Affinity House

by Ruth Hay

  One couple shares an apartment in Manitoba and want to be closer to a family member who will be in hospital for treatment at London Health Sciences Centre. Another couple is from the East Coast and wish to escape from the horrible stormy weather they have had there in recent years. A third candidate……………”

  “Wait a minute, Vilma! This is something quite different from our original premise. I can’t approve or disapprove of this idea without consulting everyone else. I do appreciate your attempt to save us trouble in filling your place here, but there are legal implications in these choices. For a start, the idea was to have one person per bedroom, not two. I understand about Andy, of course but I just can’t approve that change on my own.”

  “I do see that, Hilary. In some ways it is asking a lot, but if you look back at the changes that have occurred already the original plan of six women was altered significantly before we were very far into the process.”

  Both thought of the transition Faith had brought and both realized how quickly those changes had been absorbed. There was also the matter of Andy Patterson. There was no question that he was an asset to the co-housing plan. Hilary could not deny it.

  “Well, Vilma, I suggest this matter be tabled on Sunday at our regular dinner meeting. I’ll have a word with as many as I can find to give them a ‘heads up’ about the importance of attending.

  In the meantime, please keep me up to date with your decisions. What you do about the Jamaica holiday is, of course, a separate item.”

  * * *

  When Hilary had gone, presumably to talk to Mavis, Vilma opened the letters that were waiting on the table in front of her.

  The first was a bank letter with an offer of added privileges for her chequing account. She set it aside with a rueful smile. She might soon need the advantages on offer.

  The second was from her financial advisor requesting a meeting to discuss her tax situation.

  Financial decisions are converging on me and I need to deal with all of this very soon.

  She opened up the third letter with some trepidation, but found a very pleasant reply from the Manitoba couple. They were cousins, called Amanda Lennox and Braden Santiago who were originally from South America. Amanda’s mother, Braden’s aunt, was about to begin radiation therapy for liver cancer and the two wanted to be close for support during the three months of her treatment.

  We both loved the idea of Harmony House and, as we are already adjusted to this style of living, it seems like a good match for us. Your lovely Jamaican holiday idea is a super bonus, from our perspective, and would give us a chance to get to know you better.

  You may have a number of candidates in mind for this experiment, Ms. Smith, but we want you to know we are ready and eager to be considered among them.

  Vilma put the letter down and took a deep breath. Things were moving fast. Amanda and Braden sounded like excellent candidates but she must wait to see if more letters or emails arrived.

  Nothing could be decided until the results of Sunday’s house meeting had been digested.

  On Sunday, Andy was meeting with three of his team to look over the building specs for the barn extension. He warned them it was not a pleasant venue as the limited heating was restricted to a corner of the actual barn area and there were not facilities nearby for food.

  As a result, the guys arrived with a supply of hot Italian food from Dolcetto’s restaurant on Colonel Talbot Road and a six pack of beer to keep the workers hydrated.

  It was not long before Andy realized how vital his helpers’ advice would be. He had drawn up a rough plan but Brady quickly pointed out a major flaw that would have cost him hundreds of dollars to amend later in the process.

  Frank quickly had his sleeves rolled up and a wheelbarrow-load of stones from the old farmhouse’s foundations set out to show the dimensions of the proposed extension so they could walk round the space and discuss what might work there.

  Joe liked the idea of enclosing an open area with a drystone wall and he said his brother-in-law was an expert at walls and would donate his labour in exchange for a couple of beers one weekend when the weather was warmer.

  Andy happily agreed to the proposed changes when they asked him about his overall plan and they consolidated it all into a temporary second storey living space that would convert to an office with the housing for dogs down below. The extension would have links to the barn to make moving back and forth simpler and the whole project must have security and technology incorporated so, when the new house was built, Andy could keep an eye on his canine boarders from a distance.

  He was staggered at how valuable the input of these men had been. New sets of eyes had transformed his plan into a more practical and less expensive form. And, it had all happened in the space of a few hours.

  It was another important stage on his way to recovery. These guys were old friends and good buddies. He no longer needed to do everything on his own.

  His relief was palpable.

  He was not alone. He had never been alone, except by choice.

  He could not wait to get back to Harmony House to share the new plans with Vilma but when he approached the house in the early evening, he heard the sound of dogs barking and soon found Faith outside in charge of Astrid and Oscar. Faith seemed to have the dogs under control and he was pleased to see this.

  She signalled to him to come over to her by the woods where he was eagerly greeted by the dogs, who immediately presumed they were off to explore again.

  “Pay no attention to them, Andy. They’ve been out with me for thirty minutes already.

  I’ve been waiting to see you to tell you what’s going on inside.”

  “What do you mean, Faith? Is Vilma all right?”

  “I hope so. She’s being grilled about this replacement residents idea. It started right after dinner and I excused myself fast when I saw what was happening.”

  “Are you saying there’s going to be trouble about this? Vilma is only trying to be helpful.”

  “I don’t know. It sounded complicated to me and I’m in no position to offer my opinion. I don’t even contribute to my place here.”

  “That applies to me too, Faith. We are both very fortunate to have been accepted by these good people.

  I’m sure it will worked out to everyone’s satisfaction in the end. Don’t you worry!

  Your nose is turning blue, my girl! Let’s get these two inside and I’ll make coffee and hot chocolate for us in Vilma’s room once the dogs are fed.”

  Andy was attempting to be positive for Faith’s sake but inwardly he was very nervous about the situation. He appreciated he was asking a great deal of Vilma. Her settled life in Harmony House had been totally disrupted by his arrival here. He could not know how much pressure it would take for her to decide to abandon his sketchy plans for their future and prefer to continue in the comfortable setting she had claimed as her own.

  The high spirits he felt after spending time on the farm property with the guys, dissipated in a cloud of doubt. He knew how much Vilma respected the five women to whom she had become close. He could never insist on removing her from her place, a place in which she had invested a considerable amount of her money. He could not match that investment. The choice was all hers. It must be that way.

  He nibbled on a thumb nail as Faith rinsed out their cups and left, with the excuse of homework to complete. The room grew silent other than for the intermittent snores of Oscar.

  He sat near the window, looking out on the winter darkness, and waited impatiently for his fate to be decided.

  “Why are you sitting in the dark, Andy?

  Have you had anything to eat? Let me put on the lights and we can talk.”

  Her voice sounded brighter than he expected and she looked recovered from her recent ordeal.

  His hopes began to rise again.

  “I see you made coffee. Please pour me a cup. I am parched with talking for the last hour.”

  He jumped up; glad to have somet
hing useful to do.

  Vilma greeted the dogs and plopped down on top of her bed, patting the space beside her so he would join her with the coffee mugs.

  She did not make him wait any longer. It was clear from his face that Faith had filled him in on the Sunday supper discussion.

  “Andy, it’s OK! We had a good airing of opinions both positive and negative. In the end, my idea was accepted. The most conciliatory suggestion came from Mavis who confessed she was uncomfortable with her huge tower room and offered to exchange hers with mine to better accommodate two women.”

  “What? How does that work? I can’t predict how much of the building work will be completed when we come home at the start of March. Where will you go then, Vilma?”

  “I don’t know, Andy.

  Maybe I’ll bunk in with Hilary. We’ll see!

  It all depends on how compatible we are with the cousins from Manitoba. I got their letter today and I think they will be my choice for Jamaica.

  It’s not worth worrying about it all yet.

  One step at a time.

  Now snuggle down and tell me about your day.”

  Chapter 7

  It was the frequent and natural conclusion to the Sunday meal for Hilary to nudge Mavis and lead her along the hall to her tower room after the kitchen dishes were cleared up. She waited until the double door firmly closed behind them before she began.

  “What on earth were you thinking, Mavis? The lower tower room is yours by rights. Why should you give it up to strangers?”

  “Now Hilary, you know I was not happy claiming such a huge space for myself. I always intended to offer it to one of the others, if the occasion arose. In any case, it’s likely to be temporary. The dogs should stay with me in Vilma’s room where they are most comfortable for the week Vilma and Andy are away. After that we don’t know what will happen.”

  “Never mind the dogs. What about your Marble? How will she feel about being displaced?”

  “Oh, Marble spends most of the day sleeping under the piano in Faith’s room. She’ll follow me wherever I go to sleep and eat.”

  “But! But!”

  “Hilary Dempster, my decision does not mean you will ever be required to give up this room of yours. So don’t be concerned about that. A similar situation requiring changes might have arisen at any time although I did not expect it to happen so soon. With the range in ages of our original group, there was always the chance that someone would want to move out. We need to be flexible. Vilma and Andy are a good couple and I believe they will be happy together. That is the fact we must deal with now.”

  Hilary began to pace around the room in an attempt to absorb her friend’s point of view.

  “Mavis, you are a never-ending source of amazement to me. I don’t know how you can accept this so easily. I thought we were over the first adjustments and things would move ahead in a more predictable way from here on.”

  “Really? You think I am the only one who is amazing?

  You are more flexible than you realize, my dear.

  Remember the sudden arrival of Faith? You took on that challenge pretty fast as I recall, and I think you enjoyed the way the girl added youth and vitality to all of us. She allowed Honor to become a more complete person for one thing.

  Change is inevitable in any sphere of life these days.”

  “You are conveniently forgetting the disruption that girl brought to us initially, and also there’s the incident with the top of the tower room more recently. We may not be out of the woods with that young lady yet.”

  “True! But what happens if Honor and Faith decide to go live in Kingston?

  What if Jannice gets more attached to that Mitchell who is writing about her family?

  What if Eve becomes famous for her paintings and goes off with an artist?”

  “Stop! Mavis you are scaring me. Do you really think these things could happen? I hate the idea of our lovely group of women being shattered like that. I expected our idea of mutual support would last until we are both carried out of here feet first. I just don’t see how we could replace our friends. It changes everything I believed about our co-housing project.

  Were we wrong to try this experiment?”

  Mavis patted her friend’s shoulder and attempted to allay her fears.

  “Not at all, Hilary! It’s a brilliant idea and it has worked very well on the whole. We have already proved our adaptability. We chose generous people to live with us and I know we can survive any changes that may come in time. We have a superb house here and it is home now. A home we could never have dreamed of when we went through the awful years of losing our life partners.”

  Hilary could not deny the truth of what she was hearing.

  Back then, with Mavis in her house on one side of town, and Hilary far away in Camden Corners, they were settling into a dark and depressing period relieved only by phone calls in which they commiserated with their fates as newly-single women with fewer choices in life. The decision to attempt a co-housing project had brought them both closer than ever and given them something positive to focus on.

  Of course, the resulting events had made their lives better.

  She shook off her worries and concentrated on Mavis again.

  “At this very moment, Mavis my dear, I am thinking of that list you have in your room. You know, the one you showed me with the five best indicators for a happy life? Are you still undecided about the last one, the unusual word, ‘conscientousness’?”

  Mavis nodded. She could not see where this was leading. Hilary seemed to have changed direction rather suddenly.

  “Well, I did look up the word for you and I am happy to tell you it suits you perfectly. It describes a person with a strong moral sense, a scrupulous attention to honesty and a deep, intuitive power of doing the right thing.”

  “Hilary! Did you memorize that definition?”

  “I had to. It was quite complex, but it is you, Mavis. I will try never to doubt your instincts again.

  My best decision was to partner with you in all things. I defer to your superior judgement.”

  Mavis laughed out loud and with the cheerful sound all tension in the room dissolved.

  Oh, Hilary Dempster! That is a beautiful compliment. I take it with a grain of salt, however. The important thing is that we function well as a team. That will not change as long as we have our health and strength and, quite possibly, long after that!”

  Laughter led to happy tears and on to a soothing cup of tea.

  Sunday evening in Hilary’s tower room ended amicably with all fears assuaged, for the time being.

  Faith was happy to relinquish the dogs to Andy and return to her room. Homework was the excuse she used, but her real intention was to get started on the vlog letter.

  She had discussed this idea with Jolene during lunch in the Library at school. Since Faith was now famous at Saunders owing to her high profile among both staff and students, she had gained the privilege of eating and talking with her friend in a quiet corner, without interruption. Often their conversation was about other matters than the next scheduled talk about life choices, but the librarians smiled at them and gave them a wide berth, as long as things did not get too raucous and they cleared away all signs of eating before they left.

  Jolene was approving of the ‘Dear Dad’ letter.

  “It fits in with what you did before and oh boy did that work! The responses are still coming in.

  It’s hard for me to believe how many kids’ lives are different from the standard pattern of mom, dad and 2.1 children. It adds up to a heap of human sorrow out there.

  You gave them a voice, Faith. I say go for it.”

  * * *

  Now that everyone at Harmony House knew what she had done online, it was no longer necessary to make the difficult and dangerous climb up to the top of the tower. She thought of that period in her life as a time when she was young and foolish. Now she felt as if she had grown up so much that she sometimes had trouble recognizi
ng herself in the mirror.

  She settled in front of her laptop in her room, after making sure there would be nothing in the background to identify her location. The last thing she wanted was for a procession of teenage fans to arrive at Harmony House looking for her. Even the kids at school were unaware of her address since she arrived and left on the bus most days.

  The J.J. gang had been warned to say nothing about her living situation. It was enough that the world knew about her personal and private stuff. She did not intend to give away anything more after this final entry.

  She tried to write down her feelings about the missing father situation but it sounded too formal on paper. She would just ‘wing it’ and erase the post if she did not like the result.

  Gone was the dark hoodie. She had nothing to hide any more.

  Hi There YouTubers!

  This is Faith, also known as J.J., telling you about a letter that will never be written, or ever sent.

  It’s heading would be, ‘Letter to the Father I Never Knew’.

  I guess it’s more accurate to call you my biological father. You are a complete unknown to me. An invisible presence I never even wondered about until much later. As a child, it was just me and Mom. You were not in the picture at all. I did not miss you.

  Not when Mom cried at night. Not when there was no food left. Not when Mom went out alone and I was afraid. Not when she started to take the stuff that left her helpless for hours on end.

  You see I did not know about you. I thought I did, because there was another guy, a substitute dad, who hung around for a few years early on when things were mostly OK. I hardly remembered him. He took off when Mom’s behaviour got out of hand. After that, there was a lot of moving around and scary times when we were jumping just ahead of the authorities.

  You could call it living on the edge. On the edge of disaster that is. The worst part was feeling so alone with no one to ask for help when I did not know what to do next. I could have used a real father then. Many times.