Lawrence Looks for Treasure

Part 2 - Chapter 20

20

Arriving at Ema's Aunt's house, I saw Matty and Chris change their mood. The smell of the house may have had an influence. To my deprived nostrils, it smelled like Thanksgiving. The look of the house may have had an impact too. It was big, new, clean. And though not decorated to my taste, it had a certain expensive style.

'Come in. Come in. You must be starving!' Ema's Aunt greeted us at the door.

No longer in pajamas, she now wore a flowing silk shirt. The kind of shirt older women wear on a date to cover their bellies and saggy arms. Her eyes were painted blue, as well. It made her look, in my opinion, more clownish than pretty.

While I vaguely, tepidly disapproved of her, she precisely, strongly disapproved of us.

'You're filthy!' she said. 'And smelly! Showers, all of you. Not a bite until you've showered and changed. Yuck.'

Ema's Aunt directed each of us to a different shower: Ema to the master bedroom; Chris and Matty to the guestrooms; and me to the basement. Ema's Aunt then collected our clothes, both the ones on our backs and the ones in our packs, and stuffed them in the washing machine. On her instruction, we took our time scrubbing and brushing, so that when we emerged from the steamy abyss, our clothes would be clean and dry. For the most part, they were. It was nice to be clean from head to toe, from sock to t-shirt. And as we trickled into the dining room for supper, it felt like we were leading an entirely new life, like our time in the forest was history, some residual part of our identity.

All kinds of tasty food were laid out in the dining room: turkey, gravy, potatoes, steamed greens, fried onions, beat salad, and more stuff I'm sure I've forgotten. Use your imagination. Add your own favourite food. That's how it felt to us.

Most of it, she said, was leftovers. Leftovers! How did she have this much leftover? And to whom had she served the first dinner, the Pope? I think she made the salads and stuff from scratch, but said it was leftovers to make us feel comfortable. That was awfully sweet of her. It was pretty easy to get comfortable, too. The place was just so big and cushy. Forget adventure, forget changing the world, this was the kind of future I should aim for: a big, clean house with lots of good food. A comfortable future.

As I settled into my chair at the dining room table, I looked around more. Along the walls hung several paintings of a pair of salsa dancers, in various dancing positions. The woman had olive skin and a twirling red dress; the man wore a dark brown sombrero and a matching brown moustache. Ema's Aunt was rich alright. I wondered what she did. If her life was what I decided to aim for, I needed to find out how she got there.

'The food looks delicious,' I said. 'Thank you so much for having us.'

'Oh, it's nothing. Always a pleasure to see Ema.' she said. 'So, what are all your names?'

'I'm Lawrence,' I said. 'And this is Chris, and this is Matthew.'

'Matthew?' She said, turning to Ema. 'I've heard a lot about you. Congratulations on your job in Toronto.'

Ema sort of blushed.

'Thanks,' Matty said. He was looking down and smiling.

'Are you sure you want to go directly to work?' Ema's Aunt asked. 'University is an important experience.'

'Yes, I'm sure. I've thought a lot about it. Working for a couple years might be a better experience. At worst, I'll start university a year or two behind, that's all.'

'Of course,' Matty continued, 'if I had gotten a scholarship to U of T, like Ema, I may have reconsidered.'

'A scholarship? I had no idea!' Ema's Aunt said.