"You feel sorry for him, don't you?"

"Yes," I said.

He shook his head.

"Don't you understand Haille is the way she is because of what he did?"

"No. Look at what she did to me," I replied.

"You don't see me turning into my mother."

His smile softened and widened.

"Talk to him, Kenneth. Just make a little peace between you. It will be good for you as well as him."

He grimaced skeptically.

"You said Neptune's Daughter was your greatest work, the work you're most proud of. Let it be a happy time then, from beginning to end."

"Melody, Melody, what am I going to do with you? Despite everything, you keep pushing the gray skies away, searching for that rainbow."

"Help me find it, Kenneth," I replied, my eyes meeting his gaze firmly. He nodded, sighed, gazing at the water and then turned back toward the house.

"Come on," he said.

"Come on?"

"You're his granddaughter. You belong in every family discussion now. No more false pretenses among us. That's my only demand," he said. I trailed beside him as he walked toward the house, his home, a place he hadn't been for years, but a place that held all his childhood memories and the memories of his mother.

We entered and he gave me a tour.

"He's kept it pretty much as I remembered it,"

Kenneth said. He laughed. "My mother and her antiques. Some of these things are worth a lot of money though."

We went upstairs and he showed me what used to be his room. He stood there for a long time, a sad smile on his face. When we descended again, the Judge was standing in the doorway of his office.

"Well," he said, looking from Kenneth to me.

"This looks like it's going to be the event of the year, huh? I haven't seen your piece, Kenneth, but Laurence Baker told me it's wonderful. Anybody make a preliminary offer yet? If not, I'd like to make an offer."

"It's not for sale," Kenneth said.

"What?"

"I'm thinking of donating it to the museum after the showing."

The Judge's mouth dropped open. "Why, that's a mighty fine idea, Kenneth. Mighty fine," he said when he'd finally recovered.

"Well, if you were going to sell it, I'd buy it myself," I said, wishing Kenneth would accept money for his creation.

They both looked at me and then Kenneth laughed. The Judge's face broke into a smile, too.

"I bet she would," he said.

"She would," Kenneth agreed. At least they were agreeing on something.

"I'm glad we're having the party here, Ken.

Your mother would be very proud," the Judge said.

"Oh, that reminds me," he added quickly. "I found something the other day and thought you'd want to have it." He turned and went into the office. We followed. He handed Kenneth a leather picture frame in which there was a photo of his mother and him when he was no more than five or six years old.

"He had that serious, artistic look even back then, didn't he?" the Judge asked me.

"He sure looks deep in thought," I replied.

"I remember when Louise bought that frame.

She considered it a prime find. That design's all hand-engraved or something," he continued as Kenneth continued to stare at the picture of himself and his mother. The Judge found it necessary to keep talking.

"I think it was somewhere down in Buzzard's Bay.

She would walk into those tiny stores and dig around like some miner looking for gold and come out with the craziest stuff sometimes. When she found that frame, she said she had just the picture to put in it."

"Thanks," Kenneth said.

"Oh, sure, sure. So, how have things been otherwise?" the Judge asked.

"Otherwise?" Kenneth's mouth turned in at the corners.

"I mean . . ." The Judge looked at me.

"Whatever you have to say, she can hear it, too.

She is your granddaughter," Kenneth said.

"Yes, she is," the Judge said nodding, "and I must say I'm proud of her."

"Even though it's a deep, dark secret?" Kenneth taunted. The Judge's eyes grew smaller. He blew some air between his lips and lowered himself slowly to the leather settee, gazing down at the floor like a man who had just received some very bad news.

"There's no sense in my apologizing to you, Kenneth. I've done that a hundred times and you won't hear it. Anyway, I don't expect you to forgive me for something I can't forgive myself. But," he said raising his eyes to Kenneth, "none of it has stopped me from loving you, son. I'm proud of you and what you've done. All I hope is that you can come to hate me a little less. That's all," he concluded with a deep sigh.

Kenneth turned away for a moment.

"You betrayed us, you know, all of us."

"Yes, I did," the Judge confessed. "I was a weak man; she was a beautiful and very desirable woman. It's no excuse; it's just an explanation," he followed quickly.

"You've spent most of your life sitting in judgment on people. Who sat in judgment of you?"

"You did, son, and the price I paid was too much. If I could change things, I would."

Kenneth didn't look convinced.

"Really, I would. I would sooner die than take away your happiness. I wanted only the best for you.

None of this has had any meaning to me since your mother's death and . . since all of you children left."

He looked at me. "It's sort of a miracle that Melody has come back to us."

Kenneth glanced at me and then he nodded.

"Yes, it is."

"And it just pleases me to all get out that she and you have taken to each other."

"She's a pest," Kenneth teased.

I smiled through my teary eyes.

"Talented, playing that fiddle, too. You're going to play something for us at the party, aren't you, Melody?"

"What? No, I-"

"Of course she is," Kenneth said eying me. "It's part of our deal."

"It is?" I asked worriedly.

"Well good," the Judge said standing again. He seemed to have trouble getting to his feet, swallowing a groan and forcing a smile. "I guess I'll get back out there and see what that dandified fellow's got planned for me. Wants to string pink roses up the driveway next," he said and Kenneth laughed. Then, as if remembering himself, Kenneth stopped and turned toward the doorway. He paused in it, looked down at the picture of himself and his mother, and gazed back at the Judge.

"Thanks for this."

"Sure."

"We gotta go," he said.

"Yes, it looks like I have some unexpected practicing to do," I quipped and Kenneth laughed.

The Judge followed us to the front door.

"I don't have to say good luck. I know everyone's going to be impressed," he declared.

Kenneth nodded, and I could tell he wanted to say "Thank you."

When I looked at the Judge, I saw his eyes were full of tears. He bit down on his lip, smiled at me and went back inside.

"I think he's really sorry, Kenneth."

"Maybe," he relented. We got into the jeep and he sat there for a while, watching his father come out of the house, wave to us and walk slowly toward the caterers.

"He was a very handsome man, always distinguished, gentlemanly. He looked just like a judge. When I was a little boy, I thought he had the power to decide life and death. Don't put your faith completely in anyone, Melody. Reserve some skepticism. It's good insurance. Okay," he said smiling at me. "We'll have a good time. If the Queen will grant you leave, you're invited to dinner tonight.

Holly will be here any minute."

"She will? Oh great! Of course I can come.

Grandma Olivia wants me to be a good influence on you, get you to look more like-"

"A businessman, I know. I might put on a clean pair of pants and socks," he said and we both laughed.

Holly, I thought. I couldn't wait to see her again.

Holly came laden with gifts for us: charms and crystals, astrological charts, new earrings for me and a bracelet for Kenneth. After dinner she and I took a long walk alone on the beach and talked about my trip to California.

"Naturally, my sister turned everything around, blamed me for sending such a young, impressionable girl to Los Angeles. Philip said it wasn't surprising,"

she said with a short laugh.

"Oh I hope I didn't make any trouble for you," I said.

"This isn't a new argument. My sister and her husband formed their opinions of me long ago.

Anyway, Billy wanted me to be sure to give you his best wishes and love. He was touched by you."

"And I by him. I thought about him and the things he told me many times while I was in Hollywood."

"Your mother didn't have the slightest-"

"She's like someone under a spell, Holly. If I had known as much before, I would never have gone.

I sometimes stop at the graveyard and pretend it's her buried there. She might as well be," I added.

She smiled softly and paused to take a deep breath of the fresh ocean air.

"Cleans out my brain," she said. "Well, I see Cary has won over Kenneth, building that boat." She nodded toward the finished hull. "It looks like it's going to be very impressive."

"He's got his whole heart in it," I said, my own heart swelling with pride.

"Not his whole heart. There's some big part of it here," she said, pointing to my chest. I laughed.

"Tell me about Kenneth," she said after a moment.

"He looks like he's in some state of transition, hovering. His chart indicates he's about to change direction."

I told her about the meeting with his father and the quasi cease-fire.

"They're both getting older. It's time for them to settle things," she said, then turned thoughtful. "Does he talk about me much?"