by Ruth Hay
Vilma took a sip of coffee in an attempt to delay her response. She had not expected this confession from Eve. She really did not know her very well. Hilary and Mavis were the ones most involved in her story. She wondered why Eve had not gone to either of those capable women for help.
“I see I have embarrassed you, Vilma. Forgive me. A weak moment. Forget what I said.”
“Well you surprised me for a moment, Eve, but I am not easily embarrassed and telling me how you feel is not a weakness. I think something is weighing on your mind and from what little I know of your life before Harmony House, I must say I am not at all shocked. Is it something new or is it back to the old fears related to your marriage?”
Eve broke off a piece of muffin and began to break it into tiny crumbs on the plate. This woman had gone right to the nub of the matter in seconds while she had been tossing and turning at night trying to work out what was happening.
“It started with my painting.”
“But your paintings have been amazing, Eve. That Christmas card you made for me has pride of place in my room. How could such work lead to sleepless nights?”
“The paintings you have seen are fine. I used to enjoy doing them but there is another side to it and it comes out at night. I dream of scenes that are a million miles from Mavis’s garden. These are dark and frightening, full of a menace I fear to name. In the daylight these dreams are now still haunting me and when I put brush or pencil to paper they return and seem to take over.”
Vilma knew she was out of her depth. This was some kind of mental break-down and she was not capable of advising Eve. She could only give support and that she would do.
“Oh, Eve, how awful for you to have something you cherish turn into an attack. I am glad you told me about this although I don’t have the knowledge to advise you. May I talk to Mavis on your behalf, or will you permit me to arrange a meeting with her? You don’t need to reply immediately, of course. Let’s just drink our coffee and enjoy the beautiful morning light.”
She reached out her hand and held onto Eve’s hand for a moment. There was nothing as soothing as the touch of a human hand. It conveyed so much more than mere human contact. It was something she had learned in her own life when Nolan held her hands, without a word said, until she calmed down.
Eve was unable to speak. She felt the warmth of Vilma’s concern in both her words and her touch. A small portion of fear and worry dropped away and for a second or two she could believe there might possibly be a solution to her problem. She had not suspected when she woke this morning that help was so close at hand. Why had she not reached out before this?
She watched while Vilma consumed every crumb of her muffin and was able to remember delight in simple things like providing pleasure for others through food. Perhaps this lovely morning was the start of her recovery and the lovely woman by her side was the means to that recovery. She berated herself for every unkind thought she had ever entertained about this rich woman with the fairy-tale life. No one who could feel so strongly for another person’s pain could have sailed through life without learning compassion from her own disappointments and sorrows.
She picked up the mug and wrapped her hands around it. The aroma of fresh coffee reached her nostrils and she realized she had not been able to enjoy any food or drink for some weeks now.
A tear ran down her cheek but it was a tear of relief. She brushed it away before Vilma could notice.
It really was a beautiful morning. A new day in more ways than one.
Chapter 2
Jannice O’Connor jumped out of bed and immediately looked at her alarm clock.
Oh, Lord, I am so late!
Then she remembered. She had a day off and there was no need to rush around. She stretched and turned to admire the antique furniture surrounding her. The style and condition of the well-polished items was a constant reminder of how lucky she had been to meet these wonderful women who enriched her life in so many ways they were simply uncountable.
Her decades of struggle in the mean little terraced home in Old East London were fading. This was her new reality and with it came new friends, new work opportunities and soon, a car in which to further expand her horizons. Each week she put away money to purchase her first vehicle and as the sum grew, so did her confidence in her abilities.
On the walls of her room she had the framed prints of herself wearing the beautiful, fragile, wedding trousseau garments found in the old home’s attic. These had provided the sum of money, added to the house sale, allowing her to secure a place at Harmony House.
She cherished the women, especially Vilma, who had opened her eyes to so many possibilities.
She cherished her immaculate room devoid of clutter and dust and debris from years of former inhabitants. Everything here was pristine from the kitchen to the basement office where Honor held sway. Every few days, Jannice swept around the common areas with dusters and vacuum cleaners but it was no imposition. Each woman felt as house-proud as she did and there was seldom anything major to do. Of course, Vilma took full responsibility for her dogs and made sure there were no signs of their existence indoors or out.
Jannice had one or two concerns about the girl, however. Once or twice when Faith left the door to her room open, Jannice saw a tangle of bedclothes with shoes and books scattered over the carpet. She suspected this was typical teen behaviour but she had never had a sister or brother to judge by and it was not her business to draw attention to the matter. She had better things to do with her limited spare time. Honor should take care of her niece.
When she had a few moments alone, she would fire up the tablet Vilma had loaned her and check in on Mitchell Delaney. When they met in Jamaica she never suspected he was genuinely interested in her tales of Irish ancestors and the trousseau in the attic, but since February he had persisted in contacting her with questions about her life story.
It seemed he really was an author. She found him on Google. The idea that he wanted to write about her was something she doubted from the first. Now he was asking if they could meet in Quebec City over Christmas so as to record some interviews and prepare an outline for his publisher.
She had never ventured out of Ontario but he said he would cover all the costs and set her up in a hotel for the stay. She tucked this information close to her chest and thought about it from time to time. She had not yet responded to the request. She would discuss it with Vilma first, of course, but for now it was her own little secret and she loved the way it made her feel so special.
Sure now, it’s a miracle that the old stories I heard on my Ma’s knee are causing this lovely man to be interested. Not that it’s in any way a personal interest. No! No! It’s about a book he wants to write. But lovely to think anyone cares that much. Who would have believed this could happen to Jannice O’Connor?
* * *
Faith Joan Jeffries, known at school as J.J., was a person with two lives. In one she was the good student who did her homework and kept up with the expectations of Harmony House’s residents.
In the other she reverted to the girl she used to be while living hand-to-mouth with an addicted mother and never knowing what the next knock at the door would bring. Not that she really wanted to be that old Faith. It had been a difficult time, especially when her mother overdosed and landed in hospital leaving her daughter to survive on her own.
But all that was behind her now and she did appreciate the comfort and support of a house full of mature, sensible women who arranged regular meals and would do anything to help her.
There were times, however, when all that became a trifle cloying. Even Aunt Honor could be too much sometimes, despite good intentions. The truth was neither of them really knew how to be in a relationship that had appeared out of the blue one day. It was difficult for each of them. It might never become really comfortable. Faith shrugged off these thoughts. By the time she could apply for a scholarship and gained some qualifications she would not need the Harmony House mothering.
She would be free.
And yet, there was a part of her that was afraid of that freedom. Who would she be, once she left Honor behind, with no family in all the world? How much did she care?
The discussions about this dilemma took place in Jolene’s house in Westmount where Faith, Jessica and Jarvis met twice weekly during the summer for what was termed a ‘study group’. Jolene’s mother was cool. She provided snacks and drinks but left the foursome on their own in the basement rec room with the weekly caution, ‘No nonsense now!’
Actually their deliberations were anything but nonsense. The J.J. group took very seriously Faith’s situation.
“You’d be out on your own in some college dorm anywhere you wanted. Sounds like heaven to me!”
“That’s because you have always had family to rely on when things are tough. It’s different when you have no one.”
“Do you mean your Aunt Honor would be out of your life?”
“Probably! Let’s face it, she was practically forced to take me on and she has no experience whatsoever with a teenager. She left home as soon as she could. I don’t see her standing in my way.”
“But what about your father?”
Jarvis’s questions caused a chill to fall on the room and its inhabitants. Jolene reached over and gave him a hard punch on his arm, saying “Dimwit! You know Faith doesn’t have a father.”
“Back off, Jo! Biologically speaking, everyone has a father.”
“Give him a break, Jolene. He’s right. If my mother had ever told me who my real father was, I would definitely look him up. He could be rich for all I know. But that horse died years ago. I have no clue.”
Jessica, who had been listening to this exchange in a thoughtful way, piped up with another angle.
“What about the man who married your mother, that Jeffries guy whose last name you have, so she could have a place to live when you were born?”
“What about him?”
“Well, he might know something about Felicity’s life when she was a teen. Didn’t you say he was a bit of a wild one too? He might know the whole gang of them.”
This was a new thought. Glances were exchanged around the group as the impact of the idea grew. It was a possibility Faith had never considered.
“But how would I even find him? He left while I was still a little kid.”
This was the kind of project the ‘study group’ preferred to boring old science. They quickly got on board.
“Do you have a photo of him?”
“Do you remember his name?”
“Did your Mom keep a diary?”
“Do you have any paper records that could help?”
Faith just looked around at her friends with an amused expression on her face. Finally she shot off a response to their questions.
“No. No. No. And no. You guys have no idea what my life was like. When you leave in the middle of the night nothing extra can be carried along. My Mom regularly burned paperwork so there was no paper trail to follow. I never saw photos like other people have. Remember, she did not even tell me she had a twin sister!”
“Oh! Right.”
Seconds ticked by while the impact of Faith’s comments sunk in. Not one of her listeners had an early life like the one their pal had just described. It was a shame.
“We can’t give up this easily, gang. Think outside the box. There has to be a way.”
Jarvis sounded positive but the others were not seeing a choice until Jolene jumped up from the sofa and almost spilled her drink all over the floor.
“Wait a minute! We have the resources of the entire internet at our fingertips. People go online and find family members all the time. I know this situation will be more difficult but let’s give it a try. What could it hurt?”
Jessica, who was the level-headed one, was not about to let that challenge pass without comment.
“Hold up there! You know better, Jo. Anyone could pretend to be who J.J. wants and be only looking for money or for something worse.”
“We know all about internet trolls and creeps. Haven’t we had endless warnings about all that in school? J.J. wouldn’t be all on her own in this. We would be watching from the sidelines and checking everything for hoaxes and stuff.”
“Excuse me! Stop right there! You guys are assuming I want to find this man who deposited his sperm and left my mother to cope with the results. Why would he even care about an unknown daughter? He has never made any attempt to find me or my Mom. Why should he? It was likely a one-night stand.”
“You can’t know that J.J. Maybe he’s out there looking for a son or daughter and longing to find you.”
“That’s a fairy tale, Jo. Not reality. It would be a complete waste of time.
Now, who’s going to explain this fractal image to me?”
She pushed the neglected study book to the front of the table and raised her eyebrows signalling the personal discussion was over as far as she was concerned.
Faith had firmly dismissed the subject but Jolene was not going to let it die down that easily. That’s not what real friends do, was echoing in her mind.
* * *
Mavis Montgomery often left the door to her main floor tower room open just enough to let Marble slip in or out. Although the cat had freedom to go outside she did not seem to want to do that very often. Mavis thought she could smell the dogs and was afraid of them, or it might be that Marble was getting older and less able to adjust to all the different people moving about in Harmony House at all hours of the day. She still spent time sleeping under Mavis’s piano in Faith’s room. It was only a few steps away and during term time, Faith was gone for most of the day. The girl did not seem to mind having a cat there.
It had been a mutually satisfactory solution until recently. For some reason, Marble had begun to make a nest on the bottom shelf of Mavis’s book cases. These shelves were left clear since bending down that far to read labels on CD cases or books was not easy for Mavis to do. Marble had taken over the space and she began to lay soft items there. At first, Mavis had not noticed, but when she almost tripped over a red sock one morning, she looked more carefully and saw the sock was only one of several soft items that did not belong to the cat’s owner. There were two large elastic head bands and a blue undershirt with a hole in the bottom edge that must belong to Faith. She began to wonder why the girl had not complained about missing items and that made her wonder what condition the former guest suite was now in. Mavis presumed Faith was taking care of things independently as were all the other residents of Harmony House. It now occurred to her that, unlike the others, Faith was still a child with a child’s habits.
She decided to take a peek inside Faith’s domain at the first opportunity. She would retrieve the lost items and replace them with a spare cushion cover for Marble’s comfort. If she should be caught on her mission of inspection, she would have the sock and the other items with her to provide an excuse.
The opportunity arose the next day.
Faith had gone into town to shop for new clothes for school. She was meeting up with her friends for lunch and a look around the City Centre Mall where stores for younger people were clustered. She would be gone for most of the day.
Mavis did not want to be seen spying, so she waited until the house was quiet in the late afternoon. Vilma was off with the dogs at Andy’s. Jannice was working on updating her professional papers, and Eve was baking in the kitchen. Honor was safely downstairs as usual, and Hilary was resting, which was something Mavis had recommended.
She crept along the hallway to Faith’s room, closely followed by Marble who seemed to feel she was needed on this mission. The guest suite had no door lock as privacy was something everyone in the house respected. Mavis felt a flash of guilt as she pushed open the door and went inside. She soothed her conscience with the reminder that she was only looking. She would not touch a thing. Whatever she discovered would be Honor’s problem, not hers.
The bed was the first thing sh
e saw. The bedclothes were piled to one side as if left there when Faith jumped out of bed in the morning. On the mattress were two sets of headphones and a pen with an open notebook or diary filled with handwriting. She deliberately turned her head so as not to read Faith’s writing. It was likely a good thing the girl had an outlet for her thoughts and concerns but those were private.
From the bed a trail of underwear led to the closets, open and very disorganized and onward to the bathroom, the floor of which was concealed by a layer of wet towels and discarded T-shirts. Long strands of pale fair hair clumped in the sink and the hairbrush was in the shower, together with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Obviously the shower was used for multiple purposes to save time in the morning. Mavis doubted the sink would drain much longer with all the hair left there.
She did not proceed any further. She had seen enough. No wonder Marble felt free to steal from the room. Faith could not have noticed a few things missing in this total mess. The condition of the room offended Mavis’s house-proud nature. The six women had gladly taken in this strange child and she must understand her responsibilities as a result of their generosity.
She would hold onto the stolen items and use them as an introduction to the topic when talking with Honor during their morning coffee break. No one need know she had been so intrusive. She had not looked specifically at the carpet in the former guest suite but she was glad they had decided to cover parts of it with patterned rugs.
Goodness knows what such carelessness will do to a pure white carpet not to mention the possibility of mould in the bathroom? Something needs to be done about this. Right away.
Chapter 3
Vilma had been driving the long straight road to the turn-off to Andy Patterson’s farm for months now. She could have driven it blindfolded, she supposed. She certainly allowed her mind to drift as she drove. The dogs were used to the routine and slept quietly in the back of the car. During the summer months and into the Fall when Andy’s gardening business was in full swing, the training sessions were mostly in the early evenings. Vilma had seen how tired Andy was after a day of physical labour and she would pick up chicken wings or a bowl of chilli to heat up in the small oven in the farm kitchen while Andy put the dogs through their paces. She hoped to add a small microwave to the meagre kitchen implements at Christmas to make this task easier.
