The House on Maple Street Page 6

  Chapter 6 - A Mask and a Reunion...

  Gerald paused before walking through the glass, double doors leading into the retirement home's reception room. The magic of that key fastened to the purple strand of yawn around Gerald's neck pulsated in the doors' reflection, transforming Gerald's face into the features of a stranger. He knew nothing of that face the charm's magic summoned from the pair of brown dress shoes Gerald had scavenged from Maxine's closet, shoes he had chosen to wear in order to disguise his identity and reunite with Maxine no matter her son's efforts to keep them apart. The snow had fallen all day, and the ice had made the highway too treacherous to turn around after coming so far, and so Gerald took a breath to recapture his faith in his old charm's mutation and strode into the home, reminding himself that the odds were near impossible for anyone to recognize the face he currently wore.

  "I'd like to see Maxine Hanson, please." Gerald hoped he sounded confident to the receptionist seated behind the greeting counter.

  The receptionist's fingers tapped a short dance across a keyboard before she looked up into Gerald's smiling mask. "I'm afraid that I’m not able to immediately allow you to visit Mrs. Hanson. Her family has asked that they be allowed to screen visitors to help smooth the transition into the home. But fortunately for you, her son is at the moment with Mrs. Hanson. Let me ask if he might give us approval before we escort you to her room."

  "Certainly." Gerald forced himself to smile. How well did his mask hide his unease?

  Gerald took a seat on a crimson and gold couch and waited for Tony Hanson to appear in order to scrutinize the face who arrived to visit his mother. Gerald suspected that Tony had described his true face to the home's staff, and the fact that none in the home's powder blue uniforms paused to give him any consideration strengthened his confidence in his charm's shimmering magic. Gerald didn’t have to wait long before Tony entered the reception parlor from a hall behind the receptionist. Gerald was encouraged when the receptionist needed to escort Tony to his mother's waiting guest.

  "I thank you for coming by to visit," and Tony offered his hand as Gerald stood from the couch, "but I'm afraid I don't recognize you, and I hope you forgive me for being cautious concerning who visits my mother."

  Gerald trembled as he shook Tony’s hand. One of Tony's eyebrows rose as he squeezed Gerald's fingers, as if by touch Maxine's son recognized something didn't match between the hand he shook and the face that claimed to own it.

  "I was first an old friend of your father," Gerald started as Tony took a small step back and peered into Gerald's eyes. "I go back to the war with your dad. I met your mother through him. Used to visit more often when we were all young, and I remember how proud both of them were the day you were born."

  "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name," Tony replied.

  "Chuck Grisham," Gerald had practiced saying the name during many of the miles driving through the falling snow, and for several nights he had studied the fiction he had written upon notecards concerning the face those shoes summoned.

  "You don't look so old for your age."

  Gerald felt his face flush beneath his key's shimmering magic. "A blessing from my mother's line, Mr. Hanson. Though my face might suggest otherwise, believe me when I say my bones tell a very different story."

  "Of course," Tony nodded. "Forgive me for all the questions."

  "No need to apologize," Gerald replied. "A person has to be skeptical these days. Maxine's lucky to have such a son."

  Gerald squeezed his toes against his shoes’ inner leather to fortify his face's mirage.

  "I have to warn you, Mr. Grisham, that Maxine may not recognize you very quickly, or at all."

  Gerald's heart raced. "I understand, son."

  "Then just follow me."

  Gerald smiled as his key's magic passed its first test, disarming Tony's suspicions and gaining him access into Maxine's new residence. Gerald followed Tony through a couple of turns in the hall before arriving at the door to Maxine's apartment. Maxine sat in a high stool set in the middle of a plastic tarp set upon the middle of the floor, her hair set in tight rollers while the fumes cast by the black hair dye stung at Gerald's eyes. Gerald couldn't resist smiling. Maxine may have suffered a severe indignation upon being uprooted into the home, but she refused to miss any appointment with the dye as was required to chase the away the gray.

  "Someone's here to visit, mom." Tony grinned as he strode into the room.

  "Surprised they found me, and surprised you let them get as far as my door."

  Tony gave no indication of feeling any slight at his mother's rebuke. "Mr. Grisham's here. Do you remember Mr. Grisham?"

  Gerald didn't breath as he stepped into the room. Maxine looked up suddenly, and her eyes widened as they fell upon Gerald, who wondered what face the magic chose to present to his life-long love, whose memory had so faded during the year. Gerald didn't have to wonder for very long, for Maxine's frown stretched into a joyous grin as her shoulders shook in an escaped, short giggle.

  "Of course I recognize him."

  Gerald stood still as stone. Did she see through his key's magical glamour? Would Maxine betray his identity? Would the magic, should Gerald be truly named, abandon him? Or did Maxine see his true face at all, only claiming to remember a Mr. Grisham to distract her son from the fog that settled upon her mind?

  "He was one of your father’s close friends, Tony," and Maxine winked at Gerald, who wrung his hands behind his back. "It's been a long, long time. I wonder if you might give the two of us the afternoon to catch up. It would mean a lot to me."

  Tony grinned and kissed his mother's cheek before retreating to the apartment door. "Take all the time you need. I'll just come back first thing tomorrow morning before work to check in on you. I'm happy to see some company make you happy. You know I'm just doing my best to care for you."

  Maxine grunted as Tony slipped down the hall. "Get over here on this stool, old man." Maxine slid off her seat and grabbed an unopened box of black dye from the counter. "The gray's all over your face, Gerry. It might all be for the best that you keep that key tied around your neck, but that doesn't mean I can't see all the gray already filling in your beard. Doesn't mean I have to live with that."

  Gerald nearly toppled the stool as he jumped upon the seat. Maxine applied the dye more heavily than ever before. His eyes watered, and Gerald felt the fumes singe the sensitive lining inside his nose. But he didn't complain at all. With a little magic and a little patience, he returned to his Maxine.