The conversation stayed away from Silver Acres and my abrupt departure there-from. However, as the meal progressed I grew tired of seeing the moose on the table that nobody would talk about, so I said to Carol, “Have you found somebody to move into my apartment yet?”
She didn't show any surprise at the question, and said, “As you know, we have quite a long waiting list. I suspect that we'll have somebody in your place within a week, probably a man and wife, since your apartment has that addition. We may paint the inside while we have the chance, but there isn't any repair work needed. You took very good care of it.”
“Thanks. I hope your new tenants won't make as much trouble as I did.”
Albert scowled at me, but Carol said, smiling, “We're going to have them lobotomized before they move in.”
“I guess you know by now,” I said, “that Gerald's bequest to Silver Acres is $500,000, not just $100,000.”
This time I got to her; she couldn't hide her surprise. “Where did you hear that?”
“Oh, you know me, always nosing around.”
“That's…that's wonderful! I hope you're right. It would certainly help with our long-term financial well-being.”
At this point Albert changed the subject with another look at me that said, “Shut up and behave yourself.” He always kidded me about the fact that I drove a Mercedes, whereas all he and Sandra could afford were Toyotas. Now he said, “Each of our factions has gained an adherent. Mark drives a Toyota while Carol drives a Mercedes.”
“Mine is a very old Mercedes,” I said, “while Carol's is brand new.”
“It's a year old,” she said, somewhat defensively.
“Tell me, what marvelous improvements have been added in the last 15 years?”
“It has a digital security system. I have to punch in four digits before I can start it.”
“Mine has that. Fortunately, the numbers are the month and year Albert was born so it's easy to remember.”
“Gogi may not remember what happened yesterday,” Sandra said, “but she can remember any number.”
“My code is seven, three, five, one,” Carol said. “How would you remember that?”
I thought for a moment. “All the odd single-digit prime numbers, beginning with lucky seven, then down, up, down, ending at the bottom.”
“And my car has an additional anti-theft feature, a transmission lock. If you key in an additional four digits it becomes locked in Park for a fixed amount of time, like a time-lock on a safe. The code is seven, two, three, one. How would you remember that?”
“I'll have to think about it,” I said. “Let's have dessert.”
I signed up for dish detail with Sandra and Mark, while Albert and Carol took a walk down by the creek. I was glad to be away from Carol for a spell, and the kids apparently were too. Mark asked me whether I'd solved the oddball puzzle yet. I hadn't; my mind couldn't concentrate on things like that at the moment. I wondered whether it would ever be able to again.
After we had finished the dishes, Sandra and Mark went outside, too, with Mark carrying Winston in his backpack. They invited me to go with them but I didn't feel like being outside on such a beautiful, sunny day. I'd rather be inside nursing my wounds.
As I walked past the bench that stood just inside the front door I saw Carol's purse, sitting open. I opened it wider to see what it contained. I saw the usual stuff a woman carries for any possible contingency and also a black spiral notebook. It looked like the kind that busy people use to record their appointments. I pulled it out. I didn't feel guilty; she owed me.
I opened it up and found an hour-by-hour account of her days: appointments, meetings, Silver Acres events, the schedule of a busy executive. And boring as heck to anybody else. I was about to return the notebook to her purse when I idly opened it to the back. There were a number of pages available for notes. I glanced randomly at a few jottings, again not of interest to the average reader.
Then I saw something strange. Block letters filled one page, but they didn't make any sense. The letters appeared to form words, but they weren't words. At least not English words. Nor were they words in any other language I had ever seen, especially since vowels were under-represented and not present at all in some of the “words.”
This must be a code! Carol didn't want anybody to know what she had written here, which of course immediately piqued my curiosity. After taking a look through the windows beside the front door to make sure none of the walkers were returning, I carried the book to my bedroom at the back of the house and sat down at the desk we had brought from Silver Acres.
I should be able to break a simple substitution code, which this probably was. I pulled out a sheet of scratch paper and starting making notes. I needed to count how many times each character occurred. E is the most common letter in the English language and anyone who has ever watched Wheel of Fortune on television knows that the most common consonants are L N R S T, if you don't count the number of times H and D appear in “the” and “and.” A, O and I are other frequently-used vowels.
I heard the front door open and the voices of Albert and Carol floated in to me; I had become engrossed in my analysis and had forgotten about them. In a panic I realized that they were at this moment standing beside Carol's purse.
I glanced around my room for a hiding place. I hadn't yet unpacked a number of boxes. One contained manila folders that held information about my investments. I took Carol's notebook and shoved it at random into one of the folders, along with the sheet on which I had been making my notes.
Then I went into the adjoining bathroom and closed the door until my heartbeat and breathing subsided to a normal level. After a while I felt I could face them and opened the door. I walked to the front of the house to find out where people were. The voices told me that everybody, including the young folks, were in the family room.
Since that room was out of sight from the front hall, perhaps I could sneak the book back into Carol's purse. I went around a corner and saw that the purse had disappeared from the bench. Carol had picked it up. With a dragging step I continued on to the family room.
A baseball game beamed from the television set; Sandra and Mark were watching both the game and Winston. Carol, as I had feared, sat in an easy chair and was rummaging through her purse.
She said, “I was sure I brought my appointment book with me.”
Albert, who stood beside her, said, “If you like you can call me from your office tomorrow to confirm.”
“I was sure I brought it with me,” Carol repeated. She looked exasperated. “I must be getting old and forgetful. She looked up and saw me. “Sorry, Lillian. Not that old people are necessarily forgetful.”
“They are, Carol, believe me,” I said, “but you're not old. Anyone with as much to do as you have is bound to forget things. It's easy to do…” I realized I was starting to babble, like Winston.
“Ain't it the truth,” Carol said, smiling, ruefully. “Well, Albert, I guess I will have to call you tomorrow. I probably left it on my desk. I was at work for a while yesterday.”
Now that Carol had calmed down I knew what I had to do. I said, “I believe I'll run over to the library and check out a few books. I can get started on my new reading program tomorrow.”
“We'll drive you, Gogi,” Sandra said, getting up.
“No thanks, Honey,” I said. “It's not far. And I'll be back soon.”
“It's no trouble,” Mark said. “We'll be glad to do it.”
Sometimes those kids were too helpful. “You stay here and watch the game,” I said, trying to be forceful but not ungrateful. “I'll be right back.”
I made a hasty exit before they could protest and walked back to my bedroom. I pulled out Carol's notebook and slipped it into my own purse. Then I walked carefully to the front door and out to my car.