A Brother's Duty

Lucy heard Bruno’s bark before she heard the vehicle pull up. Weary after a long day’s work she put her feet down and heaved herself upright to look out the window. The dark blue sedan wasn’t familiar to her.

  As she stepped onto her porch, she called, “Bruno! Come!”

  Bruno trotted over to take his place next to her and sat down.

  An officious looking woman with too much hairspray got out of the vehicle. “Lucinda Wilkinson?”

  Lucy came to full alert. “That’s me. Who are you?”

  “I’m Alison Gregory from the Children’s Aid Society of Lanark.”

  “Do you have a warrant?”

  The woman drew up to her full height. “I don’t need a warrant. We received a complaint that you are not providing the necessities to a child.”

  “From whom.”

  “I’m not at liberty to say. Now, I’d like to inspect your home.”

  “No. You are on private property and the only child here is still inside me.”

  “You don’t have a child living here?” Ms. Gregory looked temporarily confused.

  “No, and I won’t be living here when my daughter is born, although it will still be my summer place.”

  Ms. Gregory nodded. “May I verify that there isn’t a child on premises, please?”

  Lucy asked, “May I call my lawyer for her advice?”

  Ms. Gregory sighed. “Certainly. I’ll work on some other paperwork. You have fifteen minutes.” She turned back to her car.

  “Lemire and Fleishman. How may I direct your call?”

  “Natalie Lemire, please. It’s Lucy Wilkinson. I have an investigator from the CAS on my doorstep.”

  The receptionist replied in a concerned tone. “Natalie should be able to take your call, Miss Wilkinson. Please hold.”

  Twenty seconds later a voice with a muted French accent came on the line. “Lucy? Marian told me you had a CAS officer at your door.”

  “Yes. She wants to verify that I don’t have a child hiding in the trailer.”

  Lucy heard a sigh. “She has to report on all complaints received. She does have the power to call in the police to help her and she does not need a warrant to investigate a complaint. You have to let her do the inspection.”

  Lucy felt a surge of anger. “But what about the complainant?”

  “Please ask the officer to issue a warning letter to the complainant if she agrees that it is a frivolous complaint. I think we know who is causing this.”

  Bitterly, Lucy said, “But she can’t tell us.”

  Chantal said, “Unfortunately, no. Because there’s zero tolerance on child abuse they have to keep their informants confidential or they might not get any complaints. But that means that good parents sometimes get investigated.”

  “But I’m not a parent yet.”

  “I know that but she doesn’t. The officers have a tough job. I’d recommend that you put a smile on your face and cooperate to the best of your ability.”

  Lucy nodded. “Okay. I’ll put on my hostess face but I’m not at my best today. I only got home from work a half hour ago and my feet and back still ache. Thanks for the advice.”

  “I’m glad I could help. By the way, I was contacted today by an investigator hired by the university. The university takes academic fraud very seriously but they aren’t prepared to confront Professor Drake without some real evidence. Are you prepared to have our forensic team take an image of your laptop’s hard drive?”

  Lucy hesitated for a moment then said, “Yes.”

  “Good. I’ll have Marian text you. You can get here by four any weekday, right?”

  “Tuesdays aren’t good but any other day works. Just text me the date.”

  “Will do. Now go talk to the CAS investigator.”

  Lucy ended the call and told Bruno to heel. She walked down to the car and pasted on a polite smile. “Thank you for letting me confirm things with my lawyer. Would you like a tour of my miniature cottage?”

  Ms. Gregory took on the guarded look of a professional investigator. “Certainly.”

  “As you can imagine, there isn’t a huge amount of room but it is sufficient for me right now.” Lucy opened the door and waved the officer in. “I’ll sit here while you take a look around.”

  Ms. Gregory took in the neatly arranged trailer with the unmade queen sized bed at the other end. She walked the few steps through the bathroom to the bedroom. Noting the prenatal vitamins on the shelf in the bathroom, she asked, “Were you able to find an obstetrician or family doctor here?”

  “I have a family doctor in Ottawa who still sees me. He referred me to an obstetrician with privileges at the Civic. So far everything is progressing as expected. And I’ll be moving closer to Ottawa before too long.”

  “So there are no problems with the baby?”

  Lucy decided to lay her cards on the table. “Despite what your probable complainant may have disclosed, I have never had a drug problem. Other high risk behaviours, but not drugs. When I was feeling stressed or depressed, I would have a couple of drinks, get frisky and go home with strangers, but I never did drugs. And as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I stopped drinking. The girl I roomed with in Edmonton did have a drug problem but I didn’t find out about that until I’d already paid her for two months’ rent and she’d stolen some of my jewellery. I moved out as soon as I could after I found out. And I was tested for a full suite of communicable diseases and STDs after the obstetrician read my questionnaire. I tested clean, for which I give thanks every day.”

  Ms. Gregory nodded acknowledgement of the information. “Well, it’s obvious to me that there is no child here. He or she would be pretty hard to hide.”

  “I said as much.”

  “I’m sorry but I have to do my job.”

  Lucy sighed. “I know. Will you be issuing a warning to the complainant about the consequences of making a false complaint?”

  Ms. Gregory paused before answering. “I will consider it. Thank you for your time.”

  Lucy stood and went out the door to hear Bruno barking happily down the lane.

  “You have a visitor?”

  “It’s probably John. He’s a good friend who has been helping me fix the porch and seal the trailer roof.”

  John’s big pickup came in view and he pulled it into a spot next to the little sedan. There was a look of curiosity on his face as he turned toward the porch before crouching to accept Bruno’s welcome.

  “Hi, I’m John MacLeish.”

  Lucy said, in a brisk tone, “This is Alison Gregory of the CAS.”

  John said, “Well, I hope everything has been satisfactory.”

  Ms. Gregory replied, “I doubt I’ll need to return. Thanks again for your time and your cooperation.”

  Lucy said, “Please don’t take this the wrong way but I hope I don’t see you again.”

  The officer smiled. “I expect you will see me though. I often eat lunch at Jessie’s when I’m at the main office in Smiths Falls. You served me the last time I was there. But I do hope I don’t have to make another official visit.” She walked quickly to her car and waved as she drove away.

  John waited until the car was on the way. “What was that about?”

  “Children’s Aid got a complaint about a child in danger.”

  John thought about it. “The Osieckis?”

  “Probably but complainants are allowed to remain anonymous.”

  “Because it’s better to investigate a false complaint than to ignore a real one?”

  “Something like that.”

  John studied the weariness on Lucy’s face and pulled her to him for a long hug. She leaned against his strength and began to relax. “Well, my dear, I’ve had a long day dealing with a very fussy client who seems to find fault in everything we’ve done. It’s all minor cosmetic things that need fixing but she won’t sign off on the acceptance of the work until they’re fixed to her satisfaction. I’m really not up to painting tonight so I was wondering if you’d like to have sup
per at my place.”

  Lucy looked at the trailer and then at the thermometer on the porch showing 35 degrees. “You have air conditioning, right?”

  “Yes, I do. And I have a nice batch of mild chili with Italian meatballs and lots of mushrooms in the crock pot that I put in just before I came here. We’d have to stop for salad or dessert or anything else you’re craving.”

  Lucy leaned in for another hug. “That sounds very nice. I’ll bring along the taboule I was going to have for supper. I think I’m craving potassium rich foods.”

  “Then I’ll get a banana cream pie for dessert.”

  “You are too good to me, John.” She brought his head down for a peck on the cheek.

  “Not good enough yet, Lucy.” He looked down into her eyes and contemplated a kiss but let the moment pass.

  Lucy gave him another squeeze. “I’m feeling a little guilty about leaving Bruno alone again.”

  John smiled. “Then we’ll bring him along. He can have fun marking all the apple trees in the orchard.”

  Lucy tilted her head. ‘That’s your orchard? I thought it was Anne and Donnie’s land.”

  “All fifteen acres. I open it up to the neighbours and the food banks when I’ve picked enough for me and the family. There won’t be much extra this year. We had a long early spring and then a bad frost at the right wrong time. I might get a third of the normal crop this year.”

  “When do the first ones come in?”

  “The first Lobos are almost ready but peak is in three weeks for them, the Macintoshes two weeks after that and the Cortlands come in last week in September. I have a few Honey Gold trees but they’re all mine. It’s my favourite cider.” He smiled. “I’ll share with you, though.” He put his hand on the small of her back and nudged her toward the trailer. “Go change and get what you need.”

  After a leisurely supper Lucy put her feet up while John put on a 17 Strings CD. “What were you and Archie arguing about on Sunday?”

  John snickered. “Remember what I said about Christians having an obligation to correct each other?”

  Lucy replied. “Yes. I’m starting to understand why Grandfather dragged me to church every Sunday in the summer. It’s hard to keep to the path without help.”

  John gave a satisfied and hopeful smile at the thought that Lucy might return to the ranks of believers. “Well, he was warning me that Megan Ritchie was back in Kemptville.”

  “Megan?”

  “Anne and Donnie’s eldest daughter. She had a big crush on me the year I moved here.”

  Lucy felt a flare of jealousy then realized that John was using a brotherly tone. “So how is that an argument?”

  John looked conflicted for a moment. “Archie is a terrible gossip but he knows he is and tries to curb it. And he knows that I have tendencies towards being a …”

  “Judgmental tightass?” Lucy smirked as she finished his sentence.

  John had the grace to look chagrined. “Well, yes. Archie called me out for being unforgiving when Megan came home after first year university in Toronto. She’d fallen in with a bad crowd and instead of offering friendship I shunned her. It wasn’t my finest hour.”

  He held up a hand. “She has more tattoos than you do and more metal. I reacted badly and wasn’t very diplomatic. We’d been friends before she left and she was expecting I’d understand. Donnie’s the kind of guy who demonstrates his love for his family by working hard but he doesn’t have many kind words or hugs for his kids. Anne loves him despite his taciturn ways but the girls needed more. Emmie married out of high school to a local farmer’s lad and so far that’s going well enough. Bonnie’s in second year at Carleton and got a tattoo on her ankle to bug her father and threatens to get another one when he’s being an idiot. But Megan got a scholarship to Ryerson for animation.”

  Lucy said, “That’s an odd crowd at the best of times. There’s real pressure to not only celebrate your art but to establish a unique style.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately they all tend to look very much alike in the end.”

  “Well, Archie was almost gleeful when he told me that Megan was divorced and back in town with a baby and that she and Donnie hadn’t reconciled.”

  Lucy made the connection. “So that’s why Donnie’s so rude to me at Bible study.”

  John looked surprised. “He was rude to you?”

  “Lily and Phyllis told you about it. They mentioned it had something to do with his daughters.”

  “Lily and Phyllis will also tell you that I can be forgetful. I thought Donnie was just being grumpier than usual and Anne was going to call him on it.”

  “Perhaps but I seem to have triggered it. I probably reminded him of Megan.”

  John nodded. “Probably. Anyway, I called Archie out for being a gossip and he asked me if I was going to extend the hand of friendship to Megan and ask her forgiveness.”

  Lucy said, “Well, are you?”

  “I’m not sure, Lucy. I’m pretty embarrassed by what I did.”

  “Then you definitely need to apologize.” She got up from the rocker and sat down next to him on the big sofa. “I can be here if you like.”

  John took her hand and said, “I’d like that.”

  “Why don’t you invite her for lunch on Saturday? We can feed her and her baby and she can have a nice visit with Anne.”

  John allowed his amusement to show. “We?”

  Lucy elbowed John. “Of course we. I have to be here to make sure you’re pleasant to her.”

  “We’ll have to let Irene know that we won’t be there for lunch.”

  Lucy felt a moment of anxiety. This was starting to feel very serious. About the time she usually broke things off. She started to pull away then looked up at John with a question in her eyes.

  John said, “Are you ready for us to be a couple?”

  Lucy squirmed. “I’m not sure. Are you?”

  “I wasn’t until church on Sunday. Mrs. Donlan made me so angry when she snubbed you.”

  “Like you snubbed Megan?”

  John sighed. “Yeah. Exactly like.” He took Lucy’s hand. “I wondered how I would react to people disapproving of you. I hoped that I would stand my ground because I’ve always gone along with them before. You aren’t the image of the woman that everyone expects I should choose. I think I let their attitudes and expectations for me govern my behaviour for a very long time.”

  “I’ve always run away from guys like you. This is pretty scary for me.”

  “It’s scary for me, too. I didn’t expect you. Until Pastor Jack came along I thought the bunker mentality, you know, pure us versus wicked them was the way that Christians were supposed to behave, even if the New Testament says different. I knew that what I was doing wasn’t exactly right but I didn’t know how to think about it properly. Jack started challenging us to be more hospitable, then Rob asked me what it meant to be a Christian and then I met you. I think the hardest of the three was dealing with Rob because it forced me to find the words to explain it to him and I found out I wasn’t doing it right. I’m sorry I hadn’t unlearned very many of my bad habits when I first met you. But you scared me that day because I saw the loneliness in your eyes and knew you needed someone. And I was very attracted to you in spite of everything.”

  He shifted so he could watch her face. “I know that you don’t want to be anyone’s obligation. You made that very clear at our first meeting. But I could have helped you with money or finding you an apartment or other less personal assistance and still kept my promise to Rob. If I’m with you now it’s not because of my promise to Rob.”

  Lucy licked her suddenly dry lips. “I’m still pretty nervous about this, John. I know you well enough by now to know that this will either end in marriage or an ugly breakup.” She lifted her chin to stare him in the eyes. “I’ll try not to run away. But you need to, no, we need to do some serious praying about where we want this to go. I have some serious trust issues and a baby coming. I think you still have some baggage, too. I?
??m not certain about you but I didn’t have any examples of good marriages in my life until very recently.” She squeezed his hand. “It’s scary but I’ll risk it if you will. It felt so good when you backed me up against Gillian. And seeing Irene and Ernie or Jessie and Alec together… well, that’s what I want.”

  John smiled. “That’s what I want, too, Lucy.” He paused to examine her face. “So, are we a couple?”

  Lucy nodded nervously. “I think so, yes.”

  John shifted again so he could gather Lucy close. “Good.”

  Lucy put her head on his shoulder and they sat in comfortable silence for a while, allowing the precise playing of the 17 Strings arrangement of Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring to fill the space. When the piece was finished, Lucy reached up and drew John’s head down for their first kiss. She concentrated on keeping it a kiss of promise: a promise of future passion, a promise of shared respect, a promise of trust.

  John’s experience was limited to a pair of stolen kisses with a German girl while apprenticing in Stuttgart. Even with his limited experience he recognized that Lucy didn’t want to take things any further tonight. But the electricity and connectedness he’d felt the first time they’d touched returned tenfold.

  Lucy ended the kiss and returned her head to John’s shoulder. There was no comparison between this kiss and any other she’d ever given. This one was far more intimate because there was no acting involved, no calculation, no defenses, and no expectation of ending up in bed. This was a kiss between trusted partners. It should have scared her witless but it felt comfortable and safe. She took his free hand and kissed it, too.

  John murmured, “Thank you,” into Lucy’s curly hair. Then he asked, “So when do we tell Irene so she can stop trying to set me up on blind dates?”

  Lucy lifted her head again and kissed the corner of John’s mouth. “I think she knows already, sweetheart.”

  John shifted his head to turn Lucy’s action into a proper kiss. “I think you’re right, my love.”

  Chapter 18