Olivia's Mine (16 page)

“Ah Olivia. That’s a tough one. I don’t know
if I can employ Lucy.”

“She thinks you think she’s crazy.”

He coughed.

“Well, that’s probably a good sign then. It’s
not that I think she’s crazy Olivia, I just don’t know if she’s
well enough yet to consider employing. I visited her in the
hospital a few times, as I’m sure you’re aware. She wasn’t at all
stable in her mind.”

“She’s been out of the hospital for quite
some time now.”

“I know, but she’s delicate. She went through
quite an ordeal.”

“Lucy Bentall is not delicate, as you well
know,” Olivia protested. “Forgive me Mr. McMichael, but people do
learn to move on after a loss, even such a tragic one. Consider
your own circumstances.”

McMichael stopped in his tracks. That was
bold for her to say to him. Their relationship was one of
acquaintance at best, and he was her husband’s employer. He was not
used to this kind of personal attack.

“I beg your pardon, Mrs. Fitzpatrick?”

“Again, I’m sorry sir. But you had to learn
to move on with your life, when your wife died, and you did. Look
at the girls, they’re happily skipping up the street. Not that they
don’t miss their mother, of course they do, but they have learned
to cope. Lucy will learn to move on to. She’s already coping.”

“Are you suggesting I get Lucy a skipping
rope?”

This infuriated Olivia.

“Don’t patronize me, Mr. McMichael. I really
don’t appreciate it. If you didn’t believe Lucy needed help, you
wouldn’t have done all the things you did for her in the hospital.
Well, now she’s out and she needs a different kind of help.”

McMichael never had women, or men for that
matter, speak to him in this manner. He found it fascinating that
she had the courage confront him. He felt himself drawn to her, and
didn’t want to push her too far.

“Give it some time then Olivia, shall we?
Let’s see how she does over the summer.”

“She needs a job now sir.”

“I’m not the only employer around here
Olivia.”

“You might as well be.”

“Are you arguing with me?”

Olivia laughed. She actually laughed at him,
and he found it exciting.

“I prefer to think of it as negotiating.”

“Well, enough negotiating for today then, all
right? But if you ever want a job, please do come see me. I can
always find a job for a woman with some…tenacity.”

They had reached the church and the girls and
Mrs. Schwindt were waiting outside.

“Would you care to sit with us Olivia?”

“Thanks for the invitation Mr. McMichael, but
I’m waiting for Lucy. I see her coming now.”

“Fine then. Have a wonderful day. Give my
regards to your husband,” he paused for a moment. “You know,
perhaps you two ladies could volunteer for the war effort, form
some sort of ladies league. It would certainly keep you busy and it
would be good for the town as well.”

“I think Lucy’s looking for more than just
something to keep her busy. She needs something to keep her spirits
up. And she needs an income.”

“I was thinking more for you, Olivia. Still,
you never know what will come of it. Food for thought, no?” he
asked.

The aroma of the turkey filled the house as
Olivia pulled the bird from the oven later that afternoon.

“Can I help?” Frank offered.

“Yes,” Olivia said, “you can help by getting
away from that lemon pie, and setting the table.”

“Caught in the act, hmm?” Frank said.

“Yes, and get moving please, our guests will
be here any minute.”

“Guests? What guests? You said guests,
plural.”

“Yes, Lucy will be here shortly. Set the
table for four please.”

“Liv,” he laughed, taking her in his arms,
“what have you done? Who else is coming for dinner?”

“That nice Sergeant Wolanski.”

“You invited the policeman over for
dinner?”

“Yes. His name is Rudy.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because that’s what his mother called
him.”

He playfully spanked her.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I
know his name is Rudy. Why did you invite “Rudy” over for dinner?
What are you up to? A little matchmaking?”

“Maybe.”

“Oh Liv, I don’t think that’s a good idea.
Couldn’t you have left it alone?”

“No. I’m just giving her a little
encouragement, that’s all. When we were talking, she never said she
wouldn’t marry again.”

“You asked her that?”

“Not in so many words, but we were talking
and lets just say she never said she would, but she never said she
wouldn’t. Don’t you think he’ll like Lucy? I think he’ll like
Lucy.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll like Lucy. I don’t think
that will be the problem.”

“So then, what is the problem? You said you
met him once and that he was nice, right?”

“Yes but anyone who doesn’t throw me in jail
when he should have is probably nice to me.”

There was a knock at the door.

“Oh well,” Olivia laughed. “It’s too late
now! Could you get the door please?”

Frank went to the door and let Lucy in.

“Can I take your coat, Lucy?” he asked.

“Only if you swear you won’t laugh.”

Olivia and Frank looked puzzled. Lucy took
off her coat. She was wearing one of the floral dresses from the
general store.

“Lucy! You’ve got a new dress! You look
great,” Frank complimented.

Olivia howled in laughter.

“He just doesn’t get it,” Olivia laughed.
“He’s a lovely man, but he never will.”

“What?” Frank asked. “I was giving the lady a
compliment.”

“Thanks anyway Frank. I appreciate it. Liv is
laughing because this dress, well, it’s not quite me. It was the
strangest thing. After church, McMichael asked what I was doing for
Easter dinner, and I said I was coming here for my birthday and he
marched me down to the store and insisted I have a new dress for my
birthday. So I tried to say thanks, but they weren’t quite my
style, but he glared at me, (you know the way he does that), and
what can I say? Here I am.”

“I told you he likes you,” Olivia smiled.

“Liv, that’s not it. Trust me. You should
have seen the dresses he had made for his wife. Beautiful silk
blouses. Skirts of the finest brocade. She lived like a bloody
queen. And that’s saying something, coming from an Irish lass.
Still, they say it’s the gift that counts and it will help get me
through the spring.”

“Thanks so much for coming,” Frank
welcomed.

“No, thank you. I think Margaret was glad to
get rid of me. I think she has invited a special man over for
dinner. She was busy making stuffed snails, and fussing about. I
don’t know where she got them. Frenchie must have smuggled them in
for her.”

“He probably did,” Olivia agreed, a secret
smile crossing her lips. Margaret! The widow Wolfe. It all made
sense.

“You know, you two ladies should open your
own store and keep all the ladies in the height of fashion,” Frank
laughed.

“That’s not a bad idea Frank,” Olivia
said.

“I was kidding Liv. That’s all I need for my
chances at that new manager’s position, you opening a store and
giving competition to McMichael’s place.”

“Well,” she said, “I was talking to him
earlier…”

“You were what?” Frank asked
incredulously.

“At church,” she continued. “He thought maybe
the women could get together and do something for the war
effort.”

“Oh Liv,” he said, his voice calming. “That
would be fantastic. You were telling me you wanted something
worthwhile to do. See, I do listen to you.”

“And make you look good in front of the boss,
because you married a wife who knows how to play up to him.”

“Ah, I married a smart gal, it’s true,” he
said, kissing her.

“Frenchie brought me up a copy of the
Vancouver newspaper,” Lucy offered, “and I read that the men going
off to war need some winter items like gloves and hats sent over to
them.”

“Well that shouldn’t be too hard to
organize,” Olivia said.

“But there’s also a need for good used
clothing for war torn families. Maybe we can ask for donations of
any good clothing item, new or used, for the war effort.”

“Something for the families that are left
behind here in Canada,” Olivia said. “You know, a lot of women’s
groups are sending things overseas to the servicemen, but I bet
you’re right Lucy, there are probably many families here in Canada
who have lost their bread earner to the war. With little or no
income coming in it must be very hard for them.”

“It’s like what happened to a lot of us here
when the landslide happened. Luckily there were people here that
cared. Not everyone is so fortunate.”

There was a knock at the door.

“Frank, will you get that?” Olivia asked.

Frank glanced warily at his wife.

“Lucy, I hope you don’t mind, but Rudy
Wolanski is joining us for dinner. He didn’t have anyone to spend
the holiday with, so I invited him along.”

“It’s kind of like an orphan Easter you’re
having here,” laughed Lucy.

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not. Maybe you should make it an
annual event.”

Luckily it never dawned on Lucy that Olivia
was trying to do a little matchmaking. Lucy was in an incredibly
talkative mood, having found her voice once again, and enjoyed
having a new audience. To say that she had captured the ear of the
sergeant would have been an understatement. Rudy, like most men at
the Beach, was falling under her spell.

“We have a little something for you Lucy,”
Olivia said, “for your birthday. I’m sorry I didn’t have time to
wrap it up properly.”

She handed Lucy the two bags she had received
from Frenchie.

Inside the first bag was a red Aryan sweater,
similar to the one Lucy had been wearing the day Olivia met
her.

“Thank you,” Lucy gasped. “It’s beautiful! I
haven’t had anything this lovely to wear since everything was
destroyed.”

“Well, Olivia wanted to get you something
special,” Frank said, “so she called on our friendly neighbourhood
smuggler, who was only too happy to help.”

“Frenchie!” Lucy laughed.

“Wait, there’s one more,” Frank said, handing
her the second package.

“Now, I know you said you’d wear beige, but I
hope you’ll like this just as well,” Olivia said.

Lucy grinned ear to ear and opened the bag.
Inside was a long, matching red Tartan skirt, similar to the one
she had previously owned.

“We don’t mean to offend you or anything,
because we don’t know what clan your family belongs to, we just
wanted one to match the sweater,” Olivia admitted.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter,” Lucy said, tears
forming in her eyes. “I’m Irish, not Scottish anyway. I just wear
them because I love them. I love the colours.”

She gave Olivia and Frank a big hug.

“I really can’t believe it. Thank you both so
much. You have no idea what your thoughtfulness means to me,” Lucy
said.

Not to be out done, Rudy reached into his
pocked and pulled out a tiny, wrapped box. He held it out for
Lucy.

“What’s this?” Lucy asked, taking the tiny
box into her hand.

“Well, I hope you don’t think it too forward
of me,” Rudy said, “but I knew it was your birthday. Olivia had
told me it was a bit of a celebration, so I just wanted to pick you
up a little something.”

“That’s very nice, you shouldn’t have,” Lucy
said, opening the gift.

Inside the tiny box was a little tiny paper
origami bird. The type that Akiko had taught her to make only a
year or so ago. The kind she had made for her children in the past.
A wave of emotion came over her. She bolted out the front door, the
tiny bird clenched in her hand.

“What did I do?” Rudy asked.

“I don’t know,” Olivia replied.

“Shouldn’t you go out there?” Frank
asked.

“I think she wants to be alone,” Olivia said.
“Her coat’s still here. It’s cold outside. I don’t think she’ll go
far. I’ll watch her through the window. Let’s give her a few
minutes before we go running after her. Something has obviously
upset her, but I think it’s something personal. It must have
triggered a memory for her.”

Lucy placed her head against the porch post
and started to cry, unaware that she was being observed. No one
followed her outside, she knew. She was all alone again. There was
no way anyone inside the house could have known the significance of
the tiny sheet of folded paper. None of them had been there, with
her family and the Yada’s. She placed the little bird on the
railing.

“Maybe it really is time to leave after all,”
she said to herself.

She thought she had turned a corner in her
sadness, but now she once again had doubts. She took a few steps
off the porch, determined to take her leave and leave the bird and
the memory behind.

The wind picked up at that moment and lifted
the tiny paper ornament into the sky. She was certain then that
Akiko had made the piece, as it was aerodynamically perfect. It
swirled around and around and headed out towards the ocean. Then
the wind died down and the little bird landed in the sand. Lucy
looked out toward the water, afraid of the thoughts that were
running through her head.

The world around her was perfectly still for
a moment. There was no noise at all, not even in the lane. The town
clock began to chime in the background, but in her mind, it
remained silent because she did not want to hear. It reminded her
of the silence her daughter must have known, and for a brief
moment, Lucy felt like they were together again. She held her head
in her hands. The wind picked up again, startling her. An
unseasonable gust whistled by, stinging her ears, and she was
suddenly acutely aware of her surroundings once more.

She stopped sobbing. She closed her eyes and
let the wind enter her lungs, forcing life back in them. She raised
her head to the heavens, her arms embracing a new spirit that was
filling her. She opened her eyes.