“I’m sure he’ll agree to play for you.”
She retreats a step then another, stops, looks to right and left; her face a picture of indecision.
To encourage her, I say, “He’s very nice, you’ll like him.”
This time her face crumples, and she turns and runs away.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Brandon
“I hate to disappoint you.” I tell Lessa as she pops two more slices of bread into the toaster. “But Ihavehad bread and honey before.”
After another long visit to Elodie and Hal next door, Lessa came back not only with lots of different honey products but new recipes. She’s eager to try a few on me right away to help me discover this illusive new diet my brother wants me to find.
“Buckwheat honey,” she says slathering some over freshly toasted slices. “It has a rich slightly bitter flavour. It should go well with rye bread. And this is thyme honey which Elodie says brings out the flavour of ham and mustard.”
“What a way to ruin a perfectly decent slice of ham?”
She slides the plate on the table and sits down. I stay where I am by the sink, trying to think of something else I can eat.
“Oh, unclench,” she says, nudging a chair with her foot so I can sit. “You might love it. Tomorrow, we’ll try it with bacon.”
I let my expression tell her exactly what I think of this.
“Anyway, I want to tell you about Doris.”
“Doris, right. This is the woman who likes music but is too shy to talk to me.”
“Not shy. I got the full story from Elodie. In a nutshell, Doris, is local woman with Down syndrome. She’s always been happy and friendly. Two years ago, she developed a bit of a crush on Gabriel when he first came to the island which seems to have woken up her romantic feelings. When he and Pierre became a couple, Doris got it into her head that she too wanted a boyfriend.
“Some young man, an outsider, heard her talk about it and decided to have a joke at her expense. He flirted with her and filled her head with ideas about a day trip to one of the other islands. Everyone advised her not to go, but by then it was too late, she was in love, and she went with him. Neither of them came back. Two months later, Philomena Hill at the women’s refuge got a call from social services in Jersey. They had a traumatised woman in hospital, she didn’t have health insurance and they couldn’t keep her in hospital indefinitely. Could The Lady Isobel Refuge offer her a place?”
“No, don’t tell me…”
Lessa nods sadly. “Yes. It was Doris. By the time Philomena Hill brough her back to the island, hardly anyone recognised her for the happy, chatty, and trusting woman she used to be. Now, she is almost mute and shrinks away from strangers.”
It’s a terrible story. “You mean he kept her hostage for two months?”
“No, no, she was admitted to hospital soon after she left the island. From what the therapist says, he and his friends had their fun for a weekend, they also laughed at her and mocked her, then dumped her in the middle of a field, and left her there in the rain.”
“So, she’s been in therapy.”
“Up to a point. Mostly she needs rehabilitation and this kind of thing take a long time. Elodie’s grandfather got her helping with his beehives which did a lot of good. Then she helped Elodie and gradually got comfortable around Hal, but she’s terrified of strangers.”
“It must have taken a lot of courage for her to approach you at all.”
“I think it was the music.”
I can see where Lessa is going with this. I’d normally saynobecause I’m not a teacher and especially not if a woman is scared of men.
This isn’t just about Doris though, it’s Lessa. I know how disappointed she was by Philomena Hill refusing to even consider her proposal for the women’s Centre; Lessa isn’t someone to sit and do nothing. That’s why she’s thrown herself into helping me achieve Liam’s wish list. She needs a project and for the first time since that horrible Zoom call, she’s excited about something.
“So what? You’d like me to play for her?”
“Would you?” She asks so carelessly, as if it doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t fool me. I know she’s trying not to put pressure on me.
