Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls

Author:Rachel Ingalls [Ingalls, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2016-06-14T00:00:00+00:00

The next morning, Larry was standing in the living-room, watching Dorothy vacuum the rug and taking an occasional turn with the nozzle, when the doorbell rang.

Dorothy switched off the machine and raised her head. Suddenly she remembered.

“Mr Mendoza. Quick, get back into your room and lock the door.”

Larry fled towards the kitchen in large, easy leaps. Dorothy waited a few seconds, then opened the door.

Mr Mendoza stood on the path, looking to the side, as though he couldn’t make up his mind whether to ring again or go away. Dorothy smiled.

“Thank you for the note. I’m sorry I wasn’t in. Shall we go through the list now?”

Mr Mendoza smiled back and dipped his head. He was a quiet, charming man, slow in all his movements and with a facial expression of relaxed steadiness. Dorothy had liked him from the beginning. He had come to work about a year after Bingo was run over, and it had been a help to be with someone and not be expected either to make conversation or to respond to it. It was still like that. She knew a little about his family, but when they talked, it was usually about plants and flowers, and they still called each other by their last names, like people of her grandmother’s generation. At some point, just as she had thought of suggesting that they drop the formality, she had realized that he took it as a sign of respect.

Mr Mendoza gestured towards the far corner of the garden, up against the fence. He touched the brim of his hat and said something about the dangers of insecticide. Dorothy nodded. One of the reasons why Mr Mendoza was going through a period of great popularity was that in addition to being honest, sober, hardworking and punctual, he avoided chemicals. And one of the reasons why he remained loyal to Dorothy when other people were clamouring for his expert care and probably offering him huge salaries, was that she listened to what he said, was interested in it, deferred to his judgement and asked his opinion about things she had read or heard. Nor did she forget what he told her. She was a good gardener herself now, because he had been her teacher.

They discussed vegetables and compost. Dorothy asked if he’d like to come in for a cup of coffee, but he regretted that he had to go see Mrs Henderson. She said that she understood the regret: she had once met Mrs Henderson. Mr Mendoza chuckled quietly. He raised his hand in a lazy wave as he went down the path.

She looked in on Larry, finished the vacuuming with him, and watched a television programme. He liked to have her with him to explain things. On some days when she came home from shopping, he would ask one question after another. The only programme he enjoyed as entertainment rather than information was one peopled by puppets. The puppet she liked best was the wild one with all the teeth; his favourite was the saxophone player.

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