Friday morning. December 24, 2004.
Neal woke at 7am Eastern time, when the lights brightened in the cabin. Flight attendants were stopping at each row to take breakfast orders, and Neal chose the pineapple upside-down pancakes and a glass of orange juice.
Joe ordered the same thing and then said, "How'd the renovation turn out?"
"As I've told June, she deserves an award for being the best landlady in Manhattan. She went for top of the line all the way, from the shower to the fixtures to the crew." Neal frowned a moment at the fact that the word crew still made him think of a group of criminals. It had been a year since he'd given up that life. That was long enough to be rid of those old habits and thought patterns.
"She hired the Vasquez Brothers?" Joe asked, naming the crew he'd recommended. The Vasquez family had worked on several projects where he'd served as an architect, going back nearly twenty years.
"Yeah. Juan Vasquez was quite a character. Most of the time when they were in the loft I was at work or staying in one of June's guest bedrooms, but the few times I was around it was clear they were a family operation. His sons and nephews always followed orders but they liked teasing him. And you could tell he's still not used to having a woman on his crew. Carmen's his daughter, right?"
Joe nodded. "She's a great electrician, and she doesn't let her dad get away with treating her differently from the rest of the crew. Did you meet his son Eric?"
Neal paused as the flight attendant handed them their drinks. "He filled in a few days when a couple of guys were out sick. Some of the crew were razzing him. They kept calling him 'college boy.' Seemed a bit old to be in college though. I'd put him at around Henry's age, twenty-eight or so. Is he getting a masters?"
"About ten years ago, Eric asked if I'd write him a letter of recommendation for his college application. Now that he has his degree and a successful architecture business of his own, his family still teases him about being the first one in his generation to attend college. They're proud of him, but also want to make sure he stays grounded. He kept working with them through college to pay for school, and he still fills in when they need help."
Their breakfast trays arrived and for a few minutes they were too busy eating to talk. Joe was finishing the last of his pancakes when he said, "I asked if you'd met Eric because he reminded me of you. He faced some of the same challenges you are. Working a full-time job while going to college can be stressful. Fortunately he had a family to rely on. Their teasing helped relieve some of the stress, but there may have been times it put him on edge."
Neal looked sharply at Joe.
"Peter may have mentioned you've been on edge recently. You've got a lot of new people in your life, putting a lot of expectations on you. Sometimes that has to be uncomfortable. Remember your family is here for you, and wants to help you. You aren't alone."
"I get it," said Neal, not wanting to talk about himself, especially with Peter probably listening in. "Did you see the remodel of Peter and Elizabeth's kitchen? Peter said when you raved about the Vasquez Brothers to June, El got inspired to go ahead with her own remodeling dreams."
"The girls and I got the tour," Joe confirmed. He glanced back at his daughters in the row behind them. They had finished eating and both had headphones on now. "Speaking of the girls, I'd like to ask your advice. You know they've never met Henry. Pretty soon he's going to be their stepbrother, and they're kind of in awe of him. You too, for that matter."
"Why?" Neal asked.
"The thing is, it's not often Peter can tell us anything about an active investigation. Last summer when he mentioned he was working on a case that involved music, we got wrapped up in it. We heard some of the Urban Legend performances online, and watched when the Local Devastation reunion concert was televised."
Well, that explained why the nieces Peter had described as fun and outgoing had acted shy around Neal when they met at the airport. "Tell them to hang out with Angela," Neal advised. "She's closest to their age – she turned twenty-three in June – and Henry thinks of her as a little sister. If they're hanging out together, Angela will set the tone of treating Henry as an annoying big brother, and he'll respond in kind. They won't be in awe for long."
###
The flight landed shortly after 5am Honolulu time, and they reached their hotel in Waikiki an hour later. The rest of the Caffreys and Winslows had arrived the afternoon before, and several of them met the Burkes and Neal in the lobby with room keys, ready to lead the newcomers up to their suites. Everyone was going to meet for breakfast at 8:00, and Neal looked forward to catching up with his family.
Tired of being cooped up on an airplane for twelve hours, Neal greeted the sunrise at 7:00 with a jog on the beach. He wasn't surprised when Henry ran over to join him. Henry was quiet for a few minutes, and then said, "Looks like rain."
Neal put on a burst of speed, but Henry caught up with him again.
"You know, Mom's going to be worried if she notices you're brooding about something," Henry said. "She has a lot on her mind with the wedding, but she does tend to notice stuff like that."
It was bad enough trying to keep Peter from figuring out what was going through Neal's mind. The last thing he wanted was to worry Noelle. Today was her birthday, and New Year's Day would be her wedding day. She should be enjoying herself.
Keeping secrets from Henry wasn't even an option. He and Neal were so alike that at times it seemed they could read each other's minds. The fact that Henry hadn't guessed what his Christmas gift was could only be explained by distance. Henry had spent August through most of November traveling, including a long stop in India. They'd done some catching up over Thanksgiving, and then Henry had finally returned to the family business in Baltimore, where he worked as an investigator at Winston-Winslow, also known as Win-Win.
Maybe part of the problem had been Henry's absence. For years Neal had been used to having his cousin available as his best friend to confide in, and then suddenly he was out of touch for months. Peter had taken on the role of confidant to some extent, but when there was something Neal didn't think Peter would understand, he'd internalized it out of habit. But he realized he didn't have to do that anymore. "If I tell you, will you help me distract Peter and your mom?"
"You don't want them to know what's going on with you? That won't be easy. We're talking about an FBI agent and a professor of psychology. Both of them are nosy by nature."
"I just need time to figure things out." Neal came to a stop and looked back. They were farther from the hotel than he had realized. "We won't make it back in time to shower and change." They both wore swim trunks and were covered with sand and surf they'd kicked up on the beach.
"Not a problem. We're eating breakfast on an outdoor terrace. Half the people there will be in swimwear. Island life, kiddo."
Nodding, Neal set a slower pace back toward the hotel as he explained his concerns. He realized that the very act of putting everything in words and saying it aloud clarified his thinking. He really had missed talking to Henry.
###
True to his word, Henry caused an immediate distraction at breakfast by announcing that he'd like to try playing a ukulele.
Noelle raised a brow at her son's announcement. "You already play piano and guitar, and you spent most of your childhood thinking the world was your drum."
"I figure I should play at least as many instruments as Neal can speak languages."
"Then you've got a long way to go," Neal said. He started listing the many languages he knew, only to be interrupted by Henry.
"Don't forget I took sitar lessons in India, and I played a recorder in elementary school."
Angela broke into the competition with, "Look, it's raining."
Sure enough, it was raining over the ocean. And then Noelle pointed out the rainbow. "That settles it," she said. "This place is magical. Ever since we got here, I've felt like Dorothy in Oz. Now we have proof that we're somewhere over the rainbow."
"Who's the wizard?" Neal asked.
"Oh, I know," said his grandmother. Irene Caffrey loved musicals and The Wizard of Oz was a favorite even if it had been filmed before she'd become a star. "The wizard was supposed to take Dorothy home. So for Noelle, the wizard would be Joe."
Noelle nodded. "Yes, my husband-to-be has made life seem magical."
Peter made a comment in a low voice that Neal couldn't hear, but Joe blushed.
"And I would be Glinda, the good witch," Irene added. "Because as your mother I've always given you good advice and guidance."
"And because Glinda had better costumes than Auntie Em," Noelle added with a laugh.
"I'm the scarecrow," Neal said. He could use a new brain – or an upgrade – to figure out his latest issues.
"I'm the lion," said Henry. "Closest thing to a tiger."
"Why tiger?" Joe wondered.
"Oh, that was my nickname as a kid," Henry explained.
"Yeah, how did you luck out?" Angela complained. "Neal was Baby Bear. I was Funny Bunny. And you got Tiger?"
"Obviously, it's because I was older and more dignified than either of you," Henry explained.
"I knew about Baby Bear," Peter said. "That was because Neal growled like a bear when he was grouchy. Where did Funny Bunny come from?"
"She bounces when she's excited," Henry said.
"And she loves to laugh," Irene added. "She was such a happy baby. It's a long family tradition. My parents called me Bluebird, after the phrase 'bluebird of happiness,' because I had a sunny nature. When David was born we called him our Little Lion, and then when the twins came along we called Noelle Honey Bunch and Meredith was Sweetie Pie."
"'Lions and tigers and bears, oh my,'" Elizabeth quoted from The Wizard of Oz. "My parents called me Bumblebee. For some reason I loved wearing yellow."
"Our current nicknames came from my job," Edmund said. "When I received my first ambassadorial post the State Department recommended the family call me Ambassador, but that was a mouthful for the grandkids when they were little. Funny Bunny here shortened Ambassador to Dor, and my wife went from Ambassadress to Dressa."
"Wait a minute," said Angela.
"Anyway, getting back to ukuleles," Henry interrupted. "Does anyone know where I could borrow one?"
"Hold your horses, Tiger," Angela continued. "That's the nickname your Winslow grandparents gave you. I'll bet you have something much more embarrassing from the Caffrey side of the family." She looked expectantly at Irene. "Right?"
Neal grinned. "It must be really good, for him to have kept it secret all this time."
Henry leaned back and crossed his arms. "If you're such a hotshot FBI consultant, why don't you figure it out?"
"You're on," said Angela. "Before we leave Hawaii, Neal and I will figure out your real nickname."
"A mystery," said Peter with a gleam in his eye.
Neal raised his glass in a mock toast to Henry for the brilliant move. The best way to keep Peter distracted was to tempt him with a puzzle to solve.