LITMIR.BIZ

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night we’re hitting one of the coolest parties! Kurt Henderson’s!! Ahh! I’m so psyched! Parent-free and the coolest people will be there!!! I wish you were here. We’d have so much fun! Party time! Hehe. The only thing is, my parents would totally freak if they found out, so they think I’m sleeping over at Jody’s. It’s going to be such funness!! Anyways, talk to you later.

      Lotsa luv

      A.

      Garnet sat back in the chair, slightly dazed. Kurt Henderson! He was the most popular guy at their high school and was known for partying. Not that Garnet or Amy had ever gone to any of the parties he’d been at — they had only heard about them. Their mothers would never have allowed them to go.

      And Jody! Jody was in Grade 11, a year ahead of Garnet and Amy. She lived down the street from where Garnet used to live but they had never been friends. She was one of those girls that Garnet hated, yet secretly envied. She always hung around with the “in crowd” and always seemed to be where the action was. But the worst part about Jody was that she had one of those goddess bodies that most mortals are not born with. She was tall with straight, long, black hair and a body with curves in all the right places. Kind of witchy, Garnet thought. And when she walked down the hall at school, she swung her hips a little and the guys noticed, often calling over to her and making flirtatious comments. Then she would just toss her head and give them a wide smile with her perfect teeth. Garnet had never liked Jody and now it looked like she was Amy’s new friend.

      Garnet bit her lip. If only she could move back to Owen Sound. Back to her old house. She had lived next door to Amy for three years. Garnet felt the black digital watch on her wrist and recalled the day her friend had given it to her, shortly after she and her mother had moved from Toronto. She had been in Grade 7, and every day Amy would come to call on her to walk to school together. Garnet’s mother would have already left for work and Garnet would always be scrambling, still getting dressed. Finally, one day, Amy took off her watch and handed it to Garnet, saying, “Here, take this. You need it more than I do.” It was not an expensive watch and it skipped ahead a minute or two every week or so, so that Garnet had to remember how much ahead of time it was running or else readjust it. But she wore it, anyway. It reminded her of Amy.

      And now she was stuck here where she had no friends and nowhere to go tonight. If only her mother hadn’t taken this transfer. Her only hope now was that the promotion her mother was expecting would fall through. Maybe then there’d be the chance they could return to Owen Sound and she could have her old life back.

      “Breakfast is ready!” her mother called. Garnet punched the desk with her fist and went to the kitchen.

      After breakfast, Garnet went upstairs and pulled on a pair of blue shorts and a white T-shirt. As she tied back her red curls, she glared at herself in the mirror. Nose too freckled. Lower lip too fat. Then she set off on her bike.

      A white Sunbird was parked in Elizabeth’s driveway when Garnet arrived. She set her bike at the side of the house and climbed the stairs to the verandah. The faint strains of someone playing the piano filtered through the closed door. Garnet tapped the brass lion-head knocker and waited. A few moments passed before the door swung open, and she was startled to be greeted by a strange little woman with dark, questioning eyes. Her short brown hair, flecked with grey, began in the middle of her forehead and was combed back away from her face so that she reminded Garnet of a chimpanzee.

      “Yes?” the woman inquired in a low tone.

      “Oh! I was looking for Elizabeth.” Garnet frowned. “Is she here?”

      “Who are you?” the woman asked, her eyes boring into Garnet’s.

      Garnet suddenly became aware that the piano music had stopped.

      “I’m Garnet Walcott. I helped Elizabeth yesterday when she fell. I just dropped by to see how she was.”

      The woman’s eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth as though she were about to say something, when Elizabeth appeared at the door. She smiled when she saw Garnet and Garnet could see that she looked rested and more energetic than she had the previous day. “Hello, Garnet. So nice to see you again. Do come in,” Elizabeth invited, motioning with her hand.

      The strange woman moved aside and Garnet stepped into the green-and-white-tiled entrance, where an antique oriental vase, decorated with colourful flowers and birds, rested on a small table and a grandfather clock stood in the corner, its pendulum swinging back and forth, announcing the half-hour with a gong.

      “Gerdie, this is Garnet. I met her yesterday when I went out for a stroll. Garnet, this is Gerdie, my housekeeper.”

      “Hello,” Garnet said, smiling weakly.

      “Hello,” Gerdie grunted, making no attempt to return the smile. “Well, I’ve got work to do,” she muttered. She turned and shuffled away, climbing the floral-carved spiral staircase. One more unfriendly face in this city.

      “Come, let’s go into the living room.” Elizabeth guided Garnet to the left, through the French doors. “You’ll have to excuse Gerdie,” she said, lowering her voice. “She’s very shy and often doesn’t trust strangers. When she’s here, she hardly says a word, just does her work. Though I have to say, she has come out of her shell in the past few months. Ever since Stan Hunt swept her off her feet.”

      “Has she been your housekeeper for long?” Garnet asked, finding herself a little curious about the woman.

      “Oh, only for about the past year. Ever since I started to get my dizzy spells,” Elizabeth replied. “I’ve known her for years, though, from church. And really, she’s more than a housekeeper. I don’t know what I’d do without her, especially now that I can’t drive anymore. She comes about three times a week to help me out. She even takes me to the doctor and counts out my pills and sets them out for me so I don’t forget to take them.”

      Garnet looked around the room. A grand piano took up the entire front corner and plants set in the alcove of the bay window absorbed the last of the sun’s morning rays. Beyond the oriental rugs the hardwood floor gleamed, and the high, ornate ceiling, framed by plaster mouldings, held a chandelier with eight yellowed fabric shades in the centre of it. Several paintings, depicting rural landscapes, and signed by Homer Watson, hung on the walls, and on either side of the wooden mantel stood a pair of side chairs, their golden fabric worn through years of use, and resembling the one Elizabeth had commented on the day before.

      But what struck Garnet most about the room was that, if it hadn’t been for a few modern conveniences such as the television, it was like taking a step back in time. Their home in Owen Sound had also been a century home but it hadn’t been like this. It had undergone too many renovations over the years.

      “I love your house, Elizabeth. It feels ...” Like I belong here, Garnet wanted to say. The thought came out of nowhere and she didn’t know why it had even entered her mind. Somehow, being surrounded by these items from the past offered her solace, like a loyal friend she could count on. But that was so ridiculous. “It ... it just feels so comfortable,” she finished, grabbing at the first word she could think of.

      “Ah, that it is,” Elizabeth agreed. “But unfortunately, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to stay. Gerdie has been helping me to keep the house in order, but I’m getting too old. The stairs are too steep and getting around this immense home has become cumbersome. Gerdie’s fiancé, Stan, is a real estate agent. He said I could get a good price for it and I don’t doubt that. When he sold my good friend Clara’s house, she got top dollar for it. Now he keeps urging me to sell. He says it’s a good time to do it, but I ... I don’t want ... I can’t sell it yet,” she finished firmly.

      “Why not?” Garnet asked.

      “Because ...” Elizabeth sighed. “I’m afraid it’s not as simple as it sounds.” She seated herself in the armchair and motioned for Garnet to seat herself as well. As Garnet sank into the sagging burgundy sofa behind her, an unusual hand-painted clock on the centre of the mantelpiece began to chime. Elizabeth waited for it to finish, and Garnet

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