Chapter Two
Jerry was woken abruptly by a thirty-five pound bundle of enthusiasm bouncing on his bladder. Jerry moved her to one side and said in a resigned tone, "Good morning, princess."
"I'm hungry, Daddy." Michelle was bouncing on the bed.
"You'll have to wait until I go to the bathroom."
Michelle trailed Jerry into the bathroom. He gently pushed her out the door then relieved himself and washed up. He looked in the mirror at the dark circles under his eyes. At least it's Friday, he thought. Last day of regular classes. Now I only have five exams to supervise and mark.
He pulled on some sweatpants and went down to the kitchen. 5:20. Ugh. He looked out the window. It was foggy but brightening quickly. It was going to be a beautiful day. He looked down to see Michelle bouncing next to him.
"What do you want, sweetie?"
"Peanut butter sandwich and milk." She paused as Jerry looked at her and waited. "Please?" Michelle put her entire being into her smile.
Jerry fixed up the sandwich and milk and put it on the table in front of his daughter. She sat down and began eating her sandwich in the serious manner of young children. She wouldn't be doing anything else for a few minutes, so Jerry made coffee and fried up a couple of eggs for himself.
After breakfast, Michelle asked for a story, so they settled into the story chair in the living room and read The Cat in the Hat together. Jerry didn't actually need the book anymore - 'The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play...' - but Michelle wanted to see all the pictures as Jerry was running his finger under the words. After the story, Mitchie grabbed her feather sword and went pirate hunting while Jerry retreated to the kitchen for a refill of his coffee.
He was transcribing marks into the record book at quarter past seven when Rose and Miriam came in. Miriam looked rested and relaxed, much better than she had looked the day before. The lively curiosity that had attracted him to her in the first place seemed to be back. She was wearing a pink sweater that looked familiar, maybe one of cousin Maddy's from school. It made Miriam look young enough to pass for one of the students in his Grade 10 class, if you didn't look at her eyes.
"I thought I'd come a little earlier today so you could take your time in the shower for a change," said Rose. “And Miriam was up already.” Rose had a twinkle in her eye.
"That's very kind, Aunt Rose. There's fresh coffee. Help yourself. Good morning, Miriam." Jerry smiled.
Miriam smiled back. It included her eyes and made Jerry feel like he could take on the world. "Good morning to you, Jerry. Did you sleep well?"
"Not really. Today is the last day of classes at school and I stayed up late to finish marking the last assignment. And then Mitchie jumped on me to wake me up at five."
Mitchie zoomed into the kitchen still battling pirates. "Auntie Rose!" she yelled. Then, spotting Miriam, she moved behind Rose's leg and peered around it before saying shyly, "Good morning, Mireemum."
"Is Mitchie short for something else?" asked Miriam.
"Michelle" said Jerry.
"Yes, I remember, now." Turning to the shy little girl hiding behind her great aunt, Miriam asked, "May I call you Michelle?" saying the name in the French fashion lingering on the last syllable.
"It sounds nice when you say it like that," said Mitchie. "Much nicer than when Daddy calls me 'Michelle Elizabeth'". Michelle mimicked her father's stern tone.
The adults all laughed and Michelle looked pleased that she'd said something funny. Jerry finished his list and put everything into a battered messenger bag. Then he kissed Michelle and went upstairs to shower.
Miriam looked around her. She hadn't really registered what the house looked like yesterday in her relief at finding Jerry and being made welcome. This was a very different place from her aunt and uncle's place in Hamilton. The house in Hamilton was very modern with an attached garage in front on a lot not much bigger than the house itself. The kitchen there was only big enough for two people to work in and only if they were used to each other.
This kitchen, though, was huge. There were windows on two sides with six doors. Two doors led outside, one to the side porch and one to a patio and the half-acre back yard. Three of the other four were open, one to a formal looking dining room, one to a well-stocked pantry and the third to the front hall. Presumably, the closed door led to a cellar or basement.
The kitchen table was a long rectangle in the center of the room with fourteen mismatched chairs around it. There were two chains above the table fastened to the pressed tin ceiling overhead. Hurricane lanterns that had seen recent use hung from the chains.
The kitchen sink and counters were against the long wall with windows that looked out on the patio. There was an electric stove tucked into the right side of the twenty foot long counter near the door to the patio. Cupboards filled the entire space above the counter from eye level to the twelve foot ceiling.
There was a functioning wood stove against the inside wall between the cellar door and the side porch door with a small pile of firewood stacked neatly in a box nearby.
The walls were painted dark green up to the chair rail and a colour that was halfway between ivory and pastel yellow above that. "This is a wonderful kitchen. My sisters and I could make such a feast." Then Miriam looked wistful.
Rose noticed Miriam looking around and said, "It's too much house for Jerry, but it's all his. He bought it from his mother after she moved into town. Lunenberg, not Halifax," she added quickly, then realized that Miriam probably didn't know the difference or care. "She tried to give him a deal, but he'd only take a discount equal to his share."
Miriam looked puzzled. Rose continued, "He has three brothers and a sister, but they all moved away to find work. Jerry was the one who loved it here, so when his Mom decided to move, he offered her market price. She said she'd only take eighty percent from him. The rest of them were okay with it, fortunately."
"Why doesn't she live here?" asked Miriam, who was used to a crowded house with many generations living together.
"Dorothy is my oldest sister and Jerry's her youngest by several years. She's only sixty-eight, but her health isn't too good. She can only take Michelle in small doses where I love to be around her. She makes me feel young and my three haven't given me any grandchildren yet. I keep hoping, but so far it's only grand-nieces and nephews. On top of that, I think Dotty's still mad at Annabelle for tricking Jerry into marrying her and she can't be around Mitchie for long without thinking about it and getting mad, which isn't at all fair to Mitchie."
At that point, Jerry came back with a freshly dressed Michelle who immediately zoomed off into the dining room. A moment later she was running back into the kitchen from the hall and zoomed back into the dining room. Jerry grabbed another cup of coffee and sat down at the end of the kitchen table nearest the dining room. Miriam and Rose flanked him.
"Will you be okay today?" Jerry asked Miriam.
"Yes, I'm sure I will be."
Rose chipped in. "The weather report says that it's going to be sunny and warm, so I thought I'd walk down to the beach with Mitchie, maybe bring a picnic. Miriam is welcome to come along."
"I'd like that."
"Well, then, I'll be off." Absently Jerry took Miriam's hand and asked again "You're sure you're okay?" then realized he was holding her hand and blushed.
She felt a tingle start in her hand and travel to her chest. "I'm sure I'll be okay. It should be fun exploring the beach with Michelle and Rose." She gripped his hand tighter and said "Thank you for everything."
Jerry reluctantly released Miriam's hand under the satisfied gaze of Aunt Rose. "You're welcome." Jerry stood up and called "Mitchie. I'm leaving for work." A small missile in pink zoomed into the kitchen for a hug. "You be good for Aunt Rose and Miriam. Promise?"
"I promise." Jerry didn't really think she understood, but he picked her up and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I love you, squirt."
"I love you too, Daddy." Michelle zoomed off.
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He turned to his aunt. "Rose, I know you're dying to tell Miriam about Annabelle and Mitchie. You can go ahead. You're about the only one I trust to tell it right. Even I don't get it right all the time 'cause I leave things out. If you're going to walk to the beach together, there's going to be gossip, so Miriam should be prepared for some of it.” He shouldered his messenger bag. “I should be home around four. Anything you want me to get at the Sobeys?"
"Maybe some chicken. Jack was thinking about firing up the barbeque tonight. And if you could pick up some beer for Jack, maybe some Keith's or Moosehead, that would be good too."
"Will do." Jerry spared the time for another long admiring look at Miriam and let his face show what he was thinking. Without conscious thought he retrieved her hand. "See you tonight."
"Au revoir, Jerry." She decided to meet his look directly and show her thanks with a smile that reached her eyes. Jerry reluctantly released her hands and went out the side door to the car.
"Mitchie!" Rose called. "Have you had breakfast?"
"Yep. A peanut butter sandwich."
"Do you want another one?"
"Cookie please. And milk."
"I suppose." Rose got out the oatmeal cookies and milk. The three of them sat companionably while Michelle ate quickly.
"We should get some things for the beach." Rose got up and rinsed the milk glass.
"The beach? Yay, yay." Mitchie ran off to her room. Miriam followed Rose upstairs.
The front hall went from the kitchen to the light blue main entrance. There was a door to the formal parlour with light green wallpaper that connected to the matching dining room on one side and an archway on the right leading to a pastel yellow living room with a television, a sofa and mismatched easy chairs on the other. There were patched cracks in the plaster, but everything was freshly painted and tidy.
The stairs wrapped around a closet and ended at a large central landing. Miriam could count six bedrooms, a large bathroom, a linen closet and a narrow door that Rose said led to the attic. Michelle had a smaller bedroom at the front of the house and was digging into her dresser for a swimsuit, scattering all of the other clothes on the floor. Miriam started picking up the debris and folding it before putting it on the bed to put away later. She smiled nostalgically. Before Miriam left for university her sister Sara had been just like this.
Rose found some beach towels in the linen closet and a mesh bag to carry everything. From Michelle's bedroom window, there was a glint of sunshine on the waves through the trees.
If it was just the two of them, Rose and Miriam could have walked the almost two kilometres to the public beach between Dauphinee's Lake and St. Margaret's Bay in about twenty-five minutes. But Michelle needed to pick up pretty rocks and examine them, go ick at the bugs under the rocks and pick flowers for the two grown ups.
The walk down the shore road to the beach was very calming to Miriam. There was an occasional car, but it was not busy. Not like Tel Aviv or Hamilton. There were dozens of boats moored at the head of the bay where the river emptied into it. This was the source of the rhythmic clanking she'd heard as she was falling asleep, the sound of cables hitting the tall metal masts of the yachts as the waves gently rocked them. It all looked so peaceful here.
Rose pointed out various things along the way. The yacht club across the estuary, the tourist cottages, the homes belonging to the local folk and the new families. They passed a motel and a couple of bed and breakfast places, then took a shortcut through a campground half filled with travel trailers to get to the beach. They climbed over a big sand dune dividing the bay from a brackish lake with ducks floating on it and found a place to spread out the blanket. It was low tide, so Rose encouraged Michelle to collect shells and splash in the cool June water.
"She has much energy, does Michelle." said Miriam.
"Oh that she does, girl. That she does."
"And Jerry loves her completely."
"Yes he does."
"So how is Michelle not his? She is his life."
Rose sighed deeply. "Well, he asked me to tell you so I'll give you what I know. After McMaster, he got accepted to Queen's in Kingston for his education degree. He figured that the only jobs around here that paid anything were government jobs of one kind or another, so he decided on teaching. He's very good at it from what I hear from the cousins and the kids all respect him even if he is pretty strict.”
"So, from what he tells me, one September night there was a big party at the house he shared with six other guys. He had too much to drink and passed out. First and only time, he says, and I believe him. When he woke up the next morning, this girl, Annabelle VanReimsdyk, was sleeping next to him wearing only a tee shirt, one of his. As you know, he's too good a Christian to feel right about that, but apparently Annabelle just gave him a kiss and then got dressed in front of him and left. His roommates teased him for weeks about it because Annabelle had a reputation of being free with her favours. Jerry doesn't remember anything after his sixth beer and was feeling really guilty about it.
"About two months later, Annabelle knocks on his door and tells him she's pregnant and it's his. Well, you know how responsible Jerry is, he offered to marry her right away and two weeks later they were man and wife. He took a part-time job so that he could support her while he continued his studies. He found out later that she was still sleeping around with her old boyfriends while he was at work. They came down for Christmas that year and she treated him and the rest of us like servants. Dotty was so mad she could spit but she was willing to put up with Annabelle's nonsense because she was pregnant with Jerry’s child." Rose looked out to make sure she knew where Mitchie was. “At least that's what we thought at the time.”
"Well, Mitchie came along, right on schedule in May and she's the wrong blood type – not his and not hers. So it's not possible that it was Jerry who got Annabelle pregnant. But it’s his name on the birth certificate as the father and he was already so in love with Michelle that he didn't much care. He also thought things were looking up between him and Annabelle.” Rose snorted and located Michelle again and waved.
“Just after Mitchie was born, Jerry got a job with the Halifax County school board. Annabelle came down the once with him, during the apartment hunting, but that was it. Jerry still didn't know about Annabelle's behaviour. He was still trying hard to make things work with her because he'd bonded with Mitchie. To be fair to Annabelle, on a good day she's decent company but there weren't that many good days while she visited us. Jerry said the last two months of the pregnancy were mostly good between them.”
“Anyway, as they were packing up the place in Kingston, Jerry went out to run some errands, but he got done early and came back to find her in bed with someone else. They had a huge fight. The following morning, Jerry woke up to find that Annabelle had taken the car and all her clothes. Mitchie was still in her crib. Annabelle left a goodbye note for Jerry, but no forwarding address or anything. Fortunately, they didn't have a joint bank account, so Jerry still had some money and he had a job to go to.
"He rented a truck and moved down here to Hubbards after he found someone to take the Halifax apartment. Jerry's dad, Steve, died of cancer shortly before Mitchie was born so Dotty was still in the middle of her grief when Jerry shows up with a three month old daughter in tow hurting from losing both his dad and his wife. Well, Dotty could never warm up to Mitchie, so I took care of her while Jerry was at work. Dotty hung on here until her mourning year was finished and then she sold the house to Jerry and moved into Lunenberg." Rose waved to Mitchie, who came running over with a bucket full of treasure.
Rose and Miriam listened to Michelle patiently explain that these were the best pirate treasure, but now she had to go digging for the real treasure chest. She ran up the dune and started digging when she got near the top.
Rose continued the story. "Annabelle comes down once a year in the summer to see Mitchie and make everyone's life miserable. There are a couple of guys that she pa
rties with when she's here. They never liked Jerry because he's such a Boy Scout. I'm sure it's one of them who lets her know what's going on." Rose looked like she was finished. Both of them sat quietly for a while, watching Michelle throwing sand in every direction with her tiny shovel.
"He looks so tired. So much in pain. Not like the happy Jerry I knew at Mac." Miriam looked at Michelle happily digging in the sand and sighed. "But Michelle is so precious. I'm sure he'd do it all again as long as he had her."
"She's precious because she knows she is loved."
"I think that's what my father gave me." Miriam hugged her knees. "I miss him so much."
"I think he did a good job with you. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did."
"It doesn't feel like it."
Michelle called from up the hill. "Help, Mireeyum. I think I finded something."
"What have you discovered, Michelle?"
Michelle put one hand on her hip and pointed with the shovel in her other hand at the hole. "Treasure, of course," she said in a tone that suggested that grown ups didn't know anything. Miriam smiled then started to giggle and got up to help.
Miriam knelt down and started to dig around the object that Michelle had uncovered. It was a block of wood with a metal ring on one end and pointed on the other. There was a bit of white nylon rope tied to the ring. The wood had weathered to a dull grey color, but there were white and red paint flecks in the creases of the grain.
"That's an old style marker float for a lobster trap." said Rose who had ambled up to see what they were doing. "There's always driftwood and other treasures washing up on the beach. Right, Mitchie?"
"Yes, Auntie Rose. Lotsa treasure. See?" Michelle showed Rose her treasure bucket filled with shells and pretty rocks then put the float into it. Then she ran down to the lake to look for ducklings. Miriam gathered up some things and followed along. Rose looked at her watch and said "Time for more sunscreen, Mitchie."
Michelle ran back up the dune and stood as still as she was able while Rose put another coat of lotion on Michelle's exposed pink skin. "No splashing in the water for a bit. You know the rules."
"Yes, Auntie."
Miriam looked at Michelle and wondered what it would be like to have children of her own. If her father had insisted on her marrying at seventeen when he got the only offer for her, she'd probably have three or four by now. She stood at the top of the dune, looking out over St. Margaret's Bay with the sea breeze in her face. This is a good place, she thought. The sea and the sun and the cool breezes. And people who care about you... that last thought brought back memories of Lebanon. Who there still cared for her? Her sisters, yes. Maybe some of the cousins. Maybe. Thoughts of Jerry brought a smile to her face as she basked in the warmth of the sun.
Last day of classes was an absolute waste of time. Jerry handed back the marked assignments and then just let everyone study quietly. If anyone had questions, about chemistry, he'd be happy to answer. A couple of the kids from Hubbards hinted that they'd heard about Mr. Ernst's visitor from away and he did not want to answer questions about that, even if they were his cousins. He'd already given the exam questions to the office to be printed, so he didn't have much to do. Like most of his students, he spent most of the day looking out the window at the sunshine and waiting for the bell to ring. But often he found his thoughts drifting toward home, towards Miriam.
He'd thought about what needed doing. She needed to find a good immigration lawyer if she wanted to stay. She might even have a good case for being a refugee. But he thought more about the feel of her small hands in his and how he wanted to find out what it would feel like to hold the rest of her.
Annabelle intruded into the daydream. There had been no passion in their marriage and rarely any physical contact. She would always have a good excuse, or at least one that he'd accept. She was nauseous from the pregnancy. She was too sore. She was too big. She couldn't stand being touched. She had just had a baby and needed time to recover. She did kiss him and tease him once in a while, but it rarely went any further.
The August night before she left, during the big fight, she gave him a catalogue of all of the dozens of men she'd slept with during their brief marriage. Some of them he had thought of as friends. But he didn't excite her; he was too clumsy, too naive, and too stupid. The baby needed a good father that’s all. She didn't even use Michelle's name. Like Mitchie was a toy she was tired of.
Now Miriam was here and she called him her best friend and smiled at him like he was special. But Annabelle had done that too, when she needed something. We will just have to see what happens. But Miriam smiled at me and held my hand...and she is so beautiful.