A Thousand Acres_ A Novel - Jane Smiley [54]
“He was drinking and driving?”
“Well, yes, I guess so. I mean, I don’t know for sure that he was drinking, but it sounds like—”
“You can’t let him do that.”
“What am I supposed to do about it?”
“Talk to him. Take away his keys if you have to.”
I laughed.
“Well, it isn’t funny.”
“The idea of us taking his keys away is funny. He’s a grown man. Anyway, what’s he supposed to do all day, watch soap operas? He likes to get out and drive around.”
“You said he was drinking.”
“I said maybe he was drinking. It sounded like—”
“Why isn’t he working?”
“Ty and Pete—”
“I knew this whole thing would blow up. As soon as those two started running things—”
This time I interrupted her. “They aren’t preventing him from working. He doesn’t want to do anything. He never goes out to the barn even to stand around. They do everything now, and that isn’t easy either.”
Caroline was silent for a while, took an audible drink of something, no doubt her coffee. Finally she spoke in a patient, regretful voice. “It was obvious to me that this whole transfer was so delicate that if it weren’t handled just right everything would get screwed up. They must have made it clear that his help isn’t wanted. At the very least, you should have made sure—”
“Made sure what? He doesn’t want to help. He’s tired of farming. He’s taking the only vacation he knows how to take.” This sounded good. I thought, try this. “If you think you can do better with him, invite him to stay with you for a while. That would be a real vacation for him, and a nice change of scene.”
“You know that’s ridiculous.”
“All of this is ridiculous.” I softened my tone and made it more wheedling, as if I had suggested Caroline take Daddy in a serious way. “It’s a good idea, him coming to visit you. He could get to know Frank the way he knows Pete and Ty.” This remark was unusually sly for me, but I let it stand, as if we both didn’t know what it meant.
There was another long silence. Finally Caroline said, very angrily, “Honestly, I can’t figure out what is going on here. Two months ago, Daddy was happily farming his own land. Now he’s lost everything he had and he’s wandering around, trying to figure out something to do with himself. You all made a big show of reluctance about this, but it’s pretty telling, who’s benefited and who hasn’t. All this stuff”—her voice mockingly rose an octave—“ ‘Marv Carson made him do it. It was all Marv Carson’s idea.’ Well, Marv Carson doesn’t stand to gain here. I’m sure—” She paused, probably afraid of what she was going to say.
“Say it. You might as well get everything out in the open.”
“I’m sure if Frank and I were on the scene, things would have happened a little differently, that’s all.”
“Do tell.”
“I don’t know that Daddy’s interests have been primary here.”
“He did what he wanted. It was me who urged you not to be put off by him, to go along and be a part of things. You could have just apologized to him! You were mad at him!”
“A little tiff doesn’t just turn into something as big as this unless there’s something else going on. All I know is, Daddy’s lost everything, he’s acting crazy, and you all don’t care enough to do anything about it!” She finished on a ringing note. I said, “Caroline—” but she cut me off by hanging up.
I have to say that Rose and I always felt that Caroline’s attitude toward our father was a strange alternation between loyalty and scheming. When she came to take care of him every third weekend, she was solicitous and patient. She cajoled him into watching TV with her, or trying something new for dinner that she brought from Des Moines, or even going for a walk. She brought him magazines or articles that she liked from Psychology Today and The Atlantic. She would consult us about how to get him to do things—go out for supper, go to the movies, buy some new clothes.