Mary and Alvin Ch. 19

"I'm doing my best," Mary managed to squeak out.

"You and me ought to meet up," Terri said with a wink as she let go, "Compare notes, huh?"

"Sure," Mary said, looking dubiously at Alvin.

"Oh, that's Zeb," Terri said, cocking a thumb toward her companion. Zeb nodded and grunted in reply.

"Well, lovely, we are already friends," Miss Suzanne said, clapping her hands again. "I would ask you all to spread out, leave some space between each couple and we shall begin."

The couples moved apart. "So, Terri?" Mary asked in a low voice.

"I told you about Terri Arsenault," Alvin mumbled.

"Oh, that Terri," she said, with a wide grin, "Your first girlfriend."

"Ayuh."

"Your first..."

"Ayuh."

"Oh yeah, she and I should meet up and compare notes."

Alvin shook his head and started to speak, but Miss Suzanne was back to clapping her hands. She fumbled with a tablet for a moment, and a loud buzz came out of the hall's sound system. She tapped the screen a few more times and a quick burst of music followed. She cut it off and looked up at the class with a smile.

"We will start with what may be the most familiar ballroom dance, the Waltz," she said. Mary found that she really enjoyed listening to her accent. "It is deceptive in it's simplicity. Everyone has done it, but few appreciate it's true nature. They think it just means a dance in triple time, but it is so much more."

She directed the couples to face each other. Alvin took Mary's hand in his and placed the other hand on her hip.

"Don't stand too close," Suzanne admonished Alvin. He took a half step back.

"When the Waltz first emerged in Bavaria and in Vienna in the eighteenth century, it was considered quite scandalous, because it incorporated so much bodily contact. We will learn a respectable Waltz in this class. Later," she said with a lascivious grin, "You may, of course, customize the dance to your own inclinations."

She tapped the screen of her tablet and The Blue Danube began playing, echoing slightly off the hall's high ceiling.

"Gentlemen, take the lead," she instructed as the class began a tentative dance. "Lead with a step to your right. And again, and a third. Now, revolve."

Half the couples turned to their left, half to their right. Alvin bumped up against Kelly's back.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Suzanne laughed. "Continue, and revolve clockwise. The word waltz itself comes from the German word for revolve."

"Always clockwise?" someone asked.

"No, but for now, clockwise."

The couples danced, becoming comfortable and less self conscious as they moved around the floor. Suzanne watched, murmuring encouragement. When she had spent a moment with each couple, she stepped back.

"Now that you know the basic move, you will learn the true secret of the Waltz. Listen closely to the music, continue dancing, but by now you should be moving naturally without having to think about every step."

Mary watched Alvin's face. He had been concentrating intently on his steps. As he tried to shift his focus to the music, he missed a step. "Relax, baby," she whispered. He smiled at her as he regained his rhythm.

"The true secret of the Waltz is that, in its simplicity, the dancer can be confident in anticipating the beat. Listen to the music." She hummed a few bars, then said, "Now, gentlemen, as you lead your partner, anticipate your motion. Begin your step ahead of the beat. You know what you need to do, you don't need Herr Strauss to hit you over the head with it. And ladies, if you know and trust your partner, you will not need to be led, you will move with him as an equal. You will find that you are not longer moving in steps, that you will be gliding together, not as two dancers, but as one."

It took a moment for Alvin to get the hang of moving in front of the beat, but as soon as he did, Mary could feel the difference. Their movement became less halting and took on a smooth flow that had been missing before.

"Glide," Miss Suzanne intoned quietly, "glide."

Mary's eyes met Alvin's, and they smiled at each other. She felt a bit of the pure joy that she had experienced when she was young, and danced and imagined a life as a dancer. When the first dance ended, she squeezed Alvin's hand. "Not so bad, is it?" she whispered.

"No, sweetheart," he whispered back, "not bad at all." He still felt awkward and self conscious, but was more confident now that they had finished the first dance. And he was dancing with the best looking girl in the room. He saw Terri looking at him from across the floor. Their eyes met and she winked and nodded.

Miss Suzanne went on to teach the class the difference between slow Waltzes and the faster Viennese style. They learned to do spins and rolls and cross steps. By the end of the class, Alvin had to admit to himself that he was really enjoying himself.

As the class was breaking up, Kelly came to Mary and Alvin and invited them to join her and Mike at the High Tide. They agreed and drove down to the waterfront bar. As they were getting out of the car, a battered pickup truck pulled in beside them. It was Terri and Zeb. They all went inside, where Kelly and Mike had already picked out a table on the deck.

They chatted and laughed over beer and steamer clams. Kelly did an impression of Miss Suzanne that had everyone in tears.

Alvin was surprised at how well Mary and Terri hit it off. At one point, Terri jerked her thumb toward Alvin and asked Mary, "You think he's nervous about us getting together and talking about him?"

Mary shook her head. "No, I think he likes that idea."

Alvin was not sure if he liked that idea or not. It did stroke his ego, in a way, but he was not quite sure that Terri wouldn't dig up a memory that might embarrass him.

"I'd rather have the two of you talking about me than talking about other men."

"Oh, sugar," Terri said, rolling her eyes, "We'll do that, too."

Everyone had to work in the morning, so after a second round of beers, they all got up to leave. As they were walking out, Terri put her arm over Mary's shoulder. "Listen, sweetie," she said, "when I heard about you and Alvin getting married, I was very happy for him. I'm glad we got to meet. You got a good man there."

"I know it. Thank you."

"You ever want to give him something special, tell him to take you to Sandy Point Beach." Terri laughed, patted Mary on the back and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Alvin asked as they got in the car.

"Just girl talk, baby," Mary replied.

As summer deepened, Mary and Alvin learned the Tango and the Foxtrot. Mary found a boombox in Charlotte's old room and made a CD of the music from class so that they could practice at home. Usually they would push back the furniture and dance in the living room, but occasionally they would take the boombox down to the grove and dance in the light of a fire. Now and then, Jennifer and Danni would hear the music from across the pasture and come join them.

Danni was spending most of her time in Augusta, undergoing her training at the police academy. Every morning, at first light, she would get up and jog along Puddledock Road while Jennifer began her day on the farm. With Tim and Theo helping her, she constructed a chicken coop for her wayward hens. Alvin watched with some sorrow when she cleaned out and harrowed her mother's old garden. It was too late in the year to start most crops, but she planted a few rows of onions, potatoes and beets that could be harvested well into the fall. On a cool windy day she and her father walked off an area near the grove, making their plans to spend the winter building a new barn to house the alpacas.

Mary was making herself at home. She filled the rooms with house plants and her own small belongings; a statuette of a ballerina her parents had given her on her thirteenth birthday, a polished glass globe she had bought on a day trip to San Diego, a glittering sun catcher, which she hung in the kitchen window where it could catch the morning's first light.

Most days she would get home from work before Alvin, and she would begin preparing supper. If he arrived home before it was ready, he would always pitch in and help. Once a week or so, she'd call down to the new house and invite Jennifer and Danni to join them, and on occasion, they would walk down and have supper at their house.

After they finished their meal, they would stroll, hand in hand, around the farm or down through the woods to the stream, enjoying each other's company and the coming of evening, serenaded by the singing of the peepers and the loons.

They made love most nights, and frequently when they awoke in the morning. But whether they made love or not, every night, they fell asleep in each other's arms, murmuring words of love.

And they danced. In the heat of August they learned the the Quickstep, the Pasodoble and the Rhumba. The after class gathering at the High Tide became routine, and it pleased Alvin to watch Mary, so sparkling and bright in the company of new friends. He enjoyed himself as well, but he saw that to Mary, it was not just pleasant to spend the time socializing, it was of paramount importance. She needed to make friends if she was going to have a fulfilling life in Maine. She sought other ways to become more involved in the life of the community. She joined the Friends of the Library and the planning committee for the annual harbor festival. When the day of the festival arrived, she marched in the parade, looking up at the empty windows of her now vacant apartment. It was hard to believe a year had gone by.

She had been determined to make good use of her new dining room. For her first dinner party, she had invited Kelly and Mike and another couple from work, Kyle and Anita, who had just transferred from Missouri. Mary watched in delight as Alvin and Kelly regaled the newcomers with advice and anecdotes about life in Maine.

On the Sunday night of Labor Day weekend, she undertook the event she had both longed for and dreaded, a dinner party for Alvin's family. She was getting along with everyone else just fine, but whenever she spoke with Diana, she sensed a coldness in her demeanor. She wondered if Alvin's sister felt some resentment at Mary moving into what had been her childhood home as well as Alvin's.

Alvin had suggested that she make the paella that she had prepared for the first meal she had cooked for him. That one had been rich with chicken and lobster and chorizo. She decided she'd go a little further and added shrimp and oysters to the melange.

The evening of the dinner was balmy. The forecast called for thunderstorms over night, but only a few ragged clouds screened the setting sun. The paella was in the oven, the breadbaskets were full, everything was ready for the guests. Alvin and Mary sat on the front porch, sipping white wine and watching a flock of wild turkeys graze through the pasture. Tim and Molly were the first to arrive, with Charlotte close behind them. When she got out of her car she was joined by a tall, skinny young man with a shock of red hair.

"She's dating Opie now," Alvin muttered. Mary jabbed his ribs with her elbow.

Charlotte introduced her new beau. His name was Seth O'Reilly, he working in the office of the city planner in South Portland.

"Don't look like a city got planned much," Alvin said.

Seth looked off in the distance for a moment, then at Alvin. "That's a pretty good joke, sir."

"Well, alright then," Alvin replied, nodding.

"How did you two meet?" Mary asked.

"Her firm sued the city," Seth said.

Jennifer and Danni came across the pasture, scattering the turkeys in front of them. They descended on Seth, peppering him with questions.

"He looks more like a Kennedy to me," Mary whispered to Alvin. She took hold of his hand. "Come on, help me finish getting dinner ready."

"Supper."

"Bite me," she said, standing up. Alvin followed her into the house. She opened the oven and the aroma of the paella filled the room.

"Okay, this should be ready. Can you take it into the dining room and put it on the trivet in the middle of the table?"

As Alvin was lifting the casserole he glanced out the window. "Di and Bob are pulling in now," he told Mary.

"Right on time," she replied, while noting to herself that they were ten minutes late.

Mary opened another bottle of wine while everyone filed into the dining room. Ten people barely fit around the table. Jennifer and Danni squeezed together on one corner to make enough room for everyone. Alvin dished mounds of paella on to plates while the bread and wine went around the table.

As they dined, Charlotte talked excitedly about her law school orientation.

"Maybe next time the city gets sued, you'll be the lead council, not just the paralegal," Seth said between bites of chorizo.

"I think I like Opie," Alvin whispered to Mary.

The conversation shifted to Danni, and her training to become a sheriff's deputy.

"We got the whole law and order show right here now," Tim said.

"If we do, you're the one most likely on trial," Alvin said.

Tim nodded, and admitted it was true. "But they ain't caught me yet," he added.

Everyone complimented Mary on the meal. Diana asked her for the recipe for the paella.

"Sure, I'd be happy to send it to you," Mary said, then added, "And we should get together soon to talk."

"Talk about what?" Diana asked in a chilly tone.

"Take it easy, honey," Bob muttered.

Mary felt herself blush. 'Well, I just thought I ought to get a better understanding of Alvin's financial situation, and..."

"Alvin seems to have done well so far, don't you think?"

"Diana, I don't think there's any reason for you to get upset," Mary said. She looked to Alvin for support.

"Really, Di," he said, "Mary just wants to keep track of my earnings and such. She is my wife now."

"That's fine," Diana snapped, "But she needs to know we have done well without having any business college degrees for a good long time now."

There was a long moment of awkward silence.

"You know," Seth blurted, "saffron is actually a flower. It's a type of crocus."

Everyone looked at him with relief. Everyone except Diana and Mary, who held each other's eyes.

"Seth's hobby is growing orchids," Charlotte said.

Molly and Jennifer peppered Seth with questions about his orchids. He got out his phone and showed pictures of a few of his prized blooms, and the tension faded.

When the last plate was empty, Mary and Alvin cleared them from the table and carried them to the kitchen. Mary began to stack them in the sink. Alvin stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

"You alright, Miss Mary?" he asked quietly.

"I'm fine."

"That explains why your shoulders feel like coiled springs."

Jennifer came into the kitchen carrying the remains of the paella. "Mary, dinner was awesome," she said. She set the dish down and kissed Mary on the cheek.

"We all know how Aunt Di can be," she whispered, "Don't let it bother you."

"Thank you sweetie."

"Is there another bottle of wine?" Jennifer asked.

"Sure," Mary replied, "I'll bring it out in a minute."

Jennifer thanked her and left the room. Alvin stood against the sink while Mary retrieved the wine from the pantry. He started to speak when she returned to the kitchen, but she held up her hand and stopped him.

"I'm not going to say another word to her, Alvin," she said, "I'm not going to spoil the evening for everyone else." She felt like crying, but held back her tears. "But I expect to be treated with respect in my own home."

"I hear you," Alvin nodded.

"Jesus," Mary sighed, "The Faulkner's Wharf website hasn't been updated in two years. You don't have a Facebook page or any social media presence at all. I come down there and listen to customers ask for this service or that and you tell them you don't offer it."

"Alright, sweetheart, we'll work it out."

She squinted at him. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"Alright then, help me serve dessert."

Mary had made individual servings of caramel flan. They carried them into the dining room, where Jennifer was telling the other guests about the rigging she and Alvin were building for growing hops.

"It's all about revenue per acre," she explained, "and since hops grow vertically up the rigging, they are a high yield crop."

"And there ain't no shortage of Mainers drinking beer," Tim said.

Mary and Alvin passed out the dessert dishes and sat back down. The wine bottle went around the table, while everyone spooned up their flan.

"Portuguese make flan with port wine in it," Danni said, "We call it pudim."

"Oh, I'll try that next time," Mary replied, then, looking at Diana, said, "I'm always interested in trying out new ideas."

Alvin watched Diana closely, but she did not take the bait. He knew it would fall to him to make Diana accept that as his wife, Mary had a right to at least be fully informed about the family's business, but he was uneasy that she obviously wanted to be involved in the decision making process as well.

He stood up and cleared his throat. When all eyes were on him, he raised his glass. "I would like to make a toast," he said. All around the table, each person lifted their glass as well. "This is the first time since our wedding that Mary and I have had the whole family to the house, and I want to say for both of us how much it means to have you all here. This is a time of change for all of us." He looked at Charlotte, then at Jennifer and Danni and finally at Diana.

He laid his hand on Mary's shoulder. Looking Diana in the eyes, he lifted his glass above his head. "A toast, to our family growing and changing together."

Diana dropped her eyes, but toasted with everyone else. When Alvin sat back down, Mary pressed her leg against his and squeezed his thigh with her hand. Alvin felt that he had achieved at least a temporary peace in the family.

Diana and Bob took their leave soon, and Tim and Molly followed shorty after that. The girls and their partners lingered, finishing the last of the wine. Angus came into the room, marked everyone's legs, then jumped up on to Seth's lap. Seth scratched him behind the ears and Angus rubbed his face against Seth's. That cat's generally a good judge of character, Alvin thought.

When his daughters had moved the party down to their house, Alvin sat at the table, looking into his glass. Mary padded into the room on bare feet, wearing the old Bruins t-shirt that had become her favorite nightgown. She cradled Alvin's head in her arms.

"Honey, I didn't mean to start trouble with your sister."

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart. Everyone had a good time but Di, and that's on her. And the food was wicked good."

"Thank you, baby. She kissed the top of his head. "Come on," she said. She took his hand and led him upstairs to bed.

***

After Labor Day, the atmosphere of the town changed. As the tourist season waned, everyone seemed to relax, take things a little easier, spend more time with their friends and families.

There were great rolls of hay in the pastures now, and the first fruits of Jennifer's vegetable garden had begun to make it to their tables.

When the family gathered for it's annual weekend at their lakeside camp, it was Seth who was the new one, Mary was family now. Sitting around the fire one night, she mentioned that on their way up, when she and Alvin had made a stop at the Granthams Corners Store she noticed that they had a vending machine outside the store that sold bait.

"Does anybody ever ask for bait at the wharf?" she asked.

"Yes, they ask sometimes," Alvin shrugged, "But it would be a headache to deal with."

"But with the vending machine, you don't do anything but rent the space to the company, they keep it filled."

She looked across the fire at Diana. Diana nodded slowly. "That's not a bad idea," she said. Mary smiled but said no more.