At long last, Amy and I had our dinner, a great evening of prime rib and red wine at La Castile, a goony castle-like steakhouse on the Dundas strip west of the city. As to what happened afterwards — I don’t kiss and tell. But we’ve been seeing one another regularly since.
As for me, I was settling in. I had found some time to read up on Arcane, its customers, and their fascinating beliefs. I found a copy of Clay’s original business plan for the company, prepared in 1974, white-out still marking where he had made revisions. I also had a chance to start reading through Charlie Carter’s History of Occultism in Toronto, which was proving to be a real eye-opener. Of particular interest to me was a paragraph on page 64, suggesting that my parents had run a herbal pharmacy in Toronto, from 1974 to 1983. That was a fact that my mother had never mentioned in my thirty-four years on the planet. It also helped explain why Elder Herbals appeared in the list of potential customers identified in Clay’s business plan, though it raised a whole host of questions I would need to explore when I had the energy.
As for Jamar, Kara and Ted? Jamar was back with his girlfriend, and his dad had chickened out on the flight to Kiev. Kara and I had settled into a comfortable relationship as friends and colleagues, though at times I felt there might be more lurking beneath. Her boyfriend Chad seemed to think so too, so we’ll never be BFFs.
Ted? Well, he and two buddies had formed a hockey academy for kids, which was taking up the majority of his time. He still worked once and awhile at Hidden Pleasures, and was seeing a dancer with the unlikely name of Chastity.
With an hour left in the day, I was going through a file from John Vranic’s office when a voice came through on the intercom.
“Donnie? Call for you on line one.”
I pushed the payroll statements to the side, happy to do something other than review another page of numbers.
“Donnie Elder speaking.”
“This is Dr. Bernie Galt.”
Interesting. I wondered whether he was going to try to weasel his way out of the final balance he owed us. Our statement had gone out three weeks ago — $3,245.32 all in. He had been dodging Kara’s calls ever since.
“Bernie. How can I help you?”
“I am,” he paused as though wanting to start again. “I am calling to advise you that we will not be terminating your services after all.”
“I see.”
“Yes. I have considered the matter further, and determined that it would be best for Bindings if we continue to utilize your courier services. No doubt you will be happy to hear that you can continue to cite us as one of your higher-profile customers.”
“Mm hm.” So, his eyes must have popped out of his head when he saw how much it would cost him to ship via a regular courier service. Either that, or someone had balked at delivering to the Blooded Sisters of the Divine. Probably scared off by the chicken guts smeared on their front door.
“And in that regard, I have asked Ms. O’Sullivan to prepare a check today for my signature in payment of — of one-half of the outstanding balance we presently owe you. We will be getting that out to you this evening.”
“Hm.”
“It will of course cause us some short-term financial difficulty, but we will manage.”
I kept my mouth shut, not convinced I would be able to say anything without inserting a lengthy and colorful string of expletives that were unlikely to facilitate this supposedly renewed relationship. The result was a prolonged silence on the line, one underscored by Galt’s breathing, which I now realized was quite audible, even a little raspy.
“Alternatively, we could — yes — perhaps that’s what we will do. Mary? Please prepare the check in full payment of the account. Yes, it is only reasonable that we should make full payment of your account in light of your many years of good service. Full payment. We will have that off to you by end of day.”
Maybe I should try the silent treatment more often.
“I trust we can then proceed with business as usual?”
“Sure.”
“Good, good. We’ll have that check off to you shortly. Okay, then. Good bye.”
I set the phone down, shaking my head. It’s amazing how some people believe they can do whatever the hell they want and get away with it. I paused, considering that for a moment, then decided to tell Maggie and Kara the good news face-to-face.
The kitchen was oddly quiet at this time of day, but I could hear a host of voices out front. Must be a late afternoon drop off, or a few of the staff catching up.
I entered the Reception Area to find Kara, Harold and Jamar all gabbing with Harper, and with Clay, who looked like a new man.
“Donnie!”
“Clay! I didn’t know you were dropping in.”
“Oh, Harper and I thought we should pop in to say hello to the gang, make sure everyone remembered who I was.”
“Yeah, right.”
“So, what have you been up to?”
“Well,” I laughed. “I just got off the line with good old Bernie Galt at Bindings.”
Clay chuckled, and surprisingly both Harold and Jamar rolled their eyes. Seemed the not-so-good doctor had not made any friends.
“Trying to get out of that last bill?” I had walked Clay through the ups and downs of the Bindings relationships during our weekly calls. To say he was in favor of terminating the account was an understatement.
“Hah! That’s what I thought, too. Nope. Turns out our friend Dr. Galt would like to restore our relationship. He’s even prepared to pay us in full.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Me too. But if it does come in…”
Faces fell. Boy, they sure didn’t like this guy.
“Relax. No deliveries until the check clears. But once we do have the check, I’m changing the rules. No cash, no delivery. Payment up-front.”
“Now we’re talking!” Harold clapped me on the shoulder, and Clay seemed delighted with my course of action.
“Well it sounds like you have everything in good order. Maybe this is a good time to tell them, then.” Clay was looking at Harper, but we were all looking at him. She smiled and nodded, and he turned back to face us.
“We’re going on a vacation. Four weeks. Hawaii. Leaving tomorrow.”
No kidding. Good for them. The group cheered.
I felt a bit of pride, hearing that. Clay trusted me enough to leave his baby with me for four weeks. Made me think the past three months had been worth every minute.
Three days later, we got our check from Galt. And two days after that, it cleared.