mynewplace

Chapter 7

Mike Reeves was excited. Finally! He was on his way to Surrey with his children in tow and his outlook had never been so bright. It was a relief that Randy had agreed to come along, "just for a few weeks" to help them settle in. Mike knew that without him, Violet would be mopey and harder to distract. As long as he could keep her distracted, he wouldn’t have to worry about his guilt; the guilt over his relief at being free to remarry, his guilt over plotting this long before it was ever made possible, his simple guilt over surviving his spouse.

Pulling his daughter up from her roots, removing her from all that was familiar, taking away the female family influences she needed at this age and replacing them with a woman whom she didn’t know, and who didn’t know her, none of this even crossed his mind. But Violet felt this more than anything. She sat, looking out the window, with her headphones tuned to the airline's pop music channel. She could see the ocean below, and occasionally a tanker or ocean liner, some sort of ship that looked smaller than any toy. "England is so different from West Virginia. The food, the music, the . . . , just everything! OH, the schools! God I hope they’re not anything like those stupid movies and Pink Floyd videos. At least Daddy’s letting Randy go home for school, instead of sending him off to some boarding joint. Lucky dog. Well, I don’t think I’d want to be in the U.S. with Daddy here, anyway. And I know Daddy won’t be sending ME off to some boarding school. . . "

Chapter 8

The view from their hotel room looked right down into the heart of London. Vi was thrilled with the sights, all the beautiful architecture and sculpture and history on every street corner. It was so beautiful, moreso than even the biggest city she’d been to in the U.S. She’d always loved history, especially British history, although her love was somewhat colored by images of Shirley Temple in an orphanage, and scenes from Masterpiece Theater. Her dad and Randy took her to Westminster Abbey, they saw the changing of the guard, and Mike even searched about a bit, to see if he could get her a glimpse of Princess Diana and Prince William. She had always adored the Princess, and was ecstatic at the idea of actually seeing her in the flesh. Vi insisted on purchasing flowers, "just in case" she got close enough to hand them to her, although her father assured her that they would be lucky to be able to see her at all, from the distance they would likely have to stand.

On the morning of the day that Diana was set to walk to the Children’s Hospital with William and Harry in tow, Violet awoke before the sun was up. It was going to be a beautiful day, she decided, and the weather had better cooperate! She walked into the small sitting room/kitchenette and grabbed a bite of toast, then turned on the t.v. "The ‘telly’", she reminded herself. She was determined to learn as many of the differences in the language as she could, to make it easier to understand everyone around her. There was nothing on but news, really, and most of the newscasters spoke so quickly that she could barely keep up. But she did spot a picture of Diana, and stopped to hear what the newscaster was saying.

"Princess Diana will be visiting the AIDS wing of Children’s Hospital today at noon. The young Princes William and Harry are expected to accompany Her Highness. Crowds are already lining up along both sides of the street in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Royals." As Violet changed the channel again, she wondered wht the rest of the Royal Family thought about the boys tagging along. "I suppose there is the odd chance they could catch something, but its not very likely. We’re going to have to leave soon if we expect to get a spot where we can see at all."

She wondered also when her father was going to tell her that Elaine had moved back to Surrey and would be working with him. No one had mentioned anything, certainly not within her hearing, but she knew, she just KNEW that was why they were there. As surely as she knew her own name. She figured her father would marry Elaine within a year’s time. She supposed she liked her well enough, but there was something that just sat wrong with her, a knot in her stomach whenever she thought about Elaine that couldn’t be explained away. "Well, eventually, it will come to light, and I’ll have to wait til then to deal with it."

Randy was moving around in his room, getting ready for his shower. "He’ll be going home day after tomorrow, I’d better tell him before he leaves about Elaine. Dad won’t say til the last possible minute, and I’ll bet he’s not planning to mention it to Randy at all. I don’t think Randy will be too happy about it, either. He doesn’t seem to mind her so much, but its like we’re being lead around blindfolded, and there’s no nice surprise at the end."

Chapter 9

The following night, she curled up on the foot of Randy’s bed while he shut the door. "What’s on your mind, squirt?" He stroked her head as he walked by, then sat down on the other side.

"I thought you ought to know something before you went home, . . .Elaine is here. In Surrey, I mean. Dad has been real close-mouthed about where we’re actually going to live, and I know he says the company has rented a house for us, but Elaine’s there. And I’m pretty sure that the house that’s rented is the one she’s living in. I think we’re going to move in with her."

Randy looked doubtful, and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. It seemed like he wasn’t going to say anything, but Vi could sense the wheels turning. "Why are you telling me this? Have you been listening in on the phone or something? How do you know? This isn’t just one of those hunches you have, is it?"

Violet sighed and rolled her eyes. She laid down on the bed with a flop. "Yes, it’s a hunch, if you want to call it that. But it’s NOT! I know it. I'm telling you, I know!" The doubtful look didn’t leave Randy’s face, and she continued. "If you really don’t believe me, let’s ask Dad. Even if he denies it, I’ll be able to call you once we move and tell you that I was right. And he won’t be able to deny it then, if we’re living right in her house. I was hoping we could talk about this, just me and you. But let’s get Dad in here." ‘DADDY!"

Mike opened the door, and saw Randy, eyes still squinting, as if trying to see something behind him that wasn’t there. "What’s up kids?" The apprehension wasn’t present in his voice so much as on his face.

Violet closed her eyes. "Ask him, Randy." And she waited.

Randy looked at his father, and decided that no matter what his answer, it really didn’t matter. He was leaving in the morning. "Dad, this house in Surrey that the company has rented. Who else is going to be living there? Is Elaine there now?"

Mike sat down hard in the chair by the bed. "What brought this up?"

Violet said "Daddy, I know its true. If she’s not there now, she’s going to move in at the same time we do. She will be living there with us, won’t she? Just say it, Dad. Let’s get it over with."

As Mike looked at her, bare feet swinging over the bed, he shook his head. He’d never understand this child, and he didn’t think it was just because she was female.

"Okay, yes. Elaine is living there now. She’s got a room all set up for you, I really think you’re going to love it, and we will all be living there together. Now, is that what you wanted to hear?" He was beginning to feel put upon, as if he’d been forced to show his hand.

"Dad, it’s not so much what we wanted or didn’t want. I just expected you to be more up front with us." Randy shook his head. "There’s no way to keep this kind of thing a secret, and no point in it, either. It’s hardly fair to just surprise Violet with another woman in the house when she arrives. She deserved to know up front, even more than I did. After all, I’m not going to be living there. Vi is."

"Daddy, just tell me if there are any more surprises. Any more secrets. Do you have any idea when you’re getting married?"

Mike’s face turned a shade of red she hadn’t seen since she’d put his favorite ink pen in the washing machine.

He sputtered a bit, and replied "No, I really don’t have any idea. You’ll have to ask Elaine." Well, she was making plans, after all. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to hide that from Vi any more. He got up to leave the room. "Look, Princess, I wasn’t sure you’d be able to handle all the information at once, so I decided to parcel it out. I’m not going to promise never to do that again, you’re only eleven. There may be times when I feel its still appropriate." Vi sat up, and put her arm around his leg. "But I’ll do my best to be totally honest with you as much as possible."

She squeezed him. "I know you will, Daddy."