A natural progression of events occurred when Danny returned to Wilshire in late September, on the 26th. First, he arrived two days before Tara’s 20th birthday, which fell on a Friday. With a belated late July birthday and the Naval homecoming to go with it, everyone gathered at his parent’s house to celebrate. Tara delighted to see the balloons and streamers as they entered inside the living room. The children seemed fascinated by the colorful floating items. Helen made a fancy cake while Marta prepared a splendid meal. Michael and Sammy bought too much wine. Everyone pitched in to buy the couple presents for their home and for each other. For all to be together for such a fun occasion seemed overdue.
The whole time, Danny’s siblings took notice of how the couple looked upon each other. Tara snuggled close to her husband on the couch, grasping his arm, staring up at Danny’s features as if in la-la land. He caressed her face, squeezed her fingers tight. Occasionally, they kissed.
“Well, it’s about time,” Sammy said by the punch bowl, while observing them lock lips again. His brother didn’t agree.
“I suppose,” Michael muttered, frowning, forcing tiny wrinkled lines to surface on his forehead. Sammy looked up and stared at Michael in the eyes. His lips thin in a determined grimace.
“It better remain that way. No more interference!” Sammy walked away to stand by the hearth, leaving Michael to feel admonished.
Beside him, Helen beamed at the happy couple. Her heart soared that her one daughter-in-law basked in giddy happiness. In several ways, it seemed reminiscent of the time when she made up with George, after her affair. With strong love and conviction, the couple would see things through from now on.
“It’s so good to be home. I missed these little ones!” Danny said as they all conversed after eating too much cake. The icing, sweet and tasty, produced a sugar high for everyone. The children became restless. Vincent fussed over a toy with Jamie. Matt pulled the pillows off the sofa. Tyler tugged on Tara’s leg. Edward…well…was just being Edward, temperamental and scowling at Tristan as they sat playing blocks nearby. Eric came to hug on Danny’s knee to get his attention too. All of a sudden, tired of redirecting their cooped up energy, he offered Eric something silly to burn off steam.
“How about a pony ride?”
He dropped onto the middle of the spacious floor so Eric could climb on. The boy grabbed hold of his neck and Danny grasped his body too. Then upon his knees, he scooted across the floor, moving his back and shoulders in a ziz-zag fashion, making the boy squeal in delight. Everyone watched for a moment or two.
“Hmmf!” George sputtered and then placed his pipe onto the mantel. He dropped down so Tyler could cling to his back. Everyone opened up their mouths wide. They couldn’t believe it!
“Hey, I want in!” Sammy yelped, seeing that his stern father actually smiled. He dropped down to join them. The children clapped with delight to ride their backs. Helen placed a hand over her mouth, trying hard to contain her glee. Grams leaned forward in the chair; eyeglasses perched upon the edge of her nose. She stared down at George, “I’d never imagine he would try!” The old woman laughed. The others helped guide the children on and off safely. At one point, Susan removed Tristan and handed him off to Gloria. Sammy waited for another child and Susan’s eyes glowed with an idea.
“Sammy, I want a turn!” she cried out. The younger woman plopped herself on and unmercifully swatted him upon the back side. He stared up in disbelief.
“Don’t hit me! Get off, you minx! You’re heavy!”
Sammy rose to his knees to throw her off balance. Susan, agile and stubborn, wrestled to stay on. Long legs in blue jeans wrapped around his waist tight. Her arms firmly locked about his head. She refused to be thrown off
“Ow! I can’t see! Stop it, Susan! Stop! We are not kids anymore! For God’s sake-Mother, help me!” Sammy complained.
“Oh, my!” Danny gasped, collapsing against the couch. Tears of laughter rolled down his face as he watched the onslaught. He felt so glad to be not the one she picked upon. The children delighted to see their aunt swat Sammy’s behind every few moments. The sharp slap held their merry attention. Susan, caught up in the gleeful melee, smiled brightly. A child again, this only brought her joy as she could recall those carefree days of her youth when she and Sammy use to pillow fight or wrestle in the yard. They always had their noses in the corner for getting out of line.
“Now, you’re going to get it!” she cried out. Unmercifully, as he collapsed down onto the rug, her fingers ambushed all sides. Sammy’s voice rose high in a soprano octave as he gasped for air, “Oh, stop! You win! I give!” She knew the right places. Sammy, now doomed, fell flat upon the rug, his face all red, weakened in snickering anguish.
“Ah, you are such a wimp!” Susan cried out, arms high in the air like a victorious boxer. She was happy to bring down such a strong brother and jumped off his back, looking about the room. All laughed too hard and gasped for air. For once, she delighted in the fact that Tara and Danny brought about this happy occasion. She loved the children being there. It felt like old times, before all her siblings grew up and became wrapped up in their lives.
Tom sat next to Tara on the couch and his cheeks were red from giggling. With dark flashing eyes and a sharp dimple showing, he looked much like his father. Susan could not contain herself and scooped the boy upon her lap as she fell onto the couch. Without a thought, she hugged him tight, such love showering upon him like rain. If only Ross could be there. Susan prayed. How nice if he could gain favoritism again with the family. Somehow, this must happen.
Before Danny left that afternoon, his grandmother cornered him by the punchbowl for a private conversation. She had returned from Cornwall that summer, when Tara was away saving her marriage.
“It makes me happy that you forgave her,” She told Danny, “Time is so precious. My brother is not doing so well. He may pass by the end of the year. Of course, at my age, I worry too.”
Death was not easy to speak of, but Danny was glad she shared her fears with him. He patted her hand and kissed her brow.
“We love you, Grams. You’ll be around longer.” he said, but did fear that she would soon succumb to old age. Danny couldn’t bare this thought and planned to drop by often just to visit with her alone. He cherished her advice and love.
She looked over at Tara who was busy wiping Matt’s hands. He made a beeline for the cake and decided that since it was almost gone, it would be fine to sample the sugary petals made from icing. There was blue and pink icing all over his hands and across his mouth. She smiled to watch them and noticed that Danny had a smile as wide as the sky as he looked at her.
“You seem so happy Danny. Your eyes are glowing,”
“Yes. It is good to be home, Grams. Things are so splendid, that I believe I may burst with glee sometimes. Everything is as it should be.”
“It’s your lovely wife, isn’t it?” she observed. He nodded with heart full of emotion.
“She’s totally different, so very attentive and loving. It’s hard to decipher how this change came about, but ah, Grams! It’s complete magic. We are in another dimension, another world, where I am king. I want to jump out of my skin! I want to shout!”
She placed her hand upon his shoulder.
“Treat her well, Danny, with respect and patience, and that love will only blossom. Treat everyone in your household accordingly. You are a king, at the Briggs House. It’s already fully blessed.”
During the rest of that weekend, the Cross siblings visited, talked and caught up about everything happening in their adult lives. Sammy shared his usual stories about women and the Navy while Gloria spoke about her photography studio. Gloria bragged about the celebrities she was meeting in certain circles at fashion shows and Michael announced tidbits about the new play he was producing with a co-partner in London. Yet, it seemed inevitable to go about their separate ways that Sunday afternoon. The decorations were put away and the staff busied themselves tidying up the Grand Manor.
Haskell made sure that the servants did a spit spot job. He escorted a servant to the china hutch in the dining area.
“Remove this setting out of the cabinet. It wasn’t shined correctly. I’ll show you how it’s done, so you can redo them,” he reprimanded a new servant. She didn’t clean the silverware used that weekend to his satisfaction.
“Yes, sir,” she said, noting that he didn’t sound angry. She went to get it out of the cabinet and turned around to face him again. He wiped his brow and loosened his tie. Then he clutched his heart, “Are you all right Haskell? You look green!” she panicked.
“I don’t know,” he sputtered and slumped into the nearest chair. His eyes grew wide and then he bowed his head with eyes shut tight.
“Oh, my! I think he’s dead! Mr. Cross! Mr. Cross! Come quick!” she called out as she slammed shut the cabinet doors.
The police, summoned right away, deemed that he died of natural causes and so nothing further became warranted from them. Haskell’s living sisters in Lincolnshire were notified and the local mortuary service took his body away.
A week went by and the family attended his funeral, which everyone thought the service seemed quite stately for such a noble man. However, by then, the servants in the manor became ruffled. “Who’s going to divvy out our assignments?” They asked, “Who gives our orders?” Marta brought this to Danny’s attention one day after the service.
“Someone needs to take over, just so no one thinks they can boss another,” She said, “I know it will be difficult to do as Haskell was liked by everyone.”
“Yes, he was quite a good man and he gave my family long years of distinguished service,” Danny remarked, sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea. A smile surfaced on his face and he gazed into Marta’s warm eyes, “There were many times when Sammy and I played practical jokes on the man while we grew up. Sammy was always inclined to be more mischievous, but I was stupid just to follow along.”
Danny leaned on his elbow and Marta joined him at the table to listen. His eyes twinkled to remember everything.
“One time we filled his shoes up with ink. He had black toes for weeks, but he never sold us out to our parents. When we were teenagers, he took us out in the field to learn how to drive a stick shift, and then he let us loose on the road. Sammy almost crashed into a tree because he drove too fast. The whole time, Haskell just held onto his hat and never complained. I will sure miss him, but hope he rests in heaven now. He deserves wings for such patience with us. I learned a lot from that man. I’ll run over to speak to father about the matter.”
He made the trek to the Grand Manor and found his father in his study, on the phone with some investor in London. When he hung up, Danny brought up the subject of finding a replacement, but George frowned and reached for his pipe. His mind, occupied by incidental meetings in London and the occasional invitations to political and society parties in the county, didn’t want to fool with it.
“I can’t be bothered with such nonsense right now. Your mother doesn’t have time either. She’s accepted membership for far too many committees this year. I don’t know what she was thinking,” He complained to Danny, which made his son sigh. Sammy, still on leave, ambled into the room and perched himself on a chair. His eyes rolled to hear his father complain. Danny understood. They both knew that their parents were too involved in their social hobnobbing. Danny had time on his hands. Lots of it.
“Ok, fine. Let me see what I can figure out,” he told his father. Sammy showed him a plastic bag of sliced apples and nodded his head towards the door.
“Let’s take a walk,” he offered and so Danny joined him. They headed towards the stable and Sammy sighed, “So, what do you think?”
“It looks like I should just take care of things myself.”
“You mean manage your place and theirs?”
“Why not? I have time. Lots of it, so it shouldn’t be too difficult. Besides the staff knows me as well as they do father.”
“They’ll probably complain less,” Sammy laughed. The cool air nipped at his ear and his scalp since his blond hair was cut very short, “It’s good that you are home full time. You seem relaxed, happier.”
“I am happy, more so than I have ever been in my entire life,” Danny grinned and offered his brother a pat on the back. There was a spring to his step, in spite of their father’s gruff mannerism. Sammy couldn’t resist asking a personal question, not that he had an easing opening to discuss it.
“Well I always tell you everything about my escapades and fiascos involving women,” he began with a mischievous twinkle to his eye, “I leave nothing hidden about what’s said or what we do, so tell me the truth. How are things with Tara? It seemed that you could barely keep your hands off each other at the party.”
Yes, now the tables were turned and Danny had something to gloat about, which seemed like a miracle.
“Ahh, it’s incredible, really, to have such a tempting, hot, naughty wife! It’s like some crazy windfall.”
“That’s great, but how so?” Sammy encouraged, his curiosity up. He egged his brother on, “Come on and spill the beans. I always tell all the details. Spare me none.”
Sammy jabbed at Danny’s side, all in brotherly interaction. They grew up so incredibly close and Sammy always had the better outcome with women. Yet, the ones recently were one time flings. There was nothing substantial about the relationships. For once, Danny possessed something very real and strong. It wasn’t difficult to see that Tara looked upon her husband with desire and adoration. Those brown eyes were sexy on one so young. Even for how he admonished Michael to back off, Sammy felt quite envious of their marriage as he watched the couple interact. With all the physical changes she made in the last five months, Tara seemed beautiful and tempting. So what was it like to be with such a hot woman?
“Well, let’s just say that she becomes this spirited, willful persona, just as soon as we put the children down to bed,” Danny bragged as he followed beside Sammy. His cheeks were visibly red and there was a crazy smile upon his face. Even his voice sounded bewildered, “She comes onto me like clockwork behind closed doors. I don’t have to start anything. She takes the lead. What sane man would question that kind of energy? Still, I find myself amazed after all we have endured. If you had told me we’d be this way three months ago, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Danny shook his head and leaned upon a rail as they approached a stall. Sammy offered the horse behind it bits of apple that he brought along. There was no one around as the foreman was busy in another pasture. They were free to converse openly. Danny’s eyes were beaming.
“With the servants around by day, it’s difficult to find a moment alone, but she finagles it. We’d be in the kitchen one minute, and then the next, Tara’s grabbed me by both hands to run to the basement. She stands at the door, ensuring that its lock. She has that look in her eye, the one that sends me to the moon. Then she comes down the steps just to throw me against the machine and get her way. It’s so crazy!”
“Ahh … the quickies!” Sammy said, enlightened with the scenario, “You have turned into teenagers at forbidden play!”
“No, perhaps rabbits!” Danny laughed, “I can’t tell you how this blows my mind! So, I plan to rearrange the staff’s schedule so we can get moments to ourselves more often. It would be embarrassing if one stumbled upon us in a compromising position. Not all the rooms are possessed with locks!”
Sammy never laughed so hard. His brother’s wit was getting better. Danny’s face turned a deeper shade of red, but he laughed along too. Happy that for once he could boast about his woman and their terrific passion! He did think that the nights were the best times since he came home. As he lay on their bed, staring out the window, holding Tara so tight while she slept, it seemed that the stars finally smiled down upon them. Even the moon bore witness to their love, too. So later, as he returned back to his household, he knew he had to speak to his staff about their new schedule.
Since returning home, Danny respected everyone’s place in the scheme of things. The servants in his house were very pleased that he depended on their advice and insight about the children. Especially Marta. The older woman was happy he was home too. She coddled to his every request and cooked tasty meals and baked fresh bread. She knew he loved the scent of it in the house. Danny always wanted a sample as soon as it was pulled from the oven. Even Tara easily allowed decisions to flow without much interruption. Like a commander on a ship, Danny first evaluated how everyone functioned.
All the children slept through the night, even Tom. It didn’t seem necessary for twenty four hour help to continue. First, the couple was capable of rising if one child cried out for some reason. Second, this allowed privacy. And Danny wanted that privacy with his wife. When he entered the house, he requested that the servants gather in the kitchen. Caroline and Lila sat at the table and gazed upon him with wide eyes, not knowing what to expect. Marta stood by stove so she could stir the pot every few minutes. Danny spoke to her first, going over his plan a bit
“I think its best for you and Lila to continue your role as before, serving meals and keeping up with the house. The children are use to your attention,” he said as they stood near him in the kitchen, “You can come around ten and go home at supper. I think we can manage the children’s breakfast time. Caroline can come by if needed for a special occasion.”
He turned to look at the women at the table and pulled out his wallet to give them a supplemental bonus. The women smiled in delight.
“Caroline, you can return to the manor to your regular duties, now. Over all, you all have done a splendid job while I was away. My great appreciation can never be expressed adequately, but this is a slight reward of our affection. It’s just that these changes are inevitable. Tara and I should take over as we are the children’s parents. It’s only right as they grow that they turn to us more.”
“It will be nice to see my family in the evenings,” Lila smiled, her green eyes twinkling. She did think it was a good time to make the changes. The children needed a firmer hand to direct their full energy, “Thank you sir. It sounds really good.”
Caroline picked up her scarf to place around her brown hair. She walked towards the front door.
“Thanks for understanding about those phone calls,” she told Danny before exiting, thinking about the time she was forced to tell him lies, “I didn’t have a choice then.”
“Yes, I realize now. Tara put you into an awkward position, but it’s in the past. I hold no grudges,” Danny said and Caroline smiled. She went down the lane to return to the manor.
“It will be a little different, sir,” Marta said and went back to her cutting board to sliced up a few lemons for lemonade and tossed them into a pitcher. She added sugar and water, “However, the children need a fulltime father. How happy this makes your wife too. The woman is beaming!”
“She isn’t the only one,” Danny smiled, with his hands upon his hips, as he looked around the rooms. Marta placed the lemonade pitcher into the refrigerator and took out the ingredients to make fresh bread for their evening supper. She turned on a nearby radio and hummed along with the song. Lila walked about the living room, fluffing up the pillows and placing some of the toys into a nearby playpen. Two loads of laundry lay inside a large basket next to the basement door. There were two loads already downstairs. Lila planned to take care of these next. It seemed like both women would be occupied for a little while.
He could hear Tara’s voice drift out from one of the children’s room as she read out nursery rhymes. The children were settled down for an afternoon nap. Perhaps they could get in a nap of their own too. The thought seemed tempting. Any chance to lie next to her made his heart beat faster. And so Danny ran upstairs to tell his wife about his sudden idea. For once, he wanted to evoke a reaction. He knew what would happen once they locked the bedroom door.
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