Monday, September 8th
Don Bosco High School, 4:30 pm
While Louise was going home from school, her Uncle Joseph called her.
“Hi, Joseph!” she said cheerily and he was happy to hear that she was not sad.
“Hi, Louise, we wanted to know if everything is OK with your school!” He always said ‘we’ because, even if he was alone while he was calling, he included Isabel in his concern for his niece. Louise dreamt of finding a person she could share her life with, as her uncle and aunt did.
“My lessons are very interesting this year, especially the Italian lessons. Our teacher, Miriam Busati, has even given us some recipes of Italian dishes. Katie has promised to try them with me.” She changed the tone of her voice when she added, “As expected, my dad hasn’t mentioned my subjects any more, but last week he was particularly busy and he spent some nights away on business trips. I have decided not to bring up the issue of my school. If he is interested, he is going to talk to me about it!”
Joseph knew that his brother would not discuss it with his daughter, he would just oblige her to do what he wanted if he wished, but he was also aware that Brian would never ‘waste’ his ‘precious’ time going to talk to the teachers or to take a definite position about his daughter’s school. Neither he nor Susan had ever gone to the school celebrations, the school play or the Mass at the beginning or the end of the school year. Sometimes Joseph wondered why his brother and his sister-in-law had had a daughter, because he had never seen them play with Louise when she was a toddler or talk to her in a tender fatherly and motherly way. The few times they had been invited to his brother’s, it had been painful to see the unsuccessful efforts of Louise to attract her parents’ attention and the complete indifference and even annoyance of Brian and Susan. That was the reason why Isabel and Joseph had decided to spend as much time as they could with their niece and she had become more and more attached to them.
“Louise, I am glad to hear that you are happy about your school. Isabel and I will be on holiday for a couple of weeks, as every year in September. We are leaving next Thursday and we are coming back on the 25th. We are going to Vancouver to see Isabel’s sister who has just come home from hospital.”
Louise knew that her aunt’s sister had had a serious operation. Luckily everything had gone well and she would be back home soon. She was sad when her uncle left for his holiday in September because, when they had left for a cruise in August, she had gone with them and it had been a wonderful time. In September she was at school and she couldn’t go with them. But she tried to sound cheerful when she commented, “Oh, yes, I know! Give all my love to Isabel’s sister. I hope she is better. Can’t we meet before you leave?”
“Yes, I was calling to invite you to have dinner with us next Wednesday so you can tell us about the news at school and about your teachers!”
“That’s a wonderful idea! See you next Wednesday, Joseph, a kiss to Isabel!” Louise didn’t bother to ask her parents for permission, partly because they always allowed her to spend time with her father’s brother, and partly because they never asked what she was doing or whom she was seeing. They just knew she went to the gym twice a week in the evening, on Tuesday and Thursday, she went to the Mass on Saturday evening and then she went for a pizza with her friends. They had never objected when she had told them she would spend the day at one of her friends’ homes and Louise was not sure they even knew the names of her friends. She often envied Meg, who was not rich and didn’t have a beautiful villa with a swimming pool, but had a real family, a dad and a mum that were always there for her whenever she needed their support, who always knew where she was, who were interested in her projects for the future and respected her decisions. All Louise’s schoolmates were convinced that she was lucky because she had a lot of money and she could buy whatever she wanted, but she would have given her villa and her money in exchange for a mother and father that CARED for her!
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Bill Carlton car garage, 6 pm
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Before closing his garage in the evening, Bill made a phone call. He didn’t like the person on the other end, always so bossy and arrogant, but business was business. That person paid him well and he also paid Steve’s debts every one or two months, so he couldn’t complain.
“Damn it, Bill, I have told you a hundred times not to call me on my mobile. I have given you the number of the prepaid phone. Anyway, is everything ready?” The tone was never different, always nervous, always menacing.
“Yes, I have done the job you asked me to do. When are you sending someone to take everything away?”
“I think tomorrow, let me know how much I owe you, but nobody must know that I use your ‘service,’ so to speak.”
“OK, OK, you have already told me. Steve is the only one who knows, and he better not tell anyone. By the way, is Steve sick or something? I didn’t see him at the Trucker last Friday, I tried to call him all weekend but he did not answer. What’s the matter with him?”
Silence at the other end for a few moments.
“I didn’t know anything about this. I saw him today. He looked calm and he was OK. Call him. You have to check on him, you know!”
“Why are you so nervous? I have just asked because it was the first time I hadn’t seen Steve on Friday and the Friday before there was a girl with him.”
“A girl? Who?”
“I don’t know, but she did not belong to the Trucker, if that’s what you are asking. I have never seen her before.”
“We must be sure Steve doesn’t back out. Call him! I have had doubts about him for some time now. He is too nervous. Does he still have debts with you and your friends?”
“Yes, of course. As long as he owes us money he doesn’t want to back out or do some stupid things, you can be sure!”
“I hope you are right! Make sure you are right, or…”
The phone call ended abruptly, but Bill was used to it and didn’t mind. He closed his garage and went back home.
***
When he was at home, Bill picked up his phone once again and made another phone call, but this time HE was the one who commanded, HE was the one who controlled.
“Hi Steve,” he said immediately when the other person picked up the phone.
“Hi, Bill,” nervous tone, even agitated. “Why are you calling me?”
“Last Friday I didn’t see you at the Trucker. I tried to call you all weekend and you didn’t answer. You are not thinking of going to the police, are you?”
“Of course not, I am not stupid! But I want to put an end to all this. I will stay in the game until I have paid my debts, but then I want to be called out.”
“I don’t think it will be so easy, you know too much about a lot of things and I am afraid you’ll have to stay in the game.”
“We’ll see, Bill, we’ll see.”
“See you at the usual place next Friday?”
Steve ended the call without answering. Maybe he was being reckless, talking like that to a person like Bill. But Bill was right about one thing: was it so easy to back out now? Would he ever be free? It had been so easy to fall into the trap, but now? Who could he ask for help? He couldn’t go to the police because he was in pretty deep, and in the last few years, he had moved away from all the people who could really help him. He didn’t want to involve Jill because it could be dangerous for her and he cared too much.
The day that had begun so well was ending with fear and apprehension and a long night awaited him.
Miriam's home, 9 pm
Miriam had had a really busy first school week and a pleasant weekend, and now, at home and with a cup of coffee in front of her, she sat down and took out her laptop to see her emails.
She was glad to see that a few of her Italian colleagues had got in touch with her and she answered their emails briefly, inviting one or two of them to visit her in Canada whenever they wanted. Miriam was always polite and kind to everyone, but when it came to choose her close friends, she was very selective. Her colleagues or the people she met in her parish on Sunday in Italy did not know anything about her personal life, about her suffering due to her mom’s behaviour. She hadn’t told anyone of her father’s letter. She was not shy, she was just reserved and maybe she had not yet found a person whom she felt she could trust implicitly. Even during the time of her father’s illness, she always tried to smile at school, both in class and during meetings, and many colleagues had not realized that her dad was so seriously ill. On the other hand, she was always ready to listen to other people’s problems and she never refused a few minutes of her time when she felt that the person in front of her needed comfort or advice. At school and in her parish she was respected and well accepted but she couldn’t say she had a best friend or a person she trusted more than the others. She was not a loner though, because she enjoyed going to a pizzeria, a cinema or to a concert with colleagues or friends. But she was not similar to many of her colleagues who felt lost if they had to spend a day or an afternoon alone at home. She appreciated solitude and moments to stay by herself, listening to music, reading a good book, walking in nature and thinking.
The email that was always particularly welcome was Father Lucio’s. He had written the previous Saturday a message full of affection, sending her pictures of a path in the countryside, amazing in the early Autumn colours. It was a path where she liked to walk with her dad when he still felt like it and was strong enough and then, alone, immersed in nature and in her thoughts.
Now she finally had time to answer and to tell Father Lucio about her first school week.
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‘Dear Lucio,
Thanks for your kind email and the photos that brought me back to Italy for a moment and to the beauty of its nature. The landscape is wonderful here as well and I have enclosed some pictures of Lake Ontario at sunset seen from the path not far from my home.
My first week at Miracle High School was really exciting. I must say I am satisfied with my approach to my new students and their attention to my classes. Most of them are enthusiastic and they have asked me to bring them photos of Italian monuments and some Italian recipes to try with their families. I have shown them the ‘Cappella degli Scrovegni’ in Padua with the famous frescoes by Giotto and they were really enchanted by the beauty of the colours and by the way the great painter was able to capture the spirit of some episodes of the life of Christ.
My new colleagues are very nice. Last Saturday they were here in my bungalow for dinner. There were seven of them and I had to buy some chairs! We had a wonderful time and I am proud to say I cooked delicious lasagne and tiramisu. I hoped Mrs Dawson, the secretary of the school, would come, (I told you in my previous email that she was so kind when I arrived here!) but she said she had already been invited by her sister. It is strange… when we met at school she reacted as if she had seen a ghost or as if she had suddenly remembered something unpleasant. I hope I haven’t said anything that may have hurt her. Now she is very kind but it is as if she wanted to keep me at a distance… Maybe it’s just my imagination and she is timid or she is going through a difficult period.
Anyway, one of my colleagues, Julian, the Maths teacher, who is very nice, offered me his mother’s car. Unfortunately, she has recently had heart problems and she doesn’t feel like driving any more; the car is almost new, it is not very big, and you know, I don’t like big cars. Last Saturday, I went with him to his mum’s, she let me try the car. It is very comfortable and easy to drive, even if I have never driven a car with automatic transmission. This week we are going to make the transfer of ownership. With a car I will be more independent if I want to visit other places on the weekends.
Father Mark told me to say hello to you for him. I have learned that he has had health problems recently, but now he seems to have fully recovered. He is really a wonderful person, always joyful and encouraging with everyone, and even if he pretends not to, he is always aware if someone has a problem or looks sad… he notices everything, he watches over us and our students like a father.
I hope you are all right, Lucio. I keep in my heart your advice and I remember you in my prayers. I will keep you up to date.
Love, Miriam’
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