Culturation

Chapter 2

“Ashley!” Bree called as she saw her friend come into the lunchroom at school.

“Hi, Bree,” Ashley said setting her tray down on the table next to Bree’s.

“You got the salad,” Bree stated as she looked at what Ashley had on her tray.

“My mommy says you should have at least ten portions of vegetables a day.”

Bree studied her friend. “Is that like healthy snacks?”

Ashley nodded. “I think so.

“I’ll eat some of your salad if you want some of my spaghetti.”

“Okay,” Ashley agreed readily. The girls exchanged food until they were both happy with what was on their plate. Each took a bite of the spaghetti and then some salad.

“These are good together.”

“And we’re both getting our vegetables.”

“How many portions do you think we’re getting since we split it in half?” Bree asked.

“I think that must be at least four portions,” Ashley assured her friend.

“Yeah, I think so too. Maybe even five.”

“Yeah, probably five.”

Both girls giggled.

“Ashley, have you ever been to the symphony?” Bree asked after a minute.

“No, what’s a symphony?”

“I think it’s music.”

“Oh.”

“I heard my Dada talking on the phone to Unca Ted. He was saying something about Mozart.”

“Isn’t Mozart a composer?” Ashley asked.

“I think so. I remember Miss Faith telling me about classical composers.”

“What’s classical?”

“I’m not sure,” Bree said thoughtfully. “I think it’s a kind of music.”

“Maybe you should ask Miss Faith about it when you have your next piano lesson.”

“Yeah, I guess I could. Do you think your mother would know?”

“My mother knows everything,” Ashley said confidently.

“Yeah, she’s real smart.”

“I could ask her.”

“Please,” Bree said. She finished the last of the spaghetti on her plate.

“Why didn’t you ask your Dada when you heard him talking about it?” Ashley asked.

“I shouldn’t have been listening. I think Dada might be mad if I asked him about Mozart.”

“Oh.”

“So, could you ask your mother for me?”

“Sure.”

“This salad is good,” Bree commented as she dug into the remains of the salad on her plate.

“Yeah, I think we had a balanced lunch,” Ashley observed parroting her mother’s words.

“Maybe we should do this every day. You get the salad and I’ll get the not healthy food.” Ashley nodded and giggled. “What’s so funny?” Bree asked.

“I don’t think the cook ladies would like it if they heard you call their food not healthy.”

“Then we won’t tell them,” Bree replied matter-of-factly. The girls cleaned off their plates.

 

*****
 

Gus headed into the lecture hall at Penn State. He was taking a humanities course that he really didn’t want to be in, but it was a required element of the degree he was working towards.

With a weary sigh he found a seat and sat down. He didn’t bother to get out his notebook or his laptop. He didn’t think he would be making any notes. From the syllabus of the course, about eighty percent of the marks came from essays. Gus was good at essays. The remaining twenty percent was from tests, and Gus knew he had pretty close to a photographic memory. He would be able to get enough on the tests without having to put too much energy into studying for them. He wasn’t all that interested in old civilizations. He was too busy looking toward the future to care about the past.

The professor walked through a door and stopped at the lectern set up at one side of the large classroom. There were probably over a hundred students in the class. It was a prerequisite that Gus should have taken in his freshman year, but since he wasn’t really interested in ancient history, he had put it off till now.

Gus studied the middle aged man who stood before the class obviously waiting for silence. He looked like a typical professor, someone teaching the same thing year after year. Gus was not going to enjoy this course.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” the professor began. “I’m Professor Blair, and I will be taking you back through the sands of time to some of the great civilizations and cultures of our world. Shall we begin?”

He nodded and an unseen technician in a booth somewhere behind the scenes turned the lights way down and projected what looked like a somewhat crude cathedral onto the screen behind the professor.

“Anyone care to guess what you are looking at?” the professor asked.

“An early Romanesque cathedral,” a girl’s voice said confidently from the darkness. Gus agreed. He was pretty sure that’s what it was; the columns and carving looked too rough to be later than that.

“Incorrect,” the professor replied. “Another guess?”

“Early Greek temple,” someone said.

“Hm, I see why you might think so, but also incorrect.”

Gus sat up straighter. He studied the image on the screen focusing on some of the carving. He saw what looked to him like a Buddha. “It looks oriental,” he said aloud before he could stop himself.

“Ah, someone who is actually looking beyond the surface.”

Gus felt himself blush, but he was also pleased that he had seen something that no one else had.

“This is what you are looking at,” Professor Blair said just as the screen filled with a picture of a horseshoe shaped grotto full of openings carved into the rock. “One of the Ajanta Caves of India is what I showed you before. It is one of over thirty caves that were carved into the rock face about 1500 years before Christ. They predate any of the Romanesque cathedrals and most of the Greek temples.”

There was a strange hush that fell over the room. Everyone knew they were witnessing something special, something unexpected, something that they all wanted to know about.

“Now that I have your attention,” Professor Blair said, “we can begin in earnest.”

Gus shook his head. Maybe this course wasn’t going to be so bad after all. He knew he would love to explore those caves, film them, show them to the world.

 

*****
 

“Kinney.”

“It’s me. It’s over. The ‘i’s have been dotted and the ‘t’s crossed,” Bobby said into his cell phone.

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks. Can you pick me up?”

“What, no celebratory drinks?”

“Melanie and I went for coffee. We thought the new family would want to celebrate in private.”

“I’m surprised Emmett hasn't rented Babylon.”

“I think he wanted to but Drew prevailed. They’re going to discuss party plans as a family. I’m sure we’ll all be invited.”

“Where’s Mel?”

“She just went back to the loft.”

“Did she say when she’s getting back on her broomstick and flying home?”

“Brian.”

“I’m just asking.”

“Emmett and Drew have asked her to stick around for a while. They want to include Melanie in their celebration, so behave yourself.”

“If I have to. Can I at least send them a fruit basket or something?”

“Yes, that would be very nice of you.”

“What’s the matter? You sound tired.”

“I am. For a moment during the proceedings I thought the Crosses were going to change their minds. The judge called a recess so she could speak with Richie and get his personal opinion.”

“Which was?”

“Personal. Richie was able to observe the proceedings via closed circuit TV. It was very upsetting to see his parents after all this time. They expressed their concern for his well being but...”

“They didn’t want him back.”

“No, they didn’t. And there’s a new wrinkle, Mrs. Cross is pregnant.”

“Ah, they’re hoping for a ‘normal’ child.”

“Something like that. It was like a nail in the coffin for him.”

“A bittersweet victory then. Bobby, that boy may need therapy.”

“I know. Melanie recommended Karen at the Jason Kemp Center as well as continuing the support group at the GLC. The minute it was over Emmett called Karen to make an appointment.”

“Good. Where are you? I’ll leave now.”

“The coffee shop near the courthouse.”

“Okay. Be there in twenty.”

“Thanks,” Bobby said as he cut the connection.

Brian contemplated the back of his eyelids for a minute before yelling for Ted.

“Schmidt!”

“You bellowed, Boss,” Ted said as he scurried into the room.

“Send a large fruit basket and a floral arrangement over to Emmett’s, and see if you can get tickets for the Trockaderos for me and Justin.”

“Your wish is my command.”

“As it should be,” Brian snarked as he packed up his briefcase, grabbed his jacket then left to pick up Bobby.

 

*****
 

The phone at Edna’s Treasures rang. Justin was startled for a second. It had been so quiet with everyone gone for the day. He had been painting like a madman. With a sigh he dunked his brush in the cleaning solvent and wiped his hands. He picked up the portable that was sitting on an end table in the sun porch.

“Hello,” he said.

“Justin, is Pop around?”

“Hey, Gus, no, your dad’s in Pittsburgh terrorizing the employees at Kinnetik.”

Gus laughed. “I’m sure he’s having a fine time.”

“Undoubtedly,” Justin agreed. “Is something wrong? Anything I can help you with.”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to tell him about my class today.”

“What class?”

“Humanities.”

“I thought you were dreading that one.”

“I was.”

“Was it so horrible that you want your dad to help you get out of it?”

“Nope.”

“No? Then…?”

“I loved it.”

“Well, that’s a turnaround. What happened?”

“The professor is great and he showed us something I’ve never seen before.”

“What’s that?”

“The Ajanta Caves in India. Have you ever heard of them?”

“Yes, I believe I have. They’re like underground temples, aren’t they?”

“Wow, does everybody know about these caves except me?”

Justin chuckled. “I doubt it. I heard about them in an art history course at PIFA. We were discussing whether they were architecture or sculpture.”

“Oh, so which are they?” Gus asked intrigued.

“The easy answer is … both.”

“And the hard answer?”

“They are sculpture because they are made as sculpture, chipping away the rock to form designs. But functionally they are architecture – structures that people can live in or worship in. They are part of a monastery, I believe.”

“They’re amazing.”

“Yes, they are. I can tell you’re really taken with them.”

“I am.”

“So, should I get your dad to call you when he gets home?”

“Yeah. Um…Justin, do you think he would finance me to go to India?”

“India? To the caves?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know, Gus.”

“I had this idea about doing a film on temples of all kinds, starting in India with the caves.”

“That sounds like an interesting idea, but wouldn’t you need to go to a lot of other places too?”

“You figured that out,” Gus laughed.

“So will your father.”

“I know, but India would be the starting place. I wouldn’t expect to do it all at once. It would be a multi-year project.”

“It sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into this.”

“I’ve only known about the caves for a few hours, but I can’t stop thinking about them.”

“I’ll tell Brian to call you.”

“Thanks for listening, Justin.”

“My pleasure.”

“And…”

“I’ll put in a good word for you if I can.”

“Thanks, I was hoping you would say that.”

“You know me too well.”

“Love you.”

“Love you right back. Bye, Gus.”

Justin set the phone down and turned back to his painting. He had some serious thinking to do before Brian got home. He picked up his brush.

 

*****
 

When Brian got home with Bobby, Bree and Patrick had been home for a while and had had their snacks. They were doing their homework in the sun porch while Justin painted. Bree was working on her Ireland project.

“Hey, Squirt, Little Red,” Brian said as he entered the sun porch where Bree was working at her little table. Justin stopped painting to accept a kiss from his husband. Justin had got back to his painting after taking a snack break with the kids. Patrick was reading on one of the chaises.

“Hi, Uncle Bri, Poppa,” Patrick responded before going back to his book.

“Hi, Dada,” Bree said with a big smile.

“Don’t I get a hug?”

“Sure,” Bree said jumping up, running to her father and throwing herself into his waiting arms. “I love you, Dada.”

“I love you more,” Brian whispered in her ear. He loved the smile that always brought to her beautiful little face.

“Dada,” Bree said her face growing serious, “can you take me to Ireland?”

“What?”

“I could learn a lot about Ireland if I went there. I’d have the best project in my class.” Bree looked hopefully up at her father.

“I was thinking more along the lines of taking you to talk to Grandma Joan to find out information about the family,” Brian informed his daughter, trying not to wince at the suggestion.

“I want to do that too.”

Brian frowned as the phone rang. Justin picked it up.

“It’s Ashley,” Justin said handing the phone to Bree.

“Hi, Ashley,” Bree replied.

“When did she get the idea of going to Ireland?” Brian whispered to Justin.

“I don’t know. She didn’t mention it before.”

“Well, it’s not going to happen,” Brian informed his husband.

“Okay,” Bree said into the phone. “I think I understand. It sounds … interesting. Bye, Ashley.”

“What was that all about, Squirt,” Brian asked hoping to distract his daughter from the topic of going to Ireland.

“Um, Ashley, um, was getting some information for me,” Bree said staring at the floor of the sun porch.

“About Ireland?” Justin asked with a frown. He could tell something was up when Bree wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“Um, not ‘xactly.”

“What exactly?” Brian asked not liking the sound of Bree being evasive.

“I asked her to find out what a symphony was,” Bree admitted.

“A symphony? Where did you get that idea from?”

“It’s not an idea, Dada,” Bree said. “It’s a big band with lots of musical instruments. Ashley’s mom told her.”

“And how do you know about a symphony?”

“Um, school?” Bree said hopefully daring to look up at her fathers.

“The truth, Briana,” Brian said.

“I heard you talking about it on the phone with Unca Ted.” Bree sighed knowing the truth was going to come out.

“You’ve been eavesdropping.”

“Oh no, Dada, I just heard.”

“Would you like to go to the symphony?”

“Oh yes!” Bree said enthusiastically. “They have a piano, don’t they?”

“I think so,” Brian said with a smile.

“Then I want to go.”

“Okay, finish you’re homework and we’ll see,” Brian said. Bree went back to her table. “At least she didn’t ask again about Ireland,” Brian said to Justin.

“No, but Gus wants to go to India.”

There was sudden quiet at Edna’s Treasures.
 

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