by Lesley Crewe
“Gosh,” Bay grimaced, “we don’t usually stop for breakfast. Ashley has to catch the school bus and I have to be at work in ten minutes.”
Tansy looked crestfallen.
“It looks delicious though,” Ashley piped up. “How about I take a pancake for the road?” She reached out and grabbed one, taking a big bite.
“Don’t you want syrup?”
Ashley couldn’t answer. Her mouth was stuck together with batter. She rushed over to the sink and spit it out. “Yuck.” She cupped water into her mouth to rinse out the glue-like substance.
“Oh dear, I suppose these are all horrible,” Tansy fretted, poking them with a fork.
Bay smiled. “Don’t worry about it. It takes practise.”
Ashley agreed, once she’d wiped her mouth on a paper towel. “Pancakes are hard.”
Bay looked at her watch. “You better run, Ash. Good luck with your exam. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”
“Thanks.” Ashley grabbed a banana, kissing her mother and then her aunt before she raced out the door. Tansy held her hand up to her face.
“She likes me.”
“She does.”
“I don’t deserve it.”
Bay looked away. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Can I do anything for you today?”
Bay turned back. “Okay. Buy something for supper, and we need milk, dog food, and more granola bars.”
Tansy ran to the pad by the phone and muttered the list. “Okay. I can walk the dog, too. And maybe I’ll vacuum. I haven’t done that in years.”
“Wonderful. That puts me in a great mood, knowing you haven’t lifted a finger in ages.”
“I paid dearly for the privilege.”
The sisters looked at one another. “See ya later,” Bay said.
“Bye.”
Once Bay was gone, Tansy looked around. “Well, Merlin. I think I can fix this place up. I picked up a hint or two from decorators over the years. What do you say we try and put our stamp on things?”
Merlin wagged his tail.
She didn’t do the dishes or make the beds. Instead, she spent her morning moving furniture around and taking pictures off the wall only to hang them again, several inches lower than they were originally. The fact that there were now glaring nail holes showing mattered not a whit.
“All right, Merlin. I’ll walk you first and then I’m off to hit the shops.”
Tansy got dressed in her casual clothes, a cashmere sweater set and four-hundred-dollar jeans. She reached for her sunglasses and put Merlin on his leash. Then off they went, just in time to run into Flo scrubbing her front walk.
“Well, well.” Flo threw the scrub brush in her bucket. “Look who the cat dragged in.”
Tansy stopped. “It’s look who the dog dragged out, unless you’re blind, what with being old and everything.”
Flo’s mouth dropped open. “You always were a handful, Tansy Gillis. Your ma used to say so.”
“And Mom used to say you were a windbag. I can see nothing’s changed. Come on, Merlin.” Tansy walked past the flustered Flo.
“You break your sister’s heart and you’ll have me to reckon with,” Flo shouted.
Tansy waved but didn’t look back.
She ran into Eldon next, sitting on his doorstep.
“Hey, girlie.”
“I’m not a girl anymore, Eldon.”
“Eh?”
She kept going.
Merlin made several stops at telephone poles, fence posts, and garbage boxes. But when he did his business on Kay Cathcart’s newly sodded lawn, the shit hit the fan. Kay came down her front steps at a clip.
“Excuse me. Excuse me!”
Tansy and Merlin turned around. “Yes?”
“Your dog left his calling card on my new lawn. Didn’t you see the sign?”
“What sign?”
Kay pointed at the big sign not ten feet away. “The one that reads ‘No dogs, kids, bikes, Rollerblades, or salesmen.’”
“Merlin’s not a dog.”
Kay screwed up her face. “Not a dog? That hairy beast?”
Merlin looked away.
“That’s right. He’s my nephew.”
“Your nephew? What kind of game are you playing at? Now pick up that mess before I call the cops.”
Tansy stood there. “Make me.”
Kay looked one way and then the other. She opened her mouth and then closed it. She was so stymied she froze.
Tansy waited.
Kay huffed and puffed and nearly blew up from the aggravation, but in the end she just stood there.
“Good day.” Tansy and the dog walked away. When they got a little further down the street, Tansy told Merlin, “Let that be a lesson to you. If you want people to know you’ve arrived, give them something to talk about.”
Once Tansy dropped her nephew off at the house, she got back in her car and drove down the street. That’s when she noticed she was almost out of gas. She turned around and went in the opposite direction until she saw the Irving sign.
Tansy pulled in alongside the gas pump and turned off the engine. She then reached in her purse and took out her lipstick, manoeuvring the rearview mirror until she could see her lips. She was applying the first coat when a man wearing coveralls sauntered over to the car wiping his hands on a greasy rag.
“Nice car.”
“Thank you.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Dermot asked.
Tansy put down her lipstick. “I’d like some gas.”
“This is a self-serve station.”
She smiled at him. “I’m quite capable of servicing myself, but why bother when there’s a handsome guy here to do it for me?”
Dermot gave her a quick look and then a small smile. He put the rag in his back pocket, and reached for the nozzle. “It’ll be my pleasure.”
“Yes, it will.”
Dermot smirked and started to fill the car. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
Tansy decided to get out. She opened the door and stood up in one fluid motion, then shut the car door and leaned against it. “Not now. I was in New York. You?”
“My family is originally from Louisbourg, but I only moved back three years ago.”
Tansy crossed her arms. “Don’t you go crazy in this small place? Aren’t you tired of servicing Tercels when you can service this?” She tossed her head towards her Porsche.
“It is tempting,” he smiled.
“I’m Tansy, by the way.”
“Dermot.”
“Hello, Dermot.” She held out her hand.
He shook his head. “Sorry, I’d get grease all over you.”
“That could be fun.”
Dermot laughed out loud. “You’re not shy, are you?”
“Life is too short,” Tansy sighed. “Would you like to take me out for a drink?”
“Well, I’m…”
She looked for a ring. “…married?”
“No.”
“I’m in luck, then.”
“I have to work until nine.” The pump stopped and Dermot put back the hose.
“I’ll pick you up at nine-thirty, back here.”
“I’m…”
“…looking forward to it?”
Dermot stood awkwardly for a moment and looked down the road, before he said, “Why not?”
She took out her wallet and paid for the gas with cash. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She got back in the car and drove off.
When Bay got home she had a fit.
“Tansy Gillis, get down here!”
She heard a hair dryer drone above her head, so Bay dropped the mail and keys on the sideboard and ran upstairs. Her sister was in the bathroom and Bay nearly killed herself on the cord plugged into the outlet across the hall. She lurched into the doorway.
“Are you insane?”
Tansy shut off the dryer. “Oh hi. I’ve got supper started…”
“What have
you done to my house?”
“Do you like it?”
“Who gave you permission to come in here and move everything around?”
Tansy put down the dryer. “I’m sorry. I thought—”
Bay stamped her foot. “About yourself. You don’t care about anyone else.”
“Hey, calm down. I wanted to help.”
“Don’t do this to me. Before long, you’ll tell me I should change my hair and quit my job and criticize the way I’ve raised Ashley.”
“That’s not true, Bay. I haven’t come here to do anything but introduce myself to your family and spend some time with you.”
“Where were you last summer? That’s when I needed you.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
“So am I.” Bay turned around and ran downstairs. She was going out into the garden but had to stop in the kitchen because there was a pot boiling over and smoke coming out of the stove. “Oh, for the love of…”
The smoke alarm went off and Merlin howled just as Ashley and Matt came through the door. Chaos reigned for a few moments, as Bay ran to the back door with a flaming pan of lasagna. Ashley took a tea towel and waved it under the alarm while Matt flapped the front door back and forth.
When the noise stopped, Ashley gushed over the furniture arrangement. “I love it. Look at this place. It’s so cool.”
The sisters reappeared at the same time at either end of the kitchen.
“Don’t you love what Tansy did with the living room, Mom?”
“Oh yes, I love it.” She put the casserole on top of the stove.
“Is supper ruined?” Tansy asked. “I’ll go and get us something else, if you like.”
“No. I’ll go.” Bay grabbed her wallet off the counter and left the house.
Ashley crooked her thumb at the back door. “What’s up with her?”
“Nothing. Come and tell me about your day.”
When Bay came back with a pizza, everyone was in the kitchen. Tansy and Ashley were talking a mile a minute, while Matt sat back with a grin on his face. Bay took a deep breath before she placed the pizza on the table.
“Eat up, everyone.”
Matt looked up at her. “Thank you.”
The other two smiled but continued to talk, so Bay got the plates and glasses and Pepsi. Matt jumped up to help her.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Bay cut the pizza and put a slice on everyone’s plate. “How was your exam?”
Ashley didn’t hear her, so Matt jumped in. “Mine wasn’t too bad. One more to go.”
“That’s great. I bet you can’t wait for high school to be over.”
Matt ate a big bite. “You can say that again.”
“Do you have a summer job?”
Matt nodded. “I’m working for my uncle at his construction company. I’m the designated slave.”
Bay smiled at him. “You’re young enough to recover.”
“I hope so.”
As they ate, both Bay and Matt looked over at the other two, but they were talking about fashion and Tansy was telling Ashley about every store in New York. Ashley looked spellbound.
Matt smiled at Bay. “She likes your sister.”
Bay agreed.
“I’m happy for Ash. It makes her feel better to have another family member around.”
“She said that?”
Matt nodded. “You know how she worries.”
Bay frowned slightly before she leaned closer to him. “Does she worry often?”
“More than she should.”
Ashley looked over at Matt as he finished his pizza. “Are you talking about me?”
“Nope.”
“You better not be,” she smiled.
Matt wiped his mouth on a napkin and stood up. “I better get going anyway. I have to study. Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome,” Bay said.
Ashley rose from the table. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Bye, Matt,” Tansy said.
Matt waved and they were gone.
“I wish Ashley could visit New York,” Tansy sighed. “She’d die of excitement.”
Bay didn’t say anything as she got up from the table and took the dishes to the sink.
“You’d come too, of course,” Tansy added.
“Some day.”
Tansy stood up and went over to Bay. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but do you think Ashley’s dress is fancy enough for the prom? Don’t young girls like sparkles and tulle?”
Bay turned on the tap and added dish liquid to the sink. “I wondered when you were going to say that.”
“The dress you made is lovely, Bay. You know it is. But she seemed a little sad when she showed it to me.”
Bay looked at her. “She did?”
“Well, she didn’t say anything; it was more a feeling than anything else. I know you can’t afford to buy one, but would you mind if I did? It could be a graduation present.”
“Must be nice to have money to throw around.”
“When you have no one to spend it on, it adds up.”
Bay stared off into space. Then she took her hands out of the sink and wiped them on a towel. “Do you mind washing these? I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Bay…”
Bay grabbed her car keys and left out the back door. She hopped in the car and quickly waved at Ashley and Matt, who were still talking on the front step. She drove without thought until she got to the rural cemetery where her parents and husband lay. Once out of the car she headed straight for her mother’s grave.
She sat on the grass in front of the granite stone. “Mom, I miss you. Tell me what to do. Please. I can’t think. She’s come back and I’m frightened. Ashley loves her already, but she’ll leave, like she always does, and then what will I do?”
She listened to the evening breeze whisper though the giant fir trees that surrounded that quiet place. If she sat still long enough, her mother’s voice would come back to her.
Eventually she kissed the grass between her mother’s and father’s graves and walked over to Bobby’s stone. “I’ll miss you forever.”
Silence was the only sound.
She blew a kiss and went home.
When she got back to the house, Tansy was standing in the vegetable garden, watering the plants. As soon as she saw Bay, she dropped the hose and ran over to her, throwing herself in Bay’s arms. “I’m a creep. I never should’ve suggested such a thing. Of course she should wear your dress.”
They held each other for a long time. Bay was the first to pull away. “I’ve been thinking. You’re right, that dress isn’t anything special. We can go together and let her pick out something beautiful.”
Tansy clasped her hands together. “Do you mean it?”
Bay nodded.
Tansy jumped up and down. “Oh, I can’t wait to tell her.”
“Go then.”
Tansy ran back in the house shouting Ashley’s name. Bay walked over and picked up the hose. Two minutes later Ashley ran out of the house and across the lawn.
“Are you sure, Mom? Because I’m perfectly happy with your gown.”
The look on Ashley’s face was all Bay needed to see. “I’m sure.”
Ashley jumped into Bay’s arms. “I love you so much.”
When Tansy told Bay she was going into town for the evening to see the sights, Bay was relieved. She got on the phone and called Gertie.
“May I come over?”
“Only if you bring a huge chocolate bar and a bag of Doritos.”
“You’ve got it.”
Gertie lived in the upstairs apartment of an old house on the edge of town. When Bay arrived, plastic bag of treats in hand, Gertie was on the front porch sitting on the top step.
“You sounded like you needed help instantly,” Gertie smiled.
Bay walked up the steps and sat beside her friend. She passed her the bag. “Here ya go.”
“You’re a saint.�
��
The two friends sat together and breathed in the salt air. Neither one of them spoke. It was enough to be together as they listened to the foghorn groan nearby. Gertie broke the silence. She reached in the bag and opened the Doritos, passing them to Bay.
“Want some?”
“No, thanks.”
Gertie took a handful. In between crunches she said, “So, what’s up?”
“I hate that she’s back and I love that’s she’s back. I want to wring her neck while I’m hugging her. I can’t seem to relax when I’m with her.”
“For pity’s sake, Bay, she just got here. You both need time to get used to being in each other’s lives again before you can talk. Once you do, I’m sure this emotional stuff will sort itself out.”
“I guess so,” Bay sighed.
“Why are you here and not with her?”
“She went into town.”
“Already? Alone?”
Bay laughed. “If she’s still Tansy, it’s probably not alone, but I can’t see her working that fast. Even she’s not that good.”
“What does Ashley think of her?”
“She’s in love with her.”
Gertie continued to crunch. “And you’re afraid you’re not going to measure up, is that it?”
“Something like that.”
“Of course Ashley’s going to be thrilled with her. You guys have been missing your mom for a year, and now a relative comes home who’s beautiful, sophisticated, and exciting. I’m sure to Ashley she’s the epitome of everything cool. But for heaven’s sake, you’re her mother. She’s not going to love Tansy more than you.”
Bay looked away. Gertie stayed quiet, except to rattle the bag every so often. Bay glanced at her pal. “I’m letting Tansy buy her a prom dress.”
Gertie’s eyes got big. “What do you mean? You made her one. It’s adorable.”
Bay shrugged. “Not adorable enough, apparently. When Tansy suggested it and I agreed, Ashley ran out of the house and was so excited. I hate that I can’t provide things that put that kind of smile on her face.”
“Gee whiz, you worked hard on that dress. How easy is it to slap down a Visa card? I think that’s crummy.”
Bay smiled. “I knew you’d stick up for me. But when you’re seventeen, it’s all about looks. I want her to be happy.”
“But…”
“It’s done.”
“Okay.” Gertie rolled up the bag of Doritos, put them beside her, and then licked her fingers clean. “So, Bay, can I ask you something?”
