The Astonishing Thing

After Charlotte has worked with Finn one night, Father tells her that Sean is coming over for supper in a few days. Father would like Charlotte to meet him. Sean’s wife has offered to bring fish chowder.

Father asks Charlotte if they could possibly make a salad together. “After all,” he tells her, “you like salad.”

I assume Father remembers Charlotte’s “no cooking” rule. But he probably doesn’t think making a salad counts as cooking.

She agrees, but adds: “Tommy Sullivan, if you walk away from that kitchen counter for even one minute . . .”

He promises he won’t.

Of course, when the day of the dinner arrives and they have returned from the supermarket with oyster crackers and drinks and vegetables, Father is useless with the salad. He doesn’t even know how to peel carrots. And he does walk away from the kitchen counter, to talk to Jimmy, and then he has another pressing chore to do, and then he has to check on Finn.

Charlotte lets him get away with it, biting her tongue.

Charlotte Davenport, you should know better, I think, watching from the kitchen floor with curiosity. You’re setting a bad precedent. Start as you mean to go on.

When Father comes back into the kitchen and the salad is done, Charlotte wipes her hands on a towel and just looks at him. He takes her in his arms and tucks a hand under her blouse in the back. When he moves his head forward to kiss her, she turns her head away from him. But he persists and gets his mouth on hers, and she doesn’t really resist very hard.

Suddenly, he has all the time in the world to kiss her. I guess it’s more fun to kiss than peel carrots.

I never said Father was perfect.

He did, in fact, drive Mother crazy all the time.

“I love you,” he says to her.

“Yes, I know,” she answers. “I love you too.” She whispers this last part, as if she is confessing something that’s been a secret all along.

She is weak to his charms. I am thankful for that.

Charlotte is funny. She is still shy with him. I know Father’s gaze is intense, but sometimes she acts as if she has never kissed him before. Every time he touches her, it is new to her all over again. Maybe she’s not used to another human looking at her like that.

Sean and his wife are polite and kind and so happy to meet Charlotte. The only criticism I hear all night is when Sean is helping his wife out of her coat. She whispers to Sean, “She’s a little young.” But they are turned away from the others, so Father and Charlotte do not hear her.

“Look at that,” Sean remarks. “Look at Carrie’s cat. She heard you.” Sean’s wife turns to look at me as I continue staring at them.

They think I’m hilarious.

Jimmy takes Mary and Aruna out for a bite to eat, but Finn stays at home with us. Charlotte carries Finn into the kitchen, and the others follow.

This group does not stand on ceremony. The table is set in the kitchen. No one in this family actually uses the dining room for dining.

Sean’s wife brings a big pot over to the stove to reheat her chowder.

Father quietly gets Sean’s attention, and then motions toward Charlotte while her back is turned and she is fussing with Finn and the high chair. Father puts up his hands as if to say, What do you think?

Despite all his talk about being loved by the ladies, Sean blushes and awkwardly shuffles his feet. He tips his head to one side and looks Charlotte over, as if he’s contemplating buying a piece of furniture and isn’t quite sure if it will fit in his living room. He gives Father a thumbs-up and a nod.

Father smiles. He looks . . . he looks . . . I haven’t seen this look on his face in a while.

While they eat, I linger under the table with Jasper, waiting to see if anyone furtively (or accidentally) drops us any scraps. But it’s chowder and salad, so there isn’t much to drop that would interest us. Maybe I’ll get a little piece of fish later in my bowl. During supper, the humans play songs on the radio, and Sean makes several trips to the refrigerator to pull out more drinks. Everyone seems relaxed, and I’m pleased to find that Charlotte is doing okay with this bunch.

Toward the end of the meal, I hear Sean’s wife talking, and her voice is getting shrill and tight. I realize that she and Sean are getting into an argument about something. Sean asks Father for his opinion. “Tommy, help me here,” he says.

I expect Father to jump in and defend his friend, but something surprising happens. From my vantage point under the table, I see Charlotte reach over and put her hand on Father’s thigh and rub gently.

Father, who was tapping his foot, stops moving. It completely catches him off guard. He does not respond to Sean, because his brain is momentarily distracted. There is an awkward silence. Charlotte then asks Sean’s wife a question in her chipper voice, changing the subject.

I find this soooo amusing. Charlotte is smart. And intuitive. I give her credit for that.

A song comes on the radio, and Sean is suddenly snapping his fingers and getting to his feet, pulling his wife up. I don’t know if it’s an old song they’ve known for years, or a brand-new one they all like, but it’s got Sean moving and dancing right in the kitchen, and his wife joins him.

“C’mon, Tom. C’mon!” It’s funny to see Sean shake his butt.

I move out from under the table and jump up to watch from the armchair in the living room. Music and loud noise are not my thing.

Father laughs at Sean. He looks down at his soup bowl and then over to Charlotte.

I know what he’s thinking. He’d like her to join in. I haven’t seen him dance in ages.

But this is something he used to do with Mother. It feels suddenly wrong, or strange, and fraught with the possibility of failure. Charlotte might refuse. She might not like to dance. Or she might feel unsure about it.

Father leans in and whispers to her, and then I see them both slowly standing, cautiously, as if being careful not to step on each other’s feet. Father leads her away from the table, and I realize I am holding my breath watching them.

But I exhale as I see Father has figured it out. He puts his hand around her waist and pulls her hips up against his, and he puts his forehead right up against hers. She smiles, shyly. Father has always been a good dancer, and I quickly see Charlotte cannot dance at all. But he leans into her and leads her, so there is no way she can feel awkward or excluded. Father mouths the words of the song to her, and Sean sees this and cheers him on.

Charlotte’s face is red. The words of this song must be somewhat embarrassing, I think, but I think she looks very happy too.

Jimmy, Aruna, and Mary have just walked in and heard the music. They appear in the doorway of the kitchen.

Jimmy stretches to take off his sweatshirt, surveying the scene. “It’s a Sean Murphy and Tommy Sullivan dance party,” he says dryly, looking at Aruna.

The kids laugh. The girls strip off their spring coats and throw them on the couch. Then they start dancing too, in the living room. Jimmy dances with Aruna, heads nodding and their hands in the air. Mary picks up Jasper and bounces and twirls him around.

Finn and I are the only ones not dancing. But let’s be real. He’s a baby who can’t hear the music.

And I’m just a cat.