CHAPTER I — Trust
Sandra sat at the breakfast table across from her husband Doran attentively watching him eat his morning meal. For some reason she always liked watching how he ate his breakfast and had many fond memories of him eating. She often recalled her Doran: eating in Toronto, the city where he had studied dead languages; then Doran eating in Edmonton, the city where he had translated antique treatises for a publishing house and again her beloved Doran, eating in Green Rock, Sandra’s home town where they had moved to start a new life which was to not have been connected with anything to do with languages.
“Would you describe that farmer to me?” asked Sandra. It was a habit of hers to always ask her husband questions while he was having breakfast.
Doran looked up from the morning meal he was devouring and took two sips of his tea, “You mean the one named Mr. Swatrick?”
“Yes, the one who appears to be in need of another worker,” nodded Sandra.
“I would say he is a good man and a real hard-worker,” these were the first paint strokes of the picture of the farmer who had promised Doran a job. The potential employer as described by the potential employee was an individual who was short, paunchy and grey-haired.
“Last night I had a strange vivid dream,” said Sandra in quite voice, “there was this old man who looked like your Mr. Swatrick and you were busy loading hay onto a truck.”
“That’s really interesting. So what now, have you started having visions?”
It seemed to her that the mystical coincidence of her dream and the farmer had not impressed Doran in any way.
“You know, I have never had dreams like that before and your description has completely given me the creeps. By the way as far as I remember, you forgot to mention that he wears a silver chain and has a tattoo. Yes, a tattoo on his right leg, a dragon, if I am not mistaken.”
Doran got up from the table and started pacing back and forth in surprise. His wife had really had some sort of prophetic dream. Of course, working on a farm had never been Doran`s ardent desire and it was never talked about, but right now it was better than being unemployed. “I am going to meet with him on Monday,” he said at last, “and you know, it seems to me that I already know what the answer will be.”
Sandra then also got up from the table and went quietly over to the window. The morning sun shone through, highlighting her voluptuous figure and at the same time brightened her face. Dressed, as she was, in a white flowing robe she looked like a phantom, a ghost or a woman made of light.
She broke her reverie and said, “Sometimes I really think that it may not have been such a great idea to change our lives in such a radical way!”
“I don’t ever want to return to what was my previous life, Sandra. I am completely and totally done with it. Fortune has truly smiled down on us and your dream was a sign,” Doran raised his hand and softly touched Sandra`s shoulder and for a few minutes they silently stood, side by side, looking out through the window.
“I’m completely happy, if that is the way it will be but right now we need to pay the rent for the house and unfortunately our money is about to run out. By the way I forgot to tell you, yesterday my mother asked you to go and visit her. She said she wants to talk to you and I was thinking if she gives you money you could clear up all of our outstanding bills. They’re all over there lying on the bureau.”
Sandra’s words regarding finances just served to strengthen and sharpen the deep sense of guilt that had been quietly tormenting Doran`s heart and soul. Even though he was still a young man he endlessly reproached himself for all of the troubles that his restless nature had made for his beloved wife. Sometimes one might think that it seemed that Doran was covered with a layer of some sort of special invisible potion whose main attribute was attracting problems of different scale. Two months ago when the married coupled had left Edmonton they were dreaming of opening and running a cozy little café. Unfortunately however, the money that the young couple had had was not enough to allow them to take their first steps in running a small business and the banks did not want to deal with people who had no stable work or income. As it was Doran was unemployed and their only income was the money which Sandra earned working part time as a nurse in the local hospital.
After having finished breakfast, Doran got ready and went off to see Ms. Brakson, Sandra’s mother. The fresh air and beams of light from the morning sun were the best cure he had for the blues he was sinking deeper and deeper into. It was the beginning of June and nature was full of life and everything seemed bright and pulsing with pure energy which for some reason seemed to fill Doran with strength, giving his hopes and dreams renewed power.
One step after the other the young man moved further and further away from their house. He strolled past the bank which had not given them credit to start a business, then past the Little Hog Bar, which was famous for its strong yet cheap drinks. After that he strolled past the town church and the old water tower which soon were also far behind him. At last he reached the little white one-story house of his mother-in-law.
Opening the door Ms. Brakson said: “Welcome! Come in, come in! Thank you for having taken the time to come.” There was an official tone in her greeting which was portentous of the gravity of the forthcoming conversation. Feeling a gnawing dread Doran entered the entry hall of the home.
“I can’t watch how you loiter around the town anymore,” the woman came right to the point. “When my daughter got married it was to a prospective well-educated young man and now what do we have? You don’t even have enough money to live on let alone support a family.” The woman sighed in displeasure, “Okay. To be honest, I didn’t invite you here just to moralize over your situation. I actually have a job prospect for you at one of the larger Canadian companies. They currently are in need of a translator from Latin into English and would be very glad to employ such a young specialist as you. So? What do you think?”
Doran kept silent as he had no idea what to say. One the one hand he had no desire whatsoever to work as a translator, especially in a big city, and on the other he was rather afraid of this woman. Her harmonious combination of good manners and imposing appearance gave her all the air of aristocracy and generosity, so any contradiction to what she said or wanted seemed to Doran to be akin to sedition and even an offense against the truth.
“Actually ma’am I found a job,” he said in a low uncertain voice, “and if I have employment the bank will give me the credit required to open our café.”
“So! You managed to find a job!?” Doran`s words came as a surprise to her.
“Yes, I of course I did. All of this is just our first step. We need a little time to finally realize our dream.”
“So… Well, I must say, then that is quite another matter.” She seemed to sigh with relief, “So when is your first working day?”
“On Monday I’ll sign a contract and
