Warnings about Bruce

“Why do I get the feeling that Aunty Joan knows something about this man?” Mishka asked herself as she sipped her coffee.

“Okay, I think we should respect his privacy, but I can’t ignore his invitation for visiting him at his home. In fact, he wanted me to go there today already,” she remarked.

“What? He wanted you to go to his house after just meeting you?” Joan asked with a shocked look on her face.

“He wanted me to get shelter from the rain, that’s all, but I promised to visit him at another time, because I already know a place for shelter close by,” Mishka responded.

“That’s good. Don’t just go to his house. You don’t even know who he’s living there with,” Joan remarked, looking away from Mishka as she sipped at her own coffee.

“He works from home. That means that he runs his designer business from there. He probably has many employees there all day making clothes,” Mishka remarked with her eyes wide with excitement.

“Yes, but don’t get carried away because you just met him. You don’t know him and so you don’t know whether what he’s saying is the truth,” Joan remarked as she stared out at the rain.

“Are you sure that you don’t know him, because you’re sounding afraid of him, I must say,” Mishka responded.

“He’s a complete stranger, isn’t he?” Joan asked as she put her empty cup into the sink. She then walked over to the fridge to get food out for cooking.

“This man comes from England doesn’t he?” she continued.

Mishka’s sixth sense told her that there was definitely something that Gillian’s mother was not telling her.

“I agree, not many people come here straight from England and as I said, it’s strange that he comes to such an obscure place. No celebrities will come here and settle their business here,” Mishka remarked as she looked out the kitchen window at the trees which were swaying in the wind outside.

“But, he seemed trustworthy to me, so, if I don’t find anything wrong with him myself, I won’t go looking for something because of suspicion,” she concluded.

“Don’t go there alone, that’s all that I can advise you,” Joan responded as she placed a pot on the stove and began to fill it up with vegetables.

“Definitely not. That’s good advice,” Mishka responded as she emptied her cup.

“Let me make us some more coffee while the pots simmer,” Joan remarked with a much more relaxed expression on her face.

She then placed some meat in a saucepan on the stove and put the kettle on again. She then went to sit down at the long wooden table.

Mishka sat down at the table as well.

“I really left all the work to my assistants today, just so that I can find myself and remember my own goals and dreams again,” she commented as she studied the patterns on the tablecloth.

“It’s good that you can depend on your assistants because that means that you’ve trained them well. And I know how focused you are when you’re working,” Joan remarked with a smile.

“I also think that I should do this more often, otherwise I’m going to be smothered by my Dad’s work and my grandmother’s complaints. I will end up forgetting what I’m really here on earth for,” Mishka remarked with a far-off look in her eyes.

“Yes, you should care about your father’s legacy, but you shouldn’t forget about your own dreams, because in that way you live out your purpose in life,” Joan responded before she got up to make more coffee.

“You should really not be making the coffee yourself. Let me do it this time,” Mishka suggested as she got up from her chair quickly.

“No, don’t worry about that. I’m coming to your house soon, then you can make coffee for me. I have to come and sort your grandmother out, you see?” Joan responded.

“Oh, you don’t have to go that out of your way for me Aunt Joan. I can talk to her myself or give her a sign of my intention to move out if she doesn’t stop making my life miserable at home,” Mishka responded.

“People like your grandma care about what people think about them. She won’t like the idea of me knowing that she’s not conducting herself very well in her son’s home,” Joan responded.

“I will gently remind her of the fact that it’s her son’s mansion and that you, as his daughter should rule the home as a woman. Your brother isn’t there, so you should be in charge and she should be in charge of her own home back in her own town,” Joan concluded as she took out fresh cups for coffee.

“So, are you planning on embarrassing her?” Mishka asked raising her brows in disbelief.

“It’s about time that someone does that to her. It will put an abrupt end to her bullying if she realized that the neighbourhood is not looking up to her anymore,” Joan said, nodding at Mishka in determination.

“You reckon she will go home after that? Will she be too embarrassed to stay on?” Mishka asked with an impressed look on her face.

“Yes, she will at least go away for long enough for her to decide whether she really wants to live with her son and granddaughter, or rather stay at her own home, where she can push her servants around instead,” Joan replied.

“Mmm, it would be wonderful to live without her around for a change. Mishka responded with a pensive look in her eyes.

“But you know what? Dad will take her side and feel sorry for her because she was there for us after my Mom passed away,” she added with a dismal look on her face now.

“Don’t tell yourself that. Let’s work on getting your grandma to decide to move out. I can glamourize the idea of living in one’s own home,” Joan responded in a firm tone of voice as she made the coffee.

“Besides, when your father finds out that you’re ready to move out of the house, he will think twice about siding with his mother,” Joan remarked with her chin set firmly.

“Gosh! This sounds dangerously determined,” Mishka responded with her eyebrows raised curiously as she observed Joan.