Finishing his call, the man dropped the phone onto the desk and shuffled his way towards me.
“How can I help you?” he asked, scratching his beard as he spoke. Seriously, add a red coat and this man could be Santa’s younger brother, but according to the name embroidered on his left breast pocket, his name was Bob.
“Hi, I was hoping to speak to Earl.” I smiled.
“Earl? Sorry love, don’t know an Earl,” he replied, his bushy eyebrows meeting in the middle creating one very hairy mono brow. “Maybe I can help you though.”
“Oh. I was really hoping to speak to Earl. He sold me a Christmas tree last week.”
“Is everything alright with the tree? I’d be happy to replace it if there’s a problem. All our trees come with a twenty-eight day warranty. If they die before that you can have another tree or your money back. Never had to replace one in the ten years that I’ve worked here, but if your tree’s not up to standard then replace it we shall.”
“No, no, no. My tree’s fine. Perfect in fact,” I explained quickly before he got concerned. “I was just hoping to see Earl.”
“Well, what’s it about?”
I didn’t want to say in case I got Earl in trouble but thinking up a convincing lie, especially at short notice, wasn’t something I was particularly good at.
“Umm…” I could feel the sweat start to drip between my breasts. The day was humid and the air conditioning in the office didn’t seem to be working very well. Either that or the pressure of thinking up a lie was all too much for me.
The door to the office opened behind me and in walked a guy who looked about my dad’s age. His shirt said his name was Alex. He had shocking red hair and a really friendly smile.
“Hi Bob,” he said walking past me and moving behind the counter. “Is everything okay?”
“This lady’s looking for a guy named Earl. She wants to talk to him.”
“Earl?” repeated Alex.
“Yes. That’s what his shirt said,” I answered. “Although, his shirt was a bit different to yours,” I said, thinking of the shirt Earl had been wearing.
“Are you sure you got the tree from here?” asked Bob. “We do have some competition with the farm a bit further up the road.”
I had a moment of panic and quickly checked the sign on the wall behind the counter. It read ‘Happy Christmas Trees’.
“Of course.” I smiled.
“What did he look like?” asked Alex.
“Umm, he was elderly and walked with a limp and he had a really gravelly voice.” I saw a memory dance in Alex’s eyes. “Do you know him?” I asked. Alex considered his response before replying.
“Well, I don’t really know him as such, but I do remember him. This farm used to sell Christmas trees when I was a kid and was owned by a guy that sounds like the man you’re asking for. But I’m sorry, that man died a couple of years ago.”
“No. You must have the wrong man. This man only sold me a tree last week.” I smiled.
“Well I guess it’s not the man I’m thinking of then.”
“Maybe he was wearing an old shirt that belonged to somebody else. Do you have anyone who works here now that fits that description?” I asked.
“The oldest guy we have working for us is Johnno, and he’s only 61,” said Bob. “Are you sure this is the right place?” he asked again.
“Yes. Happy Christmas Trees, right?”
“Yeah that’s us,” he said, once again scratching his beard. “But we don’t have anyone who walks with a limp.”
“Never mind. Sorry to have bothered you then,” I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket and calling Riley. Maybe he would remember Earl.
Chapter Four
Riley didn’t remember Earl though. Apparently he’d never seen him. Of course he hadn’t. Earl had gone by the time I’d seen Riley’s truck moving up the lane.
Standing in front of my christmas tree, I took the ornament out of my bag and hung it back on its branch, unsure of what I should do next. Riley walked in the front door carrying a very large can of paint.
“Thought it was time we painted the bedroom,” he smiled. “We’ll move to my place tonight if you want to round up Cat.” I’d inherited Cat with the house and even though this was his home, he didn’t seem to mind moving to Riley’s occasionally.
“Sure.”
“Did you find Earl?” asked Riley, kissing me on the cheek.
“No. No one had even heard of him. Except one guy. He remembered someone who fitted Earl’s description but apparently that man died years ago,” I said, letting out a breath that blew my hair out of my face.
“Then you can keep the ornament and have a clear conscience,” smiled Riley, his kiss moving to my neck. “You smell good,” he murmured.
“Thanks. It’s a new perfume I thought I’d try.”
“What’s it called?” he asked. “I’ll phone the store and buy a container of it.”
“It’s called Naughty Alice by Vivienne Westwood,”
“Hmm, good name. What do you have planned for this afternoon?” asked Riley, looking down at me, his mouth tilted slightly.
“Well, I should probably get some work done. I assume you’ll be painting.”
“Yeah but I thought maybe we should say goodbye to the old paint first.” I looked up into his eyes and felt my breath catch. I wondered how long we would be together before I grew immune to him. Probably never.
“Well, it was pretty special paint hidden under that wallpaper,” I said, watching Riley’s smile widen. “It would only be right that we see it out accordingly.”
“My thoughts exactly,” he said, scooping me up in his arms and sprinting to the stairs.
Pushing the bedroom door open with my feet, Riley moved into the room and threw me down on the bed. I looked into his eyes as he moved over me and that was all the foreplay I needed. Pulling his shirt up so I could touch his stomach, my heart did the trippy thing. As he moved and my body pressed hard against his, he whispered, “You fit here perfectly. It’s like you were made for me.” My blissful sigh was drowned by his mouth and just as his tongue touched mine and the fireworks started in my brain, the phone beside the bed started to ring.
“Ignore it,” whispered Riley, moving to remove my t-shirt. As I pulled it over my head, I threw it over the phone to drown out the noise. I will admit it was pretty distracting having a phone ringing less than a meter away from my ear, but thankfully it did stop—only for my mobile phone to start ringing. That was in the pocket of my jeans and was even more distracting. It was Riley’s turn to sigh.
“I’ll turn it off,” I said, pulling it from my jeans pocket and reaching for the silence button. But I could see the caller was Mum. Now first off, this did put a dampener on my mood, as any thought of relatives at that moment wasn’t a good thing. It only took Riley a second to get my mind refocused. Just as he was unhooking my bra, my mobile rang again. This time it was a text from Molly. It read ‘Ring me. It’s urgent.’
I pushed Riley off and sat up in bed, alarm bells replacing the fireworks. “Something’s wrong,” I said, my fingers shaking as I pressed Molly’s number.
“What’s happened?” I asked without hearing the obligatory hello.
“Grandma’s had a fall. She’s in the hospital.”
* * * *
We reached the hospital car park in record time, Riley getting green lights all the way. We only have one hospital in town. I’d visited it a few times over the years. Once when I broke my arm falling off my bike at the age of ten and then when I’d had my appendix removed at the age of twelve. But it was the two visits I’d had here earlier this year that sat the heaviest in my mind. The last occasion in particular had seen me battered, bruised and nearly broken. I forced those memories to the back of my mind and buried them under all the other crap I had hidden there, took a deep breath and stepped forward.
I felt Riley’s hand at my wrist as I walked towards the doors, unsure of what I would find. I moved m
y hand so my fingers entwined with his and held on tight. Molly had been vague with the information, only saying that Grandma had been visiting Ben Willett and he’d phoned an ambulance because she fallen. She had no idea why she’d fallen or what damage had been done, but Mum was in a flap, crying because her friend’s mother had done the same thing and broken her hip. She died only a few months later.
I didn’t even want to think of that scenario.
Walking in to the emergency ward, the first thing that hit me was the smell of sterility and medications. I hated hospitals, they scared me. The only people who came to a hospital because of a happy event all visited the maternity ward. And I definitely knew that wasn’t a place we would be visiting today.
As the glass doors slid open, I found Mum and Molly sitting in hard plastic chairs, their faces flushed.
“I got here as quickly as I could,” I said, kissing Mum on the cheek and giving her a hug. “How is she?”
“She’s down at x-ray,” she replied, tapping her foot.
“Do you know what happened yet?” I asked as Riley gave Mum a hug and sat down on the seat next to her. Molly looked at me and grimaced.
“I’ll tell you later,” she whispered.
“No you won’t,” snapped Mum. “You’ll tell her now! You’ll tell her that her grandmother needs to act her age and stop giving me ulcers!” I looked at Mum, taken aback by her tone.
“Apparently Grandma and Mr. Willett were engaging in activities this afternoon,” said Molly, her fingers doing air quotes. “And she lost her balance.”
“Where’s Mr. Willett now?” I asked, looking around me.
“At home. He’s not overly concerned about what happened to your grandmother,” said Mum, standing and waving her arms around. “I mean, if she has to behave this way can’t she at least find a nice man! It was bad enough with you two,” she said, turning her anger towards Molly and I. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to be your mother? I worried about you day in and day out. The amount of useless boys that the three of you dated was enough to give any mother nightmares. You were the worst,” she said, looking at Molly. “That Henderson boy you were with was nothing but trouble. And you,” she said turning to me, “you had to lose your virginity to that Angus boy. I have no idea what you saw in him. But I knew he was trouble.” I looked at Riley only to see his eyebrows disappear somewhere around his hairline. Previous partners weren’t something we’d spoken about yet. “Actually, I think Danny was the one who gave me the least amount of trouble,” continued Mum. I wanted to remind her of a few things Danny had got up to over the years but now didn’t feel like the appropriate time. “Finally, two of you have found nice men, but just when I can lower my dose of Gaviscon, your grandmother has to start. What did I do wrong? Why didn’t she go and live with Margaret?”
Molly looked offended with the comments but decided now was not a good time to defend herself. We’d learnt years ago it was far better for your health and freedom to let Mum rant when she was in this mood.
“Is she going to be okay?” asked Riley, giving Mum a soft, comforting look. Mum’s anger dissolved instantly. Shit, I should have met Riley earlier. My teenage years would have been a whole lot easier with him around.
“I think so, Riley. They’re doing an x-ray to make certain she hasn’t broken anything. At this stage the doctor thinks she’ll just have some bruising.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding just as the doctor called Mum’s name. Mum may only be four foot eight inches tall but when she got angry, it was best to stay out of her way.
I sat in her vacant chair and allowed the shell shock to wash over me.
It only took about an hour after that for Grandma to be given the all clear and for us to be allowed to take her home. Apparently the doctor was right and she would get some pretty good bruising. Other than that, she was a lucky lady. One who should maybe reconsider her extra-curricular activities. I think Mum would be having that talk with her later.
Riley and I stopped at the fish and chip shop on the way to Mum’s and bought fish and chips for everyone for dinner. I knew Mum wouldn’t feel like cooking and, as Danny and Andrew were calling around for a visit, it felt like the easiest option. Danny was talking to Grandma when we walked in carrying the food.
“What did you see in Ben Willett?” he asked.
“He’s got this long rod I really like,” said Grandma. I felt the wave of nausea move around the room. “He uses it when he walks and it makes him look really sexy.” Oh! She was referring to a walking stick. Thank God!
“He proved he’s not a very nice man,” said Mum, putting plates on the coffee table for everyone to help themselves to. Obviously Mum was pretty stressed after today’s events. We only got to eat in the lounge room on special occasions. Putting the paper wrapped boxes next to them, I unwrapped the fish and chips, loaded a plate up and handed it to Grandma.
“The doctor thinks I should get one of those walker things,” said Grandma, taking the plate from me. “That might be okay. I could get a glittery red one like my friend Eunice. Of course, I’d get the upmarket model. It’s got a softer seat and brakes. I suppose brakes come in handy some times.”
“Yeah, like when you need to stop,” said Molly.
Chapter Five
It was a few days later that Mum rang and told me she was taking Grandma for a tour of a nursing home the following morning. Apparently she’s had enough of Grandma’s antics and her GP had told her she was getting ulcers. I felt the panic at those words and desperately tried to talk Mum out of it, saying I was sure Grandma would behave now she’d had a scare. Mum wouldn’t listen though, only telling me how nursing homes were wonderful places and if I didn’t believe her, then maybe I should tag along for the tour. So that’s what I was doing.
I’d gotten up this morning with a purpose in my step, dressed in one of my black business skirts and pulled a sensible white cotton top over my head. I pulled my hair back tight in a ponytail, applied my make-up carefully and slipped on my flat black leather shoes. This was my ‘don’t mess with me’ outfit and my aim was to make Mum realize I meant business.
I kissed Riley goodbye—okay, it was slightly more than a kiss but you get my point, right?—jumped in my Mini and headed over to Mum’s. I must say, it appeared Grandma Mabel didn’t share Mum’s enthusiasm for this tour either. As I walked into the kitchen, the look on her face was anything but happy, but there she was, dressed in her Sunday best complete with her purple patent handbag.
“Hi Grandma,” I said, leaning in for a kiss. I felt the crack in my heart as her eyes filled with tears. Grandma was not an overly emotional person and it was only on very rare occasions that I had ever seen her cry.
“It’s okay, Grandma. I’ll talk to her,” I said hugging her.
“So will I,” said Molly stepping up behind me.
“I didn’t fall because I’m incapable of holding myself up!” she snapped, wiping at her tears. “I fell because I was shaking my booty and got a bit carried away. Before I knew it, it had a mind of its own and got so out of control, I lost my balance.”
“It’s okay. You don’t need to explain anything to us,” I soothed, wishing she really wouldn’t explain anything to us. Today was going to be hard enough without the image of Grandma shaking her booty for Ben Willett.
“Hope Mr. Willett appreciated it,” said Molly.
“Humph. Well that’s the thing. He didn’t like it at all. Said I looked stupid.”
“Well, he’s the stupid one,” said Molly. “Some men are just so arrogant. They think they’re too good for you. Get rid of him, Grandma and find someone more deserving.” I’m guessing Molly’s date didn’t go too well the other night. Note to self - don’t ask her about it.
“Are you all ready?” asked Mum walking into the room, looking around at our group and taking in our gloomy faces. “It’s not like she’s dying you know!” she chastised.
“I may as well be,” said Grandma.
&nb
sp; Grandma was a bit slower on her feet since her fall. She explained to me that was because of the bruising and asked me if I wanted to see it. As most of it was on her hip, I declined her offer.
We headed out to Mum’s car. Mum drove an old Mazda. It was silver and as shiny as the day she bought it. Helping Grandma into the front passenger seat, I closed her door, folded her new walker up and put it in the car boot. Then, I got in the back with Molly. For the first time I noticed Molly was looking better than usual.
“You look nice today, Molly. Is that top new?” She looked down at her yellow silk top and her perfect white pants.
“Yep. Bought it yesterday. What do you think about the shoes?” she asked, wriggling her ankles in a sparkly pair of three-inch, white satin-covered heels. Grandma twisted her neck around and looked down.
“Wow. They’re great.” She turned her head back to look at her own black leather shoes she’d recently bought from the podiatrist. “I don’t know why sensible shoes have to look so sensible,” she commented.
I heard Mum’s sigh from back here.
It didn’t take us long to get to the Allora Lodge Nursing Facility. I’d been here once before so I had an idea of what to expect, and I wasn’t disappointed. Walking in, we found the same room of Bingo players as last time that I was here. Today our tour guide was a lovely lady by the name of Jessica who was obviously very well trained in making this place sound attractive, because by the time our tour was over, even I was ready to pack up and move in. The idea of three meals a day cooked and delivered to your door, along with a fridge full of chocolate and the promise of a glass of wine every evening made this place a lot more appealing than the bingo tournament held in the dining room every Tuesday and Thursday morning. I did notice Grandma smile when that piece of information was announced.
The Westport Mysteries Boxed Set Page 52