by Ruth Hay
“I say we vote on this right away. Ladies, please raise your hands for the suggested guest suite improvements.”
Hands were raised at once and Honor was pleased she would have a new neighbour. It was time she and Vilma got to know each other better. There was a lingering suspicion in her mind that Vilma would be the perfect person to judge whether Jared Pace was a good fit for both Honor and the rest of the residents in the house. It felt comfortable for her to know that if, and when, she moved upstairs to take over Vilma’s bedroom with all its special fitments, it would be with the approval of Vilma herself.
Chapter 9
Harmony House lost its peaceful atmosphere when the alterations began in various areas.
An army of workers moved in, and most of the house’s inhabitants moved out into the garden, or out into town on shopping expeditions or other activities to keep them away during the busiest hours.
The worker army speedily accomplished the kitchen renovations. They extended the countertops and the new washer and dryer fit underneath with the minimum of trouble. The former door to the balcony became a window, temporarily, and the partition wall soon came down, revealing a large space for the new seating area and gas fire.
The builders hung a large sheet of plastic between the kitchen and the new area so normal kitchen access was restored while the demolition work went on behind the barrier. The new balcony was to be the last part of this change and everyone accepted that it required more time.
Once the attention of another team of workers turned to Vilma’s new suite, the front entrance had to be blocked off. It was easier for the residents to come and go via the lower level from where they could step into the elevator and go to their respective rooms without disturbing the workers downstairs.
There was confusion for a while until everyone adjusted to the new routines.
Hilary chose to stay behind the doors of her tower room and try to ignore the construction noises.
Vilma was busy packing up her most precious belongings for the move. She shopped online for paint colours and rugs and visited a number of London stores for a new bed and bedding. She was delighted she would have space now for the larger bed that she wanted. She enjoyed choosing new tiles for the washroom and towels for the updated décor. It was almost like fitting out a new house and she was in her element, consulting with the builders at every point of choice. The whole process was raising her spirits to a level she had not felt since the dark days of the split from Andy.
Of course, she had to remove the dogs from the noise as much as possible. It was good they were still in their accustomed spaces in her upstairs room and she could usually access the elevator for a quick exit to the woods and their daily walks.
Mavis spent time in Eve’s room estimating whether it would be suitable for the two young doctors who were to be arriving soon. She saw at once that two new beds were needed and that set her thinking of storing much of the lovely fabrics and furnishings dear to Eve and very reminiscent of her artistic style.
Mavis thought some of these items could be reused. The chairs would look well in the larger seating area beside the kitchen. The matching drapes could fit the new balcony door. Vilma would help her choose something more masculine to replace these items. There was an Ikea outlet in Westmount and their online catalogue was adequate. Honor could help with that. The young men would need a large desk to share. She began to make a list and asked anyone who was not already involved in the renovations to help her out.
Jannice was currently settled in the kitchen, providing coffee and snacks for the workmen. She made large casseroles and monitored the kitchen supplies so that at the end of the day, the women could assemble and talk about progress over a good hot meal.
Honor had another project she wanted to attend to. She visited Jared in his apartment and discussed the subject of DNA tests. He was willing to participate, although he was sure in his own mind that this was most likely a delaying tactic on Honor’s behalf.
Jared had pursued his wooing of Honor Pace for a number of years. It often seemed like a glacial pace and he chuckled to himself whenever he thought of the appropriate adjective.
She was not keen on them living together.
She disliked his small, masculine, rented apartment with little in the way of decent furnishings. He explained his work hours often involved emergency calls and the look of his living quarters was not exactly a priority for him.
In his opinion, her own living circumstances were little better, considering she slept in a small cubicle of a room where she must keep the door closed for privacy thereby eliminating the main source of light coming from the glass doors to the garden. It was mainly a work area for her. Two desks, set at an angle, contained three screens for computers to run her investment business. She insisted the desks were on wheels and they could be rolled aside to allow the Harmony House residents to use the space whenever they needed to. Any time Jared visited, the business set-up was in exactly the same position so he doubted the area was for any other purpose than Honor’s business.
He encouraged Honor to leave her computers and sit with him on the loungers set on the stone patio overlooking the garden. He always felt it was a different Honor when she moved away from her work area. He enjoyed the garden with its scents wafting in on every breeze and the dark fir trees forming a solid barrier to the rear. He never before lived anywhere there was a garden. His life consisted of apartment living in cities across Ontario, following the work and gaining experience in his trade of elevator maintenance. He was used to apartments. They represented temporary accommodation. He never really aspired to a house. What was the point of sinking money into a house without someone to share it with him?
In his lighter moments, he told himself he could fix any apartment elevator should there be a fire, and get all the residents out in safety. It would win him a medal. They should pay him to live there because of the security his presence represented.
His life was a pattern of temporary relationships. Sometimes he met a secretary in an office where he reported for assignments. They would go for a meal or a coffee but as soon as the woman discovered he was a nomad with nothing to his name other than a battered old station waggon full of equipment, she found a better prospect for romance. He had long ago given up on relationships. It was not until he was back in London again that he remembered the red-haired woman with whom he weirdly shared his last name. With her, he felt he made a real connection during the time when she was in the wheelchair after her hip operation and he helped her into the elevator and got a taxi for her.
They saw each other informally for a few weeks until he was summoned away for work in Northern Ontario. When he returned, she was gone.
A nosy neighbour on the same floor of the apartment building, informed him Honor had moved out.
“I can’t say for certain now, but I heard a rumour Honor came into money from her accident claim. She upped sticks and left overnight. The superintendent said she left most of her furniture behind. Took her big computer, of course! She’s gone, Jared!”
That was the end of it as far as he could see. He did ask the super if he had a forwarding address for Honor. He said she had paid her rent and that was all he knew. The man’s manner indicated he did not want enquiries about what happened to the furnishings Honor left behind her.
Then, the most peculiar coincidence occurred.
It was a year or two later. He had forgotten about Honor Pace. His life ran along the same old lines. He moved to a new apartment in a newer building on Southdale Road and worked for the local Elevator Repair and Maintenance Company. It was a step up in salary and he was considering buying some decent furniture and settling down.
He was out on a maintenance call one day when he thought he recognized a head of hair passing through the hallway to the front door on the floor below where he was working. He shook his head.
Not likely to be Honor Pace. The hair colour was less bold than it used to be.
He
put the incident out of his mind until he was asked to go to the lower level and check out the stop mechanism there. The owner of the big house, an older lady, said the elevator mechanism might need oiling as it squeaked loudly on occasions.
As soon as he emerged out of the elevator, he saw Honor Pace sitting at a desk gazing intently at the screens in front of her. At once, he knew he was in this house when the elevator was first installed. He had forgotten that he knew the location address.
“Honor? Honor Pace?”
She turned around and was just as surprised to see him appear all of a sudden, as he was to see her again.
“Didn’t you come to fix the elevator before?”
“Yes. I moved away for a while but now I am back in London and doing the same job. I didn’t expect to find you here, Honor. How have you been? I don’t see the wheelchair around.”
“No. A lot of things have changed since then. Would you like a coffee?”
“I’d love to, but they have me on a timed schedule and I have to move along. Could you meet me in town one of these days?”
That was how it started. Jared Pace heard the story of Harmony House from Honor and he introduced to some of the residents. Nothing happened between them for a very long time.
He understood about her niece, Faith, who turned up out of the blue, and for whom Honor felt a great deal of responsibility. He did not totally understand why she felt responsible for the teenager, but he backed off while she concentrated on getting the girl educated. From their conversations on the few occasions Honor had time for them to meet, it seemed to him this Faith was a real problem child. During this period, he did not push the relationship matter. He did not want to get mixed up with a crazy teenager who had disrupted the lives of all the women who lived in the house.
When Faith moved on, he returned, and began to occupy some of the time and energy Honor Pace had devoted to her niece.
Lately, there was talk of moving in with Honor. They would supposedly share a large bedroom with a great view of the garden. Honor showed it to him with some pride. He thought the room was a big improvement and a sign they were finally getting closer, but now there was another delay.
Jared Pace went to the clinic and gave a sample of sputum. He knew Honor had done the same.
The results would take several weeks.
In his mind, it was a waste of time and money. He paid for another six months’ rent on his apartment and did an inventory.
Honor was slimmer and more active than before. She was no raving beauty but she was a clever woman with a heart big enough to take on a liability like Faith Jeffries. She was cautious and careful and earned good money. She bought her place in Harmony House and if she ever decided to move on, she would recoup her original investment. This made her wealthy by his standards.
There was a good living situation in the big house to consider. It was luxurious and well maintained.
The location was not that far from the centre of London and the area was expanding all the time.
No real negatives, other than the fact she was not clear about her feelings for him.
He would hold on and see what developed.
Chapter 10
Honor got the results of the DNA tests. She had paid the bill and she received the results.
She opened up the letter and tried to interpret what she read. It was inconclusive, as far as helping her make an important decision.
There was a family connection through Jared’s mother’s family. His grandmother was related to Honor’s mother’s family but it was so far in the past that it hardly mattered.
Now she forced herself to think deeply about how to move forward. She had made a commitment to occupy Vilma’s room upstairs. She could still fulfil that commitment, but would it be as a single person, or as a couple with Jared? If she did merge their lives in this way, it was a declaration that she intended to have intimacy. Something she had been avoiding until now, and she was still uncertain about it.
She had never lived with a man in close quarters. It could be a disaster, and a public one, if it did not work out satisfactorily for both parties.
Should she do a trial run by sleeping with him in his apartment, despite her dislike of the place?
She tried to think more positively. This could be her only chance at a meaningful relationship with a man. Faith was making her own life now. She did not need her aunt in the same way as before.
If she and Jared occupied Vilma’s old room, and it did not work out, she could count on the support and understanding of the women. It was important that he retain his apartment so that choice was still there for him.
It could be embarrassing for her, especially if their separation descending into name-calling or other noisy events. She had a disturbing image in her mind of Hilary’s expression of disdain. As their nearest neighbour upstairs, she would be the first to hear of any trouble between them.
No matter what she did, Honor came back to negative feelings. It was not a good sign.
For now, she decided to say nothing about the DNA results. If all else failed, she could use the results as an excuse to sever whatever it was between herself and Jared Pace.
It was not a good conclusion. Ending on a falsehood was not something of which Honor Pace would be proud.
I still have some time. The renovations are ongoing. That’s all the excuse I need for now.
Faith Jeffries stayed in a motel in Kingston when she visited Mason and his family. She spent all her time with Melvin who was super smart and the nearest thing to a brother she would ever have. Without his tech wizardry and insatiable curiosity, she would never have found the man who acted as her father and gave her early life some stability. The fact that Mason was paid for this job by Faith’s grandparents, now had no relevance when compared to the way he later enfolded her into his own healthy family as if she was his older daughter.
Whenever Faith was asked to take on some major task such as a speaking tour, she felt the support of the entire Jeffries family behind her. Her own fractured and eminently dissatisfactory family life that ended in the death of her mother, faded into the background where it belonged, now that she had an example of what a real family life was like.
She did not discount the role played by her Aunt Honor. Their connection was a major surprise to each of them and the period of adjustment was full of missteps and misunderstandings for which Faith took the blame. She knew she was, at that time, the disgruntled product of a foster system that was doing her more harm than good. It was her Aunt Honor Pace, who set her straight. Honor was the one who had surrounded her with women like Mavis and Hilary who were willing to devote time and energy to setting Faith on the right road to a productive future.
She still had occasional nightmares of climbing the ladder into the tiny tower room for privacy. No matter what harebrained schemes she tried, she was unable to shift the devotion of the women of Harmony House. She owed them an enormous debt of gratitude.
She also owed them a visit.
Foisting that pair of crazy Scottish medical doctors on them was a bit of an imposition. The fact that no one had screamed at her through the phone for her impudence, just underlined what an exceptional group of wonderful women they were.
She saw a break in her schedule of several days before returning to Ottawa from Kingston, so she booked a plane ticket to London to see how the renovations were going. She also felt obliged to warn the women about Grant and Stuart so they could be prepared.
* * *
Faith’s arrival was something of a welcome distraction to the inhabitants of Harmony House.
She presented herself one afternoon with a small bag, a huge smile and an apology.
“Sorry! I wasn’t sure what time I would get here. I got a last-minute ticket earlier than I planned and took the chance.
I can see everything is topsy-turvy but do not worry about me. I’ll bunk in with Aunt Honor and I’ll be here for a few days to help out with anything you need.”
Hilary noticed how grown-up Faith looked. She was so much more confident and organized in her appearance. The outfit she was wearing actually matched and it looked like she had a new haircut and subtle that flattered her features. No green-dyed ends now!
Faith was delighted to see Jannice back in her old room. She knew about Mitchell Delaney’s books in which he had written a foreword commending Jannice for her invaluable help and background knowledge. Faith thought this Jannice was an improvement on the mousy one she had first encountered in Harmony House. She admired her new attitude of positivity. In fact, positivity was the common factor in everyone she saw despite the startling changes in the house itself.
* * *
Mavis declared a holiday in honour of Faith’s return and she announced a special meal to be shared in the winter dining room far from the major noise in the kitchen area. Vilma’s new room was at the finishing stages so there would be no disruption from that quarter.
It was a happy reunion, with so much catching up to do that the feast of Chinese food, delivered by taxi, to the front door, was in danger of getting cold. Mavis arranged the various boxes and bags of food down the centre of the table and dispersed her largest spoons so everyone could help themselves.
Honor contributed three bottles of sparkling white wine, bought by Jared, and no one mentioned how unusual it was to be sharing such an informal meal in this most formal of dining rooms.
When appetites were satisfied and Faith’s latest exploits exclaimed over, the talk turned to the new residents.
“What can you tell us about them, Faith? How did you meet them and what caused you to send them our way?”
Faith swallowed the last delicious mouthful of sweet and sour scallops and washed it down with a gulp of wine. She had thought about what to say at this point. In fact, it occupied most of her flight time, other than when she was catching up on lost sleep.
