By Nick Kossovan

Wanda looked over at Steve.

“You’re probably the better person to explain to Glen why we choose to leave our house to Tyler.”

Steve took a moment to prop himself up in his bed and then reflect on what he was about to say. Glen patiently waited for Steve to gather his thoughts.

“Well, as you know Wanda and I don’t have kids. Truth is we got to a point where we were enjoying our freedom so much we felt children would get in our way. I know it sounds selfish, but that’s how we felt.”

“I’m not judging,” said Glen.

“I appreciate you saying that. Most people, when you tell them you don’t have kids, give you a look. Anyways, time passed, and eventually, biology made the choice Wanda and weren’t ever going to have kids. Therefore, when we finally got around to getting our wills done, we had to make a few decisions regarding whom we would leave our house to and the few possessions we had.”

“Do you know how Steve and I met Ann and Gary?”, asked Wanda.

“Teresa mentioned they had some sort of baked goods booth at the Pickering flea market and you liked their cranberry raisin…”

“Focaccia,” interjected Steve. “We became regulars and got to know them. I wouldn’t go as far as to say we’ve become friends, but we’ve been enjoying, on and off, their company for the past ten or eleven years. We first met Tyler when he was ten years old, Eric had just turned fourteen, and we knew right away he was different.”

“Different how?”

“Are you familiar with the saying, ‘He rides the short bus?’”

“Heard it a few times growing up. You’re saying Tyler has a learning disability of some sort?”

“We could see something was wrong with Tyler,” said Wanda. “Neither Ann or Gary every mentioned Tyler being different. He was and still is, socially shy, struggles to speak and has a hard time connecting with people. Fast forward to three years ago, Tyler graduates high school and immediately gets a job working overnight at the Canadian Tire on Kingston Road and St Claire Avenue restocking shelves. I believe he works 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM, four nights a week.”

“Did Teresa tell you about Ann and Gary closing their booth?” asked Steve.

“Yes, she did,” answered Glen. “Said Ann told her she and Gary wanted to free up their weekends.”

“The truth is they went bankrupt. I would describe Ann and Gary’s spending habits as being childish. They always seem to be short of money, living hand to mouth. More than once they’ve asked Steve and I for money, which we were never comfortable doing, so we never did.”

“How long did they have their booth for?”

“14 years or so,” answered Steve. “Ann and Gary need Tyler’s income, as small as it is, to help make ends meet. Both are now receiving Canada Pension, but that’s not enough. Tyler is intelligent and would do quite well learning a trade, but they’ve discouraged him from doing so to keep him working at Canadian Tire.”

“So you figure giving your house to Tyler will somehow right a wrong?”

“Maybe not today,” replied Wanda. “Steve and I have to leave our house to someone, why not Tyler? Given the path, Ann and Gary have him on, he certainly could use the financial stability our house would give him.”

Glen glanced at his watch and saw it was getting close to the end of the hospital’s visiting hours.

“I should get going,” said Glen to Wanda. “As you know giving Tyler your house has upset Teresa. I understand why you made the decision you did, on the other hand Teresa sees it differently.”

“A friendship, even one as long as ours, doesn’t come with entitlements. Adrian has a lot going for him… he’ll be fine.”

“Fair enough,” said Glen as he started walking towards the door. Once in the doorway, he turned back towards the room. “How would you describe Eric?”

“Has red hair,” answered Steve.

“On the heavy side?”

“Yes, we saw him just a few weeks back. Ann and Gary had invited us over for dinner. Eric and Tyler were there.”

“Veronica and I will drop in on you tomorrow evening,” said Glen to Steve. “See how you’re doing. I’ll probably have some news for you and Wanda.”

Glen then looked towards Wanda.

“It may not be my place to say anything, but you should consider trying to call Teresa again. She says she never received your voice messages. Try calling Josh, I presume you have his cell number.”

“Yes, I do,” replied Wanda. “Once Steve’s back home tomorrow I’ll call Josh, I promise.

“One more thing, would you mind giving me Ann and Gary’s address. I think my speaking with them would be beneficial.”

“I’ll text you their address in a few minutes. They live out in Highland Creek, just around the corner from Ted’s.”

The next morning, after a couple of cups of coffee, a few reheated frozen waffles, and a pleasant conversation with Veronica and Athena, Glen was walking through the gates 300 DANFORTH. Even though it was just past 7:30 AM the construction site was buzzing with activity. Chris was standing in front of his blue shipping container office going over a blueprint with a few of his men. Seeing Glen walking towards him he excused himself from the group and began walking towards Glen to meet him.

“You’re back,” said Chris as he extended his right hand, which Glen accepted.

“I got a huge favor to ask,” said Glen as he shook Chris’s hand.

“How huge?”

“I noticed you have a few strategically placed security cameras. How long do you keep the surveillance videos… and, here’s the huge favor I need, can I view last Friday’s videos if you still have them?”

“That’s quite an ask, but seeing how you will be helping my cousin, I think I can help you out. We keep security camera videos for 2 months. Which camera’s video are you interested in?”

“Not sure really. If you don’t mind, I need to call someone to help me choose which camera. Regarding your cousin, e-mail me his name, contact information, and I’ll see what I can do for him.”

“Thanks. We go hunting every year, late October, so I’ll be seeing him in a few weeks. We usually go up around Temagami, hunting white-tailed deer. Can’t wait to tell him about you. No problem having your friend drop by, all I ask is you introduce me to him when he gets here.”

“Fair enough,” said Glen as he retrieved his iPhone from his back pocket.

Glen dialed Don’s number. He wasn’t surprised that he woke Don up.

“It’s not even 8:00 AM Glen! I usually don’t roll out of bed until around 9:00 AM, what can I do for you?

“I need you down at the construction site you made the delivery to this past Friday. How soon can you get here?”

“Give me 20 minutes, which should give you plenty of time to get me a coffee and some sort of breakfast sandwich. I can only spend a few minutes with you. I have to be at the store by 9:00 AM.”

“5 minutes is all I need. Will have the coffee and food when you get here. Meet me at the site’s office.”

True to his word, within 20 minutes, Don bicycled up to the blue container office, where Glen, holding a large Tim Hortons coffee and Bagel B.E.L.T.® was talking to Chris.

“Thanks for arriving so quick,” said Glen as he handed Don the coffee and sandwich.       “Chris, this is Don. He delivered to Randall a gift basket on your construction site. I need to ask him where he was exactly parked when he made his delivery and in which direction did Randall come from and walked away too.”

“Good to meet you,” said Don to Chris as he took the coffee and sandwich from Glen. Removing the lid Don to a sip of the coffee as he pointed in the distance. “I parked right next to that pile of steel scaffolding over there, just where that guy holding the circular saw is standing.”

“From where did Randall come from?” asked Glen.

“Seeing how he came at me; I would say through that entrance you can see beyond the scaffolding.”

“We created that walk through entrance so the crews could park in the empty lot next to the site and not have to walk around to get in via the main gate,” said Chris.

“I take it Randall walked back the same way he came,” said Glen.

“That be correct,” confirmed Don as he took a bit of the Bagel B.E.L.T.®. “Like I said yesterday, he literally ran up to me, took the gift basket, and then ran back in the same direction he came.”

For a few minutes, Glen glanced around noting the various security cameras.

“Chris, that security camera up on the pole just behind your office,” said Glen nodding toward the direction of the office, “It’s pointed directly towards the scaffolding. Can you pull the video footage for last Friday for between 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem. We just need to step into my office and view it on the monitor.”

“Looks I’m done here Glen,” said Don as he placed the last of his sandwich into his mouth. “I got to bounce. You know how to reach me if you need me.”

“Thanks, Don… I appreciate your help,” said Glen. “Chris lead the way.”

To be continued