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The third or fourth time the black car went around the block, Douglas left his comfortable chair and stood by the driveway. When the car tried to go past again, Douglas motioned it into the drive.
For a moment, he thought, the young driver would gun it, and he and Elena wouldn’t see the car or the kid again. Instead, after a contemplative minute, the car parked neatly behind Douglas’ car.
It took another couple of minutes before the driver got out.
“Coke or ginger ale?” Douglas asked.
***
Zach sipped his Coke with lemon and looked out over the ocean. Vicky always spoke well of her Uncle Douglas, and Zach thought about how he’d been welcomed the night before he took her to see The Diary of Anne Frank.
“You know she’s not here,” Douglas said.
“Yeah.” Zach took another sip. “I didn’t think you’d see me.” After a second he added, “Sir.”
Douglas drank his ginger ale and said, “There aren’t that many large black cars around here. Someone in the next block has a Cadillac, but it’s powder blue.”
Zach gave a rare, genuine laugh. “Tell me I haven’t frightened your family or anything.”
Douglas shook his head. “I’m more worried that Maggy thinks it’s romantic.”
Zach’s eyes went wide. “Has she told Vicky? Have you?”
“It’s possible that Maggy’s mentioned it in one of her letters to Suzy. I don’t read her correspondence.”
There was a long silence. Finally, Douglas said, “Did Vicky mention that I’d like to paint you?”
“She mentioned my bone structure,” Zach said with a shrug.
“Yes.” Douglas added, “I gather you don’t get along well with your folks. Or authority in general.”
Zach said, “May I have more Coke?”
Douglas brought the rest of the open bottle. “Do you need more ice?”
“No, thank you.” Zach poured some more and took another slice of lemon. “Choate’s okay. They wanted me home for the holidays – my parents did – so, here I am. I just, I’d hoped they’d come East for Christmas, and I’d be able to go to New York for a few days and maybe see Vicky.”
Douglas nodded.
“At Hotchkiss, my old school… I had a history teacher that was flat out wrong about the English Civil War, its aftermath, and the foundation of the Dutch Republic. I mean, he just needed to look at the textbook for the dates, and he still got those wrong. The other stuff, like whether founding the East India Company was a good thing or not, those we could have agreed to disagree, but the basic facts… y’know?”
Douglas said, “I do. I’ll give you a tip about Vicky, though. She hates ‘y’know’ as a verbal tic.”
Zach nodded. “Yeah. The headmaster backed him. Didn’t matter that things – facts – were wrong, I was supposed to respect his authority and superior knowledge even if he was dead wrong.”
“So rather than appeal to the Hotchkiss Board of Governors or whatever process they had, you did something to get expelled.”
Zach chuckled without conviction and said, “Climbed out the window and walked into town for a cup of coffee at the local diner. I mean, the diner closed at nine, and I was back in my room before official ‘lights out.’”
“An act of planned defiance. Safe defiance, which I commend you for, by the way. But it wasn’t sloppiness or a mistake.”
“No, sir.” Zach said, “Doctor Austin doesn’t like me much. I guess I can see why. But adults expect us to respect, I don’t know, liars, frauds? And then get upset when we call them out on it.”
Douglas nodded. “If it’s any comfort, I don’t think my brother dislikes you. He thinks you’re wrong headed.”
“Same thing.”
“It really isn’t,” Douglas said. He took a moment. “Would you be willing to come here twice a week for two or three hours a time until you have to go back to Choate?”
“Sure,” Zach said, “But why?”
“Well, mostly to pose. I was serious about wanting to paint you, and I need to try sketches before I make a final decision. It would also prevent Maggy from thinking your neighborhood drive bys are sweet longing for Vicky. She’s impressionable at the moment.”
“Just stand or sit around for a couple of hours?”
Douglas looked closely at the young man who had so little direction in his life. “If you’d like to help me with some yard work, too, that would be a huge help.”
For a moment, Zach thought about calling him a phony and throwing his offer back in his face. Instead Zach said, “I’ve heard staying still can be hard work. Guess I’ll find out.” There was a pause before he added, “A little yard work would be nice. Mrs. Austin seemed to know about plants, and I think Vicky likes them.”
“She does,” Douglas said. “Elena and Maggy won’t be back until tomorrow. If you call your folks, we could grab hamburgers in town before you head home.”
Zach said, “Where’s your phone?”
***
Over hamburgers and fries and salad at a cafe on the beach, Zach said, “I suppose you know about my broken wrist and my promise to Vicky about medical care and stuff.”
“I do. That’s part of the reason I thought inviting you in would be all right. You’ve taken some worry off of Vicky’s shoulders which took worry off of my brother and sister-in-laws’ shoulders.”
Zach bit down on a fry defiantly. “Vicky doesn’t need to worry about me. She’s a kid. Like a 'younger than I thought she was' type of kid.”
“Yes,” Douglas said, “But I’ve described her as an empath. She picks up on emotions very easily. Vicky picked up on your fear for yourself – I say that because I picked up on it, too, the only time we met. By looking after yourself, finding out what the doctors know, you’ve eased that fear in yourself as well.”
They ate in companionable silence.
Zach asked, “I know you don’t think I should have gotten myself kicked out of Hotchkiss, but do you think I should have backed down? Listened to that crumby teacher?”
“No. And I think that crumby headmaster should be fired. It’s impossible to instill respect without facts, without being respectful to your subject, and, if you have them, respecting your colleagues or students.”
“Good. Meeting Vicky and her folks, it showed me – she showed me – that there are lots of ways to be genuine, to hold on to respect, y’know. I hadn’t understood that before.”
“I’m glad that they were there, that they caught you before the cynicism had hardened to stone.”
The waiter took their plates. “Anyone want a hot fudge sundae?” he asked.
Zach and Douglas both nodded.