Paisley King - A Tale by Elspeth Ellington

Please Come Home for Christmas - December 1, 2018

"Ugh, who invited him? Gawd he's so creepy", Carling had whispered in Paisley's ear and nodded while they were decorating little gingerbread houses with the children. Carling had always hated James Rose but could never pinpoint exactly why, she just knew there was something off about him and never kept that a secret from Paisley. "I really didn't have a choice, his father and Archie were on some board together a couple of years ago and I couldn't really exclude him and invite his parents, they come every year - don't worry, it pains me as much as it does you". If only Carling knew the half of it. Paisley had spent the entire day going from room to room checking on how things were going, while doing her best to politely avoid the doctor anytime their paths crossed.

""He needs to find himself under a bus...a shallow grave would suit him quite nicely", Carling said with no humour to be detected as she attached a pink gumdrop to the top of her creation.

Paisley had watched him working every room he entered with his seemingly quiet charm and twinkle in his eye, soft spoken and always appearing to be completely absorbed in whatever someone was saying. It was part of his modus operandi and she could see the appeal of a charming attentive doctor and could've fallen for it herself if she didn't know so much about him. He was certainly a fascinating study in human nature.

He wasn't classically handsome, rather he would be described as rotund, bald, though baldness had become a fashion statement and many women went for that look, ocean blue eyes, and has the most flawless skin for a 40 year old man. Ruggedly cherubic is how someone one described him to her...but there was no angel in there. She knew he was living a lie, she just wasn't sure of the depth and breadth of it but knew there was much more to his story than she could ever imagine.

The rumours had quietly floated around for years and made their way to her kitchen table from time to time, yet another friend wondering out loud having seen James maybe one too many times with a certain male police officer, musician, or the creep of a candy maker whose shop just happened to be under Paisley's office. "Where there's smoke, there's fire", her uncle had always said, convinced that every rumour held at least a small grain of truth. She wondered which part was the truth...if not all of it.

"Maybe one of his boyfriends is here", Carling snickered as she added the finishing touches to her gingerbread work of art. "Maybe", Paisley replied, her mind on the relief that none of her 6 Doctor-tormented clients had been invited, what a nightmare that would have been.

"I better go check on the sleigh rides and make sure they have snacks out there", Paisley left her decorated gingerbread house on the table to dry and stopped to check on Archie before popping outside. She found him in his usual spot, holding court in front of the massive stone fireplace, sitting in his favourite chair, his cane in hand, surrounded by friends and neighbours waiting their turn for a moment with The King of the Countryside as Paisley always called him. She gave a little wave and he nodded his contentment so she left him there secure in the knowledge he was in his glory telling the same stories he had told at Christmas parties for as long as she could remember.

On her way to the stairs to the kitchen she heard two women talking and stopped as she heard a name. James Rose. She recognized their voices as the two 30-something women who ran the local delivery service and would've been invited with their parents. She remembered them from high school though she was a couple of years ahead of them. They had been thick as thieves back then and it sounded like nothing had changed. They must've slipped into the butler's pantry across from the formal dining room, thinking they would be unnoticed and unheard, Paisley assumed as she stood outside the door, trying not to look obvious as she listened to their conversation.

"He asked me out! Oh my god Julie...a doctor!"

"You are so lucky! When did this happen? How? Where? I need details!"