Alex in Wonderland (The Wonderland Series Book 1) (27 page)

45

Mothers Always Know,
Part Deux

Karen
Sumner closed the pocket doors and walked slowly around the library. She
reminded Alex of a college professor about to announce a pop quiz as she paced
back and forth, carefully weighing her words. He took Cord’s hand when his
heart began to race. Sumner’s response to the gesture was a glare of disgust.

“Our son
was right when he said it’s finished. Your cruelty and lies. Your selfishness
and intimidation. All of it is finished. Do you want to know why?” When her
husband didn’t respond, she got in his face again. “Answer me, Randolph!”

“What the
hell do you want from me?” he grunted.

“It’s
very simple,” Karen declared. “I want the truth.”

“About
what?”

“About
Pearl Brewster, that’s what.”

Sumner’s stony
façade slipped long enough for Alex to glimpse a man snared in his own
duplicitous net. The mask was swiftly jerked back into place, but it was too
late.

“Who?”

 
“Oh, I think you heard me,” Karen purred.

 
“Never heard of her!” Sumner snapped.

“Really?”
Karen rolled her eyes in feigned shock. “You’ve never heard of the woman who’s
been your mistress over thirty years?”

Sumner’s
eyes narrowed to slits, then darted around the room as though looking for an
escape hatch. “Says who?”

Alex had
never seen his father so unnerved and, like his mother, he relished the moment.
Karen’s pleasure was visible as she took her time unveiling a litany of damning
truths to make her husband squirm.

“Unlike
you, I don’t need a vast network of spies or even a single private investigator
to track down the facts. Truth is, the facts came to me.” Sumner visibly
fidgeted. “You know, you really have no one to blame but yourself, Randolph.
You made a big mistake with those big donations to white supremacy groups. Did
you possibly imagine that such a thing would go unnoticed by Jedediah?”

Sumner’s
face flooded redder. “What’s he got to do with anything?”

“In a
word? Everything!” Karen’s tone and tactics changed, now reminding Alex of a
defense attorney on the scent of a perjuring witness. “Especially since
Jedediah is
Pearl
's father.”

Alex
gasped. Given his father’s flagrant racism, he could scarcely believe the man
had an African-American mistress. He was further surprised when his mother
articulated his own thoughts.
  

“You make
Strom Thurmond look like a rank amateur, and I can only imagine what your
bigoted buddies will say when they learn the truth. First a gay son, and now
this. Talk about having a field day!”

“You’re
all insane!” Sumner said. “This is some kind of crazy conspiracy to discredit
me and win back Alex’s inheritance. It won’t work, people! All it takes is one
call to my attorneys, and they’ll—”

Karen
laughed in his face. “Dear Lord, I wish you could hear yourself. You’re the one
who sounds insane. This is not another corporate takeover where you hold all
the cards. At the risk of making a very bad joke, you’ve been caught with your
pants down, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” She paused. “Except
strike a bargain.”

Sumner
grunted and muttered a few seconds. “What kind of bargain?”

Karen
smiled and resumed pacing. Now, thought Alex, she’s moving in for the kill. The
truth gave his mother an awesome amount of leverage, and he watched with pride
as she wielded every ounce. Now he understood what she meant on the dance floor
about the Sumner family having more than its share of secrets.

“It’s
quite simple,
Randolph
. You give our son his inheritance and I’ll keep your
naughty little racist secret.”

Sumner
was livid. “That’s blackmail!”

“Call it
whatever you wish, husband dear. It’s all in the family.”

Sumner
glared at Alex and Cord. “There’s no way in hell I’m giving money to those
faggots!”

“I
thought you’d say that. Well, then. You leave me no choice.”

“What the
devil are you talking about?”

“I’ll
simply give them money after the divorce. I’m sure my share of your empire will
be considerable considering my grounds will be adultery. There isn’t a judge in
Louisiana
who won’t throw the book at you.”

“You
can’t prove a thing!”

“To the
contrary. Jedediah is in my camp now, and before you try to buy the silence of
your faithful old family retainer, you should know he gave me a notarized
deposition about the relationship between you and his daughter. The choice is
yours.”

For the
first time in his life, Randolph Sumner was speechless. So was Alex, who kept
reminding himself this tiny, determined dynamo was his mother, and, along with
Cord, was riveted as she delivered a devastating
coup de grace.

“You’ve
always boasted that there was no one who could outsmart you, Randolph, but at
the end of the day you’ve beaten yourself. Like our son, I studied you closely
over the years. Watched and waited for the right moment to use what I learned.
The day of reckoning has finally arrived and it’s going to involve me writing
very hefty checks to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission,
the NAACP and PFLAG. In case you don’t know, husband dear, those last initials
are an acronym for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.”

“This
isn’t over,” Sumner grunted, voice dripping vitriol. He looked at each of them
with loathing before slamming the pocket doors apart and storming down the
hall. His parting shout rocked the rafters. “Not by a long shot!”

Alex
started to say something, but Karen shushed him until she heard the front door
open and close. At the sound of Sumner’s car speeding down the driveway, she
let out a whoop and the three fell into each other’s arms.

“Ding,
dong, the witch is dead!” Alex sang.

“Not dead,”
his mother warned. “Only down for the count. We both know your father will come
up with some cockamamie scheme before it’s all over.”

“Yeah,
but this time we’ve really got the old boy!” Alex grinned. “This calls for a
huge celebration. We’ll all go to Arnaud’s for lunch— me, Cord, Jolie, Jackie
and Denise. You have to be there when we tell them the good news.”

“Let’s do
dinner instead.” Karen smoothed her turban and gave Cord an admiring look
after his enthusiastic hug.
“Goodness, young man! You don’t know your own strength!”

Alex was
insistent. “You have to come right now, Mom! What could be more important?”

“Getting
Jedediah’s signature on a deposition, that’s what.”

Alex
gasped. “But you just said—!”

“Bluffing,
honey. Something else I’ve watched your father do over the years. While I was
delivering the Sermon on the Mount, I realized I hadn’t covered my tracks.
That’s why I was so anxious to make sure your father drove off and didn’t go
looking for Jedediah.”

“How do
you know he’ll sign?”

“Because
he’s as angry and fed up as we are,” Karen explained. “You know he’s always
been your father’s shadow, and when he overheard talk about those awful racist
groups, he came to me. I was rather surprised since we’d never been close, but
we bonded when I assured him I was as horrified as himself. The poor old soul
broke down and cried as one confidence led to another, and when he got angry he
blurted the truth about
Pearl
. I almost fainted, Alex. Oh, I knew your father was unfaithful
and didn’t much care, but I couldn’t forgive the hypocrisy. Neither could
Jedediah. When he said he wanted to confront your father, I had the foresight
to assure him if he kept quiet he’d never have to worry about financial
security. Now I have to go make good on that promise.”

“Wow!”
Cord said. “What a gamble!”

“Alright,”
Alex said. “We’ll take care of Jedediah and then go to Arnaud’s.”

“Sorry,
honey. I’m gospel brunching with Angelique Poché at the Smoking for Jesus
church
down in Arabi." She giggled. "She assures me it’s
très amusant
.”

“That’s
who those clothes remind me of!” Alex gave her a suspicious grin. “Since when
did you two become friends?”

“Since last night after the reception. She invited
Monette and me to her home, and we played dress up until dear old auntie nodded
off. I felt just like a girl again. Lord, I can’t remember when I’ve had a
hangover.” She reconsidered. “Oh, yes, I do. It was the night Jolie took me to
drag bingo at Oz."

Alex was floored.
"What?!"

           
"My
darling, I told you this family was full of secrets! Just because you keep a
low profile in the gay community doesn't mean I have to."

           
"You're
a handful, Mom."

           
"High
time everyone knew it too. Anyway, if you're going to have a new life I want
one too. Preferably one that will give your father apoplexy."

"Hey, Karen." Cord
grinned. "Will visiting us in Paris
be
a start?"

"What mother doesn't dream of
being asked to Paris by her
son-in-law?" She sighed happily and took Cord's hands and looked deep into
his eyes. "I'll be there with bells on. Thank you for inviting me and for
giving my son what he's been looking for, much longer than he realizes."

Alex draped an arm over Cord's
shoulders and the other around his mother as he left the hated library for a
last time. "Sounds like you knew I was gay before I did."

Karen beamed.
"Haven't you been listening, my darling? Mothers
always
know."
”

The End

Acknowledgements

Most of the people responsible
for this farce appear in these pages in one scandalous guise or another. You all
know who you are, and
merci beaucoup
for facilitating Alex's journey down the rabbit hole.

Special thanks to Robert Bush for
his superb cover illustration, Clay Helgren for some eagle-eyed editing, Greg
Herren for taking a chance on my story, and the staff of the late, lamented
Haworth Press which published the original 2006 hardcover edition and could not
have been more professional or accommodating.

And, of course, to Tom.