Faye Kellerman - Serpent’s Tooth

Rina turned off the light. “Your father called today.”

Decker pivoted to face her. “And?”

“The shooting must have made the news over there. He was concerned about you.”

“What’d you tell him?”

“I lied. I said you were fine.”

“That’s not lying, I am fine.”

Rina didn’t answer.

Decker hesitated. “Did he mention my mother at all?”

“No … why?”

“No particular reason. Let’s go to sleep.”

Rina knew he was fibbing, that tight catch in his throat. He was worried about his mother, leaving Rina to wonder if her mother-in-law was ill. Eyes closed, Rina waited and waited, then gave up. She was just about asleep when he finally decided to talk.

“She called me about two weeks ago. She’d been cleaning out the garage … had some of my childhood junk and wanted to know what to do with it. I told her to send it here … or throw it away … whichever was easier. Then …”

He paused.

“Then I asked her why … at this moment in time … was she cleaning out the garage … which has been a storage house of our family junk for God only knows how many years. She just said, ‘If not now, when?’”

Rina touched his arm. “Did you ask her if something was wrong?”

“Yes, of course. As I expected, she denied any problems.”

“Did you press her?”

“I can’t press my mother, Rina. This is as big a hint as I’m going to get.”

He waited a beat.

“I can’t approach my father. Because she could be keeping something from him, too. I did call Randy. He doesn’t seem to know anything, so I guess they’ve kept him in the dark.”

“Or maybe nothing’s wrong.”

“Maybe. Either that or my brother hasn’t picked up on Mom’s nuances. He’s not a font of sensitivity.”

“Peter, why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

“I don’t know. You have your own parents to deal with … your own problems as well.”

Rina was silent, guilt coursing through her body. “I know I’ve been very upset since—”

“It’s not important.”

Again neither spoke.

“Do you want to go out for a visit, Peter?”

“She wouldn’t like that … me, just popping in. She needs her privacy, I’ve got to respect it.”

“Darling, can you try talking to her? Hiding behind a wall of stoicism isn’t good for either of you.”

“Rina, I respect your culture. You respect mine.”

She counted to ten, told herself to breathe calmly. “How about if I called her up—”

“No—”

“Can you let me finish?”

Decker waited a moment. “Sorry. Go on.”

“I’d like to invite them out here for Thanksgiving.”

“A nice thought, honey, but I’m afraid it would rob her of her dignity. You know what Thanksgiving means to her.”

“Yes, I do. But hear me out, okay?”

“Sure.”

“Peter, I don’t like making Thanksgiving. It’s no charge for me to make yet another big feast, a month after our major holidays are over. And yes, I do know what that holiday means to her. Peter, we’ve gone down to Gainesville twice for Thanksgiving. It’s lovely, but it isn’t the kind of holiday she wants. It hurts her tremendously that we can’t eat her beautifully cooked food in her house on her special china.”

“Why? She says things to you?”

“No, of course not. But that doesn’t mean I don’t notice her wincing when we sit there at her table with fruit and raw vegetables on our paper plates.”

Decker was quiet.

Rina said, “I can’t change the fact that we’re observant, kosher Jews and they’re Baptist. That’s just life. I can’t take over her kitchen. But she can take over mine. Let me invite her out here to make her Thanksgiving with my pots and pans. Cook everything in my house in my kosher kitchen—”

“Rina—”

“I’ll buy the meat and all the trimmings, but she can have free rein. I’ll even go shopping with her to pick out a set of china of her choice. I have so many sets of dishes, one more won’t hurt. She can cook to her heart’s content. Do all her favorite recipes including her pumpkin pie. Only accommodations she’ll have to kashrut is using nondairy margarine and Mocha Mix instead of butter and milk. And, of course, no honey-glazed ham.”

“She won’t do it.”

“She doesn’t even like ham—”

“It’s not the ham , Rina, it’s the whole thing. She’ll feel displaced.”

“At least let me try. I think she’ll come out. I think she’d love to cook up a storm, actually have us eat her meals. And then there’re the grandchildren—Cindy as well as our Hannalah—”

“That means Randy’s left alone.”

“So I’ll invite Randy and the kids and wife number …”

“It’s still three.”

“Your nieces and nephews will love it here. Disneyland—”

“They’ve got Disney World, Epcot Center, and Universal Studios. Theme parks are no big deal to them.”

“Yes, but we’ve got Las Vegas—”

“Oh, my sister-in-law will love that.”

Rina sighed. “Just think about it, okay?”

Decker was quiet. “You’d put up my brother’s family?”

“Absolutely. I find Randy … interesting—”

“I love my brother.”

“I know that.” Rina smiled. Even though Randy worked two jobs—he was a vice cop and moonlighted as a security guard—he was always flat broke. Peter had been sending him cash for years.

Silence. Then Decker said, “I’ll call Mom tomorrow.”

Rina said, “ I’ll call her tomorrow. She’ll say no to you, but yes to me.”

Decker knew that was all too true. He turned toward his wife, draped an arm around her shoulders, and drew her to his chest. He kissed her mouth, licked her lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She kissed him again. “Want to make more out of this?”

“Wish I could.” He laughed. “I’m afraid I’d be arrested on charges of Assault with a Dead Weapon—”

Rina laughed, slapped his shoulder. She kissed him gently, licked his mustache. Her hands snaked around his body, stroked his long muscular back with tender fingertips.

He let out a soft rumble. “Feels good.”

“I think I detect signs of life—”

“That’s not life, that’s just a reflex.”

“Whatever it is, it’s good enough for me.”

Waking up before the sun, Decker showered, shaved, and said his morning prayers alfresco, bathed in the golden light of dawn. Afterward, he let the dog out, pitched fresh hay to his stable of four horses, changed the animals’ water, went through yesterday’s mail, and had coffee brewing by the time Rina roused the crew for school.

Although anxious to get his professional life going, Decker forced himself to make a little time for breakfast and family affairs. The day’s topics included his stepson’s driver’s license, buying a newer car for Rina, and giving Sam his own set of wheels in the form of Rina’s old Volvo. Decker promised they’d hit the car lots on Sunday. And if Rina had the inclination, maybe they’d look at new living-room furniture as well. His wife was surprised, delighted. Immediately bright with ideas. Decker felt good. It had been a long time since he’d seen Rina’s smile.