“So is it OK if I visit with Buddy today? I finished my homework.”
“If your mom says it’s OK with her, then it’s OK with me. I’m sure Buddy will be happy to see you.”
“OK. Here’s my mom.” Jackson handed the phone to his mother.
“Hi, Colleen. I am really sorry for this mix-up. If it’s not too late, Jackson is more than welcome to play with Buddy today.”
“We’re having dinner in about an hour, so I guess it’s OK for him to come over.”
Ellie hesitated for a moment. “Are you all right?” She then grimaced, feeling as if she had overstepped.
“As good as I can be.” Colleen sighed. “We’re hanging in there.”
A moment of silence fell between the two women. For some reason, each of them seemed to know how the other was feeling.
“Good. Again, I’m sorry about all this. I hope it doesn’t deter Jackson from future random acts of kindness.”
“Letting him play with Buddy is also kind. Have a good evening.”
Chapter Four
Ellie lived a very routine life in spite of never leaving the house. Each morning, she would get up, make her coffee, let Buddy out, feed Percy, change his litter, let Buddy back in, feed Buddy. Then she would spend twenty minutes on the treadmill in the second bedroom. After her workout, she would take a shower, wrap her hair in a towel, and fix some breakfast. It was usually a toasted English muffin smeared with butter and a piece of melon, if it was in season. Once she finished her light breakfast, she would put on a fresh pair of yoga pants and a hoodie and finish drying her hair. Then it was up to the loft and begin working.
The loft looked like a mini NASA space center, with multiple computers, phone lines, and gaming devices. That’s how she had met Hector. Online gaming. Before her seclusion. Her screen name was Firefly, and she was one of the best at Fortnite and Minecraft, beating some of the most highly skilled players across the globe. When they were not playing, she and Hector would exchange ideas for creating new games. Eventually, they designed a kids’ game and, through Ellie’s contacts, were able to sell one to Arcadia for a handsome sum. It was enough money for her to be able to buy the cottage she was now holed up in and for Hector to go to any college he wanted, provided he was accepted. Ellie had no doubt MIT would be chomping at the bit for someone with Hector’s talent.
Funny thing, though—they had never met through Skype or Zoom until she needed to go into isolation. And Hector owed her big-time. The first big favor was during a serious video match. One of Hector’s rivals had hacked into Hector’s computers and crashed his system, costing him thousands of dollars in bitcoins and real dollars. Being a super code writer, and a computer aficionado, Ellie was able to trace who the culprit was, and she unleashed a computer virus that tore through his entire gaming collection. She was also able to recover the bitcoins that the perpetrator had scammed from Hector. Hector was forever grateful, and they bonded as geek-friends.
Then there was the game he and Ellie devised and Ellie had been able to sell. When Ellie reached out for his help, he was more than happy to do whatever he could for her. She knew he was the only person she could trust under the circumstances.
Every morning, Hector would check the small table in Ellie’s enclosed rear porch for notes, packages, or instructions. Ellie would leave a note and some cash in an envelope on the table next to the kitchen door for Hector to take to the grocery store, drugstore, or wine shop, where she had house accounts. Every month, she would deposit an amount of money into those accounts to replenish them. She joked to herself that it was like E-ZPass.
Depending on what she needed, the store, especially the wine shop, would deliver the goods she’d ordered to her front porch. But if there weren’t too many items, Hector would bring them on his bike at the end of the day.
Three or four times a week, Hector would clean up the yard and remove the trash bags left on the porch. Any mail was pushed through an old-fashioned mail slot in the front door. That’s how Colleen had left her notes inviting Ellie to tea. All other outside deliveries would sit there until Hector arrived and took them to the rear porch.
Hector had already made his rounds the day Jackson had left the flowers, so they sat overnight on the front steps. Hector had a late meeting with his guidance counselor and hadn’t come by that particular afternoon. Unfortunately, the flowers had wilted and remained there until the next morning. Thankfully, the misunderstanding was over, and Jackson’s feelings had been restored.
Ellie thought again about letting Jackson into the yard. She decided to run it past Hector. Even though he was only eighteen years old, Hector had a wise soul. She wrote Hector a note:
Hector:
Jackson seems to be a genuinely nice boy. He loves to play with Buddy, and I know there have been a lot of family issues. What do you think about letting Jackson come into the yard? My only concern is that he might accidentally leave the side gate open. Thoughts? Ring the bell later, and we can talk through the kitchen window. Thanks!
F.F. (Firefly)
Hector read the note and knew exactly what she needed. Later that day, he appeared with a box of gadgets, including a mechanical device that would open and close the gate. There was already a security code needed to open the gate, but now there would be access from inside the house. Once it was installed, Ellie would be able to control it from any of the security panels that were in each room. He also installed a doorbell buzzer next to the lock both inside and outside the gate. The plan was for Jackson to ring the gate buzzer, and Ellie would open the gate from her security panel, then the gate would close automatically.
The front gate was on an automatic hinge that closed, but it also had a motion detector alerting Ellie (and Buddy) with a repeated chime if someone was coming to the front door. She wanted Jackson to use the side gate so people wouldn’t feel free to come into her yard, and so that the chime at the front gate wouldn’t be going off when it wasn’t necessary.
After Hector installed all the necessary items, Ellie left a note for him to deliver to Colleen’s mailbox.
Hello, Colleen,
I’d like to invite Jackson to play in the yard with Buddy. I’ve installed a security system to ensure the side gate is never left open, as I would prefer he enter and exit that way. Jackson simply has to press the buzzer and I will open the gate from inside the house. When he’s ready to leave, he can press the button to let me know he’s heading out. I’m able to see the yard from my office, so I will always be available. Please let me know if this is workable for you. I know how fond Jackson and Buddy are of each other. Here is a phone number if you need to reach me. 846-555-9091. That number is good for the next five days.
Kind regards,
Ellie
Ellie was a bit concerned that the last sentence regarding the phone number might raise some sort of suspicion, but she would explain that her “high-security job” required her to rotate phones. It didn’t really, but she had to be consistent with her story. The truth is much easier to remember because when you tell a lie, you have to keep track of the tales you tell.