Harmony House

by Ruth Hay

  “We will see how it affects the house sale. That’s the next objective. The photographer is convinced an antiques dealer will want to buy the clothes collection and the reporter is attending the show to see if he is right.”

  “I think you will cause quite a stir at Museum London. Have you thought of appearing in one of the outfits? Perhaps the gorgeous blue day dress with the dashing hat?”

  “That’s a marvellous idea, Mavis. I will do it! Thank you.”

  The conversation continued throughout the meal’s three courses with items of interest related to Harmony House gradually creeping in. Up to now, things were moving ahead as planned. The elevator issues had been solved with the minimum of disruption. Hilary and Mavis had been summoned to the lawyer’s office for the transfer of the keys and the signing of papers accompanied by another deposit of 20% of the cost. Following this all the signees would receive their contracts and become official co-owners of Harmony House as soon as the final payment schedule had been approved.

  Vilma produced a bottle of champagne and a tray of crystal glasses for a toast.

  Jannice raised her glass convinced for the first time that she would meet and surpass her portion of the sale price.

  Vilma teared up at the contrast between these friendly women and Nolan’s adult children who continued to disdain her at every attempt at reconciliation.

  Eve rejoiced that the main part of her inheritance money would soon be safely deposited in the developer’s hands and not ever accessible to her husband.

  Mavis thought of her antique furniture soon to be released from storage and installed in her new bedroom where the happy memories of her beloved Peter would accompany them.

  Honor looked around the table and blessed the day she had spotted the little advert in the grocery store and recognized an opportunity.

  Hilary felt her heart expand with sheer joy at the accomplishment this table of diverse women, soon to be housemates, represented.

  It would have been more than enough of a celebration already, but Vilma had one more trick up her sleeve.

  “Honor, you missed out on the last closet raid. Please accompany us upstairs where I have now removed all the clothing items I wish to keep. These are in storage for a short time with the rest of my personal possessions. Everything else you see is available to whomever it fits. I have provided large shopping bags so you can remove the contents tonight. Tomorrow I vacate this house and go to a hotel until Harmony House is ready for me. All the remaining clothes and shoes are to be collected and taken to Goodwill, so help yourselves, ladies!”

  Chapter 24

  After weeks of teasing weather with the occasional warm day reversing to bitter winds and overnight frosts, Mother Nature relented. The sun shone in a clear blue sky, the air smelled of growing things and the population of London emerged from the winter stupor and rejoiced in the outdoors again.

  Mavis woke after her final night on the Lazy-Boy with a sense of relief. Today they were moving to Harmony House at long last. Her furniture had been rescued from storage and placed in her new tower bedroom where it assumed a stately demeanour matching the exterior of the house. She elected to leave the windows uncovered as the curved base of the tower was sheltered by the wrap-around porch. A selection of her favourite framed photographs waited to be placed on the walls and there were things to be sorted through, but all these tasks could wait. The day was perfect for outdoor thinking.

  She went into Hilary’s kitchen and saw the appliances ready in their boxes. The coffee machine was still available and she filled it to the top with cold water and waited while the coffee brewed for the last time in this house she had called home for months. With a steaming hot cup in her hands she stepped outside the front door and breathed the soft moist air. Most of the front of the house was taken up by the double driveway. There was only a passing attempt at a garden consisting of a bush or two surrounded by river stones. The rear area was not much better and had suffered from neglect over the winter not to mention the heavy footprints of police and a pair of window installers.

  Mavis had decided never to enter that part of the Camden Corners property and her resolve was maintained.

  And yet, today her mind turned to thoughts of the garden at Harmony House. That grand sweep of lawn leading to the house was going to require a decent lawnmower at the very least. She recalled some mention of a gardener and hoped she could track him down through Louise Ridley next door. As for the garden at the back of the property, that was a far different proposition as it had already been divided into plant beds and pathways. Her fingers itched to grasp a trowel and begin to turn over the soil and plant some herbs. In the Ontario Cottage she had a nice kitchen garden and some perennial plants. None of the others had expressed any real interest in garden work but she knew they would appreciate the benefits, especially the women whose bedrooms overlooked the back garden.

  Thoughts of the patio and summer weather with leisure to sit and admire a growing garden, brought the realization that one item missing from Hilary’s list of Things To Be Done was the purchase of a set of garden furniture. There would need to be sufficient tables and chairs for all the house members. It would be an expensive purchase and the lounge chairs would require good storage over the winter.

  On one of their recent expeditions to explore the Harmony facilities they obtained the keys to the set of garages. There were three double garages attached in a row on the west of the property, at the end of the driveway. Hilary was most concerned about the paved path from there to the side entrance to the house. It was not wide enough for a car and meant groceries would have to be conveyed by hand in all weathers, taken up the three steps onto the verandah and then down again into the basement level to reach the elevator. She had decried this arrangement as ‘pure lunacy’ and gently cursed the developer for short-sightedness, declaring it obvious he did not do the shopping for his family.

  Mavis thought it possible to find a trolley of some kind to ferry the groceries to the side entrance. A waterproof covering would keep everything dry and a large golf umbrella would protect the women in bad weather. It would do for the time being.

  Now, she began to consider the garages as valuable space for cars and other things. The women had three cars at their disposal but that left one and a half garage spaces free. Perhaps the garden furniture and tools could occupy one of those spaces leaving one entire garage for storage or messy work like crafting. The idea of hobbies was not one that had been pursued yet. As she thought back over the months since the co-housing project was initiated, it was not surprising some things had been missed. She hoped no really vital items were neglected; ones that would cause trouble in the future.

  She made a mental note to discuss the garden issues with Hilary as soon as they had settled in.

  Today’s tasks were enough to be concerned with. Hilary’s teak dining room set was gone, together with Eve’s chosen items, to Harmony House, but her bedroom furniture and the kitchen wares were being moved in an hour or two. Mavis had packed her car with clothes the night before and she meant to leave Camden Corners behind forever.

  She sipped the last of her cooling coffee and went inside to prepare to meet the challenges of this last day. One happy thought crossed her mind. In a week or two she would be able to retrieve her cat from the neighbours who had been caring for her. The odd visit to see Marble had not been enough to fill the gap in her life the little creature had left. Once Marble was installed in the huge tower room with the familiar furniture, Mavis would be content.

  From her downtown hotel room at The London Armouries, Vilma had made frequent expeditions to furniture stores to view their bedroom suites. Nothing seemed to meet her requirements until, in despair one night, she researched ‘modern bed-sitting-room furnishings’ and hit the jackpot. She found exactly what she required and immediately ordered their best quality set, along with a company employee to install the entire system in her new bedroom. After this was done, she placed a sign on the door pr
ohibiting entrance and moved her clothing and other personal items into their places for a future reveal. This left her free to spend more time with Jannice’s house sale project.

  Downtown to Old East was a mere minute or two and she traversed Dundas Street many times while the fervor over the ‘O’Connor History Mystery’ as the newspaper titled it, finally ground to a halt.

  Josh had been right all along. The delicate clothes and accessories were snapped up by a collector as soon as the first article appeared in the paper. Josh suspected the purchaser was buying on behalf of the London Museum but he could not prove it.

  After that, there was competition among the dealers at the Antiques event to be allowed to inspect the wardrobe for further clues and a veritable parade of historians and the simply curious arrived daily at Jannice’s door. Vilma kept watch over this parade while attempting to clear out the last of the old furnishings from the house. As it happened, she was helped in this task by the number of people who ‘just wanted a souvenir of the history house’ and who departed with a variety of items ranging from stained teacups to dilapidated kitchen chairs.

  It was only in the final week before the Harmony House move-in date that she noticed a young couple arriving and spending an hour wandering around without saying much. Jannice was upstairs packing her clothes and frequently interrupted in order to escort the latest curiosity seekers up to the attic.

  The couple lingered until the others left, when they approached Vilma and asked if she would close the front door and request the home owner to meet with them.

  Vilma fetched Jannice at once and whispered to her that she thought something unusual was about to happen.

  The four settled in the kitchen with Vilma and Jannice standing, and the couple occupying the only remaining chairs. The young man looked directly at Jannice as he spoke.

  “We are Kathleen and Patrick O’Connor. We read about you in the newspapers and although we do not believe we are actually related to you, Miss O’Connor, we were struck by your story.

  Kathleen and I are brother and sister. We are the only members of our family still living in Canada. The rest of the surviving O’Connors are now back in Ireland or living in the United States. I have a good job with IBM in London, in project development, and my sister teaches Kindergarten locally.

  We came today because we want to make a private offer on your house. We know the price you are asking for and we feel we can meet that price but by the time you add on the realtor fees on both sides of the deal, we might be unable to succeed in a bidding war.”

  He stopped to let the impact of his words sink in and his sister took up the tale.

  “You see, we were brought up in a house very like this one outside Stratford. Our parents were struck down by an unusual immune disease. They decided to pursue experimental treatment in Mexico as nothing available here in Canada was relieving their symptoms.

  A family friend took us in when a contractor discovered asbestos in the Stratford house. The damage was so extensive the house was destroyed and the area quarantined. Our father sued the city for causing their ill health, but by the time a settlement was worked out in the courts, both our parents had passed away.”

  The silence in the tiny kitchen was palpable.

  Jannice thought this couple understood about tragedy and could relate to Amelia’s story.

  Hilary was jumping ahead calculating Jannice’s financial situation and hoping she would not let her compassion for these two youngsters undercut the money she needed for Harmony House.

  Patrick resumed the sad story.

  “We’ve been sharing rented accommodation for the last three years and saving every penny for a place of our own near our work. We think this is the place where we would feel at home again.”

  Jannice gulped and was grateful she had not allowed the experts to ‘stage’ her home for buyers. Every little thing still remaining in this place would be a precious reminder to these young people. She had already taken what she needed. The rest would be theirs without question.

  The decision was quickly made and a handshake sealed the deal.

  Vilma said nothing to discourage her friend. She was just grateful that the price given for the antique clothing had been so high. Jannice was financially safe for the time being.

  Honor Pace was temporarily disconnected. Her equipment was in boxes laid out and labelled by the door with all the attendant cords and power bars safely stowed away. Her clothes, including the three casual outfits she got from Vilma Smith, were packed in the one case she owned, and a few dishes and ornaments occupied the last box.

  There’s was nothing left to do, other than wait for the man with the van to arrive.

  With no keyboard and no smart phone, (the phone was switched off and zipped inside her carry bag in case it should be lost or damaged during the move), Honor found herself with no defence against the thoughts and memories in her brain. To prevent these from overwhelming her each night, she took two sleeping pills. Most nights that worked to keep the worrying thoughts at bay. But now, at this moment of transition from one period of her life to another, she was vulnerable.

  She tried to focus on the spread sheet information. It had successfully shown her goal was met just yesterday when her last month’s rent had been returned to her. She was officially a valid partner in the co-housing group. Even this achievement could not still her mind, however.

  Felicity sneaked in and took up residence.

  What was she doing today? Where was she and how was she? Did she ever spare a passing thought for her twin sister or was she just as determined as ever to blot out her very existence? Coming to London from Vancouver, finding a new job and dying her hair bright red could not disguise the fact staring back at Honor from her mirror. She was only one half of a whole. She had a missing half. No matter what she did or where she hid away, that empty space remained unfilled.

  She was about to take a huge risk by moving in with these women. Yes, they were all pleasant and friendly but they thought they knew something about Honor Pace and the truth was, they knew next to nothing about her. She would hide away in the basement office and hope to remain undiscovered, but she knew there would come a time when Felicity would succumb to the same realization of a missing part of her life. She would track her down again and the whole nasty business would start up just as it always did.

  The intercom jangled. “You ready Miss Pace? I’ll bring the guys up and give you a hand with the elevator.”

  It was another move in a succession of moves. This one might be different. At least she would have people around her if the worst happened. She had tried to exist on her own but it had not helped.

  What was the point of isolating yourself from life? All that created was endless days and nights with no sound of a real human voice.

  This move must be an answer. She really needed an answer.

  Hilary arrived at Harmony House with her car full and her heart light. Mavis was following close behind with Eve. Nothing was going to spoil this day although Mavis’s reminder about the lack of outdoor furniture was certainly a downer and cast doubt on the efficiency of Hilary’s Notes and Priorities system.

  They unloaded, and Eve and Hilary used the elevator to speed the last of their portable possessions upstairs to the bedroom floor. Hilary could not help noticing the continuing eyesore of the purple stair carpet.

  A decision had been made to delay the purchase of a new carpet.

  “After all,” stated Vilma, “the workmen have trailed up and down here for weeks and the delivery men will do the same until everyone is settled. A new carpet might well be ruined before it’s paid for. Better to wait and see what is left in the contingency fund.”

  Hilary felt relieved. Vilma could always be counted on for a dose of common sense. She would try to avert her eyes and focus instead on all the other improvements.

  When she finally entered the double doors to the tower bedroom and closed them behind her, she stopped and took the first de
ep breath of the day. She was here at last. The germ of an idea that had presented itself to her so many months before, had now blossomed into this magnificent home for six women who would be both friend and support for each other through whatever vicissitudes life might bring. By some magical alchemy, she and Mavis had found these four partners who each would contribute to their joint venture in their own individual ways.

  She looked around the spectacular tower room with its windows overlooking the side lawn, the garages, and peeping above the tall spruce stand, the chimneys and roof of the Ridley home next door. With the pink drapes and bed coverings gone and the crystal sconces replaced, the room was less of a princess palace and more of the subdued style Hilary Dempster preferred. She felt a twinge of guilt that she had possession of this prime space with a four-piece washroom and a walk-in closet. It was more than she actually needed, but after weeks of sharing her sleeping quarters with Eve, it was going to be wonderful to have this private space all to herself.

  She knew privacy was the key ingredient to make Harmony House fit its optimistic name. Every person needed a place to retire to, where they could be alone. Mark Dempster had taught her that in the early days of their marriage when she was eager to spend every waking, and sleeping, hour within his arms.

  “Give me space to breathe, darling. I’ll return to you refreshed, I promise.”

  On one of their holiday trips, they had found a little statue of a hooded monk standing in contemplation of nothing in particular. It had become a silent signal. When it appeared on the dinner table Hilary knew what it signified and she smiled and went off to do something by herself.

  It was a bitter pill to swallow if that nasty Josette Delacour had told the truth about Mark’s extra-marital activity. It cast doubt on some of the time he spent away from her but it might explain why their son had dishonest tendencies. She shuddered at these thoughts. She must be overtired. It would be early to bed tonight for all the residents of Harmony House after Vilma had promised to reveal the look of the room she had been keeping hidden from view.