"Don't worry about Bess. She'll be asleep by the time you go up to bed." she assured me. "In the morning she might not even remember you. Charles will surely get you people on your way. He's a wonderful worker. My husband used to say he had a natural instinct for mechanical things. There wasn't anything on this farm he couldn't repair. The truth is I wouldn't know what to do without him. He's the closest friend I have." she added.
''Oh," she continued, swiping the air as if there was an annoying fly circling her, "we don't talk corn and mush to each other like that, but he knows how I feel and I know how he feels, how loyal and dedicated he is to us, has always been. I warned him not to die before me. or I would never forgive him," she said. and I smiled.
"Let's stop yapping like this and get those hung men something to eat," she declared.
Uncle Linden never stopped raving about her dumplings. "I haven't had a meal like this since... I don't remember when," he said.
"Oh, go on with you. MT. Montgomery, This is nothing much.'
"Maybe not to you." he insisted. "but certainly to me."
"You live alone, do you?" she asked him. and Heyden and I paused and looked at each other and then Uncle Linden, He was very capable of forgetting our story. We were both afraid of how Mrs. Stanton would take the truth,
"I have for a long time," he replied and then looked at us. "but that's over. My mother was a very good cook." he continued, changing the subject, which let us relax. He went on to talk about Grandmother Grace and his growing up in Palm Beach. "Everyone else had personal cooks, but not us."
"I always enjoyed going to the ocean," Mrs. Stanton said. "We saw some wonderful sea resorts in Europe when we traveled. Since my husband died. I haven't been off this farm for more than a few hours to shop."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Uncle Linden said. "Maybe when we get settled down, you'll come visit with us."
"Oh, my visiting days are long gone. This is enough of the world for me now," she said.
She insisted we have pieces of her peach cobbler, her specialty. It was delicious, Afterward, Heyden helped me and Mrs. Stanton clean up. Then she showed them to the guest rooms, settled them in, and returned to take me up to Rosemary's room. I was still full of trepidation about it, but she reassured me and repeated how pleased it would make her to have the room used by a nice young lady again. I wasn't about to be responsible for any more disappointment for her.
Inside the room, she paused beside me and closed her eyes for a moment.
"I know it sounds foolish, but sometimes I come in here and feel something so familiar, it's like Rosemary has just been in the room. You know how sometimes you can walk into a room and just know someone has been there moments before you. Maybe their bodies leave the air warmer or there's a whiff of someone's perfume or some man's col
ogne yet lingering. Maybe it's just the aroma of shampoo or scented soap, something, and you can't help but envision that person. He or she flashes before you like a shadow that lingered, an image in a mirror that didn't follow when she walked away, a reflection in the window, footsteps on the rug, a movement of air as he or she passes you by, something, and if you miss and have loved that person as much as I miss Rosemary and I loved Rosemary, you close your eyes and say. 'Yes.' to all the fantasies and images and wishes. You let yourself pretend.
"It's why I understand my granddaughter so well, why I don't disturb her illusions. There are things in this room," she continued, gazing about. that haven't been touched by any other fingers than Rosemary's fingers. They are still exactly where she had left them.
"But don't be afraid to touch anything or move anything." she added quickly. "It's time we put it all to rest. Your coming is a blessed thing in more ways than you know, Maybe Someone higher up made it all happen."
"That beautiful stuffed black panther looks brand new," I said, nodding at it on the bed.
It is brand new," she confessed. She shook her head guiltily. "God forgive me. but I went out and bought one just like the one Rosemary took with her that fateful night. I knew Bess wouldn't be able to look at this bed without seeing it there."
"It's never a bad thing to prevent someone from being unhappy," I said.
She smiled at me. "You're a lovely young lady, darlin'," she said. "Do you mind if I kiss you good night?"
"Oh. no." I replied quickly. realizing I was just staring at her.
She leaned toward me and kissed me softly on my check. "Good night, darlin'," she said. "Wake up healthy and strong."
I knew in my heart it was most probably the exact way she had said good night to Rosemary thousands of times.
"Thank you. Good night. Mrs. Stanton," I said.
She held her gentle smile and then turned and left, closing the door behind her so gently, it was as if the ghost or spirit she had sensed here had gone out.
I turned and looked at the room again.
Now that I knew what I did about Rosemary. I could imagine how lonely and frightened she must have been. I couldn't help visualizing her lying on that bed or sifting at the vanity table and wondering if the things her father had whispered in her ear were true. I knew how much she didn't want to turn against her mother. I knew that well.
Funnily enough, when I imagined her before me. I didn't see a stranger. I saw myself, vulnerable and alone. Young girls like she and myself have very thin skins covering our emotions. It takes so little to tear through and sting our trusting hearts. We want so much to believe and to trust our parents. Without that we are surely adrift in a nasty adult sea, the winds of deception tossing and spinning us around until we are too dizzy to face the day. We try to pass our time with our eyes closed, our ears covered, our footsteps so soft we attract little or no attention and make it back to our rooms, rooms like this one. sanctuaries full of dreams and memorabilia that had promised rainbows and candy cotton.
Don't look out the window, we warn ourselves. Don't look at the murky skies. Wait for the sunlight in the morning, the promise of a new day. Maybe all our disappointments will disappear like bad dreams. Maybe it isn't true; none of it is true. We are not alone after all. There is laughter and there is love waiting for us where they have always been waiting for us, and all the dark whispers and ugly faces are gone, popped like bubbles. Telling ourselves these things is the only way to lay our heads down on the pillows at night and trust the darkness enough to be unafraid of sleep.