Previously in the Summer Secrets universe… In the first story, the girls plot to get the boys into romantic situations, while the boys plot to avoid them. Meanwhile, each group sets up a clubhouse and Trixie tries to solve a mystery of Jim’s behaviour. In the second story, the boys are employed by Mr. Wheeler on a project of his, building The Pavilion, on the far side of the lake, Brian keeps his plan to go to Africa a secret and Di and Mart break up. Before the third story starts, Brian breaks up with Honey, Di gets together with Dan and Honey starts dating Mart. In the third story, a mystery package arrives for Trixie directly after her high school graduation. The mystery that ensues leads the Bob-Whites to Kentucky where Jim and Trixie lose their heads in the face of the curse and elope. They later disprove the curse and decide to keep their marriage a secret.
The fourth story deals with Honey’s attempts to find out a romantic secret that Mart is keeping from her and Jim’s efforts to deal with a blackmailer. During the fifth story, Trixie inherits a house, Mart and Honey get married and Dan and Di break up. Between the fifth and sixth stories, Honey and Mart discovered that getting pregnant was not so hard after all and Di begins a relationship with Eric Johnson, whom she originally met at Mead’s Mountain. In the sixth story, Brian suffers a set-back when he is in a car accident shortly after having surgery, Lucius Englefield’s legacy provides a mystery that Trixie cannot solve, the blackmailer’s actions help push Jim and Trixie’s relationship to breaking point and Honey and Mart’s baby son is born. Which brings us to the present… Another year has passed and Trixie is now twenty-two years old.
Part One
She Said
The Lynch Estate glittered with lights and buzzed with conversation for Diana’s combined graduation and going away party. Despite the tensions that remained due to the events of the previous summer, Di had persuaded all of her close friends to attend on the promise that the party would be large enough to keep them apart, if that was what they wanted.
She glanced around the room at her guests and sighed. Eric squeezed her hand.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “I just wish things were different. I would love it if my friends could all sit together and be happy, you know?”
He smiled, sadly. He was about to reply, when Diana’s mother approached the pair.
“Everything seems to be going well,” the elder woman noted. “Do you need a drink, Eric? Something to eat?”
“No, thank you.” He smiled at her. “I’m just fine.”
With a smile, she departed, checking on some nearby guests.
“I think she still considers me an outsider,” Eric mused, watching his girlfriend’s mother circulate among the crowd. “I’m still the new boyfriend.”
Di shrugged. “I’m sorry about that. I should have told her about us earlier.”
“Your friends all seem to accept us.”
Once more, Di shrugged. “They knew I was seeing someone for months before they knew who you were. And they’ve seen us together more often than she has over the last six or eight months.” She giggled. “Besides, it’s funny hearing her explain how I’m moving to Montreal and, by some amazing coincidence, you are, too.”
A bemused smile graced his face. “I’m never sure how to react to that.”
“I’m happy to let her think that way, if that’s what makes her happy.” She smiled. “It’s not like anyone believes it. Most people noticed how much thought and effort and work it took to arrange.”
“Still, it’s a bit of a blow to my ego,” he answered, grinning. “It makes me think I’m not approved.”
“You? Not approved?” Di shook her head. “You’re just about my mother’s dream for a serious boyfriend for me.”
He smiled. “Maybe that’s why she’s always so polite – she doesn’t want to scare me off.”
“Who needs scaring off?” Dan asked, as he came up next to them. “That sounds like something I could be in on.”
“Sorry. It’s the other way around,” Di informed him.
Her friend snapped his fingers in mock disappointment. “Just my luck. I thought I was about to have something interesting to do.”
Di gave him a look. “You don’t have interesting things to do already?”
He shrugged in reply, but did not speak. There was a look on his face that hinted at deeper thoughts than the light-hearted conversation warranted.
Eric glanced between them, seeming to size up the situation. “I’ll get you another drink, Di. Can I get you anything, Dan?” At the other man’s negative, he told them, “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“You have time for a quick word?” Dan asked her, as Eric walked away.
Di nodded and stepped back a few paces to distance herself from any who could overhear.
“So… you got anything new?” Dan asked her, in a low voice.
He had no need to explain what he wanted. Earlier in the evening, they had agreed to ask certain of their friends for any news on the front that concerned them most: the man who in the past had tried to blackmail Jim and who had also bothered Di. For nine long months, he had been silent and absent. Neither Dan nor Di felt that this boded well.
She shook her head. “I spoke to Honey, Mart and Trixie. None of them have seen or heard anything, still.”
Dan sighed. “I spoke to Jim and Brian. Nothing there, either. I don’t understand it.”
“I’m worried, too.” Di grasped his arm. “Am I doing the wrong thing by leaving?”
He patted her hand and she loosened her grip. “This is right for you. You can’t put your life on hold, waiting for this guy to reappear. Who knows? Maybe we got lucky and the reason he’s not bothering us is that he’s dead, or something.”
“It would help if we knew his name, or anything about him,” she answered. “I hate the waiting and not knowing.”
Dan nodded. “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know right away. You don’t need to worry about being out of the loop.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Dan. You’re a true friend.”
“Any time,” he answered. “Here comes Eric. I think this is my cue to leave.”
“You don’t need to; you know that.”
He shrugged. “I’m the ex. I’ll always be in the way.”
“You’re my friend,” she corrected. “You’re not in the way.”
“And what are the two of you conspiring about?” Eric asked pleasantly, as he handed Diana her drink. “Do I need to be worried?”
“What do you think?” Di asked, smiling flirtatiously at Eric and glancing across at Dan.
Eric bent to kiss her. “I think that I’m the luckiest man in the room.”
“Good answer,” she replied, laughing.
He Said
The morning after the party, Jim walked from Manor House to Ten Acres, to look the place over. Since last summer, he had spent very little time on his own land. More by chance than design, he had landed a job teaching at a small, private school a few hours’ drive from Sleepyside. He had visited his sister a few times over those intervening months, but had only detoured through his old home town once. Since he was staying at his parent’s place for a few days, he thought he should take this chance to check things over.
He made a brief tour of the area where the buildings were, checking that both the summerhouse and barn were secure and that neither was in need of any particular attention. That done, he stopped by the foundation of the old house and stared at it for a time.
A year ago, he and Trixie had commissioned plans for a house and had been on the verge of signing a contract to begin the work. They had intended that, after the new house was built, they would make a public commitment to each other and live here together. That had all gone wrong the summer before and the blueprints had been tucked away ever since. Jim could not even bear to look at them.
With a sigh, he turned away. Many months may have passed, but the hurt had not subsided. Neither had the situation improved. Trixie was still not speaking to him and he was afraid that the toll this was taking on relationships among the other Bob-Whites would soon be too much.
He shook his head to clear it. He had done all that he could. He turned his attention to the wilder part of the property and tried to keep his thoughts away from things that could not be changed.
She Said
Diana glanced around her old room and sighed. A knock sounded on her door and she looked up to see Eric standing in the doorway.
“All finished?” he asked.
She nodded. “If I’ve left anything behind, it will just have to be shipped out, or wait until next time. I don’t think there’s anything else that I need, though.”
“Good. It’s almost time to leave.”
She took a couple of steps towards him and slipped her arms around his waist. “My mother is going to cry in the airport,” she murmured against his chest. “I almost wish that all my friends were coming to see me off, so that she’d try to keep up appearances.”
“It will be okay.”
“And I’m a little worried about leaving my friends behind like this.” She sighed. “Everything’s changing.”
“It’s a new chapter in your life,” he confirmed. “I hope it’s going to be a good chapter.”
She gave him a squeeze, then stepped back. “I’m sure it’s going to be. Let’s get started.”
He Said
Dan picked up the phone and dialled Brian’s number. Ever since the party, he had been wondering whether Brian had told the truth when questioned and he wanted another chance to check on his friend. There was something about his manner that was ringing alarm bells for Dan. The connection was made and a chirpy female voice greeted him.
“Can I speak to Brian, please?” he asked. “You can tell him it’s Dan.”
“Sorry. He’s busy evaluating his place in the universe and can’t come to the phone right now.”
Dan paused. “Excuse me?”
“He’s tacked a sign on the door that says, Do Not Disturb. I’m pretty sure he’s alone in there, so that’s probably what he’s doing, right?”
“I guess.” Dan spent a moment contemplating this explanation and whether the unknown girl was joking, neglecting to continue the conversation.
“So, Dan, what was it that you wanted to speak to Brian about? Can I take a message?”
Dan jolted out of his reverie. “Uh, no. Just let him know that I rang, okay? I’ll catch up with him later.”
“Of course. He really needs his friends right now. But I’m sure you knew that already.”
“I guess I did, yeah. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” she answered, then the call disconnected.
Dan stood looking at the phone for a time, then put the incident out of his mind.
She Said
On the night of Diana’s departure, Sleepyside was hit by a ferocious storm. Strong wind brought down trees, hail lashed everything in its path and heavy rain poured down. Thunder crashed close enough to Crabapple Farm that all of the windows rattled, as did the pictures on the walls. In the morning, Helen Belden did a tour of her garden, inspecting for damage. She was feeling pleased with the way her vegetables had survived when she chanced a glance up the hill. A breath hissed between her teeth.
“Oh, my. I’d better call Jim and tell him,” she murmured aloud.
A check of her watch showed that it was still a little early to make the call, so she completed her tour, making note of the work that needed to be done. As she began the breakfast preparations, she decided that it was a good time. She picked up the phone and dialled Jim’s direct number at Manor House. He answered almost at once and they exchanged greetings.
“I’m afraid I’m calling with bad news,” she explained. “I’ve been having a look at the damage from last night’s storm and it looks like there’s a large tree down up at Ten Acres. I’m sorry, Jim, but I’m pretty sure it’s landed on the summerhouse.”
A silence ensued, then Jim responded, “Thanks for telling me. I’ll check it out.”
“Let me know if there’s anything we can do to help,” Helen urged him, knowing deep down that he would not.
“Thanks,” he answered, then they said their goodbyes.
Helen looked at the phone for a moment, wondering what else she could have done. The sadness in Jim’s voice tugged at her heart. She resolved to watch out for him and see that he was okay. With a sigh, she returned to her breakfast preparations.
He Said
After receiving the call from Mrs. Belden, Jim made slow and careful preparations for the day. He had intended to get on the road this morning and put a large distance between himself and Sleepyside, but it seemed that this was not to be. On the other hand, he was in no hurry to find out what had happened at Ten Acres. He dressed and ate breakfast, then packed his bag and tidied his room. Only when he could put it off no longer did he go to investigate.
A short time later he arrived on his own land, to find that Mrs. Belden was right in her estimate. Jim carefully picked his way through the debris towards the old summerhouse. As he neared it, he could see that the damage made by the falling tree was far more than could be repaired. A curse hissed between his lips. One less special place; one less memory of us, he mourned.
Somewhere under the pile of rubble was the little box with their rings inside. Jim only hoped that he would be able to find it and that its contents were not crushed beyond recognition. He threw aside what he could, pushing at the wet foliage to try to get closer. A branch snapped, exposing more of the broken structure. The cavity where they had hidden the box was in full view and it was empty; the beam which had held it was split almost in two.
Jim began to search more frantically. His fingers were grazed and splinters embedded in them. A few drops of blood flowed over his knuckles. He tore at the broken roofing, clawing his way underneath until the little box came into sight amongst the leaves, bits of timber and shiny fragments of glass. Tears trickled down his face as he scooped up the treasure and hugged it to his chest. A moment’s examination told him that both rings were still safely inside.
Scrambling out into the open once more, he sank onto another fallen tree trunk and stared at the ruins. I’ll clear it away myself, he decided. Anything I can salvage can go in the barn. Then, I’ll get out those house plans and I’ll build the house. I can’t stand for there to only be ruins here; it’s too close to a reflection of my life. I want to rebuild. I need to rebuild… and, hopefully, Trixie will change her mind and she can join me here.
The decision gave him a small amount of comfort. He made the further decision to leave the dismal place in the hope of raising his mood, at least a little. He stopped by Crabapple Farm on his way back and tapped on the door. Mrs. Belden answered, smiling at him sympathetically.
“How is it?” she asked, taking his hand and examining the scratches she found there. “Come in and I’ll clean these up for you.”
“Oh… no, it’s fine.” He gently took back his hand and rubbed the back of it. “I just wondered if Trixie was here… if she knew about the summerhouse.”
Helen shook her head. “No, she didn’t even stay the night of the party. I believe she went straight back to her apartment.”
He nodded, discouraged. He had forgotten that she had moved much closer to home. “I’ll have to call and tell her.”
“Do you have her new number?”
He nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Do you want me to tell her?”
He considered for a moment. “I think I’d better at least try to do it myself.” He cast his mind back to the scene he had just witnessed. “There’s pretty much nothing left. The roofing beams are all broken and the walls were flattened.”
“I’m sorry.”
He nodded again. “I need to be going, now.”
“Take care,” she told him. There was deep concern in her eyes.
Jim managed a brief smile and went out.
The whole way back to Manor House he tried to rehearse the conversation in his mind. No matter how he worded it, he did not seem to be able to express what he meant. By the time he got there, he was still unsure of what to say. He snatched up the phone and dialled the number before he had any chance to talk himself out of it. It was answered after three rings.
“Hello?” he heard her greet.
“Trixie, it’s Jim. I need to tell you about last night’s storm and–”
“I don’t want to hear it,” she interrupted.
“Please, Trixie, I need to talk to you about Ten Acres,” he asked, almost in desperation. “There was a lot of damage in the storm and–”
“I don’t have anything to say to you,” she interrupted for a second time. “Good bye, Jim.”
The tone echoed in his ear, as Jim stared straight in front of himself. Well, that went well, he thought, sarcastically. I must have gotten in three sentences that time.
She Said
Helen picked up the phone, hesitated, then put it down again. She had done this three times in the last couple of hours. She knew that she was being silly, but she could not help the feeling that the conversation she wanted to have would not go well. Shaking her head, she picked up the receiver once more and dialled the number.
“Hello?” asked a breathless voice halfway through the seventh ring.
“Trixie,” Helen greeted, with more warmth than she was feeling. “Is this a good time?”
“Uh… yeah, I guess. Is something wrong, Moms?”
“No, not really. I just wanted to make sure that you knew about the storm damage. There was a big tree down at Ten Acres and the sum–”
“I don’t really want to hear about that,” Trixie interrupted.
Her mother made an exasperated sound. “I have a feeling that you need to know. The summerhouse was–”
“Why should I care about some old tree?”
“Trixie, it destroyed the summer–”
With a gasp, Trixie interrupted again. “Oh, no! I’m supposed to be – in ten minutes – I’m sorry, Moms. I’ve got to go. Love you. Bye!”
Helen stared at the phone for a long moment before setting it down. At least she had tried, but she felt that none of her message had gotten through.
He Said
Brian left the doctor’s office with his shoulders sagging. The prognosis simply was not good enough; he had to make the hard decision and make it very soon. Hardly noticing what he was doing, he made his way home and secluded himself in his room. He sat down at his desk and drew out a set of papers and documents, including a calendar. His pen tapped against a date, two days in the future. That’s the deadline for my decision, he told himself. I need to gather all of the information I need before then. Without delay, he set about making appointments and noting the other things to do.
The next day, he returned to Sleepyside. He had arranged an appointment with Dr. Ferris, who had known him all his life and would surely be able to give him some much-needed advice. Brian arrived for the appointment in good time, spending the last few minutes sitting, quiet and still, in the waiting room. The doctor was prompt and did not leave him waiting for long.
“Come on in, Brian,” he greeted, a faint note of concern evident in his eyes. The door closed behind them. “What can I do for you?”
Now that the time had come, words were hard to find. Instead of speaking straight away, Brian handed over the most recent medical image and its accompanying letter, as well as a letter from his specialist, which he had brought with him. “I’d like you to look these over, sir,” he asked. “I’d very much appreciate your opinion.”
The older man nodded and took the proffered items, sliding out a film and holding it up to the light. His brow creased slightly as he read the report. “What would you like to talk to me about?” he asked. “If you’re looking for a second opinion–”
“It’s not that, exactly,” Brian clarified. “I want something more personal than just a medical opinion. I need to make decisions on my future and I would like your input, sir. I don’t think it would surprise you to know that I’ve been struggling to keep up with my studies without exacerbating this injury. I don’t want to give up now, but I can’t see a way forward. I can’t tell whether my condition may slowly improve to a point where I might return to normal, or if I’m stuck with this level of pain and limitation permanently. I’m faced with a choice between trying and possibly failing and not trying at all. And even if I manage to complete my studies, there’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to actually work.”
The doctor nodded once more, his face solemn. “It’s a big decision.” He seemed to come to a conclusion. “The advice I can give you is this: you’re not doing yourself any favours by overworking. From what I can see here, your specialist has given you wise advice, which I’d recommend that you take.”
“And if you were in my situation?” Brian asked.
Their eyes met. “I can’t rightly say. I suspect that I would have taken a year off and hoped for the best.” As Brian nodded sadly, the older man continued, “But don’t let your mind stagnate. This may just be a detour, not a complete roadblock.”
Thanking the doctor for his time and opinions, Brian left the surgery and headed down to the Wheelers’ lake to think things through. He found a place to sit in the shade, in a chair he had collected from the boathouse. As he watched the surface of the water ripple in the breeze, a wave of despair washed over him. This is not the life I planned, he mourned. This is not where I wanted to be at this time in my life. He reflected on the road which had led to this point, the choices he had made. It’s not my fault that I’m in this situation, he decided, defiantly. I couldn’t know where those things would lead.
Mentally shaking himself from the self-pity, he set his mind to the other half of the problem: if he did not continue his studies, what would he do instead?
She Said
Trixie scowled at the overflowing filing tray, wishing that her gaze was hot enough to set it on fire. If she had known that her last four years of study would only qualify her for sorting out other people’s paperwork, she might have reconsidered the importance of a college education. With a sigh, she started sorting through the papers. A man she did not know walked past and dumped another thick stack into the tray without so much as looking at her.
She knew, intellectually, that she was lucky to have landed a job at all. She knew that if she worked hard and kept her focus, she could work her way up the ladder. She also knew that the company for whom she was working would be a good stepping stone to the career she desired – if she managed to advance further than the entry-level position she now occupied.
“You’ll never keep up if you go that slowly,” her supervisor snapped, making Trixie jump. Until that moment, she had not realised that the woman had approached her. “Line up the edges more neatly. If you want to keep this job, you’ll need to keep the files looking professional and keep that tray empty. Understand?”
Trixie nodded and pushed down the frustration and resentment she was feeling. Her instinct told her to walk away from this place and never come back. Even if it meant that she never achieved her dreams, it would be better than having her spirit crushed by this drudgery. Her rational mind – such as it was – told her to stop whining and get on with it. Any way you looked at it, this was not her vision of life after college. Trixie put her mind to the task and pushed away the discontentment. Nothing in her life was going to plan, but that did not mean it was time to give up. With a determination she had to force herself to feel, she kept on filing.
He Said
Jim opened out the house plans that he and Trixie had made together and tried to concentrate on them. He had told himself before retrieving them that he needed to ruthlessly push down all emotion that might be attached to this act, but he still felt saddened to see them. They had started this project with such hope and now those hopes were dashed. The questions in his mind were soon settled. He knew, deep down, what he had to do. He would restart the process of getting the house built.
It will feel better to have achieved something, he told himself. I will feel better when I have created order at Ten Acres. For a moment, his thoughts strayed to his great uncle, who had become a recluse on finding himself alone. The temptation to follow his example was always there, somewhere in the back of Jim’s mind, but he resisted. The world at large will see that I am perfectly able to exist without Trixie, he reasoned. It may not be the kind of existence that you can call ‘a life’, but I’m not living in a room filled with junk and dressing like a scarecrow.
His thoughts strayed to the time when the house would be complete. Could I live there? he wondered. Could I make my home in Sleepyside, with all of the memories it holds? He thought about that for a moment, then about the alternative. A determination washed through him. This would be his home. He would not allow the disappointments of the past to take away anything else.
She Said
Finding herself with nothing to do, Trixie decided to make a quick trip home to see her mother and pick up a few odds and ends that she had left behind in her mad dash to leave Sleepyside after Diana’s party. She arrived at the farm to find no one at home. As she had not called ahead and as she no longer knew the household schedule off by heart, this was not all that surprising, but it annoyed her nonetheless. She retrieved the spare key that she kept in the glove box of her car and let herself in.
In a few moments, she had found all of the things she had left, which it seemed her mother had gathered together for her, and stashed them in the car. After a few minutes of aimless wandering around the house, in which she found no clues as to where her mother was or when she would return, she decided to walk around outside. For the first little while, this was a reasonably pleasant occupation. As she rounded the corner that led to the vegetable garden, that changed.
Trixie’s eyes turned towards Ten Acres. At the top of the hill, right where the summerhouse should have been, was an empty space. Her jaw dropped and she let out a curse. A moment later, she had left at a run. She was puffing when she reached the spot. A tall wire fence had been erected, keeping her back from the immediate area, but she could clearly see that the little building had been demolished.
“No,” she murmured, her fingers looped claw-like in the wire. “How could he do that?”
A single tear slid down Trixie’s face, unheeded. Slowly, she let go of the fence and turned back towards the farm. Deep inside, the small place that still considered Jim Frayne to be the love of her life shrivelled a little further. A wave of bitterness washed over her and she determined to let him know exactly how much this latest infraction had hurt her.
She entered the kitchen and went to the telephone area, where she knew her mother recorded contact information for everyone they knew. There, in her mother’s neat hand, was written Jim’s address. She grabbed a pen and scrap of paper and copied the information out. She barely stopped long enough to lock the door before she headed out to the car and began driving.
The time in the car did nothing to quell her anger; on the contrary, she had worked her hurt feelings up into something near rage. She found the address with only a little difficulty and stormed up to the door, pounding on it with her fist and ignoring the doorbell.
When the door opened to reveal Jim, looking more than a little startled, she launched into a tirade.
“I’ve just been in Sleepyside and I’ve seen what you’ve done. Did you even think to tell me about it? Did you think about what I might have felt? I can’t believe you!”
“I tried–” he interjected, only to be overridden.
“How could you do that?” she continued. “How could you get rid of everything that meant something to us?”
Jim flinched. Trixie ignored the little voice in her head that wanted to point out the gross unfairness of the question.
“If you’d only let me explain–”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses,” she interrupted, turning away. “There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.”
“Then, why won’t you listen?” he asked, suddenly losing his temper. “You keep saying I can’t change your mind, but you never give me the chance to try.”
All of the anger flowed out of Trixie, leaving the raw pain exposed. Before she had a moment to think about it, she blurted out, “I wish I’d never met you. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Turning, she ran back to the car and drove away as quickly as her shaking hands would allow.
He Said
Jim sat as his desk, with only the desk lamp for illumination. Dark had fallen long ago. He should have eaten something. There were tasks around the place that he had intended to complete. All of these things were forgotten. Instead, he sat still and numb in the dimness.
Without really meaning to, he opened one of the drawers. It was here that he kept mementos and photographs. At the top of the pile was an envelope with a Dutch stamp. He slipped out the enclosures, though he had looked at them several times before. The letter had arrived a few months ago with a photo enclosed. He glanced at the words Juliana had written, then turned to the photo.
His eyes misted with tears as he gazed at his cousin’s smiling face and those of her husband and children.
The photograph slipped from Jim’s fingers. He rubbed at the spot on his left hand where a ring had rested for just one day. The ache, which was never far away, expanded. His chest felt tight. It had been so long since she left him and there was not the slightest sign that she might change her mind. As time passed, the situation got worse and worse, never better.
What if she doesn’t come back? he wondered, not for the first time. What will I do if she won’t ever take me back? He tried to imagine five more years of this existence; ten years; twenty. A shiver travelled up his spine. Unbidden, an image of what might have been entered his mind, but he pushed it away fiercely. No, I won’t think of it. It hurts too much to remember all of the things that I’ve lost.
Still, the images lingered. He jumped up and strode to his room, throwing open a drawer and starting to pull things out. He found a small suitcase and stuffed in the articles he found, heedless of wrinkles. When it was full, he closed it up. He suspected that when he arrived at his destination he would find that his choices were ridiculous, but at this point he did not care. The only thing that mattered was to get away from this empty, lonely spot and to be around people again. He knew his parents would not mind his unexpected arrival and that his room would be ready and waiting for him. He only hoped that company would help keep the treacherous thoughts away.
She Said
Feeling far away and out of the loop, Di determined that it was time to make a phone call and ask for information on what was happening at home. After a certain amount of trial and error, she had found that she got the best accounts from Dan. When she called Trixie, she mostly heard about Trixie’s own activities and very little of the other Bob-Whites. When she called Jim, she mostly heard about Honey, Mart and Dan. Brian never seemed to be available to talk at all and the man who answered the phone would not even take a message. Honey and Mart both tended to gloss over anything negative that they knew and gave her rosier pictures than was, perhaps, justified. Dan, on the other hand, told it like it is. With that reasoning in mind, she placed the call and demanded to know the latest news.
“Well, let’s see…” He paused a moment. “First off, Trixie’s escalated her conflict with Jim over another misunderstanding.”
“How could she possibly make things worse?” Di wondered, feeling distressed. “I didn’t think that was possible.”
“She’s found a way,” Dan answered. “There was a big storm… I think it was the night after you left… and the summerhouse at Ten Acres got smashed to smithereens. I don’t really understand why, but Trixie’s made some kind of issue out of it. You’d think that Jim went up there and pushed the tree over himself, and that it was her property that got damaged… but, anyway, the end result is that she’s furious with him.”
“That explains a couple of things,” she mused. “Okay. What else?”
Dan sighed. “I can’t get in touch with Brian. Every time I call, I get one of his room-mates. One of them is… uh, friendly, but the others won’t even take a message.”
“They’re the ones I always seem to get,” Di answered, ruefully. “How about the friendly one? Is he any help?”
“She,” Dan corrected. “She’s got an interesting perspective, I guess you could say. She’s not afraid to share it, either. I think she’s passing messages on… and she gave me some strange ones back, too.”
“Strange? How are they strange?”
Dan laughed. “She kind of interprets what she thinks Brian means. Last time I talked to her, she told me that he was waiting for the stars to align before he called me, or something like that.”
She giggled. “That doesn’t sound at all like Brian!”
“No, but I think she meant that he didn’t want to talk and that he hadn’t given any good excuse.”
Di let out a breath. “I don’t suppose you know, then, if he’s heard anything.”
“Not really. Indira’s opinion – that’s the friendly room-mate, by the way – is that his troubles are mostly in his mind.” Dan made a frustrated sound. “That didn’t come out right. It’s not that they’re imaginary, it’s that…”
“He has to decide how to handle them?” she offered.
“Yes. He’s got something going on inside his head and until he sorts himself out I’m not going to be able to get through to him.” She heard him make another soft sound. “And that’s all I’ve got, really. Nothing else is new.”
“Well, keep me updated,” she requested.
“I will,” he answered in a soft voice. “We won’t forget about you.”
Continue to part two.