The girls, now very curious, came to sit where Rosalind indicated. Felicity said, "You can make me knee socks any time Aunt Ros. They fit me better than any of the store bought socks."
"Then I'll measure you before I go home. Now, sit." She handed them each a small gift bag. "You're both old enough to take care of these properly now that you're young women. While I want to dance at your weddings, Brenda and Harry passing away reminded me that only God knows how much time we have left, so I thought you should have these now while I can still make them for you."
Elaine and Phyl had heard Rosalind's speech and joined the group as the girls each pulled out a soft package wrapped in tissue. Felicity put it on her lap and unfolded the paper carefully under the approving eye of her great aunt. Lydia did likewise.
Rosalind said, "They aren't as delicate as they look. I bought a good quality silk yarn so they should last a lifetime if you take care of them. Felicity, you'll have to stand up to show it off, your arms aren't as long as Lydia's."
Felicity unfolded a delicate white silk shawl made of cobweb weight yarn while Lydia displayed a similar shawl in ivory silk. "It's beautiful Auntie Ros." She examined the pattern. "It's a Shetland pattern isn't it?"
The old lady beamed. "I knew it wasn't a waste of time teaching you to knit."
Lydia very carefully folded hers around her shoulders. "And mine is a Belgian lace pattern?"
"Phyllida, your daughter is as smart as she is pretty. Now girls, these are called wedding ring shawls because they will fit through a size six wedding ring. Elaine can show you because I gave her one when she got married to Brian."
Elaine took off her engagement ring and showed Felicity how light the fabric was by passing the entire shawl through the ring.
"Now if you look in the bottom of the bags there should be a shawl pin to go with it, but you have to promise me that you won't eat anything while you're wearing them." The girls both gave Rosalind exuberant hugs and profuse thanks then pinned the shawls on.
By this time David and his family had arrived. The men and older boys retreated to the family room to watch football while the rest stayed in the living room to gossip and play with the two little ones.
Cal kept getting up to check on the progress of dinner and to make sure he knew where Phyl was. About half the time, Phyl made some excuse so she could join Cal in the kitchen. There were raised eyebrows and knowing looks as the adults watched Cal and Phyl unconsciously exchange casual touches that were more than merely friendly.
Shortly before dinner time, Cal asked Phyl if she could go to the chest freezer in the basement to get a bag of french fries for the kids while he made the gravy.
She tripped happily downstairs and walked quickly over to the freezer near the laundry sink. When she stood up, David was standing in the door with a piece of mistletoe in his hand.
With a bit of slurring, he asked, "So, Heddy, is this the year I finally get that kiss you promised me?"
"I never promised you anything, David Richardson. It was a vile trick then and it isn't any funnier now." Phyl held the bag of fries like a shield.
"You were weren't so coy back in grade ten, Heddy. How come you never kissed me? You kissed everyone else." David was getting closer but still blocking the door.
"You're drunk, David, and married. Get out of my way."
"C'mon, Phyl, one little kiss won't hurt."
Very calmly she said, "Get. Out. Of. My. Way. If you don't I will scream and you will have to explain to Cal, Judy and the rest of the people here why I was screaming. Because I don't care anymore. We're not in grade ten, David, and as embarrassing as it was for me at the time, it will be more embarrassing for you if you don't get out of my way."
He moved closer but stopped blocking the door. "Have it your way, Heddy. But stay away from my father unless you want him to know what kind of a slut you are."
"You were vile then and you haven't changed a bit. Stay away from me."
"But now you don't have big strong Harry to save you. And you still owe me that kiss." David turned on his heel and stalked away to the family room. Over his shoulder he said, "I still have the good pictures."
Phyl slumped against the freezer taking several calming breaths before returning to the kitchen. Cal noticed that her smile was gone. "Something the matter, Phyl?"
"Can I talk to you about it later? After everyone's gone home?" Phyl seemed on the verge of tears.
"Do you need a hug?" Cal asked.
Mutely she nodded then crossed the kitchen into Cal's comforting hug. Lydia started to bound into the kitchen in search of more glasses for the punch but retreated quickly. Neither Cal nor Phyl noticed.
After he could feel her start to relax, he stood her back upright and asked, "Better?"
Phyl tried a few smiles before she found one that wasn't too phony. "Much, thanks."
Except for the belligerent looks from David and the concerned looks from Cal that made her miss what people were saying, the dinner was remarkably social. Uncle Jack told stories of his latest trips to Botswana to teach the men there how to drill wells with donkey powered home built rigs. He livened up the stories with tales of wild animals and broken down buses. Jeremy had followed his father's footsteps into the engineering side of the Navy and was talking shop with Cal for quite a while. The older kids were all pretending to be bored but dropped into the conversations with remarkably astute questions.
Everyone rolled away from the table full. Elaine tried to orchestrate the clean up, but Rosalind and Brian conspired to make sure she was off her feet as much as possible, eliciting the comment, "I'm only pregnant, I'm not sick." But she gratefully sank into the sofa in the living room to supervise.
There was one more incident between David and Phyl where he ordered her to keep quiet. Phyl responded by taking Judy aside and letting her know that maybe David had had too much to drink.
It was past ten before the last guests left. Tim and the girls had decided to get out of everyone's way by going to the Schuyler house, ostensibly to sleep, but knowing them as she did, Phyl knew that when she got home Tim would be reading one of the books he got for Christmas and the girls would still be up gossiping.
Phyl poured herself a cup of decaf and took it down to the family room where Cal was gathering the leftover snacks and dirty dishes.
Cal smiled warmly as he saw her come into the room. Phyl smiled back, but remembered that she'd promised to talk about her and David later. With the kids at the other house, this was as good a time as any.
Cal opened, "Thanks for everything today, Phyl. I thought it would be more awkward, you know, first Christmas without Brenda or Harry, but it turned out, well, okay."
Phyl sat on the front edge of one of the armchairs. "It was mostly okay, but something did happen that I have to tell you about."
At her serious and somewhat sad tone, Cal sat down on the sofa close to her and prepared himself to listen. "Is it about why you needed a hug just before supper?" Phyl nodded. "What did happen?"
"David happened. Again. I thought he'd given up." She sounded bitter.
"David? I knew he didn't like you much, but ..."
"He hasn't liked me for years. Not since we were in grade ten together. I never met you then, but my mother met you a couple of times when Father served in your command. That's part of why she was always so weirded out by you and Brenda." Phyl took a deep breath.
"Cal, I was pretty wild in grade ten. Mum and Dad were on the verge of a divorce and weren't giving me the support I needed. So I looked for attention elsewhere, and I got it. It was just kisses and some petting, but I went through at least boyfriend a week between September and April. Brookfield is big, but not that big. I got a reputation for being pretty easy, but I wasn't, at all."
"Anyway, Victoria Day weekend there was this big bush party out near North Gower and one of David's friends invited me. There must have been three or four hundred people and enough alcohol to float a boat." Phyl nervously sipped her coffee.
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br /> "I don't know how much I had to drink, really. It was two rum and cokes, but they were strong so it might have been anything from four to eight drinks worth. So Trevor, that's David's friend, takes me over to a place away from the torches and the bonfire and we start to kiss. Don't think too badly of me, Cal, but I love to kiss. It's still my favourite part of being close to a man. This time, though, I was too drunk to stop at just kisses." She sipped her coffee to wet her lips.
"To make a long story short, Trevor got my blouse and bra off and was starting to push my jeans down when the camera flash went off. Several times. Well, I got my clothes back on in a hurry and started yelling at the asshole who was taking pictures." Phyl paused and looked at her shoes.
Cal said, "Let me guess. The asshole was David. He took his camera everywhere back then. That must have been awful for you."
Phyl looked into Cal's eyes to see a mix of anger, sadness and compassion. She continued. "He promised me he wouldn't share the pictures if I gave him a kiss."
Cal winced and hung his head. "Oh, Phyl."
"I told him to go to hell and walked home all the way from North Gower. The following Wednesday, Trevor gave me a picture of the two of us kissing and my back's completely bare. You can see enough of my face that you can tell it's me."
"I cornered David at lunch and asked him what he was doing. He said that I still owed him a kiss and that I should thank him for not sharing the really embarrassing photos. I showed Mom the picture Trevor gave me that afternoon and it shocked my parents so much we all sat down for a long family conference. In the end, they went for marriage counselling and stayed together. We moved to Kanata so I could go to a different high school for grade eleven. And that's when we started going to the Reform church where I met Harry."
Cal stood up to pace. "Has David ever apologized?"
"No, but I thought we'd buried it years ago. That's why I was so upset tonight. When I went down the get the french fries, he cornered me in the laundry room with a sprig of mistletoe and drunkenly informed me that I still owed him a kiss. I refused him this time, too. You see, I told Harry about all this the first time I saw David again, just after we moved in across from you. I kind of panicked when he showed up at your house and Harry asked why. Later on, he told David what would happen if he threatened me again. David was scared of Harry."
"Do you want me to do something about it?"
"I'm not sure. He said that I should stay away from you or he'd tell you what kind of a slut I am."
Cal could feel his temper rising. "I won't say anything unless you ask me to or he brings it up. But I wish he was ten and I could put him over my knee. I thought we'd brought him up better than that. Brenda would be so disappointed if she'd known."
"I know. I never told her because after Harry talked to David, David behaved himself." She reached over and took Cal's hand. "Cal, I want you to know something. Despite my wild streak and my reputation, the next man I sleep with will be my second."
Cal looked into her blue eyes to see conviction and honesty and said, "Phyl, even if you had been that kind of wild in grade ten, you are now a beautiful mature woman who has her head on straight. I was wilder than that in high school until Brenda turned my life around, so I have a pretty big beam in my own eye." Then he smiled tenderly. "For what it's worth, who ever number two is will be a very lucky man."
The room seemed to get smaller as she gazed into his concerned eyes. She calmly released his hand and drained her now lukewarm coffee. Working smoothly together, partners without really noticing it, they got the stray dishes cleaned up and all the rooms tidy before wishing each other Merry Christmas with a peck on the cheek and retiring to their separate beds.
Cal had to work not to be toweringly angry with David. He knew that it was going to take a huge effort not to pick up the phone when he woke up and tear a strip off his son. But he promised Phyl he'd let it slide until either she or David brought it up. But how dare he threaten his friend like that.
He'd almost told her about the swath he'd cut through the female population of Lisgar Collegiate, something he wasn't proud of because there were women in town who still wouldn't speak to him. It was Brenda who'd saved him from that when she'd torn a strip off him for dumping one of her friends in a particularly callous way. He hadn't thought of Brenda as attractive until she'd gotten righteously angry with him.
She made him attend church with her as penance and to this day he still didn't know how she had done it. But for some reason he'd needed Brenda's good opinion. He thanked God that Brenda was there to point him in the right direction when he'd finally recognized he needed to change – that he needed Jesus in his life.
Now, if he could only release his anger at David so he could sleep.
Chapter Nine – January
"I don't know what to do, Phyl." They were chatting in her kitchen after supper while the kids tackled their homework.
"What do you want to do?"
"I wish I knew."
"So tell me the problem."
Cal ran a hand through his hair. "They did a small reorganization at work and put this really focused go-getter to head up the selection committee to decide which of the shipyards is going to get the resupply ship contract." Cal got up to get a ginger ale out of the fridge.
"We're working on the evaluation grid together and, in my opinion, he's putting too much weight on the price. Actually, I'm the only retired Navy man on the committee. The rest are all ambitious yes men." He took a drink and sat down. Phyl put on her listening face and Cal continued.
"I don't have a problem with any of the shipbuilders. All of them are subcontracting some of the major modules to shipbuilders in other countries, but the one that's coming in with the lowest bid is using a shipyard in Korea to build the crew spaces. The problem that I've pointed out is that using that shipyard needs on site inspectors to be there for the full period of the construction or there will be quality problems. The other three bidders are using builders in India, Taiwan and Korea but they've factored in the higher inspection costs. I don't know if the low bidder would get the contract otherwise."
Phyl asked, "I'm still not sure I understand the problem."
"Oh, the lowest cost bid is going to do all of the inspection at the end and ask for rework as needed. I've pointed out to my new boss that the last two projects that were done that way ended up more than a year late and costing almost double the initial bid."
Phyl thought about that for a bit. "Isn't that penny wise and pound foolish?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell Paul, but he doesn't care much. I think his bonus is tied to getting things done quickly and the only way to do that is to not ask too many questions of the bidders." Cal finished his ginger ale. "Apparently I ask too many questions."
Phyl asked, "What if you go over his head?"
Cal said, ruefully, "All of the people who would believe me are either retired or have moved to other departments. The Deputy and the Minister are both pretty new to the portfolio. This is one of the highest profile contracts in years."
"The papers would have a field day if the new government, which ran on fiscal responsibility, was found out later to have ignored your advice and it ended up costing millions more." Phyl tapped her fingers on the table. "I mean they just got everything sort of cleaned up after the sponsorship scandal."
"Anyway, my dilemma is whether I go over Paul's head or not. If I do, I may as well retire because they won't trust me with anything either fun or important again."
"What would you do if you retired?"
"Oh, I've got a few projects I'd like to do. And I'm sure that someone would hire me as a consultant if I got too bored."
"What projects?"
"Father Gary's asked if I would take one of the warden positions. I've wanted to for a couple of years, but I worked too much overtime or did too much travel. One of Brenda's literacy groups bought an old house in Mechanicsville near the Odawa Native Friendship Centre that needs extensive repair
s. I thought I could help them locate some good contractors to do the work that the volunteers can't manage. And I'm sure that I'll have things around the house to keep me busy."
Phyl nodded. "Okay. I'm going to tell you what you should do. If you object too strenuously, then pick a different path." Cal looked puzzled and Phyl said, "I used to do this with Harry when he was conflicted. I'd order him to do it one way and he would either do it that way because that was what his gut was telling him or he'd do the opposite. Either way, it clarified things pretty quickly for him."
Cal tilted his head. "Fine. I'm listening."
Phyl said, "This isn't an either or question so maybe I should get you a notepad." She dug in a drawer and pulled out one of Brenda's list pads and a pen. Cal looked at the notepad and smiled, then looked intently at Phyl.
"First, you are going to write up all your objections in a concise report and sign it as Commander J. Calvin Richardson, retired, along with your current position title. Second, you put in your retirement papers. Third, after they are accepted you send your 'minority report' to your boss, his boss, the Deputy Minister, the Minister and the Auditor General. Then, fourth and last, we plan your retirement party."
Cal looked at the notepad and nodded as he thought about it. Phyl got up to putter a bit in silence while Cal reviewed what she proposed.
Cal waited for some doubts to surface, but only said, "I have to add two things to the list. After I've written up my report I will tell Paul verbally that I'm retiring and why and let him know that he will get a copy of the report when I send it. The other thing I have to add is a couple of additional addressees. I want to send copies to the chair of the Defence committee in Parliament, the Comptroller General and the Prime Minister." He gave a relieved smile to Phyl and said, "Thank you. This clears my mind incredibly."
"And it allows you to do the right thing so you can start sleeping better." Phyl brushed Cal's hair back over his forehead.
"Was it that obvious?"
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