sam the tall negro man servant
brought fonca and sam
their chicken salad sandwiches
within minutes of marion ordering them.

fonca ate hers quickly because she didn't
realize how hungry she was

speed sniffed the blue bowl sam put in front
of him
and gave sam a look that only speed could give
to someone he didn't know quite what to make of.

marion said, don't forget the water.

yes, it is right here and three bottles of clear water
appeared on the table in front of them.

i brought one for madame as i know you like
a sparkling water in the afternoon.

thank you sam for thinking for me.

quite all right madame.

sam stood there
and you couldn't tell what he was thinking
there wasn't a thought on his face.

but speed knew that this was no ordinary manservant.
he didn't even have a uniform.
and speed knew that all butlers had uniforms and white gloves.

he cocked his head toward sam.
and sam slanted one eye in his direction.

speed grimaced at being found out and stuck his head in the bowl.

meanwhile fonca had finished her chicken sandwich
and turned to marilyn
and said that was quite delightful thank you.
i don't think i've ever tasted a chicken salad made
that way. there was a taste that i couldn't describe
in the dressing.

oh, yes, said marilyn that's aunt gertrude's dill.
been handed down for generations.
and it is still used in the family.

oh, said, fonca.
well, it was quite good.

sam, marily said, you can go you know.
everything is under control.

as you wish madame
i will be in the kitchen if you need anything else
and with a short bow and one hand behind his back
he whisked up the fonca's empty plate and speed's
clean dish and was gone in a flash.

marilyn turned her attention to the duo

and before fonca had a chance to say anything else.

marilyn picked the baby up from the keepsake and
said would you like a tour of the house.

why, yes, said fonca that would be nice.
sure, said speed who thought it better not to
voice his opinion until he knew more about the place.

the baby was playing with marilyn's long curly
hair which ran down her bust line and was within
easy grasp of the youngster.

mama, mama, curl

yes, darling, mama's curls.

the baby drea beamed a bright smile at fonca and
speed and the four walked out of the parlor into the
long hallway.

it was full of pictures
some in black and white
and some in pastel colors.

these pictures look old said fonca.

you sure have a lot of them said sam

yes, said marilyn past generations liked to keep
pictures and handed them down from one parent
to their children.

myself, i am not into albums of pictures.
i am into albums of stories.

stories, said fonca.

yes, you know those things that start with a
sentence become a paragraph and then an essay
and then take on a life of their own until they
become pages and pages.

oh, said, fonca
i never thought of it like that.

speed stopped in front of one picture that hung on the side wall.

it was a picture of a mother holding a young child about a year old.

whose that said speed.

oh, that.

that is my sister aida and her daughter kate.

how come there are no other pictures around it

well, she sort of was disowned by the family.

disowned, why said fonca.

well, to put it bluntly she was a terrorist.

a terrorist, said speed.

she doesn't look like a terrorist said fonca.

looks can be deceiving said marilyn.

what could she have done that was so terrible that
she was la bled a terrorist.