Unexpected Visit
Today was a crazy hectic day. The phone rang nonstop, when on other days it hardly rings. Some neighbour was having renovations done and the noise was unbearable. I had the cleaning lady over and I was making a special meal for someone. I was under control until someone kept ringing my front door bell persistently. They left their finger on the bell and would not stop! The dogs began to bark. I put off the fire underneath the food I was cooking and went to open the door.
A neighbour from the next block was standing there. I hadn’t seen him in perhaps ten or more years. He gave me the creeps then and he still gives me the creeps.
“I want to speak to Stella,” he said.
I could understand him not recognizing me. My hair is now completely white and I was wearing a mask. He was not.
“This is she,” I said coldly.
“Oh! I am your neighbour from the next block.”
“I know who you are.”
“I came to thank Peter,” he said.
I stared at him in disbelief. I began shaking uncontrollably. He came to thank Peter, I thought in disbelief! What was he thanking Peter for? Peter has been gone all these many years! He wanted to thank Peter? I felt bile rise in my throats and almost fill up my mouth. I opened my mouth to speak no sound came out. I tried again. “My husband died five years ago!” I finally said with barely contained anger.
“I did not know,” he said as backed away. I guess my face must have reflected my fury.
His mother used to knock at my door every weekday at two o’clock. I had been in real estate and had listed and sold the house they now lived in. After ten years in real estate I quit. That’s when she started to come over. At first I was gracious. I would offer her a cup of tea and biscuits. Each day she would say by way of greeting. “I’m depressed, are you depressed?” Soon she began to get on my nerves. I was quite content and actually was as happy as a lark. Her son was a law student then. She asked me if Peter would allow her son to come to his office as an apprentice. Peter accepted. Now this guy would show up early in the morning. He would sit in the living room while Peter took his shower. That meant that Peter would either go without breakfast or offer him breakfast. It was cramping our style and frankly I began to resent them. We liked to go out for breakfast on occasion. Now we could not. Sometimes we dawdled at breakfast, now it was impossible. They were not warm people and did not have any social graces. I do not know how, but they finally, to our great relief, disappeared into the woodwork.
As I closed the front door behind him, I could feel myself trembling uncontrollably. I walked back into the kitchen. I should have sat down until I had calmed down. I did not. I continued to prepare. I was transferring food from the pot to a container. My hands shook so hard the food slipped from my hands. It went all over the counter, the cabinets, the floor and my legs. I let out a loud yelp. Clothilda ran in. She realized I was in a state. She took over. I went to the porch to calm down. I do not know why this incident affected me so. Perhaps because I was not expecting it.
The day is cool. The skies are darkening. Once more it feels like rain. In the distance, the birds are warbling. I shall make a pot of tea and go back to the porch. I shall make an effort to relax.