by Ruth Hay
She had to reframe rapidly. Everything depended on her next words.
“All right. I admit this was a bit of a scheme but it’s not about you. It’s about my dogs.”
That caught his interest. He sat back and wiped the residue off his mouth. He couldn’t quell a sigh of pure satisfaction at feeling so full of good food. He was prepared to listen, for a short while, but his main objective was to exit quickly from this house of crafty women.
“You see, Andy, I have a chance to do something special for the women I live with but it requires someone to look after my dogs and you are the only one I would trust with them.”
“How long were you thinking of?”
Oh, this is good! He’s jumping ahead already. He doesn’t really care about the why.
“Well, it’s only for a week in February. You could take them to the farm and work on their training if you have the time. You might even take them around with you in your truck when you do snow removal jobs. What do you think, Andy? I would be so grateful if you can agree to do this.”
She certainly presented a good case. It would not affect his usual routines. In fact it would give him something to focus on in the darkest part of his year. It could be a blessing in disguise but he wasn’t about to tell her that. He thought through all the possible disadvantages but couldn’t find one real problem.
“Fine. I’ll do it for the sake of the dogs. They’ll be good company for me.”
Vilma wanted to jump up and hug him. Such a good response!
She was elated but she scaled down fast before she did anything to change his mind.
“I do thank you on behalf of all here at Harmony House. Please know we will help you in any way you need in return for this favour. You know where we are and you know about the cooking.”
“Indeed I do. Thank anyone who was involved in this amazing meal.”
“It was our pleasure, Andy.”
With every fibre of her being she longed to invite him to join them over Christmas but she knew it was a step too far. Not yet. Perhaps not ever.
She would be thankful for what she had gained today. It was enough for now. The invasion of dog stuff would come later. He was now too committed to refuse.
Vilma Smith gave herself a little congratulatory hug. This was not easy but with help she had accomplished something difficult. Next step: Christmas Day and then the Jamaica trip.
Everyone agreed that Mavis and Eve had done wonders. The house looked incredible. It was their gift to the group and much appreciated. The fir tree stood tall and resplendent with lovely antique decorations unearthed from the garage storage.
Faith spent private moments when the others were in bed, looking at these symbols of past eras and marvelling at their intricacy. She did not dare to lift one off its branch in case it shattered forever on the stone floor of the entrance hall. There were tiny ballerinas twirling around, metal Santas with long white beards and shiny red suits, elves and fairies and soldiers in tall hats. Every time she looked she found more to wonder at and it puzzled her. She did not realize that all the housemates were adding something or other to the tree as they found treasured items from their past Christmas celebrations. It was a true representation of the co-housing project’s success.
Jannice even found some very old, delicate glass items she had almost forgotten about. Their place near the top of the tree drew all eyes, and reminded Jannice of happier days in her childhood before her parents succumbed to illness.
Eve took photographs and began to paint a picture of the tree from different angles on blank cards she bought in a craft store. She was making individual Christmas cards for each of her housemates.
It was decided unanimously that Vilma was relieved of all kitchen duties related to Christmas because of her generous catering gift. It was also underlined by Hilary, there were no wrapped gifts to be exchanged.
This left a space for creative thinking and prompted Faith to pursue the idea she had thought of when talking to her aunt. She bought a box of mixed cards and carefully selected one for each woman, writing inside a personal message of thanks for accepting her so warmly into Harmony House and contributing so much to her progress.
Jannice’s busy life did not allow for much time to think. She decided to offer Faith a chance to share in her driving lessons with Vilma over the holidays. Now that the girl was only one year away from her provisional license, the ability to drive would be a useful future asset as well as a creating a closer relationship with both she and Vilma.
Jannice could not think of much more to do regarding gifts but she offered to carefully wrap and store, after Christmas, in a new banker’s box, the precious tree decorations, and to do kitchen duties on the weekends when she was not working.
Hilary’s gift was to be the announcement of their financial solvency. She would not be fully satisfied about this until another full year had passed but the indicators were good and she thought everyone deserved to know. Honor was in agreement and would add her very positive review of their investments as well as the good progress made on their individual income tax situations.
Vilma was determined to proceed with her Jamaican idea but she did not want to overshadow the efforts of the others by plopping the idea down. As far as the women were concerned, her contribution was the catered meal. Jamaica would sound like over kill. She would wait until a few days had passed. Possibly a surprise to usher in the new year. She had already sent information to the rental company that she would be requiring the property in February.
She hugged the surprise to her chest. Only Mavis knew what was coming and she would not breathe a word. Vilma wondered how many of her housemates would accept. There was plenty of space available in the two beach cottages but this kind of holiday was not to everyone’s taste. It would be interesting to see who would travel with her. One thing of which she was certain was how much they would enjoy the break.
When she thought back over the months since they had taken possession of Harmony House, she thought it was incredible how much had happened and how well the group had worked together to solve problems. Surely they deserved a relaxing time away from the house? She suspected it was only in this way they would gain the perspective to truly realize what a marvellous thing they had accomplished together. Making a family out of such different people was not a simple accomplishment. She thought of the youngest and what Faith had gone through, all the way to Jannice for whom Harmony House had been the start of a new life.
At this point in her thinking she stopped short. Of course, for each one of them, it had been a new beginning, for herself as much as for anyone. They had created harmony out of diverse personalities much as an orchestra of very odd-looking instruments can make beautiful, heartwarming music.
She shook her head. She must be getting introspective in her advancing age. Or perhaps it was the end of a year approaching and the sense of an appropriate time to reflect on all that had gone before.
There would be many delights old and new to look forward to in the new year and February’s surprise was not the least of these.
Chapter 25
Their first January together in the house was less troublesome than might have been expected.
Routines were well established and the snow that fell as if by order on Christmas Eve, heralded the new season and the new year in perfect style. The house was warm throughout, despite heavy falls of snow that continued through January with a milder spell right at the end of the month.
Faith was growing tall enough to inherit one of Vilma’s series of winter coats which was so gorgeous that it was admired by all at school as very cool. Its warmth was what Faith most admired. The wait for a bus by the side of the road in the early morning was not even possible without the coat’s shearling lining and nothing would make her go back to the days of being chauffeured by Hilary. She loved her independence and the coat was a part of it. Her second term courses were equally as challenging as the first term, but she now had solid habits of stud
ying to help her and the quiet knowledge of having succeeded against all the odds in the Fall term.
She still had sports to help her let off steam at the end of the school day and by studying the bus schedules she could manage a stop at a Valu Mart grocery store on the way home. If she used sturdy carrier bags, unearthed from her backpack, she could pick up bargains, hop on the next bus and continue to contribute to the house’s economy. Eve sent a running list of requirements to her new laptop, her proudest possession, via Honor’s computer.
The laptop was useful in more than one way. It allowed the J.J. group to communicate many interesting items during lunch and breaks. Faith was introduced to the internet of YouTube videos and blogs. The latter were of great fascination. Girls of her own age, and a little older, were making advertising money from basically talking to a phone and posting their ideas online. There were daily make-up tips and clothing advice, hair stylings and lifestyle comments. More intriguing to Faith than the fashion stuff was the potential in this way of seeing what was going on in the world.
She began to wonder if there was a way to contact her real father without going through official channels.
It would require more detailed information from her aunt at the start, and it would need to be done very discreetly. She continued to search for resources in her limited free time but it was always there in the back of her mind. A man, who should still be alive, knew the answers to questions she had a right to ask.
Andy arrived as requested in the first week in January to transfer the potted tree to Mavis’s garden.
He seemed more distant than usual and spoke only about what was being done. The Fraser fir settled nicely into the large new hole and apart from watching its progress, Mavis realized she was free of gardening duties until spring appeared. At the back of her mind was the need to do more to help Eve through the trauma of her husband’s attacks. This was linked with Andy’s secret, whatever that was. Both people were suffering from concealed issues that affected their present lives. Her training informed her that talk therapy would help either, or both, of them. Finding the right time and right approach was crucial.
She would have loved to engage Andy in conversation of a personal nature but, until Vilma made her announcement, nothing was settled. She could not risk upsetting that plan.
As soon as the Christmas tree was dismantled and taken to its new home in the garden, Vilma went into top gear. She asked Eve who was cooking the Sunday meal and discovered it was Hilary’s turn. As Vilma had the impression Hilary did not welcome surprises, she decided to take her into her confidence before the announcement. The meeting took place in the dining room, now denuded of its holiday decorations and looking quite bereft in the white light of January.
“What can I do for you, Vilma?”
“I just want to give you a heads-up about an announcement I want to make at Sunday’s dinner.”
“Vilma, I hope you are not about to make another generous gesture. We are all of us already in your debt for the splendid Christmas feast.”
This caused Vilma to stop short for a moment. She had not considered her actions in this light. Her motivations were not selfish… or were they? Was she seen as ‘the rich one’ who could afford to do things the others could not aspire to? She would hate to be excluded from the housemates she now considered family, because she had more financial resources. That was never her intention.
Hilary’s comment put the entire Jamaican project, and its attendant Andy Patterson project, at risk.
Hilary was watching the uncertainty flow across Vilma’s face. She was not one who could conceal her emotions and Hilary suddenly realized she had said something inappropriate to Vilma.
Goodness knows we are all beneficiaries of Vilma Smith’s kindness and encouragement. She is a major factor in the success of Harmony House. Right from the first meeting, she has supported and valued my ideas. What have I done?
“Look, Vilma dear, please disregard my thoughtless comment. I can see it has affected you negatively and that is the last thing I want. You must know how much we all admire and cherish you.
Let’s start again. Pretend I never misspoke. What did you have in mind?”
Vilma now knew she had to take a more low-key approach. No Big Deal announcement.
“Hilary, the last thing I want is to appear as a rich bitch. Please forgive my language. I am in the fortunate position of having resources gifted to me through marriage. The truth is I have no one with whom I can share these resources. I have no family other than you people in this house.
What I want to do on Sunday is offer the opportunity for some of us to have a holiday in the sun for one week next month. It’s at little to no cost to me, Hilary, and I would love the company.”
Despite herself, Hilary was taken aback. A winter holiday was far beyond her ability to foresee. With scarcely one year of financial operation she could not conceive of such an extravagance. And yet, Vilma was making a hugely generous offer. It would be churlish to refuse. It would, of course, be entirely up to each person to decide if they could accept. The holiday week might be free but there were travel expenses to consider.
“It’s such an amazing idea, Vilma, and so like you. Where is this holiday?”
“It’s a beach resort on the Caribbean island of Jamaica. It’s a lovely secluded spot. Perfect for relaxing. I feel several of us could use a little pampering after the year we have had. I include you in that group, Hilary. You have taken on much of the burden behind the scenes.”
Hilary stopped to think for a moment. She wanted to support Vilma’s idea even although she was not likely to accept the offer.
“Here’s what I think. I agree a holiday would be wonderful but I feel we can’t hold out such an offer if it is impossible for some of us to accept. It’s all very well for you to fund the resort part, Vilma, but I won’t permit you to do one more thing beyond that. I am thinking of travel costs, of course.
Now, I haven’t exactly published our investment results, but Honor did make mention that we had done rather well. I believe we can afford to provide airfare from that fund for whoever decides to accept this opportunity. How do you feel about that?”
“As always, Hilary Dempster, you are thinking ahead. I wasn’t taking the travel into account. I can look into booking a block of seats at a good rate or Honor might want to do that. If we can sort this out before Sunday, we will be able to provide the whole package.
I am so glad I spoke to you first, Hilary. Thanks for your advice.”
* * *
The Sunday supper was a seafood casserole concocted by Hilary with assistance from Faith who had sourced the ingredients and brought them home by bus. The top crust of mashed potatoes crisped in the oven was a fragrant invitation to dine. For once, everyone was assembled. It was a cold night outside but in the cozy kitchen with the gas fire lit, it was warm and comforting. Snow drifted past the windows as they ate.
Vilma waited until the apple strudel had been devoured before beginning. Hilary had insisted on introducing her and she did so before the first housemate could decide to leave.
“I am so glad everyone enjoyed the casserole. It was one of my mother’s favourite recipes.
The treats are not yet finished, my friends. Prepare yourselves for a surprise. Vilma has an announcement that will knock your socks off!”
This unlikely turn of phrase from the normally staid Hilary, drew everyone’s attention. All eyes turned to Vilma.
What could this be?
“Oh, that’s quite an introduction, Hilary! I’ll say it briefly and let you all think it over. You can give me your decision later this week. Here’s the thing ladies, and Faith.
I have access to a week’s holiday in Jamaica. I don’t want to go alone. It’s a beautiful spot on a quiet beach. The week is in February and it will not cost you anything. Hilary has a plan to fund the travel costs.
Don’t look so startled folks! I’ll take off now and let you discuss it with Hilary. I hope you
will join me.
More details later.”
With that she was off, leaving chaos behind her.
“What on earth?”
“That woman is a constant surprise?”
“Jamaica? That’s tropical in winter, isn’t it?”
“How wonderful! I’m already getting weary of snow and cold temperatures. Me for the beach!”
“Anyone here, ever been there before?”
“Amazing! Just amazing!”
* * *
There were many decisions to make before the final number of beach fans could be determined.
Jannice badly wanted to experience something she had never dared to hope for, but her probationary period at work was not over and she was unsure if asking for time off would scupper her chances of permanent employment. She had, however, taken on extra jobs over the holidays which allowed others to spend more time with their families. There was a slim chance she would be given this holiday opportunity. She hugged herself with delight at the thought of going off with Vilma. They had not had much time together of late.
One of the PSW Company’s managers was a lovely older nurse who had been kind to Jannice. She would ask her if there was any way she could make up her hours before and after the week in February.
* * *
Hilary was glad to help Vilma in the Jamaica matter but she was not about to leave the house while the others were gone. She needed to keep a close eye on Faith and she was sure Honor would feel the same.
She was aware Honor was taking on extra work so she could contribute to the monthly fees on behalf of her niece. Hilary felt this was only fair to the others and she did nothing to discourage Honor.
In any case, the days when Hilary Dempster was happy to disport herself in a swimsuit on a beach, were long past. She would be content to do some advanced organizing and keep an eye on the heating costs over the winter.