Chapter 6

_

They didn’t hear from Matthew until he called early the next morning. He and Sonny worked all night, but he sounded upbeat and enthusiastic. “We started the modifications on the bus but still had several hours of work to do” he said. “We won’t to be back until Wednesday evening sometime. I can’t wait for you all to see this thing. It looks great. This kid is really good with tools!” It was clear that Matthew was even more enamored with Sonny that before.

Annie wondered around the house those two days, knowing there was probably countless things she should be doing, but she had no idea where to begin.

Wednesday night, Matthew and Sonny appeared. Their clothes were greasy and smelly, but their father was grinning from ear to ear.

“It’s done!” he announced triumphantly. The bus is ready to go. Now, what did you get done while were gone?” he asked, noticing their blank faces. “You didn’t do anything? This is Wednesday! We have to get going!”

“But Daddy, we had no idea where to start – what to do!“ Annie retorted.
Matthew brushed past them. “Giles!” he roared. “Bring me a drink – a large one!”

Later, when the house was quiet, Annie went looking for Sonny. She found him in the library, reading one of the magazines he had brought Matthew. She paused at the doorway to study him for a moment. She had never known anyone like him before – his face was so intense, his features so dark and severe. She guessed him to be about Mack’s age, early twenties, but he had a presence of self-assurance and wariness beyond his years. As much as they mistrusted him, he probably mistrusted them more. He was looking at her then, so she turned away quickly, no match for those cold, penetrating eyes.

She sat the tray down and offered him some coffee. He nodded and took a cup, saying nothing. She felt the color rushing to her cheeks. Damn, she thought, biting her lip. Why do I let him intimidate me like this? She swallowed hard, determined to have a civil conversation with this man.

“Daddy’s right, I guess,” she started. “We didn’t get anything accomplished. But honestly, none of us have any idea where to begin. You know, like specifically what we should bring and how much or --” Her voice trailed off. She had meant that to be a question but somehow he always made it impossible to speak directly. “You mentioned household goods before. Like what do you mean? Pots and pans? Linens?”

He sat sipping his coffee, still looking at the magazine. “I have some ideas, but it’s going to take a lot to outfit a family with ten kids.”

She bristled a little, realizing he was placing her in that category. “Mr. Jackson, we can be organized. We’ve packed up this family for vacations many times. We just need a little direction to get started. You’re supposed to be the expert here.”

“Okay, sure, but I ain’t no miracle worker.”

“It’ll take a miracle, won’t it. My father doesn’t have the vaguest idea what he’s getting into. If it’s going to be so damned hard, why are you going along with it? Is this some kind of sick joke to you?” He said nothing, which exasperated her even more. “Has anyone ever told you that you are a rude, conceited, over-bearing sonofabitch!” And then she fled, but she wished she had stayed long enough to see if that last statement registered any kind of reaction on that smug face.




Every muscle in Matthew’s body ached. He had never worked that hard in his life. He needed a shower and some sleep, but he stopped at the nursery door on the way to his own room. The sight of his baby daughter sleeping in her crib was a welcome sight. He stood there watching her for several minutes. She was smiling in her sleep. Matthew wondered what happy dreams were inside that tiny head. He reached down and gathered her into his arms.

The baby cried out upon being disturbed, and Grace came running into the room. She stopped short when she saw Mathew. He noted her look of disapproval, but didn’t care. This was his child and he had the right to hold her if he wanted. As he sat down in the rocker, Grace turned to leave. “No, don’t go,” Matthew called after her. “If there’s something you want to say, just say it.”

She hesitated at the doorway, looking as though she wasn’t sure she should stay. Finally, she sat down in the other chair, rocking in quick, jerky movements. It was easy to see that the gentle old woman was angry.

“Grace, we’ve known each other for a long time – since Mack was a baby. I know you’re upset. That’s understandable, but --”

“What’s understandable?” Grace blurted, purple showing in her sagging, gray cheeks. “That you’re uprooting this family? Taking these children to God knows where.”

Matthew did not answer at first, weighing his words carefully. “Grace, I know this sounds crazy – maybe it is, but I have to do it.”

“For God’s sake, why? Of course, you’ve been upset since Mrs. Winston’s passing, God bless her soul, but is that any reason to make such a radical change? Surely, you don’t think that we’re – the household staff, I mean – that we’re going to come with you?“

“No, of course not --”

“Well, then what’s to become of us? Are you serving notice? And who would hire us? Some of us have worked under this roof for over twenty years.”

“Grace, I assure you that you can live here as long as you wish. We’re not moving out of this house – at least not right away. We have to see how things are.”

“But who’s going to take care of the children – that baby you have in your arms and little Joey. Who is going to look after them?”

“Annie? Me? We all will--”

“Oh, that preposterous! Mr. Winston, you are a very smart man – or at least I always thought you were. How are you going to pull this off with no plan? You have no idea what you‘re doing.”

“Grace, I don’t expect you to understand – I’m not sure I understand myself, but this is something I have to do. I can’t live in this house any more – not now, anyway. This was Kathleen’s house. Everywhere I turn, every step I take, she’s here.”

“Of course, she is. She filled it with so much joy and love. I should think that would give you comfort.”

“It’s eating me up alive, Grace. I feel like I can’t breathe. I have to do this, not just for me, but for all of us.”

“You think this is going to be good for your children? How is that possible? You’re taking them away from the only home they have ever known. That’s insane.”

“Yes, I am doing this for them. I never told anyone, but do you know what Kathleen’s last words were? She said our kids had everything, but they don’t know how to dream. I didn’t know what that meant then, but I think I do now. I look at the boys and I see a bunch of spoiled, pampered brats who have no idea what they want out of life. They’ve never had to work for a damned thing. Mack is a playboy, carousing all night. What is he doing with his life? Nothing.”

“But Mr. Winston, Kathleen loved her children. She always--”

“Look, I’m not saying she didn’t do a wonderful job. But now I’m on my own now. They are my responsibility. I have to do what I think is best.”

“I think you’re making a terrible mistake. This cannot be good for anyone.”

“You may be right, Grace.” He stood up then and handed the sleeping baby back to her nanny. “But there’s no way of knowing if we don’t at least try.” He left the room without waiting for a response. He had pleaded his case as best as he could. Maybe if he said it enough times, he might actually believe it himself.




The next morning Annie sat at the kitchen table, talking with Cook. The question Annie had put before her was simple. “What would I need to cook for this family? How many pots n’ pans? How much of everything?” Annie’s pencil stood poised, ready to make lists.

Matthew wondered in, nonchalantly pouring himself a cup of coffee, but then he noticed their faces. “What’s going on here?” he asked.

“You’re the one who says we have to get started packing, Daddy. I thought I’d get started on things for the kitchen,” Annie explained.

Cook’s round, horror-stricken face said things were not that simple at all. “Does she want to take things from this kitchen to that place-- that farm?” she asked, waving her stubby arms around her immaculate kitchen. This room had been her exclusive domain these past twenty-odd years.

“Now, now, Miss Daley, Annie doesn’t mean that all,” Matthew said, trying to diffuse the situation. “We plan to keep this house just as it is. I’m sure Annie just needs to know what kinds of things she’ll need to set up her own kitchen.”

“Excuse me, sir, but do you mean Miss Annie is going to be doin’ the cookin’ for you all? Well, bless my soul, chil’. I didn’t know you knew how to cook. Maybe we’d better go over some of my favorite recipes like--”

“No, no, that’s all right,” Annie said quickly, gathering up her things. She felt embarrassed and self-conscious. It did sound absurd to think she could cook for this family. “I just remembered I have an appointment,” she lied. “We can talk later.”

She rushed out of the room and almost ran into Sonny who was standing in the doorway. Oh great, she thought. He’s observed another little touching scene. She pushed past him, still determined to accomplish something. She went to the library and squatted down next to the coffee table and spread out her papers again. There were thirteen neatly labeled sheets, one for each member of the family, one labeled “Essentials i.e. Household items” and one for “Non-essentials.” They were each nicely titled but beyond that, they were empty.

“So, you like making lists, huh?” Sonny broke in, startling her.

“Yes, I do, for all the good it does me,” she muttered angrily, trying not to cry. “I had such high hopes for today. I was going to get so much done!” She wished he would leave so she could throw a tantrum in private.

“I know, that’s why I brought you this.” He threw a huge book on the table that said, “Sears and Roebuck, Winter ‘70.” She looked up at him and from this position he looked even more imposing and intimidating. “Open it. It’s got everything.” He sounded sincere, but Annie still gritted her teeth. She could not stand his cocky intrusions anymore. He moved to the chair across from her and flipped the catolog open. “You can go through and pick out stuff for everybody – clothes and boots, even coveralls.” He turned the pages quickly until he found pictures of men modeling heavy-looking , one piece striped outfits, obviously work clothes of some kind. “Guess they don’t sell these on Madison Avenue.”

He was being pleasant enough and Annie tried to be appreciative, but suddenly it struck her funny, She envisioned her father standing knee-deep in mud, wearing one of these things – or Andrew or Mack. Oh, God, that was even funnier. She snickered and then broke into a full-blown fit of laughter.

Sonny obviously did not see the humor, which made Annie laugh even harder. He closed the catalog with a resounding thump and started to leave.

“Hey!” she called after him “I was just imagining my dad or Mack wearing one of these things, and it just struck me funny, that’s all. I like this catalog idea. So, I make out the lists of what everyone needs. Then what?”

“Place the order and pay for it,” he answered, somewhat condescending, she thought. “There’s a Sears store on Staten Island. We can have the stuff delivered to the store in Iowa.” He started to leave again.

“What? You mean we pay before we get anything?”

“You can trust Sears and Roebuck. They’ve been around at least as long as Bloomingdale’s. I’ll handle this,” he said, picking up the sheets labeled, “Misc.- Essentials and Non”. He went into the foyer and reached for his coat.

“But what about you, or do you already have your ‘coverall’?”

He didn’t bother to answer. Once again he left without saying anything.





The rest of the day and evening, Annie wandered from room to room, checking sizes and making notes. She hated to admit it, but the catalog idea was great. It had everything in every size. Luckily, Mack was out all day. She dreaded explaining his new wardrobe to him. Better to let him be surprised.

Sonny appeared at their door again later that night. He swung the door open wide, calling, “Just put it all in here!” The Winston’s watched as their foyer became transformed into at an Army Surplus store with stacks of trunks and boxes of every description. “Remember, be back here Sunday morning – 8:00 AM sharp,” Sonny directed the two men as he dispensed a tip to each.

“Sonny, what’s all this?” Matthew asked, looking very pleased. “If we take all this, there won’t be any room left for passengers.”

“There’s thirteen trunks and large suitcases -- one for each of you. It should all fit in the rack we built on top of the bus. There’s a tarp here somewhere to cover it all.” He started moving through the piles. “I paid for all this with the money left over from the bus deal. Here’s the rest.” He dug into his pockets and took out some bills and change.

“No, Sonny,” Matthew said, smiling. “You keep it for whatever comes up.”

Sonny nodded and started to leave again, then turned to look directly at Annie. “You be ready at noon tomorrow.” She felt as though she should salute, but he was gone as quickly as he had come.

They stood there silently for a few minutes, surveying the mess. This was it – real, tangible evidence that this wasn’t a dream. It was really going to happen.




Annie reminded the boys as they went out the door for their last day of school not to tell anyone where they were going. “If anyone asks,” she said as they were walking out the door, “just say we’re leaving for a long vacation.”

A few minutes later, Mack came thundering down the stairs, looking as though he was going to explode. Annie gestured toward the dining room. There was going to be another scene.

“What the fuck did you do?” Mack screamed at his father.

“My, my,” Matthew responded, still looking at the morning paper. “We’re a little cranky this morning, aren’t we.”

“Yeah, you could say that. I get that way when I find myself twenty miles from home with no cash and my credit cards don’t work. How could you?”

“How could I what?”

“You know goddamn well what I’m talking about. And what about my car? Where in the hell is my car?”

“You lost your car?”

“Lost it? Hell no! I left it at the curb, and two hours later I come out to find it gone. My God, did you have it towed?”

“You’re forgetting something, son. Legally, that is my car.”

“The hell it is! You and Mother gave it to me for my 21st birthday.”

“True, but if you bothered to check, you would have seen that it’s titled and registered in my name. That nice policeman I talked to was very sympathetic when I reported it stolen.”

“Fuck! You can’t do that.”

“I already have. Your bank account and credit cards are frozen. Your car is gone. Welcome to the real world, Mack.”

“You’re trying to railroad me into this farm thing, aren’t you. Well, fuck that and fuck you. You can’t make me go.”

“Fine. Stay here, but you’ll need a job because I’m not giving you one cent.”

“I can do that – get a job, I mean.”

“How? You’ve never worked in your life. You have no skills, no experience.”

“I could work at your company, right?”

“No, because I wouldn’t hire you, and neither would anyone else.”

“So you think dragging me off to that farm is going to make a difference?”

Matthew put down his paper and folded it thoughtfully. Looking hard at his oldest son, he put his hands together, resting his elbows on the table. “Mack, I am getting real tired of your whining.”

“I’ll go back to school.“

“And do what? What are you going to major in – drinking and whoring?”

Matthew got up and walked around the table. “I realize that in many ways I have failed in my responsibility in teaching you how to be a man. Have you looked in a mirror lately? You’ll never get yourself together living like this.”

“But, Pop, I’m only drinking because--”

“Look. I’ll make you a deal. You stick it out until our first harvest – should be late October or early November. That goes for all of you,” he said, waving his arm to encompass all three of his eldest children. “If you’re still hell-bent to leave, then you can come back here with my blessing. You can go back to school or whatever, and I will continue to support you.”

He squared his shoulders and took a deep, hard breath. “None of you have ever wanted for anything. You’re adults now but you act like spoiled children.” He sighed deeply again. “If you decide you really don’t want to go with us, I guess that’s your right. But if you’re not there when we board that bus, I’ll see to it that you’re cut off without a dime, not even your grandfather’s trust fund. It’s time you learn about the real world, one way or another.”

Matthew turned and walked upstairs. Mack said nothing, drank some coffee, and then left the house again.

Chapter 7

_ _ _ _