Harmony House

by Ruth Hay

  Now Hilary wondered why on earth Jo had thought she was suitable for the project in the first place.

  She did not have long to wait to find out.

  The phone rang late in the evening. In the office where she was finishing her paperwork, Hilary picked up the phone on the second ring somewhat annoyed at being disturbed.

  “Hilary? You called earlier?”

  “I did, Josette. I am sorry to tell you we have decided not to accept your application for a place in our future co-housing project.”

  There was an intake of breath on the line then silence for several heartbeats until a raucous laugh assaulted Hilary’s eardrum.

  “Alors! This is a surprise, Hil. I did not think you had the guts to make such a decision. I was not serious about your little project. It’s nothing to me to be excluded.”

  “Why did you respond to the advert?”

  “Oh it was just a notion I had to see how you had survived the years.”

  “You could have simply called me for that. Why the elaborate subterfuge?”

  Another explosive laugh caused Hilary to momentarily pull the phone away from her ear.

  “What a word to use, Hil, but then you always were a stuck-up, supercilious madam.”

  “I think this conversation is at an end. Goodbye.”

  “No, wait just one moment. I have an important piece of information you must hear.”

  “What is it? I am rapidly losing patience with you, Josette.”

  “Well, someone you know had a lot of patience with me; your husband Mark, for instance? Such a good lover, n’est-ce pas? He cheated on you for months while you were doing your principal’s courses, or something of the kind. He felt so neglected and I gave him comfort. We……”

  The phone fell from her hands and hit the leg of the desk on the way down. She could not breathe. Her chest had constricted with anguish, shock and pain. Thoughts and memories flooded her mind. The only time she and Mark had fought endlessly over anything at all was her decision to advance her career. She elected to take the courses in the States one summer, despite his objections. It was weeks before things went back to normal again.

  A sudden rush of pure anger made her able to draw breath again. She expected nothing good of Josette Delacour. But Mark? He was a man of honour, or so she had believed. If she could have him here in front of her for one second she would land him such a blow he would fly into tomorrow.

  This image made her stop and think. It was ludicrous to imagine such a scene. Mark was gone. Jo was a nonentity and she might well be lying in order to hurt Hilary. She was a jealous bitch who always stole men from other girls.

  The thought occurred that she could call Jo’s husband? man friend? and reveal things about his partner that would curl his hair, but that would be descending to Jo’s level, something Hilary Dempster could not contemplate.

  She decided to go to bed, read her spy novel until her mind was wiped clean of the base accusations and never ever mention one word of the nasty conversation to a living soul. Good riddance!

  On the morning of the third meeting at Hilary’s house, Mavis took a call in the kitchen where she was preparing sandwiches. She suspected the group would need sustenance now that things were solidified with regard to future intentions. It was likely to be a longer meeting.

  “Good morning. Can I help you?”

  “I believe so.”

  The voice was deep and pleasant with a light air of humour about it. Mavis knew it was not the voice of one of the women she was expecting to hear from.

  “You see, I have been very busy lately and I have missed the first meetings regarding the shared housing project. Is it at all possible for me to join the group at this late date?”

  “Ah, may I have your name?”

  “It’s Honor Pace. I had every intention of coming in November but my plans were changed at the last minute and I could not do anything about it.”

  “Well, Miss Pace, it just so happens that we are having our third meeting today. If you have the original ad please come along. Same place, same time. You can meet everyone and see how you feel.”

  “That is wonderful. Thank you so much. I will see you later then. Am I speaking to Miss Dempster, or to Miss Montgomery?”

  “This is Mavis Montgomery. I am making sandwiches for the meeting. Bring your appetite.”

  “I will do that.”

  Mavis went straight to the office to find Hilary.

  “We will need a new card, my dear. Remember Honor Pace? She wants to come today.”

  “Well now, that’s a surprise. What delayed her?

  “I really don’t know but I have a good feeling about her, based on our conversation on the phone. We’ll find out more later.”

  It was a good start to the day but things changed as the hours went on.

  Vilma Smith and Jannice O’Connor arrived together. They were chatting away like old friends about something related to dishes, as far as Mavis could discern. The other notable item was Jannice’s appearance. Her long dark hair was swept back and up, in what looked like a French roll. A silver pin held the style in place and the ill-fitting clothes were gone replaced by a bright red, three-quarter length lined raincoat and a pair of slim black pants over black leather boots.

  “You two look ready for the day!”

  “I have Vilma to thank for this.” Jannice swirled around to show off her outfit like a young girl in a party dress. “She found some clothes in her own closet and brought them for me. We had quite a fashion show. It was wonderful!”

  Jannice’s enthusiasm brought a warm glow to her cheeks. The new clothes had transformed her from a weary middle-aged woman into a younger, happier version of herself.

  Mavis signalled a ‘well done’ toward Vilma who was watching this exchange with a proud look on her smiling face. Mavis thought it was a shame the children of her husband had not taken the opportunity to allow this side of Vilma Smith to emerge.

  Jannice was almost reluctant to relinquish her red coat to the hall closet but underneath it she had a very pretty blue blouse that complemented her eyes perfectly.

  What an unlikely couple, but how marvellous to see real benefits between house partners so soon.

  Hilary was waiting in the kitchen and soon caught up with the excitement of the first arrivals. She seemed relieved that Josette was gone and anxious to meet the new candidate.

  Honor Pace emerged from a cab just five minutes later. Mavis opened the door and saw immediately that she was using a sturdy stick. Mavis went out to assist her by taking her free arm. She was rewarded with a warm smile and explanations began at once.

  “I have arthritis. I missed the meetings because I was confined to hospital for a hip replacement after an accident. Physiotherapy has been helping me but I did not want to risk coming out until I could handle the stick with more ease.”

  Mavis could feel how much weight was on her arm as they slowly climbed the front steps. Honor was not a slender woman. She had a young face and her mop of thick short hair was dyed a vivid red.

  “Let’s find you a comfortable chair and something hot to drink. Have you come far?”

  “No. I live in an apartment building in Cherryhill Village but my circumstances mean I am isolated for most of the time. That’s why I responded to your advert.”

  They bypassed the kitchen and settled Honor in a high-backed Lazy-Boy chair formerly used by Mark Dempster.

  Hilary had seen them in the front hall and came at once to meet the newcomer.

  “Hello Honor. I am Hilary and so pleased to welcome you. You could not have known, but today’s topic of discussion is health requirements. Two other members of our group are coming to meet you also. I hope you will become one of our partners in this co-housing project.”

  General conversation filled the next ten minutes. After that Hilary became nervous and Mavis knew why. There was no sign of Eve Barton. No contact from her all week was not unusual in her circumstances but for her to miss a meeting
was worrying.

  Finally, Hilary went ahead with the first question while Mavis hovered nervously between the living room and the front door. She could hear Hilary’s voice.

  “Can we think ahead for a moment? Add ten years and tell me what you might expect from your surroundings to accommodate your independent living needs.”

  Jannice spoke up. “As you know, I watched my parents through their declining years. They were reasonably active for quite a long time before their health failed. My father was a lifelong smoker and his lungs eventually grew very weak. Emphysema claimed him in the end. My mother worked for a construction company supervising new buildings in old parts of the city. She was injured in an industrial accident and died later on from complications.”

  She rushed on with a confidence that appeared new to some of her listeners.

  “The point I am trying to make is that it’s difficult to look far ahead. Sometimes a small problem becomes bigger when we age and sometimes a situation long in the making arrives with devastating impact.”

  No one could deny Jannice’s summary. She had the experience of caring for her elders while both Mavis and Hilary had cared for ailing husbands. Health issues were unpredictable as Jannice so rightly stated.

  Honor Pace spoke up in the thoughtful silence that followed Jannice’s story.

  “I understand what this young lady just said. I was not bothered by my arthritis as a teenager. In my twenties I noticed a few small problems but it was not until my thirties that symptoms became troublesome. I will likely need a second hip operation. If I am interpreting your question correctly, Hilary, I, for one, would require a way to move from floor to floor in a regular house without having to climb stairs. I work from home and need a room large enough for both sleeping and working. I must also add that I have confidence I will be perfectly mobile once this hip has healed. I am thinking ahead as you asked.”

  “Exactly! Now, finding a house for six with a stair lift would be difficult but one of our ideas was to convert a series of aligned cupboards to install a lift. This would avoid later problems for all of us. What else do you think we could need?”

  “I think sufficient washrooms are a necessity,” added Mavis.” My bladder is not what it was and I prefer a facility on each level of a house.”

  There was laughter as each woman sympathized with this confession.

  “Extra washrooms can be an expensive option but I see heads nodding in support of Mavis. You can all see why we require such a large sum of money. We must think ahead and alter our home at the beginning so later issues do not catch us off guard.”

  Hilary was soon compiling a list of possible amendments.

  Mavis went back to the front door to see if Eve was walking along the street toward 46 Camden Corners but there was no sign of her. She began to worry seriously. Anything could have happened to Eve. She was vulnerable and alone. Mavis had no address for her and she did not know her real last name. All she had were three photographs taken quickly and privately at last week’s meeting. One was of her head wearing the slouch hat and two were of her face and head showing the bruises and the livid scar the hat concealed.

  Because of her courthouse work, she knew the importance of evidence. Eve was initially reluctant to provide this evidence, but Mavis persuaded her to allow it as a precaution against her husband’s future actions should he trace her to the new location.

  She doubted these photos were sufficient to identify Eve to police and she did not want to set in motion an investigation. Yet, every minute lost could be fatal for Eve.

  She searched her memory for a useful clue and came up with the name of Eve’s bank where she had deposited the inheritance cheque.

  As soon as the house emptied Mavis got into her car and drove to the bank with no clear idea of what she would do there. When she parked in the mall parking she realized the folly of her mission. It was impelled by panic. It was the only thing she could think of to do.

  She was here now and might as well step inside. The bank was busy and there was a hum of activity. She stood by the doors and looked around helplessly. She could not even enquire. Tellers would not give her private customer information. She had only a first name and even that might be false. She turned to leave when her eye caught sight of a familiar brown item on the floor under a chair. Immediately she knew it was Eve’s hat. She retrieved it and went to the nearby receptionist’s desk with the hat in her hand.

  “Excuse me. Have you seen the woman who owns this hat? I was to meet her here.”

  “Oh my! I am so sorry. Let me get a manager to speak to you. Please wait for one moment.”

  This was confusing, but Mavis waited. Glances were being thrown her way and tellers seemed to be whispering about her. She did not hold out much hope of receiving useful information about Eve but something must have happened here.

  A female manager with a name pin on her lapel ushered Mavis into her office and asked her to sit.

  “I understand you know Eve Dobrinski?”

  “Well, I know her as Eve Barton.”

  Might as well tell the truth as much as possible.

  “Yes, that is her maiden name. I am so sorry to inform you that Eve collapsed here in the bank about forty minutes ago.”

  Mavis did not have to feign shock. She took in a shallow breath and felt blood drain from her face.

  “What on earth happened?”

  “As far as I know, she was waiting to see me. I handle her banking needs. She suddenly fell to the floor and did not regain consciousness. Naturally, we called for an ambulance and they took her away. We haven’t heard anything since then. It’s been very upsetting.”

  Mavis’s brain was racing. “Do you know which hospital they were heading to?”

  “I heard one of the paramedics say LHSC Emergency just after I had told them what little I know about Eve. Do you want to leave your contact information in case we need to speak to you?”

  “I’ll be in touch. Right now I need to find out how Eve is.”

  “Of course! Please tell her Sue is asking for her.”

  Mavis was back in her car in seconds and heading for the hospital. She still had Eve’s hat in her hand. The paramedics must have seen her scar at once. They would suspect head trauma and take her straight into Emergency for treatment. She would enquire but she might have to wait for hours. At least she had the correct name now. Or both names, if required.

  First she would call Hilary and bring her into the picture. Then she would start searching the online phone book for Dobrinski. She knew Eve lived close to a strip mall in the city. She also knew Eve’s husband worked as a mechanic. She might even see him arrive at the hospital to enquire about his wife although what that confrontation would feel like when she reacted to his treatment of Eve, was an unknown at the moment.

  She was pretty sure Hilary would not approve of her actions but fear for Eve was predominant.

  Until she knew she was safe, she would wait at the hospital.

  Chapter 9

  Honor Pace allowed the cab driver to help her into her apartment building. She gave him a nice tip for this service and he wished her a good day. In the elevator she leaned against the wall and decided it was a good day, despite the discomfort of her hip and the inconvenience of low-slung cabs and houses with steps at the entrance. That Mavis lady was very kind and Hilary seemed organized and knowledgeable. The prospect of moving into a home with these four women was promising so far.

  Making her way slowly three doors along from the elevator on the third floor, she gladly sank into a chair in her small apartment and placed her right leg up onto a padded bench. She had physio exercises to do later but for now she needed to rest.

  The hip operation had given her a chance to stop and think about her future. Working from home as a computer expert was a given. It was a guaranteed income and she had clients who valued her skills highly, as proved by their bonus fees whenever she solved their technology problems. For years she had saved money. When mo
bility is an issue, you don’t have reasons to move around too much. Others might have bought a town house or condo of some kind but whenever she looked online the huge variety of such types almost always had barriers to free access, despite regulations to the contrary.

  She had tried ground level apartments with quick access to the street level but those places were easy targets for break-ins and she feared she might not be able to flee fast enough to avoid injury.

  The physiotherapist in the hospital was a kind and concerned woman who listened to Honor and was willing to give her opinion on health as well as safety. She recommended more gentle exercise. Sitting at a desk all day was not helping to maintain flexibility. She gave Honor the chance to try a standing desk set up where she could walk on a treadmill while working at a fixed counter that she could angle to suit her needs. This seemed radical at first but Honor was getting the message she could no longer continue with the bad habits that had brought her to the point of a hip operation. Changes had to be made.

  The physiotherapist gently introduced the topic of companionship after hearing that her patient had no family living in the London area and few if any friends to call upon in an emergency.

  “Look, it’s none of my business but I think you would benefit from having like-minded people around you for support. Good health is not just physical. We need daily contact with others to keep us mentally healthy.”

  “Hold on! I am way too young for one of those retirement places with wheelchairs and scheduled happy hours. That would spell death to me.”

  “No! I am thinking of a different lifestyle choice, perhaps sharing accommodation or inviting someone to live with you. Give it some thought. We all have to make compromises sooner or later.”

  The words had stuck with her. Then there was the ad in the grocery store followed by the fall on a wet floor, the hip operation and the recovery period.