what was on Bernie’s mind and why she cared if Agnes swam or not. The two again remained silent while they sipped their coffee and enjoyed the twittering of birds, the aroma of honeysuckle from Agnes’ hodge-podge garden, and the warm breeze that rippled the pool.
Suddenly Bernie interrupted the silence with a short remark followed by a question that jarred Audrey. “So, about last evening. You think one of us will do it?”
“You mean-uh-the drawing?” Audrey had avoided thinking about the cursed X that she had drawn. Naturally, Bernie would have no qualms in bringing up the subject. Bernie had very few qualms about anything.
“Yeah. But what I want to know is why you and Penny hate her so much? You all know how she treats me.”
“Yes, but I’ll give you credit for one thing. Agnes herself says you’re tough as nails. She’s very careful with you because she doesn’t want to offend Kevin. But watch out for her. That woman is dangerous and very sneaky.”
Bernie laughed, “Oh, I’m not afraid of her but she sure has the rest of you quaking. Look at how henpicked poor Les is.”
“You mean henpecked.”
“Whatever. She’s always picking on him, poor guy, telling him to do this, eat that, and so on. But you and Penny, what’s the story?”
Audrey took her time in answering. “In a word, jealousy,” she eventually replied.
“You and Penny are jealous of Agnes?” Bernie asked, incredulous. “Come on, you two are gorgeous compared to that old walrus.”
Audrey hooted with laughter “No, no, Bernie. She’s always been jealous of us.”
“Well, I can understand that but how did she get the upper hand? I mean you two are just as henpicked-pecked as ole Les.”
“In Penny’s case, as far as I can tell, the jealousy began as soon as they met and with me, as soon as I was born. Lester and I, and to a certain degree Penny, have spent a lot of time discussing what went wrong with our lives and finally realized that Agnes must have been behind everything. There were just too many coincidences.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, let’s start with Penny. She graduated from college with a degree in home economics. Her first job after graduation was as a pastry chef at an exclusive restaurant in Connor’s Corner. The job was for the summer only. In the fall she was going to begin teaching home economics in Connor’s Corner High School. She was excited about both positions, full of youth and enthusiasm. She was also very pretty, and, I think, very naïve. Agnes worked in the same restaurant as a hostess, greeting diners as they came in and seating them. She was very good at it but cute Penny got all the attention from the restaurant staff and accolades from customers for her pastries, especially her pies.”
“Hey, why doesn’t Penny bake pies for us here at Henley House?”
“Are you nuts? Agnes wouldn’t hear of such a thing. It would be undignified for her lady companion to occupy herself in the kitchen.”
“Geez, so Agnes resented Penny for getting attention back then?”
“I assume so. Agnes, who is five years older than Penny, invited her to share her apartment. Unsuspecting little Penny did so. They double-dated a lot and for a long time Penny thought Agnes was a great friend. In fact Agnes was dating Lester at that time, and Penny sometimes dated one of Lester’s friends.”
“How old were they then?”
“Penny was twenty-one. She had finished college in three years. Agnes and Lester were twenty-six. Anyway, Penny was suddenly fired from her job as pastry chef because a customer claimed she had been poisoned by one of her pies.”
“How awful! But how can you get food poisoning from a pie?”
“I think it was a custard cream or something that could spoil.”
“And you think Agnes was behind it?”
“We do now. As I said a while ago, there were just too many coincidences that followed. Agnes put on a wonderful act, though, and Penny thought she was the best friend in
Suddenly Bernie interrupted the silence with a short remark followed by a question that jarred Audrey. “So, about last evening. You think one of us will do it?”
“You mean-uh-the drawing?” Audrey had avoided thinking about the cursed X that she had drawn. Naturally, Bernie would have no qualms in bringing up the subject. Bernie had very few qualms about anything.
“Yeah. But what I want to know is why you and Penny hate her so much? You all know how she treats me.”
“Yes, but I’ll give you credit for one thing. Agnes herself says you’re tough as nails. She’s very careful with you because she doesn’t want to offend Kevin. But watch out for her. That woman is dangerous and very sneaky.”
Bernie laughed, “Oh, I’m not afraid of her but she sure has the rest of you quaking. Look at how henpicked poor Les is.”
“You mean henpecked.”
“Whatever. She’s always picking on him, poor guy, telling him to do this, eat that, and so on. But you and Penny, what’s the story?”
Audrey took her time in answering. “In a word, jealousy,” she eventually replied.
“You and Penny are jealous of Agnes?” Bernie asked, incredulous. “Come on, you two are gorgeous compared to that old walrus.”
Audrey hooted with laughter “No, no, Bernie. She’s always been jealous of us.”
“Well, I can understand that but how did she get the upper hand? I mean you two are just as henpicked-pecked as ole Les.”
“In Penny’s case, as far as I can tell, the jealousy began as soon as they met and with me, as soon as I was born. Lester and I, and to a certain degree Penny, have spent a lot of time discussing what went wrong with our lives and finally realized that Agnes must have been behind everything. There were just too many coincidences.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, let’s start with Penny. She graduated from college with a degree in home economics. Her first job after graduation was as a pastry chef at an exclusive restaurant in Connor’s Corner. The job was for the summer only. In the fall she was going to begin teaching home economics in Connor’s Corner High School. She was excited about both positions, full of youth and enthusiasm. She was also very pretty, and, I think, very naïve. Agnes worked in the same restaurant as a hostess, greeting diners as they came in and seating them. She was very good at it but cute Penny got all the attention from the restaurant staff and accolades from customers for her pastries, especially her pies.”
“Hey, why doesn’t Penny bake pies for us here at Henley House?”
“Are you nuts? Agnes wouldn’t hear of such a thing. It would be undignified for her lady companion to occupy herself in the kitchen.”
“Geez, so Agnes resented Penny for getting attention back then?”
“I assume so. Agnes, who is five years older than Penny, invited her to share her apartment. Unsuspecting little Penny did so. They double-dated a lot and for a long time Penny thought Agnes was a great friend. In fact Agnes was dating Lester at that time, and Penny sometimes dated one of Lester’s friends.”
“How old were they then?”
“Penny was twenty-one. She had finished college in three years. Agnes and Lester were twenty-six. Anyway, Penny was suddenly fired from her job as pastry chef because a customer claimed she had been poisoned by one of her pies.”
“How awful! But how can you get food poisoning from a pie?”
“I think it was a custard cream or something that could spoil.”
“And you think Agnes was behind it?”
“We do now. As I said a while ago, there were just too many coincidences that followed. Agnes put on a wonderful act, though, and Penny thought she was the best friend in
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