Henry

by Cilika Kunovic

  “I’m not used to taking orders from women lately, but in this case, I give you my word.”

  “By the way, Sam did send me, but he isn’t the only one worried about you; and as to dinner, that was my idea.” She said goodbye and went on her way.

  After she was gone, Henry had a long chat with Lily and Serge in his own way. By the time he got up out of his favourite chair, he was in a different frame of mind.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “Inspector Cooper, please; this is Henry Dobbs calling.”

  “Just a moment, please, Mr. Dobbs,” a young girl answered, and soon the inspector was on the line.

  “Mr. Dobbs, I have news for you. You will recall that your two accidents are likely related?”

  “Yes. Any further developments?” Henry asked.

  “We were positive that we had a lead on a particular person as a possible suspect. Now, I don’t want to alarm you in any way, but the latest incident, with your dog, seems to be connected as well. The problem is, the suspect disappeared again before we could bring him in. This guy is as slippery as an eel — keeps disappearing just when we think we are close to having enough proof to bring him in. I am sorry.” The man was sincere.

  “Are you telling me that it is just one man?”

  “We have a lead on one man, but once we bring him in, we might find out about possible assistance. He may have had help.”

  “So where do we stand now?” Henry was getting more and more agitated with the man on the line. “Am I to assume your so-called surveillance is weak?”

  “Mr. Dobbs, we are dealing with an extremely slimy character. He disappears right after something goes wrong that concerns you in particular. This very behaviour is giving us the start of a lead. However, you must realize that there are many people in this city, and we can’t possibly follow all of them at all times. We will get him — and don’t be surprised if your cottage fire turns out to be another incident connected to this same person-or-persons. Now, if you will excuse me, I have an appointment in a few minutes. We will be in touch. Good day, Mr. Dobbs.” He hung up in a hurry, barely giving Henry the chance to thank him.

  Going through the day put Henry in an active mode, and he quickly snapped out of his feeling-sorry-for-himself mode. He made sure he had recovered completely before going to the Prestons’ for dinner the next evening.

  “Barb, I must say you outdid yourself by this dinner. It’s delicious!” Henry complimented his hostess.

  The men were happy to discuss all the possibilities regarding how the cottage should be finished. The property was far too valuable to waste it on a mediocre structure, which was why the builders made sure to comply with Henry’s wonderful plan. Now, all they had to do was finish it inside. Henry had all kinds of good contacts, so the rest of the work could begin as soon as the weather improved, after the long winter.

  By the time Barb joined in on their discussion, she was ready to hear what they had decided.

  “So, this year, we will be able to really begin enjoying the place.” Henry proceeded to explain it all to her and, by the time he finished, he wanted to know when they could tell the rest of the group. “Do you wish to tell the rest of them what the plan is?” he asked Barb.

  “No, Henry, you tell them. They are in the basement playing games — and at times getting quite aggressive, I might add.” She wanted Henry to be the one with the good news.

  By Sunday, things were back on track. Everybody was back at their respective places and planning their next summer vacation. Even all the partners and their families were invited to a barbecue at Henry’s cottage. No one refused the invitation. “Just say when,” came the reply.

  The “Foursome Trucking Company” was doing well. The partners were aware of how important it was to have everything in the open between them. Gina kept everything organized. She was like a mother hen whom all of them followed as far as timing and details were concerned. Again, she called a meeting at which she asked all of them to let her know when they wanted their holidays that year. This had been a routine for quite some time now. It went on a first-come, first-serve basis, unless there was a situation where one of them truly needed a compromise. In cases like that, they all compromised.

  “As you all know, I need to take my holidays during the school break.” This was Sam’s standard response every year.

  “My wife and I are hoping to go out West for a change. Either spring or fall would be good for us.” Bill was easy to accommodate.

  As for John; he and Gina were still free, for the time being. The following year, their little princess would be starting school. “We are quite flexible for the time being and have no plans as of yet. So anytime is fine with us; as long as it isn’t in the middle of the worst winter weather.”

  Doug was still single. He was busy dating but nothing serious.

  That left Henry: “I am good, so long as I get some time off in order to supervise the finishing of the cottage.”

  “Good!” Gina was happy to have it over with and she would get back to them within a week. “Henry, you’d better get that place finished this year. I am dying to see it,” Gina added.

  Needless to say, as the business was expanding, there were more problems on the road with more vehicles being out there. There were days when Sam wished he and John still had only themselves to worry about. However, that was to be expected and the expansion was what they wanted in the long run. Nothing is ever perfect.

  Speaking of perfect: The Millers’ new store was a sight to see. The Millers had taken their time to settle into their new store-operating system. In other words, it didn’t seem new anymore. The younger generation pretty well ran the place. Their son Greg more or less took over the hardware side, and daughter Marianne stayed in the food section. The two of them worked there full time, while the rest of the family worked just about anywhere, anytime, as they were needed. This was definitely a family business.

  “Sasha, I would like to see you in the food department,” Mrs. Miller said. “You are great with our clients and will keep them coming. In the meantime, I want you to pay more attention to what seems to be in greater demand, or missing, when the clients are looking for particular articles. We need someone who will keep ahead of the shoppers so we can provide them with as much as possible in order to keep up with the competition. I am sure I can depend on you.” Sasha was by now assured long-term employment with them as soon as she finished her studies. That put her in a great position regarding her future. Not too many young people are so lucky.

  “Guess what, Dominic! I was given a special assignment today.” She proceeded to tell her brother all about what Mrs. Miller had said. “This means I won’t be on cash all the time, but on the other hand it means that I am already being trusted with more responsibility. I feel good about it.” She danced away and out of her brother’s room light as a feather. Then she proceeded to tell her mother all about it.

  Larry seemed to have disappeared again lately, and who knew why? That, however, did not give Susanne any more peace, because she knew him better than anyone else. The man was a walking mystery. She would never be completely free of him unless she learned that he was dead. The same applied to Dominic, as well as Sasha. If only they could feel free of that same burden.

  The phone rang. It was Barb, calling Susanne about having lunch the next day in order to have a private chat. These luncheons were always good for both of them.

  “Hi, Susanne — how are you?”

  “Oh, I was just listening to Sasha bragging about her responsibilities at work. What’s on your mind?”

  “Are you free for lunch tomorrow?” Barb inquired. “We’re due for one, don’t you think?”

  “Absolutely! The same place?” Susanne was happy even thinking about it. The two of them seemed to have recaptured a part of their old-time friendship in the past year, ever since Susanne started working.

  “Fine with me — see you at noon.”

  As they finished their meal, Barb aske
d her friend why she was so detached. “Is there something wrong? You seem to be a bit reserved today. You were happy to agree with me about lunch but now you seem so far away all of a sudden. What’s wrong?”

  “I think I’ve just seen a ghost,” Susanne replied. She then proceeded to stare at the window, where she thought she had seen Larry walking by. “It — it’s Larry . . . he has changed considerably, or has disguised himself.” She sank into her chair for a moment.

  “When did you first see him? Was it when we first came in, or just now?” Barb was trying to remember when and how Susanne had changed during their lunch hour in order to understand how much influence this man had over her. Barb had never known anybody who was so possessed by another human being. It worried her. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Susanne was by now even more detached and drowning in her own thoughts.

  “Susanne, are you all right?”

  At that point, Susanne came to: She’d suddenly had a thought that shook her to the core! “Barb, I just had a terrible thought —”

  Barb’s phone rang and she answered it, only to find out that Sam had been hurt in a minor collision on the road. He was not hurt badly; however, he would have to stay in the hospital overnight. There had been a chain of collisions due to weather conditions.

  They both got up and said their goodbyes for the time being.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow,” Barb said to her friend and left. But Susanne waited for a bit; she was being careful about whom she might run into, outside. She had no idea if Larry had seen her . . .

  Luckily, Sam was mainly bruised and nothing was broken. He hated hospitals, ever since his father died in one when he was small. As for the truck, there was plenty of damage there. These are the things that any such company should expect and is hopefully well prepared for. Again, it was Gina who handled the situation extremely well. She was the one who called Barb to let her know about Sam.

  The next morning, Barb called Susanne to tell her all about it. “I was a bit worried about you, wondering how you got home after what you saw. Is everything all right?”

  “Yes, so far. I hope I was wrong about what I saw — it has been on my mind ever since.” But then, Susanne had had plenty of good thoughts lately, regarding her children. They were more independent and were both doing well. She was most likely worried about anything spoiling that. After all, it had been a long road from the onetime horrendous struggle to now, when things had started looking up for them. They all deserved some peace.

  “Give the kids my love and I will be talking to you soon.” Barb ended their conversation with that. She hung up but was unable to shake an odd feeling about the whole experience at their luncheon. Something didn’t sit right there. The next morning, she had to go and pick Sam up from the hospital.

  “So, how is my brave husband this morning?”

  “It’s good to see you. I just don’t like these places. They make me feel weak and lost.” He was irritated for good reason. The truck had been looked over and there was more damage than they first anticipated. “This is sure to put us behind for some time. I can’t wait for this winter to be over.” They went home, where Sam quickly grabbed the phone and called Gina in order to find out what was developing there. In the meantime, Barb made him a good breakfast to humour him. She knew her husband very well and knew he would appreciate a good home-cooked meal.

  After he finished eating, he asked Barb to take him to the office. “If you don’t mind? I would like to spend some time there in order to keep things moving.”

  “Sure — I have some errands to take care of and I will pick you up when you feel ready to come home.” So off they went, and, after she dropped him off, she went to see if Susanne was okay. She was determined to find out more about the mystery that plagued the Lamberts. It turned out that Susanne had a dental appointment and was not available to chat.

  Sam was happy to go back to work the following Monday. Doug was to be away on holidays for two weeks skiing. Doug was a hard-working single man who knew what he wanted, as well as what he didn’t want. He had the privilege of freedom, for which he was often envied.

  So Bill would be the next to get his time off. Bill was a man of his word and therefore reliable at all times. One never had to worry about his causing any problems, and he loved what he did for a living.

  Henry was anxious to start his project at the cottage. “Sam, I haven’t forgotten to include your advice about what that place should look like once it is finished. At this point, I’m glad it won’t resemble the old structure. I must move forward and make the best of what is left of my life, instead of dwelling on the past. You were right about that as well.” Henry’s eyes thanked his buddy for standing by him during his rough times.

  “Well, it would be great if it is ready before we go on our vacation.” He and Barb had talked about spending their holidays up there, providing it was finished. But Sam was not about to say any more to Henry about it. They wanted him to do his own thing and get it completed on his own terms.

  This time, Barb was worried about how she was going to handle her absence from the office during her holiday. Olivia, who was supposed to be further into the career of her dreams, was still undecided as to what exactly she wanted to become. Her childhood dreams to become an opera singer or a movie star seemed to be moving further and further away. She was not prepared to work hard in order to achieve her goal, and nobody was out there looking for girls like her to put on a pedestal. She was lacking in the knowledge and talent for becoming the diva that she dreamed of being. Denial and procrastination were preventing her from doing what needed to be done.

  This put her parents in a difficult position as to what they could or should expect of her. They wanted to help her achieve a happy future and security, but she would have to be the one who worked at it and, at the end, benefit from it.

  “Olivia, what are your plans for the summer?” her mother wanted to know. They went through this every summer with her.

  “Why do you want to know?” Olivia replied with a question, knowing full well why her mother asked.

  “Well, summer is approaching and we are trying to make plans for our holidays. You haven’t been working at the office much lately, which is fine. But you also haven’t worked on your future plans. Are you trying to tell us that you’ve changed your mind about pursuing your childhood dream? There is nothing wrong about that. You are still very young and you can still get into most anything that you wish. There is only one thing: If you change your direction, you may have to change a few subjects along the line. Think about it. If you wait too long, someday you might find yourself in a classroom with a number of much younger students.”

  “Mom, can I please have some time to think this over? I am not a little girl anymore and thinking about getting into another kind of career is making me nervous.” Tears running down her cheeks, she went into the kitchen and got herself a bowl of cereal in order to avoid being seen crying. In the meantime, Barb decided to change the subject and forgot about questioning her regarding the holidays.

  Nicole was by now well into achieving her goal of becoming a physiotherapist, while working part time as an instructor at the community centre.

  Trevor was an honour student but had set his heart on being a trucker for the longest time. Later, due to his father’s encouragement, he chose economics. Sam wanted more for his son.

  The following week, Olivia approached her mother regarding her own future. “Mom, I know that I have been quite a nuisance for the longest time. I am not sorry for having taken drama classes; but lately I just don’t have the same zest for continuing in that direction.” Pause. “This is hard for me to say because I have enjoyed working at the office very much. But I thought if I take a break for a while, maybe this feeling will go away. I can’t make up my mind if it’s the money you pay me that is making the difference, or whether I really am outgrowing my dreams after all . . .”

  “I can’t tell you what to feel but
I can assure you that doing what I do is not a bad thing. I quite enjoy my job, especially being independent. Which brings me to another question: What are your plans for the summer? I was hoping that maybe you wouldn’t mind working for me this summer full time. I realize that you need some time off as well, but perhaps you and I could share our time at the cottage. You work a few days and I do the other few days?”

  “I can make up my mind during the summer if I should go one way, or the other. Right?”

  “That would be one way, but there is another — perhaps you should take a year off from school and work at the office to have a real break and then decide if you wish to continue in that direction or get back into your previous program. In the meantime, let the summer decide it for you, at least to a point. Think about it and let me know how you feel. But be honest with yourself about the whole situation. After all, it is your future we are talking about, not mine. You will have to deal with it in the long run. Your dad and I will back you up in whatever you decide.”

  But Barb was not at all sure what was bothering her daughter. Something was amiss, here, but what? She would ask Nicole to try and get to the bottom of it. Olivia often confided in her sister. Even Trevor often tuned in on some advice from his sister Nicole, especially when it pertained to something that he felt awkward talking to his parents about.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  As for Dominic, he had had a very hard year, finishing his four-year course, and he was now faced with the most difficult decision: to go for his master’s degree or take a slower road toward his final achievement. He was reluctant to lean on Henry and reluctant to let his sister be the breadwinner for so long. Henry kept encouraging him to relax and go all the way.

  Their mother was not making a lot of money, although it helped. The problem was that one never knew if — or when — she would stop working for one reason or another.