Tricks or Treats

Jack and Leesa started to spend more time together and I even saw them once at a Starbucks near Yonge and St Clair. To me it looked as though they didn’t have a care in the world.

There were a few cares, however, that were starting to encroach upon their blossoming friendship.

Sure, the daily grind of their friendship was without too many problems. Jack fell into the habit of sending an email to Leesa who fell into the habit sending cute replies. Soon enough Our Boy Jackie was sending humorous instant messages; Leesa would reply with a few words.

Before too long it became easier to talk on the phone. With the immediacy of telephony they were able to make plans one evening for a quick bite after work, say, or perhaps some shopping a deux at Whole Foods for the prepared foods that Jack filled his refrigerator with weekly.

Jack asked Leesa to help him pick up sheets—Jack is colour blind—and the date was dutifully made for Saturday afternoon.

There was more than a little bit of cloak and dagger activity taking place between the two of them. Leesa would leave work without mentioning plans for the evening and was suitably vague most Monday mornings about her weekend activities.

Jack was keeping his parents—mainly Beebe, let’s be honest—out of the plot completely. Suky Temple had called and suggested lunch next week and he had agreed before realizing that she was no doubt in the services of her mother. Aunt Margery would be sifting for information to report back to Beebe.

Ardie, of course, found the whole “friendship” rather amusing. “I wonder if they are doing it yet?” he asked one day while helping me place some tchochkes in 7A. “It’s been a few weeks now and they are starting to spend a lot of time together.”

The drama surrounding “Jack and Leesa” wasn’t all that interesting to me; no one expected such a fun flirtation to last.

Miss Cousins, on the contrary, had a field day with Ardie and refused to relent when she discovered that he was somewhat worried about the response Beebe would offer to the news that her son was “involved with that Leesa Mitzvah.”

“She’s very pretty, Ardie, you have to give her that,” said Miss Cousins, at a meeting to sign documents related to The Campanile. “And her interest in art! Such a cultivated girl.” She observed Ardie through bright eyes while flicking ash from her cigarette.

It was part of Ardie’s natural charm that he seemed unflappable about most things.

“Right now Leesa is only cultivating one particular interest: my nephew, Jack,” said Ardie.

With the completion of my move to 7A the week before I was now seeing Ardie regularly when he arrived at The Campanile to oversee the final decorating touches on 12B. The project took an unexpected turn when it was revealed that the cost of knocking out some walls was prohibitive. Due to the historical nature of the building no demolition could take place without getting city hall involved. Ardie “got wise” and decided to “make do” with 12B as much as possible and forgo knocking out certain walls and pulling up most of the flooring. The final results were still going to spectacular.

No one knew what Irving and Candis Mitzvah thought about their daughter spending time with Jack Grade. Miss Cousins imagined that they “couldn’t care less” but Jane demurred; “they are pretending that if they ignore the situation it will just go away,” she said.

Jane had been very active with the building. She had arranged for Sra. Cabral to assume duties as the superintendent of The Campanile ensuring once and for all that the building would have a personal touch to its administration. Sra. Cabral moved into the apartment off of the lobby and soon was as venerable an institution on Avenue Road as was the fine old building she oversaw.

I decided to walk home from work one evening and enjoyed the stroll in the fall weather. The city was putting on its autumn plumage and the trip was rather pretty. Store windows with new merchandise and everyone sporting fall outfits. I was making my way up Avenue Road when I happened to see Leesa Mitzvah turning her Audi convertible into the Rathnelly district.

Jack Grade, you might remember, was a citizen in good standing in the Republic of Rathnelly.

She parked on the street and began to unload a number of bags from her car filled with goodies to hand out on Halloween. In moments Jack Grade sprinted across the street from his house and began to help her; he was good that way.

I watched as he bent to give her a kiss and watched—gawked, really—as she reached up to rumple his hair.

This was “no mere friendship” I later told Jane when she stopped by with Bethany to “trick or treat” at my apartment, followed by a quick stop at “Uncle Ardie’s” up in 12B, and a longer more family visit with Sra. Cabral who had made a princess costume for Bethany.

"We're going to have a front-row seat for this performance, Kiddo, so enjoy the run while it lasts," she said, "because the truth is that everyone loves a June wedding."