The Peacock 1288

 " that's good news.  He should be out of the way then.  How are you for reading materials."

"The Stieg Larsson books are great but a little variety might be good.  Plus, I'm more than halfway through Dragon Tattoo.  I do nothing but read or  watch TV.  But I'd much rather read.

"How about CS Lewis' Space Trilogy.  I just saw it on my father's bookshelves."

"Science fiction?"

"Yes."

"Sure."

"I'll phone you just before I leave..."

We are near the end of the trail.  "That was Erik.  Lindstrom was in the news.  Apparently he is flying right now back to Sweden where he will be handed over to the authorities."

"Let's hope for good", sys Jeffrey.

"We're not done with the Swedish demigod yet ", says Carl.

"How can you be sure."

"I can be very sure", he says-  We re lmost back at the house.

The Peacock 1287

 A text from Erik  "Where the fuck are you"

I mark his numbers.  "Where are you", he says.

"I'm guiding my friends on a small hike in Pacific Spirit Park."

"I have been waiting for you to come all morning."

"Oh sorry  I forgot.  So much going on."

"Can you come today?"

"I think so,  Jesús is driving down with my car and he should be here in an hour.  Do you need some more chocolate?"

"That would be nice"

"how about your phone?"

"My sister is leaving me alone so far.  They just put Lindstrom on a plane to Stockholm. I just saw something on CTV news."

"oh my god, what did it say."

"Just that he was caught illegally entering the country and trying to break into a house, presumably yours, and they caught him okay and now he's on his way home to Swedish hospitality..."

The Peacock 1287

 "You must be very well-read", says Jeffrey.

"I was reading Shakespeare and Chaucer when I was ten."  He doesn't appear to be affecting modesty.  He really doesn't seem to care.  "so, anyway, tell me please about this roadrunner cartoon."

"There's no dialogue, just music and sound effects", say I.  And each episode is about this coyote chasing after the roadrunner, using all kinds of weird inventions, like rocket shoes and special dynamite, but he never catches the roadrunner, who says nothing but beep-beep.

"Hence, Beep-beep yer ass", says François.

"Exactly"

"Is there such a bird as a roadrunner?"

"Here I just found it", says Carl, offering his phone to pass around.  It is a very plain looking bird, brown or black and white stripes with a crest and rather long legs.

Carl takes back his phone and reads out loud "It is a member of the cuckoo family of birds, but unlike the European and other species of cuckoo, roadrunners are not brood parasites.  They build there own nests and lay and incubate their eggs and raise their own young."

"So the roadrunner is a cuckoo but it raises its own chicks", says George.  "Very interesting."

"Here it says", says Carl, "That many species of cuckoo lay their eggs in other birds nests for them to incubate and raise their young for them."

"Do they get paid?"

The Peacock 1286

"You mean you've never seen the Roadrunner?" says Carl, incredulous "is that a type of four wheel drive?" "No!" "It's a famous cartoon", says Jeffrey. "Warner Brothers. a spinoff from Bugs Bunny." "Bugs Bunny?" "Didn't you watch cartoons as a kid?" says George. "No. We didn't have a TV." "What did you do for entertainment?" "Mom and I mostly read together. We were always bringing books from the library." "You never watched TV, or cartoons?" say I, Not knowing whether from admiration or pity. "Mom didn't want TV. Even though the Gagnon's several times offered one, she always turned it down. she taught me instead to appreciate literature", says Francois, solemnly.

The Peacock 1284

 Crossing Chancellor is a piece of cake.  It is broad with a green boulevard in the middle, flanked on both sides by forest.  We could be almost anywhere in rural BC, and the traffic is always very sparse.  

Say I to Francois, "We were discussing the various steps the coyote would have to take in order to eat the roadrunner if he ever caught hin.  Starting of course with how he would kill him, and ending with how he would cook him.  Carl was recommending that he be served with a turnip and chestnut stuffing.  Carl, do you actually have a recipe for that?"

"The idea just popped into my head."

"It actually doesn't sound like a bad idea", says George.  "If they were pureed together, the chestnuts would reduce the bitterness of the turnips.  I might even give it a try sometime.

"but first you have to catch and kill a roadrunner, since i don't think we're going to find them in No Frills", says Jeffrey.

"Not even in Urban Faire", says George.

"I really have no idea what you guys are talking about", says Francois as we enter again the trail we came out on...

Now go to https://aaronbenjaminzacharias.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-peacock-1299_30.html

The Peacock 1283

 "And after that the coyote eats the roadrunner", says Jeffrey.

"First he has to cook him", says George.  "How do you think the coyote would cook his roadrunner?"

"Roasted in the oven," says Carl, "with turnip and chestnut stuffing.

"He would have to pluck him first", say I.

"Before that he would have to kill the roadrunner", says George.

"How do you think he would kill him", says Jeffrey.

"He'd first ring his neck then chop off his head", says George.

"Chop off whose head?" says Francois, leaving the outhouse.

"Long story", says Carl.  "Are we ready to go back?" he asks me...

The Peacock 1282

 "She likes you. She couldn't keep her eyes off you at breakfast yesterday.  I thought she was going to eat you after the muffins she brought over."

"So coyotes are dangerous", says Jeffrey, changing the subject.

"No, not especially", say I , "But better to respect their space and keep distant from them."

"They're actually very smart", says George.  We have come back out to Chancellor, and Francois is pausing near the door to the outhouse on our left..  He goes in and closes the door.

"I'm not sure about that", say I, "If the cartoon is any indication."

"Oh you mean the Roadrunner", says George.

"Never could catch the bird no matter how hard he tried", says Carl.

"What do you think would have happened had the coyote caught the roadrunner", sys Jeffrey.

"I don't know", say I, "But when Kenny lived with us he had a poster on his bedroom wall of the coyote grabbing the roadrunner by the neck with one hand, and his other hand closed in a fist ready to plough him one, and saying, "Beep-beep yer ass"...

The Peacock 1281

 "Actually they're kind of cute", says George." 

François, returning his gaze from the passing jogger, says wistfully, "Girl joggers?  Yes they are."  He is smiling.

"Oh, must you throw in our faces your sexual preferences", mutteers George campily.

"There's room for all of us", he says laughing.

"What do you think of the girl next door", says Carl with a mischievous grin.

"No need to go there", says Francois.

"I think you two would look cute together."

"Keep dreaming, Carl..."

The Peacock 1280

 "Are they dangerous?" says Carl.

"They're usually afraid of people", says Jeffrey.

"Not lately", say I.  "There have been at least thirty attacks on humans in Stanley Park since covid began."

"They must be hungry little doggies" quips George.

"They think someone's been feeding them, but I've heard another theory and it makes sense."

"And what would that be?" says Carl, rather like a lascivious old professor refusing to take anything seriously that his most brilliant and most attractive student says.

"Well, since the pandemic began, a lot more people are going outside and are using the park, and the extra human presence is impacting on habitat so this is going to stress out the wildlife.  Coyotes are predators, and like any dog, they will go after anything that runs.  Almost everyone who's been attacked was jogging in the park at the time, and joggers are things that run."

"That they do" muses Jeffrey, stepping aside as a young blonde woman whizzes by in her Nikes.  "That they do."

2

The Peacock 1279

 This entire place is soft with the luminous green of the May foliage that fills this forest. One jogger has ploughed by from behind.  No one else.  A dog suddenly stops on the trail and beholds us.  I am trying to guess the breed, and Carl says, "What is that?  I don't think it's a German shepherd.  Then, almost like magic, the dog disappears into the bushes.

"That's a coyote", says Francois."

"Yes", says George. "We used to seem them from time to time at Trout Lake.  Haven't you seen them before, Carl?"

"As a matter of fact I have.  But I just assumed they were feral dogs.  Did you say Trout Lake?"

"Yes.  Ever been there?"

"Never heard of the place.  Where is it?"

"It's a big park in East Van." says Jeffrey.  We grew up just a block away from there."

"You guys grew up together?"

"We lived on the same block.  Since kindergarten at least."

"You guys go back a long time."

"A very long time", says George, sighing...

The Peacock 1278

 There doesn't appear to be anyone else around here on the other side of Chancellor.  We are standing now at the edge of the same ravine as where I brought Carl just the other day.  We are all quiet now, even George, as we strain our ears for, what, birdsong? the sound of the wind in the trees? the not so distant motor traffic?  According to Carl it is from here that he found his way to Wreck Beach, and that is something we simply are not going to suggest.  Besides which, we need to return home pretty soon for our new guests, and I for my car.  My little black Hyundai that dad helped me pay for fifteen years ago.  It still runs okay, but it is expensive to maintain.  And I am looking forward to seeing Jesús...

The Peacock 1277

 "I never knew this place existed",rhapsodizes George as we get near the trail's exit onto the road.  "How about you, Angel?" he says to Jeffrey.

"I've been here a couple of times."

"What? And you never even told me?"

"Every girl is entitled to her secrets", he lisps.

"All right, who was he, you campy little trollop."

"He was my entire biology eleven class.  We were here studying ecodiversity."

"Ah! you were here studying biology.  And your whole class.  I trust you were all using protection."

Carl, is laughing his head off, and even if they are amusing, I am more concerned that we are on the right trail, and yes, we are.  I can already see Chancellor Boulevard...

The Peacock 1276

 The trails are a bit busier today, even though it's only Friday.  Saturday and Sunday the hordes will be unleashed with their mountain bikes and dogs, and of course the joggers, all expecting to coexist with us walkers on these narrow forest rails.  Ever since the university Endowment Lands were declared the regional park now known as Pacific Spirit, back around thirty something years ago this place has become at times unwalkable.  On weekends, anyway, the way the madding crowd or the great unwashed tend to mob and destroy anything that has become public access.  And yes, I know I'm being an elitist snot, and that is exactly how my father also felt about things, but it still isn't so bad  Three joggers have run past us.  Two cyclists, and some barmy idiot with his off leash rottweiler, which did snarl at us in passing.  I really want to apologize to my guests, but everyone seems to be taking it in stride.  Kenny would have been horrified...

The Peacock 1275

 We have all agreed to dedicate two hours, perhaps three to walking around in the area, and we want to include part of the campus and the forest.  Wreck Beach is not part of the itinerary, and that seems to work for everyone, and I suspect that George and Jeffrey, for all their libertine bravado, are secretly relieved.  I just couldn't be bothered.  I have no desire to revive the ghost from my original trysts with Chuck, and really that was the last time I was down there.  I am not interested in finding out how things have changed there.  Carl has been in touch with the hospital, and they want to keep his mother under observation for now, so, visitors are not permitted.  Melissa has just been on the phone with him, and he ended up yelling at her before he hung up.  Erik just sent me a text, and I have promised to be on Skype with him this afternoon.  I can only imagine how dreadfully bored, confined and traumatized he must be, stuck for two weeks in that hotel room  Is it really worth it.  Right now the street on which we live unfolds before us, and both George and Jeffrey are like two small boys, quietly in awe....

The Peacock 1274

 "And the rest", says Carl with authority, "Is mystery."

"You guys should have seen the look on his face when Christopher brought him home that night." says Francois, now almost completely incapable of not breaking his poker face.

"Carl", says George, "What did you get up to."

"I forgot my sunscreen.  That'll give you a clue", says Carl, now sheepishly smiling.

"Did you get naked?" says Jeffrey."

"Never mind!"

"Yes, " says George.

"Did you get a sunburn?" says Jeffrey, "Everywhere?"

"I said never mind."

"Carl got lost on our second day here", say I, "And sent me a text.  So I rescued him."

"To which I am eternally indebted to you, Chris", he says.  "Now let's get on with our morning, shall we.."

The Peacock 1273

 "Carl", says George in a playful little sneer, "have you been to Wreck Beach."

"I don't have to dignify that with a reply."

"You just did."

"His behaviour was impeccable", say I with a little smile playing on my lips.

"You were there with him?" says Jeffrey.

"Not exactly."

"Christopher rescued Carl from Wreck beach", says Francois, clearly struggling to keep his poker face.

"Oh really!" chime the two husbands in theatrical unison...

The Peacock 1272

 "I was thinking of her for the house in New West", says Carl.

"But that should be her decision", say I, "Plus she has other family."

"What about her son?"

"I don't imagine he would let her too far out of his sight."

"Well", says Jeffrey, "I say that we leave it for now till the others get here.  How about taking us on a walking tour?"

"Of the neighbourhood?"

"We were thinking of Wreck Beach", says George.

"Oh, Carl can take you there", says Francois.

"Carl?" say the couple in unison.

"Maybe in December", he says.  "For Christmas.  "If you can both get on Santa's Nice List."

The Peacock 1271

 "What about the others?" says Francois.  "I mean, the ladies, Glen, Michael, Matthew."

"Glen seems set on staying there to support Melissa", says George.  "And Michael and Matthew both want to stay behind, for now anyway.  I did talk to Sheila and all she could say was, "Oh Christ, just get me out of here."

"Was she swearing or praying", says Carl.

"Knowing Sheila,, it would be both."

"And she's in her eighties", says Jeffrey, "And I think she is also thinking about her advanced age."

"What would her options be like", says Francois."

"She can have the condo, if she wants it", say I...

The Peacock 1270

 "They should all be showing up early afternoon.  She can't say exactly what time, and we should also be prepared for everyone to be around for dinner, so we might have to do a little meal planning.  She doesn't seem to remember having ever met Chelsea, but that was a long time ago, and says she is open to seeing her today and that might jog her memory.  However, she is not at all interesting in taking on a student, so you might want to help our neighbour to be prepared for disappointment.  And she also briefly complained about Melissa, saying she has become quite miserable and won't admit it but appears upset that everyone's abandoning her."

"Time to get her out of there", says George.

"Wish me luck."

"It is going to have to be a collective effort."

"What, we should kidnap my sister?  And besides, what are we going to do about my mother?"

"There is that", says jeffrey, and I have absolutely nothing to say, since all I can think about is getting to drive my own car again...

The Peacock 1269

 "Here it is".  Carl begins to text on his phone.  "Hello, Carol.  This is Carl.  Yes, THAT Carl."  He is laughing.  "I hope I didn't get you at an awkward moment. .. Oh, okay, I won't keep you then...  Oh, things are going quite swimmingly for us here.  George and Jeffrey just arrived last night, and I believe that we are also expecting you, Jesús and Jason and Lazarus...What time?  Yes there should be someone here...Listen Carol, I am calling on behalf of our next door neighbour, a Canadian British woman named Chelsea...Yes, she plays piano and mentioned to Chris this morning that she met you in London when she was fourteen...I would say a bit more than twenty years ago...Oh, I see...Well, she will be coming for dinner this evening...Would you like to join us...okay...we'll see you then...

The Peacock 1268

 "And Chelsea wants to reconnect with Carol", says George.  "Why?"

"I would imagine that Chelsea herself wouldn't feel quite ready to answer that."

"I just wonder", says Jeffrey, "If that might be a not particularly kind surprise to spring on Carol."

"I hadn't thought of that."

"First of all, did Chelsea express a desire for Carol to mentor or teach her?"

"She wasn't specific."

"And it could be that Carol did not necessarily reciprocate the enjoyment of their first meeting.  She might not even remember her."

"Well, I can't uninvite Chelsea for dinner now, can I?"

"Does anyone here have Carol's contact information?" says George.

"I have it here on my phone", says Carl.

The Peacock 1267

 "Small world,, to say the least", says George.  "What's the connection?  Now, she's that hair stylist next door, right?"

"Right.  Chelsea's father was a member of the House of Lords in the British Parliament and used his connections to introduce them, since Chelsea was a child prodigy at the piano."

"What happened?" says Carl.

"Well, nothing.  Chelsea was fourteen at the time and already her mother was getting ready to leave her father, so she ended up taking her back to Canada with her and Chelsea never touched another piano again till just three months ago when she started playing the piano in her grandmother's basement."

"That is her grandmother's house next door", says Jeffrey.

"Correct."

The Peacock 1266

 "Any word from the others?" say I, relaxing into the red Adirondack chair, which was my father's favourite.

"Jason just texted me", says Francois.  They expect to be here at noon, more or less."

"And Jesús?"

"Him too.  He will be delivering your car.  Stop worrying"

"I'll see if I can.  And Carol?"

"She will be coming out in her own car.  She also just called me", says Carl.  "Says she has a surprise for us, but wouldn't say what it is."

"Chelsea would like to meet her."

"Carol?"

"Yes.  I tturns out they knew each other in the UK...

The Peacock 1265

 

"And just where the hell have you been?" says Carl, looking up from his laptop in the living room

"there's a rolling pin in the kitchen drawer if you want to use it".  There is still coffee in the pot, so I am reaching for my favourite mug, the dark blue one with the bright yellow daffodil.

"We were getting worried about you", he says coming into the kitchen.

"Carl was getting worried about you", says Francois, putting his phone aside at the table.  "the rest of us don't give a shit."

"I'm sure I love you too.  Where are the other two?"

"We're on the sun deck", calls George from outside.  "It's fabulous here.  Come on out and keep us company."

"So, where were you", asks Francois, following me outside with his phone.

"Chelsea invited me in for coffee.  She's coming for dinner tonight."

"It's going to be a  full house", says Carl, joining us on the sundeck...

The Peacock 1264

 "So very good of you to stop by and chat, Christopher", she says, walking me to the front door.  "Shall I drop in at round six-thirty?.

"that would be great."

"What shall I bring?"

"Nothing."

"Not even dessert?"

"Let me worry about that."

She clearly does not want me to go yet.  but I must.  My masters expect me at home.  Plus, I don't want to give into her neediness.  She is like Carl in drag.

"How will you be spending the day?"

"I have to wait around for Carol and Jesús to arrive.  He is bringing my car, and I really want to be here for that.  This afternoon, who only knows?  You never know with my friends here but something always seems to end up happening, especially when we haven't planned for it."

"I think I know exactly what you mean.  See you this evening..."

The Peacock 1263

 "That would have been Kenny.  he died around that time."

"I'm sorry."  And she does seem genuinely sorry.  Perhaps also a little, and appropriately embarrassed.  "What happened?"

"It was officially suicide, presuming that he jumped off the lion's Gate Bridge."

"You say presumably."

"There are a lot of unanswered questions."

"Could you tell me a little about him please.  You see, when I was a kid, I used to see him, and all of you, you and your dad I mean coming and going.  I must admit I was enormously curious about all of you."

Kenny was a former drag queen, a transvestite hooker we took into our home and he became part of the family, is what I could tell her, but I really don't want to satisfy her appetite for scandal, or not just yet.  So, I am merely saying, "He was an environmental sciences student we came to know.   He fell on hard times and we took him in."

"Hard times?"

"Yes."

"Nothing else?"

"Not really.  Look, I just got a text from Carl and they are wondering where the hell I am, so I had better get back before they send out a search party...".  

The Peacock 1262

 "Tell me something please, Chelsea."

"I will see if I can oblige you."

"When you were little did you come here sometime, from the UK I mean, to visit your grandma."

"Only once, when I was eight.  I was actually here for about a year.  Mom was having so much trouble with Dad and the marriage and his adulteries, and she thought it best to ship me here for a while where I' could be safe from it all.  Plus I got to continue my piano lessons, and that is why Grandma bought the piano.  It was really the happiest year of my life.  I seem also to remember seeing you here from time to time."

"Mrs Montgomery didn't really communicate much with us."

"She didn't like you, your family,I mean.  I must confess that Gran was a dreadful snob, even if she would have been considered lower middle class had she stayed in England.  She would repeatedly warn me to stay away from all of you, and she really had massive issues with the Church of England from back at home, so your father being an Anglican priest didn't help.  plus she was also a racist and a bigot and did not approve of your mother being from Mexico or somewhere down there.  And when that friend of yours moved in with you for her that was the icing on the cake..."

The Peacock 1261

" I'm sure you're not serious.  Please, that area is so awful and depressing.  You say you two are going to be working there?  How did that happen?"

"By chance, the other day I ran into an old friend I haven't seen in many years.  He is working there with the homeless, and just yesterday he took Francois and I on a tour.  So, he thinks we would both be good at it, so tomorrow he will be trying us out."

"I never would have imagined.  Where do you know him from?"

"Chuck?  That is quite a long story."

I am simply not about to go there with Chelsea.  I have already revealed too much to her this morning.  She is not entitled to know these things.  Plus, I seem to remember that morning, when Chuck left, seeing a little girl playing with chalk on the pavement in the house next door.  That would have been her, perhaps around eight or nine years old back then.  She looked up when I walked Chuck out to the sidewalk.  And after we hugged each other, stared at me as he walked away, with hard and suspicious eyes.  No need to give Chelsea any more dots to connect...

The Peacock 1260

 "He's a Roman Catholic priest?"

"Was a Roman Catholic priest."

"What happened?"

"Long story.  It would be better to ask him.  But I think it would be better to respect his privacy and leave him alone."

"Was there a scandal?  Anything inappropriate."  I really cannot abide these hyper nosy hairdressers.  She is not privy to any of this, and really I ought to change the subject, redirect her.  or simply just swallow the dregs of my coffee and leave right now.

"He is not a pedophile, if that is what you are getting at."

"Oh, I wasn't implying...I didn't mean that at all.  What is he going to do now?"

"Tomorrow, Francois and I will be beginning our practicum doing street minister in the Downtown Eastside."

"Oh, I never go there, it is such a horrible, sad and depressing neighbourhood.  All those drug addicts and homeless.

"We are going to have to take you on a tour..."

The Peacock 1259

 "You said community."

"Now here is a long story that I really don't know that much about.  There has been a collective of Christians living together in this place for quite a number of years.  Carl and his sister, Melissa, have been more their de facto landlords than participants."

"So you're all religious."

"I would have to say that we ae all seekers."

"What is it that you seek?"

"Not an easy question to answer, and if I could tell you what it is then probably I wouldn't need to seek after it."

"Would this be true of the others?"

"I would say so.  yes."

"Francois I find particularly interesting-"

"Francois is particularly interesting...