“So how was it?” Mira asked excitedly.
“It was interesting.” Ariel hanged her trench coat up on the hooks behind the door. Mira had bombarded with questions the second she came in the door.
“How interesting?”
“You wouldn’t believe what I found out.” Ariel told Mira about the story behind the Greenhouse Garden.
“No way!” Mira exclaimed, “So Joe’s Mom used to know Dad?”
“Yeah. Can you believe it?”
“Wow! Did you ask her for stories of him?”
“She wasn’t home. I think she’s away on a business trip. But I wouldn’t have asked her even if she was home.”
“Why not?”
“We can’t appear too curious. It’s kind of suspicious.”
“But still!”
“Mira, I want to know more about Dad as well. He died when I was 12, and I wish I remembered him better But we can’t draw more suspicion to ourselves.”
Miranda looked at Ariel silently for a few seconds, “You’re not telling me something about James are you.”
“Mira-“
“Don’t ‘Mira’ me Ariel. Tell me the truth. What is happening with James, and don’t tell me you don’t know.”
“Am I older or are you older?” Ariel remarked drily.
“Ariel. Tell me or I will phone Ge. And you know he’ll tell me.”
Ariel sighed. “He might be on to us.”
“James?” Miranda paled, “So soon? How?”
“I don’t know. Ge just said the guy that’s tracking us this time got a lead that we’re out west. I don’t know if he knows we’re in Vancouver, but he might. Ge says to sit tight for now.”
“How could you not tell me that before now?”
“What good would it have done? Hell, what good does it do for you to know now? We’re stuck here until Ge can get us new identities, and he won’t do that until it’s absolutely necessary. We don’t know if the tracker knows where we are. I’m betting not or we would be found out already. It usually takes them time to pinpoint us even if they know what city we’re in, so all we can do now is be careful and try not to draw attention to ourselves.”
“How long?” Miranda whispered.
“I don’t know. Maybe a few days, maybe a few months. Depends on how good the tracker is.”
“How long Ari?” Miranda asked again.
Ariel sighed, “I wouldn’t bet on staying here after the New Year.”
“Oh.”
“I know what you’re thinking, don’t do anything drastic about Josh.”
Mira smiled sadly, “I know. But sooner or later I have to.”
——————————-
“So how was it?” Mike asked Joe.
“How was what?” Joe busied himself putting mugs away in the cupboard.
“Your little ‘rendezvous’ with Ariel up in the Greenhouse Garden?”
“What rendezvous? We just talked. She was interested in the history of the garden.”
“Oh man!” Mike started laughing, “You’re disappointed!”
“I am not disappointed!” Joe strived to be calm.
“Yes you are.”
“I am not, and nice try.”
“Oh man, this is hilarious. The great Joe Cheng, dubbed the ‘most eligible bachelor’ of VU last year, couldn’t get a girl more interested in him than his mother’s garden!”
“Shut up dude.”
“It’s true though. I have a new appreciation for Ariel.”
“I’m sure you do. Now can you move your butt? I need to clean up.”
—————————–
It’s another Wednesday. Ariel loved and hated Wednesdays. On one hand, the week is half over and people seem rather reluctant to visit the Lotus on Wednesdays, so she has less work. On the other hand, all the course work seems to start piling up right around Wednesdays, and she was so tired she really wished it was the weekends already.
She was brewing coffee at the Lotus and it was raining as usual. She sighed and glanced at the calendar. December 8th. Christmas was just over two weeks away. Ariel loved Christmas. It was her favourite holiday to celebrate as a child because both her parents would be home. Her mother, a fabulous cook, always prepared a huge meal for the Christmas Eve dinner. Her father, an English teacher, would read Christmas classics to them after dinner until it was time for the Christmas Eve service. Ariel’s family wasn’t particularly religious, but they always go to the midnight service. Both Mira and herself would fall asleep from exhaustion the second they get back home. They would wake up late on Christmas morning, well rested and happy. The “great present search” would happen after a large breakfast, and the family would spend the rest of the day at home, watching movies, reading, playing games. Growing up in a city like Kitchener, snow always covered the houses during Christmas time, giving the town an almost magical feel. Yes, Ariel loved Christmas because she was truly happy. Spending time with her family was what Ariel loved the best.
And then…
One Christmas, Ariel was 12 and Miranda was 8. Her family had gone to the church service as usual. It had snowed during the day, and the ground was covered with a layer of ice. Ariel distinctly remembered the walk back home. Everyone was so happy but tired. A block away from home, Miranda dropped her stuffed reindeer in the middle of the road. The girls’ father, Matthew, went to pick it up. A car turned too fast on to the street they were standing on. The road was slippery; the car didn’t swerve in time.
The family waited in the emergency room for 24 hours. He didn’t make it. Before he died, he called Ariel to his bedside, his last words to her were, “You are so strong Ariel, but remember, sometimes it’s better to go around a mountain than to climb over it. Be flexible.” She took them to heart. “Be flexible” became her mantra. When she thinks those words, she could hear her father saying them to her.
The funeral was two weeks later. Ariel cried. Looking at her father’s tombstone after the service, she vowed to do what her father had asked of her.
Mira was only eight at the time. She never played with stuffed animals or reindeers ever again.
