me up. You and Aunt Millicent have always been so . . . I don’t know what the word is . . . Liberated!”
“Should we have a go at liberation?” Uncle Brown queried with a double jump of his eyebrows.
Jack paused at his uncle’s suggestion, but loved it. That’s always how it was with his uncle. It was like being with a close friend who knew you better than you did yourself and with whom you always enjoyed doing things you’d never thought of trying.
“What the hell, Uncle, you only live once!” Jack said.
They descended a weather bleached set of wooden steps down the side of the cliff to the soft sand of the shore. In a flash, Uncle Browne was out on the sand as naked as a newborn, running like a teenager toward the water, his silver hair waving in the light breeze like a freedom flag and his big ears clearly visible in the sunlight. In an instant, he dove into the water.
Jack followed, laughing hysterically at his Uncle’s boldness, smiling at the other sun-worshippers on the beach whom he passed going out to his Uncle. Then at the edge of the sand and the sea, he stopped and stood tall. His golden hair shone. The only thing he had on was his Duke ring. He heard Uncle Browne calling him to jump in. He waved, laughed, and all at once, dove in. Into the ebb and flow he shot yelling at the top of his lungs: “Liberation!”
7
In their last night on Taylor Island, Aunt Millicent prepared a special dinner for Jack and Veronica. She’d made a bouillabaisse that she’d served with a crusty French loaf and well-chilled Chablis. Everyone loved the dinner with Uncle Browne the most vociferous admirer of his wife’s work. He extolled the virtues of saffron and fennel, proclaiming the bouillabaisse perfect because the cook had mastered the broth rather than overwhelming the dish with a surfeit of seafood. “You’re an artist through and through, Millie,” he toasted his wife.
Coincidentally, it was also Illumination Night in Chimera, so the pleasant lingering around the table after a meal had to be curtailed. Uncle Browne, excited about the prospect of Illumination Night, nevertheless seemed least inclined to move. “I could use some more of that Chablis,” he announced, holding up a crystal goblet.
“Shall I open another bottle?” Jack offered.
“Please,” Uncle Browne said.
“Do you think you should, Browne?” Aunt Millicent cautioned. “Parking is atrocious on Illumination Night.”
“I know exactly where to park,” Uncle Browne said assuredly. “It won’t be a problem.”
“On Illumination Night?” Aunt Millicent asked incredulously. “Browne, I think the Chablis has gone to your head.”
Jack gave Veronica a quizzical look. He didn’t know whether to get the wine or not. Veronica returned the puzzled glance with a half-smile and shoulder shrug, sorry she couldn’t help.
“Chablis,” Uncle Browne exclaimed, putting an end to Jack’s dilemma. Jack left to retrieve the wine which was stored in the butler’s pantry off the kitchen. On his way through the house, he took in what he saw: There was a small television in the great room. Books were scattered everywhere as were the paraphernalia of art: easels, brushes, paints, frames, cameras. That stuff filled a side room that must have served as Aunt Millicent’s studio. The whole house apparently served as Uncle Browne’s reading room.
In the kitchen, he glimpsed framed photos of children mounted on the walls. All the photos had accompanying acknowledgments and were of children that Uncle Browne and Aunt Millicent had evidently helped to feed. Jack felt admiration for his aunt and uncle and some sadness as well that they’d never had their own children. But they seemed happy to him.
Momentarily, he was back with the wine. He poured a glass for Uncle Browne who took a long drink then rose up all of a sudden. Pacing the room with a sort of magisterial grace, he stopped suddenly to address the others.
“Everyone,” he said briskly, “I hear the lanterns calling.
Illumination Night is upon us!”
“You’re looking illuminated already, if you ask me, dear,” Aunt Millicent said.
“And you, radiant,” Uncle Browne returned.
After a perfunctory clean up, they were off to Chimera. By the time they arrived, night had fallen. The streets were lined with cars and teeming with people. Uncle Browne parked far away, finding a spot with only a little trouble near the bluffs opposite the Chimera police station.
“My beauty should be safe here,” he said, patting the Coup as he got out.
“Oh thank you dear,” said Aunt Millicent, “I feel quite safe indeed.”
“Wonderful,” said Uncle Browne.
“Jacket, you and your Inamorata don’t have to stay with us if you want to look around. We’re headed over to the Tabernacle. We’ll be at the community sing. I love to show off your aunt at such things.” Aunt Millicent let out an operatic, “Ah..ah..ah..Ah!”
“Isn’t she divine?” Uncle Brown said wryly.
“Out of this world,” Jack said, raising his eyebrows and tightening his face as if he’d just heard chalk scratching a chalkboard. He and Veronica accepted the offer to wander off.
The Tabernacle was a large open-air structure built in the mid-nineteenth century for prayer meetings and spiritual revivals. It was now used for things such as the community sing. It had a large stage with wooden pews below the stage that spread back to an open exit. The tabernacle could hold five hundred people at a time. Its wooden roof was octagonal and pitched in such a way as to allow in light while keeping the congregation dry. When Jack was young, he’d attended summer day camp at the Tabernacle. He remembered hiding in its nooks.
“We’ll see you at the Tabernacle,” he said.
Uncle Browne and Aunt Millicent walked away arm in arm. A big orange moon filled the sky above Taylor Sound casting an orange glow over the nighttime water. Jack and Veronica walked along the top of the bluff across from where the car had been parked watching the calm water of the Sound shining in the moonlight. They walked down some stairs to a beach under the moonlight. Holding hands, they strolled.
“Your aunt and uncle are something,” Veronica said.
“I know,” said Jack.
“They really enjoy each other,” she commented.
“Always have,” Jack confirmed.
“How do you think they’ve stayed so close?” Veronica asked.
“Love and honesty,” Jack declared.
“Love and honesty.” Veronica sounded out the words. “They seem like perfect names for a couple. Let’s call your aunt and uncle Love and Honesty, Jack,” she said, “May we?”
Jack made a face that suggested he thought the names too cute.
“Oh all right, Jack. They’ll remain Browne and Millicent. I know how much those names mean to you.”
“You’re considerate,” Jack
