Beholden

by Lesley Crewe

  Gran and I had a great time playing with the kids. Kimberly was now six months old and as chubby as a Buddha. At two and a half, Pup was surprisingly sweet with her, but he was also quite determined to open her gifts as well as his own. A quiet talk in the corner with Dad settled him down.

  Mavis looked rather good, and she shocked us when she said she was going to New York with a couple of girlfriends in the new year.

  “Just a shopping trip, and we’ll take in a few Broadway shows.”

  Gran was pleased for her. “That’s just the sort of thing you should be doing. I wish I’d done it when I was younger.”

  Mavis was hesitant. “You’re…you’re not suggesting you want to go with us?”

  Gran frowned. “No, Mavis. Don’t worry. I wouldn’t dream of cramping your style.”

  She was still fuming the next day on the drive home. “As if I’d want to go with that one to the big city. Honestly, she’s the most annoying woman.”

  I delivered my Christmas gifts back home a couple of days late. All baked goods, of course.

  Danny clapped his hands when he saw a pumpkin pie, an apple pie, and a wedge of fruitcake. “You’re my angel, Bridie Mackenzie. You’re the only reason I’m not a bag of bones, which is such a comfort to me Mam, who is constantly whining about the state of my health when I send her the odd picture.”

  “Your mother should come over for a visit.”

  “My fourteen siblings would take a turn if Mam left them. She’s the only thing between them and eternal damnation.”

  “Fifteen children? Is she crazy?”

  “She’s crazy in love with the Pope, don’t ya know.”

  Nell got a lemon loaf, mince tarts, and shortbreads. Then I took my oatmeal carrot muffins out to the barn and gave my three horse buddies their treats, which they gobbled down in a jiffy. I saved two for Dogs.

  There was still a large chunk of fruitcake left, along with a date loaf, cranberry pudding, and more shortbread. Perhaps Mrs. Curry would like them.

  Perhaps Mitch would like them.

  It was a very cold afternoon when I drove to the Curry house and knocked on the door. Maud answered and looked very pleased to see me. “Come in, Bridie. What a delightful surprise. How are you, dear?”

  “I’m great.” I passed her my wicker basket. “This is for you, Mitch, and Will.”

  She peeked inside. “The best gift ever. No one thinks of giving a homemaker baked treats, but what a relief it is to put your feet up and know that dessert has been made.” She took the goodies out of the basket and laid them out on the table. “Pretty as a picture.”

  We chatted for a while, but then I blurted, “Is Mitch here?”

  “He’ll be around the buildings out back. Will is off with a school chum. If you want to wander about and try to find Mitch, be my guest. He’ll have his nose immersed in some engine and won’t know what time of day it is.”

  I took my basket and waved goodbye. Then I headed to the barn.

  “Mitch?”

  A few horses looked out of their stalls at the sound of my voice. Horses are nosy creatures.

  “Mitch?”

  I peeked around one corner, and there was Mitch and a woman with their arms around each other, kissing. It was like having my face slapped. I must have cried out, although I didn’t notice because Mitch and the woman parted quickly and looked in my direction.

  Mitch looked shocked. “Bridie?”

  My first thought was to get out of there as fast as I could, so I took off running. I heard Mitch call after me but I kept going. I threw open the car door, revved the motor, and took off as fast as I could, watching Mitch get smaller and smaller in my rear-view mirror.

  When I got home, I slammed the back door. Hobbs came running over to see if I needed help. Gran peeked her head around the corner.

  “Something the matter?”

  “Men!”

  I ran up the stairs, and before I slammed my door I heard Gran say, “Get used to it, sweetheart.”

  She and I sat in front of the television on New Year’s Eve, watching the crystal ball drop in New York City. At midnight, we toasted ourselves with warm milk.

  “1970. Who can believe it? You’ll turn twenty this year,” Gran said. “It’s a new decade. Full of promise and opportunity. What will it bring, do you think?”

  “A life of spinsterhood, like I predicted when I was thirteen. It’s my mission in life to live alone.”

  “Oh, Bridie. Sometimes I think you’re as foolish as Mavis.”

  “Gee, thanks, Gran. You’re a peach.”

  Before January was over, I had my old job back at the bank. The girl who’d replaced me was having a baby and her husband didn’t want her working anymore.

  I’d get up very early and go to Nell’s to look after the critters then return after work to bed them down for the night, so instantly my days became very full.

  We also got news that the cabin was officially mine. Nell’s lawyer contacted Pops’s lawyer, who happened to have a copy of a letter signed by Pops, stating that I was the granddaughter of Gervais and Maggie Landry and that my mother, Jane, was buried in Hardwood Hill Cemetery. Once I signed the paperwork, I was a landowner—of a dreary cottage, but also of five acres of trees. That pleased me no end.

  On Valentine’s Day, I was in a black mood. I kept my head down at work, certain that everyone there remembered my awful day the year before. It might have been my imagination, but a few old dolls stared at me longer than necessary. It happened from time to time in the village as I went about my day. People would recognize me and whisper behind my back. I always ignored it, but it never failed to make me feel sick.

  As I shuffled the paperwork of my latest customer, I felt the presence of another person. It was so irritating when people showed up at my wicket before I waved them forward.

  When I looked up, there was Mitch. Of all the fantastic luck.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I need money.”

  “Oh, of course. It’s Valentine’s Day and your girlfriend needs flowers.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend.”

  “Oh, sorry, do you always neck with women who walk into your barn?”

  Mitch looked around, annoyed. “What is your problem? Who I kiss is no business of yours.”

  “You are so right. Your bank book, please.”

  He passed it over and shuffled in front of me, hands in pockets.

  “How much money do you want to withdraw?”

  “How much do you think a dozen roses would be?”

  I made a face. “I wouldn’t know. I’m a spinster, remember?”

  “Give me fifty.”

  “Fifty? That’s a tad overboard. But let me guess, you’ll want to buy a box of chocolates as well.”

  “And while I’m at it, an engagement ring.”

  “Who knew you were so cheap?”

  He put his face closer to me when he noticed a lady leaning over at the next wicket to hear what we were saying. “Did I ever give you the impression that I wanted you to be my girlfriend?”

  “I never noticed.”

  “Don’t you remember I told you I’m never getting married?”

  “You’re not the only one. I’ve been saying since I was thirteen that I wanted to be single and run…a boarding house….”

  I forgot he was in front of me.

  A boarding house. I could fix up the cabin and make it into a fishing retreat, like the one Pops and I went to. That would generate income. If I used my nest egg to renovate the place, I could advertise and rent it out weekly to avid fishermen. And offer to make sandwiches and sweets for their lunches. That would be a huge selling point.

  “Bridie!”

  Back to earth. “What?”

  “Are you planning on giving me my money?”r />
  “Oh, sure.” I counted out his bills and passed them to him.

  “Do you want to go on a date or what?”

  “No, thank you. I’m going to be busy.”

  He stalked off. It was only after he left that I realized what he’d said. Well, anyway, I was going to be a businesswoman. No time for romance.

  Before I hurried to Nell’s after work, I stopped in to see Danny to tell him about my fantastic idea.

  “Surely, it’s a grand thought. I’ve often had fisherfolk come in and ask if there were places to rent. We could make a big sign and post it in the store window.”

  “I’ll advertise in the newspaper, too.”

  “But do you have the money for such a project? I’m skint meself, or I’d gladly give you some.”

  “Thanks, Danny, but I think I’m going to be okay.”

  After I finished in the barn, I ran into Nell’s kitchen, but she was at her sewing machine in the other room. It was the first time I noticed her wearing small glasses, for close-up work. She quickly took them off when she saw me.

  “You look excited.”

  I told her my grand scheme.

  “That sounds like a very good idea. You could start fixing the place up in the spring.”

  “I could do the inside now, cleaning and painting every day.”

  “You’re working, remember?”

  “Well, I’ll do what I can. What should I call it?”

  “Not the Haunted Cabin.”

  “Pops’s Paradise.”

  When I got home, I burst into the kitchen. Sitting on the table were a dozen red roses, a box of chocolates, and a box of Cracker Jack.

  Gran came in from the living room, grinning. “Mitch came by and asked me to give you these. He said to tell you that he had enough money left over to buy his mother a dozen roses.”

  Men. Just when you want to strangle them, they do this kind of thing.

  24

  Our first date was a disaster. I’d brought Mitch over to the cabin to show him my grand idea. He wasn’t impressed.

  “It looks like a dump.”

  “Of course it’s a dump right now, but once I clean and paint it will look so much better.”

  “I can see you’re going to have to replace those beams.”

  “Beams?”

  “The big pieces of timber holding up your roof.”

  “Are they bad?”

  “They’re warped from having no heat on all these years.” He looked under the sink. “Just as I thought. All your pipes have frozen and they burst. That’s a big job to replace. You’ve probably got mold where the water seeped into the floorboards and plaster. That’s going to cost you. I think you’d be better off tearing this place down and building something new, but that’s going to—”

  “Let me guess, cost me?!”

  “There’s no use shouting at me. I’m pointing out the obvious.”

  “Stop raining on my parade. I can’t tear this place down.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s where my mother grew up and as nasty as it is, it’s the only connection I have to her.”

  He gave a big sigh. “All right. But be prepared for a lot of things you won’t see right off the bat. You’re going to need a contractor.”

  “I was hoping you could do the work.”

  Mitch turned around and stared at me. “This is our first date, and already you expect me to build a house for you?”

  “I’ll help.”

  “I’m so relieved. We’ll get it done in no time.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course not! This is going to take a long time. Years, even, if we’re doing it by ourselves.”

  “Oh. I was hoping to have it up and running this summer.”

  “You are delusional.”

  My feminine wiles suddenly popped out of nowhere. I walked over to him and put my arms around his neck. “The great news is, you said you’d help me do it. I’m so grateful.”

  He put his hands on my waist. “How grateful?”

  I kissed him, which I couldn’t believe I was doing. I was expecting it to feel like kissing Jack, but this was a total otherworldly experience.

  He finally let me come up for air, and I blinked a bunch of times and stared at his lips. “What are you thinking about, Miss Bridie?”

  “How I want you to do that again.”

  He did. And again. The date ended on a high note.

  Gran knew it the moment I walked in. “Did you have a nice time?”

  I slid into the armchair by the television and held up my chin with my hand. “It was amazing.”

  “You deserve to be happy, Bridie.”

  The minute she said that, I thought of Jack. “I told Jack I’d love him forever.”

  “And you will. But that doesn’t mean you can’t love someone else too. Jack wanted you to be happy, remember?”

  I slid to the floor and joined Hobbs on the rug. “He’s such a good kisser, Hobbs. Almost better than you.”

  Hobbs kissed my face all over, as if to refute this fact.

  Summer came and went and we were woefully behind on our self-imposed schedule. Mitch was right. We kept running into things we hadn’t thought of and just as we got one problem fixed, another would pop up almost immediately.

  After two months of this, Nell found me one evening crying into Napoleon’s haunches as I rubbed him down.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I thought it was going to be so easy to convert the cabin into something nice, but at this rate I’ll be old and grey before my first customer comes through the door.”

  “Dearest, did you honestly think the two of you could get this done yourselves? Mitch has a large farm to take care of, and you’re working full-time and taking care of the animals. You’re putting unrealistic expectations on yourselves, which can’t be good for your relationship.”

  “What relationship? We’re too busy to canoodle.”

  “You need some hot chocolate. Come inside.”

  Following her like a big baby, I plunked myself on a kitchen chair and rested my head on my arms. “I’m so tired all the time. And Maud told me that Mitch fell asleep at the supper table the other night.”

  She mixed up her secret hot chocolate recipe, which I believe was just milk, sugar, and cocoa, but it always tasted better than anything I made. She said it was my father’s favourite drink. I didn’t know that. He never drank it at home.

  When I was nearly finished the mug, she had that look that I was beginning to understand was her don’t-argue-with-me face.

  “I want you to hear me out. From the time Jane was a tiny girl, I put money away for her education. When I heard she’d died, I continued to put money away, because I couldn’t bear not to. I know you’re using your father’s nest-egg money for these renovations, but I’d really rather you didn’t. You never know when you might need it. I would dearly love to use the money I saved for Jane to fix up her home. It would give me so much pleasure to see it become a cozy spot for everyone to enjoy. I feel in my heart that Jane’s mother, Maggie, would love to see the cabin the way she wanted it. A bright, colourful place that she never got to enjoy. And for me to be able to, in some small way, bring that about would make me feel so much better about everything. When I say you’d be doing me a favour, I mean it.”

  “Oh, I don’t know…it’s my dream. As Mitch said to me once, ‘Why do these people owe you a living?’”

  “He said that?”

  I nodded.

  “Well, he can keep his nose out of my affairs. I’m not suggesting you two don’t work at it at all, but if I hire a contractor to do the big work, that will free you both up to do the cosmetic work. You’ll probably have it done by next spring.”

  “I suppose I should talk to him.”

&nb
sp; She looked exasperated. “Spinsters do not talk to men about their decisions. That is your house, not his. Remember that. You are capable of making up your own mind about what should be done. Don’t ever get in the habit of deferring to a man. And that applies even if you’re not a spinster.”

  “You’ve convinced me. Thank you, Nell. I will quite happily take all the money you have.”

  “You’re not getting all of it, missy.”

  Contrary to my worries, Mitch was over the moon about the contractor. He actually went up to Nell’s place and kissed her on the forehead. “You have saved my life, not to mention my back. Could you not have suggested this a couple of months ago?”

  “I wanted to see if you two were serious about it. It’s easy to say you’re going to do something; it’s another thing to do it.”

  He was also cheered up by the fact that there was now more time for canoodling. We would ride our horses to out-of-the-way spots on weekends and spend the afternoon lying in fields or on a rocky beach, looking at clouds rolling by; or we’d sit by a river and fish, but forget that we were fishing as we lay in each other’s arms, talking about nothing.

  Mitch was too over-protective of me. “You’re just twenty. I’m twenty-six. I’m robbing the cradle, according to Will. He likes to point out he’s only three years younger than you.”

  “I’ve weathered a lot in these last twenty years. I’m not an innocent. And despite your condescending talk about being a baby, I am a grown woman. And if I love something, I love it. And I might just love you.”

  It was the first time I’d even thought it, and here I was saying it out loud—when everyone knows the guy has to say it first.

  He looked a little shaken up.

  “Too soon?”

  “You have the ability to astonish me almost every single day, ya know that?”