He Sees You When You're Sleeping

tenth guest was the one carrying the wine.

He guessed that they were all in their seventies and eighties and looked as if they had spent many years working outdoors. Their leathery complexions and callused hands were testimony to a lifetime of hard physical labor, but their ready laughter and joy in socializing was not different from that of the groups of friends Sterling had observed gathered at the King Cole bar in Manhattan, or at Nor’s Place on Long Island.

Mama Heddy-Anna produced a steaming loaf of fresh-baked bread from the oven and dished out the stew. The wine glasses were filled, and everyone gathered at the table. Frequent bursts of laughter followed the exchanges of stories about their fellow villagers, or about outings they had enjoyed together. There had been a dance at the church hall the week before, and Heddy-Anna had done the Wallonian national folk dance on a tabletop.

“Now I want to dance on a tabletop at the monastery when they have their grand opening as a hotel on New Year’s Day,” Heddy-Anna announced.

“I skied over and took a look,” the baby of the crowd, a sturdy seventy-year-old, said. “Can’t believe how nice it is. It’s been closed for twenty years, since the last monk left. It’s nice to see it all fixed up.”

“My boys used to ski over there all the time.” Heddy-Anna helped herself to more beef stew. “Too bad the monastery is over the border. We could use the tourists’ money here.”

The peal of the telephone made them all giggle. Heddy-Anna wiped her mouth with her napkin, winked at her friends, put her finger to her lips, and waited for the fifth ring before answering feebly. “Ha…llllo.”

She stood up to get a better look at the blackboard. “I can’t hear. Talk louder. Wait, I gotta sit down. My foot’s so bad today. It came out from under me. I laid on the floor all night. Finally managed to get up.”

Her expression changed. “What’d’ye mean, ‘Wrong number,’ isn’t this my Eddie?”

She slammed down the phone. “False alarm,” she told her friends as she sat down and picked up her fork.

“It was good practice,” the woman next to her said admiringly. “Heddy-Anna, believe me, you get better every time.”

The phone rang again. This time Heddy-Anna made sure who she was talking to before she began to recite her list of complaints. She repeated almost verbatim the story she had told to the first caller. “And besides that…” she continued, tears in her voice.

The friend nearest the phone jumped up and pointed to item six on the list.

Heddy-Anna nodded. “…I can’t taste a single bite of what I eat. The weight is dropping off me.”

I guess I have the picture of what’s going on in Wallonia, Sterling thought wryly. Now I’d like to jump ahead to the next season and look in on Marissa.

He left the stone cottage, looked up at the mountains, then stared into the heavens.

May I please go back to Marissa’s house? And let it be April, he requested, and then closed his eyes.

Spring comes first to the willows, Sterling thought as he looked at the slender and graceful clump of willow trees on the lawn outside Marissa’s home in Madison Village. There was a pinkish haze about them, a promise of the blossoms that would soon be visible.

It was early evening, and dusk was just beginning to settle as the lingering rays of the sun disappeared. He went inside and found the family at the dinner table.

He took a chair in the dining room as far away as possible from Roy Junior and Robert, who were vigorously thumping their high chairs with spoons.

Marissa was sitting opposite them, silently picking at a small slice of chicken.

Denise and Roy were at the ends of the table, each one with the chair pushed close enough to the side so that they could easily feed a twin.

“How was school today?” Roy asked Marissa, as he managed to get a spoonful of mashed potatoes into Robert’s mouth.

“It was okay, I guess,” Marissa said listlessly.

“Marissa, you’re just pushing the food around on your plate. You’ve simply got to eat something,” Denise pleaded, then abruptly closed her lips after receiving a warning glance from Roy.

Marissa put down her fork. “I’m really not hungry. May I be excused?”

Denise hesitated, then nodded. “Daddy and NorNor should be phoning in an hour.”

“I know.”

“I’ll call up to you, and you can go into our room and talk to them there.”

Sterling was tempted to follow her but decided he wanted to hear what Denise would say to Billy when he called.

Denise waited until Marissa had disappeared up the stairs before speaking. “ Roy, I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her about the progress reports. She just can’t seem to focus on her classes. The teacher said that she believes Marissa is blaming herself for Billy and Nor leaving, that Marissa thinks that somehow she did something wrong.”

“A lot of kids feel like that when something happens to their parents, whether it’s death, or divorce, or separation,” Roy said. “We just have to be understanding.”

Roy ’s a good soul, Sterling thought. He’s trying very hard.

“Down, down, down.” Roy Junior had had enough of sitting at the table.

“Down, down,” Robert echoed, bouncing in his high chair.

Roy took a final bite of salad and got up. “Coffee later. I’ll get these two upstairs and their baths started.”

Denise began to clear the table. The phone rang a few minutes later. “Oh, Billy, you’re early,” she began. “No, of course, Marissa isn’t out. If she knows you’re going to call, she doesn’t budge from the house for fear of missing you. Any new developments?”

She listened, then said, “Well, when you talk to her, tell her how proud you are that she’s always been such a good student. We both know she’d do anything to please you. All right, I’ll put her on. Give my best to Nor.”

She laid the receiver on the table and walked to the staircase. “Marissa,” she called.

Marissa was already at the head of the stairs. “Is that Daddy on the phone?”

“Yes.”

Sterling hurried up the steps and followed Marissa’s flying feet to the master bedroom. She closed the door tightly behind her.

For the next few minutes, Sterling listened as Marissa pleaded with Billy to come back. She promised she wouldn’t ever pester to go to the movies, or try to make him stay on the phone and talk to her when she knew he was busy, or…

Sterling went over and bent down to listen to what Billy was saying. “Baby, don’t even think like that! This has nothing to do with anything you did. I loved it when you phoned me…”

“Then why won’t you tell me your phone number right now?” Marissa asked tearfully.

“Rissa, it’s just that I can’t. I have to borrow a phone when I talk to you. NorNor and I want nothing more than to get home to you as soon as possible. Once I’m back, I’ll make this all up to you, I promise…”

After she had finally said a tearful good-bye, Marissa went back to her room, sat at her desk, and turned on her CD player.

The sound of Billy’s hit single filled the room. “I know what I want… I know what I need…”

Sterling watched as she put her head down on her arms and began to sob. I’m going to get you what you want and need, Marissa, Sterling vowed. And I’ll do it if I have to move heaven and earth. No, with the help of heaven, he corrected himself.