Читать книгу Bad Dad - Alice Shane - Страница 13

It wasn’t difficult for Margo to read the expression on Lester’s face as he emerged from the library after his conversation with Danny. It was all too apparent he was disappointed and angry. “Well. How did it go?” she inquired.

“How did it go?” he repeated. “ My long-lost son sounds like a Southern redneck which was a bit of a shock,” Lester said, obviously disgusted. “Otherwise, he’s fine. Says climbing power poles keeps him in good shape – the outdoor thing, you know. Talks a lot about little Charlie, how smart he is. Promised to send a picture of the kid. Says Mary Lou is a good mother and a great cook. Claims she has a high IQ. Amusing, don’t you think?”

He had joined her in the living room where she was curled up on a couch, a New Yorker in her lap, gazing out of the sliding glass doors at the water. How she loved this house, with its magnificent view of the ocean and surrounding sand dunes.

“Well, she can’t be too much of a dope – she was clever enough to snag a guy from a rich family,” Margo said. “She probably figured sooner or later she’d cash in. So what else did he have to say? You were on the phone with him for almost an hour.”

“We always had long talks on the telephone when he was away at boarding school and when I was traveling – we’d talk about the things fathers and sons like to discuss. He still likes to go hunting and fishing, he told me,” Lester said defensively.

“C’mon, Lester. I bet he asked you for money. Right?”

“Well, he did say things are tough – he only makes $15.00 an hour, and Mary Lou can’t do anything. Doesn’t work. Doesn’t have any skills. Stays home – a housefrau,” Lester said, his light blue eyes flickering oddly. “She got on the phone and did a lot of bragging about little Charlie and the A’s he gets in school. She sounds like a proud mamma, which is a good thing, I suppose, “ Lester said.

So they did want money. And they’re using the kid as a bargaining chip. It didn’t surprise her. But knowing that Lester would be agitated if she shared these cynical thoughts, Margo swallowed her words.

“Ok, I might as well tell you,” Lester said after a long pause. “Mary Lou got on the phone and asked for a loan. Wants $4500. Said Danny wasn’t expecting her to ask, but decided to take the bull by the horns. They need it for a down payment on a new pickup truck.”

“My! How cheeky! And your son says she’s got a high IQ? Well, I would say so!,” Margo said, unable to control her sarcasm. “She wants a loan? Shorthand for a handout. Let’s not forget she grew up on welfare – she’s conditioned to saying ‘gimme’ without a modicum of diplomacy or bothering to acquire job skills or an education.”

“Ok, ok. She’s a conniver. No doubt about that – she offered to sell her collection of Barbie Dolls to pay us back.” He snickered self-consciously, looking stupidly sheepish, Margo thought. He may have an MBA from Harvard, but Ms. Trailer Trash knows how to play him.

“She offered to sell her Barbie Doll collection? I don’t believe it! I bet you felt sorry for the poor thing and told her not to worry her empty little head about it. Right?”

”I didn’t say anything, just told her I’d discuss it with you,” Lester said, suddenly feeling tired, older.

“Danny told me how Gloria died. When they didn’t hear from her for a few days, they drove over to her house and found her in the bathroom – dead. She must have hit her head on the edge of the bathtub. The coroner said it was diabetic shock, with alcoholism thrown in. She never did take her shots on a regular basis. I always had to keep after her about it.”

“Well, you got your wish. She’s not around to torture you with lawsuits anymore,” Margo responded.

“That’s for sure,” he said, rising from the couch. His conversation with Danny after so many years was a relief and stressful at the same time.

Hearing that redneck drawl made him feel as if he were talking to a stranger, Lester reflected. He had invested so much of himself in this hapless son – from a financial as well as emotional perspective.

He nostalgically recalled his visits with Danny at Bridgefield Academy during football season, their campouts in Wyoming where he taught the boy how to shoot antelope and fish for trout. These memories suddenly made Lester feel eager to reconnect with him. Yet, Margo’s lack of support, was wearing him down. He wished she’d drop the sarcasm. Normally he enjoyed her smart-assed, edgy humor and sharp observations that cut through all the crap, but it was difficult for him to deal with her now.

He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “I think I’ll jump into the Jacuzzi for a while and watch TV he said. “Wanna join me?”

Margo was pleased with the invitation, suddenly grateful that he needed her. When was the last time they had sex? Five, six days ago? Maybe that’s why she was feeling irritable. She always maintained a mental record of their sexual activity – her idea of a spread sheet. But she needed more than sex now. She hoped he would hold her, reassure her that all would be well, that she had nothing to fear.