July 06, 20202Review, Edit and Update
My writing exercise continues. I have written in descriptive action to the dialogue for Cook, Emelina and Jeremy (Dr. Crawford). When I read this piece with before doing so, the dialogue was like a skeleton structure.
I'm in a bit of a hurry this morning, so I do hope I haven't missed anything!
Truth Be Told
A second piece of Cook’s lemon meringue pie and another pot of tea later, Emelina and Jeremy, her long time friend, were still talking. Cook had finished tidying up the kitchen with all the pots, pans and dishes into the industrial dishwasher.
“Come, Cook. Get your own piece of pie and a cup of tea and join us.” Emelina indicated a seat well spaced away but still in the conversation. “Jeremy, you are looking rather ragged. Are they running you off your feet at the hospital?”
“Yes, they sure are. There are many days we hit the ground running as soon as we get to the OR. It’s a good thing we’ve got a locker room and fresh scrubs every day. There are so many hospitals that don’t have the luxury. I’ve showered so much in the last two months it’s lucky I still have any skin left.”
“When do you eat? And what do you eat?” Emelina causally poked her words at Jeremy, hiding her genuine concern.
“Whatever’s there……..and now I have a confession to make.” Jeremy put his head down and looked out the kitchen door before continuing. “Tonight, when I got home and after washing my hands one more time, I looked in a very uninteresting refrigerator. Tired, hungry and an empty apartment is not a good combination.” Jeremy got a far away look in his eyes as he thought of Elaine.
“So what is your confession?” Her concern was heightened but she never had known when Jeremy was being serious or just pulling her leg.
Suddenly animated and grinning, Jeremy spilled out his confession. “Well, I thought of Cook’s delicious meals and decided to come out here and crash Cook’s kitchen. And I wanted to see you and Mike. So very sad that he’s not here, but I’m not sure he’d want to be in the midst of all of this mess.”
Cook spoke up in the awkward silence that followed. “Well of course you thought of my cooking, and it’s high time you did too. Look at you. All skin and bones.” Cook poured herself a bit more tea. “You best be coming out here more often. Don’t you think so, Miss Emelina?”
“Well maybe, but don’t push Cook. This is the first time we’ve seen him in over five years. But I do think it had better be more frequently than five years, Jeremy.”
“You seem to have changed somehow, Emelina” Jeremy had been puzzled at the easy flow of conversation between her and Cook. “There was a time when eating down here was a real no no for you. You were a bit high and mighty in those days. That is until we got you away from here and all that Upstairs - Downstairs nonsense that Mike’s mom pushed on all of us. That’s when you loosened up and had a bit more fun.”
“Jeremy, I have my own confession to make.” Emelina glanced over at Cook with a tiny smile.
Cook knew what was coming. Her tea halfway to her mouth, she just about spilled it. Setting it down and laughing she said “Please Miss Emelina, don’t you be telling on us.”
“Telling on ‘us’. Who’s us, Cook?” Jeremy was confused.
“It was all of us - Dibgy, Martha, Brigitte and it would have been Giles too if he’d been here at the time. That one day, Digby came roaring out of his office, at least as much as Digby could do - I’ve never seen him is such a panic. Saying something about a - what’s it called - pandemic, he had some other fancy name for it - and how we all need to be at home and 'isolate'. He gave us all pens and big orange sticky note pads. He told us to write down instructions for Mrs. Beaufort so she could run the house without us. I don’t even remember if we put all our phone numbers somewhere. And then we all left. We just left. And there was poor Mrs. Beaufort left high and dry without even knowing it. We left after she had gone to bed so she woke up in the morning not knowing anything would be different. But there was no tea, no coffee, no one to help her get up and get dressed………” Cook worked herself up so much, the smile fell from her face 'til she was almost crying.
“Cook, stop.” Emelina’s voice was gentle. “you all did what you needed to do. And look how well it all turned out. I found my sister the next night - that’s another story, Jeremy - and we’re all back together again. Now you’re calling me Miss Emelina and I’m not being such an uppity, difficult employer. Jeremy, the only reason I go upstairs anymore is to go into my room for a change of clothes or to go to bed.”
Jeremy had seen life and death drama at work. But this was different, almost amusing. As he listened to this domestic drama, his jaw grew slacker all the time. “Just hold it you two. Emelina, you have a sister? Where did she come from? You have never talked about family before. In fact, if any of us asked about your family, you would change the subject or have to leave the room. Anything to not talk about family.”
“See” Emelina and Cook both grinned. “You do have to come out for supper more often so you can hear what’s been going on out here since this pandemic knocked us all off of our feet. And by the way, my sister’s name is Desperanza. She is two years younger than me. That’s all I’ll tell you right now.”
“Wow! I don’t know what to say except that I’d better get on the road. I’m on a late shift tomorrow, but want to get to bed and have a good sleep. Although, after what you’ve just told me I may never sleep again!” Jeremy would have liked to hear more but his tired body was telling him it would have to wait.
“Miss Emelina?” Cook leaned sideways to Emelina, lowering her voice to a whisper.
“What is it Cook? Why are you whispering?” Emelina looked surprised at Cook's sudden change.
Her whisper a little louder, speaking a little slower to be certain the Miss would hear her, Cook continued “Let him sleep in your old room. There’s the shower in there. Brigitte keeps the bed made up and the room cleaned. That way he wouldn’t have to drive all the way back to Hartley.”
“Good idea, Cook……” Emelina whispered her reply to Cook, sat up straight and turned to Jeremy. In normal volume, she asked
"Jeremy, what are you looking for?" Jeremy, ignoring them and their whispered exchange, was patting all his pockets.
“Just my keys. It was so good to see you both." Jeremy stood up from the table. "Good food and good company. Can’t ask for more than that. What is it, Emelina? You look like you want to say something.” He stopped his search when he saw that Emelina was about to tell him something more.
“This was completely not my idea, so don't you get any ideas. This invitation was Cook’s idea and I agree with it. Sleep here tonight. I don’t sleep in the room Mike and I shared anymore. I still have a couple of pair of Mike’s pyjamas - that’s if you want to wear them. You sleep here tonight, there’s an ensuite bathroom so you have a shower at your disposal. You'll get Cook’s coffee in the morning. It's a great as her pie. It will be a good break for you, Jeremy. Please stay.” Emelina had her most pleading look on her face.
Jeremy actually looked relieved. “Say no more, ladies. I wouldn’t argue with both of you. Just this once though. Only because I’m exhausted and not looking forward to driving in to that empty apartment.” He sat down and poured himself more tea.
Cook and Emelina exchanged triumphant looks.
It was Cook's turn to stand up from the table. Her purse and light jacket in the pantry, she talked as she walked across the kitchen. “I best be going, Miss, especially if I need to be back here first thing in the morning to get the coffee going. I think maybe Martha will be in tomorrow morning, too. Good night to you both.”
“If you do not tell the truth about yourself
you cannot tell it about other people.”
~ Virginia Woolf
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