Chapter 6 #2
“You’re not old and you don’t putter!” Bonnie yelled. Her cheeks were red and her usually soft eyes were blazing with anger.
“Where are you moving?” Jeff asked, feeling like he was all at sea about this.
“He’s not moving anywhere!” Bonnie snapped.
“I am,” Leo retorted. “I’m moving in with Felix.
He and I discussed it last night and we feel it’s best for everyone.
Then we’re out of everyone’s hair and we can be two old bachelors together.
It makes more sense than me being in your way, Peanut.
Really, it does. Just give it a couple of days, and you’ll be glad you never have to do my laundry again.
” He tried a smile that was met with nothing but a scowl.
“You’re talking about the apartment over Julie’s apothecary and clinic?
” Jeff asked. “That’s a wonderful idea. It’s a nice place.
I helped to build it. You’ll have plenty of space, and I think Felix needs someone to keep him on the straight and narrow.
It might be a big job though. Are you sure you’re up to it? He is a compulsive gambler.”
“I know, and it’s okay,” Leo said with a nod. “I can handle it. I just think that it would be better for me to have a space I’m more comfortable with. I’ve lived in apartments all my life.” He looked around. “All this space is a little daunting.”
Jeff nodded. He could understand. He’d felt a similar sense of being a fish out of water when he first arrived from New York. If he and Andrew had never gone on camping trips out into the mountains to look for rocks, he wouldn’t have made it this long out here in the middle of nowhere.
“Jeff, I think you’re the person to ask,” Leo said. “I’d love to talk to someone about getting a greengrocers started here. I noticed last night that there’s no general store, no haberdashery; there’s not even a bank yet. So, I think the sooner we start getting things like that going, the better.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Anita said from the roadside where she was watching the horses. “The market is about four miles away and takes ages to get to and then get back. It takes up such a large chunk of my day.”
“Great! Who would I have to speak to?” Leo asked, beaming now.
Jeff looked over at Anita and she was smiling too. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe he could convince Bonnie that it was as well. It would be something she could help with, having spent her whole life working in the store in New York.
“I would suggest speaking to the council,” Jeff said. “They meet once a week.”
“Tomorrow,” Anita said.
“Great,” Leo said. “Then I’ll be on my way. I need to convince Felix that selling fruit and vegetables is better than gambling.”
“Good luck,” Jeff said. He couldn’t see Felix working in a store no matter how hard someone tried to get him to.
There was the sound of someone clearing their throat, and Jeff realized that he hadn’t dealt with Bonnie’s opinion on the matter. In fact, he had completely dismissed her feelings in favor of her godfather’s wishes. From the look on her face, that had definitely been the wrong thing to do.
“Bonnie,” Jeff said, turning to her.
“Oh, don’t you dare Bonnie me!” she snapped. “How can you possibly take his side? He can’t go and live with a complete stranger who has gambling problems!”
“Why not?” Jeff asked, trying to take a logical approach with her. She had to see how ridiculous this was.
Anita, on the edge of his vision, was shaking her head ever so slightly, but Jeff ignored her. He had to be able to reason with Bonnie, surely. She was a smart, capable woman. She could be made to see reason.
“Because,” Bonnie said. “What does he even know about this Felix? And how do we know that Leo will be safe there? He needs taking care of. He’ll forget to eat, and there won’t be a clean dish or a stitch of clothing in the place.”
“That’s not true,” Leo said, shaking his head. “I’ve cleaned up after you for years. It’s time we both had our own lives, Bonnie. Please don’t be unreasonable about this.”
“I’m not unreasonable,” she said through gritted teeth.
“You are being unreasonable,” Jeff pointed out.
“Unreasonable and ridiculous. How can you think that you can tell a grown man what he can and can’t do?
You know it doesn’t work like that, right?
Just as he’s giving you your space to enjoy your life and live it the way you want to, you have to do the same for him.
You’re both adults here and you should behave like one. ”
Bonnie glared at him. “I can’t believe you took his side!
” she yelled. “You know what, if my opinion and feelings mean so little to you both, then I don’t want to see either of you!
” She thrust a piece of paper into Jeff’s hand.
“And you know what? You can just head on out to the market yourself!” She turned and slammed the front door hard enough that the glass in the window shuddered a little.
Jeff stood on the porch, stunned. How had his logical argument gone so awry? He looked over at Leo, who shrugged apologetically.
“Sorry for getting you involved in that,” he said and patted Jeff’s arm. “She’s a good woman, but she has a bit of a temper. You’ll have to learn how to deal with her.” And he took his portmanteau by the handle and walked down the path.
“Come on, Jeff,” Anita said. “We’d better get going. I’ll explain what you did wrong on the way.”