BEFORE CROSSOVER
Joyce Peterson
Millie looked around her. She was standing in the middle of the living room and Sofia, her housekeeper and Caregiver, was dusting a little, then stopping to wipe her eyes. Millie was amazed, Sofia was so taciturn that she had never imagined her crying about anything.
"What's matter Sofia?" she asked, but the woman didn't answer her. "I said, what's the matter?"she repeated, then added, " And what am I doing in the living room without my wheel chair," before she realized that Sofia had walked right through her.
Looking down at herself she saw that her body was transparent.
"She can't hear you or see you, Mil. I've tried to get through to her for the last 3 years. We're dead. I've been waiting for you. Maybe we can figure this out together." A transparent Seth was standing beside her although this was the young Seth that had been the man she married. He was tall, slender with that beautiful red hair and smooth face she had always admired. Looking again at herself, she saw that she, too, must be young. Her hands were the soft gentle hands that she used to run through his hair. After they were married, she had held their babies in arms that were once again looked firm and soft even though she could see through them. She hoped that she, too, looked like the girl she had been.
"My beautiful, blue eyed blond," the transparent Seth said to her. He had always called her that even after she had become old and tired.
"Why are we here, Mil? Maybe we need to take care of something we left undone. Maybe it's something we have to do together."
Millie felt some of her old lady crankiness coming back. "Maybe it's something you did and I have to undo, just like always," she accused. She thought he was going to talk back to her, but he opened his mouth and closed it again.
After a few seconds, he told her, laughing, "I've had three years to think about this. Maybe we should try to work this out together. It seems like we both had to be here. I tried to take care of a few things that I thought was your fault but …" Seth teased. He couldn't feel the flick of the fingers that went through his ear.
Millie was back in her old lady mode, in full. "My fault, my fault," she tried to yell but her voice didn't cooperate.
"It won't work, now, Mill. I yelled myself hoarse trying to get out of here and go to wherever we go from here, but I couldn't yell and I couldn't get out.. So, I guess we're stuck with each other until we can figure it out. Calm down and let' start at the beginning." Seth had actually become his young self. He had always "figured things out" and explained them to be sure she understood.
"So, where's the beginning, wise guy. When we met, when we got married, when we had the kids, when , when…" Millie couldn't yell so she reverted to the old sarcasm trick she had pulled many times. Seth tried to hug her, but the transparency was not conducive to hugging.
He laughed. "Seems like this takes a lot of getting used to, Mill. Let's start when we met. I saw you were stranded on a sidewalk where there was a grate of some kind."
She cut him off, "You were always Mr. Gallant. I could have got my heel out of that grate without your help."
Seth began to feel a little edgy himself. "Well you weren't trying very hard and you certainly didn't refuse my help. I don't think we did anything then to keep us here. Let's try going from the marriage."
Millie felt herself softening to the situation. After all, she couldn't yell, and sarcasm hadn't worked. Her words began to come out like clouds floating through the sky."That was the most beautiful wedding the town had ever seen. My Mother was a terrific wedding planner and Dad never objected to a penny she spent."
Seth again tried to put his arm around her. It didn't work this time either. "Your Dad took me into the business. I always thought that was a smart move. I was a good salesman and his business doubled after I started to work there."
Millie still resented Seth thinking that he had been the one to get her Dad's business into the black column. Her Father had worked long and hard to get the Auto Parts dealership going. "What do you mean, a smart move to take you into the business? It was just the time when every business was going so well. You just happened to…" She realized that her words were not nearly as mean as she meant them.
Seth hadn't been able to argue with her in life. Now, it would be worse, when he couldn't walk out on one of her tirades about how great her Father had been. The old man had been a good business man but Seth knew he had been the salesman that had made the business such a success.
Since Millie had been an only child, Seth and Millie had inherited the business when her parents died. She had worked with her father for so many years that the business had gone on as usual when the old man had died.
Seth really loved Millie and was glad that death had brought them together again. Quietly he told her, "I know, hon. Why don't we skip on to the time when the kids came along?"
Millie nodded her head. "That was a very stressful time because I kept on working and your mother took care of the kids. If there was anything then, it would have been her fault, not ours."Seth started to open his mouth in defense of his mother when Millie added, "But the kids didn't seem to suffer too much. That is until the time when Jim was going to college. He wanted to study Architecture and you made him take business courses instead."
Seth felt a few feathers ruffle up. "I didn't make him. We talked it over and he saw the wisdom of studying business since he would be the obvious one to take over when I retired. And look what a great job he has done. Our daughter was certainly not qualified to take over. All she was interested in were boys."
Millie laughed, "I know. But Florence does have a good marriage and she took my advice and didn't have children until they were in their thirties, like we did. You don't think we gave them too much advice do you?"
Seth thought about it for a moment, then said, "Everything turned out fine. No, I don't think we've found an answer yet."
Millie was still feeling a little uncertain. "I was always sorry that Jim and Sharon didn't have any children but he seems to have taken Florence's son, Ian, under his wing. She is glad she will still have a connection to the business. She should have had more children than just Ian. But it wasn't to be. Now it looks like her son will take over some day. It will still be in the family."
Seth nodded. "I wonder if we could go over to Florence's to see what's going on." As soon as he said that, he and Millie were in Florence's kitchen where Jim and Florence were having a cup of coffee.
Seth said, "I've tried to get out of our house for three years and couldn't. Millie, I think this is a sign. The problem we're supposed to fix is here, at Florence's."
Millie was going to tell him to be quiet but she saw that their son and daughter had not heard him. "As you told me, Seth. This is going to take a lot of getting used to." She had tried to pat him on the shoulder but her hand had gone through it.
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Millie looked at their son and daughter. "I always thought it odd that our son took after my side of the family..With his blond hair and blue eyes and his stalky figure he always reminded me of my Father while Florence is tall and slender like you and her red hair is the same color yours is. Of course, before you…well you kno.."
"Died, Millie, Died. You can say it," he told her.
"All right, before you…passed on, it was gray." Millie couldn't get the word 'died' to come out
He laughed. "The kids look good, don't they?"
"Yes, they do,"she agreed.
"Where's Florence's husband Roger? He's still Jim's Vice President, isn't he" Seth asked.
"Yes, he's still with the Company, just like he has been since he married Florence. He's a good man." Millie tried to stroke Seth's chin but couldn't, as she continued. "He took up golf a couple of years ago and he spends every Saturday on the local course. I guess Ian, the boy, is still sleeping. He's finishing up his 2nd year of college and has been studying late the last few weeks. He'll make a good addition to the Company one of these days." Millie didn't hide the pride she felt.
Pointing at his daughter, Seth remarked, "I see Florence is still using the coffee pot we gave her ."
Florence had brought the pot to the table to freshen their coffee but Jim put his hand over his cup. She put the pot back and sat down again.. "Yeah, I'm full too," she said. "Jim, you said you wanted to come over to talk to me. Well, I wanted to talk to you, too."
"Where's Ian?" He asked.
"I think he's still asleep. He usually sleeps late on Saturday. He said he had something to do later. What I wanted to ask you was, is Ian going to work with you this summer? I thought instead, he should take some courses at the college this summer, so he's ready to start taking business courses in the fall, it's his Junior Year. He should sign up, then, for the ones he'll need if he is going to take over for you when you retire."
"Wait a minute, Flo." Jim held his hand up. "I still have 15 or maybe 20 years left. Besides, Roger is 5 years younger than I am. I'm sure he can handle things until he's sure Ian can step in."
Florence laughed. "You can't depend too much on my husband. Five years isn't very long and I want to be sure the company stays in the family."
Millie looked at Seth and said, "She's right. Ian should be preparing himself to be ready to take over. There's so much to learn both at school and in the..." She stopped when Ian came into the room.
He reminded Millie so much of the young Seth, the one who was beside her. He was tall,with the same beautiful red hair. When he spoke, his voice, too was reminiscent of the gentle tone of authority that she still heard in Seth's voice.
"Hi, Uncle Jim. Have you asked…" He stopped when he saw his Uncle shake his head.
Florence recognized an unstated question. "Ask me what?" She almost threw the words at her brother. He ignored her. "Were you going someplace, Ian?" He asked the boy.
"Just going over to Mrs. Allison's. She was going to give me some help with this." He brought out the canvas that he had been hiding behind him. It was a beautiful painting of the local Golf Course.
His Uncle laughed. "Doesn't look like it needs any help to me. But you go ahead. See you later."
"OK, let me know," Ian said, as he nodded toward his Mother, and left the room.
"What do you mean, 'let me know'?" she yelled after him. "OK, Jim, have you two already made it up between you that he's going to work with you this summer? I guess I'll have to accept…"
There was a noise in the living room. "Sorry, Mom." Ian called out. " I bumped into the bookcase and knocked some books out. Would you put them back? I'd get them in the wrong place."
" OK." she told him "I'll be right back." Florence explained to Jim as she left to undo the damage. When she came back, she carried what looked to be a scrapbook. "Look what one of them was." As she put it down on the table in front of her brother, Millie and Seth came to the table. Millie put out her hand to touch the book and it automatically opened.
"Ah! Memories of the past," Jim sighed as he told his sister. "But we better talk about the future." He took a deep breath then stated, apologetically "Ian doesn't want to work with me or go to school this summer. He wants to go to Europe to study art."
Florence's mouth opened and it took her a moment to ask, "Art? He wants to study Art? But he has to get himself prepared for his future. He'd be wasting a whole summer if he went to Europe."
"I agree with you, Flo. I've been counting on him to take over for me. I'll work it out with him. The business is where he belongs, I guess." Danny sighed again.
Millie and Seth had been listening to all this. He said, "This sounds very familiar, Millie. Remember when Jim wanted to become an Architect?"
"I do, and I remember those were you're same words, 'The business is where you belong.' That Scrapbook gives me an idea. I think we're on the right track," she told him.
"What do you mean? How can an old scrapbook solve anything? He was trying to look at the pages to which the book had opened. "These are just some old drawings."
Millie blew at the book and more drawings showed up as the pages turned. "See. It's the right scrapbook. Jim kept all the drawings he made of things he would build if he became an Architect."
Florence and her brother looked at each other first, then at the book as it had opened and the pages began to turn.
Florence said, "I must have put it down wrong. And I think I felt a little breeze when the pages started to turn."
Danny shook his head. "I don't think so, Flo. Look at what's there."
"Just some of your old drawings," she told him as she came to stand beside him to get a better look.
Millie started to see if she could blow some more of the pages over but her son beat her to it turning them himself. "These are the drawings I showed Dad and Mom when I told them I wanted to become an Architect instead of going into the family business."
Florence told him, "I didn't know that. What happened?"
"Dad said I belonged in the business. I never liked to disagree with him, so, I went into the family business." Millie could see that Jim felt a sadness that he must have thought he had put behind himself many years ago.
Florence kissed her brother on the top of his head. "And a darn good job you did of it, too."
"You know something, Flo? I've wondered all my life what it would have been like if I had become an Architect." Flo heard the catch in his voice.
She leaned over and put her arms around him. "You were always good at anything you did. I'm sure you would have been a great Architect. Maybe you can take it up when you retire."
Jim picked the book up and hugged to him. "Why wait until I retire?"
Florence's mouth opened. "You can't mean..?"
He put the book back on the table, stood up and took his sister in his arms. "You're damn right I do. Roger could take over for me for the summer."
Florence kept shaking her head. "But Rodger and I were going to Hawaii this summer."
Jim took her face in his hand. "Sis, I've never asked much of you, but couldn't you go to Hawaii some other time?"
Florence looked at him and asked, "Are you sure about this? It feels awfully sudden."
He looked down and turned more pages in the book. "To me, it feels like something I've wanted all my life." He continued, urgently, as though he were trying to sell a new customer. " Ian wants to go to Europe to study. Sharon has friends in Italy that she would love to visit. I could look into the Architect situation and go with Ian and while he's studying Art, I could study Architecture. Maybe we would both find out whether we really want to be in the business end of Auto Parts."
Flo didn't sound sure as she said, "Roger and I will have to talk it over and you should talk it over with Sharon."
Jim said, "Of course." But he had heard something in her answer that told him that he, Sharon and Ian would be packing for the Europe trip.
Suddenly, Millie and Seth saw a bright light.
Millie patted Seth on the arm and found that it was firm. Seth put his arms around her and she could feel their warmth. " Is that it? We didn't do that much but maybe it was all we had to do," she told him.
Seth questioned, "What did we do? Ian caused the book to fall and Flo put the book down so it opened."
"And I must have had help turning those pages over to the right one." Millie answered.
As he put his arm around her, Seth said, "Maybe the lesson was for us, Mill. Maybe that's why I had to wait for you."
Feeling the warmth of his arms, she murmured, "I'm so glad you did, Seth."
Seth sighed, "We should have let him be an Architect. We'll do that next time."
Millie sighed as she snuggled into his arms, "Next time. That sounds so good. Do you think there will be a next time?"
"Of course," he assured her. "They wouldn't break up such a good combination."
"Who knows? Maybe Junior will be an Architect this time. Maybe Ian will be an Artist. At least it will be their choice."
Seth kissed the top of her head as the light surrounded them.
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