Marcus Lawry drove to the Sigh in White Rock and parked, getting out of the car and walking around it to the passengers side. He was dressed in jeans and a dark blue henley shirt with runners on his feet. Opening the door, he offered his hand to his grandmother who took it with a smile.
Bertha Lawry took his hand and stood. She was short and round with dark skin and eyes. The most striking thing about her was her stunning white hair locked and coming to her calves. She had been very excited to see Marcus and have him spend the night at her house in Vancouver. He’d told her about his love, which was very exciting for her, as she had known his pains and struggles with women, so for him to have met someone special was exciting. She was eighty one years old, but some days felt younger. For this special passion, she had dressed in a flowing yellow dress with flat green shoes. Her white locs were in a thick braid down her back and she walked with purpose with her arm in the crook of her grandson. The pride she felt for him almost literally radiated off of her in waves.
Natalie had arranged a taxi for her Baba but had timed it so she would arrive a half hour before her. She had actually stopped into her own apartment for clothes, non work clothes to wear to meet Marcus’s grandmother. She was home now. The trial had happened and Kira had been acquitted after a plea bargain. It was bittersweet. She was so happy about Kira’s victory and release but she was also missing Marcus terribly. Observing how Marcus dressed off duty she opted for casual. She put on a pair of dark blue capri jeans and a pretty patterned summer short sleeved grey blue blouse with some red and blue embroidery on the neckline. She had on ballet style flats in the same red as the embroidery and carried her small black purse. She wore minimal makeup but enough to accent her features and an owl necklace and matching earrings her Baba had given her since she’d be seeing her later too. Natalie drove her little smart car up to the Sigh parking lot just as she saw Marcus and his grandmother walking in. She hadn’t brought it to Alexandra because she was told the town was very walkable. She wasn’t normally so nervous meeting the family but what she and Marcus had talked about with his fears and how much and how deeply she loves him are forming a little pit in her stomach as she walks up behind them and offers an almost too quiet “Hi there…”
Marcus walked in and looked around. So far he didn’t see Natalie. He paused and looked at his grandmother. “G-mama, there’s one more thing I wanted to tell you about Natalie…”
Bertha looked up at him, her dark eyes still sparkling. “You ain’t stopped talking about her since you walked in my house. What else is there to say?”
Marcus shrugged. “She’s Jewish?” he offered.
Bertha’s brows rose. “Jewish as in Sammy Davis Junior Jewish?” she retorted. And then she heard a quiet hello from behind them and turned to look at her. “Nope.” she answered her own question. But she smiled. “You must be Natalie.” she smiled and reached out to pat her arm. Then she paused. “Nope.” and she moved in to hug the nos Jewish as in Sammy Davis Junior Natalie. She is not quite five foot tall, so it could be interesting.
Marcus looked a little apprehensive at first and then smiled when his grandmother hugged his person. “Hey.” he’ll move in for a kiss of his own if his grandmother ever lets Natalie go.
Natalie overhears the Sammy Davis comment and the word Jewish and laughs a bit. She’s tall but not gigantic, maybe so to this smaller woman suddenly hugging her as she’s about 5’8 or 9 or so, depending on her footwear. She bends down a bit and hugs Marcus’s Grandmother back “Lovely to meet you.” When they let go she does kiss Marcus back but chastely and politely in front of his G-Mama.
Marcus kisses her softly and politely. He is glad his G-mama hadn’t gotten upset. “Should we sit?” he suggests, looking around. The day was comfortable, but cool.
Natalie smiles “Her cab will be here in about 20 minutes. Marcus got to meet her by facetime Bertha looked around. “We should wait for Natalie’s grandmother, don’t you think, Marcus?” its a question and yet not a question.
already so since he had a head start on meeting my family, we figured I’d arrive a bit early. I think we can sit as long as there’s a spot for her to join in.”
Marcus looks about again and spots a table for four. “How about there?” he suggests.
Bertha looks at Natalie. “Oh he did? On the Face Time you say?” she looks impressed. “Then let’s sit. I bet Natalie has a million questions about me.” She takes Marcus's arm and they head for the table. He pulls out her chair and she sits, pulling her long and dreadlocked braid into her lap. Then she watches as the kids do the same. “Ask away, Natalie. I’m all ready.”
Natalie smiles at Marcus and then his G-Mama. “I do actually….but I’ll try not to make it feel like a cross examination.” She jokes “First of all, what would you prefer I call you? Second of all, not a question...but you have amazing hair, gorgeous. Thirdly, what kind of kid was Marcus?” She says with a little grin shot his way.
Marcus listens to the questions but at the third one, groans as if pained. He should have expected this.
Bertha looks at Natalie and seems to consider. “Well the last girl I met I let call me Bertha, but I didn’t like her. She was too … uppity, if you want the truth of it all. And Marcus walked in my house talking bout Natalie this and Natalie that and I knew almost all about you till a minute ago.” She looks at her grandson. “I’ll tell you this much, Natalie … he never acted like this before about no girl. So seems to me it’s best if you just call me G-Mama now and have done with it all.”
Marcus almost seems to blush under his dark skin.
Bertha continues. “Thank you for the compliment. I stopped doin my hair around 1950 or so. Just let it do what it do. I was goin back and forth between the states and here, because my father was American. My mother was from Jamaica but moved to Canada by way of Pennsylvania. She wanted me to be more Jamacian I guess. I like it well enough.” clearly his grandmother is not as quiet as Marcus is. Then she grins. “What kind of kid was Marcus?” she looks at him, as if remembering. “He was always quiet and listening. Could hardly get ten words out of the boy most of the time. Usually it was just ‘Yes G-mama’ or ‘No G-mama’. He was a good help to me and his mama … I was worried, I admit, with her being so young when he was born and she not wanting to say who his daddy was.” she sighs deeply. “But I figured it out and I think he did too. I guess it don’t matter to me. Oh.” she held up a hand. “He was forever asking me questions. About the past. He’s a living history book about my family. Loves him some history. When he was little, I just told him of things was bad, but as he got older I think he looked up some of it himself and hed want the details.” she sighs. “He loves him history. Maybe you can keep him in the here and now with the rest of us.”
Natalie gives G-Mama her absolute presence as she talks. When she mentioned she didn’t like the ex she has to work not to smile but hopes to god the woman likes her. And shen G-Mamam talks about how much Marcus went on about her, she reaches and tries to take his hand, very touched by him talking about her. She was a fascinating woman and like with Marcus, she didn’t mind the talking at all. G-Mama had defiant substance. “So do you have dual citizenship then? If your father was American and your mother, after coming here, had Candadian citizenship?” She listens to the rest “He was quiet when we met….” She muses “And he’s great with history. I wouldn’t deny him that love of it. It’s his thing. But in the here and now Marcus is really present in his work. He treats the people he has to work with with such dignity and compassion….the world needs more cops like your grandson, or more who follow his example.”
They had been talking for awhile now and a taxi pulled up with both the driver and the patron deep in animated conversation and the patron making the driver laugh and laugh before she got out. It was Baba Petra with her flowered Babushka and her short sleeve flowered sundress today that clashed insanely with the babushka. She wore creme coloured stockings and on her feet, bright red high top sneakers.She carried a little patchwork over the shoulder purse that looked like she had made it out of fabric scraps. She shuffled up to the outdoor tables seeing Natalie and recognizing Marcus and waved enthusiastically “Hello!” She swooped to hug Natalie before she’d even gotten to her feet fully “My Natalia….” she clearly had missed her “My little Zeli.”
Natalie hugged her Baba back “Baba you know Marcus,” She smiles at him and then turns to his grandmother “And this is Bertha. G-Mama this is my Baba….Petra.” She makes the introductions.
Marcus is enjoying the conversation while staying completely out of it. When the taxi pulls up, he stands and is standing by the time Petra arrives and hugs Natalie. He will move to the one remaining hair and pull it out for her and then address all three ladies. “Now that everyone is here, I can get you all coffee or whatever.” he knows he sounds like their waiter.
Bertha remains seated and watches as Natalie's grandmother comes in and swoops down on her granddaughter. She nods in approval as Marcus stands and pulls out the woman’s chair and offers to get them all whatever they want. It’s exactly how she raised him and she beams in pride. Then she offers the older woman a smile. “A pleasure to meet you.” she says politely.
Petra stands up from hugging Natalie and head to the offered chair but before she sits she turns and tries to hug Marcus “I was so happy to get your phone message Marcus Lawry.” She still calling him by the name he introduced himself as without the Officer title. It was kind of her little joke. If he allows the hug she’ll keep it brief and then reach to shake Bertha’s hand after “And you as well Bertha. “
Natalie gives Marcus a sweet smile as he dotes on her Baba like a gentleman and then giggles as her Baba tries to hug him. “Iced tea for me please.” She says about the offer of a drink “And thank you.”
Petra had heard the drink offer too “Oh so polite Marcus. If they have mint tea I’d love some please.” Now she sits.
Bertha smiles at Marcus. “Get me a dark chocolate mocha.” she orders. Then she looks at Petra. “Natalie was asking me what to call me, so now I have to ask what do I call you?”
Marcus gets the orders and nods. “I’ll be right back.” and he goes off to get in the line to order.
Petra smiles “Petra is good. Petrushka is my full name but it’s so long...and then my son Pavel gave it to Natalia as a middle name. Poor Zeli...Natalia Petrushka Sokal. But yes Petra for me.” Her Czech accent is strong but her English is clear “And Bertha for you? Such a nice name...two syllables.” She grins.
Natalie watches the two old women talking with curiosity, a bit sorry that Marcus is missing this.
Bertha smiles and murmurs the names to herself, trying to get the pronunciation right. “Yes Bertha for me. And two or three syllables is just right for calling a child home.” she chuckles and then looks at Natalie then back at Petra. “I like that scarf.” she admits. “And the dress. Not sure if I like them together but I like them both. No offence, I'm kind of honest sometimes. Character flaw.”
Both Petra and Natalie laugh at Bertha’s admission and Petra explains, pointing at Natalie.
“Like this one, since she was little. And I’m not easily offended. I like the bright colours. Natalia gets her bluntness from her mother….but she has more of a sense of humour about it. Lisa is..” She sighs “Lisa is not always nice….but I put up with her. Natalia at least knows she might offend and can laugh about it. Unless someone had it coming in court...then watch out!”
Natalie snorts “Thanks Baba. I’m more curious about your runners. Are you skateboarding at the park with the neighbourhood kids?”
Petra looks delighted by the idea “If only they would teach me.” She looks at Bertha witha little eye twinkle. She looks similar to Natalie in the shape of her eyes and nose.
Bertha arched her brows. “See no Marcus’s mama sometimes had a sharp tongue in her head. The blunt might be better, I suppose it depends on who got to deal with it.” she listens more to the accent. “What is your accent. I don’t recognise it, but that’s no surprise.”
Since they’re being honest Natalie admits her flaw too “I do get snappy and impatient with needless small talk. This is not that..” She qualifies…..”Strangers asking how I am or how I feel about the weather...it’s just not genuine.” She notes the info about Marcus’s mother being sharp tongued and wonders if it’s why he’s so patient with her when she’s bitchy.
Petra nods “Sometimes it’s a tone of voice too...people don’t even know they have.” She answers the question about her accent “I was born in Charvaty in the Czech Republic in 1929.”
Bertha grins. “That can get annoying. Just tell me what you want. Marcus is usually good about no small talk.” she looks at Petra. “Really? I wouldn’t have guessed. I was born in 1939 and I don’t think either one of us looks a day over 70.”
Natalie chuckles “Marcus is perfect at no small talk. I think that’s why I was drawn to him. And no, both you ladies are ageless. I hope I’m as lucky one day.”
Petra looks at Bertha “You most definitely drank from the fountain of youth.” She smiles at Natalie “You’re wearing your owls.” She notices the necklace and earrings she had gifted her and then qualifies “Natalie loves owls, since she was a girl. Even though Sokal means Falcon.”
Natalie smiles “Of course I am Baba. I love them.” She tunes back into Bertha now “Sorry, we got distracted. I had asked if you have dual citizenship G-Mama?”
Marcus returns with the drinks, handing to each lady in turn before sitting with his own and sipping it while listening into the conversation.
Bertha smiles at the compliment. "Thank you! And ols ... oh I love learning things." she blinks when Natalia reminds her that she hadn't answered the question. "Yes, I have dual citizenship. I admit I haven't been to the States in a very long time. My father died during some of the rioting in the 60's and I came back here and haven't looked back. Canada is a bit better, but it all feels the same some days ... especially after some of the problems Marcus has had over the years. But even for him .." she looks at him, lovingly. "It's been many years without major problems." she emphasises the word 'major', but reaches to pat his hand.
Marcus smiles at his grandmother and when she pats his hand, he takes it and squeezes it comfortingly for a moment.
Natalie thanks Marcus for the drink and then gives Bertha a look of compassion “I’m so sorry about your father.” She looks at Marcus with love, knowing what he had shared with her. It still broke her heart to think about it, more so now. She just nods.
Petra listens and observes and sees Natalie’s look to Marcus “I am sorry too….they always tell us Canada is not racist but we have far to go to live up to that.” She holds up her tea “Thank you…” And then she opens the takeout cup and rips open the tea bag, letting it steep loose as she swirls it around and the scent of mint wafts around her.
Bertha smiles at Natalie. Just the way she looks at him gives her hope for his happiness in a relationship. “Thank you, Natalie. For the sympathy and for loving Marcus.” she looks at Petra. “Canada is … better at hiding it maybe than the Americans. And a cooler temper … but when things boil over in the States … as you know .. they boil over hard.” she looks at the way Petra makes her tea and arches a brow, then goes into her own large tote and takes out a couple of packets of stevia, putting them in her coffee.
Marcus looks at Natalie and leans over, kissing her on the cheek if allowed. Here he can love her openly, but even when it was more discreet he knew it was professional and not anything to do with his being black or what people might think of that.
Natalie gives Bertha a little smile and nods. “So true.” She notices the stevia packages and knows what they are but doesn’t comment. When Marcus kisses her cheek she leans her face into it and looks very content.
Petra nods and leans in looking at the stevia packages “What have you got there Bertha?” She glances up seeing Marcus kiss Natalie and her granddaughter looking happy “Zeli I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this at ease with a man….it’s refreshing.” She gives Marcus a look of gratitude “You’re good for her.”
Natalie gives a little shrug but can’t fight smiling “Not sure I have been either, and yes he is..” Then she focuses on trying to get to know Bertha more “Have you always lived in White Rock?”
Bertha watches her grandson with his girlfriend as she stirs the stevia into her coffee. She glances at Petra. “Oh this is stevia. A natural sweetener. I had Type 2 diabetes, but with some help beat it back.” she looks at Marcus again with a chuckle, suggesting that the help came from that direction. “This new healthier diet I been on now for a long time helped a lot of things. My high blood pressure and the diabetes. The doctor says I’m still not in shape.” she snorts. “I’m in shape. Rounds a shape.” she proclaims, and smiling looks again at her grandson. She looks at Natalie and nods. “Look like he is to me.” she states and then goes on. “No .. we lived in the Devils Kitchen most all the time. Marcus got me out of there and to White Rock after he … had some troubles in Vancouver and after his mama died. She got hit by a drunk driver a dozen years back. Then Marcus wanted me out of the Devil’s Kitchen and bought my little house. It was a mess, but he spent most of his time fixing it up for me with some of his police friends and now it’s just perfect. He got the house for a song because it was in such bad shape. Now I could sell it for twice what I bought … well if the housing market gets over the Covid. But I don’t want to leave it. He can sell it later or better yet rent it out for extra money after I’m gone.
Marcus nods both at Canadian temperament and his G-Mama’s words about her new diet. At the words on how good he is for Natalia, he grins. “She’s my person.” he replies. Then he arches his brows when she talks about selling her house when she’s gone. “You ain’t goin noplace G-Mama.” he insists. Maybe I’ll sell the house and move you to Alexandra. That's even better livin for you.”
Natalie listened to both Bertha and then Marcus, nodding along. She had giggles at the round is a shape comment. Her own curvy shape had incurred some commentary over her life too, mostly from her mother. “He did tell me about Devil’s Kitchen. I know it from my own work too.” She looks impressed about his care for his grandmother and making sure she had a safe and decent place to live, even through his own challenges. She smiles at Marcus when he says she’s his person and then agrees about Alexandra “You’d like Alexandra G-Mama. I was surprised how much I like it. I know I have an obvious bias but even outside of Marcus being there….and being my person too.It’s pretty amazing.”
Petra gets to the bottom of her tea as she listens and laughs loudly at round is a shape. She was a robust woman herself “Doctors…” she mutters.”You have a good grandson Bertha. Take care of you like Natalia takes care of me.” She watches Natalie closely when she talks about Alexandra “Are you thinking about giving up the big city life Zeli?” She slowly swishes the tea leaves around in the cup and seems to be studying them.
Natalie looks sweetly at her Baba “It’s crossed my mind, I’ll admit. I need to see if I can make my job somewhat portable. The town only has one lawyer and he’s retired...or should be from what I’ve heard.” She looks sheepishly at Marcus having not really revealed her shift in this direction in a practical capacity.
Marcus listens to the ladies, still staying as out of the conversation as he can until Natalie says that she has considered moving. Then his carefully crafted poker face shatters into a million pieces, registering his shock at the news. It takes him several seconds to recover, but he is still clearly shocked when he smiles and replies, in his way. “Well, that’s alright then.”
Bertha watches them, including Marcus’s reaction. As the seconds of his shock pass, she smirks, then grins and finally smiles. When he speaks those four words she laughs out loud and looks at Natalie. “Baby, that's Marcus jumping up and down cheering and howling in the street just thinking about it.” her laugh becomes a chuckle.
Natalie had watched Marcus face change and then go back. She suspected he’d be happy but was relieved to see it. His understated reply is so very Marcus and she giggles and then nods when she hears Bertha “I kind of figured as much.” She keeps laughing for a bit “It might take awhile but I’ll talk to the partners.
Petra beams at all three of them in turn “I think it’s a good thing.” She turns her cup “Let’s see what the leaves tell us about it all….hmm….funny this one….” She looks up “It looks like a little child….children in your future maybe...or projects brought to fruition slowly…although I’d hope it’s the first one.”
Natalie gives a little jolt at Baba’s tea leaf reading but doesn’t reveal her own suspicions “Oh well no pressure then….maybe someday Baba.” She plays it very casual.
Bertha smiles. “Well everyplace can use layers in this day and age, especially good Jewish lawyers.” she nods and then raises her eyes curiously about the tea leaves. “A chile?” she looks at Marcus, with raised eyebrows as Natalie replies. “When that day come, I bet that dancin in the streets really happen.” she looks between them. “Ya’ll tryin?” she asks bluntly. “I know how y'all kids be these days an I know Marcus fertile enough…”
Marcus hears the tea leaf reading as he drinks and his calm facade is back enough he only swallows a bit harder than normal. But when his grandmother starts asking questions and talking about his fertility, he lowers the cup. “G-mama … Stop.” he commands. “We ain’t talking with you about birth control, or my sex life or nothin .. thank you very much.”
Bertha looks at him, her eyes twinkling. “Well ain’t neither one of ya’ll gettin any younger.” she insists. “So if you thinkin …”
Marcus cuts her off again. “G-Mama. Jesus Christ .. No!”
Natalie actually looks rather amused by G-Mama but the whole thing makes her blush a bit too. She reaches for Marcus’s hand “Let’s see if we can live in the same town first.” She tries to offer and then looks at her Baba “The job relocation will probably be a slow project during Covid.” It’s possibly both true and a red herring.
Petra laughs and laughs and smacks the table in front of Bertha “I like you. You’re blunt. And it’s true they’re not getting any younger. You’re no spring chicken Zeli. But yes the job and the move...have you told your parents?”
Natalie now snaps her head to her Baba “Not yet...and please wait for me to do it. Even with Dad….you know how she gets if she thinks someone else knows first. I already got an earful when she heard about Marcus third.”
Bertha smiles and looks at Petra and then at Natalia and then back at Petra. “Not many women can claim being a great grandmother. Now Marcus’s mama had him just after graduation. His birthday next weekend in case he ain't told you. June the 27th. But anyway, his mama was young, but I wasn’t and you older than me, so I ain’t consulted the bones but I got a good feeling about these two. MUCH better than them other girls he brought home and I bet there more than enough he ain’t even bother to bring home.”
Marcus sighs and shakes his head as his grandmother and Natalia’s grandmother start getting along. He moves a finger between them. “This.” he proclaims, glancing at Natalia. “See .. this is what I was afraid of. They’re getting along and doing .. whatever this is?” he chuckles.
Petra leans in and fully engages “I’m so sorry about the loss of your daughter….and your mother.” She looks at Marcus. She looks back to Bertha “I have a good feeling too. Natalie has had some dismal men before Marcus….so I hear what you’re saying…..” She looks like she’s about to go into a lot of detail and Natalie interupts her.
“Baba!” She looks at Marcus and sighs “Yeah too well…” She laughs awkwardly.
Petra just grins “Hey we’re all sharing here.”
Bertha sort of waves the young people off of the conversation between she and her fellow grandmother. “Hush now.” she looks at Petra. “Well Marcus is a good man, even if I am a little biased. But I don’t think it as really love before this. Oh .. two of them got pregnant and had abortions and didn’t even tell him about it till it wa all done and over with.” she sniffs, annoyed. “No GOOD excuse, either one of them … one was worried about losing her precious little figure and the other one …” she tightens her jaw. “Didn’t want to darken her line any…” and now she huffs, indignantly.
Marcus shakes his head at how well the two women are getting on and then G-mama tells about the two women who'd been pregnant with his child and aborted. He says nothing, but takes Natalie’s hand, then drinks his own coffee, his face a veritable mask again.
Natalie squeezes Marcus's hand when she hears Bertha explain more than he had to her. She almost wished she could meet those women and give them a nasty piece of her mind. As she had thought more an more about it, she had begun to really hope she was having Marcus’s baby. What her own body would ended to do was just biology and she certainly wasn’t even considering the colour of the child’s skin to be anything but whatever beautiful combination they might make in a human. She lets her anger at the women wear clearly across her face.
Petra scoffs “Not nice ladies…..shameful. I’m so sorry Marcus. I know Natalie has always wanted children but ended up with selfish men who didn’t. I mean that first husband...Richard...he was just a lump. He just worked and ate...so boring. And Vijay Patel...hot shot lawyer. I think he spent more time looking in the mirror at himself than appreciating my Zeli. Charming...but a bullshitter to me. And I know there’s a few I didn’t meet….one I bumped into by accident….that Italian lawyer who dropped by….Deluca or something. He had the face of an ass….” Then she sighs “And there was worse before all of them but it’s not mine to tell.”
Natalie slid her face over her hand as her Baba went on. She looked up and nodded about Richard. He was a lump. She looked mildly defensive about Vijay “He tried Baba...we just weren’t suited. I know he comes off as shallow.” And then about the Italian she rolls her eyes “Yes he was an ass.” When her Baba talks about worse before she knows she means Aaron and goes quiet. She’s not sure she’s ready for this topic on their first meeting with Bertha. It’s possible Marcus told her but she’s not going to get into it herself. Her jaw clenches a bit and she takes a long sip of iced tea after. What she doesn’t do though, with Marcus holding her hand is push her nail into her palm. In fact she’s barely been doing that since the night he kissed the scab and she opened up that part of herself to him.
Marcus swallows another large gulp of coffee as Petra begins to list off bad men in Natalie’s life. He guesses which one might be Aaron and squeezes Natalie's hand. “God, you two.” he blows out an exasperated breath, hoping to get them off of the subject, but what comes out of his mouth is not what he planned and probably won’t help …. Or maybe it’ll shame them into silence. “What’s next? Fertility advice?”
Bertha clucks in disapproval at the men in Natalie’s life, but then arches her brows at Marcus's comment. She knows he is trying to shut her up, but she is having fun with a like minded new friend. “Well since you done gone and brought it up….” she looks at him, almost defiantly. “If you have a microwave .. first it means we ain’t raise you right .. but also get it up past Natalie’s waist. Those machines will kill you AND any children you even THINK of having.” she nods sharply. “And if you REALLY want to get pregnant… When you done the deed … you need to make her orgasm. That’s a sure fire way to get a baby.” she nods surely. “How you think I got your mama?”
Natalie face palms but also starts laughing. “You had to ask Marcus...”
Petra chimes in now “Bertha’s right! When it finally worked properly for me we were having fun in bed. So much fun. God we got better and better with age. My husband...I missed him so much when he died. I had to buy a vibrator.”
At this Natalie sputters her iced tea and almost spits it out.
Petra is undaunted. “Oh Zeli...relax. And put cinnamon in your honey. Increases the blood flow.” Now she looks pointedly at Marcus “Make sure your shorts aren’t too tight. I read about that in the Reader's Digest.”
Marcus facepalms when his grandmother starts talking, and Petra starts replying. He runs his hand over his face when Petra comments on the tightness of his shorts. “O … OK …. OK …. Never mind. Forget I asked. No more fertility advice, thank you. Let’s talk about … “ he actually struggles a moment trying to think of a safe subject in this day and age. “Recipes! Petra gave me a great recipe for goulash.” he tells his grandmother.
Bertha looks intrigued at Petra’s having bought a vibrator. “You know I’ve never tried anything like that. I ain’t never had no good man before, but you still get the urge … where could I get one. You think?” and then she hears Marcus and rolls her eyes. “Maybe send me an email. I can’t figure out this phone Marcus gave me and if we keep talking like grown folks to children they’ll never give us a great grandchild.”
Petra snorts and opens her phone to start a contact for Bertha “We’ll email about it all Bertha. Do you also have the last name Lawry? What’s your email?” She replies to Marcus after and gives Natalie a look “I had to give you a recipe...this one can’t cook.”
Natalie is still recovering from the old lady vibrator conversation and laughing “Marcus made a perfect goulash. You have competition Baba...besides I can cook one thing…”
Petra scoffs and rolls her eyes “It’s not cooking it’s melting and squashing.” She looks at Bertha and Marcus “She can make rice crispy squares. But Natalia if you need to cook sugar free for a family dinner with Bertha you’ll have to find a new dessert.”
Marcus looks mildly insulted at Petra. Then he grins. “It was pretty simple, but I can cook you know.” he protests. “And I love rice crispy squares, so I’ll love your cooking too.” he winks at Natalie.
Bertha smiles. “Yes. There hasn’t been a single Lawry woman in generations. So I am Bertha Lawry all one word at gmail dot com.” and then she looks at Natalie and Marcus. “Damn right he can cook. Won’t have my grandbaby starving. And since he can cook he ain’t coming to visit me cause he’s hungry. He comes to visit me because he loves me.” she smirks. “Or because I need him to help me fix something.” She drinks deeply of her coffee and looks into the empty cup. “Good conversation. I didn’t even notice I drank it all.”
Petra inputs the email into her contacts and smiles “I agree Bertha. Good conversation. And good people.” She looks between the three of them sitting around her.
Natalie bolsters Marcus’s protest “You can cook. And fix things too I’m hearing.” She chuckles “You get rice crispy squares as a prize.” She smiles at her Baba and nods.
Marcus chuckles. “The best people.” he looks at Natalie, feeling a sudden wave of contentment.
Bertha nods her agreement. “Don’t you go spoiling him no …” she insists. “Unless he spoils you first.” she grins.
Natalie gives Marcus a looks of absolute love and replies to Bertha “He does...so much I feel like I can barely make up for it.”
Petra snorts “I’m getting cavities here you two. How did your trial Natalia? I was rooting for that young girl….”
Natalie exhales “We risked a plea bargain. She got time served and probation. So she can’t leave the province….but I think in her case, her community is her strength. That town really rallied. You don’t see that every day.” Natalie looks over at Marcus as if acknowledging how much of a part of Kira’s rally he was. “I think Marcus helped her a lot too…..he was her guard in the station holding cell.”
Marcus grins and then gets a bit more serious when the subject of Kira comes up. “Alexandra’s a special place.” and he shrugs, demuring. “Kira’s a good kid that had a hard time. And I think it helped that I didn’t know her before I came to town.”
Bertha listens and nods slowly. “You always said Alexandra was special. Even before you found out you was made there.” she states. “And it might be a blessed place. Or cursed. It was always hard to tell when you talked about it. Maybe it's both. Like that Ying and Yang stuff.”
Petra perks up at the whole blessed and cursed ideas coming into play “Marcus was conceived on Alexandra? Maybe he was the child in the tea leaves. Not to toot my own horn...but I have a knack. Maybe it’s a curse…” She laughs a bit.
Natalie nods at Marcus “Probably. Kira had a lot of shame about what happened to her. Sometimes connecting with a stranger is easier.” She sounds like she really know what she’s talking about “But you’re not just any stranger Marcus. You were really aware and respectful.” She shifts to Bertha after hearing the whole blessing curse yin yang thing “It’s an interesting mix for sure….Beautiful things and brutal things in the same small town. And there’s an epicenter with that one hotel...The Olin.”
Bertha nods at Petra but doesn’t say it aloud. “Maybe he was.” and then he looks at Natalie. “You know this boy’s been obsessed with that island all his life. It called to him for a long time and he answered as soon as he could.”
Marcus nods. “My father worked at a camp my mother went to and .. yes I was conceived there. That’s about all she told me about him. He as indiginous and on the island. I don’t know if he lived there or if he was just visiting or working there, because she never told me if he was a counselor or a camper or what the deal was.” he grins a little, as the idea the baby was him takes a little pressure off of the fact that they don’t yet know if Natalie is actually pregnant or not. “So it might be me. And yea …. The island had a cold spot in the Olin. I stayed there and fell asleep … When I woke up I was stranded there because they’d stopped ferry service because of Covid.”
Natalie nods at Bertha “He told me. Marcus and I have no secrets….at least none that I know of….he knows all mine anyhow.” She gives him a little grin “The good, the bad and the ugly. But he probably knows more about the island than most of the long time locals.
Petra leans in to Marcus’s story telling about The Olin “We had places like this back home….sometimes associated with spirits. And yes I am Jewish but I also believe strongly in Slavic folklore…..not that this island would have these spirits...but their own.They put you to sleep Marcus. Somehow they wanted to keep you..”
Bertha nods in agreement with Petra. “That makes sense.” she looks at her grandson. “And they’ve always called to you.”
Marcus considers the idea. “Maybe … And Kira … she has had several experiences in hat I guess would be the worst room in the Olin … and survived … or lived, I guess is a better way to put it. She’s been beaten in that room and even OD’d a couple of times … but never died. But others have, that’s for sure.”
Petra winced “That poor child. What hasn’t happened to her? I’m on the Twitter. Got curious when Natalie went to the island. I never heard it but there was some radio show that people got really angry about before that fundraiser.”
Natalie snickers “Baba they just call it Twitter. You’re like Mom with “the covid”. And yes Kira has been through way too much. I’m hoping all of this gives her a chance at a somewhat normal life one day.” She looks between the other three at the table.
Bertha nods. “It’s am a.m radio station. She sounds like she got demons.” she looks curious. “But it’s good the news escaped the island. I bet that don’t happen much.”
Marcus blows out a breath. “From what I understand she was a bright high school student before the rape. Great future ahead of her. Then this guy rapes her, then her parents abandon her and it's like she slid down a dark hole.” he pauses. “She told me she didn’t have the strength to kill herself, so she tried to get other people to kill her. Drugs … Men … the police … but it didn’t happen. She’s OD’s at least once a year and the men would beat her pretty bad, and she’d never testify against them, so their cases never went anywhere. And the police restrained her, but never killed her.” He holds up a hand to his grandmother. “And that’s not just because she’s white G-Mama … it’s the cops on Alexandra. If that makes sense.”
Bertha pauses and then nods slowly. “That makes some sense, yes.” she agrees.
Natalie nods gravely about Kira and then comments “It is a very aware police department as they go. I realize I say it from a place of privilege but I’ve seen worse even from that bias. I know you have too Marcus and how much worse it was for you.” She shares more observations “It’s also somewhat diverse, and lots of women officers so even if the ones she tried to attack are men, that changes the dynamic in a workplace...the only weak link is that Newcastle.” She laughs lightly and then sighs “And we did manage to protect Kira with retaining orders against some of her former Johns.”
Petra had nodded at both Marcus and Bertha and then put a fist to her heart and seemed to look up as if offering up some kind of prayer.
Marcus agrees with Natalie. "For its size it's more diverse than it should be. The whole island is like that. The black community is much larger than you'd think it would be, for example. And as far as the cops go ... Kira picked the largest cops on the force. All six foot plus. One of them was a guy she went to school with that had a reputation for fighting in school. he's not a bad guy, but a short fuse ... and he just restrained her." he chuckled. "Newcastle is one of the long time officers on the force. He's ... hard to explain. Maybe bumbling I guess? Occasionally insensitive or a jerk? He's a hard one to read."
Bertha looks amazed. “Like another world.” she snorts. “I’d like to see it someday. Feel it.” she looks thoughtful.
Petra nods at Bertha “Me too. I only really heard of it when Natalia took this case there. Like it wasn’t even on the weather reports...you know...you see Victoria, the hippie islands...Salt Spring, Denman…..but I don’t remember Alexandra until recently.”
Natalie smiles at Bertha after having nodded along with Marcus. She was aware of all he was saying. When her Baba talks about the absence of Alexandra in the world of weather and news she looks unsure how to explain it but wants to. She knows her tea leaf and folklore loving grandmother would probably take it in stride. But she defers to Marcus because he knows way more details “I suspect Marcus could explain it better than I can but the island had this...unexplainable….thing...wow I’m glad I don’t have to argue this in court because my vocabulary is severely lacking….” She looks towards Marcus and then lets her eyes drift to Berha and Baba.
Marcus chuckles at Natalie’s lack of words. “Words don’t describe it, really.” he looks at his gran a second. “Long story short … After an earthquake, Alexandra … fell off the map. It was still listed at the ferry stop but no one could get to the island. The only people who seemed to remember it were those with a connection to it. For example I work with a cop named Michael Reinhardt. His nephew was in college in Vancouver during what they call on Alexandra The Fog, because the island was surrounded by a fog offshore and got cut off. But since he had a connection to the island, he didn’t forget it.” he ponders. “Maybe it was my obsession of all the strange places in the world, but I didn’t forget it, either.”
Bertha listens and doesn’t seem surprised. “Or because you were conceived on that island.” She looks around the table. “My father was into vodun in the States all the way back to his family in Haiti. My mother’s family was Jamaian. Lots of strange things. When I was a woman trying to be independent, I converted to Catholicism, but … I didn’t forget.”
Natalie still looks fascinated by the oddities of Alexandra and the stories of the fog “Marcus, you should collect these stories….and all that history. Write a book. I bet the toss people would be really into it. They like you, they’ll talk to you.” She listens intently to Bertha “Vodun to Catholic….that’s a broad scope of spirituality there.” She comments and then looks towards her Baba “Kinda like your Gyspy Jewish Czech witchy whatever…”
Petra snorts and nods “I want to hear about the Catholic Vodoo but yes, an odd mix in my family. My Grandmother was Romani but she married a Jewish man. They would have taken us to the death camps either way. Vlad and I were hidden as children, teens, we fell in love hiding in that cellar, the last of both our families. I studied the tea leaves and taught myself the cards to pass the time and not go crazy. We lost everyone.”
Marcus shrugs. “I thought about it.” he admits about the book. “I’m already talking to people. I need to speak to Fred Sewid. If anyone has the history of the island it’s him. He was born there and he’ll die there.” he predicts. He looks fascinated with Petra’s story. “And maybe after, I’ll write something about you and yours. If I’m a talented writer at all, that is.”
Bertha chuckles. “I had several points in growing up when I wanted to be anything except what I was … black. But you can’t run from what you are, of all things.” she nods slowly at Petra’s history and sighs deeply. “See … I feel of all people, the Jews have had as hard, of not a harder time than those of African descent. From biblical times, even.” she sighs and looks between Marcus and natalie. “So you’re bringing us all together.” she states. Marcus suggests he might not be a good writer and she lifts her hand and shacks him in the back of the head. “Sush now. You’re a good writer if I say you are and you are.”
Natalie looks at Bertha with admiration and then between her and her Baba. Two kick ass old ladies, She gives Marcus’s hand a squeeze and then giggles as his grandmother swats him “G-Mama had spoken Marcus.”
Petra looks both honoured and humbled by Bertha “ In some ways yes and no. As I have always told Natalia, we don’t wear it on our skin. But yes surviving the holocaust, we didn’t need to then. I think now I would say the world has tipped still in the wrong direction for kindness and fairness to all peoples, particularly Black and Indigenous in this part of the world.” She looks to Marcus when he is swatted and chastised and laughs.
Marcus flinches when he is swatted, but simply replies. “Yes. G-Mama.” He takes Natalie’s hand. “If we ever DO have kids, we ain’t gotta worry none about them.” he chuckles.
Bertha grins. “You two would make some strong children, no doubt.”
Petra smirks “Oh no...Bertha and I will worry for you. We’re professionals after all these years. But yes, I think you two are very sweet together and will someday have a beautiful family.”
Natalie feels herself blush again. She can’t help it. She’s so happy and hopeful in a way she can’t express in front of the grandmothers. But someday they’ll all get their wish and as she looks at Marcus she knows everything those amazing grandmothers are saying is true. She can feel it in her heart.
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