Spending Sunday afternoons together was a tradition with the Proutys. No matter how busy or hectic life got, Desmond and Rachel always left their Sunday afternoons free. Even during her teenage years, Rebecca knew better than to ask to go out or invite a friend over on Sunday. Ever since the day he announced his intention to marry Rebecca, Mark, too, had spent his Sunday afternoons at the Prouty’s. Desmond enjoyed all the rituals in his life, but none more than spending quiet afternoons with his family. After a long week of perpetual motion, Desmond liked to completely rest on the Sabbath. He would prepare for these family get togethers during the week so that he would be free to relax the entire day.
Most of the land the Proutys lived on was wooded and left fairly wild. Yet, any section of their property which was part of their Sunday ritual was meticulously tended to by Desmond.
As always, he cleaned the back porch in case of inclement weather, trimmed the hedges and mowed the clearing he had created just for these events. This week he’d even positioned the picnic table next to the pond so all could eat in the shade after a cooling dip in the water. Desmond dug out the pond towards the back end of their property shortly before Rebecca’s birth.
The back yard was part of the Prouty tradition. On any Sunday in any season but winter you could be sure to find the Proutys nestled in their back yard. Yet, even in the case of an emergency the town folk left the Proutys undisturbed on Sundays until after sundown.
When Desmond relaxed he expected every one in his family to do the same. The entire family sat and talked and played. No one was allowed to cook or spend time working in the kitchen. All food to be eaten had to be prepared earlier in the week, and even the washing of dishes was not allowed until after sun down.
On many occasions close friends and their families were invited over to join the Proutys in a relaxing afternoon of pleasant conversation. In inclement weather, the time would be spent playing cards or a board game. On nicer days everyone would be coaxed into a game of volleyball, badminton, or lawn bowling.
Today, however, under the blistering sun, the Proutys were alone. All being fair skinned, they sat or lied down in various shady spots. Desmond was playing with his grandson Andrew in a shady portion of the pond while Rachel, Rebecca and Mark watched from a blanket on the grass.
All eyes were on Andrew, whose every reaction was met with laughs and applause from those on the sidelines. Andrew’s looks of surprise from the cool water were followed by broad smiles as Grandpa gently swooped his feet in and out of the water.
Desmond marveled at the cool clammy feel of Andrew’s smooth skin. He tried to remember Rebecca at this age and dredged up every possible memory while he played with Andrew. Though he found many similarities between baby Rebecca and Andrew, he was more struck by the differences in himself.
When he was a parent, Desmond concluded, he was too concerned about Rebecca to enjoy her in quite the same way as he did Andrew. When he held Andrew all was right in the world and he had no concerns. Yet, all his memories of Rebecca were steeped in the fears and concerns of parenthood.
With Rebecca he was always worrying if he was doing the right thing. Thoughts such as, “Will she get sick?” “Is she too cold?”, etc., were worries which no longer haunted him while he played with Andrew. He saw those same fears in the eyes and actions of Rebecca and Mark and was quite happy to hand over those concerns to Andrew’s parents. He enjoyed being a grandpa, and felt a sense of freedom and contentment with Andrew which was highly rewarding.
Andrew seemed to sense the contentment and calm of his grandpa. When crabby and unable to get down for a nap, Andrew instinctively gravitated towards Grandpa and would invariably fall asleep on his lap. Whether Grandpa sang to him, rocked him, told him stories, or sat still the result was still the same. Within minutes he would be sleeping comfortably on Grandpa’s lap. Grandpa, too, would usually fall asleep shortly after Andrew. There, in any position and situation they would lie together for hours, content and relaxed.
“Hey Grandpa,” Rebecca called out laughing, “he’s a boy and not a fish. Why don’t you bring him in for a little while?”, she added sounding sincerely anxious.
“Oh, come on Mommy!”, Desmond pleaded playfully. “Can’t Andrew stay out and play a little bit longer?”
“Who’s the baby anyway?” asked Rachel in mock frustration.
“Oh, all right,” Rebecca reluctantly conceded, “but only for a few more minutes”.
“Desmond,” Rachel called out, “now don’t stay out there much longer. You don’t want to get that child sick, and every minute you stay out there is just torturing your daughter.”
“Yes dear,” Desmond replied in exaggerated obedience. “Watch you guys, he’s ready to swim.”
“Desmond!”, Rachel called out in fear as he fully immersed a gleefully shrieking Andrew into the shimmering water.
Rebecca smiled and while shaking her head added, “Just how many times do you plan on baptizing that poor child, Daddy? When he gets bigger you’re not gonna find me objecting when he takes his old Grandpa’s head and dunks it.”
With that remark Desmond took Andrew’s hand and placed it on his head and acted as if Andrew were indeed forcing his head into the water.
“Help Becky, help!,” Desmond called out, his voice garbled with water.”
“Look at that silly grin on my boy’s face,” Rebecca called out. “Why do you insist on trying to warp my little baby’s mind?”
“HELP!, HELP!” Desmond continued on play acting as Andrew’s laughter grew louder and louder.
“Lord give me strength,” Rachel pleaded while smiling. “Sometimes your Daddy takes things a little too far. Kind of like his little tight rope walk during the morning sermon today.”
“Daddy’s just got a little of the devil in him that’s all Mamma,” Rebecca responded, instinctively defending her father.
“I know darling,” Rachel offered, “but one of these days he’s just going to take one too many steps out into thin air.”
Now that his little performance was over, Desmond’s play with Andrew became much more sedate. Pressing Andrew’s face close to his own Desmond looked deep into his innocent eyes and speaking softly told him what a beautiful child he was.
Desmond wondered if Rachel would ever stop worrying about Andrew and just enjoy being a grandmother. At times it seemed as if Rachel fussed over Andrew much more than Rebecca. Maybe, he reasoned, Rachel felt a need to teach Rebecca how to show proper maternal concern for your child.
Well, in any case, Desmond hoped Rachel would soon become less vigilant around Andrew. He wanted her to loosen up and just enjoy her grandson. The feelings he had towards Andrew were so hard to share with her when she got uptight. When she did relax she was such a wonderful grandma and so much fun to be around. “Always had been and always will”, Desmond said to himself as he looked over to Rachel lightly tapping her leg as she talked to Rebecca.
“Well my boy,” Desmond whispered to Andrew, “you look positively refreshed. What do you say to a little food? I know I could go for some ice-cold watermelon.”
“Hey Mommies,” Desmond called out as he exited the pond, “we’re hungry.”
“Well one of you has to get changed before he eats,” Rebecca announced. Meeting Desmond half way she swooped a sopping wet Andrew into a towel and brought him over to the blanket she had set out with all his clothes and the assorted array of powders, lotions and wet towelettes which make up a year old’s hygienic arsenal.
Rachel followed Rebecca over to the blanket to assist in changing and dressing Andrew, while Desmond made his way over to the cooler.
“Mark,” Desmond called out as he reached inside the cooler, “do you want any watermelon?”
“No thanks,” Mark answered politely.
Desmond grabbed a big slice and placed on to a plate. Walking over to where Mark was now seated by himself, Desmond asked Mark how the heat was affecting his work.
Mark was an electrician by trade, but now was making a name for himself as a general contractor. Desmond liked Mark, but always felt a little distant from him. It was not that he didn’t try to get to know Mark, but Mark was always stiff and formal around Desmond. No matter how hard Desmond tried he could not keep Mark from calling him “sir”, or treating him like he was some form of royalty.
Desmond appreciated the fact that going out with a preacher’s daughter was by no means an easy task. He also knew that Mark, being a tradesman from a poor family, was a little intimidated by Desmond’s educational background and social position. Yet, he had hoped that Mark by now would have gotten over such hurdles and begun to open up with him a little.
Mark Langston was a tall, thin young man in his early twenties. He was from a neighboring community and met Rebecca at a high school football game. Rebecca was a sophomore that year and Mark was a senior. Most of the boys in town were too afraid to ask out the preacher’s daughter, so Mark’s competition in those matters was rather small.
Rebecca liked Mark, and forever talked to her parents about how pure his spirit was, and how much potential he had. Rebecca quickly took it upon herself to help Mark figure out what he wanted to do with his life. She pushed him to go to a trade school, and gave him the courage to be ambitious in his field.
Mark admired Rebecca’s strength and basked in her belief in him. He did indeed feel like a good person around Rebecca and became very concerned with doing the right thing. Mark proposed to Rebecca the month she graduated from high school, and six months later they were wed.
Though they had gone out for almost three years, Desmond and Rachel both felt that they should wait a while before getting married. Desmond had always been proud of Rebecca’s energy and determination and expected her to go to college. Instead of having to adjust to her moving off to college, he had to struggle with the prospect of losing her to another man. Desmond did not want to be replaced just yet, and had no trouble telling Rachel about his feelings and dreams for her.
Desmond, knowing what it is like to have an ambitious father who refused to listen to his children, lobbied but did not pressure Rebecca to delay her wedding plans. Rebecca saying that love was the most important thing in life, decided that college could wait, but being a wife couldn’t.
Desmond always wondered how different things would have been if he had not been a minister. If he hadn’t been the town preacher more boys certainly would have approached Rebecca and made it likely that she would have taken more time to weed through her countless suitors.
How much of Mark’s haste was born of the pressures of dating the preacher’s daughter? Was he frustrated with his effort to stay chaste with the girl he loved? Was he afraid that he’d get the preacher’s daughter pregnant and be forced into an existence of exile and infamy? These were the questions Desmond could not help but ask himself.
Maybe the pressure on Mark was not from his being a preacher. There was always the possibility that his need to propose to Rebecca was born from his fear of her going off to college. Maybe he couldn’t bare the idea of her leaving, or the possibility of her falling in love with someone else.
When the subject of Rebecca’s education came up, both Mark and Rebecca stated that they might move to a college town after Mark got established. Desmond, realizing that such a move would probably not be temporary and result in Rebecca’s establishing permanent residence in another town, was obviously not thrilled with this prospect. He, of course, would never stand in the way of his daughter’s happiness, but secretly hoped she would be near him for the rest of his life.
Since Andrew’s birth near two years ago, the subject of their moving or Rebecca’s education had never been brought up. Everyone just tacitly accepted the fact that the birth of Andrew had curtailed all plans.
Desmond’s thoughts of what could have been, caused him no ill feelings towards Mark. After all, he made Rebecca happy and she never showed any signs of regretting the path her life was taking. She was so happy to be a mother, and so proud of everything he did. Desmond, too, was proud of how his daughter was bringing up his grandson.
All changed and fed, Andrew’s reappearance ended the conversation between Desmond and Mark. Andrew’s bright-eyed smile quickly gave way to the heavy-eyed demeanor of a child resisting his nap. Mark’s restlessness made him crabbier and crabbier, as he toddled from adult to adult looking for comfort. Soon he found his way over to Desmond and within minutes his fidgeting stopped as he settled down to sleep.
Lured by the peacefulness on Andrew’s face, Desmond, too, began to feel drowsy. Soon the conversation around him got further and further away until he heard nothing more but his own thoughts, the scattered thoughts one has as they begin to dream.
Rebecca, full of love for her slumbering angel, found it difficult to speak of anything else other than her little boy. After ten or so minutes of joining in, Mark drifted from the conversation. Tired of hearing and telling the same old stories Mark picked up the newspaper and began to read. He knew how important is was for Rebecca to share every event over the last week with her mother, and how much they both looked forward to these private talks.
With Desmond asleep, Rachel thought it would be nice to take advantage of the situation by sneaking off to the house to get a few more things. Rebecca agreed, and after asking Mark to watch Andrew they both slipped away for their walk. Rebecca had such fond memories of the walk back from the pond to the house. She could still remember the smell of blueberry pie, and hear the sound of her mom’s voice which typically coaxed her back from her watery retreat. Still, even today, the little jaunt back to the house gave her such a warm secure feeling.
Rebecca’s stories regarding the humorous tales and day-to-day adventures of Andrew had Rachel think back to her earliest memories of Rebecca. When they reached the back door to the patio Rachel thought back to when Desmond originally built the back patio. Rebecca was about Andrew’s age when Desmond finally completed screening in the patio he added on to the back of the house.
The house seemed so small to Rachel back then. All the house consisted of before Desmond made the addition was two small bedrooms, a study, a bathroom and the kitchen. By Rebecca’s six birthday Desmond had finished the basement including another bathroom, an area to entertain guests, and a new bedroom for Rebecca.
Rachel always wanted to have three or four children. Early on Desmond stated that the house had no room for more children. Rachel’s desire to have more children increased when Desmond started fixing up the basement. Rachel was quite disappointed when Desmond announced that he would prefer Rebecca being an only child.
After many long conversations Rachel realized she was not going to get Desmond to budge from his reluctance to have another child. No matter how hard she tried she could not accept Desmond’s fear of overpopulating the earth as his real reason for not having more children. Sure she knew he had deep concerns regarding the effect over-population had on world starvation, pollution and political tensions. Yet, she felt his reasons were a lot more personal than he would let on.
Rachel felt that Desmond was not going to have any more children just to spite his father. Desmond was definitely angry over the way his father, Lloyd, ignored Rebecca. All Lloyd cared about was the family name, and therefore, only about the male grandchildren. Even though Desmond strongly denied it, Rachel believed that Desmond wanted to make sure he did not provide Lloyd with a male heir.
What made this seem so ridiculous to Rachel was the fact that Lloyd’s other children had already been providing him with plenty of male heirs to fuss over. Desmond was one of four children. He had an older brother, David, an older sister, Dina, and a younger brother Daryl.
Desmond was the only child to openly rebel against his father and not do as he wished. Lloyd was a very successful and ambitious self-made industrialist. He was proud of what he had accomplished and expected his children to do the same. Lloyd measured himself and all others by their business skills and social position.
David became a lawyer who represented many of his father’s business interests. Dina adored her father and would never hear a bad word spoken against him. She did not enter the business world, but married a very ambitious and wealthy young man who was the spitting image of her father. Daryl was a business man much like his father who was not beyond using whatever technique it took to make a profit.
Desmond, on the other hand, despised the business world and hated its tactics. As a teenager growing up in Buffalo, N.Y., Desmond constantly criticized his father’s ethics and that of all the business world. Instead of money and position, Desmond was drawn to philosophy and religion. Desmond felt sorry for the people his father used and defeated and decided to devote his life to helping others.
Rachel felt that Desmond was very hurt by his siblings decision to follow in their fathers business footsteps. Since Desmond spent so much time warning them of the moral faults of the business world, he took their actions as a personal defeat. Desmond left Buffalo to distance himself from his family, and to leave the world of his father.
Shortly after the birth of Rebecca, Desmond’s parents came out for a visit. Lloyd did little to hide his embarrassment and disgust at Desmond’s home and lifestyle. In every conversation Lloyd kept asking Desmond about his future plans, his ambitions. Lloyd was looking for a way to accept Desmond’s situation. Lloyd was hoping that the parish was just a step on his way up some form of church hierarchy, or that somehow he could parlay a paltry situation into one of social position worthy of a Prouty.
Desmond, frustrated and hurt by his father’s inability to appreciate his life, became even more distant from his family. Desmond only visited his parents a handful of times before his father’s death about six years ago. His communication with his mother, brothers and sister continues to be very sparse. His family continued to have as hard of a time respecting his lifestyle as he did theirs.
The conversation between Rachel and Rebecca halted for a few minutes as they went their separate ways to collect the afternoons entertainment. Rachel looked for some playing cards while Rebecca went downstairs to pick out a couple of board games.
Snapping up a deck of cards out of the desk drawer in the study, Rachel took a brief moment to once again imagine the room as a nursery. While Rebecca was young Rachel had always planned on converting the study into a nursery in preparation for their second child. Rachel’s daydream was broken by the sound of Rebecca climbing the stairs. Rachel left the house a little sad, but so thankful to walk back to the pond with her beautiful daughter.