Remedy House

by Ruth Hay

  “I need to ask you……”

  “I need to tell you……”

  They spoke simultaneously and it was so unlikely an event that the usual tension broke apart and they dissolved in laughter. The dogs joined in with excited yelps. They could sense the excitement of the moment and did not want to be left out of it.

  “You go!”

  “No, you first!”

  “All right, but you have to come inside for a bit. I’ve been out for an hour walking these two and I am desperate for a hot drink. Will you come?”

  He nodded agreement and bent to scratch behind the ears of Astrid and Oscar, admiring their bright eyes and splendid coats. They really were the most beautiful specimens. It would break his heart to say good bye to them and the training work he so enjoyed.

  They went up to the front door and inside, with Vilma chattering away about the weather. He heard none of the details as he was rehearsing his speech in his mind. He waited while she cleaned off the dogs’ feet, then he followed along to the kitchen where she poured two coffees at the kitchen countertop. Finally, he could wait no longer.

  “Vilma Smith, will you please come with me to the dog show?”

  She immediately recognized that this was the introduction she had waited for. It was also the first time Andy Patterson had actually asked her for anything. Everything he had done with, and for, her dogs, had been given freely. She could not now refuse this one important request.

  Many things passed through her mind in a spilt second. She would find a way to pay for the entire trip.

  She would try to get to know him. She would be patient. She would be supportive if the dogs performed badly. But what emerged from her mouth was just one word.

  “Yes.”

  Hilary Dempster had not slept well so she woke in a bad mood. She had a busy day ahead with a volunteer appointment to take an elderly man to a hospital at noon and a very important session after school with Faith to which she was not looking forward. It was time to lower the boom on this refusal to deal with Shakespeare. The current Stratford program was not going to be helpful. They had included the Romeo and Juliet play in last year’s offerings so that idea went out the window. The girl would just have to knuckle down.

  She heard voices as she walked along the upper hall toward the kitchen for one of Eve’s delicious muffins. It was so nice that such treats were once more appearing ever since Eve started feeling better.

  Mavis had a hand in Eve’s recovery, for sure, but she was being discreet about the details.

  Hilary had missed those muffins all summer although they probably did no favours for her waistline.

  That deep masculine voice must be Andy’s. He and Vilma were having some kind of heated discussion in the kitchen. Hilary did want to talk to Andy about a couple of things, but she hesitated to interrupt them. It could be something personal. For months she had suspected there was more to this dog training business than Vilma would admit to. Andy was a very fit, good-looking man. Even at her own advanced age she could see the attraction quite clearly. People thought older women had lost their sex drive but they were quite wrong about that. The right man coming along at the right moment could waken them up in no time at all.

  Oh, well! She would just go back to her room and make a note to tell Andy she had definitely heard some creature scrabbling about in the roof over her bedroom. He, or someone he could recommend, should go up there and inspect the roof for holes before they were overrun with squirrels or mice or worse. All God’s creatures were looking for a warm indoor home for the winter, but Hilary Dempster was not about to provide one in this case.

  She stomped back along the hall and promised herself a large fruit explosion muffin from Tim Hortons. She might get one for James Mackenzie to cheer him up after his appointment. He was a nice old fellow in his early eighties. He had a fine Victorian house on Rideout Street that could use some foliage trimming at the front. He dressed well with a suit, a hat and a cane. She noticed his polished shoes. She thought he could well afford to pay for a cab to and from St Joseph’s Hospital but she surmised he just wanted the company.

  She sympathized. There was nothing more isolating than sitting all alone in a hospital waiting room feeling nervous, with no one to talk to. She would stay with him until he was ready to go home again. She could plan what she would say to Faith tonight while he was with the doctors.

  She remembered from their last visit that the magazines on display in the waiting room were atrociously out-of-date. You would think the health services could afford to buy a new magazine once in a while.

  It might be a charitable act to purchase a few decent, current, examples and drop one off every time she was required to do a hospital run. It might cost a few dollars. With the large number of hospitals in London, Ontario, and the equally large number of older people living within the city’s boundaries, she could be kept busy supplying reading materials. Still, it was a small price to pay for the health and strength to help others. She was learning to appreciate these benefits and worry less about herself.

  It was one of the unexpected blessings of volunteer work.

  Chapter 15

  Faith took a break after the latest vlog to catch up on her sleep. The internet did not take a break, however.

  “Look, Jo, we can’t pull the late bus trick again. We’ll be caught for sure, but we must get time to go over these new responses.”

  “You’re right! What about the Library? We could skip lunch and look online in a corner away from view. We have the same lunch time this week. I checked.”

  “Good idea, but what do we say to the rest of the group to explain our absence?”

  Jolene recognized once more what a huge commitment this Father Finding project had become.

  She understood the need for secrecy but it was time consuming just to find a safe spot at home or at school. Westmount Mall was often full of kids getting lunch at Tim Hortons and she could not ask J.J. to come to school any earlier. She was showing signs of fatigue already with her early start to get the bus.

  Getting together after school was problematic, with sports and other duties, not to mention homework.

  For the billionth time she wished she had thought more carefully about it all.

  And yet, there were some responses worth pursuing. They had come this far. It was too late to turn back.

  Once settled in a corner of the Library by a window and still in sight of the circulation desk where a library-aide kept watch for lunch eaters and other criminals, they opened up their devices. Jolene immediately set a timer on her phone to beep when they needed to run for their next class.

  “Oh, the high school name was a miss but it’s still a good question to ask if we ever find a good lead.”

  “That’s true. Did you do anything about the Mel Jeffries response?”

  “I’m not sure how to go ahead with this one, Jo. It’s definitely promising. We gave no clues about my last name. What do you think I should do?”

  “I think you should do a private reply so no nasty person online, with nothing better to do, can see a way to trick you into communicating with them.”

  “Good! I can do it right now. What should I say?”

  “You need more evidence. Ask for a name or a place or something to tie into your story.”

  Faith bit the end of her pinkie nail, which was already shorter than the others, then she began to type.

  Hi Mel. You said you might know about my search for my father.

  You have the last name correct which gives me hope. Please tell me more.

  We should keep this private, of course.

  “That looks right, J.J. Slow and steady. Nothing too much until you’re sure about this person’s identity.

  Anything more we need to deal with? “

  “Nope. After my last vlog message, most of the creepy stuff is gone, thank goodness. I can erase what isn’t useful but there are many messages of support. I guess there are lots of kids out there with sympat
hy for this search.”

  “Looks like it. Do you think we can sneak a sandwich under the desk and nab a bite?”

  “No chance! Hawkeye over there looks suspicious.”

  They were about to pack up and leave when Faith’s tablet beeped to signal a response.

  “Don’t bother! It’s likely an ad or something. If we go right now we can eat before class.”

  “Look, Jo! You go ahead. Your chemistry lab class is at the other end of the building. I’ll call you later. I need to tell you about the great Shakespeare idea my aunt came up with.”

  “Okay! Laters!”

  It was a long shot, but Faith had a feeling about this message being a rapid response to her inquiry.

  It would take only seconds to check, then she could leave the Library and dive into the lunch that Eve had prepared for her.

  What she found on her YouTube site set her heart racing and made her mouth dry.

  Hi Faith Jeffries

  I found you by accident. My Dad Mason often told us the story of how my Mom refused to marry him till he sorted out his life and told her everything about any other women he had known. She heard he had a bad rep. The story had a baby girl called Faith and her mother was Felicity. Names you don’t forget.

  Is it you for sure?

  She replied at once. This was almost too good to be true. Mel’s story could be real.

  The mom was a smart lady by the sound of it.

  The only problem was the name of the dad. Mason was not anything like Jar Jeffries.

  Thank you Mel (Melanie? Melissa?)

  I think you know the man I thought was my dad when I was a little kid.

  He was called Jar by my Mom. Can you explain that?

  Also, what high school did your dad go to?

  More to follow.

  The response was immediate. Whoever this Mel was she was possibly in the same time zone and not too busy to be online.

  Got to go now. Jar is a nickname for Mason. Look it up.

  Faith shouted out loud. “What? You’re kidding!”

  “Young lady! I don’t know what kind of schoolwork you are doing but please remove it from the Library. The class bell rang two minutes ago.”

  Faith closed her laptop and fled. She could not wait to see Jo and tell her this news. No matter what was going on in English Grammar today, she was stealing a moment to look up Mason Jar.

  “Wait! Are you telling me you didn’t know about Mason jars?”

  “Look, Jo, my life did not include a mother who made jam or pickled cucumbers in her spare time.

  I never heard about them before this.

  What’s more important is the fact me and this Mel were online at the exact same time today.

  What does that tell you?”

  Faith had broken the rule about phoning from home in order to tell Jolene about her discovery.

  She was locked inside her washroom with the tap running. She thought it was worth the risk of being overheard.

  “I see what you mean. It’s strange all right. She could be in Canada which makes good sense.

  Oh, what if she is in school like us?”

  “Shoot! Let me do the math. Jar, I mean Mason was the same age as my Mom when they were forced into marriage. He stayed about four years which makes him twenty-two. Then he straightens out his life and meets Mel’s mother and has Mel. Say twenty-five or six at the earliest.”

  She stopped short and gasped.

  “Jolene, this kid is about eight years old! “

  “Hold it down, J.J. My mother or my brother could hear you.”

  “Sorry. I forgot. It just seems so unlikely.”

  “Maybe not. Young kids are into everything these days, much earlier than we were. You should see what my brother can do.

  Do you still feel you are on the right track J.J.?”

  “I suppose so. It all checks out so far. I’ll think about it and try again tomorrow night. What I can’t understand is why this young girl is interested in finding someone from her father’s past. I mean, we are not even related!”

  “You are shouting again, J.J. Go off and cool down. Check in tomorrow night and we’ll see what you get.

  And don’t forget to bring that memory stick of Romeo and Juliet to school with you. I’ll make a copy. It sounds ace.

  Laters!”

  Jolene was gone and Faith was left standing in her washroom with the tap running and her brain running on top gear.

  What had she got herself into now?

  How was this Mason discovery going to help her find her real father?

  I need to ask more questions and, if possible, I will need to talk to Mel’s father. Would he even care?

  Why did he tell his young child about me and my Mom in the first place?

  What message did that send to a little kid?

  Questions rolled around in her head. There was no hope of doing any useful homework this night. She would tell Hilary she had a headache. The way things were going, it wouldn’t be a lie.

  Vilma was in the hall closet wiping mud off the dogs’ paws when she heard the loud voice from the washroom of the guest suite. She recognized Faith’s voice and she also recognized sounds of a conspiracy. She knew from experience that teenagers were not to be trusted too far. She had not forgotten Faith’s fifteenth birthday fiasco. The girl’s good behaviour in the back of the car during Jannice’s driving lessons had not wiped out that bad memory.

  What mischief was that girl about to bring down on Harmony House now?

  Chapter 16

  On the next night Faith made the decision not to climb up to the tower room. It was partly because she was tired and partly because she wanted to get more information from Mel and could hardly wait for darkness. Now that she had a good contact it was not so necessary to take the risk of going up to the tower.

  Another thought struck her as she was placing a chair against her bedroom door and locking herself into the washroom with her tablet. If she was right about Mel Jeffries being an eight-year-old kid, she was not going to be allowed out of bed too late.

  Settling down on a towel on top of the toilet seat, she linked into the privacy setting and left this message.

  Look Mel. I have figured out you must be very young.

  If I am wrong about this, tell me now.

  She stopped to think about how to go on, and was amazed when a response appeared almost immediately.

  You got me. I am eight but very mature for my age. Everyone says so.

  Even my teachers.

  Something else I did not tell you. My name is Melvin. Sorry about that.

  I wanted you to think I was a girl. Boys don’t spend so much time on social media usually. I didn’t want you to think I was weird.

  What? It’s a boy! Good grief. What next? This is some unusual kid all right.

  Melvin. Pleased to meet you. Why are you so interested in a story from your dad’s past?

  Once again the response was fast and this one scrolled down the screen.

  There are three boys in my family. I am the oldest of course. My dad wants a girl.

  My Mom works and she says three is enough. My dad talks about how nice girls are when they are small. He says things like ‘Faith was such a cute little girl.’

  This makes my Mom mad. She says boys are better. I think she is mad because of what my Dad did when he was just a kid himself. She makes him tell me the story of you and Felicity to warn me against all the bad choices that teens can make to screw up their lives.

  So, are you OK Faith?

  She could scarcely stop her hands from trembling long enough to type a reply to this confession. Suddenly she had a better picture in her mind of the Jar who had been there in her early life and given up only when her mother began to seriously act out. He had gone on to make a good family life with this female who was some kind of amazing one-woman rescue and recovery service. She guessed the Mom of Melvin, and his two brothers, was a bit older and wiser than Jar….Mason.

 
; Melvin Jeffries you are some top class dude. I am fine now but I have to say your Mom got it right. I have been rescued from a very tough life by some kind and good people.

  You should tell your Dad this. I am surprised he remembers me at all.

  Do you think he would talk to me? I need to ask him some questions about when he and my Mom were at school. If he says no that’s all right. If he says yes, give him the phone number.

  We are not really the same family but I am now pretty proud to have shared your name this far in my life. If I never find my real father I will not be too upset.

  Faith Joan Jeffries, aged almost sixteen.

  Faith closed up the tablet and put her hands on her cheeks to cool them down. This was totally unexpected and astonishing. She had no idea what, if anything, would happen now, but a gap in her life was filled. Chances were good Melvin’s fierce and protective mother would put a stop to the whole online thing. She could not blame her if she did.

  In a way it had served its purpose. How Melvin found her post on YouTube was a mystery, but perhaps Jolene was right about younger kids today having better skills and more curiosity than their older brothers and sisters. Maybe it was just her spooky disguise that attracted him.

  A sense of peace filled her heart. She had not been forgotten by Mason Jeffries, the off-track youngster who was bribed into giving his name to a young mother and her daughter. His decision to abandon them, four or so years later, was not the evil act portrayed so often by Felicity, who blamed Jar for the very habits and choices that drove him away. Mason was saving his own life and he still felt guilty about doing it.

  It was enough. She now knew enough. The Finding Father project had succeeded. Not exactly as she had hoped but in some ways it was a better outcome.

  She fell into bed and slept as she had not been able to since the project started. Her final thoughts were about what a fabulous story she had to tell Jolene tomorrow and what a great computer project this would make for the journal entry in class.