Continuing the big food theme, her next stop was Glendon, which billed itself as the Pyrogy Capital of Alberta. And to prove it there was a giant pyrogy on a fork in Pyrogy Park in the town. Elizabeth stared up at it. It was even bigger than the mushrooms. She decided she’d take pictures for her records and then take advantage of the cafe across from the park and have pyrogies for lunch. The only ones she’d ever had were store bought and she hadn’t cared for them. Maybe authentic ones would be better.
She headed to the cafe and read the menu. There were so many different kinds to choose from. After discussing what was in each type with the person behind the counter Elizabeth opted for the plain potato ones, with bacon, onions, and sour cream. Somehow the sauerkraut or meat or cottage cheese or even the Chinese ones didn’t appeal to her, though that didn’t appear to be the case for others. While she waited a man came in and ordered two dozen sauerkraut pyrogies to go.
Elizabeth went outside to share her lunch with Chevy. He sniffed the pieces she gave him then sat and stared at her. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll get your food.” She poured some dog food in his bowl and gave him some water too.
“You’re welcome,” she said, as he gobbled it down.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Elizabeth said, after taking a bite. These were certainly much better than the store bought ones. She dipped another bacon and onion covered piece into the sour cream and ate it. Yummy. She wondered if Jared liked pyrogies.
Dombroski could be a Ukrainian name, she thought. Maybe his grandmother made pyrogies. She’d have to work on wrangling an invite for a feed.
At the beginning of her article where she mentioned what to bring along on the trip she would tell her readers that there were plenty of options for food if they didn’t feel like packing a picnic lunch.
* * * *
Wayne’s Story
Wayne had first really noticed Christine in high school. He’d been in grade twelve and she’d just started grade ten. He had known her around the community before, but she had been just a kid. It seemed that over the one summer she’d grown into a beautiful young woman. Her hair was shoulder length, blonde, and turned up at the ends. Her skin was porcelain, her lips full and red. She was almost the exact image of Marilyn Monroe, the young movie star. He’d fallen in love with her as did just about every other boy in the school.
But his love was deep and serious, not a crush. He’d asked her out and because he was a senior she’d been awed and accepted immediately. He had monopolized her time after that taking her to dances, movies, and every event that happened at school and in town. When another boy tried to date her he would have a little chat with him telling him to back off. Most of them listened but one boy ignored him and did ask her to a baseball game. Unfortunately, that boy broke his leg and couldn’t make the game. After that, the other boys left her alone.
After he graduated, he continued to see her and when she graduated, he asked her to marry him. By then, he’d worked a deal with his parents to buy the farm from them. His father had a heart problem and needed to get away from the heavy work. He and Christine married and began their life on the farm. And after Graham was born, his life was complete.
Christine’s beauty had increased as she matured and so had his jealousy. He had seen men look at her when they thought he didn’t notice. He’d had more than one private talk with guys who made advances towards her. If they still pestered her, then he stepped up his measures a little until they learned.
But it was not only her beauty that he loved, she was just a wonderful person, a wonderful wife. She was loving, considerate, kind, helpful, and a great mother. What more could you want for a life partner?
Their first big argument had been when she decided she wanted to get a job in town. He hadn’t wanted to let her go. He enjoyed her company, liked going out to milk the cows with her, liked having breakfast and lunch with her, liked doing farm work with her. He tried to talk her out of it but she said they needed the extra money in case Graham wanted to go to university and also this way they would be able to pay the farm off faster. He couldn’t argue with that but he didn’t like the idea of Christine being amongst all the men in town. He knew they would make passes at her and she probably wouldn’t tell him about them. What if she met a man at work she grew to like? He didn’t like her spending as much time with others as with him.
His jealousy had been so strong that he went with her the first day to meet the people at the accounting office. There were three men and two other women. One man was older with graying hair, but the other two were in their late thirties. They were all very friendly. One man even said. “Don’t worry. We’ll look after her.”
That was what he’d been afraid of. So for the first month he’d followed her to work and sat outside watching the accounting office. He wanted to see who she went for lunch with. Usually it was with one of the women but occasionally one of the men joined them. One day she’d caught him and after a major argument about him trusting her he stayed home during the day. But his jealousy never really left him and he told her, “If you ever decide to have an affair, make it with someone you don’t like because I will kill him.”
She’d given an exasperated sigh and said. “Will you please stop with that? I’m getting so tired of hearing it.”
Chapter 12
Elizabeth had wanted to include Bonnyville and Cold Lake in this trip but decided it would make for too long a day. She’d lived in Cold Lake for a few years when she was younger and still remembered how it lived up to its name even in the middle of summer.
So instead she headed south to St. Paul. Elizabeth already knew how she was going to begin this section. “As you drive into St. Paul watch for unidentified flying objects hovering overhead, waiting for an opportunity to land on the world’s first man made UFO landing pad.” She thought the kids would get a kick out of that.
In town she drove to the circular platform where provincial and territorial flags flew overhead. She got out and walked around it, discovering that not only was there a time capsule inside the pad, but the town of St. Paul had actually designated the site as international. She chuckled to herself when she saw the number for a hotline the town operated: 1-888-SEE-UFOS. There’s one for the article, she thought as she headed back to the car.
On the way to gas up her vehicle, she thought about Jared again. Maybe it was a good thing that all these memories of his mother were surfacing. Maybe this was a way for his adult psyche to finally heal itself from the trauma of her death. She thought about suggesting he ask his father to talk about her. But would Paul? It didn’t sound as if he had valued her or their marriage.
She realized that she missed Jared. Maybe she would see if he wanted to come with her on one of her trips. They could make a day of it. Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. That way she could include mention of wheelchair accessibility in her article. She’d go through the other two routes this evening and see which one would be the best. She smiled. So much for being adamant that she worked best when she travelled alone.
Gas tank full, she set out on the road to Elk Point. She particularly wanted to visit the Peter Fiddler Peace Park there, as it was part of the Peace Parks Across Canada project implemented on Canada’s 125th anniversary of confederation. When she got there, she took a picture of the tall, wooden statue of Peter Fiddler, who had been an early Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Her next stop was the Buckingham House/Fort George site. She took some quick notes on the history of the locale, and then she and Chevy followed the short interpretive trail to the actual sites of forts above the North Saskatchewan River. She felt a tingling feeling at the thought that over two hundred years ago, fur traders were packing goods from their canoes up the hill to the forts or loading furs into the canoes.
The remainder of the trip took her to a couple of parks, and the Historical Village and Pioneer Museum at a place called Shandro. Of course, in keeping with the theme of oversized attractions, she made a p
oint of driving by and photographing the giant mallard duck in Andrew before her final stop at the Skaro Shrine, a popular local pilgrimage destination since the 1920s.
After noting the details of when the annual pilgrimages took place, Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. “You are now finished this section of Alberta and can head home,” she recorded, then closed her laptop and put it away. She continued on to Redwater wondering if her trip was done so quickly because she was getting better at finding places and doing her research, or because she wanted to get back to Jared.
As she pulled into the B&B yard she was glad to see his van in the parking lot. Chevy jumped out of the vehicle and bounced around while Elizabeth gathered her paraphernalia. Back in their room, she set her stuff down and tried to figure out how to approach Jared about this morning’s romantic disaster. Just thinking of it made her squirm. She’d gone over it many times while driving and still hadn’t been able to come up with a good way to let him know that she’d just been struck dumb and that was why she had dashed out of the room. She wanted him to know that, given a second chance, she would conduct herself in a more imaginative way. But how to mention it without making more of a fool of herself?
His door was open when she got there and she knocked on the frame. He looked up from his laptop and smiled. “How did your day go?” he asked.
“Better than I expected. I found all the places I was looking for and I learned a lot about them that I didn’t know. How about yours?”
Jared shrugged. “It was kind of sad driving around memory lane, but it got my poetic energies revved up and I spent the afternoon writing poetry.”
“Oh, may I read it?” Elizabeth asked. There was an awkward split second of silence before she added hurriedly, “Sometime, I mean,” realizing he might want to keep it private. After all, she didn’t like anyone to read her article until it was completed the way she wanted it.
To get off the subject, she asked. “Do you want to go for a hamburger, or have you eaten already?”
“No, I’ve been waiting for you,” Jared replied.
“Okay. Where’s a good place?”
“Get in my van and I will take you there.”
Jared pulled up in front of a restaurant and they got out leaving Chevy on the seat.
“My friends and I used to come here when I was in high school. At the time they made the best burgers in town. I can’t guarantee that now.”
“Well, we’ll find out, won’t we,” Elizabeth said, and went to hold the door open for him to wheel through.
Once inside Jared ordered a double cheese burger and Elizabeth ordered a mushroom burger. After the waitress left Jared looked at his hands a moment. “You know I haven’t had many girlfriends since I’ve been in this chair. And that’s okay,” he added quickly. “I understand that it’s hard on a relationship because of my limitations. Some women don’t like that I can’t go skating with them in the winter or curling or backpacking or spelunking or a lot of things that they want to do.”
Elizabeth’s first instinct was to comfort him but she knew the statement was true. And it was no one’s fault.
He took her hand. “I’ve felt something from that first day we met,” he continued. “And I’ve hoped that you have too. But then after this morning I was afraid that I’d moved too fast or that maybe I’d read something into your actions that wasn’t there.”
Elizabeth was about to speak but he held up his hand. “Please, I’ve been rehearsing this all day. We’ve only known each other a couple of months and I shouldn’t have said what I did to you this morning.”
“I’m so embarrassed about that,” Elizabeth said. “I acted like such an idiot.”
“I did, too,” Jared said. “I shouldn’t have licked your palm like that.”
“But I’m glad you did.” Elizabeth smiled shyly.
Jared’s face brightened. “You are? Oh, I’m so relieved. I didn’t want to scare you away.”
Elizabeth’s sultry voice kicked in. “It would take more than that to scare me away, Buster,” she drawled slowly, then leaned over the table and kissed him. This felt so good, so right.
While they ate their burgers, Jared told her that he’d been doing some thinking about what Willy had said to him the night before.
“I’m not sure if he was just trying to be mean or if there is something behind it,” he said. “Did Dad really change after I was born and if so, why? What caused the transformation? Was it really me or something else that happened at the same time?”
“Do you want to go back to the farm and ask him?” Elizabeth asked. “It might give you a better idea of what your parent’s marriage was like.”
“I’ve thought of doing that.”
“I also wondered if we’d be able to get your dad to talk about your mother. That might help sort out your memories for you.”
“I was discouraged from asking questions about Mom when I was young. Even as an adult I’ve been rebuffed when I brought the subject up. So, if he wouldn’t before, I doubt that he will now.”
Jared pulled the photograph of his mother from his wallet. “I carried this with me the first couple of years after Grandma gave it to me but then I put it away in my drawer when it began to wear. I got it laminated last week and I’ve gone back to keeping it with me.”
He stared down at it then pushed his hamburger aside, half eaten. “There are so many questions that I’ve asked over the years. Like how different would my life have been if she’d lived? How would she look today? And the worst one, why did she leave me? Now I have added two more. If she didn’t die voluntarily, then who killed her? And why?”
“Maybe, before we’re finished, we’ll get those answered.” Elizabeth was happy that Jared trusted her enough to be sharing these thoughts with her and she hoped with all her heart that they found the right answers to his questions.
“And there are so many other things I have to know. Like, where were my parents married? What was their wedding date? For that matter, how did Dad and Susie meet? I’ve never been told. She was at the farm one time when I visited and he just introduced her as his new wife and that was that, no further discussion from him and I never had the nerve to ask Susie.” Jared looked up at her. “Let’s pay the bill and get out to Dad’s,” he said decisively. “It’s time to get some answers.”
* * * *
Elizabeth shared in Jared’s disappointment when they found out that the only one at the farm was Susie. She was sitting on the steps in the evening sunshine shelling peas from her garden.
“Your dad and Willy are out in the fields,” she said, when he asked.
Elizabeth watched him hesitate. Could he ask her? Would he ask her?
“You didn’t have a very good reception last evening, did you,” Susie said, giving him an opening.
“It’s not Dad’s fault. I know I was astonished when I saw the photograph. He must have been, too.”
Susie nodded. “Even I was appalled that someone would send that, especially to her son. Why not send it to the police?”
“I feel like I’m going behind Dad’s back but may I ask you some questions?” Jared reached into the pail and grabbed a handful of peas to help her. Elizabeth followed suit.
“I know nothing about your mom’s death, but ask away.”
“How did you and Dad meet? When were you married? Why wasn’t I invited?”
“Your dad and I met through a mutual friend,” Susie began. “I was living in Calgary then and working in a department store. We fell in love. I was tired of my job so I quit and moved out here.”
“That must have been a big step.”
“Not really. I was raised on a ranch south of Calgary. I was glad to get out of the city and back to the country. As for you not being invited to the wedding, well,” she frowned, “there hasn’t been one yet.”
“You mean you and Dad aren’t married?” He looked at Elizabeth, disbelief on his face.
“No, although we tell everyone we are. I guess after all
these years, we might as well be.”
“Is there a reason why you didn’t marry?” Jared popped some peas into his mouth.
“Not really. Once I moved in here we just never got around to it.”
“Did Dad tell you anything about my mother?”
Would a man talk about a previous wife to a potential one? Elizabeth wondered.
“Only that she was pregnant and committed suicide.”
“He didn’t describe her, tell you anything about her?”
“No, I’m sorry.” Susie sounded regretful. “Do you mind me asking what was in the letter to your Grandmother?”
“Mom was basically saying good bye to them. She asked them to keep in touch with me.”
“Saying goodbye as in, I’m taking my life?”
“I don’t know. The police thought so but Elizabeth pointed out that she could have been afraid of someone.”
Susie nodded. “Those would be the only two reasons I could think of for saying goodbye in a letter.”
“Do you know when Dad married my mom?” Jared asked.
Susie shook her head. “There’s a box in the basement that has been there since I moved here. I asked your dad once what was in it and he said just old stuff. Maybe there will be something in it that will give you some answers.”
They went into the house and Susie put the bowl of peas on the counter. She opened a door beside the refrigerator and headed down into the basement. Elizabeth sat in the same chair as the day before. Susie soon returned with a dusty cardboard box from the basement. It was sealed with tape.
“Do you think we should be opening this?” Jared asked. “It belongs to Dad.”
“I don’t see why not.” Susie blew off some of the dust. “It might help you and maybe him. He drank more last night than he ever has since we’ve been together.” Susie found a knife and cut through the tape. She opened the flaps and they both peered in.
The Travelling Detective: Boxed Set Page 35
