Danielle Steel - Remembrance

“Serena, you are so beautiful?” He seemed knocked right off his feet and Serena could only laugh.

“Not only that,” her husband added, “she's a princess. How about that!”

“She looks it.” The younger brother said it with total seriousness, and Brad watched him with tenderness and amusement.

“Now, don't go falling in love with her, kiddo, I saw her first.”

But there was a kind of total overwhelming awe in Teddy's face that almost made you want to look away while he gazed at Serena.

“My God, you're lovely.” He couldn't take his eyes off her face, but it was Serena who broke the spell.

She whispered at him over the armful of roses he handed her after they embraced.

“Actually I'm not really Serena. I'm a girl Brad met on the ship and he asked me to take her place.”

“Cute though, isn't she?” Brad put a mildly possessive arm around his bride. After all, his brother was twelve years younger than he, and only three years older than his wife, he didn't want the boy to get carried away. “By the way, how is our charming sister-in-law-to-be?”

Teddy's sunny face clouded over for a long moment. “Fine, I guess.” His voice was both vague and subdued as Brad and Serena watched him. “Greg's been drunk every night for the past two weeks. I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean. Good times or terror?”

“Maybe a little of both.” Brad was watching his brother's eyes.

But Teddy was always honest with him. “I don't think Greg knows what he's doing, Brad. Or maybe he doesn't want to know, which is even worse.”

“Are you suggesting that someone stop this thing? Now?” Brad looked upset as he asked.

“I don't know. Mother's sure as hell not going to do it. Greg is rapidly becoming her great white hope. Ever since you've decided to become a professional soldier”—he looked disparagingly at his brother, but Brad only grinned—”and it's obvious that I'll never play the family game, it looks like Greg is it.”

“Poor kid.” For a moment Brad didn't say more, and then the customs officials arrived to check through their trunks and look at their passports. He asked for Teddy's as well, but Teddy quickly pulled out a special pass. One of his father's political friends had got it for him from the mayor of New York, and it allowed him to meet friends at ships, and not have to wait until they cleared customs. It was convenient at times like this, but the customs man felt patronized by Teddy's inadvertent show of rank.

“Special privileges, eh?”

Teddy looked mildly embarrassed. “Just this once. My brother hasn't been home since the war.” He waved at Brad, and the customs man's face immediately softened.

“Coming home on the Liberté, son? Not a bad way to travel.”

“Not at all. We managed to turn it into a honeymoon.”

“Your wife go over to meet you?” He had only checked the luggage. His partner had handled the passports and seen that Serena was Italian, but this man had no way of knowing. She hadn't said a word.

“No.” Brad looked down at her proudly. “I met my wife over there. In Rome.”

“Italian?” The customs man's eyes narrowed as he looked her over, in all her perfect ivory and golden beauty, the gardenias on her lapel, and the sun glinting on her hair, as he stood in his grayed uniform with spots on the tie and dirt under his nails.

“Yes, my wife is Italian. From Rome.” Brad repeated with a smile, as the other man began to glare.

“Plenty of girls in this country to marry, sonny. Or didn't you remember? Christ, some of you young guys got over there and forgot what was back home.” He glared at all three of them, and then hurried away to inspect someone else's bags. There was an angry light in Brad's eyes and blind fury in Teddy's, but Serena put a hand on each of their arms and shook her head.

“Don't. It doesn't matter. He's just an angry old man. Maybe someone jilted his daughter.”

“Maybe someone ought to smash his face.” Teddy was quick to volunteer but Brad looked as though he would have liked to help him.

“Never mind. Let's go home.” The two men exchanged a look, Brad sighed slowly and then nodded.

“Okay, princess, you win.” But he looked at her almost sadly. “This time.” And then he bent to kiss her. “I don't ever want anyone saying things like that around you again.”

“But they will.” It was only a whisper. “Maybe it'll take time.”

“Bull,” Teddy spoke and she laughed at him then, and they hailed a porter and began the final leg home.

19

Teddy had left his parents' chauffeur waiting patiently outside the pier area in the midnight-blue Cadillac limousine his father had bought for his wife's use the previous Christmas. But most of the time Margaret Fullerton still preferred driving her own car, a handsome bottle-green convertible Lincoln Zephyr, which she drove almost every day. To her sons' delight however, that left the Cadillac and the elderly chauffeur free for their use, and Greg made free use of the car, except when Teddy beat him to it, as he had today. His mother had had a meeting of the Board of the American Red Cross, final details to attend to for the rehearsal dinner the next day, and a luncheon with another board she was on, all of which had kept her from meeting Brad and Serena at the ship. And Greg had had an important meeting downtown with his father, which had left only Teddy to meet B.J. and his bride, in the elegant midnight-blue car.

“My, my, is this new?”

“Yup. A Christmas present from Pop.”

“For you?” Brad looked stunned.

“Hell no.” Teddy grinned. “For Mother.”

“Oh, well. That figures. Get to use it much or only for state occasions?”

“Only when Greg's not around.”

“That figures too.”

But before they could say more, the old chauffeur had got out of the car and was hurrying toward them. He pulled off his cap, and a smile lit up his face from ear to ear. He had worked for the Fullertons since Brad had been a little boy.

“Hi, Jimmie!” B.J. clapped him on the shoulder and the old man chortled with delight and hugged him.

“You look good, boy. Good to see you back!”

“It's good to be back.” There was genuine pleasure between the two men. “Jimmie, I'd like you to meet my wife.” He turned to Serena with obvious pride and the old man almost dropped his jaw when he saw the blond beauty.

“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Fullerton.” He mustered it almost shyly, and she shook his hand warmly, with her gentle smile that extended deep into the emerald eyes.

“Brad has told me a great deal about you.”

“Has he?” Jimmie looked immensely pleased. “Welcome to America.” He narrowed his eyes. “You speak very good English. Have you been here before?”

She nodded. “I was here during the war. In Upstate New York.”

“That's a good thing.” Jimmie smiled warmly.

Serena gave him an answering smile and he waved them all inside the car. “I'll take care of this mess. You kids relax.” But only Teddy and Serena got inside the car, and Brad stayed out to help his old buddy sort through their assorted trunks and belongings.

Inside, Teddy still seemed unable to take his eyes off Serena. “How was the trip over?” He wasn't quite sure where to begin, and it was so odd being alone with her. He just wanted to reach out and touch her, but it was different now with Brad not there with him. He wanted to touch the creamy skin, the extraordinary golden hair, and then suddenly he felt a mad urge to kiss her, but not as a brother, or even as a friend. As the thought crossed his mind he flushed deeply and a thin veil of perspiration broke out on his forehead.