Chapter 2: Bird Watching
"She is playing right into my plan," Edna thought to herself as she made her way across the street and to the red door of 4247 Maplewood. Before she could even ring the bell, Dotty had opened the door.
"How nice to see you, Edna. This is so unexpected and kind of you to think of us," Dotty warmly greeted her.
"Here," Edna said presenting the Tupperware dish as she entered.
"Come into the kitchen. The kettle should almost be ready," Dotty said taking the container with the dessert. Edna followed Dotty into the welcoming blue, cheery kitchen.
Moving Amanda's potted yellow mums aside, Dotty placed the Pilgrim's Peach Puff on the counter. Opening the container, Dotty exclaimed clapping her hands, "Oh, Edna, that looks simply wonderful."
"Thank you. You know you were right. It was so easy to make," Edna informed her enthusiastically.
"How about we each try a little? You know. Just to make sure it is not over baked," Dotty suggested conspiratorially as she pulled teacups and plates down from the cabinet.
"Lovely idea," Edna agreed readily helping Dotty to bring everything to the kitchen table.
After settling themselves down, Edna asked, "What book was your club reading this month?"
"Oh, it called Walking the Tightrope of Love," Dotty answered, "I read it several months ago and simply loved it. I told Amanda all about it, but she thought it was too far-fetched."
"Really? Why?" Edna asked with sincere interest.
"Well, it was about this Russian scientist who escapes from the U.S.S.R with a secret formula. The KGB follows him to American where he meets this tightrope walker at a coffee shop. She agrees to help him by hiding as a clown at the circus she works at. They end up falling in love."
"I think I will have to look for that next time I am at the library. That sounds romantic to me,"
"See, that was what I thought. You will have to let me know what you think of it," Dotty agreed, "So now, tell me, what have you been up to since we last chatted?"
It was just the opening Edna had been hoping for. "Well, funny you should ask. I had an emergency visit to the hospital the other day."
"What? What happened?" Dotty asked with obvious concern in her voice.
"Well, at first, it felt like my heart just stopped, and I fainted dead away," Edna calmly informed her, taking a sip of her tea.
"You never mentioned you were having health issues, Edna. Are you okay? You know you shouldn't have been baking if you were not feeling well. Why didn't you call and ask for help?"
"I'm fine now, and really it was very unlike me as nothing usually upsets my constitution. Believe me," Edna continued patting Dotty's hand,
"there's no need to worry especially since I know what caused my little episode shall we say," Edna reassured Dotty, hoping her prey would now take the bait she had just put before her.
"Well, what did the doctors say caused it?" Dotty asked putting down her teacup expectantly.
Edna had known Dotty's curiosity would get the better of her."Well," Edna began hesitantly wanting to toy with her a bit first before she pounced.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked such a personal question," Dotty immediately backtracked.
"No, no. That is okay. I just I couldn't believe it myself," Edna stated coyly trying to build the suspense.
"So what was it?" Dotty continued to pry.
"Well… a man," Edna finally blurted out.
"A man?" Dotty asked incredulously.
"Yes, a man," Edna responded flatly with a hint of false irritation for the dramatic effect.
"How did a man cause you to faint?" Dotty asked as a possibility struck her. Suddenly, the sound of Edna's laugh coming through the house one night a few months back had her leaning in and quickly asking, "Did you met someone at Buck's block party a few months ago?"
"No, that is not where I saw this man," Edna said, feigning a hurt expression at such a thought.
"Well, where did you see him then?" Dotty continued to pry.
"Outside your house," Edna stated looking directly at Dotty over her cup of tea.
"Our house? What do you mean?"
"Do you remember at the last garden club meeting I showed everyone the bird watching binoculars I had just bought?" Edna asked innocently.
"Yes, you mentioned how many unique varieties of birds now live in our neighborhood with all the new plants and trees going in, and that you wanted to track their coming and goings."
"Right. Well, the other night, just before dinner time, I was looking at the oak tree that overhangs your front yard to see if the robins had come back to nest. Well, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of silver which got my attention. I thought it might be a Northern Mockingbird, but when I focused my binoculars, I saw a gorgeous silver sports car pull up to your curb instead."
"I saw that car too!" Dotty exclaimed excitedly. "The boys and I had just come home from their baseball practice that had run late. Amanda had called earlier in the day and said that she didn't think she would be home in time for dinner again. So, I took the boys out for pizza after the practice. I was so surprised seeing her purse hanging on the railing when we finally got back that night. I thought she would still be at work."
"Yes, well, Amanda does seem to work some odd hours," Edna interjected into Dotty's story.
Nodding in agreement, Dotty barreled on, "So, I yelled out to Amanda not knowing where she was in the house about that car. I was thinking we had some new neighbors. You do know that Mrs. Cooperman finally put her house up for sale? Don't you? Instead of renting it, she is retiring and moving to Florida to live with her sister," Dotty stated by way of explanation of her thinking at the time. "Of course, Amanda was in the backyard trying to catch the Fergusons' dog again. By the time she had come in and we went to look out the front windows, the car was gone. She said she had no idea what I was talking about so I let it drop. I haven't seen it since," Dotty finally finished.
"Well, Dotty, not only have I seen that car parked in our neighborhood, although I couldn't tell you the make or model of it because I don't know things like that," Edna stated then pausing for the effect, "but this time, I actually got a good look at its owner."
"Well, what did the person look like?" Dotty asked impatiently.
"When he got out, his back was to me at first," Edna started before Dotty interrupted.
"So, a man owns this car?" Dotty asked for clarification.
"Yes, and a very tall one as I could see from the way he struggled to get out of the car. I think it was too low to the ground for him. He must have been at least six feet tall. He had on a brown leather jacket and jeans. He had thick, wavy straw-colored hair. He had a very strong looking profile."
"You know your description reminds me of one of Mrs. Cooperman's renters a while back. I think his name was Mr. Sampson. I asked Amanda to invite him for dinner to welcome him to the neighborhood, but she never did," Dotty stated thoughtfully, wondering silently what did happen to him.
"That was who I thought it was too, but we never did get a good look at him because he didn't stay very long. The rumor was he wasn't married because no one saw a woman coming and going with him," Edna replied.
"But you said you got a good look at him now through your binoculars?"
"Yes. Well, at least, I think it was the same man. Anyway, he was holding a bottle of wine, " Edna stated with emphasis, "I think he might have sensed someone was watching him though. You know how you get that feeling."
"Yes, but why do you think he sensed you watching him," Dotty asked, now leaning in further over the table.
"Well, he turned around when he got to your gate as if he was trying to find the prying eyes. That is when I saw his face," Edna sighed aloud at the memory. She had an unmistakable faraway look in her eyes that surprised Dotty as she continued.
"He had the most handsome face I have ever seen. He had this smile with deep dimples which reached up to the most sparkling hazel eyes. He had a look of intrigue, mystery, and danger all rolled up into one gorgeous man which matched the car he was driving. The next thing I knew, after seeing that face larger than life through my binoculars, I was on the floor with my binoculars clutched tightly against my chest looking directly up at my popcorn ceiling. I don't know what overcame me. By the time I got my senses back and my heart rate slowed, he was gone. I don't know where he went."
"You mean you never saw him actually go to our door?" Dotty asked.
"Unfortunately, no. He was just by your gate," Edna stated sadly wishing she could have conclusively given that information.
"But," Dotty asked with this clear image in her mind, "How do you know for sure it was this man that caused you to pass out like that?"
"Well, when I got up, I, of course, immediately called 911, and I was rushed to the hospital. It was decided that I should undergo a stress test to see if they could see anything wrong with my heart because I was told I was at greater risk for a heart attack with my age and daily stresses. I told them I was as strong as an ox and just wanted to go home by that point, but the doctor insisted I stay for this one test," Edna stopped long enough to take a sip of her now tepid tea before continuing her story. "Next thing I knew, I was whisked off to the testing room. It had a large bed, lots of machines and monitors, and a large treadmill. Several nurses were with me, hooking me up to machines. Once I was wired up, they put me on the treadmill. The machines all beeped at a nice steady rhythm. The lines on the screens showed a regular green pattern. So, the nurses kept increasing the angle as I walked because they couldn't get my heart rate up. They couldn't find anything wrong," Edna stated, her hands and shoulders lifting up to emphasize her frustration with that verdict.
"So what did they do then?" Dotty asked as Edna had yet to explain how a man caused her to be rushed to the hospital.
"Well, I kept insisting to the nurses as they supported me on the treadmill that something must have caused me to faint because that is something I had never done before. Finally, one of the nurses asked me what I was doing when I fainted. So, I began telling her about my bird watching which I find so relaxing and actually caused my heart rate to drop lower. But, when I started to tell the nurses about the man I had spotted, the machines started beeping wildly. The lines on the monitors all turned bright red and were blinking erratically. I couldn't catch my breath at the mere thought of him again."
"So you mean to tell me it was the man you described that you saw outside of our house with the bottle of wine who got out of that silver sports car that caused your heart rate to get so high you actually fainted?" Dotty asked still not really believing what she had just heard.
"Precisely," Edna said clasping her hands together in front of her for emphasis. "So you understand that when the nurses had me talking about the birds I had been watching, the machines quietly hummed along. However, as soon as they would start to ask me more questions that again man, the machines would all go haywire and I had a hard time catching my breath."
Dotty was at a loss for words for a moment as she refilled their teacups. Putting the china teapot carefully down on the table, she stated, "Well, I am certainly going to ask Amanda again if she was sure she didn't see anything or anyone that night since she was home before us, and I will keep an eye out for that car."
Reaching out to squeeze Dotty's hands, Edna said, "Having an extra set of eyes and ears on our neighborhood is so reassuring, Dotty. Thank you."
"Well, we all do need to be on the lookout these days, don't we?" Dotty reassured her.
"Yes, we do. Well, I don't want to take up any more of your time today, and I am sure you need to get dinner going," Edna said standing up from the table beginning to take her dishes to the sink.
Looking at the clock on the wall for the first time since Edna had arrived, Dotty was surprised how late it had become. "Yes, I didn't realize the time passed so quickly. The boys will be home from practice soon and that pot roast does need to go in. Are you sure you are feeling alright now?" Dotty asked again leading Edna to the front door.
"Never better," Edna assured her as she opened the front door to leave.
"Well, again, if you need anything or see anything, please let us know and thank you for the wonderful dessert," Dotty said waving to Edna as she made her way back across the street.