Gypsy Roots

was smelling a flower. She managed to immortalize that in a photo.

  ‘Cat haven, huh? Maybe I should consider re homing him, ’ Adele commented with a laugh when she saw them.

  ‘He must’ve been tired. Out all night? ’ Rose asked Adele with a wink at Target who was lying happily on her lap.

  ‘He would have liked that I’m sure but no, I don’t think it’s safe with so many feral cats around, ’ Adele said. ‘Plus he could cause a lot of damage to the animal kingdom by himself, ’ she added smiling fondly at him. Target, lazily managed to open his eyes in a sign of recognition.

  ‘Are you sure you didn’t use Feliway? ’ Adele asked Rose with another smile. ‘Ah, I meant Feline Appeasement Pheromone. That synthetically version of a cat pheromone that can be sprayed over the cat to get a calming effect. Mainly for cats with behavioral problems, ’ Adele explained. ‘I know someone that used it with good benefit for their cat for a while’.

  ‘Why Target? ’ Rose decided to clarify the mystery surrounding his name.

  ‘Actually it’s a nickname. His real name is Bootsie. You’ve seen these white patches on his paws? ’ she said warmly. ‘Huh. You have not seen him in a fighting mood. Frightening!’ she said rolling her eyes up. ‘And then I guess there was the time when he kept stealing from Mrs. Capeletti. She gave him the nickname, ’ Adele reminisced in a soft voice.

  ‘Food? ’ Rose said cautiously.

  ‘Coins, ’ Adele clarified dryly. ’He was after treasures just like Edward Teach, ’ she then added laughing softly not to wake up the cat. ‘Maybe Blackbeard would have been a more suitable name. ‘You better be careful with that glittering choker of yours or my pilfering puss will get it, ’ she added with a confident tone of voice and a wink.

  Rose thoughts about the nickname were the same. Adele was now seated on the bench near Rose and they spent some time enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and the picturesque view of the garden.

  The bench was an all-weather friend artificial wood made of polystyrene plastic so that there was no need for her uncle to worry about the illegal harvested natural forests and need for maintenance work she guessed. It looked like wood to her till her gardener, who disliked it, started to persuade her to buy natural wood for the garden. They eventually settled the issue and kept the bench as a recycled object.

  ‘’He did a good job with your garden, ’ Adele said and for a moment Rose did not realized the transition in her thoughts until she added: ‘I knew that he would find a way to solve your problematic spot between those to gardenias, ’ Adele said with satisfaction.

  ‘Yes . Now that he nestled up that bunch of roses there, I have even more scent in my garden and I do feel like in haven most of the time, ’ Rose replied with satisfaction.

  ‘We need a scentometer, ’ Adele laughed. ‘Or maybe not. If scent can be measured someone might decide to tax us for it, ’ she added bursting with joy.

  Rose joined her contagious laugh while Target looked at them with some annoyance however he did not leave her lap and did not show his fangs. When they settled Adele added with a soft voice.

  ‘My garden has always lifted my spirits. If I feel a bit blue, I just walk into my garden and almost instantly, voila, I’m refreshed. I’m afraid that not many people realize the beneficial power of a small and beautiful place like this on our health and general wellbeing. It’s a real pity, ’ she said with conviction. As they continued their little tittle-tattle the postman arrived to deliver the mail. Nothing for Rose but Adele had some bank statements and then the man asked them if they wanted to take the mail for Mrs. Capeletti too. He did not seem to be aware that she was dead and buried. Eventually they decided to sign for it and have Adele ring the relatives on behalf of the body corporate. Somehow it made sense, however their curiosity contributed heavily to their decision.

  ‘You know that she was killed, don’t you? ’ Adele asked for confirmation after the postman was gone from their sight. Rose guessed that she was referring to poor Mrs. Capeletti.

  ‘I heard it on the radio, ’ Rose said keeping it short.

  ‘No family, I hear. She left everything for the wealth fare of animal shelters. I never knew that she was a pet lover, you know, ’ Adele confessed. ‘Actually I came here today to ask for your help, ’ she continued looking at Rose with hope. Rose looked back with raised eye brows. She did not like to commit before she knew what the matter was. ‘OK. It’s about poor Mrs. Capeletti’s house. God rest her in peace, ’ Adele explained. ‘Her lawyers have asked me to help with supervising the cleaning of the house, ’ she continued.

  Rose suspected that Adele might have offered herself to help. She was a very active woman and wanted to get involved in everything that was going on around their small lot of land. What other easier way to keep up to date with the events? Rose thought.

  ‘The workers are coming tomorrow and I wondered if you would be able to join me and supervise the cleaning. OK it’s more than cleaning. It’s about sorting through the stuff and saving some for the recycling and…’she finished trailing off. ‘It’s a whole life in that house and we can’t throw everything into the garbage, ’ she said now with moist eyes.

  Rose thought she knew what she meant. For her and others Mrs. Capeletti was just a stranger but for Adele she was a lifelong friend. Adele was not ready yet to let go of happy memories together.

  They planned to start early in the morning and hoped to finish the same day. It was comforting to know that they had ten cleaners coming and a rubbish skip was to be delivered during the day. If the house was empty by the time of sunset they could expect to have the cleaners, painters and decorators leaving the house in a sparkle state in just 2 days. Too optimistic, huh? Before leaving Adele commented on Rose’s lifestyle choices:

  ‘Don’t you find Brisvegas a bit dull Rose? At your age I was keen on entertaining and after a vibrant, rapid paced life, ’ she said.

  ‘I’m more a comfort and security seeking type of person, ’ Rose assured Adele. ‘And I like the subtropical climate of the area’.

  ‘Aha’ Adele replied smiling at Rose. ‘Have you decided who the special one is yet? ’ she asked. ‘I think my niece has her eyes on one of them, ’ she added now looking at Rose seriously and waiting for Rose’s reaction. Rose tried to recall if she had ever met Adele’s niece and she found herself empty handed. ‘Angela, she is a police officer. She could not take her eyes off James last time she was visiting me. And I had the impression that they knew each other, ’ Adele added. Was Adele trying to make Rose jealous? she wondered and smiled.

  ‘Of course not my business, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you. And I do like my niece but I think at the moment James is into you. Not that it will stop my niece from interfering, ’ Adele said laughing. Target left with Adele and Rose went back into the house to plan for the day. Who was to know what James was up to or where he was so no need to worry about it.

  An Optimistic Soul

  Here she was, the rambunctious gypsy girl, big, bold and sexy, drinking her helluva coffee and reflecting on life again. Yes, there were days like these when she felt quite good about herself. The coffee was doing its work and everything seemed right with the world. Maybe it was the right time to put in practice some of her big ideas. Like for example introduce some regular physical activity in her schedule to prevent sedentarism from killing her.

  Rose had been till recently under the false impression that she was leading a simple and self-sufficient life but today after reading a short article in the local magazine she was faced with the harsh reality. Definitely too many calories in her diet! Can easily meet the criteria for a couch potato! And to add to that what a waste! Mottainai! As a Japanese person would say to express their regret. But people can change and she had the intention to show her rare gift, the power to adapt to different environments, to be flexible, to move forward.

  OK, she did feel a little better after this positive talk and she was hoping that this reality check would
progress towards something more constructive such as a regular gym attendance and perhaps a cut down on unnecessary calories. It’s good to read some magazines from time to time, Rose said to herself putting aside the papers. Time for applying the theory into practice. Time for a brief walk. Maybe those who say that 15 minutes of exercise every day can increase our life expectancy are correct. Nothing to lose by checking that out Rose encouraged herself letting out a big sigh and wearing a grim expression.

  While Rose was locking up her back door a Police car came to a stop in Adele’s driveway. Not another meeting with the boys in blue, Rose thought with annoyance then she recalled what Adele just recently told her about her niece and hoped that the car was just the herald of a friendly visit. It was something to be expected. She recalled briefly the cold interaction that she had with Angela sometime ago and shuddered. What was she really like in everyday life? Rose wondered. A by-the-book kind of person? Maybe she didn’t see her at her best. She might be on her way to becoming a sergeant.

  Half way through Rose’s preparations for departure and while running those kind of thoughts through her mind, her attention was caught again by a musical female laugh coming from the police car intermingled with a deep and somehow familiar male