by Ruth Hay
The training arena in the big barn had been expanded to take up more than the original space and the challenges Andy supplied had also expanded in complexity. It was a marvel to Vilma that her dogs could figure out how to negotiate a puzzle tunnel or turn and change directions on the mere movement of Andy’s hand as a guide. Astrid and Oscar loved the exercise and their behaviour overall, improved with every session in the barn. Vilma now had the confidence to take them anywhere with her. She knew they were obedient to her commands as well as those of their ‘master’.
The big challenge ahead did not faze the dogs. They took everything in their stride, but for Vilma it was a stage in the training that would require her to go out of town with Andy to the convention site near Cornwall, Ontario. She had thought this over and toyed with the idea of leaving the dogs and her car to Andy for the two day competition but she was not comfortable with this idea and she really did want to see how they coped in such different circumstances than the barn.
Andy had introduced a recording of loudspeaker announcements and the crowd background noises of a busy arena to accustom the dogs to the competition conditions. The dogs were fine with it. Vilma got very nervous imagining the challenges ahead and often left to go to the peace of the riverside where a long-legged grey heron often stood like a sentinel in the middle of the stream watching for passing fish to spear on his beak.
She could relate to the heron. She, too, was watchful and thoughtful. Such patience was not in her nature, however, and she was growing impatient with herself.
What is it I want? What more could I need? I have a perfect living situation at Harmony House.
The other women are amazing. There is always something going on but no one interferes with another person’s privacy and yet help is at hand should it be required. It’s exactly what Hilary and Mavis hoped for. It’s exactly what I hoped for, so what is this restlessness about?
Neither the silent heron nor the river provided an answer to this question but the gentle breeze in the willow branches was soothing to her spirit and she plopped down on the grassy bank and absorbed the peace in solitude. In a few minutes she would go into the farmhouse and heat up the pasta dish she had brought with her. In a cooler in the car she had a packet of cooked shrimp to add to the meal. Perhaps she would save a shrimp or two for the heron.
* * *
Andy Patterson found great satisfaction working with Vilma’s dogs. He was glad to see them but he knew he was not yet ready to have a dog of his own. The memory of King was still too raw to consider that possibility. And yet, the thought of the coming winter was crouching on the border of his mind.
The first outing with the dogs to a trial competition would see him through the fall but the cold, lonely months ahead were the most difficult of the year for him. Last winter Vilma had regularly brought the dogs to him for weekly training. There was no telling how severe this winter would be. He could be isolated for weeks on end if the snowfall was extreme. He knew he had made good mental progress thanks to Vilma’s generosity in sharing her dogs with him. That progress was hard-won and he dared not slip back into the dangerous depression of the years following the accident.
He turned his attention back to the training circuit and considered adding another foot in height to the climbing obstacle. Astrid could easily do it and Oscar always followed her without question.
He had sent away for the entry forms for the competition and looked on the website for an idea of the challenges.
The dogs were more than ready in his estimation. September should bring them to the peak of condition and in October he would increase the practice sessions to equip them for any unexpected challenges the competition might present.
He had considered asking their owner for permission to take the dogs by himself. He suspected Vilma was not likely to agree. They had never been away from her except for the week in February when he had taken care of them while she was in Jamaica. It was not likely she would want to miss the event to which so much time and training had been devoted. So it was to be the two of them in a hotel somewhere. He felt uncomfortable about this and searched his mind for a reason. Vilma had never stepped over the line of privacy he had drawn. It was his unplanned confession about King and the circumstances of the accident that had given her the chance to do so. To his relief, all had resumed normal communication after that possible breach.
The nearest she had come to a female reaction was when he appeared out of the snow at London airport to rescue the four women from Harmony House on their return to Canada from their holiday in February. Since then there had been nothing overtly personal between them. Even when he objected to the gifts she insisted on bringing to ‘brighten up his life’, she accepted his criticism and continued to be calm and consistent with him. In his experience of women this was unusual. His former wife would have thrown things at him for his ungrateful comments and promptly taken the offending items away forever. Of course, Vilma Smith was not like other women of his acquaintance. Truth was he could not quite figure her out. She was smart and stylish; so much so, that he often noticed the contrast between his country farmhouse existence and the appearance of this obviously town-raised woman of the world.
He concluded she had to have money. No one living in such accommodation as Harmony House was short of cash, yet she never displayed any overt disdain for his simple way of living. She wanted to add to his kitchen supplies, which he thought was a typical female reaction, but she backed down when he indicated she was beginning to invade his space.
She was different all right. It was perplexing. Vilma Smith was beginning to occupy a considerable part of his thinking. She was an enigma, a distraction. As long as she stayed on the border of his life, that distraction had benefits.
The barn door was open and the smell of food drifted in from the kitchen. He looked down at his feet where Oscar and Astrid were sitting with tongues lolling out waiting for his next command. He had missed the last section of their round because of his distracted thinking about Vilma. There was something comforting in the thought that she was waiting for him, and for her dogs. There was also a modicum of comfort in the fact she was one of the few people who knew about King and the resultant burns to his legs. And she had not flinched when he reminded her how damaged he was.
Vilma Smith was different from any other women he had encountered. That was for sure.
“Let’s go, you two! Something good is waiting.”
On training days, Vilma eliminated a last run of the day for her dogs since they had a complete workout with Andy as well as a good feed of kibble afterwards. She had shared the pasta meal with him and was now ready to retire to her room and spaz out with something absorbing from Netflix.
There was, however, one thing niggling at the back of her mind still to be done. She had not had the chance to talk to Mavis about her conversation with Eve. She took the dogs into her room and settled them, planning to unload her concern onto the capable shoulders of Mavis and return to her evening diversions with a clear mind.
She tapped gently on Mavis’s door and was told to come inside where she found Mavis and Hilary seated side by side on the couch and deep in conversation.
“Oh, excuse me ladies. I did not want to interrupt you. I can talk to you tomorrow, Mavis.”
Hilary stood up and shook her head.
“No, Vilma. I am glad to see you. We need your input about something. Please sit here with me. Mavis will be comfortable on the bench at the end of the bed.
“Are you sure? You look like it’s a serious conversation.”
“Well we do get together every so often to discuss the state of the world and the temperature of Harmony House. Your opinion is always welcome, Vilma.”
“If you are sure? I have a matter to discuss that fits into your agenda, I believe. If I may, I’ll deal with it now and leave you in peace?”
“Go ahead,” said Mavis, with a sidelong glance at Hilary. It was uncommon for Vilma to need any help.
; With her extensive resources and creative nature she was ingenious at solving problems on her own.
“Right, I’ll get straight to the point. I talked to Eve the other day and I am concerned about her mental and physical state. Of course, I am no expert and I thought at once of you, Mavis, as the person most likely to know how to help Eve.”
“What exactly did you feel was wrong?”
“She confessed to not eating or sleeping well and she mentioned bad nightmares that were stopping her from enjoying her painting.”
Hilary reached out and patted Vilma’s hand. “You will not be surprised to hear we have just been sharing similar concerns about Eve. Mavis has promised to talk to Eve and see what can be done for her. As you know they went through a traumatic event together.”
“I am relieved to hear you will help her. If I can do anything you will let me know?”
“Don’t rush off yet, Vilma. There’s something else we could use your advice about.”
Vilma settled back down in the chair. She had such confidence in these two women who were responsible for the whole co-housing experiment. She couldn’t imagine what they could possibly want her advice about.
Mavis took over. “It’s a delicate matter about Faith. I had a glimpse into her room recently and it’s in a terrible condition, so much so that it may take a plumber and a carpet cleaner to sort it out.”
“I have very little to do with Faith. My contacts with teenagers have not been positive in the past. How could I help?”
“Oh, it’s just a matter of how to approach Honor. We feel she should be the one to tackle this. The fact is, I infringed on Faith’s privacy by entering her room without permission and I am reluctant to admit this to Honor.”
Vilma now saw the dilemma. She also saw her peaceful evening with Netflix vanishing.
“I’m sure you meant no harm by going into Faith’s room. As it happens, I have seen something of the mess in there. Sometimes when she goes off early for the bus she has left the door ajar. I have closed it for her to stop the dogs from wandering in where they are not wanted. I know that would be upsetting to Marble.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, Vilma, and you have just solved the problem for me.”
“How did I do that, Mavis?”
“Well, if you are willing to tell Honor what you just told us, the matter will be in her hands without a lie having to be told. May I ask you to do this for me?”
Vilma realized she was not going to escape this responsibility. No one who knew Mavis’s kind nature could ever refuse a request from her. She was always looking out for the residents of Harmony House.
“I guess it’s a fair exchange, Mavis. If you will help out Eve, I will talk to Honor about what I saw.”
“That’s what I call a good conclusion. Thank you, Vilma. We can always count on you for support.
By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you how much I appreciate having guard dogs in the house. If Mavis and Eve and I had had a dog at Camden Corners perhaps what traumatized Eve could have been prevented.”
Mavis made note of what Hilary said and decided to make Eve aware of that factor in her current safety.
Vilma made her exit and decided there was no time like the present to tackle Honor. The dogs were asleep and the evening was almost over in any case. She knew Honor worked late. A couple of minutes and she would be shot of the whole thing.
* * *
Honor Pace was just coming to the end of a complex piece of investing structure for a new business client. It involved providing copies of market results for Standard and Poor companies over the past six months. The recommendation was solid and as soon as the clients saw the breakdown they would be satisfied that she knew what she was doing.
She was checking the Asian exchange markets before closing her computer for the day when she heard a polite tap at the door leading from the covered deck. She got up at once and stood for a moment to stretch and get her balance before ascending the steps and sliding the bolt along.
“It’s just me, Honor. I won’t take much of your time, I promise.”
“Vilma! I don’t see much of you these days. Please come inside. Can I get you a cup of tea or coffee?
I am about to have my last snack before bed.”
“That sounds very nice. I’ll have tea, thanks. Milk no sugar.”
The tea ceremony would give Vilma the chance to get oriented to Honor’s little kingdom in the lower level. She had not been here since the rescue mission on the day of Faith’s fifteenth birthday. On that occasion the floor was cleared to allow for party food and music to take precedence. Now it looked like a proper office environment with a substantial L-shaped desk on wheels and cabinets for documents and files. Honor’s private space was to the rear facing the bank of folding windows that led onto the stone patio and the garden. Mavis had installed solar lanterns on the main path and they were lit up like small jewels in the darkness.
“It’s really nice here with that open view, Honor.”
“I am well aware how lucky I am to have this space for my work. It’s a perfect environment and I would be happy to interview clients here if that ever became necessary. The only thing it lacks is sufficient room for another bedroom for Faith. I feel badly that no one can invite a guest while she is in the suite set apart for that purpose.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that, Honor. Most of us have no need of visitor accommodations but your comment does bring up the reason for my interruption this evening.”
“You are more than welcome here, Vilma, at any time. I presumed you might need investment advice but it sounds like you have something else on your mind?”
Vilma assembled her thoughts while watching Honor wheel a table into position for the tea things. She noted how much more mobile Honor was and how much younger she looked now she had dropped some of the weight accumulated after her hip problem. For the first time she also noticed a resemblance between Faith and her aunt. Take away the red hair and they were of a similar height and shape of face.
She could benefit from some more flattering clothing to fit her new shape. I’ll keep that in mind when I do my next closet upgrade.
“I don’t want to appear to be prying, Honor, but I think you should know the state of the guest suite has deteriorated since Faith took possession. Now, I can see from your expression that this is news to you. I want you to know I accidently saw inside her room when she left the door open. That’s all I have to say on the matter. I will leave it up to you what you do next.”
“Oh, I had no idea! I thought it best to give her some privacy. She has been very busy with school and studying and her part-time job as well as the babysitting for our neighbour on the crescent. I never gave a thought to housekeeping issues. That’s my fault, Vilma, and I am grateful you brought it to my attention.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about this, Honor. You also have a lot to cope with. From what I’ve heard, Faith’s childhood did not leave much time for learning how to do housework. I’m sure you two can sort this out together in no time.
Now let’s talk of something else while I drink this delicious brew here, then I must get back to my charges. One more trip to the woods should ensure a quiet night for me.”
“I must say, I admire the way you have coped with the dogs, Vilma. I wish I had done as well with my niece. It’s been a sharp learning curve for me. Whenever I feel I am getting a grip on teen thought, something else happens to set me back on my heels again. She’s so different from me. My own experience as a teenager could not be more different.”
“You have to get credit for her progress, Honor. She has come a long way as regards her education and she is independent in many ways. She behaved beautifully while I was giving Jannice driving lessons. It’s good for her to have goals in life. She sees that in you, of course.”
“Thanks for the encouragement. I need to be more alert with Faith. She has her mother’s influence to fight against all the time.”
“That’
s what I mean. Give her credit whenever you can. If I can help, let me know.”
“You have helped already, Vilma. Thanks again.”
“No problem. Good night, then.”
Chapter 4
Leonard Harper’s surgery was on a short, quiet, leafy street downtown leading to the Thames River Park. It had once been his family home and was now exclusively his office and residence. He kept the two functions as separate as possible. Even his trusty secretary and mistress of the office staff, Barb, never entered the top level where his private quarters were. His living room had a small balcony from which he could see through the trees to the green space that bordered the river. On the more stressful days he sat here with the once-weekly cigar that was all he permitted himself, and dreamt of sailing away on the Thames far from London and the ills of his many patients. It was only a dream. His life of service was here where he had always been. Here he would die and be buried in the churchyard beside his mother and father.
Leonard rarely gave a thought to life after doctoring. His father had soldiered on into his eighties and expired only a few years after retiring. It was the family pattern and he saw no reason to diverge from that. His practice was still busy, although these days he had more elder patients than young ones. Most had stayed with him through the years in the knowledge that he not only understood their ailments, he often knew their parent’s generation’s problems as well.