Unexpected Visit
Today was a crazy hectic day. The phone rang nonstop, when on other days it hardly ever rings. A neighbour was having renovations done to his house. The noise and the incessant banging felt unbearable. The sound of the vacuum cleaner that Clothilda, the cleaning lady, was using added to the total cacophony. In the kitchen, I was making a special meal for someone.
I felt under control until someone began to ring my front doorbell persistently. They left their finger on the bell and would not stop! The dogs began to bark in excitement. I could not imagine what was going on. Was someone hurt? Did someone need help? I put off the fire underneath the food I was cooking and hurried 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 demanded, without any preamble.
I could understand him not recognizing me. My hair is now completely white, and I was wearing a mask. He was not. I did not appreciate his mode of ringing my doorbell. It was not polite but rude.
“This is she,” I answered coldly.
“Oh! I am your neighbour from the next block.”
“I know who you are,” I answered.
“I came to thank Peter,” he said.
I stared at him in disbelief. What was he talking about? I began shaking uncontrollably. He came to thank Peter, I thought in disbelief! What was he thanking Peter for? I felt the bile rise and fill up my mouth. I opened my mouth to speak but could not utter a sound. I tried again. “My husband died five years ago!” I finally said with barely contained anger.
“I did not know,” he faltered as he backed away. My eyes must have reflected my fury. I closed the door. I was not able to prevent my body from shaking uncontrollably.
Many years ago, 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 bought. After ten years in real estate I quit. That’s when she started to drop by. 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?” She never made a normal greeting. She never commented about the weather or even said a simple hello, good afternoon. She lacked in the social graces. There was nothing pleasant about her. Her appearance began to feel unwelcome. She began to get on my nerves. I was quite content and actually was as happy as a lark. She was the daily damper of my weekday.
Her son was studying law at that time. She asked me if Peter would allow her son to come to his office as an apprentice. Peter, being the nice person that he was, accepted. Bad decision. This young man started to show up early in the morning. He expected to ride to the office with Peter. 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. They were not warm people and did not possess any social graces, not even an iota of it! I do not know how, but they finally disappeared into the woodwork. We heaved a deep sigh of relief and went back to our usual routine. That was many years ago.
Now, as I closed the front door behind him, I could feel myself shaking uncontrollably. I made my way back into the kitchen. I should have sat down until I calmed down. I did not. I just continued to prepare. I was transferring food from the pot to a container. I trembled 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 took one look at me and 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, because I hadn’t heard or seen hide or hair of them since then and I did not want to, not now, not ever. They leave a bad taste in my mouth.
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, I told myself. I closed my eyes, as I leaned back into the chair. “Calm down, calm down, calm down.”