Mrs. Kitchen had been William's landlady since he moved to Toronto. When he was a Constable, he could only afford her smallest room, barely large enough to hold a bed and a dresser. As he rose through the ranks and his salary increased he moved to larger and larger rooms until he occupied his current apartment. When he was promoted to Detective, he rented the room that adjoined his through a connecting door, and the extra space gave him room to bring in bookcases and fill them with is precious books and journals.
She had nursed him when he was sick, provided a warm presence when he needed company, and lectured him when she thought he needed it. She had been the one constant in his life that never failed him, and although he never thought of her as a substitute for his mother, he knew she was a good friend, and he loved her.
Mrs. Kitchen was in the garden when they arrived, and it appeared she had just completed preparing her flower beds for springtime. "Good morning William, Dr. Ogden. Please excuse the mess; now that the weather has changed I wanted to get my beds ready for some annuals. How are you today?"
"We are fine Mrs. Kitchen. If you are not too busy, we would like to have a word with you."
"Why certainly, I'm finished here. Give me a moment to wash up and I'll make us some nice tea and scones. Would you like to go to the parlor?"
"Ah, thank you." Waiting in the parlor while Mrs. Kitchen prepared tea and scones was a little like waiting for a judge to pronounce a sentence—there was hope for a reprieve in that the tea might be adequate, and there was dread in the certain knowledge that the scones would not be. The prospect of this was known to bring strong men to tears.
Without warning a human whirlwind blew into the room. "It looks like spring is finally here and I just had to get the garden ready, but I won't plant anything for a week or two just to make sure we don't have a cold snap. Mrs. Rutherford has several seedlings that will be ready to plant by then, and I have some impatiens and petunias starting. Dr. Ogden, how do you take your tea?"
Stunned by the barrage delivered by the small human dynamo Julia was did not respond to the question. Instead she watched as the woman sat the tray on the table between the loveseat she and William occupied and the chair Mrs. Kitchen finally perched on. Although she had met the older before, she had not had occasion to spend any time with her, and this experience quite took her breath away, and finding her voice she answered, "One sugar and some milk, please."
"Very well." She busied herself pouring the tea and when she had served everyone their scones she sat back in her chair looking at them over the rim of her teacup. Surveying her guests with shrewd eyes, she decided to make polite conversation for the moment. "Do you garden Dr. Ogden?"
"Please call me Julia. Yes I do, although my work prevents me from doing as much as I would like to. I notice that your house is south facing so you will have plenty of sunlight in your front garden. What annuals are you thinking of planting?" Not thinking about what she was doing, she took a bite of the scone, which caused her face to undergo the most fascinating transformation.
The lovely smile gracing her lips assumed the fixed quality more often associated with rigor mortis while her bright eyes glazed over as though they had been blinded by some unseen agency. While William was exercising every ounce of will power to keep from laughing out loud, Julia felt like she was fighting for her life. Finally it was the training in deportment that saved her, as she managed a weak smile, which in itself amazed her for she was certain that she what she had ingested contained a large amount of formaldehyde with just a hint of anise.
Seemingly oblivious to the life and death struggle going on before her eyes, Mrs. Kitchen continued the horticultural theme of the conversation. "Well, I don't think you can have a better display than a large bed of petunias. They are prolific bloomers and last through to the end of summer. What do you plant?"
Realizing that she would live after all Julia somehow managed to respond, "I put petunias in big pots and hang them on my porch, and I plant different combinations of other annual in the beds." She decided she was definitely going to take the scone for analysis.
Still reeling from her recent brush with death and unable to think of anything else to say about petunias, Julia's momentary silence produce a lull in the conversation and the opening Mrs. Kitchen has been waiting for. "Well, I must say it does my heart good to see you both looking so happy, and I mean it when I say that at long last my prayers have been answered. So tell me, when is the wedding?"
William sputtered and only managed to grab his napkin in time, "Mrs. Kitchen, your detecting skills are quite impressive."
"Detection has nothing to do with it, William. I don't mean to be indelicate, but I can tell by looking at the both you what has happened, and about time too, I might add. You'll be taking your things to Dr. Ogden's I imagine."
"Well yes, but not all at one time. We came so I might collect a few items and to let you know that I will be moving out although not for several weeks yet. I don't want to just pile everything in Julia's parlor all at once. We want to take some time incorporating my things into the household, and give you time to find another renter."
"That is very wise and I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Now William, why don't you run along and gather what you need, I would like to have a chat with Julia."
Feeling like a child being sent to bed, he excused himself and went upstairs but not before surreptitiously slipping a large piece of his scone in his pocket.
"My dear, I am so relieved that you are finally together, I know that William was determined to uphold his principles and moral code, but you are both adults, as I often told him, but he would not budge. I love him like a son, and he has suffered these many years waiting for you. Don't misunderstand I am not blaming you alone; he is sometimes his own worst enemy and I've lost track of the times I wanted to shake some sense into him. He loves you more than I've known anyone to love another person. I'll say this once, and hope you understand: Don't hurt him. The last time almost killed him."
This second bombardment surprised her almost as much as the first, and once again Julia had to take a moment to absorb the latest salvo. Clearly, the older woman had no qualms whatsoever about speaking her mind, and she was not in the least intimidated by Julia's social position or professional status. A less intelligent woman might have taken offence at her audacity, but Julia understood exactly why the older woman said what she did, and she admired her for it. "Mrs. Kitchen, I appreciate your concern for William, and I am very grateful that he has had you in his life to take care of him. I promise you I will not hurt him. I only want to spend the rest of my life loving him."
"I'm glad to hear that. I know you are the right woman for him, but I hope you know how very special he really is."
"I have some idea, and I'm learning more with each passing day."
"Are you going to get married in the Church?"
Having forgotten that Mrs. Kitchen was also Roman Catholic, she paused a moment before she answered and after deciding to be as candid as the older woman had she explained, "No we won't. William understands and accepts my views on religion, and he would never ask me to pretend to have faith when I don't. By the same token, I don't want him to abandon his faith; it is so much of what makes William the man he is."
"What about children?"
"I cannot have children, Mrs. Kitchen, but we do want to adopt. It is his desire to raise them in his faith, and I will do whatever I can to assist him in that endeavor."
"That has taken a weight off of mind, and yes his faith is very important to him. I'm relieved to know that you understand that. I know he will be a wonderful father." Just then a light rap on the door announced William's return.
"I believe I have what I need for the next week or so."
"That's good, William. I will surely miss you, but I know you are going to be happy."
"Mrs. Kitchen, we expect to see you from time to time, this is not good-bye forever."
"I realize that William, but you two will need to get used to living together, as all couples do, and it takes time. Now if you will excuse me, I have two new renters coming in tomorrow and I must see that their rooms are ready."
"We'll take our leave then, and thank you for the tea." She kissed him on the cheek and on an impulse he hugged her to him. "Well that is a first, I must say."
Laughing out loud Julia said, "Mrs. Kitchen you are a treasure" She and the older woman shared a very warm embrace.
"If he gives you any trouble you just come to me and I'll help you straighten him out," she winked.
"You can be certain I will, and thank you again for the tea and the delightful conversation."
"Yes, well, good-bye you two. I will expect to hear from you in a week, William."
Once back in the carriage and safely out of ear shot they both burst into laughter. "Watching your face transform was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed. You went from the lovely vibrant Julia Ogden to something now unlike one of George's zombies." And this set him off again in gales of laughter.
"Thank you very much William," she snapped in a pretended pique. "I thought I was going to expire. Oh damn it. I wanted to take some of that scone to the lab. There has to be something toxic in it." His smile reminded her of a little boy who had just done something very naughty as he removed the piece of the purloined scone from his pocket.
"Oh William, how wonderful. Thank you so much. I will take it to the hospital tomorrow and test it."
"What did she have to say to you?"
"She was just so precious. She hopes I appreciate what a good man you are. She is glad we will be raising our children in the Church, and there was a gentle, but I do not doubt a lethal undercurrent that if I hurt you again, my life will be forfeit. And I do not think she was joking, but I love that she defends you like a mother hen."
"She has been the one person I could count on for almost half my life, Julia. I always thought of her more as an aunt or an older cousin. But she is as sweet and kind as she can be. I hope you don't find anything toxic in that scone, I don't want to have to arrest her for attempted murder."
Once again laughter spilled out of the carriage to the amusement of those they passed. John, Julia's long time driver and handy man, wore a very satisfied smile on his face. He and his wife Maria had been praying for her to find happiness, too, and from what he could tell, the Detective was determined to keep her that way.
Arriving home, Julia checked the post then made some tea. William removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves which made her smile; he certainly had slipped into domesticity with ease, and he was so easy to be around. He cooked, he washed dishes, and he tidied up after himself. That was enough to make most women fall head over heels for him, but he showed definite signs of other talents and she knew she had better stop thinking about that right now.
The newspaper obscured him from her view. "William, I have a fresh pot of tea. Would you like a cup?"
Their breakfast had been somewhat late, but it had been hours since then and he was feeling a little hungry. "That sounds wonderful, Julia." Folding the paper he went into the kitchen. There was something about sitting at the table with her that made him feel so at home.
She was in the pantry and emerged with a plate of miniature pastries. "Maria, John's wife, usually picks up whatever I might need a few times a week. It looks like today she thought we needed pastries."
"Are these from Waterman's? They have the best pastries in town." And with that he selected a few of the tempting morsels.
"Yes, they are. I have a weakness for their pastries, but I had to tell Maria to stop buying them every day. I was putting on weight!"
"That would never do, and to save you from that terrible fate, I think I will remove one more so it won't tempt you."
"How gallant of you kind sir."
"I hope you appreciate that my willingness to sacrifice myself this way is only a slight indication of the depth of my love and devotion to you."
"Yes, I can see how you are suffering on by behalf." She wrinkled her nose at him and giggled. "You keep that up my good man, and you will be riding your bicycle a few extra miles to keep the pounds off."
"You may well be right about that Julia, but these are miniature pastries, and I only had four." Once again that little boy shone on his face and she could not resist kissing him. "Come help me decide what I should wear tonight." She pulled him out of the chair and up the stairs where she selected four gowns to choose from, and they spent the next hour or so discussing the merits of each gown an how to accessorize them.
As he was completed the last knot in his tie, William considered their conversation to be a fascinating insight into the world of women's fashion and was grateful he only had one choice for evening wear.