The Visit (How the in-laws see it)

“Can you believe that?” Sandy asked her husband.  “Steve staying at the inn instead of here with all of us.  I think we know who put him up to that one.”  She looked at herself in the bedroom mirror.  Not bad for an old broad with three married sons, she thought.  Sighing, she supposed, with everyone here, she’d have to wear a bra all the time.  During the pandemic how grateful she had been to be shedding that particular article of clothing.  However, now, boobs to the fore.  Well, it was only Saturday and Sunday.  She’d survive.

Marty never liked to argue with his wife.  But— “Maybe you haven’t been as welcoming to Eden as you could be.  I think we should be grateful to her.  Steve is happy.  How many nights have we pondered what was going to happen to him?  You always said middle-child-syndrome.  But, let’s face it, it was more than that.  His only friend was basically his computer.  Arrested for hacking, you’ll recall.”

“And now he’s parlayed that into a brilliant career,” she countered.

“A career we can’t even ask about.”

“We can ask.  He just won’t tell.”

“All I’m saying is that Eden is good for him.  We should welcome her into the family. And that, Sandy, means not taking potshots at her.”

Sandy swiveled sharply.  “What are you implying, Marty?”

He raised his hands and left the bedroom.  There was no point setting his wife off before the weekend even commenced.  For Sandy it always seemed her way or the highway.  How fortunate then that his daughter-in-law Beth, who married their youngest Barry, was so accommodating.  Now there was a good marriage.

Of course everyone expected good things from Barry, always popular, always gregarious.  After a lackluster academic career at Penn State, Barry had decided to go into real estate.  Too young and who would trust him, but he made a go of it.  Beth was working as a secretary in the same office, learning the ropes of the business.  It didn’t take long for them to see in one another the same ambition, the same drive.  Soon they had formed B&B Realtors, specializing in the Poconos.  The pandemic had been a boom time for them.  Pregnancy hadn’t even held Beth back, as she hired a nanny straight off the bat and was back selling within a week of the birth of their only child so far, Sophia.

Sophia, Marty would have to admit, was his favorite grandchild.  Not the first, but definitely the sweetest, most likely due to the nanny from Ecuador.  Now, David and Yael had two children, both boys, Asher and Levi.  Yael was a stay-at-home mother, mainly so she could inculcate those kids in her way of thinking, Jewish schools instead of public, kosher food, Orthodox temple.  When had this happened to his son?  He barely got through his bar mitzvah and only returned to his “roots” during his time at the University of Michigan.  Yael was the daughter of Israeli ex-pats.  Oh, if only she had returned to Israel after college to do her army service.  But no.  She and David had to marry.  Literally had to.  Thus Asher.

They struggled while David went on to get his Ph.D. focusing on religious mysticism.  Surprisingly he actually ended up with a tenure track position at Haverford College.  Then along came Levi.  If the parents weren’t so off the wall, the kids might be great.  But who comes to their grandparents’ house with a freezer full of kosher food?  And plates and utensils.  Annoying as hell.

Marty pictured Eden, Steve’s wife, as more of a Beth rather than a Yael.  That’s why he was ready to welcome her with open arms.  He didn’t care what religion she was.  Steve was married and that in itself was a miracle.  And married to someone seemingly normal.

“They’re here!” Sandy called.

Who, Marty wondered.  He appreciated the fact that Barry and Beth had given up the weekend to be with the family.  Although he knew from past experience that both would be on their phones constantly. They couldn’t let a sale pasa them by.  Ever now with five people working for them, they had to be in on every deal as brokers. But he didn’t care, as that would give him time to be with Sophia.  He’d read to her, using all different voices to enliven the books and she’d giggle.  Or maybe now that she was older, she’d spend more time playing with Levi who was almost the same age.

But from the commotion coming from the foyer, it wasn’t Beth and Barry but David, Yael and the gang.  Marty sighed.  He wondered if Yael knew he found her a pain in the ass.  Probably, but she obviously didn’t care.  And David? He always made a point of sending a file of his latest paper to Marty’s computer.  Marty tried to read what his eldest son had written, but honestly, what the hell was he saying?

His greatest hope was that Asher and Levi would grow up and discover that their parents were nuts and begin to live a normal life.  The sort of life, Marty was living.  Until then—  Well, what could he do?  Nada.

Marty went down the stairs and called out a hearty hello, but his grandsons were already chasing around the house, Yael was in the kitchen with Sandy, rearranging the refrigerator so her food wouldn’t touch their food.  David?  In the bathroom.  Coward. It was the first of what would be many retreats during the weekend, as David disengaged himself from others.  Was it a pose?  Or was he reading mysticism into his rudeness?