TO THE STARS
Chapter Four
"Don’t worry. Mama and Daddy
will love you," Josie promised the man sitting beside her in the cab.
"You keep saying that, which
leads me to believe that they won’t love me," Mickey Bradshaw declared.
"I’m serious," Josie
assured him. "They’re pretty swell for a married couple in their forties.
Daddy may try to scare you a little bit, but he’s perfectly harmless. I
swear."
"Are you sure?" Mickey
asked, a hint of concern seeping into his voice. "I mean, how many men
have you brought home before?"
"Well…" Josie
hesitated. "Okay, so I haven’t brought men home before. But my sister has,
and Daddy was okay with them. Except for the one who kept smoking cigars in the
house. What was his name again? David? Dean?"
"But doll," Mickey
began.
"Don! That was his name, Don!
Ooh, I couldn’t stand him. I don’t know what Izzy was thinking!"
"Honey," Mickey tried
again.
"Hmm?" Josie asked.
"Oh! Mickey, don’t worry about it! He’s all bark and no bite. You’ll
see."
"If you say so." Mickey
sighed.
"Is this the place?"
the driver asked, turning to glance back at the young woman in the backseat.
"Yes. Right here,"
Josie instructed him, brushing some of her reddish-blonde curls out of her
face. After they had unloaded the trunk and Mickey had paid the driver, Mickey
followed Josie up the neat little walk and into the house. What he saw there
shocked him, as well as Josie.
A young-looking couple was
running around in the back of the house; the chase could be mostly viewed from
Josie and Mickey’s position in the foyer. The woman was shrieking and laughing,
scrambling over pieces of furniture in her haste. The man scrambled right over
the furniture as well, laughing and shouting, "I’m gonna get you!"
"No! No!" the woman
shrieked, laughing as she nearly fell off the couch. Her face was flushed and
her curls were running amok. She looked incredibly like Josie; this had to be
her sister, Izzy. Mickey had never actually met Isadora Calvert, and the few
pictures Josie trusted herself to keep up with--she was very disorganized and
lost things often--were from childhood. Mickey had to wonder where Mr. and Mrs.
Calvert and their son, Tommy, were; he doubted they would be happy to know that
their oldest daughter had brought home a man with obviously less-than-pure
intentions and was now giddily being chased by him in their home.
"Oh, my God," Josie
muttered, flushing bright red. "I can’t believe them."
"They’ve been like that for
awhile now."
The stationary couple looked up
to see a skinny, freckled boy of about nine standing on the stairs. Josie
opened up her arms and he jumped into them, squeezing his sister tight. So this
was Tommy; Josie squealed over her brother often.
"Who are you?" Tommy
asked rudely the moment he released Josie.
"Tommy, this is my friend,
Mickey," Josie said, a warning tone in her voice.
"Hello, Tommy," Mickey
said genially, shaking the boy’s hand.
Tommy examined him shrewdly.
"Well, he’s all right, I suppose," he finally decided. "At least
you two aren’t acting like that," he added, jerking his head at the
still-chasing couple in the living room and kitchen.
"Don’t they have any
integrity?" Josie asked scornfully. "They’re behaving like
barbarians! And they know you’re in the house and that I’m expected home!"
The man finally caught Izzy,
throwing his arms around her from behind. She shrieked again, her arms and legs
flailing out as she was lifted off the ground.
"Will you two pipe
down?" Tommy bellowed, looking nauseated.
"Oh, Josie!" Izzy said
breathlessly, gently extricating herself from the man’s arms. She brushed back
some stray curls and patted down her hair in an attempt to put herself
together, but it was far too late for that. Izzy straightened her dress while
the man cleared his throat and adjusted his rumpled shirt.
"Mo-o-o-om," Josie
whined between her clenched teeth.
Mickey started. Mom? Wait a
second…
"Who’s this?"
"Mama, this is my friend,
Mickey Bradshaw," Josie explained, sounding as if she had rehearsed this.
"Hello, Mickey. I’m
Rose," the woman said, extending her hand.
Mickey tried not to let his mouth
hang open too badly. This was Josie’s mother? She looked too young to be in her
forties. As for her husband…he looked like he, too, was still in his twenties.
He shook Mickey’s hand with a look that clearly said he was going to have a
talk with Mickey later.
"I…wow…Mrs. Calvert,"
Mickey stumbled over the words, still stunned, as Josie embraced her parents.
"I could’ve sworn you were Josie’s older sister!"
"Oh, you’re a charmer."
Rose laughed.
"No, I’m serious,"
Mickey protested. Josie, catching the meaning in his words, elbowed him in the
ribs. "Ow!"
Jack and Rose, catching this
exchange, shared a knowing look.
"She’s done well," Jack
muttered to his wife, who grinned.
"What was that?" Josie
asked suspiciously.
"Nothing," both parents
said at the same time.
"Uh…Mickey, was it?"
Jack asked, changing the subject.
"Yes, sir," Mickey
replied, already starting to grow nervous.
"How about helping me with
these suitcases?"
"Oh, sure thing, Mr.
Calvert," Mickey said, rushing to help Jack with the luggage. Tommy
followed them up the stairs, still eyeing Mickey suspiciously.
Rose put her arm around Josie and
walked with her to the kitchen.
"Mama, you completely
embarrassed me back there!"
Rose rolled her eyes.
"Honey, your father and I are very much in love and we are not ashamed of
the fact. You’re lucky. Most people our age start bickering with their spouses
at this point in their marriage."
"But Mama, Mickey’s my
boyfriend! Now he’s going to think I come from a family of--of licentious
savages!" Josie exclaimed.
"What are they teaching at
these colleges?" Rose muttered.
"Mama…"
"Oh, stop acting like such a
child," Rose teased, tugging on a curl of Josie’s hair.
"Look who’s talking,"
Josie scoffed.
"Oh, shut up and help me
bake a cake," Rose laughed, referring to their favorite activity together.
"Yes, Mama."