ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

Anderson sat and swallowed. "No, sir, Emily is my only child. Her mother and I are divorced. I'm sure in the Jewish religion divorce is considered a great tragedy."

"I'm sure you had reason," offered Aaron.

In ran Shana. She threw her arms around her dad and kissed his cheek. "Papa! What brings you here?"

"I think we should give them privacy." Anderson stood and motioned to Philip. The two men left.


TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 10 part 1

After Shana gave Benjamin a long hug, she did the same with Aaron and then pulled a chair closer. "What are you doing here? I know how much you hate to travel."

"Your mother, and your poor grandmother, wouldn't leave me alone until I made sure you were all right." Benjamin touched his daughter's hand.

"To be honest Shana, although Mom and Grandma were worried, our father was beside himself." Aaron smiled. "I'm glad you're safe."

A slight pink flush crossed Benjamin's cheeks.

Helen carried in a tray with corned beef on rye sandwiches, fresh fruit, and vegetables and set it on a table. "I hope these will work."

Shana smiled. "They look perfect. Thank you."

As Helen turned to leave, she paused. "Shana, maybe you should give your father and brother a tour of the house. I think they'd be more comfortable seeing your room and the rest of the house."

"Of course." Shana eyed the sandwiches. "Please help yourselves. Helen's a wonderful cook."

Benjamin held out two books. "You were going to work on these during the summer." He handed them to Shana.

"Thank you." Shana gave the books a quick glance. "Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and King Lear.. I should have plenty of time to read them and work up some lesson plans." She set the books on an end table.

Her father studied her, before he asked, "Who else lives here?"

"You've already met Anderson, Philip, and Helen. Emily arrived today. Oh yes, you've not met Jane. She's the housekeeper." Romeo plopped his paw on her lap. "I won't forget you." She petted his head. "This is Romeo. He's a little sticky right now. Emily and he ate pancakes. I guess Anderson assigned him to stay with me, because he's always by my side. There are two more German Shepherds, Axel and Thor. Thor seems to stay by Emily and I think Axel is in charge of everybody."

Benjamin avoided eye contact. "I'm sure you know how it looks, don't you? You're staying alone with a divorced man."

"I do, Papa." Shana stood. "I'm not alone with Anderson. I have Jane and Helen. Usually Jane's always close."

"I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just reminding you of how it looks. Modern ways are not our ways."

Jane entered and offered her hand first to Benjamin and then to Aaron. "I'm Jane. I'm glad to meet both of you. I bet you'd like to see the arrangements we've made for Shana." She stood by the door. "This way, please." She led the two gentlemen and Shana down the long hall to her bedroom and opened the door. "This is the East wing and the room Shana sleeps in."

Both Benjamin and Aaron entered the spacious bedroom, complete with king-sized bed, two dressers, a recliner, and loveseat.

Aaron's eyes widened. "Wow." He walked toward the balcony and looked out. "Great view! Lil' sis, I bet you spend hours out here."

Shana smiled. "I've only been here since Friday afternoon, but yes, I've enjoyed the balcony."

Emily ran in and asked, "Would you like to see my room?"

"Of course, is it in this wing?" asked Benjamin.

"No, it's on the other side, by Daddy's room. Follow me." Emily led the way.

"We're going to the West wing." Jane took Emily's hand.

"I've never been down this hallway." Shana scanned the artwork on the hall walls.

Emily stopped at a closed door on the right. "This is my room." She opened it and entered. "Isn't it beautiful? Daddy decorated it just for me." She stood in the middle, stretched her arms out, and twirled around.

"It is pretty." Benjamin walked over to a closed door. "Is this your daddy's room?"

Jane opened the door. "No, this is my room. I've been with Emily since she was born." She walked toward another door. "This is her bathroom. Each of the ten bedrooms has private baths and then there are three additional bathrooms."

"Why so many bedrooms?" asked Benjamin.

"Because of Drew's position in the oil industry, he entertains often." Jane closed her bedroom door.

"Oh, I see."

"I can assure you that while Shana is here, the visitors will be at a minimum." Jane guided them back to the hallway.

"Daddy's bedroom is down there." Emily pointed. "It's huge and has a fireplace. Let's go see it."

"I doubt that's necessary," offered Aaron.

"Where does your mother stay?" asked Benjamin.

"Papa?" Shana's mouth opened wide.

"Mom is on a bacation. I think she's going to Figgy."

"She's on a vacation to the Fiji Islands." Jane corrected. "Emily will spend most of the summer with us."

"Daddy says I might stay with him forever. I hope so." Emily hugged Romeo. "Think he'll get me my own dog?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask him." Jane smiled.

Off Emily ran, asking loudly, "Daddy, can I have my own dog?"

"Did I hear the child correctly, that she may come to live with her daddy? That's unusual." Benjamin looked at Jane.

"Let's just say her mother's a very interesting person." Jane chewed on her bottom lip.

When Benjamin's stare turned to Shana, she added. "I've met her briefly. My first impression is that no child should be with that woman."

"You can't always choose a book by its cover. There may be circumstances you don't know about." Benjamin continued to stare at Shana.

"I understand Papa."





Characters so far:

Shana Kohlberg -- a 25 year old high school English literature teacher -- she's trying to get her families painting back

Anderson Sharp -- often called Drew -- 31 years old -- works part-time on Wall Street -- a billionaire from Texas oil wells

Dmitry Bezrukov -- one of three Russian men in black suits

Jeff Burk -- takes care of Anderson's cars and important security details.

Helen -- Anderson's cook

Jane -- Anderson's housekeeper

Philip -- Anderson's butler -- close friend and confident

Ben -- Anderson's dog walker

Axel -- Anderson's lead German shepherd

Thor -- Anderson's second German shepherd

Romeo -- Anderson's third German shepherd

Aaron Kohlberg -- Shana's older brother

Ivan Kuznetsov -- formally Ivan Morozov, I accidently chose a real person, so I have changed it present day owner of the painting.

Patricia -- Anderson's ex-wife

Emily -- Anderson's five year old daughter

Isaiah Glassberg -- Anderson divorce/custody attorney.

Jeremy -- Jane's second-cousin twice removed, NYC undercover cop.

Hannah -- Shana's cousin, the same age. Married within the past year and just had a baby

Joshua Colton -- Art Museum's curator

Benjamin Kohlberg -- Shana's father