Chapter 24
Things moved fast the next day, as if to make up for the week we had spent unable to do anything truly useful.
At 5:30 the next morning, I was up and milking the cows when I could hardly believe my ears as I heard the snowplow roar past on our road. By the time I'd had a go at getting the new calf to drink from a bucket and was doing the rest of the chores, the plow roared back the other way. Then, when I could go in the house for breakfast, I found that the telephone was already restored and ringing. While I ate, the girls were already chatting with people, catching up on happenings in other people's lives while explaining what had happened to us.
I'd hardly had time to eat breakfast before Triple Dub was at the door, asking me if I could use the tractor to plow the snow up to the equipment shed so he could get his snowmobile wreckage loaded into his pickup truck and out of my hair. As soon as he saw the kitty litter on the floor and the way the junked machine was propped up, he started to apologise. I shrugged and told him we got off lucky that I'd found it in time, but I could tell he was quite upset. I tried to explain that it was just as much a lesson for me as it was for him, but I was unsure if he bought that small prevarication.
He still wasn't happy, but he let me swing the conversation around to asking about the tower that Willy had mentioned as a base for a CB antenna. It seemed it wasn't a huge, heavy windmill tower which Willy had thought it was, instead it was a much lighter and more suitable tower that had been used for a small wind-powered generator on an isolated farm. Triple Dub had bought it to use as an antenna base himself, but the town bylaws banned him from using it. Now he was having to pay storage on it, and wanted to get rid of it. We negotiated a price, then shook hands and the deal was done. He couldn't deliver it until the snow was all gone, but I couldn't set it up until I could pour a permanent concrete base to mount it on anyway, so that was no problem.
Once the dead snowmobile was loaded in his truck and tied down, I tried to talk him into coming in the house and having a coffee. However, he was adamant about getting back to town in a hurry for some reason. All I could do was wave goodbye to him and watch him rush off.
While I had the tractor out, I used it to clear away the last of the snow from around the vehicles, then plowed the worst of the drifts from a few other places where letting it thaw on its own was going to be a pain in the butt. Finally, I parked the tractor back in the equipment shed before returning to the house. As I was having a second cup of coffee, I began to make out a list of things I wanted to do and another list of things we needed from town.
Lisa-Marie joined me at the table and brought out a list she'd started, then Andy chipped in as well. In short order we'd decided that a trip to town was definitely in order for the day. Our lists ranged from buying groceries to picking up the CB radio and antenna that we'd need to go with it.
If we'd been able to get cell phone coverage in this area, that's what I'd have wanted, but they'd told Lisa-Marie that service for our area was probably three years away, so we were stuck with CB's for the time being. That being the case, as well as the base station and antenna that Lisa-Marie had bought, I wanted at least two more mobile stations and smaller antennas, one for the pickup and one for the tractor.
Then I went into the room that was going to become the downstairs bathroom and grabbed the supply list for that conversion. I wanted that job done soon, even if I had to do it myself. Grabbing the phone, I called my buddy, the plumber, to check my list of supplies with him. He went over it with me, adding a few items and recommending that I change a couple of fittings that I'd had on my list for ones that he said were better or more reliable. He told me which supplier to go to and said he'd call them right away so I could buy the supplies at his discount.
When I explained that we only had one bathroom on the second floor of the house, but lived with two women who spent most of their time on the first floor, he broke into laughter and teased me about being pussy whipped. I just grinned and admitted it.
He chuckled, then said he'd come out next weekend to help me finish off the job, but told me that if I was in a real hurry, I could probably start myself. I asked what I had to leave for him to do, I could almost hear him shrug his shoulders, as he admitted that he just wanted to be able to see all the joints to be sure there were no leaks in the final hook up. As he said, no inspectors were going to check on the plumbing in an old farm house anyway.
With that done, I asked Lisa-Marie where the telephone book was hidden.
"Why? Who do you want to call?" She asked as she brought it to me.
"The College at Olds, I wanted to see if anyone was in the office today."
"I can save you a call." She grinned, but handed me the phone book anyway. "They know we're coming because Andy called them in case they had any information on the paramedic program. She thought we'd be going by there today to see about you changing your study course to correspondence instead of the going back to the classroom. They'll have your papers ready to sign and some info for her as well."
I simply grinned and threw my hands up in submission that they were doing a good job of helping me run my life.
"Thanks."
"Don't thank me, thank Andy." She laughed.
So I did.
After I took the time for a quick shower and a change of clothes, the girls and I were off to town. Oh, but it felt good to be driving the pickup down a clear road and seeing the sunshine on the snow-covered fields. We were in great moods and the day seemed to match.
As we drove, we worked out an itinerary because we wanted to load things in the back of the pickup in a certain order. That way we could be sure nothing important would be damaged or spoiled, either by loading other things or by the weather, just in case the chinook died off and the temperature changed before we got home. Even with all that planning, Andy was insistent that some of the fruits and fresh vegetables were going to be riding back to the farm in the cab of the truck with us. There was no way she wanted to try to cook with things that had been frost bitten or cooled too much. Both Lisa-Marie and I teased her about it, but at the same time we knew she was right.
Since most of the deals Lisa-Marie had made were made while she'd been in Olds, we headed there first.
Lisa-Marie explained that after the first night she'd been staying in our local town, but she and Jean had been travelling to Olds each day to see Matilda Granger. The old lady was in the hospital there, but because of the blizzard, they weren't able to get a motel room in the whole darn city, The motels had all been booked solid. I hadn't realised that until she mentioned it, but it made sense in a way because the police were trying to keep people off the roads.
The idea of all of Jean and her Mom travelling thirty miles each way at least once a day and doing it in a howling blizzard showed exactly how dedicated to that old lady they were. Lisa-Marie told us it hadn't been that bad. The town was on a main road, so the road was plowed at least four times a day and often more than that. Either the snow plow driver or the cops would let them know when the plow was making a trip and they'd arrange to follow him. Having been out in more than one whiteout myself, I just shuddered and the bright sunshine we were in at the time seemed all that much more welcome.
When we got to Olds, I dropped off Lisa-Marie downtown to do some of her shopping after agreeing where to meet her later, then Andy and I carried on to the College. That's where we split up for a while.
The Dean actually wanted to talk to me. It seemed I was the seventh person to approach the College about finishing off our particular course as a correspondence course, but I was only the third one of the year he was going to grant the opportunity to actually do the las while this way. He was only doing it because of the fact that I actually had what he referred to as 'extenuating circumstance.' In other words I had a farm of my own with animals that needed constant care and feeding and he wanted me to be certain that I understood that I was getting special treatment because he didn't want others to feel discriminated against.
I admitted that I was of two minds about the situation because I felt that I was actually learning a lot in class. He reassured me that he didn't have any second thoughts about the situation. He'd checked with my instructors and they felt that even with what I had learned so far, I could pass the final. He warned me that even with that assurance, I was going to need to devote at least a few hours every day to study and review and that I was going to have to come in to write my finals in the classroom.
However, if I did a satisfactory job of the home study course and got decent final grades, they wouldn't mention the fact that I was finishing the course by correspondence. In other words I would get full accreditation for attending the course. It was going to cost me a hundred dollars for the course work I'd need, but I'd save that much in the residence fees alone. Knowing all that, I simply had to take advantage of the opportunity because it gave me so much more freedom.
In the long run, I was only at the college about an hour, long enough to talk to the Dean, then sign out the course work, pick up the books from my locker and pack my gear from the residence.
After that, I went back to the main office and met Andy. She had all the info on taking the EMR (Emergency Medical Responder) course and she found that she had to take that as a prerequisite to taking any further Paramedic courses. She now had a much better idea of what she wanted as well and thought the full Paramedics course was more than what she wanted, but she thought the EMR course wasn't quite enough. Fortunately the Red Cross offered almost exactly what she wanted to have to fill in and that was covered in the Red Cross' CPR/AED course which she then found she had to take as a prerequisite to the EMR course anyway.
The problem was that the only CPR/AED course taking place in Alberta before the June date of her registration for her EMR course was happening in Edmonton and it was taking place the week after next . The College had managed to get her preregistered to take it, but she had to sign in and pay her fees before five P.M. Monday evening prior to the course, which would take up the following two days.
The College had even taken the time to register her for an EMR course that took place in Calgary in June. One other bit of good news was that all it would cost her for the EMR course was a bit more than a thousand dollars. She'd also have to plan on spending about eight or ten nights in a motel or someone's residence because the courses ran in four sessions of two consecutive days each time, and ran from nine in the morning until five at night. There was no way she could make that the two way trip home each day and still be in shape to study anything.
She had just over a week to get ready and get to the first course in Edmonton, but still she was in a bit of a fluster and was talking a mile a minute. I got her out to the truck, then went downtown, where we picked up Lisa-Marie. The instant Andy saw Lisa-Marie, she started explaining all over again, right from the beginning. I decided that an early lunch was in order so that Andy could talk herself out and drove to my favourite Chinese restaurant for lunch. Andy was still taking about what she had been told when we went inside and found a booth.
When Mama Tang came over with the menus, I winked and held up three fingers and mouthed the word 'Special,' raising my eyebrows in question and she grinned at me, giving a tiny shake of her head, then nodded toward the two girls, signalling that I should be patient. I just shrugged and grinned back as she left the menus with me and went back to the coffee pot, holding it up, raising her eyebrows in a question. I nodded and held up one finger, but Lisa-Marie caught that motion. She reached out a hand and rested it on Andy's arm, breaking up the flood of words Andy had been spouting.
"If we aren't careful, this impatient S.O.B. is going to order and eat, while we sit here talking. Let's order first, then we'll put our heads together to solve your problems." She smiled at Andy.
"Oh, I am sorry." Andy laughed. "It's just that its happening and I'm so excited."
Mama Tang was at my side in seconds a huge grin one her face. "Hello Tom. You come back! Start class again next week?"
"No, Mama Tang, I'm going to finish off the year by taking a correspondence course. It's just too hard trying to run a farm and go to school at the same time."
"Oh yes, I understand. Didn't know you already owned farm. You need farm worker? Pretty darn cheap. Eldest daughter wants to start farm, grow vegetables, needs experience."
"I think he's got his hands full of helpers already. He's marrying Lisa-Marie, but I'm staying with them because my parents and I don't see eye to eye." Andy laughed softly, holding out her hand toward Mama Tang. "I'm Andy by the way."
"Hello Andy." Mama Tang smiled as she shook hands, and looked at Lisa-Marie, then at me rather strangely.
Her eyes whipped back to Lisa-Marie. "You let him keep just in case - spare around and not get angry?"
Lisa-Marie laughed in delight. "Andy had a bit of trouble and she was my friend. Keeping her around was my idea, but now she's going off to get an education. Perhaps she'll meet a tall dark man and decide to stay with him instead of with us, who knows?"
"Okay, if she does and you start family, then need help, you remember eldest daughter, okay?" Mama Tang smiled. "She good worker, not shirk any job. Now, you ready to order?"
Ordering only took a couple of minutes. The girls having soup and a sandwich while I was having a number two special, then Mama Tang disappeared into the kitchen.
I lifted a hand and pointed a finger at Lisa-Marie.
"You be careful! You might be kidding, but she isn't." I said softly. "My bet is that we get served our meal by Mai-Lin, the daughter Mama Tang was talking about, and I'll warn you, she's a doll!"
"I'm not sure I was kidding." Lisa-Marie smiled. "You were the one who was saying something about that isolation strip that separates the land you lease to Fran and use to prevent the kids from having easy access from her land to the road, something about how it's a pain in the butt to farm a four or five-acre segment all by itself. I was thinking that power and phone are available right at the road and having someone living right there would discourage kids from parking on the road allowance, then walking in to party on the creek banks at night. She could move a trailer onto the site in the spring and we'd have another small source of income as well as a guard who lived there twenty-four hours a day."
"You know, it makes sense." Andy nodded. "She'd have the water from the creek for irrigation and she could grow a lot of vegetables on five acres. You should actually think about it. I'd like the idea of having fresh vegetables without all the work of growing them, even if I would want to grow some special ones myself. Besides, if she did that, perhaps you'd let me talk to Fran about growing some herbs on Fran's side of the fence."
"I give up." I snorted, throwing my hands in the air and breaking into laughter.
"Hi, Big Tom. What's so funny?" Mai-Lin smiled as she came up with our soup as I'd expected.
"Oh, these two women." I grinned at her. "They were wondering how big a place you wanted to rent for your vegetable farm?"
"Oh, my dream farm? I guess I'd have to start out small." She laughed. "Are you thinking of renting me a couple of acres of land where I can get water for irrigation?"
"Let me handle this, Tom, please?" Lisa-Marie grinned.
"Fill your boots." I sighed and shook my head.
"Jack was right. Pussy whipped, that's exactly what I am." I thought to myself as Lisa-Marie and Mai-Lin started to talk.
Of course Mai-Lin's squeal of joy brought Mama Tang on the run and suddenly they were gesturing and talking a mile a minute in Chinese. Then the bargaining started between the four women and I just sat back and grinned. After a minute, Mama Tang raised her hand and looked at me with a bit of a frown.
"This place part of your farm, or hers?" She demanded.
"Ours, but if the deal she makes costs me too much, I get to paddle her bottom." I grinned and winked broadly at Lisa-Marie and Andy.
Mama Tang looked almost satisfied, but Mai-Lin broke into a giggle when Lisa-Marie stuck her tongue out at me. Mama Tang looked shocked at that, but smiled after a second when I grinned at her.
"Tom, you like Chinese Lion, not talk much, but I bet your woman listen well when you roar."
"Never had to, yet." I laughed.
"Yep, like a Chinese Lion." Mai-Lin giggled.
A bell rang and Mai-Lin hopped to her feet then ran to get the rest of our lunches. Mam Tang watched her go and turned to Lisa-Marie with a smile.
"She needs to see for sure, maybe even spend some time there with you, okay? If she thinks it a good deal, we talk real business, but so far, sounds good to me. Make everybody money, make everybody happy." With that she turned toward the kitchen and began to chatter in high speed Chinese.
I looked at Lisa-Marie and Andy, shaking my head in wonder at them. "You two bargain like fishwives."
"Huh. He says we bargain." Lisa-Marie snorted. "We were just trying to keep our head above water. Mama Tang is one tough cookie."
"Why do you think I shut up?" I laughed.
"Chicken." Lisa-Marie laughed.
"You betcha. I've seen her chew out a supplier when she didn't like his service"
Just then Mai-Lin came back with our food and set it on the table, she paused.
"Drinks, or anything else?" She asked.
Lisa-Marie asked for a cup of tea and Andy for a glass of Coke. When she brought them back, Mai-Lin looked at me and smiled almost shyly.
"Could I sit down and talk to all of you, just talk?"
"Sure." I smiled and slid over, making room in the booth.
She sat down, right on the outer edge of the seat and I swear her eyes were on Lisa-Marie like she was expecting her to bark, but she wasn't expecting the smile.
"Don't be shy." Lisa-Marie smiled. "He won't bite."
"It wasn't him I was worried about being vicious." Mai-Lin laughed softly. "If you're willing to tackle Mom head on, I think you're dangerous."
"See. I told you she was smart as well as pretty." Andy quipped instantly.
Mai-Lin giggled while everyone else chuckled. "You people aren't just teasing me, are you?"
"Why in 'H' would we do that?" I asked quickly. "The piece of property we're talking about is a special circumstance. I have to go out of my way to farm it and with my equipment, it's a pain in the butt. Having someone else farm it in a special way, so they make can enough money to be able to pay me back as rent what little profit I make by farming it, makes sense to me."
"See, I told you he's not as dumb as he acts." Lisa-Marie winked at Mai-Lin who broke into giggles.
"I don't think he looks dumb at all." She managed to say through her giggles, then apologised. "I am so sorry. It's just that I'm so happy."
"That's allowed." I smiled. "I don't mind smiles and giggles at all."
"So, you wouldn't mind if I grow lots of Chinese vegetables."
"Not as long as they aren't illegal."
"Oh, nothing like that." She sighed. "It's just that sometimes we get nothing but second grade vegetables for the restaurant and we aren't the only ones. All the restaurants and cafés in the smaller towns have the same problem. The prime grade vegetables get bought up from the big suppliers by the big name places in the bigger cities so we have to make do with stuff that's already wilting or almost out of date. I'd like to have first choice stuff once in a while."
"It makes sense to me." I smiled. "Will you be growing any regular vegetables?"
"On five acres? You bet I will. Probably half of that area will be planted in the same vegetables you'd grow."
"So you'll be selling to local people too?"
"Sure." She smiled. "But, I think you guys will get a lot of things for nothing."
"Now that doesn't sound like a money making deal for you. You're trying to make a profit, remember?" I frowned.
"Sure, but I wouldn't even get the chance if you guys weren't willing to think outside the lines." Then she squared her shoulders and stared me in the eye. "Now, I've got a huge favour to ask of you."
"Let me guess?" Lisa-Marie grinned. "You want to come out and see the piece of property?"
"Well, that too, but really, I want to come out and work on your farm. I want to know what winter there is like so I know what I'll have to put up with next year. I don't want to be paid or anything, not for the rest of the winter. After I start to work on my garden, I won't have time, but in the winter I do. I just want to help out and learn what a real farm is like from the inside, just doing the work and seeing what goes on." She was almost glowing. "Mom likes the idea and I hope you do too. I thought I should at least ask you. I've got a folding cot, even a sleeping bag, and I've got lots of warm clothes and boots, things like that. I don't eat much, but I can work really hard. I even have my own little truck, so if I want to come to town, I won't be a burden. So could I please?"
Lisa-Marie and Andy both had to hide the grins on their faces behind their hands as they looked at me, but I could see the glee in their eyes.
"I think these two and I should talk about this, if you don't mind." Seeing the crestfallen look in her eyes, I reached out and touched her hand. "I'm not saying no, but at the same time, I'm not saying yes. I'm saying that I need to talk to Lisa-Marie and Andy before I make up my mind."
"Oh, yeah, I do understand." She looked sober. "I'll go out to the kitchen and let you talk. If you want to ask any questions, just call."
As she walked away, I could see that Lisa-Marie was going to say something, but I just shook my head the tiniest bit to let her know that Mai-Lin was still close enough to hear. We waited until she was in the back in the kitchen and the family started to speak loudly in Chinese.
I leaned forward.
"Now what do we do?" I whispered. "I didn't see this coming."
"Me either, but why not let her do it?" Andy asked.
"Well, for one thing, only two in the master bedroom at night."
"Hey, that's my bed." Lisa-Marie said shortly.
"Right." I nodded.
"Oh! Damn!" Andy said shortly.
"Yeah." I agreed. "Either you, or me, but not both of us."
"Wait a minute." Lisa-Marie looked at me with a frown. "You didn't take me seriously did you?"
"Your mom made it plain that was your workbench." I grinned. "However, that's not the real problem. I think she has a real case of 'hero worship' or whatever you want to call it. And, I have to admit, I think I'm the victim or the star or whatever you want to call that! If she finds out that you share with Andy, then I will have problems."
"Oh shit! I never thought of that! That could be a real problem, couldn't it? Darn, darn, darn." Andy sighed. "I really think that other than that, it's a good idea. I mean, she couldn't learn animal care from anyone much better than Tom and all of us were raised on the farm. We all know what goes on. We can all explain any detail fairly well. She'd be getting an education most people would be willing to pay for."
"That's pretty much what she's offering to do, which sort of grates on me in a way. I like to pay for my help." I sighed. "In this case though, I can't decide on a pay scale."
"Look. I have an idea." Lisa-Marie smiled slowly. "I think we can all easily handle a week of the curtailed bedroom activities. Then to make up for it, all of us head to Edmonton next weekend, say on Sunday, and we get Willy to take care of the chores for a couple of days. Now, rather than leave her alone on the farm, we tell her we want to give her a break at home to think about it and we admit we want to discuss how she is doing amongst ourselves. That gives everyone a break."
"But, I don't have to be in Edmonton until Monday night." Andy said quietly.
"Right." Lisa-Marie grinned. "Sunday night, Tom and I get to ravish you after not seeing you all week. Then Monday, we get to make love gently, that way you're not tense when you start class on Tuesday."
"Oh, actually, that's not a bad idea." Andy grinned. "Besides, Fran called to let us know she's back. Perhaps I could talk to her about some more books to read describing herbs and natural medications. As well, I have an appointment with the doctor so he can see how I'm doing. I should let him know what I'm planning on doing and I should go on the pill too. I guess I can handle a weeks deprivation."
"When you're talking to Fran next, you might ask her about the idea of growing herbs on a patch of her native plant reserve near Mai-Lin's new vegetable farm too." I suggested. "I think it's a good idea, but maybe Fran won't."
"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot that." Andy sighed softly. "Perhaps Fran should come meet Mai-Lin?"
"That's not a bad idea either. So, is there anything else we need to think about for now?" I asked, but got negative head shakes, so I called Mai-Lin back.
Her mom came with her and we told them that we'd like Mai-Lin to try things out for a week, but that we wanted to consider things after that. Both Mai-Lin and Mama Tang thought that we were being marvellous and both of them seemed confident in Mai-Lin's abilities. When we asked if she could be ready to follow us in her truck in about two hours, she nodded her head so quickly and so hard that I had to chuckle.
Lisa-Marie jumped in and told her that she wouldn't need her cot or her sleeping bag, but that she might want to consider buying a pair of coveralls and some long-johns in case the weather turned cold. When we wanted to pay for our lunches, they insisted that it was free today and no amount of argument would sway them.
It was after eleven o'clock when we left the restaurant, and by noon we had hit both the plumbing supply store and the store that sold the CB radios, so we were making surprisingly good time. In fact we had all of our shopping done early and were back at the restaurant before one, but Mai-Lin was all packed and ready to go when we got there. Of course Mama Tang insisted on hugging all of us, then we were off to our hometown to finish our shopping.
In the long run, we were home by three thirty in the afternoon and all unloaded by four. We were able to have a coffee before Lisa-Marie and I started chores. Since we had to start by showing Mai-Lin around, I let Lisa-Marie handle that as I started milking. But, when it came time to feed the new calf, I decided to show her how it was done, then let her take over.
The idea of having to dip her hand in the bucket of warm milk, then let the calf suck the milk off her fingers as she lowered her hand into the bucket so he would feed worried her. She was afraid that she was drowning the calf until suddenly she announced that he was slurping the milk up and keeping his nostrils clear of the milk. That brought out her giggle.
I explained that in a day or two he'd feed without her fingers and told her that when that happened we'd call him a pail bunter. She was asking what I meant when he bunted her hand and slopped the milk around. She understood instantly, giggling again as Lisa-Marie and I both chuckled.
In a way, showing someone who had no experience with the animals what had to be done made the time pass quickly and was quite enjoyable.
I think the only part of the chores that Mai-Lin didn't enjoy was working around the grumpy old sow. She started out being completely intimidated by the old porker, simply because of the pig's attitude. Since I wasn't completely confident in the sow's actions myself, I decided that was probably a good thing.
If anything, I had been feeling as if Mai-Lin was almost too trusting of the other animals and decided that was one thing I was going to have to discuss with her. I didn't want her to get overconfident and then end up getting hurt. I did have a chance to have a little chat with her about it as we were checking on the outside cattle. Everything there seemed alright, so I called it a day.
We were headed for the house when I saw Fran's jeep coming into the yard. It's a good thing we were there. I managed to get her to stop before she plowed into the three-foot deep snow drift that was behind the house, where she normally would have parked. Even her jeep would have gotten stuck if she had pulled into that.
Fran hopped out of the jeep and greeted me with a hug, then astonished me as she spun to greet Mai-Lin in Chinese and hugged her too. As they were hugging, Fran's eyes sparkled when she looked at me and rolled toward Mai-Lin, then heavenward as she winked at me. I knew she was teasing me, implying that I was adding to me 'harem,' even if it wasn't something I had wasted much thought about since getting home.
"Another one of Lisa-Marie's ideas." I laughed. "Meet your new neighbour and guard for your herbs."
"Oh, I've already heard about it from Andy and we decided that I needed to talk to all of you, so I came to spend the evening." She laughed. "Besides, Mai-Lin and I are old friends."
"Fran sells herbs to my Grandmother." Mai-Lin giggled. "But why do you say we are neighbours?"
"Ah, he hasn't explained." Fran laughed as they separated from their hug. "I rent part of his land and he allows me to harvest the natural herbs that grow along the banks of the creek which cuts through the lower corner of his property. Andy is considering the idea of growing some other herbs on the part I rent from him nearest to you, what would you think of that?"
"Oh, do you think she would consider growing some Chinese herbs?" Mai-Lin asked.
"I don't see why not, but we'll have to ask her, won't we?" Fran winked at me. "Tom would you mind carrying a box of books into the house for me. I'm lending them to Andy so she can do some studying."
"Humph, you guys are really getting into this." I commented.
"Well, in a way it's what I wanted to do when Seth was alive, but we could never work out how to manage to do it." Fran explained as she grabbed another box and handed it to Mai-Lin.
"That one's herbs for Andy to study and test on herself and these are the ones Lisa-Marie, Andy and Tom are taking regularily." She grabbed another box then her bag. "And this is my overnight bag. I'm inviting myself to spend the night, Tom, if I may?"
"I suppose, but no midnight skulking this time." I frowned at her. "I like to know the identity of the people I need to thank."
I had to hide a grin as she almost dropped the box in her hands, then flushed slightly. Before she could say anything, I headed for the house with a big grin on my face; my suspicions were at last fully confirmed. Besides, I wanted a moment to savour a minor victory. I'd managed to nonplus Fran of all people.