Chapter 8
Monday, September 15th
Kilton Motor Company, 9 am
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Andy had difficulties understanding the behaviour of his colleague Steve. The previous Monday he was happy, they had laughed and joked together, no menacing phone calls had ruined his good mood. After a couple of days, Steve had gone back to his nervousness. His cheerfulness had been replaced by irritability. Once again angry phone calls, discussions and bad words. Andy was at a loss, he didn't know what to do. He was trying to follow his wife’s advice to wait for Steve to ask for his help, to leave him alone.
Now he was at his office and he was waiting for Steve who often arrived a little late on Monday. Steve came into the office and he was visibly irritated about something but Andy knew that he had to talk to him because the things he had noticed in the account books were important. He had checked them once again: the irregularities were there, he had not been mistaken.
“Steve, please, come here. I want to show you something on my PC.” No matter how nervous Steve was, he was always kind to Andy, because it was impossible to be nasty with him. Andy was never rude. Andy always cared about everybody in the office, he had kind words for everyone and everyone loved him.
Steve stood behind Andy who was sitting in front of the computer and leaned forward to see what Andy was showing him. He was glad his colleague could not see his face because he turned pale when he realized that he had inadvertently registered something that he shouldn’t have, while Andy was on vacation. Now, what could he do to hide it? Andy was a wonderful man, but he was too honest to pretend he had not seen it and he would certainly go to the manager, Mr Kilton, and then? He had to anticipate Andy’s moves, that was the only thing he could think of in a few seconds.
“Yes, Andy, I see! I don’t know what is wrong,” he said tentatively. “Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake in the data recording?”
Andy answered politely, even if he didn’t like the idea that Steve was trying to blame him, “I have checked everything twice and I am sure I am not mistaken. I thought maybe while I was on vacation, you inadvertently…” his voice trailed off because he saw Steve’s angry look. He had never seen his colleague look at him that way.
“While you were on vacation with your family,” Steve knew that what he was going to say was unjust, but again, he was not free to say what he really meant, to behave in a natural way and tell Andy that it was all his fault, that he was responsible. The ‘Plan B’ his partners in crime had thought of was to lay the blame on Andy, who was the auditor for the company. The time for this plan B had come, because of Steve’s mistakes, because of Steve’s reckless life. “…While you are on vacation with your family, I have to do my job and yours, every year for two weeks…” Andy was looking at him unbelieving. “But I am sure I didn’t make any mistake. Anyway, go and talk to Kilton, if you like.” He had to prevent this at all costs, he knew.
Andy tried to remain calm, even if something was telling him that it was not just a matter of a mistake in the account statement, “Steve, I think you are overreacting! I didn’t mean to question your work, which has always been impeccable. OK, I’ll talk to Kilton and you’ll see that everything will be settled.”
But Steve said immediately, a little kindlier, “I will talk to Kilton next Thursday because now he is on a business trip for a few days and on Thursday night he will be in Oshawa at the convention. You know that whenever he is here I see him because I deal with the suppliers and the supplies, and I have to report to him every week. Don’t worry, we’ll settle everything. If Kilton asks to speak to you, I will tell you, OK?”
Andy didn’t know why, but he didn’t trust Steve completely this time. Anyway, he thought that if he didn’t hear from the manager, he would go talk to him personally in a few days. So he agreed and went back to his work, even if he was disturbed all day by Steve’s reaction and by his harsh words of a few minutes before.
Miriam's home, 6:30 pm
Miriam’s weekly email to Father Lucio had become a sort of habit. She realized it was Monday and she was opening her laptop to write to the Italian priest and friend.
‘Dear Lucio,
I would like to write more frequently but time flies and my lessons keep me very busy. I must say that I am very happy about all my classes, from the beginner level to the upper intermediate. Next Saturday, I am meeting Mrs Driscoll, the Italian teacher who has just retired. Father Mark has put me in contact with her and I am going to her home. I hope she will give me some advice because I think experience is essential in the job of a teacher.
When I arrived in Canada I thought that my weekends would be lonely, but in reality I am never alone. Last weekend I met Julian, the Maths teacher, the one who sold me his mother’s car, at the vigil mass and we went to a little restaurant with a terrace on the lake just outside the town. We had a very pleasant evening. Julian is a nice person, he is thirty- seven like me and he offered to take me to Toronto.
So, yesterday I had my first visit to the metropolis, a wonderful town, not chaotic at all. I went to the top of the CN tower. It was amazing. There is a glass floor and you can see the town below. I have enclosed some photos for you to see. We saw the Rogers Centre from the outside, the stadium with a retractable roof that is in the centre of the city. It is an impressive building and Julian promised to take me to a baseball game one of the next weekends, before the end of the regular season.
I enjoy the company of Julian, he is very polite and kind, but in everything he says he mentions his mother. ‘My mum likes this…’, ‘My mum doesn't like that…’, ‘My mum thinks ,,,’. He asked me about my family, but I decided not to talk about my difficult relationship with my stepmother. I am sure he wouldn't be able to understand. Anyway, we had a pleasant time together. I enjoy his company and he seems to enjoy mine. This week, with my most advanced class, I will talk about the ‘borghi’ , the little towns in Italy that preserve, better than big towns, the traditions and the aspect of a medieval place. I have noticed that these students are eager to see photos of Italy, to get in contact with real-life material, not just what they find in their schoolbooks. It is really pleasant to talk to them, to help them discover my country.
Last week we read the Italian national anthem and we listened to it because here, every morning before the beginning of the lessons, they pray and listen to the Canadian national anthem. It is a tradition that we should have in Italy too, I believe, don’t you think?
That’s all for now, thanks for the photos you send me every week and for your affection that is important to me, because it is what keeps me connected to my past and to my home country.
Love,
Miriam’
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***
Steve Brown’s home, 7:30 pm
Steve knew he had to make a phone call and he was incredibly nervous. After all, he would be calling a person who controlled and scared him, who could ruin his life.
After work, he had gone to the supermarket to do some shopping and then he had arrived home with a heavy heart.
Now things were really getting complicated, and he started to doubt whether he could break the bonds and finally be free. He had avoided the ‘Trucker’ and his ‘friends’ for two weeks and he had spent more time with Jill, but now? What he had feared for many years had finally happened and this could mean the end of all his dreams of a normal life.
As soon as he arrived home, he picked up the phone and dialled a number he knew by heart. An arrogant voice answered, “Who’s speaking?”
“It’s me, Steve!”
“What’s the matter, Steve? You know I am busy!” These were his so-called friends; no friendly tone, no friendly questions, but he was used to it and this was not the worst part.
“My colleague, Andy, noticed something in the accounts. I must have made a mistake and recorded something I shouldn’t have while he was on vacation!”
“It's your business. You know what you must do. And you must do it quickly!”
“But isn’t there another solution? I can’t do this to my workmate!”
“It’s your problem, not mine! And be careful! I wouldn’t like you to become an obstacle to my business!”
“OK, OK! I will do what we have planned!”
The call was interrupted abruptly and Steve remained with the phone in his hands for a few minutes. He would have liked to cry but he was so exhausted he didn’t have the strength to vent his despair. He felt lonely, and hopeless, and all the freedom he was dreaming of achieving was far, far away and unreachable. Jill could not help him, and at this point, she had better stay away from him.
He even thought for a moment of committing suicide. He was a good-for-nothing, nobody would miss him and Jill would find another man, much better than he was. But no, he didn’t have the courage for such an extreme action. No, he must find a better solution, maybe he could talk to Andy. His workmate was such a sensible man, together they would work something out. But again, no, it was not fair to involve his colleague in something he, only he was responsible for.
That night would be a long one for Steve.
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and then Add to home screen.