Surprised was not the word that came into her mind when she opened the interior door and found an enormous basket with another of the incarnations supporting it. In fact, the basket was all she briefly saw until her vision focused...and she realized she recognized him, although his name didn’t come to her immediately. There had been so many of the brothers, and although each was dissimilar and yet familiar – just as she told Josh on their last evening together – the younger ones regrettably felt too much alike, only because they were simply that: young. Although the more she talked with them, the more she saw how varied they were in their personalities.
But Kim she remembered. Perhaps not his name, but she remembered – when he introduced himself at the Tavern – how Tina had mentioned things about him that made Adalia laugh, especially the term ‘Sid Light.’ Therefore his features and what made him distinctive stamped itself upon her mind.
And now here he was on her front porch, bearing a....well, she was uncertain if it was a peace offering, a bribe or a trinket in the hopes of conquest, but ‘Why did I just think of Greeks bearing gifts?’ and she stopped herself from laughing. There was only the slightest hesitation about permitting him into her home, but this world was different – that was what she kept telling herself and it was the thing that had attracted her to the Point along with the chance of advancement. She also realized one other thing about Kim Barrett: he would not try anything stupid when he was working so hard to attract her attention, and especially knowing that getting beaten to within an inch of his life by some of the others would not be worth it.
So she smiled at the selections in the enormous basket and was sincerely impressed...and thankful that there was nothing explicitly sexual among the contents: no massage oil, no colorful condoms or edible panties. He might be a lot of things from what Tina Biebe had told her, but at least he wasn’t a total degenerate. Not yet anyway. I’ll give him credit for one thing. He has great tastes. How the heck did he get his hands on that Ducru Beaucaillou I have no idea. It’s not like you can just walk into your local liquor store or wine store and ask them to hand over a bottle. I remember Dad joking about buying the futures on the Bordeaux back in ‘86! If Kim pulls out a Mouton-Rothschild or a Cos D’Estournal from the same vintage....Tina told me to watch him. But the boy definitely knew the way to a concierge’s heart! The Champagne was no where near as expensive (or rare) as the red wine, but Adalia knew enough to realize what a lovely little bubbly he had brought, and how perfectly it would go with pretty much everything in the container, whether the lobster pate and summer sausages, or the double chocolate truffles and chocolate covered cranberries.
“There’s enough here to last me for days,” she had joked to him at one point...but the wines were not a joke, and yes, she did have to give it some thought before she agreed to keep the Champagne and especially the Bordeaux. Her immediate suspicion was that he wanted something from her – she did not need to know his reputation to realize that, but she wanted to give him a fair chance. Besides, she had no reason to be afraid....
So they talked and she heard his flattery, decided to go along with it, and felt completely comfortable asking if he would like to come to the living room.
Then prayed that the two bottles of wine didn’t crash to the floor when Kim walked into the room, already looking as if he belonged there.
“‘Allo there, Kim!”
Kim’s mouth had fallen open...and nothing was coming out.
“‘Allo Kim!” another male voice called. “We were wondering who was at the door.”
Kim’s lips moved but still nothing.
“Dominic just got here,” the Hoosier explained, stepping down onto the pale carpeting and into the living room itself.
“Can’t believe I beat Johnny,” the youngest admitted, grinning proudly. “But I did.”
Johnny Ryan rolled his eyes, flopping back against the sofa as he crossed his arms. “I can’t believe you had the same idea I did...” and he pointed towards the coffee table and at the two food baskets on it.
“Well looks like Kim had the same idea we did. How about that? And they try to say we don’t think alike!”
Johnny glared at Dom. Here he was, thinking he had come up with something unique and his brothers had done exactly the same. “Who does?” he grumbled.
“Everybody, Johnny. Sometimes we do have things in common,” he explained to their hostess. “So what did you bring Adalia, Kim?”
“I...” he stammered, placing the basket on the surface closest to him, then fumbling for a handkerchief so as to wipe his face. This was not how he had foreseen the evening.
“Kim brought all kinds of lovely treats,” Adalia answered, placing her hands behind her back. “Some pates and wheat crackers and fresh baguettes; oh and chocolates, and I’m pretty sure I saw a tin of spoonfish caviar from Kentucky, and that boys has been ranked almost as good as the Russian and Iranian kind.”
Dominic whistled. “Not sure I’d like caviar myself though.”
Johnny chuckled. “You really outdid yourself Kim. That’s the sort of stuff I’d see Sid bringing to her.”
“Sid and I...” Get control of yourself. “Sid and I do have a few things in common, but not everything....I’m not a psychopath.”
“Thank God,” Johnny replied. “One of those is enough....” and he stretched his neck to try to see what else was in the third basket. “You brought wine too?”
“What sort of wine?”
The line on Kim’s mouth hardened. He figured he could have said anything and neither of them would comprehend, but the more he considered it, the more he realized that every word, every expression was being scrutinized by the woman whose interest he desired. The last thing he wanted was for Adalia to think he believed his brothers as being beneath him, so he finally responded, “A Bordeaux....That’s a red wine...from 1986...and a Chardonnay Champagne.”
“Well la-dee-da,” Dominic and Johnny said together, an action that caused them to laugh.
“I brought her the Creator’s old favorite....VB remember?” Dominic told Kim.
“I can’t wait to try it,” Adalia admitted, reaching down to take up one of the small brown, green labeled bottles of Victoria Bitter. “I’m not much of a beer drinker. Just never got used to the taste.”
“I think you’ll like it though,” Dominic promised.
“It’s mild,” Johnny filled in. “Not bad, even for a non-beer drinker.”
“Kim...please come in. You don’t have to stand there in the doorway.”
Hearing Adalia’s soft tones caused Barrett to shake himself out of the murkiness he suddenly discovered himself in, and nearly at once, he recalled exactly why he was there at her house. Simply because these two children – and that is exactly what they were – were attempting to play a game of courting against the likes of him was quite absurd and in the end, there could only be one conclusion. So why not behave as he knew he was very capable of doing? He heard himself finally say “Thank you” in a strong voice, and he made the short walk to an armchair, his head held high.
Johnny now said, “We both interrupted Adalia at what she was doing.”
“Didn’t mean to,” Dom sheepishly admitted, “but hey, I’m learning something.”
“We both are.”
“Learning...” Kim was confused. “I don’t...”
“It’s Shabbat – the Sabbath,” Dominic whispered, happy to see that there might be something he knew before Kim did. “Isn’t that what you called it, Adalia? Shabbat?”
The young woman smiled and nodded. “That’s right. I managed to get the Shabbat candles lit right before Dom arrived and...”
“And then Johnny got here, and me and him sat and watched while she said her prayers. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Hebrew before, well, not outside a movie anyway. I told Johnny it was cooler than watching Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments.”
“Well, Adalia’s much prettier than Charlton Heston anyway,” Johnny grinned as she sat on the love seat. “You ain’t going to get no argument from me there.”
Only now did Kim see an unlit silver menorah in a prominent place on the fireplace mantlepiece. Only now did he realize that those were not romantic candles glowing near the window, but two ornately designed candlesticks, each with a plain white, burning candle. Only now did it dawn on him as to what that ‘silly’ little box upon the doorpost was – he could not recall the specific term, but he had once asked a client what service it performed and was told. Inside that was a piece of parchment or a small scroll upon which was some verse from the Torah....
Kim blinked, stunned. She was saying her Shabbat prayers? Oh good fucking grief! She’s religious!
“Then she said...” Kim suddenly realized that Dom was rambling away about something or other. “To be honest, I’m not sure what you said Adalia, but I guess it’s like a lot of languages. Everything sounds better when you don’t know what’s being said.”
“I’m not sure that made sense, Dom,” Johnny told him, patting him on the back.
Dom, however, did not seem deterred. “You knew what I meant, didn’t you, Adalia?”
“I think so, yeah.”
Kim cleared his throat. It was time he attempted to interject some sophistication to the conversation. “So how will you spend Shabbat, Adalia? Do you do anything particular?”
She sighed and crossed her legs, an involuntary action that caused all three men to take notice. “I’m going to try to keep it properly. When I can...and that doesn’t happen a lot, but when I can, I try to do what I’m supposed to...relax, take stock of life...not work. We’re not supposed to do any work, but that’s kind of hard when you do what I do for a living, but you adjust. Tina’s been awfully nice and while I won’t get to keep every Shabbat because I’ll be running the kitchens, she knows I’ll want to take off on holidays if it’s possible.”
“Passover,” Dom whispered again as if they were all sharing some secret. “And...does that include Hanukkah too? I know Hanukkah.”
“Well...not as much, no. I mean, I used to love celebrating it with my family back home but I’m thinking more Passover...Yom Kippur...Rosh Hashanah....Those would be the holiest days.”
Dom was fascinated. It wasn’t every day that a young Catholic boy had an opportunity to learn Judaica 101! “What about Thanksgiving? I know it’s not Jewish, but do you celebrate Thanksgiving? Tina’s really big on it ‘round here and we’ve all picked up on that.”
“Only because it means plenty of food....Sure she celebrates Thanksgiving, Dom,” Johnny said, shoving the younger brother in the arm. “She’s American isn’t she? You celebrate Thanksgiving, right?” When Adalia nodded, Johnny gave Dominic a self-satisfied ‘I told you so’ look., causing his younger brother to roll his eyes.
“Had I known it was Shabbat, I would never have bothered you,” Kim continued, pretending that his siblings were not present. He pointed at the shawl now around her shoulders, realizing she had likely worn it as a head covering during prayers. “Antique?”
“This?” She tugged at one corner of it, her voice softening. “Yes, yes it is. It belonged to my great-grandmother.”
“Adalia was telling us about some of her family,” Dom excitedly interrupted. “Remember when Johnny and me thought....No, you weren’t in the Tavern when we were talking about that.”
“About what?” Kim was bored with both boys, but it was difficult hiding his annoyance when Adalia was obviously studying each of them for their reactions.
“We told Adalia that we saw The White Countess on DVD a while back....”
Johnny nodded. “You remember, Kim. That flick with Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson, and he was blind and she...”
Kim nodded. “I remember it.” If he didn’t say something right then and there, they would end up telling the entire plot of the film.
Dom continued. “We told Adalia that we were curious about her family tree...and...”
“And we mentioned the Russian Revolution...” Johnny hurriedly added.
“And Doctor Zhivago and Fiddler on the Roof...”
“Then she showed us some of the photos she had of them...but she’s still got a lot to unpack...”
“I noticed the ones in the hall as I was coming in.” Kim focused his attention on the new chef, who was smiling and seeming to be enjoying all the chit-chat...or at least she appeared to be from the smile on her lips. “And...” He stood and walked over to the mantlepiece, carefully noting the varied size frames and the photographs within, some recent, some obviously decades old, exactly as were the ones in the foyer. The framed images continued onto the few tables and stands she had in place, and in each face, he realized he could see some resemblance to Adalia, some strong, others faint, but there were little bits of her in the majority, despite the change in scenery, despite the change in clothing and styles. “And...this is...incredible. I hope...I was wondering...Have you ever done your family’s genealogy then?”
She smiled fondly. “My brother, well, my oldest brother is in charge of that.”
“That’s not the one in the Air Corps is it?” Johnny asked, and Dominic was happy to correct him with “No...that’s David, remember? And they don’t call it the Air Corps – it’s the Air Force.”
Kim nearly groaned. If he didn’t disrupt their chatter, they would go on forever! “If you don’t mind my asking...exactly how far back does your family...” He had noticed that one young woman – who appeared to be wearing a gown from the late Victorian era, if he recalled all those BBC costume dramas correctly – bore the strongest resemblance to Adalia that he had seen so far.
Johnny grinned. “I was asking her that when you showed up, Kim. You’re a few steps behind me.”
“Here in...” Adalia almost said Here in America, then realized she really had no idea of where in the world the Point was, so she amended that to “In America? A few years before the Revolution started. I had ancestors that fought in that and donated to the cause.” Now it was her turn to realize that her words were attracting an audience again, for the brothers’ eyes were all on her, watching as if afraid they would miss a single word. “And um...we’ve...my family I mean...we’ve fought in every American war since then.”
“Crikey!” Johnny and Dominic said together.
Kim rolled his eyes again before smiling and saying, “I’ve always been fascinated by genealogy.”
Adalia raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“I don’t necessarily think that one finds one’s self by seeking out your ancestors, but it is sort of nice to know that these people lived just like we do.”
Dominic elbowed Johnny in the ribs then whispered in the latter’s ear, “He’s talking all fancy again.” Both boys chuckled.
“Yes...well...I love history,” their hostess admitted, “so genealogy fell into that.”
“I would love...” But Kim was stopped when the doorbell rang.
“Now who the... Sorry....would you all excuse me for a minute?” Adalia told them as she jumped up. Not only was she looking puzzled, but the old saying of This place is getting busier than Grand Central Station came to mind.
The second she left the room, Kim swung about and nearly stomped to the sofa where Dominic and Johnny sat, talking softly amongst themselves. “Now listen you little bastards...”
Johnny was the first to spring to his feet. “Who are you calling a bastard, you bastard?”
“Yeah Kim....Where do you get off with that?”
But Barrett was undeterred. His hands, now by his sides, had tightened into fists and he gritted his teeth. “I am not going to repeat this. I told all of you last night at the Tavern...you are going to stay out of my way when it comes to Adalia. I am sick and tired of...”
“We know, we know.” Johnny was having none of it. “You’re tired of coming in second to Sid. You’re tired of your brothers getting in your way...like some of the sheilas that come here would take a look at you if they knew you like we know you.”
Kim’s face went red. “I am only going to repeat this once more: You will stay out of my way, little boys.”
Now it was Dom’s turn to stand. “And who are you calling a little boy?”
“We’re tired of you treating us like babies, Kim!” Johnny retorted. “We have as much right to be here as you do! Besides...I was here first...”
“Then me!”
“And I don’t mind Dom, even if I think he’s a little young for her...”
“Hey!”
“...but if you think I’m going to stand aside while you lay in wait for Adalia like you’re some...some snake, you’ll have to get through me.”
“And me! And I’m not that young, Johnny. I was going in the Army, remember?”
Barrett yawned and studied his manicured nails. “Are you afraid she’s going to choose a real man over two children?”
Johnny walked right up into Barrett’s face so that they were eye-to-eye. “If you call me a child one more time,” he growled in a lowered voice, ramming a finger into Kim’s chest, “I’m going to ram my Blundstones so far up your arse you’ll taste leather.”
“Good on ya, Johnny.”
“You honestly don’t think you’re intimidating me, are you...boy?”
“I don’t give a fuck what you think. You’re not throwing me and Dom out of here. We have as much an honest chance as you do.”
“Besides Kim, it’s Adalia’s choice. You come over here with your expensive fancy wine and fancy cheeses and fancy desserts, and think she’s going to go all wilted flower and fall into bed with you. I think she’s got more sense than that.”
“That’s what you’re hoping,” Kim grinned. “I doubt very much anyone of her taste is going to pick a pimply faced boy,” he stared at Dominic and then turned on Johnny, “or a very confused, overly emotional one over someone like...”
“You?” Dom nearly shouted. “What the hell is it with you and Sid? You’re not God’s gift. Neither’s Sid. I sometimes wonder...” He bit his lip, afraid that he had said too much.
“You sometimes wonder...what?” Kim was too curious to let the comment go.
Taking a deep breath, and ignoring Johnny’s warning hand on his arm, he said very clearly, “I sometimes wonder if the Creator is sorry he brought you and Sid into the world.”
“Oh....Oh....” Kim slapped a hand over his heart. “That arrow went straight for it. Hit me too. That hurt. That hurt a lot! I suppose now I should start crying and whimpering, and asking some kind of god for forgiveness in being such a bad...boy. Or would you prefer sackcloth and ashes? Trust me, Dom – the bad boys are the ones that get remembered.”
Johnny grunted, “Then why is it you hardly ever get any attention, and when you do it’s only because you’re a left...”
Kim’s voice was still deceptively calmed. “If you call me a leftover it’ll be my hands ripping off your balls. You will not talk to me that way, John Ryan and neither will you, Dominic. I won’t take this sort of shit off our more popular brothers. I sure as hell won’t take it from two little nobodies.”
“If anybody’s a nobody it’s you!” Johnny nearly screamed. “Nobody knows your fucking movie. The only reason why they do is by accident ‘cause they were looking for something with Anthony Hopkins in it!”
The shot across the bow did not openly appear to faze Kim, who merely looked bored, although the comment itself did as intended. He might never publically reveal his feelings in front of his siblings, but the fact that The Efficiency Expert may have been the least known of the Creator’s movies always did hurt, and simply added to what insecurities he had. But no, Dom and Johnny will never get that from me! “She’s still going to choose me,” he calmly replied.
“I don’t think she will.”
“Well who is going to prevent that, Johnny? You?”
Ryan moved forward, bearing down on Kim’s Cheshire Cat smirk. Now it was Dom’s turn to grab at Johnny, fearing that all three had gone too far.
“Johnny! Johnny! Hold on there, mate!”
“Why? You want to kick his arse as much as I do!”
“Sure I do, but what’s Adalia gonna think if she comes in here right now and catches us beating the shit out of each other...and on top of that wrecking her home.”
“I don’t give a...”
“Yeah, you do, Johnny. You do. You know you do. She’ll never let us in here again...and if you think that’s bad...” Dom paused, hoping the pregnant silence would cause his brother to calm, if only out of curiosity.
The move worked for although Johnny jerked away from Dominic, he still managed to mutter, “What?!”
“You wait until Tina hears about this. We’ve never done anything to hurt her before or get into any kind of major trouble, but if we get into it with Kim, she’ll never forgive us – ever. And if Tina knows, you know John will find out. And if John finds out...well...you put two and two together. It’ll be all over the Point by tomorrow...and I don’t like the idea of John or Bud or Terry showing up at my door to lay the law down to me.”
“And you’ll have made such an impression on Adalia as well,” Kim sneered. “You two are always complaining about not being noticed. Well...this will be your opportunity. You’ll be famous. You’ll be the ones that beat poor helpless Kim Barrett into a coma.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Johnny growled, trying to ignore him as he listened to the youngest. “Go on Dom. Go on with what you were saying.”
“I’m just saying come on, Johnny,” Dom urged, for one of the few times feeling mature and hoping that it might appeal to Adalia should the effect rub off. “He ain’t worth it.”
There was another long pause and then finally, “Who’d have thought you’d be a voice of reason little brother,” came from Ryan’s lips, and Dominic visibly relaxed. Although Johnny still frowned in Kim’s direction, his initial anger had faded as he accepted how right he was to listen. But he still added “It’s not over, Kim.”
Barrett threw his hands into the air in mock surrender. “I didn’t expect it to be, but just remember...if we’re all so connected as brothers, I hope you’ll sense that I’m coming to see Adalia...then stay the hell away.”
The words only served to fire Johnny up again, but before he could do anything foolish, Dom jumped between them...and the living room doors opened. The three momentarily froze...then ran for the closest seats they could find: Kim on the sofa and Dominic in the armchair (and briefly fighting Kim for the possession of one of the books scattered on the coffee table, until one was with a copy of Pride and Prejudice and the other a Naomi Novik paperback from her Temeraire series). Meanwhile, Johnny stumbled as he rushed for the other end of the sofa, literally falling headlong onto a cushion just as Adalia walked in.
The second she did, the tension was immediately noticeable, although now, all three men were watching her as if they had been the most perfect little boys in the world while she was gone. The only thing missing are the haloes she joked to herself, while part of her mind was thanking God that she arrived when she did. For some reason, she had a suspicion that a few minutes too late and she would have walked into the middle of a disaster.
“Um...” she started, looking from one innocent face to the other, “guess who was at the door?” She stepped aside...and a figure moved next to her causing the three brothers to stare as they tried to find the words.
It was finally for Dominic to say “Crikey Arthur. What are you doing here?”
Arthur looked as astonished as the others, and he shifted slightly, juggling the box in his hands. “Oh I...Adalia told me she had company, but I didn’t realize it was...” At a brief loss for words he finally swallowed and said, “Johnny.”
“Arthur.”
“Dom.”
“Arthur.”
“Kim.”
Kim rolled his eyes and crossed his legs. This was not how he had imagined the evening progressing. “Arthur. What are you doing here?”
Arthur looked at Adalia before answering. “Well...I knew she was still moving in....I’ve been helping her out you know,” and he said the latter proudly, subtly reminding Barrett that he had done nothing in assisting their new resident as far as setting up her home. “And I thought it might be nice to bring a little something by so she wouldn’t have to worry about cooking or....Well...” He glanced to where the others had placed their own gifts: one was a plain cardboard box, nearly spilling over with food and drink; another was in the clever shape of a house and brimming with items; the third was actually a plastic, reusable crate, but as with the others, there appeared to be enough food to feed one person for days. Baskin looked down at his own box, halfway wondering if his would pale in comparison, so he was delighted when Adalia placed a hand on his arm, smiling as she did. The action served to strengthen his resolve and he continued as if he never stopping: “Well...I thought it would be nice,” he repeated. “Didn’t know the rest of you would have the same idea.”
“Yes...who would have thought that,” Kim confessed, wondering how in the world these three lesser individuals could possibly be on the same wavelength as someone of his intelligence! It was obvious. He was slipping.
Adalia tried to smile, but brushed several fingers over her lips to prevent the laugh that was about to explode from within. “Well...I knew Tina was planning a housewarming for me tomorrow, but I didn’t know we’d end up getting a jump on it. Think I should just call everybody up and tell them the party’s already started?”
Dom and Johnny giggled; Arthur ran a hand over the back of his reddening neck...and Kim looked as though he had smelled something foul.
“Look...I was planning on having beef brisket for dinner...but since I only made enough for one...” She withdrew a package of chocolates from Arthur’s box. “How about we just wing it and have an indoor picnic? We’ve got plenty of wine, and bread and cheese, and I’m pretty sure I saw some fruit in one of these...”
“Don’t forget the VB!” Dom shouted.
“And we’ve got some meat too,” Johnny told them. “I put some emu steaks and roo burgers on dry ice so Adalia could try something Aussie, and I’m sure Kim brought something real hoity-toity...like pate de foie gras or something.”
“I brought chicken,” came the muttered reply, which caused Dom and Johnny to simultaneously ask, ‘What?’
“I said I brought a roasted chicken,” Kim repeated, thinking Enough for two....I was planning on dripping the juices over those lovely luscious breasts of hers and licking....
“Well, let’s go with the chicken then since it’s cooked already. See,” Adalia replied, clapping her hands together as she hurried over to the three brothers, Arthur following close behind, “we have plenty to go around. I hate thinking of you guys starving; none of you have probably eaten dinner yet, have you? And I didn’t know anyone was coming or I would have planned to...”
“You wouldn’t have had any way of knowing we were all showing up,” Johnny said, grinning at their hostess.
“Yeah...here you were planning a quiet Shabbat dinner...”
“Shabbat?” Arthur interrupted Dom. “It’s your Sabbath, Adalia? Oh I...” His face turned an even deeper shade of red. “I had no...I didn’t know. I honestly, honestly wouldn’t have come if I’d known you...”
“Arthur...no...it’s okay. Really...honestly...it’s fine. We’ll just have our own little pre-housewarming party, okay? I can’t eat all this food anyway, and maybe we can grill up the roo and emu tomorrow night. I know Tina’s going to have the barbecue going ‘cause we planned on ribs and chicken and burgers....Isn’t that funny though...how you all had the same idea? I mean...about bringing me a food basket.”
“Yeah funny,” Dom said, laughing uncomfortably.
“That is funny, isn’t it?” Arthur answered, finally putting down the box and nervously sitting in the middle of the sofa.
“Hysterical,” Johnny replied.
“I’m laughing so hard my sides hurt,” Kim told them through the biggest smile he could manage. Right now, the only thing that hurt were his teeth from grinding them so hard!
Adalia noticed that Casey was watching the entire proceedings from his spot in a nearby window sill, his annoyed expression seeming to indicate: This is not how I thought we’d be spending our Sabbath.
His mistress could only muster her prettiest smile as she thought No Casey...neither did I.