diplomatic approach to this messy business. Margo was possessive and would be galled by all of this. But he wanted to talk to his son. Indeed. What was he asking of her? A change in dinner plans, that’s all.

Early dinner? They never ate before 7:00. This was just the beginning! She was now expected to alter her plans to accommodate this brood of ignorant rednecks! Well, she would go along with Lester’s request but he had better watch his step, she thought, without knowing what she could possibly do to protect her interests, except maybe consult a lawyer. She was certain about one thing: she had no intention of being usurped by anyone, certainly not his son and that bitch.

“Of course. We’ll have dinner at 6:00. How’s that?” Margo tried to soften the edge in her voice to appear accommodating. In reality, she was seething.

Lester sensed Margo’s resentment, but couldn’t make himself care. When was the last time he spoke with his son? Three, four years ago? Gloria was out of the way now. She could no longer drive a wedge between Danny and himself – an estrangement that intensified during a custody battle in which Gloria blamed their failed marriage on his frequent business trips to Wyoming and hunting expeditions to Africa.

The rupture in their relationship further deepened after Lester openly expressed his outrage over Danny’s fathering of little Charlie before they had gotten married.

“You threw away a chance to go to West Point or the Naval Academy,” he told Danny, exasperated that he had spurned these opportunities. For what? A fuck. That’s what it came down to, Lester concluded.

True, he sympathized with Danny’s predicament. He was lonely, needy of Mary Lou’s affection, a pawn in a crumbling marriage and a litigious divorce. Well, here was a chance for them to bury the hatchet, become a family again. He would make it up to Danny.

So what if Danny climbed power poles for a living, Lester now reasoned. At least he was taking care of his little family. And Mary Lou, well, she seemed pleasant enough. Had a cute Southern drawl. Ok, so she’s a manipulator, he mustn’t forget that. She shouldn’t have gotten pregnant at such a young age – she was only 16 or 17. he recalled. Wanted a lifetime meal ticket. But that’s how these poor little Southern girls were – not particularly industrious, couldn’t care less about getting an education. They’re not independent like the Northerners. But he was eager to see his grandson, Charlie. Nine years old now and he hadn’t seen the boy since he was a toddler. It was time.

As for Margo, he suddenly felt detached from her. He wondered how the return of the prodigal son would play out in their relationship. Was it fair to bring this brood into their lives four years after their marriage? After all, they had no prior discussions or agreements about how this type of situation might be handled. They would have to talk about it, he thought, uncomfortable with the probability that Margo, accustomed to being Number One in his life, would have to make adjustments. She wouldn’t like it, he knew.

Lester glanced at his watch. It was 5:30 pm. He could hear Margo in the kitchen. What was she preparing, he wondered? She wasn’t much of a cook. He surmised that she was defrosting something that Hilda, their housekeeper, had prepared earlier in the week.

He wondered what Danny would have to say for himself. Well, he would find out soon enough.