Chapter 16
John
After quite a lot of searching, John finally finds Mia tucked away in the sunroom with Aunt Gertie.
This room is barely decorated for Christmas, since it’s chock full of plants, but someone has strung twinkle lights from the glass roof and hung a few bows on the larger plants.
The cactus, in particular, is a stunning specimen that is at least seventy-five years old.
It’s looking particularly festive with its oversized velvet bow tie.
The sunroom was always a favourite of John’s.
If he recalled correctly, Morris’s father had added it on to the back of the house decades before even John had worked at Willowby.
It was a marvel of its time, with mechanical windows that opened and closed for ventilation, and botanical samples shipped in from around the world.
John remembered when some of these plants were just little seedlings.
Now they towered over the sturdy wrought iron table where Mia and her Aunt Gertie sat.
‘You know, your gran took quite an interest in botany after Morris died. I used to spend hours out here with her. I don’t remember the names of most of them, but Joan had named them all.
’ Aunt Gertie’s hands tremble slightly as she reaches for another strip of paper.
A long paper chain already runs across her blanket-covered lap.
‘Tell me some of the names,’ Mia encourages her, without looking up. She’s working on her own garland, building a cheerful pattern of red, green and gold.
‘Well, let’s see.’ Aunt Gertie sets down her stack of paper and looks around the room. ‘That succulent back there is an aloe vera. Your gran called it Moses for some reason. I remember because I always thought it should have had a Hispanic name.’
Mia smiles faintly and unconsciously touches her earlobe.
‘And then the tall one over there, the ficus? That one is Colin Marcus Ficus.’
‘Quite a mouthful,’ Mia quips. She looks over at a towering palm. ‘What about that one?’
Aunt Gertie shakes her head. ‘Can’t remember. Maybe it didn’t have a name.’
‘It should be something punny,’ Mia muses. ‘Like Keanu Leaves.’
‘Ha!’ Aunt Gertie chortles, her whole body shaking. The chain falls off her lap and on to the floor. ‘That’s a good one! He’s a looker, for sure.’
Mia sets aside her own chain and gets down on her knees to gather up Aunt Gertie’s. John steps into the room and takes a seat on a nearby oversized pot. Mia sees him and snorts in annoyance. ‘Thanks a lot, meddler.’
‘What’s that, dearie?’ Aunt Gertie reaches for a new strip of paper.
‘Oh, nothing, Auntie. I wasn’t talking to you.’
‘Hmm.’ Aunt Gertie raises her eyebrows. ‘Can’t be too careful in this house, talking to yourself. You never know who might be listening.’
‘Is that so,’ Mia deadpans. She glares over at John and then turns back to Gertie. ‘Are you saying this house is haunted?’
Aunt Gertie laughs. ‘Well, of course it is! It’s too old not to have a few extra tenants.’
‘I see,’ Mia drawls. ‘And, would you say these … tenants … are mostly benevolent? Or would you characterize them as meddlesome, obnoxious persons of the past?’
‘Now, wait a minute,’ John objects.
Covertly, Mia raises a hand to silence him. Then she leans in towards Aunt Gertie, waiting for her response.
‘Oh, definitely meddlesome. I never met a ghost who was content to mind their own business.’
John shakes his head, outraged, but Mia just nods sagely in an encouraging way. ‘I agree with you. Go on …’
‘Well, there’s just too much that happens in this house that can’t be explained any other way.’
‘Yes. Exactly. Like strange things with the electrics.’
‘I’m feeling very singled out here,’ John interjects.
‘Good. You should,’ Mia says. Aunt Gertie looks at her strangely, and she hurries to ask, ‘Good and bad happenings, you could say?’
Gertie laughs. ‘Oh, very much so! For instance, we got a pay per view channel for free for two whole years. Two years! Nary a bill ever arrived. You can’t tell me that wasn’t due to some well-meaning interference.’
‘Ah, but it’s not always well meaning, now, is it?’ Mia says this completely seriously, without ever taking her gaze off Aunt Gertie. ‘Sometimes it must be that these tenants have grown too big for their boots. They think it’s OK to meddle in people’s lives.’
‘I wasn’t meddling …’ John defends.
‘Absolutely. They can’t help themselves. Poor dears. The temptation must be too strong for them.’
Mia nods along with Aunt Gertie. ‘I can only imagine what a miserable existence it is for these poor souls. You really can’t blame them for being obnoxious.’
‘All that time alone isn’t good for them.
’ Aunt Gertie’s watch beeps and she looks down at it in surprise.
‘Oh, dear me. It’s time for my evening meds.
’ She sets aside the chain and straightens up in increments, shaking her head at how long it takes her.
‘You know, my knees have never worked quite right since my surgeries. If you ask me, my doctor spent more time looking at my boobs than fixing my knees.’
‘Aunt Gertie!’ Mia guffaws.
Gertie shrugs. ‘I’m just saying. He was a young thing, and I don’t think he’d ever seen a pair of double Gs.’ She pats the bosom in question. ‘Well, I really do have to take those meds. Save my seat, dear.’
‘Oh, I will,’ Mia assures her.
Gertie shuffles off, still chuckling to herself. As soon as he’s sure the old woman is out of earshot, John strides over to the table and moves to sit down.
‘Don’t you dare,’ Mia threatens. ‘I promised I would save her seat and I meant it.’
‘You’re mad,’ John begins carefully.
‘Very observant of you.’ Mia states this with gusto, and then studiously ignores John.
‘You can’t be serious. You’re just going to not talk to me?’
‘You should be used to it,’ Mia snaps.
‘Mia,’ John tries again. ‘I just think there’s something there. Between you and Sam. I was trying to help it along a little.’
‘You were supposed to be on my side!’ Mia nearly yells this. ‘Make his life miserable. Make him think he’s a little crazy. Not make things all swoony and romantic!’
‘Was it so terrible?’ John asks, staring at her straight on.
Mia ignores the question, scowling at the chain she’s making.
‘Besides, you would only think it was romantic if there were already some feelings there. I’m not a magician.
I can’t fabricate something out of thin air.
’ He leans in. ‘Admit it, you still care for Sam.’
‘I’m not admitting anything. You’ll use it against me. You were a gardener, not a priest or a lawyer. I have no assurance of confidentiality.’
John snickers, amused by her sarcasm. ‘Point taken. And, I’ll admit to some matchmaking tendencies. But, seriously, Mia. Sam—’
‘Means nothing to me,’ Mia states resolutely.
‘That’s not true! You still love him! Even after all these years. And if I’m not mistaken, he loves you back. Never stopped, I suspect.’
‘I do not love him,’ Mia objects. She’s practically radiating with fury. ‘In fact, I hate him.’
John shakes his head. ‘There’s a fine line between hate and love, Mia.’
‘Hey, Mia, there you are.’ Sam enters the room, startling both of them. John shoves up from the table, toppling his chair.
‘Oh, woah! That was weird,’ Sam says as he reaches down to set the chair back on its legs. ‘Mia, are you OK?’
‘Yeah.’ Mia seems to flounder for a moment. ‘Sorry, you startled me and my foot was on that other chair. Must have knocked it over.’
‘I thought I heard shouting.’ Sam looks around the room. ‘Is it just you in here?’
‘Sure is,’ Mia quips, glaring in John’s direction.
Then she seems to realize how strange that must look and pulls her gaze back to Sam.
John’s struck once more by what an attractive man Sam is.
He’s changed clothes, opting for a worn pair of jeans with an open cardigan over a deep green button-down shirt.
Sam’s gaze wanders around the room, taking in the plants, the lights and the mechanical windows overhead with open curiosity.
The room is surprisingly cosy, with the panes all reflecting the light and the warmth of the plants.
Sam’s gaze softens as it returns to Mia, and John sighs.
‘Sorry, I’ve never been in here. It’s really beautiful.
Adds a sort of exotic flair to the whole place. ’
Mia folds her arms over her chest and nods, clearly uncomfortable.
‘I’d love to curl up in a chair and work on my poems all day,’ Sam continues. ‘Or even just read. This is kind of magical.’
‘It has a whole different vibe during the daytime,’ Mia responds reluctantly.
‘Even when it’s not sunny outside, it feels bright and open.
I’ve always loved coming in here.’ She draws in a deep breath and closes her eyes.
‘Can’t you just imagine ladies taking their tea in here, in fancy gowns, chattering about all the town gossip? ’
Sam grins. ‘I can. Or an intimate evening performance for a dinner party. I bet a string quartet would sound amazing in here. All the sounds echoing off the glass.’ He steps around the table and squats down beside Mia.
His voice softens into an intimate growl that makes John a little weak at the knees.
‘Hey. I wanted to check on you. I wasn’t sure what happened during the film. ’