FanStory.com - The Devil Fights Back

Recap of Chapter 16: Fran and Dana pick up Abby, who has come down for an interview, at the airport. They drive to Brian’s house, where the interview will take place. Brian shows Abby around his lab, then he gives a presentation to the group of his proposed solution to the problem of the spread of Dipraxa.

The solution involves changing the genetic structure of the Balanga plant that is an ingredient in Dipraxa so that it will no longer contribute to producing the euphoria that it does and will in fact make the user sick to his stomach if he tries it. His plan is to spray it on the only known source of the plant—a small unpopulated island in the Philippines called Gunagua Island.

Brian admits he doesn’t have the mathematical expertise to derive the correct formula by himself, hence the need for Abby’s mathematical skills, which she relates to them when they ask her about her qualifications. She also states they need a great programmer, and Patty Mattson springs to Fran’s mind. Fran and Brian go upstairs to discuss hiring Abby.

Chapter 17

Fran

Brian and I sat down in the family room, and I said to him, “So, what did you think of Abby? Do you think she’ll have the ability to give you what you need?”

“I thought she was great. A very sharp individual who seems like she’d be a quick study. It would have been nice if she’d had some experience in biochemistry, but I get the impression she’ll pick up the relevant aspects very fast. Plus, she seems pleasant and easy to get along with. I vote yes.”

“Well, yours is the opinion that counts, but I also agree with you about her. I think she’ll be a real asset. How long do you think we’ll need her for, and could she stay here not just tonight, but when she comes back?”

“I think that would be best, actually. It may take some late evenings or even all-nighters if we really get into it, and it will just be easier if she stays here. I think if it takes longer than, say, a month, we’re going to be too late to stop it. I’m still banking on the hope that the Chinese don’t think to begin raising a crop of Balanga on their own. If they were to do that, this plan won’t work.”

“Alright, let’s go back and tell her she’s got the job pending the outcome of the background check, which I’ll really have to fast-track. We’ll plan on her returning two weeks from now.”

“Sounds good.”

Marie

The more I’m around Johnny, the more I’m beginning to feel my age. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been enjoying the time with him like I never would have predicted, but it is wearing on me.

I try to get him to sit on the couch with me so I can read to him, but he’d much rather be on the floor, playing. I’m not in very good shape because I don’t exercise, and getting up and down from the floor has certainly become a lot more challenging than it ever used to be. When you’re younger, you don’t even think about it. Now my back is sore, and I have to plan my movements carefully. I’m willing to put up with some discomfort, though, for the sake of that little boy. God, what a doll.

He is such a bundle of energy and so amusing—even to an old Grinch like myself. I’m convinced now that ga-ga essentially means nothing. It’s his word for anything he’s asked to say but can’t quite. Julia will say to him, “Johnny, can you say ball?” And he will say, “Ba.” Then, Johnny, can you say “hat?” And he will say, “Ha.” But if you say, “Johnny, can you say, “potato?” He will say, “Ga-ga.” He may even substitute it for part of a word he’s attempting. For example, “cucumber” comes out as “Cucugaga.”

One thing I particularly enjoy doing is sitting at the electronic keyboard in the family room with him on my lap. I will play two or three notes, trying to get him to copy me. He can’t quite do it, but he will bang on the keys with his little fists rapidly and delight in the sounds he’s making. Believe it or not, I even play and sing some simple songs for him, and he will add a few notes of his own to it.

Julia may watch for a while but usually leaves us alone after a few minutes. I think she enjoys seeing us together but wants to give us a little alone time to bond. This bonding that’s occurring kind of shocks the hell out of me. I never knew I had it in me to feel this way about a child.

I’m rather ashamed to think that I didn’t have similar feelings towards Julia when she was a child. There was always a degree of resentment there. I regret that greatly now and don’t really know how to make it up to her. I know I screwed up badly, but it’s difficult to admit that to yourself and especially difficult to change.

There was no real love in our three-person family. Most of the time we just barely got along. I think the constant emphasis on violin to the exclusion of just about everything else served as a mechanism to avoid other types of interactions—ones that I viewed as uncomfortable. Violin was my life, and I really only felt comfortable when everything centered around it, including personal interactions with my daughter. It’s no wonder she got fucked up on drugs with the kind of pressure I put on her.

And what a contrast this family is here. Julia is an outstanding mother. I don’t know how she learned it; certainly not from me, but she seems like such a natural at it, just like she is with the violin—and the frickin’ banjo. My God, the banjo and that awful bluegrass music! I still can’t get over that. Some of those tunes are kind of catchy, though. I can’t seem to get that “Froggy Bottom Breakwind” or whatever the hell it is out of my head.

Brian is an attentive and fun dad too. The way he throws Johnny up and down and tumbles around on the floor with him is very amusing. He gets Johnny laughing so hard that he gets the hiccups. He talks to him all the time and reads to him too. He really hams up the characters in the books, using different voices for each. Johnny loves it and is into turning the pages of his board books now.

As much as I like watching the three of them together, it saddens me that I never experienced that kind of joy in either my childhood or as a mother. Maybe now as a grandmother, I can begin to try to make up for all those missed opportunities for love and enjoyment of family. That’s why I extended my stay here to a full week.

I’ll be leaving tomorrow. Who would have thought? I’d had my doubts I would last even three days here, but things have gone better than I ever expected. I guess we have Brian to thank for that. Julia and I were in a stalemate after that first night, but Brian served to break the ice surrounding Julia and me, and he did it with such aplomb and humor.

I think I can honestly say now that I misjudged him all these years. He was orphaned at an early age, and may not have had the parental guidance he needed, like Julia, unfortunately. Plus, he may have had his struggles with addiction, but there are addicts and then there are addicts. He’s the kind who got into opioids for treating his chronic pain, not just for kicks to get high.

He is also much smarter than I ever gave him credit for. Look at the success he’s having with that new pain drug of his and what went into the development of it, almost exclusively on his own. It’s really rather remarkable. I can finally understand why Julia had such faith in him, and it certainly has paid off.

These were my musings as Julia, Johnny, and I returned home from our shopping trip to a mall in Charlotte this afternoon.

Soon after we arrived home, Brian, his sister Fran, the woman named Dana, who I’d met last week, and another woman with beautiful red hair came up from Brian’s basement lab and greeted us. Brian made the introductions. He explained that the new woman, Abby, had come to help with some sort of problem he and Fran were having. Evidently, she would be spending the night here too, and both of our flights home tomorrow were relatively close in departure times, so that we would all go to the airport together.

It was late afternoon now, and folks were getting hungry. Julia suggested getting some takeout barbecue from a place in Cherryville called Bubba’s Barbecue (but of course). I’ve previously lived here in North Carolina for a number of years, but I never developed a fondness for barbecue. However, everyone else seemed to be enthusiastic about it, so I kept mum. They ordered a ton of food, and maybe there will be something I can stomach.

When Brian left to pick up the food, Julia said, “Mother, he won’t be back for 20 minutes or so. Shall we entertain our guests with some music?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“How about Telemann’s Sonata No. 2? Perhaps the three-minute version we used to play rather than the full six?”

“That’s fine.”

We got the violins out of the cupboard. Neither of us needed the music, and we began playing. When the piece was over and everyone clapped for us, Johnny toddled over to the instrument cupboard and began trying to open it while saying, “Ba-ba. Ba-ba, Mama.”

Julia turned to me. “I think he wants to hear the banjo, Mother. Do you know “Turkey in the Straw?”

I snorted. “I think you’ve created a monster, Julia, but anything for the little prince.”

She pulled out her banjo then, tuned it to the violin, and we started in. Johnny stood in front of us and bounced up and down to the music by flexing his knees while the others clapped along. He certainly seems to be developing a taste for music, even though it may differ from my taste. But I guess it’s all good.

We performed a few other well-known, less highbrow pieces together until Brian returned, with each one earning big applause from our audience.

Okay, the music and the food may not have been my first choice, but I couldn’t deny the good feelings I was having here among my family. Better late than never for this old Grinch, I guess. Maybe my heart was up to two sizes larger now.