by Ruth Hay
Then, when the plane rose up into the air and she saw the green hills and fields of Nova Scotia fly by below her, there was another painful place inside her. She was leaving the sound and sight of the sea that meant home to her. Altogether it was an awful start to an awful day that was certain to end badly.
She tried to find some strength inside her. It was vital to show resolve at this first meeting. Nothing about this encounter could betray her weakness to the aunt. She must start the way she meant to go on.
Defiantly!
Oh no! A woman is talking to the escort guy. That must be her. She’s old looking. Much older than my mother. She has greyish hair and a dumpy figure. I can certainly knock this one over in a heartbeat. Is this Honor Pace? Not possible, but she’s showing escort guy some papers. A court official?
“Faith, this is Mavis Montgomery, a friend of your aunt’s. She lives in the same house. You can go with her now. It’s quite safe. Goodbye and good luck.”
Suddenly all the strength flowed out of Faith and she felt her muscles collapse. It was not Honor Pace.
She closed her eyes in relief for a moment and when she opened them again, the dumpy woman was taking her case and stowing it in the back of her car.
“Now, before we get on our way, I am sure you must be tired and hungry, Faith. There’s a Tim Horton right in the parking lot or I can recommend a good fish and chip place a few steps away. Their coconut cream pie is famous. What would you like to do?”
Faith longed for a chance to sit down and recover from the shock. She doubted she could tolerate much more in this day. The sound of fish and chips was reminiscent of home and now that she could smell the aroma she realized she was starving.
“The restaurant, please.” It came out in a weaker voice than she had planned but she was truly feeling as exhausted as she ever before could remember feeling. This Montgomery person was no threat, that was clear, and after a good meal she would feel more ready to deal with whatever came next.
“Good choice! It’s only a few steps away. We’ll leave the car and you can get some fresh air. It’s been a fine day here. Follow me.”
Well the restaurant is full and no one has been poisoned so far. It does smell good. The lady, she said to call her Mavis, what kind of name is that? She said to pick whatever I want from the menu. I have twenty dollars in my mini purse from Lyn Babe but I am saving that for an emergency escape. I’ll pick fish and chips with the works and see what happens when the bill comes. I can always plead poverty. Mom used to do that and she often got away with it. I wish she was here now. Don’t cry! Do not cry! I’ll say the vinegar is making my eyes water.
Mavis is talking about where she lives. It’s out in the country! That’s no good. I’ll be trapped. Maybe I can steal a bicycle but first I’ll need to see where it is. I hope they have WiFi in this place. My phone is the only decent tech I have left and I’ll need it.
What??? There are six women living together. Too many spying eyes for sure. She’s calling it Harmony House. Can you believe? It won’t be harmony once I get there. Too funny! I bet it’s a dump.
No mention of the dreaded Honor Pace. Thank heaven for that. I need a good sleep before I will be ready to face her.
Of course I want coconut cream pie, although this meal is the most I‘ve eaten in weeks. The plate was full to overflowing. Mavis didn’t eat a quarter of what I did. I’ll ask for coffee. I must stay awake to see how far from the town this house is.
Mavis watched Faith eat like a horse and deduced she had been looking after herself for weeks while her mother was in hospital. She kept the conversation to a minimum as the girl was not responding to any of the openings she left. It was probably fatigue. She looked pale and drawn and in that respect she had a little of the look of her Aunt Honor. There had been no enquiry about her aunt, however. Just as well the decision was to keep them apart until some preliminary work could be done.
Mavis paid the bill and showed Faith the location of the washrooms. She knew there was no back exit from there. The last thing she wanted was to have to report Faith as a runaway after only an hour in her charge.
Hilary did not yet know the full scope of Mavis’s involvement. She had offered herself as guarantor for Faith’s safety and wellbeing. Honor was incapable of making that declaration and with Mavis’s connections in the social system she had received instant approval. Of course this meant she was responsible for Faith in an official sense. She would not be revealing this detail to Hilary until, and unless, it became absolutely necessary.
They set out in the car with Mavis acting as tour guide. Faith was not especially interested in the name of roads but she was glancing at the car’s mileage from time to time. She asked no questions and in about fifteen minutes she was fast asleep.
Chapter 12
Faith Jeffries turned over and opened her eyes for a second.
Panic! Where am I?
The number of beds she had slept in lately rolled by in her mind but this did not match any of them. At first she thought she was home again but this room looked nothing like the tiny back bedroom in the rental.
Then, it all came rushing back.
Harmony House! Last night we arrived in the dark on a side lane and walked or stumbled, in my case, to a front entrance up some stairs, through a double door and into this room. Mavis told me where the washroom was through a door with a closet in between then she left me after pulling down the window shades.
She blinked and saw her jean jacket on a chair with her desert boots underneath it and realized she had slept in her clothes.
Ugh! Nasty mouth taste! Need to shower. What time is it? What day is it?
When she emerged from the washroom with a big towel wrapped around her she spotted a note lying on the side table by the bed. It was from Mavis and asked her to go back outside when she was ready, follow the path to the back of the property where Mavis was working in the garden, and meet her there.
Hmmm! She seems to be my guide. Probably a good thing. I can’t cope with meeting a whole bunch of old biddies at once, any one of whom might be the dreaded Honor Pace.
She looked around the room for the first time and found it was quite spacious. The bed was a couch that extended, the carpet was white with coloured rugs on top and against the left wall was an old-fashioned piano. A padded chair with a matching footstool completed the furnishings.
Not exactly luxurious but adequate, I suppose. At least I did not have to bunk in with the aunt.
She picked up her clothes from the washroom floor and hung them up in the closet. She was not usually so neat but with only a few clothes to choose from she would have to be more careful than usual. This made her look for her one case which Mavis had left in the closet.
Everything in here smells like Nova Scotia. I should keep the case closed for when I feel homesick.
No! Don’t think about that. Don’t think at all.
She pulled out a pair of dark leggings, an old navy sweater and a long shirt that was creased a bit. She shook out the shirt and realized she should have taken the time to wash her clothes before packing. Lyn had offered to do this but she had refused. Lyn Babe and Dylan were already so far away.
Don’t think about that!
Shaking out the creases in the sweater, she tied the arms around her neck.
She heard ticking and saw a clock on the wall between the windows. It was only seven o’clock. She went to the window on the left and raised the blind to see, across a porch, a long stretch of green grass that must be at the front of the house. Next, she did the same at the other window and saw the porch ran around the side of the house and she also recognized the lane where the car had driven up in the dark last night. So far she had not heard or seen any people.
It’s still early. I should look around inside. Mavis may not be up yet.
Moving very quietly on her flat leather shoes, she opened the door and found herself in a huge entrance space reaching high up to a roof window where the light streamed i
n.
Wow! This is quite some house! There are a lot of rooms on the balcony and the purple carpet is rad! Who’d have thought a bunch of old ladies would pick that colour? Should I peek into the room across the hall? Oh, no! It might be where the aunt sleeps. Better be careful. Oops, there’s a door opening upstairs!
She had just enough time to glimpse a tall woman emerge with two dogs before she quietly closed her room door and stood behind it breathing deeply.
What next? Dogs here too? Was that the aunt? No. The woman Mom described would not have any interest in caring for animals. Four more oldies to go now.
From behind the door she could hear the woman and the dogs make their way down the stairs and out the front door. She waited for several minutes until her heart calmed, then she decided to follow the instructions and set off to find Mavis. First, she brushed out her damp hair and bundled it into a baseball cap. She left her mini purse with her phone on the bedside table. She would re-charge it later and pray for WiFi connections.
It was a bright morning and the air smelled sweet. Now that she could see the exterior of the house it was even more impressive with the tower on one side and the pitched roof and the sheltered porch. There were three garages off to the side and another house could be glimpsed through the tall trees behind the garages.
Neighbours! That could be useful.
When she reached the rear gardens she saw the house had a lower level because of the slope of the land. A whole wall of glass separated this part from a stone patio and the garden paths.
Mavis must have been watching for her. She signalled for her to come to the back where a big bench was placed in front of what looked like a forest of trees. Mavis was wearing a muddy jacket, a broad brimmed hat and pair of pants that had seen better days.
No competition for snappy dresser of the year here. But I guess it’s good to see a slightly familiar face.
“Good to see you Faith! How did you sleep? I see you found my note. Sit here with me. I brought a flask of hot coffee. We can have a bit of a chat.”
Oh, oh! Here it comes. The grilling commences.
“Look Mavis. Thanks and all that, but I am not about to be happy with this business of moving half across the country to live with someone I do not know. Don’t waste your breath trying to persuade me.”
Mavis did not seem worried by this frontal attack. She removed her gardening gloves and took a large flask out of a basket and proceeded to pour two cups of steaming coffee into mugs she had brought for the purpose.
“Sugar? There’s cream in that bottle. Help yourself.”
Faith found it was difficult to remain angry with someone who was not reacting. Her anger deflated somewhat and the coffee smelled divine. She accepted the cup and added liberal amounts of both sugar and cream. Mavis offered a spoon.
When they were both sipping quietly side by side, Mavis finally spoke again.
“As you can see, Faith, I am in charge of the garden at Harmony House. There’s something about growing plants that teaches you about life. It’s not so much about talking to plants, although some people swear by that technique, it’s more about knowing what a plant needs, where it will do best and how to nurture it so that it can grow to its fullest capacity.
Do you see that spindly little plant in the pot beside you? You would never think it was worth any person’s time or trouble, would you? But when I find a trellis for it to climb up and give it some good soil for food, and water it carefully until it gets going, it will reward me with the most beautiful blooms you can imagine. It will be the centrepiece of this flower bed. It’s called a clematis and its varietal name means Faithful Flowers.”
“You just made that up! “
“I can assure you, I did not, but I did select it from the gardening centre after I knew you were coming here. I thought you and I could look after this beauty together and watch it bloom.”
Faith knew she was being lectured in some subtle way but she could not quite see the application to her own situation. She decided to let it lie.
Mavis pursed her lips in an attempt to curb her smile. This was exactly what she had hoped for. The message would sink in and Faith would be more receptive to a future discussion in which Mavis would gently pry into her early life with Felicity Jeffries.
The silence of the garden had a healing property. Birds were chirping in the trees and the breeze was full of promise. A tiny finch dropped down to the path in front of the bench and Faith drew in her breath with surprise.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“It’s a goldfinch. There are lots of them around. This one is looking for seeds. We could set up a feeder in the garden and you could watch to see how many different species come by.”
“Could we? I’ve never noticed birds before. I guess it’s because of the countryside here. I always lived in a town.”
“You can come with me to look at bird feeders, if you like.”
Faith realized this was verging on a chat in the social worker’s office at school, but there was something about Mavis Montgomery that was relaxing and calm. She decided to press her advantage. It was time to find out more about the awful aunt but first she needed to eat. All this fresh air was making her hungry again.
From the kitchen window, Hilary watched the scenario in the garden play out exactly as Mavis had planned. Honor had agreed to stay indoors with the glass panels closed to allow them privacy and the others were to go about their regular business as much as possible without disturbing the pair.
Hilary took a good look at Faith Joan Jeffries and could see very little, from this distance, to remind her of Honor. With her hair inside the ball cap, even the green tips, which Mavis had mentioned last night, were hidden from view. Everything else looked similar to the appearance of any grade eight girl.
She noted how calmly Mavis was talking to Faith. She really did have a magical touch with people in general. Such a pity she never had a chance to raise their little girl to adulthood. If anyone could talk sense to this particular girl, it would be Mavis Montgomery.
She reviewed the rest of the plan in her head. Mavis would soon bring Faith up to the kitchen, avoiding the elevator, and give her breakfast there. Jannice and Eve had been scheduled to enter casually and join them while Hilary went to talk to Honor about progress.
The late afternoon was the Ridley barbecue. It was too late to cancel, but the group had decided to make excuses for Honor and Mavis to allow the meeting between Faith and her aunt to happen in a relatively quiet fashion in Honor’s area downstairs.
That was the plan. Mavis would be on hand to act as referee if trouble broke out. Given what Honor had said about her sister’s influence on her niece, trouble was the least of their worries. It could be all-out war and even Mavis might not be able to bring a peaceful resolution.
So far all was going as planned. When Hilary saw Mavis packing up her basket, she nipped upstairs via the elevator and tapped on Eve’s and Jannice’s doors to warn them to be ready.
* * *
Wow! This house is huge. It goes on and on. This kitchen is like a television special. Everywhere windows. And room for a table as well as a couch in front of a fireplace. Mom would have……..
Hilary made a quick introduction and greeting to Faith and left immediately. It had been decided it would be best not to overwhelm the girl with too many new people at once.
Mavis was scrambling eggs at the stove when Jannice arrived. She sat down beside Faith and began to talk.
“I am hearing you’ve been living in Nova Scotia, Faith. All you easterners had the most dreadful weather this winter, floods and storms and snow up to the eaves, you’ll be glad of a bit of Ontario sunshine by now. I’m an O’Connor and some of our clan came here by way of Halifax. They say if you dig deep enough all of us are related. I was sad to hear about your mother’s passing, dearie, but I can tell you from personal experience, there’s not a better group of women in all of Canada than the kind souls who live in Harmony Hous
e.”
Oh, oh! This is a weird one! Too much information and she never takes a breath. Dearie? Really? What rock has she been living under? Does she think I am ten years old?
The sense of being talked down to, rose up in her all of a sudden.
“So, if everyone here’s so damn great what can you tell me about Honor Pace?”
It was the venom invested in her aunt’s name that stunned Jannice to silence.
Eve walked in at this very moment and caught the tension.
“I feel like eating a stack of pancakes with maple syrup. Anyone want to join me?”
Two voices jumped in at this distraction and Faith’s question vanished in a flurry of praise of Eve’s cooking.
Mavis left space at the stove, offering up her pre-heated surface, and dished up the scrambled eggs.
Without missing a beat, she forked up a portion and helped herself to tomato slices and parsley and a neat pile of shredded cheese from a plate she had prepared, encouraging Faith to do the same. She knew the girl must be hungry by now. While she ate and the two women worked at beating the pancake mixture together, she attempted to answer Faith’s question.
“I can tell you something about your aunt. She’s smart. She knows her way around a computer and makes her living by advising companies on their investments. Recently she had an accident which resulted in an operation to replace her hip. She still limps a bit but she is working at getting better.
Previously she lived alone in a small apartment and as far as I know she had no contact with your mother. She never suspected you existed before a solicitor’s letter arrived here.
However you may feel about her right now, Faith, I can assure you your Aunt Honor feels almost as apprehensive about you. Nevertheless, she has agreed to accept you as her responsibility. The rest, Faith, is very much up to you. I suggest you keep that in mind.
Would you like some more tea? The pancakes will be ready soon.”