Fantasy House

by Ruth Hay

  Faith knew at once that she was busted. There was nothing to do but comply. She looked around at her new pals who had invited her to join them after the concert, in the nearby café on Richmond Street where they were having a blast together. It was like old times. For a few hours she was reliving the better parts of the old days but she was also beginning to realize she no longer fit into that scene as she once did.

  She did not hesitate. Something bad was happening at Harmony House. She belonged there.

  She moved away from the noisy table and spoke into her phone.

  “Look, Vilma, I’m downtown with friends. I can take a cab home right away.”

  “Good. I am glad you’re all right. Your aunt will be greatly relieved. Give me the address. I will come for you, a cab would be too slow to find us way out here. Wait outside.”

  Faith had around twenty minutes before Vilma could arrive. She returned to her new pals and enjoyed the remaining time, knowing it was probably the last bit of real freedom she would have.

  Vilma ran for her car and was on the road as soon as she had reassured Honor about Faith’s safety.

  She also relayed instructions to Honor about delaying Hilary’s arrival if at all possible. The other parent with the two girls in the car could be given a guided tour of the house until Vilma and Faith returned.

  She drove like a demon. Fortunately she knew all the back roads around Westdel Bourne and she headed for Oxford Street avoiding the one-ways streets and busy traffic downtown. She saw Faith on the sidewalk outside the restaurant and made a stop for two seconds just long enough to get the girl into the car and drove off again straight out of town.

  “What’s the emergency? Is everyone all right? What’s happened?”

  “You are the emergency, Faith Jeffries. Your aunt nearly had a heart attack when she discovered you were not where you said you would be. What were you thinking, girl?”

  Faith’s hackles raised. Who is this woman accusing me when she just admitted to lying about an emergency?

  “Look! I took some time off for once. It’s not a crime. What’s it to you?”

  Vilma’s foot went further down on the accelerator and the car shot forward. She reined in her anger and replied in as cool a tone as she could manage under the circumstances.

  “Young lady, you have no idea how lucky you are to have so many people working on your behalf. Your aunt is a saint for taking you in. Others might not be so generous. Hilary and Mavis have come to your defence more than once and they are paving your way to a life you never would have achieved if you had disappeared into the foster system.

  What you did not know about today is the love and care the entire household has gone to, to give you and some friends a party for your fifteenth birthday.”

  Vilma paused to take a breath and she heard the sharp intake of Faith’s breath.

  “What? Are you joking? I had no idea anyone else knew about my birthday.”

  “That’s just one of the things you had no idea about, Faith Jeffries, and I am not joking. You are the luckiest girl I know. Your school friends are on their way to Harmony House right now. You and I will arrive late but you will be on your best behaviour to make up for causing a near disaster of immense proportions for you back at school. Can you imagine what would be said about you for not turning up to your own party? Any hope of good times through grades ten and upward would be shot. Your current fairly decent reputation would be impossible to recover.”

  Faith realized Vilma somehow knew quite a lot about the school environment. She was right. Whatever was this adult version of a suitable teen party that waited for her, and her heart quivered at the thought of it, it was up to her to make it work no matter what she had to do. She owed it to her aunt and to all the women in the house.

  Silence grew inside the car as Vilma raced along the side roads toward Westdel Bourne. She hoped she had not overstepped the mark. It was really none of her business, but seeing Honor in such a state had awakened feelings she thought she had buried long ago. The ingratitude of her step children had clearly left a scar. She promised herself to make it up to Faith at some other time when things had calmed down. She was not a bad girl. She was just a teenager and, Lord knew, that was not an easy thing to be for any girl, not to mention one as damaged by life as the girl who now sat in stunned silence beside her.

  She hoped the message had gone through. It was up to Faith to rescue this situation and prove her worth to the women who had taken her into their hearts.

  * * *

  It was a chastened Faith Jeffries who jumped out of the car with Vilma’s words, “They’re already here! Get ready to be surprised!” resounding in her ears. She leapt over the path to the back patio and crept in the open section of the window wall, her eyes going immediately to find her Aunt Honor and give her a reassuring nod.

  Honor was ready. “Oh, look who’s here everyone! Happy Birthday Faith!”

  It was not difficult to act surprised. The lower level space was cleared of business items and not only Jolene, Jarvis and Jessica were waiting for her with drinks in their hands, but also a parent she had never met and, most alarming of all, Ryan and Sol.

  How did those two get here? Who invited them? They despise me. This is not going to be a walk in the park.

  She did the ‘Oh my goodness, I had no idea’ thing, and smiled weakly at everyone.

  The J.J. girls had known there would be trouble the minute they saw Ryan and Sol so they were riding herd on the two boys and had already threatened them with dire consequences if they dared to make a scene.

  Hilary and Honor disappeared shortly after Faith arrived. Faith knew they were going to consult with Vilma for the details. Mavis escorted the parent back to her car and reminded her at what time she should return for the girls.

  When the adults left there was a sigh of relief from the teens who faced each other across the space with all the J.J group on one side and the two boys on the other.

  Jolene, who was the most mature teen present, and who Mavis spotted and took aside for a confidential chat earlier, now took charge.

  “Okay gang. The next two hours are going to be nice. Do you hear me NICE! That’s an order! I don’t care how you feel about each other, we will get along, eat, drink, talk in a friendly way, or not at all, and celebrate Faith’s birthday. Got it?”

  Even Ryan and Sol were shocked into submission, which was made easier by the ride with scary Hilary and the look of this enormous mansion house where Faith lived with a bunch of old ladies.

  Faith was deeply grateful to Jolene. She had not yet recovered from the hair-raising ride with Vilma. The consequences of the near-disaster were still lingering in her brain. She let Jolene continue. So far she was doing a great job.

  “Now you all know the score, we can go out to the patio and sit by the fire with this delicious food. Photos will be taken at the end of the garden and then Faith will open presents. Ryan you can choose the music, and dancing can commence indoors.

  No, you are not required to dance with a partner so don’t give me the stink eye, Sol! If anyone feels cold there’s coffee ready and hot chocolate if you want it. I will personally go through your pockets, guys, if I see or smell any alcohol in here.

  Oh, I almost forgot! We will clean up before we leave as a thank you to the ladies of the house.

  Any questions?”

  The group, including Faith, was only capable of nodding silently. Who knew Jolene was such a dominating personality? From now on, she would be treated with more respect if this group had anything to do with it. She sounded like a born teacher. Who knew?”

  Events went ahead as Jolene had outlined them. Vilma was watching from her windows and saw a normal looking scene. No food fights or raucous yelling. She was pleased her lecture had not gone unnoticed. Faith even appeared to laugh a few times.

  With the emergency defused, she decided to wait a while then go out with the dogs to the woods. It was a chance to introduce them to young people other tha
n Faith, and might reinforce what she had told the girl to do in case she was growing tired of the hostess role.

  Vilma’s instincts were right. When she appeared with the dogs, it was at the perfect moment. The food was gone and the November night was drawing the teens inside. Faith saw Vilma and asked the boys if they would like to meet the house dogs. The girls joined them and waited on the patio until Vilma approached. She instructed the dogs to sit, then explained about the breed. The boys were all for running into the woods to see if Astrid and Oscar could track them down but Vilma said they might try it next summer when their training was completed. The three boys were interested in this. Ryan had a dog at home.

  Faith took Jolene aside in the pretext of cutting the cake up into slices.

  “Jo, I don’t know how to thank you for doing all this. You are a true friend. I’ll fill you in at school next week about how close this got to a complete disaster.”

  “Hey! No probs! That Mavis is pretty smart for an oldie. She figured that I have four brothers and sisters at home. Keeping them in order is my life’s work. Glad it’s all working out okay.”

  “What a day! I will never forget my fifteenth, that’s for certain.”

  “Don’t forget we have exams next week. Tomorrow is all about catching up with school work.”

  “Right again, Jo! Time for cake?”

  Faith collapsed into her bed around eleven. She had kept up the pretence of surprised birthday girl during the end of the party and the dinner in the kitchen where the remains of the cake were shared.

  None of the adults said a thing about the missing hours.

  Aunt Honor seemed tired but relieved. Vilma was watchful. Mavis was kind as always. Jannice arrived late from her current Personal Support Worker job and Eve had produced a lovely meal for everyone.

  From her bed, Faith could see the presents piled on top of the piano far from Marble’s paws. Jolene and Jessica had given her a cute scarf. Jarvis’s gift was a Tim Horton certificate and Ryan’s mother had obviously chosen the set of pens and markers. Sol’s surprising contribution was a journal with its own lock and key.

  How the two guys who hated her got an invite puzzled her still. Could it be that Hilary heard her mention the names but missed the tone of her comments about them? Or could it be that Hilary had deliberately invited them to build a better relationship? Hilary Dempster was definitely cunning enough for that. It might even work. The party had certainly been a bonding experience for all the guests.

  It would be interesting to see what rumours would circulate in school now something was known about the home life of Faith Jeffries, the strange girl who did not live in Westmount like the majority of the kids.

  She sighed a deep and satisfying sigh. The gift she treasured the most was her own, personal, laptop computer now residing on her night table; a joint gift from all at Harmony House.

  The one last present she had given herself while downtown, would remain a secret.

  She pulled up the sleeve of her pajama top and admired the small tattoo of a blue jay now adorning her left wrist. She would make sure it healed perfectly and, in time, it might be something her J.J. friends would want to copy.

  With the thought that Faith Joan Jeffries actually had friends in school, a good future to work toward and a band of women dedicated to her support on the journey, she smiled and sank down into sleep.

  What a day!

  Chapter 23

  December rushed by, as it always does.

  Faith had exams.

  Hilary was doing the end-of-year expenses summary and Honor was preparing the housemates’ income tax documents with help from Eve.

  Vilma was going to Andy’s once a week as long as there was no serious snow accumulation to prevent her.

  Jannice had a job filling in for sick personal support workers who had succumbed to flu.

  Eve and Mavis were out in the woods looking for holly bushes and discussing decorations for the house. Mavis found a farm where live, potted Christmas trees were sold. She planned an expedition for the week before the 25th and asked Andy if he would bring his trailer to move the heavy tree to Harmony House for her.

  When Vilma heard about this idea, she cornered Mavis and they had a serious talk in private.

  “Mavis, I’ve seen where he lives and although it’s in a lovely country spot it’s totally isolated and the old farmhouse he lives in should be called Bleak House.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s minimalism taken to a new height; the barest of comforts and a complete absence of any colour.

  Now, you already know he’s a proud man and I can’t just turn up there with a van from Ikea and redo the place, much as I would like to. I need an excuse. Anything to make his life less depressing would help as a first step.”

  “Well, I’m not too surprised to hear this, Vilma. I always thought he had hidden secrets. Even for a man, he’s not exactly communicative is he?”

  “Not at all! He let drop a few hints about his past life, mostly by accident. I know there’s much more, but I was wondering if we can get him into Harmony House using the pretext of setting up the Christmas tree for us. We could show him around and give him a decent meal. I would love to invite him to have Christmas with us but I fear it would send him away forever.”

  “I believe you are right about that. Asking him for a meal to thank him for helping with the tree would be a good first step, Vilma. He could hardly refuse.

  Let’s hope the weather cooperates and we can fix the time for the trip so that it’s natural to ask him to stay for a meal. He likely won’t accept payment for his time, so it will be harder for him to refuse us.”

  “I knew you would agree, Mavis. It’s a neat plan and together we will make it work. Thank you.”

  Mavis watched as Vilma went off to fetch her dogs for a walk. She thought about their conversation and about how much Vilma had unconsciously revealed. This deep interest in Andy Patterson’s welfare was a surprise. Vilma had not said much at all about the training sessions with the dogs. Perhaps she was shocked at his living conditions and did not want to alert the other women. She really did seem to be worried about him and not just his physical situation. Mavis believed there was a huge mental block in the man’s mind. She had suspected it before this, and now Vilma had confirmed her suspicions.

  Vilma Smith was such a generous soul. She genuinely wanted to help this man. Whether she could make a dent in that stern exterior was doubtful, but no one, least of all Mavis Montgomery, could blame her for trying.

  December’s weather continued on an up and down course for weeks. One day it was cold and bright, with a feeling of snow in the air. On the next, icy rain would fall and sidewalks grew slippery but no snow appeared.

  London’s storekeepers were delighted, as Christmas trade was brisk. Once the heavy snow came down, Londoners were inclined to burrow into their homes and use the internet for their remaining purchases.

  Faith and Hilary welcomed the school Christmas holidays for different reasons. Faith was thrilled she had survived the exam schedule and the results were far better than she expected. One A, and a scattering of B and B+ justified the hours of work she, Honor, and Hilary had devoted to her studies.

  Hilary was growing weary of the driving back and forth to Westmount each school day but with Faith’s good scores she could now put a plan in motion to relieve her of the duty. The city had inaugurated a new bus service with a pick up point only a few minutes from their crescent. She felt she could now trust Faith enough to allow her to travel to school and back by bus every day. Since the birthday party, Faith had shown a different attitude to school. She seemed more eager to go there and the friend situation had definitely improved, if the tales Hilary heard in the car were to be believed.

  She would continue to drive Faith to the bus stop but afterwards she could return home without having to tackle the winter snow conditions. Buses were more reliable in the winter than a car. She planned to include the new b
us schedule in Faith’s Christmas card and watch her reaction.

  * * *

  Vilma thought long and hard about Christmas. With the Andy scheme secured, thanks to Mavis’s compliance, she turned her thoughts to making this first Christmas at Harmony House something truly special. She had no doubt the day itself would go well with Eve and Mavis conspiring to decorate the winter dining room and welcome in the season. The catered feast was arranged so everyone could relax and enjoy the day. Vilma was now thinking far beyond the Christmas season since a reminder had recently arrived in her mail.

  It was the annual form requiring her to state her intentions for the week in February at the luxury resort in Jamaica. The yearly fee for the week came out of her bank account automatically. What she had to decide was whether or not she wished to use the week or to allow the company that operated the resort to rent it out on her behalf. Renting was by far the easier option. The money went into her bank after the resort managers had taken their cut, but the thought of relaxing completely on a beach in the sun with no responsibilities, had a certain appeal.

  Of course, she knew she no longer had that freedom. When she took on the dogs, many things in her life changed and jaunting off on winter holidays was one of them.

  She examined her feelings about this and overall she was pleased with the trade-off. She knew she would never have children. Astrid and Oscar met that lost desire in a minor way. She could not complain. And yet, there was something very appealing about the sun-and-sand escape in the middle of winter.

  The more she told herself it was no longer an option, the more she continued to worry away at it. It was like having a sore gum spot in her mouth and not being able to stop her tongue from checking it out.

  Close to the day when the Christmas tree was to be fetched, Vilma came to a conclusion on the Jamaica matter. She had a flash of brilliance one morning when she was out with the dogs and the world around her was silent and hushed with snow. Perfect for deep thinking.