No choice

 

After the police brought Sety home – again …

…and AJ hit the Downey house again, this time with a flaming bag…

…Andy and I sat at the kitchen table and prepared ‘the talk.’ We were eating the PB & J sandwiches Toya had prepared, when the subject of AJ and Sety came up. 

We can sit there for hours and say absolutely nothing to each other … and sometimes, we can say absolutely everything to each other. 

“Andy, we have to do something,” I began, trying to get a crumb of bread unstuck between my teeth. 

Andy still didn’t say anything.  But this time, he didn’t have to.  The expression on his face told the whole story. 

The other night, when Sety came home in a cop car, he and Sety got into a shouting match so serious that the Brookses, the neighbors to my left, called the police.  They left after a few minutes, and assigned us to a social worker, but the visit still stung me. 

And he and AJ are barely speaking. 

This is the reaction we usually get when we try to talk to him. 

The policeman tried to talk to him, he laughed in the guy’s face. 

We kept telling AJ that he needs a serious attitude adjustment.  And Andy and I agreed that Fort Starch Academy was the place that was going to give it to him.

So, Andy and I put in a call to Lt. Barksdale at Fort Starch Military Academy and set the wheels in motion to enroll our wayward sons there.  It’s the most difficult phone call we’ve ever had to make. 

Aftermath part 2

So there I was, on my way to Summer Hill Court to see what the heck my father wants.  I hate to say it, but I’m still at his beck and call.  Even now. 

I got to the mansion at a quarter to five, even though I had to go to work in fifteen minutes.  I knew I was going to run late, but meh. 

Walking on the marble walkway and through the manicured gardens, I was assured that at least the exterior of the house was being kept up.

I was stood in the entrance foyer wondering what the heck my father could possibly want. 

When I walked into the kitchen, I saw my father and my brother making faces, as if something had died. 

I greeted my father’s butler, Jeremey Chapman, and then lambasted him for not keeping the kitchen clean.  “My father pays you good money just to look cute, right, is that it?” I asked him.  “This place is a mess.”

Sure enough, my dad and my brother had been feasting on pies and hamburgers, and Jeremey had been catering to their every whim.  “At least attempt to make sure they get a balanced diet,” I demanded. 

Finally my dad emerged near the fish tank.  “Hey, princess.”

After all this time my dad’s voice still makes me melt.  Doesn’t make everything he’s done go away, or the anger that I still have at him for breaking up our family the way he has, but he is my father, the only one I’m going to get.  I don’t know how much time he has left, but I have to savor every precious moment I get – which is why I postponed going to work to see him. 

I had never seen my father like this.  He was visibly shaking.  You have to know that my father is not an emotional man.  It’s a Plumb quality.  They never raise their voices for anything.  My Aunt Margaret had that, too. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s your mother.”

“Wha – What’s wrong?  Where is she?”  I had looked around the house and didn’t see her.  I assumed she was out running errands in town,

“I’m on my way to the hospital.  She’s in pretty bad shape.”

“Wha – what happened?”

“She was downtown at the bookstore signing copies of her biography and she collapsed.”

We didn’t say anything more.  Dad and I drove to the hospital.  Bassy arrived later, after he changed out of his clothes. 

Aftermath

 

 

It was the aftermath of the boys’ massive party, the biggest party ever thrown by teenagers in Sunset Valley.  Seeing my sons’ faces on the covers of gossip rags was bad enough, and then to flip through them to see pictures of them puking their guts out… well, it was enough to make my skin curl. 

Andy, bless him, TRIED to reason with AJ.  But no amount of reason can get through his noggin.  He’s as stubborn as can be.  “You know, AJ, your mother and I love you very much, which is why we’re deeply disturbed by your behavior.  Your teachers all say you’re smart but you don’t apply yourself.”
AJ rolled his eyes.  ”Whatever, dad.”      

“Son, you and your brother have a court date coming up soon.  A court date!  You do realize you’re one slip-up away from military school.”

“Why should I listen to you anyways, dad?”

Meanwhile, Sage was in the backyard looking for bugs for her science project.  She needed 4 different kinds of beetles.  So far she and Andy have found three, the water beetle has proven the most elusive. 

Meanwhile, Satis is spending a lot of time at the school where she is writing her gossip column.  And as usual, the budding reporter is being reported on, by the paparazzi. 

Then I got a call.  It was from my father.  I wonder what HE wants.  I love him to death -- but he expects me to drop everything just to see him.

The show must go on … Part 2

 

“The morning after Erin told me she was pregnant, um, my half-sister Maggie came to my mom’s place.  And she wasn’t happy with me.  Who could blame her?   What she was upset about, though, um, were rumors that Holly Alto was pregnant with my baby. ‘Holly’s MY age,’ Maggie had said matter-of-factly.  She spoke in a monotone, never raised her voice ever.  Much like my father. 

That was all she would actually say to me on the matter.  My sister was a woman of very few words.  What words she did have were poured into her books, twenty-six of them in all.”

Ms. Howe interrupted again.  “So your sister became a successful novelist.”

“Very.  Very successful.”

“But it came at a price.”

My father sighed again.

So I went back to my mother’s place and I devoted myself to my music and my painting while waiting for the babies to be born. 

I remember vividly the night Holly and I brought Noah from the hospital.  I remember standing in the garden and in the foyer and wondering, ‘what the heck have I done?’

‘What the heck have I gotten myself into?’

So I picked up Noah and I held him for a few seconds.  And I was bawling like a baby.  I think I did more crying than he did.

The day after Noah was born, Erin told me that Nicholas had been born the same night.  And we had an argument … I don’t even recall what was said … but at any rate, Erin and I broke up.” 

-- to be continued --

Growing Pains

 

Remember I told you guys there was this huge downtown revitalization project going on now? 

This is Mirabello Road.  You can see the new grocery store and the new school.  The theater hadn’t yet been built when this pic was taken.

Another shot of downtown with the new theater.  The new park is in the middle.  Clockwise, you can see the new school, the new laundromat where the police station was, and the new bookstore. 

Closer-in view of the new park. 

Nighttime view.  Clockwise, the new Mirabello Plaza, with the new grocery store, theater and bookstore; the new school; the gym (they haven’t decided on that yet), the consignment store, the new library, the new café. 

Ok that’s what downtown looks like now.  I’m not real happy about all these changes and all our landmarks being gone but I’m not at City Hall making these decisions. 

Speaking of growing pains, Andy and I (well mostly Andy) have taken on the herculean task of potty-training Sierra.  Truthfully doing anything with Sierra these days is a big fat chore.  She cries all the time and the boys have her completely spoiled rotten. 

Speaking of the boys… I have to tell you what my sons did THIS time.

 

It all started when Andy and I were invited to a couples’ retreat.  On the day we decided to go, we got a call saying the rooms were going quickly.  I didn’t really want to leave but Andy convinced me that it might be a good thing to help me relax.  I had a funny feeling all day that something was going to happen.  And it did.

Yep, Satis, it’s enough to make you puke.

Apparently while Andy and I were gone the boys decided that it was a good idea to throw a party.  They invited a few of their friends and completely trashed the house.

And on top of that, the paparazzo showed up, meaning the details of the party are going to be splashed across every gossip magazine known to Simkind. 

I told Andy let’s go back.  I had a funny feeling that something was going to happen.  Sure enough, Andy and I walked in, and we were just completely flabbergasted.  The house was full of hormonal teenagers, the music was loud, and there were pizza boxes everywhere. 

Andy was positively livid. First he went after Sety, who apparently was the host of the party. 

Then he tore into AJ.

But he saved his strongest words for Satis, who wasn’t even home during the party and who walked in pretty much when we did.  “Where were you when all this was going on?”

“I—I was at newspaper.  My staff meeting ran a little late.”

“I trusted you to keep an eye on things while we were gone, and this is what happens.  I’m extremely disappointed in you!”

“I—I’m sorry.  I – I lost track of the time.”

“You’ll know next time.  You and your brothers are grounded!  You go to school, you come home from school.  That’s it!  You understand?”

I told Andy we would have a family meeting the next day to decide our next course of action.  We can’t go on like this. 

Current events around town

Hey everyone, it’s me, Savannah. 

A couple of blurbs in this morning’s paper caught my attention:

The Sunset Valley City Council, by a three-to-one margin, overwhelmingly approved a 20 million simolean downtown revitalization project.  Sunset Valley Mayor Christina Gustafson was pleased with the vote.  "The council felt, as I did, that in order to serve the changing needs of our growing population, we needed to modernize and revitalize the center of the city," she said in the city hall press room while announcing the project. 

I know I’m completely apolitical, but, revitalization project???  What, are they kidding???  What the heck do they plan on doing with downtown?  It’s fine as it is.  It’s funny they make this kind of decision without asking US about it. 

Seriously, I see nothing wrong with downtown.  That’s Mirabello Plaza, with the Everfresh Supermarket, the Nathan J. Plumb (formerly Wilsonoff) Community Theater, and the Divisadero Bookstore. 

That’s the charming Little Corsican Bistro, where Dad took me to celebrate my teen birthday. 

I wonder what the heck are they going to do to downtown??  Are they trying to turn it into Bridgeport lite?  No. freaking. way.  Not. going. to. happen.

I’ve even heard they’re trying to get a movie studio built here.  This is Sunset Valley, not Bridgeport.  Nothing against those folks, but we live a certain way, and they live a certain way.  I mean, I’m totally all for progress and change… but not at the expense of our lifestyle. 

The City Hall and the Papyrus Memorial Library are two more buildings rumored to be under the gun.  Seriously, those are ICONIC buildings.  Sunset Valley isn’t Sunset Valley without those. 

And then there was this blurb … really shook me.

Seriously??? Noah is DEAD???? Are you fucking kidding me??? And we find out like everyone else does, with an article in the paper.  I would so love to know who is handling his affairs.  I know Sadie isn’t, she’s dead, and Neil isn’t either.  I know that his wife Sadie passed a few days earlier, but, like the article continued to say, he apparently couldn’t live one day without her in his life.  “In lieu of flowers,” the article continued, “the family asks for donations to be made to the Community School for the Gifted’s Music program.” 

At the same time, there was this:

"Neil Plumb and Noelle Hong welcomed their first child, Nolan Grant Plumb, into the world on yesterday afternoon.  He weighed 7 pounds, three ounces, and was twenty inches in length.  His paternal grandparents are the late Noah and Sadie Plumb, and his maternal grandparents are Tabitha McHugh and the late Grant Hong. His paternal great-grandfather is Nathan Jolina-Plumb.”

I’m not happy about the fact that Neil is a dad way before he is ready, and I’m certainly not happy about the fact that his parents are both dead.  But what can I do. 

I found out there is a Jolina Family Mausoleum in Twinbrook.  Apparently someone related to my grandmother was an undertaker.  I’m not sure who, but I suppose that’s yet another mystery for me to solve.  As if there aren’t enough, especially regarding her family.