Running Home

by Bill Sanderson

  Chapter Eighteen

  There was a knock on the door and Rose got up to answer. Jerry, dressed in his best suit, was standing there with a twinkle in his eye and a bouquet of wildflowers in his hand. “Can Miriam come out to play?”

  Rose let out a barking laugh and invited him into the house. “Miriam, Jerry's here.”

  Miriam came down the stairs in a red and orange sleeveless sun dress. Her long black hair was in a loose braid that was draped over her right shoulder. “Rose, do you have a shawl I can borrow?”

  Rose appraised her outfit and said, “I have just the thing.” She opened the cupboard next to the hall closet and withdrew a red mohair shawl with seed beads scattered in the fabric. “This might be warm for this time of year, but if you are walking around after dark you may need it.”

  Jerry stepped forward and handed her the flowers. “For you, heart of my heart.”

  Miriam beamed and said, “They're lovely, my dearest man. Can you wait a minute while I put them in a vase?”

  “Sure.” Rose watched them with satisfaction as Jerry's eyes tracked Miriam into the kitchen. In a couple of minutes Miriam returned with the flowers arranged in an old white Royal Doulton vase, which she set on the table in the hall.

  “Thank you.” Miriam pulled Jerry's head down for a quick kiss, then said, “I'm ready.”

  Jerry offered his arm and led them out to his car. Rose waved from the porch and assured them that she'd be waiting for Mitchie at Jerry's house.

  The drive into Halifax was relaxed. Miriam's worries over her sister were in the background and Jerry's worries about Annabelle had subsided over the past ten days. Gert, as usual, had kept track of Annabelle and was reporting that she had been very well behaved, only stopping at the tavern a couple of nights and only for one drink and some flirting before leaving alone.

  Jerry conveyed what Gert said to Miriam. She replied, “I still get the feeling Annabelle's up to something. She's trying too hard. She's hurting and doesn't want to show it.” Miriam paused while searching for words. “I think she's capable of doing something stupid. She's been very good with Michelle, but it seems almost like she's playing a part. It's like she wants to love Michelle, but she doesn't know how to show it properly.”

  “Or maybe she wants to want to love Mitchie. I know the first two visits were more because her parents insisted than because she wanted to be here. Her mother is really the one who wants to be part of Mitchie's life. Her father is very big on duty. Annabelle is their only child and she was supposed to marry a man who would take over the farm. He had a husband picked out for her but she decided to go her own way. According to Trudi, they haven't spoken since she married me. Things might have been better if she'd picked a farmer to marry.”

  “I don't know about that. He probably resented Annabelle for not being a boy.” Miriam looked at Jerry's face. “You look a lot like Mr. VanReimsdyk, don't you?”

  Jerry thought for a moment then shrugged. “I suppose I do.”

  “That might account for the weird way that Annabelle treats you. It's like she's always waiting for you to yell at her or that she has to get angry before she can tell you anything.”

  Jerry thought about it for a while. “You may be right.” Then he glanced over at Miriam. “So how do you know so much about this sort of thing?”

  “In fourth year I took the negotiation course at Mac because I knew that I would be helping my father with purchasing. Almost half of the course was on human behaviour and motivations. Then after I got home, Elena went to university to study nursing and ended up specializing in counselling and social work because Emile thought she'd be an asset to his practice.. When Uncle Walid effectively locked us in the house, I read everything available, including Elena's textbooks. Although the hard line Shiite guides to proper behaviour for women are pretty hard to take when you're a Christian.”

  Jerry reached over to take Miriam's hand. “That must have been hard on you.”

  “It was. It was worse for Elena. Uncle Walid made her quit volunteering at the local hospital because it was run by Christians. I'm fine with being by myself if I have some good books to read, but she needs to have lots of people around. Emile found her a job at a women's clinic near the hospital he works at, so she's very happy.” She squeezed Jerry's hand. “And now I have you, so I'm very happy, too.”

  They found a parking spot near the Public Gardens and strolled for half an hour admiring the flowers and the swans. Miriam said that the gardens were as pretty as the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton where she spent much of one summer reading. She gushed at the old fashioned roses and rudbeckia. She laughed at the ducklings struggling to keep up with their families.

  The ended their leisurely walk at the main entrance on Spring Garden Road and joined the throng of tourists heading for the various bars and restaurants along the street. Miriam snuggled closer as they headed for the restaurant. Jerry was aware of the appreciative looks that the men gave Miriam and the envious looks directed toward him.

  When they stopped in the lobby of the restaurant, Jerry took a good look at his date. She looked radiant in her form fitting sundress. The red and gold print set off her olive skin wonderfully. As she caught him examining her she raised her head and smiled for him. A sudden urge to drag her off into a dark corner was ruthlessly suppressed, although he did bend down for a brief kiss.

  Miriam restrained his head and whispered, “Don't have them put us in a dark corner. I might not be able to keep my hands off you.”

  Jerry gave her another quick kiss, and said, “You must have read my mind.”

  At that moment the server came by and said, “Mr. Ernst, your table is ready.” She led them to a table for two next to the window looking out at Spring Garden Road and got them settled with menus.

  Miriam and Jerry looked at each other and laughed. Miriam said, “I guess God really is watching over us.”

  They lingered over their supper talking about everything and nothing. Concern for Sara's safety led to a discussion of Micheline's pregnancy. That segued into how wonderful Bill's newborn daughter was and what the right size for a family would be. A mention of Jane Wilson brought back the conversation around to the church and John's latest sermon and the search for a permanent building. Miriam was relaxed and animated which reminded Jerry of why he fell in love with her during their days at Mac.

  It was almost sunset when they left the restaurant. Jerry said, “I have something I want to show you.”

  Miriam looked curious but lengthened her stride to match his. He handed her into the car and drove up to the top of Citadel Hill to park on the east side. He took Miriam's hand and said, “This is one of my favourite places and times of day. When I was working here at the Citadel museum during the summer between first and second year, we'd stay open until nine on Thursdays. On a clear night it's worth watching the sunset, but not the normal way. Usually you watch the sunset facing west, but not tonight. Tonight we look east toward Dartmouth.”

  They held hands and chatted amiably until Jerry saw that the view he wanted was coming. “This is what I think is special. Watch the light on the buildings across the harbour.”

  He pointed at what had been grey buildings ten minutes earlier. They were now glowing orange, deepening to red as they watched. The lower areas began to be dotted with lights as the light sensitive switches turned them on. About fifteen minutes later only the tops of the tallest buildings were bathed in direct sunlight and the harbour was a dark pool dotted with light. Jerry pointed at the darkening sky, which was also a vast black pool dotted with light.

  Miriam looked at everything with fresh eyes gaining yet another insight into her man, a man who took the time to look at the world around him and find beauty. When the last light of the sunset disappeared, Jerry leaned over for a long kiss.

  The lights of an approaching car interrupted them and they sat up. Miriam spoke first. “Thank you for sharing that with me.” She giggled. “The kiss was nice, too.”
<
br />   The drive home was spent in more conversation about everything and nothing. Miriam spoke about some small changes to the kitchen, notably new curtains and tablecloths. Jerry thought that getting some better furniture for the living room was overdue. Then Miriam tried to teach Jerry a few more Arabic endearments and tried not to laugh at his execrable pronunciation.

  When they got to his house at nine thirty, they were in a marvellous mood. It lasted another thirty seconds.

  Rose was at the car door immediately. “Did Annabelle call you?”

  Jerry said, “No. I haven't heard anything.”

  “Well, she's not back yet.”

  Jerry looked stricken. “She's been here between seven-thirty and eight every day. She was supposed to be back at work on Monday. She was going to have breakfast with us on Saturday then head out.”

  Miriam asked, “Did you call her B&B?”

  “No. I've just been waiting for you to get home. I've only gotten really worried in the last ten minutes.” Everyone moved inside. Rose got the phone book. Miriam stood around trying to determine how to support everyone and decided that a pot of tea wouldn't hurt.

  Jerry fished his cell phone out of his pocket to call Annabelle's cell. The answering machine took it immediately. He left a message asking her to call. “It went immediately to her answering service. She probably turned it off.”

  Rose was making noises in the corner next to the phone, ending with, “Well, thanks Mary. Sorry to bother you so late.” Rose turned to everyone. “Mary says she checked out this morning around seven thirty. She did say that she was much better company this year than last and that Michelle was such a pretty girl.”

  Miriam fished a teapot from the cupboard. “Jerry, didn't Lorne say that you could call for advice any time?”

  Jerry took a deep breath. “Yes. He did.” Jerry took off his jacket and tie and draped them over a kitchen chair. He took his wallet out of his jacket and searched for Lorne's card. As he dialled the number he said, “Rose, you should let Jack know what's happening.”

  Rose moved back to the phone and called Jack. Meanwhile, Lorne answered the phone. “Lorne Whynacht.”

  “Hi Lorne, it's Jerry Ernst. I need some advice. I think that Annabelle took off with Michelle.”

  “Tell me the particulars.” Jerry detailed the agreement he'd struck with Annabelle to allow her to visit with Michelle each day for twelve hours, except Sunday when she could pick up Michelle after lunch. He also said that until this evening Annabelle had abided by his decision.

  Lorne made some humming noises and asked, “How late is she today?”

  “She was supposed to drop Michelle off at eight.”

  “That's two hours. Family Services won't want to intervene before twenty-four hours unless there's a restraining order in place or there's reason to believe Michelle is in physical danger. There is no restraining order, so do you believe Michelle is in danger?”

  Jerry considered and reluctantly said, “No. I don't think she's in danger.”

  “Then you'll have to wait about forty-eight before you can file a missing persons report. The police are not happy about following up on non-custodial parents because charges of kidnapping are very hard to make stick. In this case, it's your word against hers because there is nothing written down about visitation rights.”

  Jerry was silent for a bit. Lorne continued, “Come in to the office tomorrow and we can draft an affidavit to file with the court to get an order to have Annabelle return Michelle to your custody. We may not be able to get onto the court calendar until Monday or Tuesday because this is not an emergency situation.”

  Jerry said, dejectedly, “It feels like an emergency to me.”

  Lorne sounded sympathetic as he replied, “I know it does. I have a half hour free at nine thirty tomorrow. We'll get the ball rolling to file that petition.”

  “All right. Tomorrow it is.” Jerry ended the call as Miriam placed a mug of tea in front of him and wrapped him up in a hug.

  “What did Lorne advise?”

  “He'll help me tomorrow to petition the court to order Annabelle to return Mitchie to me. Because I can't honestly say that Mitchie's life is in danger the court might not review the petition until next week. Until then, we have to hope that Annabelle will call.”

  Jack came over to fetch Rose and ended up sitting with Jerry for almost two hours. They played cards and hoped that one of the phones would ring. Eventually, they decided it was time for sleep. Miriam offered to come over first thing to make sure that someone was in the house to answer the phone while Jerry was meeting with Lorne.

  Jerry gave Miriam a long hug before she left. “Pray for me. I have a better idea what was going through your mind waiting for word of Sara.”

  Miriam reached up to get a kiss. “Dear man. Try to get some sleep. You'll need to be sharp tomorrow.”

  Jerry released Miriam and said good night. He was glad that John provided a guide to prayer because he needed the focus tonight. He heard the mantel clock strike two but not the quarter hour.

  Miriam said a long series of prayers finishing with a special prayer for Jerry that he would find the strength and patience to deal with this trouble. Then she remembered the view of the city bathed in the light of the sunset and gave thanks for the beauty of the earth and for sending her a special man to help show her that beauty.