“Hello Mrs. Parsons,” Abby smiled warmly as she extended her hand, “I’m Abigail MacKai. Please leave my bags there a moment, Billy, I want to see the room first.”
“Right this way, Miss MacKai,” said the older woman as she led the way back into the house. She seemed to be a bit awed by Abby as well, and that was just the way Abby wanted it. From now on she would command respect and she would get it. Abby would use all her charm, looks, and whatever else she could, but she would demand respect. Abby had been used disrespectfully for the last time; she was never going to go through another experience like that again.
The room was clean and nicely appointed even if the furnishing were quite old. The woman made a point of the fact that she used the same mattresses as that famous hotel chain. The rest of the house was spotless and the woman was nicely dressed. “This would be wonderful,” smiled Abby. “I should like to stay for a few days until I can arrange for an apartment.”
“I could give you a weekly rate Miss MacKai, if that would make things a bit easier for you.”
“That would be perfect Mrs. Parsons. I’ve been a bit unwell recently and am under doctor’s orders not to do anything strenuous. Do you think Billy will carry my bags upstairs for me?”
“Oh my dear, by the look on his face, I’d say that boy would do anything you ask him to do.”
“Well then, let’s test that theory shall we?” laughed Abby. She gave Billy a generous tip after he had her bags installed in the room.
Abby settled herself in a bit then headed out to explore the area. “Supper’s at six,” said Mrs. Parsons as Abby came down the stairs and headed for the door.
“Excuse me? I thought you only served breakfast.”
“Ah well, you’re on the weekly rate and I hate to eat alone. Supper at six?”
“Thank you Mrs. Parsons,” smiled Abby. “I’ll be sure to be back at six.”
“Edna, call me Edna.”
“Thank you Edna. My friends call me Abby. I’ll be certain to return in plenty of time.”
“Here, take this with you,” said Edna as she passed a card with Billy’s cell phone number on it to Abby, “just in case you get lost.”
“Thanks Edna,” laughed Abby, “that’s a good idea, I’ll keep it handy.” She smiled as she walked toward the mall. Abigail MacKai had never gotten lost in a city in her life and she would not start now. Carefully noting every landmark that she passed, Abby made her way swiftly to the mall.
“How convenient,” thought Abby as she walked into the bank inside the mall. She nearly went into shock as she exchanged her American money for Canadian. All along Abby had been looking at things and prices still thinking in American dollars. Once the exchange was made she had nearly doubled the numbers and the reality of the exchange hit her. She now had over one hundred and forty thousand dollars. She took her new bankbook to the food court and bought herself a tall coffee and muffin. It was time to reflect a bit.
As she sat down Abby noticed an abandoned newspaper at the next table. She pulled it to her and flipped through it, looking for the prices of apartments. The real estate ads fell open and she glanced at them as well. After all, her grandmother had always said property was a good investment. Abby was surprised to see that she could actually afford to pay cash for a house. Suddenly one small ad caught her eye.
“Older home, private setting, less than one hour from city, town water supply. House in good state of repair. Estate sale, comes fully furnished, try an offer.” The asking price was less than forty thousand dollars. It was an older looking place, and, for some reason, it called to Abby. She finished her snack and tucked the paper under her arm as she walked away. A few moments later she bought a cell phone and activated it with a prepaid program. Abby found a quiet bench and used her new phone to call the agent about the house.
“Well ma’am, I’ll be honest with you,” he sighed over the phone. “It’s way out in Jamaica Point. It belonged to my wife’s grandmother and she has recently passed away in the old folk’s home. The place has been pretty much abandoned for a few years now and the family in Alberta wants it sold. I’ve been looking after the maintenance, but it is a real pain in the butt, especially in the winter time.”
“The winter?”
“Ma’am, you could get stranded out there for days in the winter,” he replied. “It would make you a nice summer home though. It’s got a wonderful view.”
“I’d love to see it. Is that possible?”
“Of course. I can give you directions and meet you there.”
“I don’t have a car.”
“Well ma’am, if you’re considering buying a house out of the city, you’d better get one. If you’re serious about Jamaica Point, I would recommend a four wheel drive.”
“That’s sound advice,” agreed Abby, “and I’ll certainly give it full consideration. I’d still like to see the house though.”
“Alright,” he sighed. “Are you free tomorrow?”
“Yes, I’m free tomorrow.”
“Shall I call for you at ten? Tomorrow is my morning to go out there and check the place over. I’ll drive you out and show you around. It would be worth it to sell the darn thing as it is driving me nuts and eating savagely into my personal time.”
“Wonderful,” laughed Abby. “Call for me at Edna Parson’s B&B. I have the address here somewhere.”
“I know the place. I’ll see you at ten then Miss MacKai.”
Smiling to herself, Abby wandered slowly through the mall, browsing a bit as she went. At a newsstand, a magazine about money management caught her attention. There was a woman on the cover who claimed to have retired in her thirties even though she had never had a big salary in her life. Abby bought the magazine and read the article. The key seemed to be a natural frugality and a lack of an elaborate lifestyle. The woman lived alone and seemed to like it that way. She wasn’t completely retired; she still did some part time work.
Mulling the possibilities over in her mind occupied Abby for a while. She could afford to buy that little house and a car and still have a fine nest egg left over. As for part time work? Well, in reality she could still work for Harry, writing up proposals and such just as she had done before. All she would need would be an internet connection and a good computer set up.
Abby found herself back in the food court with another coffee and muffin still mulling over the dream in her mind. “What is the purpose of working, Miss MacKai?” she asked herself silently.
“To earn money.”
“Why?”
“To live, to enjoy the living.”
“So what are the things we want to enjoy that we are working for?”
“We like to enjoy peace and tranquility. We enjoy the ocean, long walks in the country, reading in bed, plenty of good music, going to the movies...”
“Now then, this house is close enough to town that we could drive in for whatever we wanted to do, and far enough out that we would have some peace and quiet,” she mused as she sipped her coffee absentmindedly. “We can set up a small office right in the house, and with almost no expenses, one or two contracts each year would be plenty; we would have the rest of the time to ourselves. Thank you Miss MacKai that was a wonderful bit of reasoning.”
“You’re welcome, Miss MacKai,” she replied to herself, “and I am so very glad there are no mind readers in the crowd today.” Abby almost giggled as she rose and headed back to the B&B. She arrived at five minutes to six.
“Well, you’re timing is perfect, Abby,” declared Edna as she set the table for two.
“My grandmother always used to say the same thing,” smiled Abby as she pulled up a chair.
“Did you find your way around alright today?”
“No problem at all. Mmmm, Edna, this smells delicious.”
“Eat up my girl, you need to rebuild your strength,” Edna smiled warmly as she seated herself across the table from Abby.
“Edna, do you know anything about a place called Jamaica Point?”
asked Abby as she finished her meal and laid her utensils on her plate.
“Jamaica Point? Well, it was a haven for rum runners at one time, but there’s not a lot there anymore. A few summer houses, about a dozen or so families year round I guess. It’s about forty five minutes drive from town I think. Why do you ask Abby?”
“I’m going out there to look at a house tomorrow.”
“Why on earth would you want to live way out there?”
“I’m setting up a small home based business and I have to have complete peace and quiet; it seemed like it would be just the place.”
“Well if peace and quiet is what you want, Jamaica Point would certainly be a likely place to find it alright. Come on, let’s leave the mess and go watch the news on the TV for a while.”
Abby followed her to the living room and settled herself into a big plush chair. She sank back into its waiting arms and sighed. Abby had not realized how tired she really was. They watched in silence for a while then suddenly Edna called Abby’s attention to an automobile ad on the set. “That’s the car you’ll be after wanting if you’re going to be living out around the bay,” she stated firmly.
Abby saw a man with a dog team sitting in the back of the car, driving across a snow covered landscape. “An Outback, Edna you could just be right about that. It has lots of room and should be able to get me around in the winter. Is there a dealer in town?”
“There’s one over near the mall,” replied Edna. “You can’t miss it.”
“That’s right, I remember passing it on my way to the mall earlier today. Edna, can I make a few long distance calls? I’ll add whatever you like to my bill.”
“Help yourself,” replied Edna as she rose and shut off the TV. “Phone’s right there, I’ll be in the kitchen washing up.”
“Shall I help?”
“Make you calls dear, let me take care of the kitchen.”
As Edna left the room Abby turned in her chair, picked up the phone and dialed. She had two very important calls to make tonight. “Hello Harry? It’s Abby calling,” she said as the phone was answered.
“Abby, where are you? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine Harry. Sorry it took so long to call, but I’ve been resting up and traveling a bit. As for where I am, well, I’m in Newfoundland.”
“Newfoundland? What the heck are you doing there?”
“Starting a consulting business, got any work for me?”
“Are you serious?”
“Completely serious Harry.”
“Then I do have work for you Abby, and I am delighted that you will be able to do it for me. That young fellow I sent to take your place is a good administrator, but he can’t write a proposal to save his life. You and I both know it is all in the way it is worded that makes or breaks a proposal. Could you please finish the Sabasco proposal for me?”
“Dear gods Harry, that is due in three weeks,” exclaimed Abby. “I’d need everything that I left on my old computer in San Francisco. He must have thrown that out by now.”
“No way, it’s still there,” laughed Harry. “He couldn’t break your passwords so he created his own identity and is using the same computer. Whatever you had done is still there; can you network with it and get what you need?”
“Ok, truth or dare time Harry,” sighed Abby. “I had already completed the Sabasco proposal the day before the roof fell in on me. It’s all on that computer. All he has to do is print it off.”
“Great, Abby that’s wonderful. Give me the passwords and I’ll send your fee, bonus, and severance all in one package.”
“He needs three passwords Harry. There will be no fee for this one as I was still working for you when I did it.”
“Stop haggling and give me the darn passwords.”
“They are, in this order, ‘Harry&Alice, and then Sugardaddy,” grinned Abby. “The folder is called Proposals and the file is Sabasco. The final password is ‘baby’.”
“Awe honey,” sighed Harry.
“None of that now. Here’s my new cell number. As soon as I have an address I’ll call again.” She gave him the number then said her goodbyes and dialed her mother’s number.
“Hello?” asked a slightly slurred voice.
“Hi Mom, it’s Abby.”
“Abby, where the hell are you? I’ve been trying to call you, but they say your phone has been disconnected. There are a lot of boxes addressed to you here at the house.”
“I’m in Newfoundland Mom.”
“So you got yourself pregnant and ran for cover,” said her mother harshly. “Have you had the abortion yet?”
“Always so nice to talk to you Mom,” sighed Abby. “You’re always so understanding and supportive. Actually I came home with a fair sum of money and I am setting up a consulting business here in Newfoundland. I left the States in a hurry and had no address to send my stuff to, so I sent it to myself at your house. As soon as I have an address I’ll send you some money so you can forward the boxes to me.”
“Listen Abby, those boxes are cluttering up the place and I don’t want to have to take a day off work to....”
“Never mind Mom, I’ll come collect them myself next week,” sighed Abby.
“Good god Abby, that will take you all week to do and cost you a fortune,” exclaimed her mother. “Just send me a couple of hundred extra and I’ll take a day off so I can ship them to you.”
“Sure Mom, just as soon as I get an address to send them to, call you then, bye now.”
Abby had hung up before her mother could say anything further. “No way in hell Mom,” muttered Abby. She knew full well if she sent money her mother would go on another drinking binge, spend the lot of it, and Abby would never see her boxes of personal treasures again. No, Abby would take care of this herself, and soon. With a sigh Abby went to see if she might get a cup of tea from the kitchen.
On The Road
With a deep sigh, Hazel finished packing her suitcase with the last of her worldly goods. She sat on the lid to snap the closures then took a hard look at herself in the mirror. Her hair had grown back to a passable length and the holes where she’d had her nose and eyebrow pierced hardly showed at all. The red shirt and faded blue denim jeans seemed a lot more like herself than the all black outfits she’d worn for the past two years, and that made her smile softly.
Hazel had arrived in Toronto as green as grass, but two years and three failed relationships later she was as canny and street wise as the rest of them. She had thrown herself into the joys of freedom and lived it to the hilt. Six months later Hazel awakened from a drug induced stupor to realize that she wasn’t really having any fun at all. Yes she had a lover, but they seldom saw each other sober and more seldom still did they actually have a conversation. She’d broken it off and moved out to her own place.
The demands of school and trying to maintain her own apartment had proved too much for Hazel and she’d nearly flunked out. Allowed to remain in school on probation, she moved back into residence and applied herself to her studies to the exclusion of all else. A few months later she met and went steady with “the girl from Goth” as Hazel had called Irene. It was Irene who’d convinced Hazel to shave her head and get her nose pierced. (She’d balked completely at the idea of tattoos.) The relationship failed, but Hazel did manage to get her grades back up.
Desperately tired of the city and longing to see a friendly face again, she’d contacted Tommy out at UBC in Vancouver. He’d convinced her to transfer out. At the end of term, Hazel had moved to Vancouver and settled into the spare room of Tommy and Jack’s apartment.
“Tommy, it’s so wonderful to see you,” Hazel had shouted as she threw herself into his arms at the bus station.
“Easy fella, let’s introduce ourselves first,” sputtered Tommy as he tried to escape the embrace.
“Screw you Tommy Reid,” laughed Hazel as she punched him on the arm and danced out of his reach.
“Hazel?” he exclaimed, startled at her appearance, �
��dear Jesus woman, what have you done to yourself?”
“Aw Hazel,” he said gently, and swept her into his arms as a tear sprang to her eye, “I’m sorry honey. It is really good to see you again. Come on; let me introduce you to Jack.”
Hazel grinned as she remembered that meeting. Tommy truly had not recognized her at all, and she had kept the gothic look just to embarrass him. She’d moved into a small bachelor apartment near theirs and set about trying to make a new life. Hazel spent the next school year tying to study, working two jobs, and having a less than satisfying relationship with a girl from Victoria.
Hazel shook her head slowly as she remembered the screaming match when she and Shelly had broken up. That had been the final straw for Hazel, or so she’d thought at the time. Three weeks later she been informed that she’d flunked out and would have to make up three courses if she wanted to return. Hazel could neither afford the courses nor did she have the desire to try. She’d sat in her apartment and cried for a week until Tommy found her there. Hazel was almost suicidal by this time.
Somehow Tommy had pulled her through and she’d gotten back on track a bit. She’d given up on school for a while and taken a full time job as well as keeping one of her part timers. Hazel had started to let her hair grow back and she’d renewed her interest in running. The area around UBC was ideal for this and soon Hazel was returning to her old self once again.
They’d been sitting around in Tommy and Jack’s apartment when the conversation had begun. Jack had sparked it off and it had soon taken on a life of its own. “Lucky bugger,” Hazel had said as they watched a program about a man who had found a way to turn his hobby into his living.
“Ok Hazel,” laughed Jack, “if you could have any job in the world, what would it be?”
“Yeah Hazel, confession time,” chimed in Tommy. “What’s you ideal occupation?”
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