Moment of Clarity
A little missing scene from Blackthorn and Celandine.
“Peter!”
At the sound of his wife’s voice, he looked up from his newspaper. “Hmm?”
“Put that down and listen to me,” she urged. “This is important.”
Knowing a lost cause when he saw one, he obeyed. Also knowing what was good for him, he suppressed a sigh. Helen in this mood was not to be trifled with.
“What’s important?” he asked.
“I’ve just realised something.” She reached over and touched his hand. “It’s about your brother. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”
His brow creased. “What has Hal done, now? Is this about what Trixie was saying, that she got from Hallie, because I’m sure there’s no truth in that.”
She shook her head. “I meant Andrew.”
“What about him?”
She began to count out points on her fingers. “He wasn’t there when you called him twice, but he wasn’t away from home. When you finally got him, he was uncommunicative, and didn’t tell you what he’d been doing lately. According to Trixie, Diana has been in contact with him. And Eleanor Lynch looked at me yesterday as if I’d done something terrible.”
Peter considered these items of information for a few moments, then shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t see the connection.”
“Andrew must be seeing Diana,” Helen announced, surprising a laugh out of her husband.
“Oh, come on, Helen. That’s completely impossible. How could that possibly be right?”
“He’s only twelve years older than her,” she pointed out. “He hardly knew her before she moved there. She didn’t go on the trip to the Ozarks, remember? And he wasn’t home when the Bob-Whites visited Happy Valley.”
“But she’s his niece’s friend,” Peter argued.
“The niece who was born when he was a child himself,” she answered. “I’m sure that’s what’s going on. You’ll see.”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure I can believe that. It’s incredible.”
“You’ll see,” she repeated.
Peter only nodded. He knew better than to argue with his wife about something like this.
A few days later, Peter arrived home from work to find his wife looking pleased.
“I had a conversation with Eleanor Lynch today,” she remarked, after kissing him hello. “She’s furious with all of the Beldens.”
“You seem unaccountably happy about that.” He frowned. “Did she confirm your suspicions?”
Helen shook her head. “Not in so many words. She did admit that Diana still lived in Des Moine, and that she had no plans to come back east. But I knew that already from Trixie.”
“What have you done, Helen?”
Her blue eyes widened in an innocent expression. “Nothing.”
He held her gaze until she capitulated.
“Okay, so I called Mary Gorman when I knew Andrew would be out of the house.”
“You interrogated my brother’s employee?” he asked, feeling just a touch shocked.
She laughed. “No, of course not. I just had a little chat with her. And when I hinted that I knew about him and Diana, she confirmed it right away. They’re seeing each other, just like I said they were.”
Peter frowned. “You know, I don’t think I like this. Quite aside from the age gap, and her friendship with our kids. And completely separate from the fiasco concerning Mart.”
She touched his hand. “What do you mean?”
He sighed. “I’ve never been sure about Andy. There hasn’t really been anyone since that girl in his senior year.”
“No one that you knew about,” she corrected. “That isn’t the same.”
“Well, there hasn’t been anyone serious since then–”
“That you knew about,” she interrupted. “Face it, Peter. For a long time, Andrew would not have told you if there’d been someone else. And he hasn’t told you about this.”
She had a good point, so he let the matter go. “So, what are we supposed to do about this?”
“I’m not planning on doing anything.”
He frowned. “Do we tell Mart?”
Helen considered for a moment, then shook her head. “He’s moved on from Diana. He won’t be upset.”
“Then, what line do you intend to take?”
“To Andrew? I was thinking of being a supportive sister-in-law. To Diana? Exactly the same as I’ve always been. To Eleanor Lynch? I’m pretending not to notice that she’s angry.”
“I’m sure that last one goes down well,” he answered, dryly.
Helen’s face lit up with mischief. “I rather enjoyed it, actually.”
“Did Eleanor?”
His wife shivered a little. “I don’t understand the point of having children, but then trying to stop them from growing up and being themselves. And I’m sure that if you try to keep them too close, you end up pushing them away.”
Peter nodded, but he was thinking about something else. “That poor girl’s been through enough already. That other boyfriend she had broke her heart, too, didn’t he?”
“Maybe she just needs someone more responsible,” Helen mused. “Someone who’s had time to grow up.”
Peter snorted. “Mart certainly hadn’t, at the time they were going to marry.”
“I agree that was too soon.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure he’s steady enough for her, even now.”
“Well, if it’s steady she’s after, maybe Andy is a good choice.” He frowned. “But I can’t see it lasting. They’re just too different.”
“Are they?” she asked. “Or is it that you just don’t see them well enough to know. You’ve hardly spent any time with your brother. And Diana’s always been the quietest of Trixie’s friends.”
He made a noise which might have been agreement, or might not.
“Anyway, I was right,” she concluded. “He’s been seeing her for several weeks, now, and Mary Gorman is convinced that they’re both very interested in each other. She has high hopes.”
“For what?” he asked, faintly. “You don’t mean…”
She smiled up at him. “Don’t think that far ahead, Peter,” she advised. “Just take one step at a time.”
He shuddered. “I’m not fully convinced that this isn’t all some kind of nightmare. I have no intention of indulging any kind of thoughts on the topic.”
“If that’s the way you want to approach this, who am I to object?” Helen asked, her eyes laughing. “But when you’ve had a chance to get used to the idea, we’ll see how this pans out.”
“I suppose so,” he answered. “And what if I don’t get used to the idea?”
This time, Helen laughed aloud. “Oh, it will happen whether you approve of it or not.”
“We’ll see about that,” he replied.
Helen leaned in and kissed him. “Dear Peter,” she murmured. “I love you, even when you’re being obtuse.”
He just shrugged and kissed her back.
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