Parents
1:07 PM - Saturday, November 1, 2014
Thomas Residence, 341 Infantry Terrace, The Presidio
Mark found the house impressive, stately, even. Perched above the street and surrounded by groomed hedges, it overlooked the road with a regal air. The stoop had an array of pumpkins up and down the stairs on either side. Some carved, some whole. A full-sized skeleton wearing a Giants t-shirt was sitting on a wicker chair next to the front door. Almost every house along the row had similar Halloween decor on the porch. That, and everyone had either an orange SF Giants flag or an American flag flying, sometimes both. It looked like small-town Americana.
The door opened before the trio even reached the top step. A young boy with big brown eyes peered up at them, “Are you the police?” He demanded.
“Yes, we are.” Paco replied, trying for pleasantry.
“Matteo, stop!” A voice said in an urgent whisper. The door opened wider and a 40-something woman appeared behind the boy. “Hi - I’m Carole Thomas, please come in.” She opened the door broadly to a broad entry hall. The three of them entered with Mark closing the door. A man, slightly older into his 40s was coming down the stairs. “This is my husband, Spiro Thomas.”
The Thomases made a handsome couple. Spiro was dark with hair just turning to salt-and-pepper, with a fit build. Meanwhile Carole was taller than him, a brunette but with expensive highlights, lithe and elegant. The two seemed a little wired and nervous, but pulled together.
“Hello.” Spiro said, shaking hands. Paco made introductions.
“Are those real guns?” Matteo piped up, looking at everyone’s side arms.
“Yes, they are,” Jeannie said to him, smiling slightly.
“Matteo, downstairs.” His father said. “Now. Please.” Matteo huffed.
“Okaaaayyyyah.” He replied, exasperated.
“Eva! Downstairs please!” Carole said, calling toward the kitchen in the back. A little girl a few years younger than Matteo but with the same eyes and chubby cheeks appeared in the kitchen door, chewing on an apple. She appraised the newcomers and appeared unimpressed, unlike her brother. “C’mon, down to the playroom, please.” She turned and put the half-eaten apple on the counter behind her and then followed her brother through the door to the downstairs room. “Please, come in, sit down.” Carole insisted, ushering them into a large living room to the left side of the foyer. It was designed with somewhat traditional pieces in keeping with the home, but it was also comfortable and inviting. The room was bright, with big windows and a large old-fashioned brick fireplace. Pale gray upholstery with hints of black and white, colorful cushions and colorful artwork.
“You have a beautiful home.” Jeannie offered. “These old Presidio houses are wonderful.”
“They are nice, aren’t they?” Carole agreed, sitting on one of two plush sofas. Jeannie took a seat opposite her, with Paco next to her on the sofa. Spiro took an armchair with his back to the foyer. Greenberg sat in a chair on the opposite side. “Old officers houses, but so well designed. Good rooms, and even a finished basement for the kids. We looked at the ones over on Liggett but not enough bathrooms!”
“Can’t have enough bathrooms with three kids, and one of them a teen.” Spiro joined. Both were making every effort to keep things light, belying their concern.
“We moved in here last December. Spiro’s job transferred him to Silicon Valley.” Carole smiled at her husband. “We bought a house over on Jordan Avenue but it needs work, so we’ve been renting here. We’re hoping to move to the new house by the end of January.” Jeannie smiled.
“That’s a great neighborhood. I grew up over there.”
“You did!” Both of the Thomases seemed eager to hear about it.
“Yes, it’s great for kids. Lots of playing outside, especially for the city.” Jeannie said. Ah, she’s a ringer. The Captain’s favoritism of Jeannie was beginning to add up to Mark.
“That’s what we love about the Presidio - there’s so many kids right around us and everyone plays all the time. We hardly even lock the back door. It feels like a small town.” Carole got quiet again.
“So,” Paco began. “You called us about your daughter?”
“Yes, Alexa.” Spiro began, looking at his wife. “She’s 17. She went out to a party last night with her friend Ryan and we haven’t seen her since.”
“What time did you expect her home?” Paco ventured, pulling out a small notepad.
“Her curfew is 10:30, but it was a Friday and Halloween, so we gave her some leeway. I told her she could be home by 11:30. I waited until midnight and went to bed. I thought she may have fallen asleep at Tally Briggs’ house and forgotten to call. We’re definitely going to have a chat about it.”
“I was up at 6:30 and went up to check her room.” Carole added. “The bed is still made. I’ve been trying to call her and it just goes right to voice mail.”
“You phoned the Park Police around 10:45 this morning?” Paco said, consulting his notes. “May I ask why you didn’t call earlier?”
“Well, we kept thinking she’d be coming in the door any minute.” Spiro said. “You know how teens can be, and we didn’t want to seem excessively protective.” It was clear that the Thomases still thought Alexa was going to be coming in the door any minute. “It was a big week with the Giants and then Halloween altogether. She’s been really diligent with her sports and studying a lot, so we thought she deserved some fun.”
“Alexa is a senior?” Jeannie asked, “where does she go to school?”
“Yes.” Carole confirmed. “She goes to Academy Prep.”
“Mmm.” Jeannie replied. “That’s a very good school.”
“It is, but the kids at these local preps are just…I don’t know, a few of them are nice but I can’t really tell.” Carole sounded a little disbelieving as she admitted this.
“What do you mean?” Jeannie prompted.
“Well, it’s the typical private school stuff of kids with money trying to out-do each other, I get it, but I guess we didn’t have quite so much of it in Alexa’s old school. And I don’t think we were prepared for the level of partying.” Carole volunteered. “We moved out here from New York, and Alexa was in Dalton there. The kids here just seem…it’s just different.” Jeannie nodded, understandingly.
“And, I’m sorry to ask,” Paco asserted, “but you two were getting along well with your daughter? No recent fights or arguments?” The Thomases looked bewildered.
“No, not at all,” Carole said with finality. She looked to her husband.
“Alexa is incredibly responsible. She gets good grades, and played varsity soccer this fall. She’s just moving into swim season, which is her favorite. We’re a really close family - we have dinner every night and talk about everything openly.”
“Dinner every night my husband isn’t working late.” Carole added, smiling at him.
“Honey, even when I’m late, I’m here. You know that.” You could see the love between the two of them, it was in their faces, even when worried about their daughter. Mark wondered how long they’d been together. “Look,” Spiro said, looking at all three of them, “having a teenage daughter scares the shit out of me. Carole and I decided to really make an effort to keep the communication open, no matter what. We’d rather have Alexa feel safe to tell us anything than keep her from telling us things. It makes us feel better too.”
“And I know it’s a year out, but what about college? Where is Alexa hoping to go?” Jeannie began, before too much of a lag happened in the conversation.
“She wants to go back East again,” Spiro sounded like he didn’t like this plan. “She’s keen on Brown or RISD or NYU. I’ve asked her to at least apply to Cal and UCLA.”
“Especially UCLA,” Carole added. “She’s so into fashion and costuming - they have a lot of that since they’re in Hollywood.”
“You mentioned a Ryan? Is that a friend or a boyfriend?” Jeannie asked.
“Ryan is a friend, a good friend.” Spiro began. “Ryan Dominguez. He’s a sweet kid, lives across the way in the apartments on Quarry Road? He and his mother moved in the same week we did, and we met at a neighborhood block party last New Year’s. He had some trouble in his past, but seems to be doing well.”
“Spiro,” Carole said quietly, pleading with him.
“What? It’s the truth. The kid is great. Very creative and nice. He and Alexa are thick as thieves. I think, well…..Alexa’s mother died 12 years ago.” Carole looked down. “She had leukemia.” Spiro said quietly. “It was very unexpected. Daniella, my first wife, was Puerto Rican, and half of my family is from Syria, a generation back. A few years ago Alexa was doing a family tree project and asked about being a Latina and Arabic. She wanted to know why we didn’t have any Latina or Arabic friends. I didn’t know what to tell her. New York is diverse, but not in every neighborhood and certainly not in every school. So, when she met Ryan…” Spiro breathed. “Well, they just clicked immediately.”
“And he goes to AP as well?” Jeannie asked.
“No, he goes to a public school, doesn’t he?” Carole nodded. She looked up at Jeannie.
“Ryan’s a friend - not a boyfriend.” She began. “He’s gay and out, and he and Alexa both love fashion and they’re always talking about designers and new looks — they made their Halloween costumes together. He’s very sweet and he’s really become one of our family.”
“We’ve been calling him too, but no answer.”
“He works today, Spiro.”
“Oh that’s right. He has a job through his probation officer - he’s a busser/dishwasher at Rose’s Cafe on Union. Do you know it?” Jeannie smiled. Probation officer? Mark made a mental note.
“Of course. I love their breakfast pizza.” She replied. “Can you tell me when you last saw Ryan?”
“Last night. They left together all dressed up. They were going to some kid’s Gatsby Party - you know, because of the movie.”
“And, can I ask what their costumes were?” Jeannie ventured.
“Oh, Ryan was dressed as Yves Saint Laurent - he had tailored a vintage suit they’d found thrifting on Haight Street, and he’d found some funny 70s eyeglasses to wear. He was perfect. Alexa went as Effie Trinket. From The Hunger Games?” Carole offered. Jeannie nodded. “She worked on the dress for weeks. She loved the original by Alexander McQueen. It was a good project for her.” Mark noticed Jeannie’s smile shift slightly.
“So was Alexa dating anyone?” Mark asked, quietly. The Thomases looked at him as though seeing him for the first time. They then looked at each other, faces clouded.
“Well,” Carole began.
“She was dating Sebastian Podesta. He’s at Xavier Prep. But we don’t know where that stands right now.” Spiro said.
“What do you mean?” Jeannie asked. Carole looked at Spiro, who shrugged and sighed.
“They met in January after a basketball game. Seb is a forward for Xavier. He and this other kid - Dashiell something, I can’t remember - are kind of the Splash Brothers1 of the team. They call them “Bash and Dash” - at least that’s what the paper said when they won the prep championship last year.” Spiro looked down. “They met, he came over here one afternoon and asked her out. It was sweet, I thought. They were dating all last winter and spring.” Spiro faded and Carole began.
“We really like Seb. He’s very nice, great manners, respectful, and Alexa was happy. We were all at that championship game in March - it was great. We met his parents. That went on until July.” Both parents looked at the floor.
“What happened in July?” Mark asked, trying to maintain momentum.
“She went to Lake Tahoe.” Spiro began. “Some other kid, Tripp Hartford-Hartman- Hart-something, maybe? Someone Seb knew from Xavier had a big house party to celebrate July 4th. If I had known…” he faded again.
“We thought there’d at least be parents there, but there weren’t.” Carole said simply.
“It’s my fault - I should have looked into it, or at least slept on giving her permission to go.” Spiro added.
“We both should have.” Carole said, looking at him. “I should have made some calls, asked some questions. Anyway.” Her brow furrowed. “She and Seb drove up early on Friday morning and we didn’t expect them until Sunday night. She and Tally arrived here on Saturday afternoon instead, and she was in tears when she got here. She said something had happened with Sebastian, but she wouldn’t go into it.”
“I asked her if he had tried anything, and she told me absolutely not, but she said they were over, and that was it.” Spiro added. “Carole and I tried a few more times to get her to talk about it, but she kept mum, so we figured she’d let us know in her own time.” Spiro sighed, looking at the floor again.
“That was in July? Has she been seeing anyone near-term?” Jeannie ventured. Carole and Spiro looked at each other, unsure where to begin.
“We went east about a week after the Tahoe thing, and didn’t come back until a few days before school.” Carole began. “She went on a few dates with a boy - well, they’re family friends and he’s Alexa’s age. They’ve always been kind of thrown together, but that was on Nantucket. I think they’re just friends.” Carole paused, thoughtfully. “Then we went to my family’s cabin on Lake George for most of August and she seemed to turn around a bit. Relaxed, shook off the Tahoe thing and came back here ready for school. She was focused.”
“Yeah - that’s true.” Spiro agreed. “She hasn’t been as social as last year, a few parties but mostly focused on school work and applications. But, as far as dating…I don’t think there’s anyone.” He looked at his wife, who was looking at the rug.
“Okay, well, this is very helpful.” Paco said.
“We’ll follow up with Ryan.” Jeannie said. “We’ll start there and see if he knows where she is or if he’s heard from her. In the meantime, do you have any photographs you can give us?”
“Oh, of course!” Carole jumped up and headed back into the kitchen, returning with her cell phone. “We have some of her and Ryan from last night, and I’ll send you her school photo too.” She input Jeannie’s cell and forwarded the photos. Jeannie smiled, but Mark could tell it was tight, forced. Paco stood and the three began to say goodbye. At the door, Mark turned to them.
“We’ll be in touch as soon as we can.”
The Splash Brothers nickname refers to Steph Curry & Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors. It refers to the duo's ability to "splash" the net with the ball, particularly on three-point shots, and is a play on an older nickname for another pair of San Francisco Bay Area teammates, baseball players Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, who were known as the Bash Brothers when they played for the Oakland Athletics. The term began in 2012 in a tweet from Brian Witt, a writer for the Warriors website. On December 21 against the Charlotte Bobcats, Curry and Thompson had combined for 25 points and seven 3-pointers by halftime, when Witt posted an update of their performance on the team's Twitter account with a #SplashBrothers hashtag; Golden State would win the game 115–100. The Warriors liked the nickname, and encouraged Witt to continue tweeting it.