Mary and Alvin

The Two Angels

Mary pulled into the drive through window at Dunkin Donuts and bought a dozen assorted and a large iced coffee. There was something comforting about the strip of chain stores and fast food restaurants that lined the main highway on the outskirts of town. As much as she loved Londonderry, with it's antique New England charm, the businesses along the highway had been familiar her whole life. McDonalds, Subway, Walgreens. They felt like old friends encountered far from home.

The only route she knew to the farm was from the wharf, so she headed back into town the way she had come. Before eight on a holiday morning, it seemed like she had the whole place to herself. There had been a shower overnight and the town gleamed, fresh and clean, in the bright morning sun. She drove back down Main Street, past her own apartment to Front Street. She turned and went by Faulkner's Wharf, looking over even though she knew Alvin was still at home.

She drove out of town by the now familiar route, munching on a chocolate frosted as the houses gave way to forest and fields. Just as she was slowing to make her last turn down Puddledock Road, something caught her eye on the left side of the road. She braked to a stop and looked in her side view mirror. A sleek red fox was trotting along the shoulder. She twisted in her seat and watched as it neared the car, completely unconcerned about her presence. As it passed, it looked over at her and for a brief moment she was gazing into its eyes.

Mary gaped in amazement as the fox sauntered away and disappeared into the brush. She sat for a minute, stopped in the middle of the road. The fox had just appeared and then vanished, as if it were a magical creature. For some reason she could not articulate, seeing it left her feeling exhilarated. She completed her turn and drove the short distance to the farmhouse.

When she arrived, she was so eager to tell everyone about the fox that she forgot to take the doughnuts from the car, and had to return to retrieve them.

Alvin and Jennifer were sitting at the kitchen table when she stepped in from the mud room. Danni was at the counter, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Mary stepped to the table, gave Alvin a kiss and sat down. "Guess what?" she exclaimed, "I just saw a fox!"

"Uh huh," Alvin said, sipping his coffee. Jennifer said, "That's cool, what kind of doughnuts did you get?" She dug into the box and pulled out a Boston Creme.

Mary stared at them, dumbfounded. Danni sat down and smiled at her.

"You guys," Mary said, "It was a fox, right down there, walking along the side of the road."

"Might be the one got in Ted Richardson's chickens a week or two back," Alvin said to Jennifer.

"Hard tellin', not knowin', " Jennifer replied around a mouthful of doughnut.

Danni patted Mary on the hand and smiled. "They don't understand why it's a big deal."

Alvin looked at Mary and she saw an expression of awareness cross his face. "You never saw a fox before?" he asked.

"No, of course not, where would I see a fox?"

Alvin shrugged. "They don't have foxes in California?"

"I don't know. Not in the suburbs, anyway."

"Ever seen a moose?" Jennifer asked.

"No. I've seen deer."

Alvin rubbed his chin. "A bear?"

Mary shook her head.

"Fisher cat?"

"I don't even know what that is," Mary shrugged.

"You're coming up to camp, right?" Jennifer asked.

Mary looked at Alvin.

"Oh," he said, "I started to tell you about that, but we got, uh, distracted."

Jennifer snorted, but Alvin ignored her.

"End of September every year, we close up the wharf and the whole family goes up north to our camp for a big gathering."

"I remember you said something about it."

"Moose all over the place up there," Jennifer said.

Alvin drained the last of his coffee and stood up, taking a couple of doughnuts with him. "I best get going," he said. Mary rose and walked out with him.

"It means a lot to me that you are helping the girls," he told her, taking her hand.

She leaned in and kissed him. "It will be fun. And I really like them."

"They like you, too."

"Good, just need to do some more work with Charlotte."

"Yeah well, about that..."

"What?"

"She's going to be staying with me for a few days, doing some work up here later in the week. Some research at the courthouse for a case her firm is on."

"We have reservations at the new restaurant on Thursday."

"That's right, I'd forgotten."

"I can call them and change it to three. That shouldn't be a problem."

"Think you're going to charm her, do you?"

"My Faulkner charming record is pretty good so far."

Alvin laughed and gave her a kiss. Jennifer and Danni came out of the house.

"Break it up, you two," Jennifer called, "it's work time."

Alvin waved and climbed into the car, as the three women started across the field towards the new house.

"Don't think I've seen you in grubbies before," Jennifer said, looking over Mary's jeans and t-shirt, "You're always in your banker clothes."

"Maybe that's why sometimes it feels like I don't fit in around here," Mary said.

Jennifer shrugged, "You need to go get yourself some Carhartts or LL Beans."

Danni chuckled. "When I first came up here, I thought I was in paradise. I thought all the women were lesbians."

"Nope," Jennifer said, "just Maine women."

They stepped onto the wide front porch and Mary admired the view of the pond and the woods beyond. She could imagine sitting there in the evening, peaceful and serene, and made a silent wish that Jennifer and Danni would share many such evenings.

Jennifer gave Mary a tour of the house while Danni began gathering the tools she would need to finish installing the furnace. It was larger than it appeared from Alvin' house. In addition to a spacious living room, the first floor included a dining room, a small bathroom and a kitchen that Mary envied. It was bright, modern and perhaps three times the area of the one in her apartment. A utility room led off from the kitchen to the back door. Mary was sure they'd end up calling it "the mud room".

There were three bedrooms and a larger bathroom upstairs.

"We wanted a nice guest room," Jennifer explained, "and maybe a nursery one day."

Mary smiled at her. Alvin would be such a terrific grandfather she thought, then immediately realized that she could very well be dating a grandfather. That thought was a bit unsettling.

"Have you ever thought about having kids?" Jennifer asked as she followed Mary went down the stairs.

"I wanted kids, my husband didn't. That was one of the reasons it didn't work out."

Jennifer squeezed her shoulder. "You ever want to talk about it, I'm a good listener," Jennifer said. "Meanwhile, let's get to work."

Mary laid down plastic sheeting on the floors of the living and dining rooms while Jennifer applied tape around the top of the walls and all the trim. When they were ready, they opened paint cans and Mary started running a roller over the living room walls while Jennifer got to work in the dining room. Jennifer's paint was a sea green, while Mary's was a few shapes deeper.

"We wanted to bring the outdoors inside, you know?" Jennifer explained. Kind of match the pond and and the woods and all."

Jennifer cued up one of her Spotify playlists and they listened to Florence and the Machines, Leon Bridges and Portugal the Man while they painted. Every now and then they would hear a clatter or a bang from the utility room.

"You alright in there?" Jennifer would call, and each time Danni would respond that she was, then explain some detail of furnace installation that meant nothing to either Mary or Jennifer.

By midday, Danni was finished with the furnace. It took her only a few minutes to wire it to the thermostat, and it hummed into life. Mary and Jennifer clapped and cheered as Danni gave them a theatrical bow. Jennifer threw her arms about her and kissed her.

"I am so proud of you!" she exclaimed, "You are just awesome!"

They decided to take a break and eat lunch before finishing the painting. As they traipsed back to the the farm house, Mary ran her hand through a stand of tall amber wildflowers.

"What do you call this?" she asked.

"Goldenrod," Jennifer answered.

"It's beautiful."

"My dad always says he loves goldenrod because it's the only flower that doesn't know how beautiful it is."

"That sounds like him," Mary nodded.

They found sliced ham and a block of Cabot cheddar in Alvin's refrigerator and Danni fetched a loaf of bread and a bag of Humpty Dumpty potato chips from the cupboard. Angus trotted into the room and danced around their feet, looking for a handout.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Mary said to Danni as they sat at the kitchen table making sandwiches.

"Of course not, what is it?"

"I think Jennifer said you were Jewish. You don't keep kosher?"

"Not since my first day at college."

"Why? What happened?"

"I walked into the cafeteria that first morning and smelled bacon."

Mary laughed. "That did it, huh?"

"I decided I had to try it. Two bites later and I was thinking now I have to try shrimp."

"So, you aren't devout at all?"

"Oh, I am very devout, I'm just not particularly observant."

"What about you?" Mary asked Jennifer, "Your dad has never mentioned anything about religion."

"My Mom was raised Methodist and paid lip service to it. My Dad's family all belong to the hard tellin' not knowin' school of thought."

"I still don't quite get that phrase."

Jennifer shrugged, "It means..."

"It means how the fuck should I know." Danni interjected.

"Yeah, pretty much. But I've got a question for you, Mary."

"Okay," Mary said brightly, although the tone of Jennifer's voice made her feel a hint of caution.

Jennifer pinched a bit of ham from her sandwich and fed it to the cat before she spoke.

"How come my dad sleeps over at your place but you never sleep over here?"

Mary put her sandwich down on her plate and thought for a minute before answering. "It's about your mom," she said at last, "Mostly it's about the bed. About it being the bed they shared for all those years. And I get that. It's like, there is still one place left that he shares with her, and he is not ready to give that up."

Jennifer scratched her head. "Well, kind of fits, I guess. I mean, yeah, that's sounds like him. But Mary, at some point he's got to get past that."

"I hope he will, but I don't want to push it."

Jennifer looked at Danni with a questioning expression. Danni shrugged and shook her head.

"What is it?" Mary asked, watching the silent exchange between them.

"Nothing," Jennifer said, waving her hand. "Let's go finish up the painting."

They walked back to the new house and, with Danni pitching in, finished the painting in less than an hour.

"Well, that's it," Jennifer said as they cleaned their brushes and rollers, "Just some little things left to finish. Light switch covers and things like that."

"We ought to do something to celebrate," Danni said.

Jennifer scratched her head, then said, "Yeah, I know how I want to celebrate." She pulled her shirt over her head. "I'm going to go jump in the pond."

Mary and Danni watched as Jennifer ran out the front door in her underwear. They looked at each other, shrugged and followed. Jennifer was already halfway across the sloping meadow as they stepped out the door. She sprinted to the rickety wooden dock, and leaped, her arms and legs spread wide, into the green water. From the far side of the pond a pair of mallards took frightened flight.

"That actually seems like a cool idea," Danni said. Jennifer surfaced, gave a loud whoop and waved at them with both hands.

"Maybe I ought to let the two of you have this time together," Mary said.

Danni put her hand on Mary's back. "No, stay. We will have time together later."

Jennifer was floating on her back, kicking her feet, when Mary and Danni reached the dock. Danni kicked off her shoes and stripped out of her jeans. Rather than dive, she slipped off the edge of the dock and waded out towards Jennifer.

Mary took off her own shoes and sat on the end of the dock, dangling her feet in the water. It felt cool and soothing. She closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sky, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Suddenly, she was startled by a splash of cold water. She opened her eyes to see Jennifer and Danni in the water below her.

"Get your ass in here," Jennifer shouted, "We aren't going to dyke out on you, if that's what you're scared of."

"I'm not," Mary laughed. She stood up and tugged her jeans off.

Jennifer gave a wolf whistle. "Or maybe we will!" Danni pushed her under the water and the two of them began a splash fight as Mary lowered herself off the end of the dock.

She felt a rush of adrenaline as she entered the cool green water. She waded toward Jennifer and Danni until it came to her shoulders, then she dog paddled the last few yards. Danni reached out and took her left hand, and Jennifer took her right. Together, the three of them bobbed up and down in a tight circle.

"You're doing pretty good for a city girl," Jennifer said to Mary.

"Well, I've swum in the Pacific a few times, so this pond isn't too intimidating."

"When I was a kid, all we had was the city pool," Danni said, "but I liked it."

"You liked the shower room, I know that," Jennifer said with a laugh. She broke away and swan towards the edge of the pond. Danni followed her and the two of them waded out of the pond. Mary kicked her feet and swam backwards a few yards, then just drifted, her arms outstretched, looking up at the cloud speckled sky. She tried to imagine what it would have been like growing up in a place where it was normal to just jump in a pond on a summer afternoon, where looking into the eyes of a fox was an experience barely worth noting.

She turned in the water and paddled towards the dock. Danni was standing there, tall and elegant. Jennifer was trotting down the slope with an armful of towels. As Mary climbed out of the water, Jennifer laid three big beach towels down in the grass and the three of them stretched out to let the sun dry their clothes and skin.

Mary laid on her stomach, her head resting on her crossed arms. The only sounds was the breeze in the tree branches and the humming of a bee somewhere nearby. She dozed for a few minutes. When she woke up, she turned her head and saw Danni lying on her back and Jennifer leaning over her, kissing her. Mary had never kissed another woman romantically or erotically. It must feel so different, she thought. She watched them for a few seconds, then closed her eyes and dozed again. When she awoke, she sighed and stretched before sitting up.

Jennifer was asleep, but Danni was awake.

"This place," Mary said quietly, "there's just something about it. Do you feel it, too?"

Danni rose up on her elbows. "Yeah, I do. At first I thought it was just because of Jen, that it seemed special to me because she is, and it's her place. But then I thought, maybe she's special because she comes from someplace special."

"That's a lovely thought."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm a realist. I'm never going to entirely fit in here. Shit, just being Portuguese makes me stand out. Nobody has given us any shit, but I see the looks sometimes."

Mary looked down at her. "They are probably afraid you'd kick their ass if they said anything."

"Wait until I get a gun and a badge," Danni laughed.

"What made you want to go into law enforcement?" Mary asked her.

"My father is a firefighter. Two of my brothers are firefighters, two of my sisters married firefighters. I wanted to be different, so I thought, fuck it, I'll be a cop."

Mary laughed. "You weren't already different enough?"

"Oh, you mean the les thing? I was deep in the closet, basically in denial until I went to college. I mean, looking back, I knew I was different, but I couldn't wrap my head around why."

"Is your family okay with it?"

Danni stared into the distance for a long moment. "No," she said.

Mary was quiet for a minute, then said, "I'm sorry."

Danni shrugged. "I've got a new family now."

Jennifer moaned, stretched and sat up. "Well, we ought to get a move on if we are driving up to Orono tonight."

They stood and dressed. Mary watched them and felt a moment of sadness.

"I'm going to miss you guys," she said.

"We'll see you up to camp in a few weeks," Jennifer replied.

"And just think, next year, we will live here," Danni added.

The three of them walked up to what everyone was already starting to call the Old House. As they crossed the meadow, Jennifer asked Mary if she had managed to get reservations at the new restaurant.

"Yes, but not until Thursday," she told her, "and I need to call them and make sure I can change it, make it for three people."

"Oh, yeah, Charlotte. Well, that will be interesting."

They arrived at Mary's car and she hugged each of them in turn.

"If you get bored, come on up and visit us," Jennifer called as Mary got behind the wheel.

"I just might," she said. She pulled out of the driveway, thinking about what Danni had said. "I've got a new family now."

She watched for the fox as she drove, but it was nowhere to seen.

The new Italian restaurant had been the talk of the town. Mary could see the front of the building, directly across the street from her apartment. The word had been that they would open right after Labor Day, an announcement that won great favor with the locals, who declared that it would be a "town place" and not just an expensive eatery appealing to the tourists. When they hung the sign reading "Carlino's Italian Grill and Pasta House" Mary immediately called to try to make opening night reservations, only to find out that the first few days were completely booked. The soonest they could get in would be Thursday, so she asked for a table then. When she found out that Charlotte would be in town she called and added her to the reservation.

On Thursday evening, Mary was dressed and ready by seven, and sat at her front window, watching the street. When she saw Alvin's car coming up the hill, she went down to meet them. The nearest open parking spot was a block further on, so she was already in front of Carlino's waiting when Alvin and Charlotte came strolling down the sidewalk.

Charlotte fell a step behind her father as he leaned in to kiss Mary on the cheek. Mary greeted her with a smile and a warm hello as Alvin escorted them inside. Charlotte's return greeting was polite, but cooler.

The interior of Carlino's was a cozy room of red brick and dark wood. They were shown to a corner table. Alvin hesitated for a moment, then pulled a chair back for Mary. When she sat, he turned to do the same for Charlotte, but she took hold of the chair and sat herself.

"What have you heard?" Charlotte asked, picking up the menu, "What's good?"

"People have been just raving about everything," Mary answered.

"People you work with?" Charlotte asked.

"Well, yes, that's mostly who I talk to."

"Right. Well, I guess that's a good sign, people from away like it. Most of the locals think the pizza at Hurley's is good Italian food."

"Actually, most of the people I work with grew up here," Mary said, trying not to sound argumentative.

"That's good," Charlotte replied, 'although it's too bad they all take orders from out of staters."

"Charlotte like to get political," Alvin interjected. Charlotte looked at him and scowled.

"Workplace issues are by nature political, Dad. And when a giant corporation comes to a small town, that's always political."

"So, what's this big deal case they got you working on?" Alvin asked, eager to change the subject.

"Oh, it's just some old real estate stuff. Conflicting deeds from way back in the 1880's on a big dairy farm out in Unity. I've got to dig through the old records and try to sort it out, see who really owns what."