Christmas in Bethel

Chapter Nineteen

Napoleon said, “In victory, you deserve champagne; in defeat, you need it,” which is essentially the same thing that Lee said to me on the flight to the cape.

Beth Stilton’s Diary

Lee helped me pack up my things and shut down the house. I left one light on in the kitchen and set the thermostat just high enough that my pipes didn’t freeze while I was away. I honestly didn’t know how long I’d be gone—I assumed less than a week, until he went back out on the road, but, as he had in New York, Lee told me to keep my options open.

We took the car service to the Lancaster airport, where Lee had chartered a plane to take us to his home in Cape Cod. I had never been on a private jet before. I admit it was kind of thrilling, especially skipping the whole TSA pat-down thing.

After we were airborne, Lee brought out a gilded champagne box along with two crystal champagne flutes. He opened the box and took out a bottle.

“I brought this to celebrate you coming back with me. Louis Roederer, Cristal 2008. It was an exceptional vintage.” He handed me the bottle to examine.

“Just the box looks expensive.”

“Some wine experts gave it a perfect score. They call it a masterpiece.”

“We’re drinking a Van Gogh.”

“Not quite. But it is very good. I was saving it for a special occasion.” He smiled at me. “You coming home with me is a very special occasion.”

“What if I had said no?”

“I would have drunk the whole bottle myself to commiserate, and they would have had to carry me off the plane. Either way it serves a purpose.” He poured me a glass before pouring his own. “To us,” he said, lifting the glass.

“To the broken,” I said.

He smiled. “To the broken.” We clinked glasses.

I took a sip. It was delicious. “This is lovely.” I took another small sip, then said, “So, I’m going to meet your brother.”

“Speaking of broken people,” he said.

“He’s broken too?”

“We’re all broken.”

“What’s his name?”

“Marcus. He goes by Marc.”

“What’s he like?”

A short, amused grin crossed his face. “You’ll find out. He’s definitely his own person. He’s very smart and very funny. Comedian funny. He’s also a Civil War buff. He collects Civil War artifacts.”

“Like the figurines you told me about when we first met.”

“I help him collect those. It’s his hobby, not mine, but it’s something I can help him with. Other than that, we’re a lot alike. We look alike. If he goes to town, people always ask for autographs or pictures with him.”

“Does he go along with it?”

“No. He’s mortified by it. That’s one of the reasons he rarely leaves the house. He’s very private.”

“So he’ll be around the house the whole time I’m there.”

“You can count on it.”

“Good, I’ll get to know him.”

“Maybe. You probably won’t see much of him.”

“Even in the same house?”

“It’s a big house. And he’ll keep to his own space. Especially with you there.”

I set down my drink. “I thought you said he was glad I was coming.”

“He is. But like I said, he’s very private. Nothing personal, that’s just him.” He took a drink of champagne, then said, “Trust me. If he didn’t like you, you wouldn’t see him at all.”

“Have the two of you always lived together?”

“For much of our lives, but not always. When I finally left for college, he signed up for the army to get out of the house.”

“Good, he’s an army vet. We’ll have that in common.”

“He won’t want to talk about it. He didn’t have a particularly good experience.”

“Then we’ll have that in common too.”

“He only served two years, then got out. When he came back, he moved in with me until he got married.”

“He was married?”

“For a few years.”

“It didn’t work out?”

“It worked out well. It was the happiest I’d ever seen him. Until she passed away. That’s when he moved back in with me. We’ve been together ever since.”

“How did she die?”

“A blood clot. It was sudden and unexpected.”

“That’s really sad.” I studied his countenance. “You really care for him.”

“More than I can say,” he said. “I think of our relationship like soldiers in combat. Marc and I fought the same war. We had the same enemy.”

“He’s lucky to have you.”

“We’re lucky to have each other. I’m glad the two of you are finally going to meet.”