by Ian Hamilton
Ava turned and saw her sister, Marian. She rushed towards her and they hugged. “When did you get here?” Ava asked.
“I flew down this morning.”
“And when do you go back?”
“Early tomorrow morning.”
“Can’t you stay a big longer?”
“None of my regular sitters were available, and Bruce is in the middle of a federal-provincial government negotiation. Getting him to stay home with the girls today was enough of a feat.”
Bruce was Marian’s husband. He was a gweilo — a Westerner — and a senior public servant in Ottawa. Marian was trained as a lawyer, but after the birth of their first daughter she had become a stay-at-home mother. It wasn’t a life that Ava would have chosen, and although Jennie had stayed home with Ava and Marian, she still complained from time to time about Marian wasting her education.
“How are Bruce and Mummy getting along these days?” Ava asked.
“Same as usual — they’re not,” Marian said with a tight smile. “I’ve given up hoping they ever will.”
“Well, they couldn’t be more different, and neither of them is particularly flexible,” Ava said. “Even you have to admit that Bruce is a bit anal, and Mummy, with no sense of time and her slap-happy attitude, is the kind of person who can’t help but get under his skin.”
“What are you two talking about?” Jennie asked as she guided Fai towards the kitchen.
“Bruce,” Ava said.
“My daughter married a gweilo,” Jennie said to Fai. “He’s a nice person, but we don’t get along all the time. Although he is very kind to my daughter and gave me two beautiful granddaughters, so I can’t think badly of him.”
Ava started to say something and then stopped. There was no point in talking to her mother about Bruce. “What do you have to drink?” she asked.
“Just about anything you can name, but most of the women are drinking wine,” Jennie said.
“There’s also lots to eat — dumplings, spring rolls, cha siu bao,” Marian said.
“I’ll eat later. For now I’ll have a glass of Chardonnay,” Ava said.
“That will suit me as well,” Fai said.
“I’ll get them for you,” Jennie said.
When Jennie had left, Marian said to Fai, “You’ve caused quite a sensation. Mummy’s friends were here early with their smartphones fully charged. Fair warning — they’ll want to take selfies and film themselves with you. I’m surprised how tech-savvy they all are.”
“Fai is accustomed to dealing with fans,” Ava said.
“Of course, she must be. It is just that I find this particular group rather overwhelming at times. Some of them are really smart but, given their situations, don’t have many ways of expressing it.”
“What do you mean by ‘their situations’?” Fai asked.
Ava turned to Fai. “Marian means that many of them are second or third wives, like my mother. Their husbands support them but are normally in Hong Kong with their first wives, so these women are left with time on their hands and in need of something to fill it.”
“Like mah-jong and casino outings,” Marian said.
“That’s true to a point, if perhaps a little unfair,” Ava said. “I know most of them like to gamble, but I think the socializing is a large part of the experience for them.”
“Bruce doesn’t see it that way.”
“He’s also not Chinese, and he’s not dependent on the kind of circle of friends Mummy has.”
Marian lowered her head. “Sorry. You’re right, I shouldn’t be so judgmental. It’s just that when you live far away, as I do, and have such a different life, it’s easy to forget what Mummy went through.”
Ava reached for her sister and pulled her close. Disagreements about their mother and her behaviour had characterized their relationship for years, and Bruce’s attitude towards Jennie had only intensified them. Ava had resolved several years ago not to engage, and she felt bad every time she did. “I’m sorry too. I know she can be difficult sometimes.”
“Ah, how nice to see my daughters so close,” Jennie said as she returned with two glasses of wine. She watched Fai take a sip and then added, “Can we leave the kitchen and mingle a bit?”
Fai took another sip and smiled at Jennie. “Mrs. Lee, I’ll be happy to mingle, and I don’t mind people taking a few pictures. But I’m really here to meet you and Marian, and Ava mentioned her friend Mimi.”
“Yes, keep everything in moderation,” Ava said to her mother. “And speaking of Mimi, where is she? Did you invite her?”
“Of course. She called last night to confirm my address and said she’d be here,” Jennie said. “I’m surprised she isn’t. She was always very punctual.”
Ava took out her phone and called Mimi’s number. When it went directly to voicemail, she ended the call and sent a text that read, Where are you? Anxious to see you.
“Shall we go into the living room now?” Jennie asked.
“Sure,” Ava said, and then looped her arm through Fai’s. “I’ll stay close.”
For the next hour Fai circulated, chatting with everyone there, with Ava by her side and Jennie hovering nearby. Twice Jennie left to refill Fai’s wineglass, and Ava and Fai took five minutes to sit down and eat a small plate of food brought to them by Marian. “When everyone leaves we can have a proper meal, just the four of us,” Jennie said.
By four o’clock there was still no sign of Mimi. Ava checked her phone several times to see if she had replied to the text. She hadn’t, and Ava began to worry. Mimi was conscientious as well as punctual. It was unusual of her not to let them know if she was going to be late. Ava tried her phone again with no success, and then sent another text.
As the guests began to leave and things calmed down, Ava found a quiet corner and phoned Derek. His phone rang four times and Ava was readying herself to leave a message when he answered. “Yes.”
Even in that one word Ava could sense distress. “Derek, it’s Ava. Has something happened to Mimi? I’m at my mother’s. She was supposed to join us.”
“She’s okay. I mean, nothing has happened to her,” he said, his distress becoming more evident.
“Then why isn’t she here?”
“It’s her father,” Derek said.
“Is he ill?”
“Ava, the man is dead.”
“Oh no,” Ava said. She struggled for words before saying, “When? How?”
“This morning . . .” he began, and then went strangely silent.
“What about this morning? Was there an accident?” she asked, and then added, almost impatiently, “Derek, please don’t make me guess.”
“Mrs. Gregory found him in the garden shed around lunchtime. He had spent the morning trimming bushes and cutting the grass,” he said. “She watched him go into the shed with his tools when he was finished, and then a minute later she heard a gunshot.”
Ava felt a bone-numbing chill. “I can’t believe that,” she said. “I’ve known him for so many years.”
“I guess none of us knew him as well as we thought. Mimi has been crying for hours, and Mrs. Gregory is in a state of shock.”
“Derek, is there anything I can do? Where are you?”
“We’re at the Gregory house.”
“I know where it is. I’m at my mother’s, and I can be there in half an hour.”
“I think Mimi would appreciate it.”
“Then tell her I’m on my way.”
(2)
The next week was emotionally charged and chaotic. Ava shuttled back and forth between her condo and the Gregory family home in Leaside, a neighbourhood a few kilometres northeast of Yorkville. Mimi had moved in with her mother, leaving Derek and their daughter, Amber, in their own home a few blocks away.
June Gregory was distraught to a point where she was barely ab
le to communicate. That threw all the responsibility for decision making onto Mimi, who was almost as upset. Derek did what he could, but he was so overwhelmed by looking after Amber and trying to cope with his wife’s grief that he wasn’t thinking that clearly either.
Mimi was an only child, as were both her parents, so at Mimi’s request and with her mother’s muted approval, Ava stepped in to help. She dealt with the police, the family doctor, and the crematorium. There was some talk about a funeral, which finally prompted Mrs. Gregory to speak. “There will be no funeral and no celebration of life, or whatever the current fashion is. I want him cremated and that will be the end of it.” Mimi started to protest but was cut off by her mother. “I won’t talk about this anymore. I’ve made up my mind.”
The police quickly ruled Phillip Gregory’s death a suicide, the family doctor prescribed sedatives for both June and Mimi, and the crematorium delivered Phil Gregory’s ashes to the house eight days after his death. June asked Ava to take the urn to the basement and put it somewhere where it couldn’t be seen.
June Gregory’s decision to put her husband’s ashes in the basement and her reaction to the idea of a memorial service weren’t the only things Ava found strange. Although she had never experienced the death by suicide of someone close to her, she was surprised by what she perceived to be a festering rage in Mrs. Gregory. June’s mood wasn’t constant. She could be quiet for periods of time or start sobbing in others, but she rejected any kind of comfort that Mimi and Derek offered and then would unleash an anger that was biting and bitter, with her husband the object of her outpourings.
Odder still was when, on one occasion after such an outburst, Mrs. Gregory turned to Ava and Mimi and said, “I killed him. I know I did. I should have kept my mouth shut and just gotten on with things.” Mimi asked what she meant, but her mother shook her head and relapsed into silence.
When Ava related this incident to Derek, he told her June had said the same thing to him and had also refused to explain when he pressed her on it. “I think she’s just feeling guilty,” he said. “I’ve read that those closest to people who commit suicide quite often blame themselves for not noticing any signs that might have helped them prevent it.”
“I hope Mimi isn’t feeling that way,” Ava said.
“She has a little bit of guilt, but there’s more sadness. She keeps thinking about what a good father he was when she was young. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, and she regrets that she didn’t do more for him when she got older.”
Fai stuck close to Ava, offering any help she could. Despite being a celebrity — or maybe because of it — there was a vulnerability to Fai that Ava had been thoroughly exposed to, but now Ava saw another side to her, and that was her unstinting kindness. She sat for hours with Mimi and her mother, holding their hands and communicating as best as she could in English.
The second week after Phil Gregory’s death was less demanding on Ava. Mrs. Gregory and Mimi began to resume parts of their normal lives, and Derek was there doing the best he could. When Mimi had moved back to her own house, Ava called her every day and visited every second day. In between she managed to take Fai to Niagara Falls and to a play at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the beautiful tourist town twenty-five kilometres north of the Falls on the Niagara River. Fai was quite taken with Niagara-on-the-Lake, and even more so when Ava told her how just about every hotel in the town had been purchased and upgraded by Si Wai Lai, a Chinese businesswoman originally from Guangzhou.
Twice during the second week, Ava and Fai had dinner with Jennie. They had left Jennie’s house immediately after getting the news about Phil Gregory, and they hadn’t seen her for the rest of that week. Jennie said she understood, but Ava knew that it was one thing for her mother to say that and another for her to really mean it. The two dinners were an attempt to make up, and Ava told her that she was paying for both. The first night, the three of them ate together at Lai Wah Heen, an upscale downtown restaurant. The evening started a bit awkwardly, but the wine flowed and Fai readily answered Jennie’s gossipy questions about various Chinese television and movie stars. It ended with Jennie tightly hugging the two of them as they said goodbye.
“We’ll get together again later in the week, and you can invite a couple of your friends to join us if you want. What restaurant in Richmond Hill is your favourite these days?” Ava asked.
“I’m really fond of Johnny’s on Bayview Avenue. His barbecued pork is terrific, and his roast duck might be the best in the city. But you have to let me know what night is good for you, because you have to order both dishes twenty-four hours in advance,” Jennie said. “And I don’t want to invite any friends. I like having the two of you to myself.”
As usual, Jennie’s choice of restaurant was excellent. Ava’s love of food was a trait she’d inherited from her mother, who ate out four or five nights a week and was always willing to give a new Chinese restaurant a chance to impress.
Towards the end of dinner, they were interrupted by two women seated nearby who had been staring at their table off and on all night. Finally the women approached. “Excuse me, but my friend and I made a bet that we need you to settle,” one of them said to Fai. “My friend says that you’re Pang Fai, the Chinese movie actress. I say you aren’t. I mean, what would Pang Fai be doing in Richmond Hill?”
“She’d be eating dinner, which is what I’m doing. How much was the bet?” Fai asked.
“One hundred dollars.”
“Then that is what you owe your friend,” Fai said with a smile.
The women’s mouths gaped, but before they could say anything, Fai added, “You can take a picture with me and I’ll give you an autograph, but please don’t make any more of a fuss by telling someone else. I’m trying to enjoy a quiet evening with my friends.”
When the women had left, Jennie said, “You handled that so well.”
“I’ve had practice,” Fai replied.
“Has anyone recognized you in the city?”
“Not yet, and I rather like the anonymity.”
“Maybe that will encourage you to stay a bit longer,” Jennie said hopefully.
“I have no plans to leave. As long as Ava can put up with me, I’ll be here.”
“And Ava, how about you? Any trips planned?” Jennie asked.
“No, Mummy,” Ava said, and then heard her phone ring. She glanced at the screen and saw it was Derek. “I have to take this,” she said to her mother as she answered the call. “Derek, is everything okay?”
“Not quite. Mimi and I are at Mrs. Gregory’s house. Is there any way you can come over tonight?”
“Has something happened?”
“You could say that,” Derek said. “We’ve just found out why she keeps saying she killed her husband.”
(3)
It was past nine in the evening when Ava and Fai reached the house to find Derek sitting on the front steps. Ava parked the car, and the two women walked over to meet him. As they drew near, Ava saw his face, illuminated by a porch light. His brow was furrowed, and there was dried spit in the corners of his mouth.
“Thanks for coming,” he said to Ava, stepping down onto the sidewalk to hug her and then Fai.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“June went kind of crazy.”
“That isn’t telling me much.”
“Let’s sit on the porch,” he said. “Mimi gave her mother a couple of sedatives to quiet her down, and now she’s trying to get Amber to go back to sleep.”
There were four wooden Muskoka chairs in a line on the porch. Derek sat in the one farthest from the front door, and Ava sat next to him. “So, what happened?”
“Before I start, do you want a drink or anything?” he asked.
“No. Just tell me what happened.”
He sighed, scrunching his shoulders together. “We came here for dinner. June w
as quiet. Mimi and I made small talk with each other and directed some at her, but she wasn’t very responsive. Then Mimi asked her if she had talked to the lawyer about Phillip’s will. June stared across the table at her and said, ‘If only you knew.’ Naturally Mimi said, ‘If only I knew what?’ At that point, things got weird.”
“How so?”
“June started to scream. She said there was no need to see a lawyer about the will because Phil hadn’t left her anything,” Derek said.
“But even if he didn’t in the will, by law in this province she is entitled to half of his assets,” Ava said, surprised at the suggestion that Phil Gregory hadn’t provided for his wife.
Derek shook his head. “You misunderstand. According to June, he didn’t have any assets to leave.”
“How can that be? He was a vice-president of a major food company. I’m sure he had a pension plan, life insurance, savings of some type, equity in this house.”
“Mimi said the same thing, and then June stood up and left the room. She came back a few minutes later with her arms filled with papers. She threw them on the table and shouted that that was all he had left her.”
The front door of the house opened, and Mimi stepped onto the porch. “Mum and Amber are both sleeping now,” she said, and walked towards Ava. “Thank you for coming, although I can’t help feeling we’re abusing your friendship.”
Ava got to her feet and walked over to her friend with arms extended. They hugged, Ava’s head barely reaching Mimi’s shoulder.
“Why is your mother so angry at your father?” Ava asked.
“According to her, he lost all their money. There’s nothing left. Even this house, which she thought was paid for, has been remortgaged and is subject to a line of credit that’s maxed out.”
“Let’s sit down,” Ava said, taking Mimi’s hand and guiding her to a chair. When they were settled, she said, “How does your mother know about the money and the house?”
“My father told her, but only after she had found evidence of it.”