Misfortune: Christmas With Scrooge (16 page)

A short while later, they entered Britten
Investments. Cara ushered them quickly into his office and shut the
door privately behind them. Swiftly, Laura crossed the room,
advancing on Dexter earnestly. He watched her rushed approach with
his brows knitted together.

“Dexter, I need my money back.” No time for
salutations, she needed to get directly to the point of her
visit.

“What are you talking about?” He looked
perplexed.

“The money I gave you to invest, I need it
back as soon as possible.”

“Whatever for?” Irritation and confusion were
evident in his expression, as he glanced back at his mother. “What
is this all about?”

“The insurance company refused her
claim.”

“What?” Angrily, he leaped to his feet, and
grasped the telephone receiver in his hand. “Like hell they
will!”

Laura watched as his call was put through to
the broker. Foaming at the mouth, he bellowed through the phone
lines in an irate tone that even had Laura shivering. A few times,
when he looked angrily up at her, she shrunk back defensively.

When at last he slammed the receiver back on
its cradle, he turned on her immediately. “You stupid, idiotic
woman—”

“Dexter!” Adell cried horrified, giving him a
scornful glare.

Laura wanted to cry, but instead bit down
hard on her lip. Now was not the time to act upon her emotions.

Infuriated, he spun on his heel, exposing his
back to them and shutting out his feelings. She watched his
shoulders lift as he inhaled deeply, then droop in despair.

“They got you on a technicality. You didn't
pay last month's premium and your thirty-day grace period has
expired. According to the contract you signed, they are not
entitled to owe you any claims.”

At last he turned and looked at her. His eyes
were dark and hard. “You're going to have to declare
bankruptcy.”

His mother gasped. “Dexter, there must be
something you can do to help.”

He shook his head even before Laura asked,
“What about the money I gave you? If you give it back—”

“I can't.”

She froze, feeling a dreadful chill overwhelm
her. “What do you mean, you can't?”

“The money is locked in for a year. Dammit,
Laura, I explained all this to you. The funds have been invested in
a non-redeemable certificate in order to get the best possible
return in the shortest period of time. You won’t be able to touch
that money until its maturity, which we agreed that twelve months
would suffice before you needed to withdraw from it.”

She listened listlessly as she felt the life
being sucked slowly from her. Adell was speaking, but her words
were inaudible to Laura's frenzied mind. Instead, she found herself
slowly turning around and walking out of his office. She needed,
desperately, to get as far away from him as possible. Behind her,
someone called her name, but she wasn't sure whom.

She walked in a daze from the building and
out into the cool September wind. Its chilling breeze struck her
cold face and lifted the dark strands of hair from her shoulders,
arousing her numb conscious momentarily.

Focusing on the speeding cars whizzing by
with their occupants rushing to return to a home, a family, and a
life, Laura felt a staggering pity for the woman she had become. A
feeling of hopelessness filled her heart, along with a sense of
grief, for she despairingly mourned the girl she could never
be.

“Laura, don't!” Dexter appeared out of
nowhere, seizing her arm in a fierce grip and wrenching her off the
road's curb. “Are you insane? Nothing is worth that.”

Bewildered, she stared up at him. What was he
talking about? And what was he so angry about, now? He wasn’t the
one who had lost everything and was now in financial ruin.

He stared down into her wide vulnerable eyes,
and clenched his jaw. An intense fierceness blurred his vision and
had him wanting to reach out and shake her soundly. The wild
emotions coursing his blood had an overpowering effect on his
equilibrium. Instead he glowered angrily down at her and roughly
ordered, “Go home, Laura. I'll see you shortly. We need to
talk.”

She continued to stare at his troubled
profile even as he turned and called for his mother, who waited
anxiously by the building entrance. She didn't think she could
handle yet another “talk” with Dexter. Their talks always seemed to
end in a heated confrontation. Something Laura's unsound mind was
able to handle. For some bizarre reason, she was in the habit of
unwittingly drawing an angry reaction from the man. If she had the
answer to this, possibly she could divert his opinion of her.

“Mother, take Laura home. Watch her closely
and I'll be there as soon as I can.” He turned back to Laura and
added suddenly a notch softer, “Everything's going to be okay.”

As she watched him walk away, she wondered
why then did she feel her world was crumbling and she was drowning
a slow painful death? With Dexter O’Reilly's likeness standing at
the helm.

“Come, Laura, let's get you home. A nice cup
of tea will help ease your nerves.” Adell put a consoling arm about
her shoulders and led her in the direction of the parking lot.

They left together, passing the time in the
vehicle in silence, Laura deep in thought, until they reached
Adell's doorstep. It was then that Laura turned and advised the
woman of her plans.

“I thank you for your hospitality, Adell, but
I'm going to take my leave now.”

The woman looked alarmed. “What do you mean?
Where will you go?”

“I don't know yet. But I must leave, for my
own sanity.”

“You can't leave, now. Dexter will fix this,
wait and see.” She reached out and touched the girl.

Laura looked down at the loving, motherly
hand and closed her eyes. “I'll leave with only the clothes on my
back. The rest you should be able to get refunded. I thank you
again, Adell, for all the help you've been to me.”

Adell searched her eyes. “You're serious,
aren't you?”

Laura nodded. “I still have my father's
annuity. It should tie me over for a little while.”

“Let me help you one last time.”

“No I can't—”

“Please. Let me. Where are you going with so
little money? You need help Laura and I want to give it.”

Laura probed the older woman's determined
face. “How?”

“I have a cottage, along the coast of Lake
Nipissing, we only use it during the summer. You can stay there
until then. The scenery is breathtaking and the open air is
exhilarating. Nothing could be better to help clear your mind.”

“I don't know—”

“Laura, you need to get away. I can provide
an inexpensive solution, it's an opportunity for you to clear your
head and get back on your feet.”

A look of surrender began to appear on her
face and Adell smiled encouragingly.

“All right, but on one condition.”

Adell sighed happily. “Of course, what?”

“I'd like to leave now, and—” She looked
seriously at the woman. “I-I don't want Dexter to know where I've
gone.”

The gladness drained from her face. “I can’t
do that, he'll be so worried.”

Laura shook her head. “I hardly doubt it. But
that's beside the point. You must promise me.”

She looked unsure, but nevertheless said,
“All right. He won't know. But I still think—”

Again she shook her head. “I can't Adell. You
see you were right, I do care for your son, and his animosity
towards me pains me greatly. I no longer have the strength to fight
him.”

Slowly the man's mother began to nod,
understanding if not exactly agreeing. “Then you must go, before he
arrives. I'll face the wrath.”

“Thank you.”

The older woman disappeared into the study
only to reappear shortly. In her hands she carried a leather folder
and a set of keys. “Here's the keys to the cottage, if you leave
now you should arrive before night fall. Directions are in the
folder as well as a bit of money to cover living expenses.”

“I can't take your money.”

“And live off what? The wilderness? You're a
brave girl, Laura, but I hardly think that much. Of course you'll
take my money.”

Laura smiled with a tear in her eye. “I'll
pay you back, every penny, I promise.”

“I don't doubt someday you will be able to.”
She smiled in return, then went over to the writer's desk and
retrieved another set of keys. “You'll need a means of
transportation. In the garage is my old Volkswagen, I never use
it.”

“Oh, Adell.” Impulsively, she hugged the
woman and allowed the tears to fall. “You're wonderful. I'm going
to miss you.”

“Nonsense. We'll see each other soon. You
just take as much time as you need to recuperate. Now go, before I
change my mind.” With a zestful grin, she gave the girl a push.

One last time she smiled her thanks then made
her leave. Laura was going to miss the older woman. In such a short
time they had become very close, a feeling kindred too maternal.
Dexter O'Reilly didn't realize how good he had it.

The Volkswagen was exactly where she said it
would be and after only a few attempts, it choked to life. Giving a
final glance in the direction of the home, Laura gave a sorrowful
sigh, before turning the vehicle onto the road. Fighting back
tears, she dare not look back in fear of Dexter's car appearing in
her rearview mirror as he drove up the street. Needing to break all
contact with him, although in her mind she knew was right, her
heart told her otherwise. Seeing him again would only break her
heart, and that she was certain would be her ultimate demise.

With the directions stretched out across the
passenger seat, she drove north until the city outskirts dropped
off and she was cruising the wide-open countryside. Not long after
she passed Huntsville, she climbed the steep back roads of the
Nipissing inland, gasping at the breathtaking beauty of the
countryside.

Towering pine trees, some as tall as the
skyscraper buildings along the horizon of the province's capital,
covered most of the land. Laura had lived all her life in the
Muskoka yet had little opportunity to travel north. In all its
flawless splendor she was even rewarded a glimpse of a bull elk
hovering along the roadside sporting a magnificent crown of
antlers. This was nature at its supreme. Untouched and oblivious to
a complicated and sometimes unmerciful world.

It was nearing dusk by the time she whined
the small vehicle along a grassy and narrow path leading to the
cottage. At first sight, it appeared exactly that, a cottage. With
its stone base and log cabin appearance, one could strongly feel
the pioneer era. As she stepped out of the car she was assailed by
a fresh untainted breeze of pine and lake water mingled with the
cool sharpness of early fall. Adell was right; already she could
feel the effects of the undisturbed surroundings and their
restoring powers.

Leaving the vehicle behind the house, she
wandered down the rocky path leading to the front of the building,
and was confronted with the exact expanse of the “cottage”. What
appeared to be a small wooden cottage from behind, turned out to be
an enormous chalet from the front, seated precariously high above a
rocky shore. It was completely made of stone and logs, which
continued in the same theme within the home.

A warm living room with overstuffed
furnishings, greeted her along with a huge elk head similar to the
one she spotted along the road, keeping guard high on the
cathedral's wooden wall. Its black beady eyes followed her as she
crossed the room and went to investigate the rest of the
cottage.

Underfoot the cold surface of the knotty pine
floor caused her to wish she had left her shoes on as her perusals
discovered a large kitchen with a wall of windows overlooking a
breathtaking view of the lake in all its awesome glory. Behind the
kitchen was a dining room hosting an old harvest dining table that
could easily seat ten, while upstairs she discovered three fabulous
bedrooms with their very own timber theme throughout.

Laura felt lucky to have met a woman such as
Adell and been given the opportunity to stay in such an extravagant
but welcoming home. And yet, the cottage was so big and vast she
felt a sudden uncomfortable pang of loneliness. She would have
given anything just to be able to share it.

A hard, cold and unloving face came to mind.
With sorrow she pushed the image aside. The first step to healing
would be to erase the memory of the man for good from her mind. She
knew, however, it wouldn't be easy, especially with the many
numerous family photos gracing the walls.

Surveying them all, her eyes fell upon the
child image of Dexter. In one photo, he was beaming up at the
camera, so full of joy, with his arm around his brother. Another
photo showed him making a comical face, his eyes crossed for the
photographer. She smiled and traced her fingers over the image of
the boy he once was. It was not hard envisioning his childhood
ghost running along those very pine floors. But if she intended to
get on with her life, and that meant without him, then she needed
to learn to scorn those very thoughts.

Dropping her fingers, her smile vanished and
she turned away with a sigh before starting a fire in the large
stone hearth. Then, without warning, a silent unexpected tear
rolled down her cheek.

CHAPTER 7

The wind picked up outside, thrashing angrily
against the log cottage. Laura curled further into the warm knitted
afghan she tucked around her feet; a good book propped against her
knees. She knew the cold winter was coming and if she had any sense
she ought to think about heading back to the city. But the actual
thought of leaving her small haven was depressing. In the two
months she had been there, she slowly but surely came to peace with
herself.

Painfully she faced the truth she had fallen
in love with Dexter, and the feeling would never be reciprocated.
She might have been able to live with that, but the bitter more
disturbing realization was knowing not only would he never love
her, but more painfully, wanted nothing to do with her.