Chapter 2: Confusing Signals

Gus sat in the driver's seat of his truck for a couple of minutes, trying to decide what to do with the rest of his evening. It was a quarter after ten and he wasn't quite prepared to call it a night, but decided he wasn't going back to the pub. There was no one there for him and he didn't want to interfere with Wade's ambitions with Claire.

He was almost at the 17^th Street Bridge when he saw a sign for the new hotel lounge. The former drinking establishment had been little more than a beer parlour and not a place he would frequent. But an expansion of the hotel with a new wing and a total renovation of the licensed area had produced a very nice lounge with a live music stage, a small dance floor and the ubiquitous big screen TV. On an impulse, he decided to drop in and see if there was any "action."

There was a pretty good crowd in the place and Gus decided that the bar was the appropriate place for him, not wishing to take up a table for just himself. He saw a few familiar faces, but no one that he could call a friend, just acquaintances. He ordered a beer and leaned back to watch the last couple of innings of a baseball game in Los Angeles. It was better than being by himself in his little apartment over the garage.

It was about fifteen minutes later that he became aware of someone sitting beside him. The stools weren't fixed to the floor and there was a bit of distance between his chair and the one that was now occupied next to him. He turned to look and got a surprise. Sitting there with a smile (or was it a smirk) and looking right at him was Tatyana Helgesen.

When he got over his surprise, he remembered his manners.

"Good evening, Tatya," he nodded.

"Good evening, Angus. I'm surprised to see you here."

"Not as surprised as I am to see you."

"Why?" she asked. "I live here, so it's a logical place to unwind and relax."

"I didn't realize you were staying in the hotel," Gus admitted.

"Yes, it's convenient and I like the atmosphere. This is a good place to unwind after a long week."

"Yeah, this is nice. You're right. They did a great job on the renovation."

"That was before my time," she said, sipping a clear cocktail.

"I was up here a few months before we started the project when we were scouting out the property and looking for trades people. Dad said it reminded him of the old east end beer parlours in Vancouver."

"I've never been in one of those, but I've heard stories," she grinned.

"Yeah, well, you haven't missed anything."

It was then that the band returned and within a couple of minutes, conversation was next to impossible without raising your voice. Gus decided to take advantage of the situation and see if he couldn't pour some oil on troubled waters. In this case, the combative relationship between the two of them.

He slipped off the stool and took a step toward her. "Would you care to dance?"

She looked at him in complete surprise. She was tongue-tied for a moment before answering.

"All right."

He kept his distance while they danced to a reasonably slow number. She was easily able to follow him and they moved around the floor, skillfully avoiding other couples on the small surface. She had her head turned, but every once in a while he caught her stealing a glance at him. She didn't seem to be nervous, but she wasn't totally relaxed either. They stayed out on the floor for the next number, then returned to the bar when a fast number began.

"Would you be more comfortable at a table?" he asked.

"Would you?" she replied, again with a somewhat surprised expression.

"I think you would, so I would too," he grinned.

They found a small table just off the dance floor but well away from the band. The waitress appeared with their partially consumed drinks and smiled as she put down two coasters and placed the drinks.

"Anything else for you, Tatya?" the girl asked.

"Not just now, thanks Doris."

Gus signaled that he was okay with his beer.

"When you stay in a hotel, you get to know most of the staff, sooner or later," Tatya explained.

"Are you going to stay here for the whole time you're in Courtenay?" Gus asked.

"I don't know. After I stayed here in February, I negotiated an agreement with them for three months and that's about to run out. It's easy, in a way. I don't have to cook or clean or even make the bed. The company gives me a living allowance on top of my salary and I'm looking around for a place. I have to admit, though, I'm not very motivated."

"Doesn't the place get a little small? I mean, just a bed and a bathroom."

"It's a little more than that. I have a small kitchenette and a sitting area and a desk to work on. But ... yes ... it can get a little confining now and then. When it does, I go out for a walk along the river or into town. I have a rental car, so I can get around as well."

"What do you do for entertainment?"

"Well, I was able to do a little bit of skiing before the mountain closed. It's a great place to ski. Tons of snow and so many good runs. I'm looking forward to next season already," she smiled.

Gus thought she was a different woman when she smiled. She probably didn't realize how much more attractive it made her.

"So, what about summertime?" Gus continued.

"I'm learning to play golf. Taylor Erskine said it would be good for my public relations, so I was taking lessons before I moved here."

"Is it unusual for a young person like you to be mentored by a senior partner? I mean, he's a pretty well known architect in this part of the world. That puts you in pretty exclusive company."

He could see her freeze up instantly. "What are you thinking," she demanded. "I earned this job. Mr. Erskine and I are business associates and nothing more," she snarled.

"Easy, Tatya, easy. I wasn't suggesting anything by my question. Dad and I have worked with a variety of architects, and some of them can be real stuffy bastards. It was my feeling Erskine was anything but."

He could see her relax slightly, but not completely.

"He's very down-to-earth. He likes my ideas and he encourages me. He's quite demanding, too. He won't accept anything that isn't my best. That's not just true for me, it's true for all the junior staff. I got this job because I showed him how to make twenty-five floor plans into two hundred and fifty different designs without making each one of them a custom home. You already know much of the framing is modular."

"Yeah ... that was great. I didn't realized that was your idea. Really good, Tatya."

That seemed to bring her back to where they were a few minutes earlier. It seemed to Gus that compliments went a long way with her.

After a few moments of silence, Tatya asked, "What do you do when you aren't working?"

Gus chuckled. "Well, I ski in the winter, play golf spring, summer and fall, and go fishing now and then."

"Oh," she said, looking a bit surprised. "Really? You ski?"

"I do. It's so convenient and, as you already know, Mt. Washington is a great mountain."

"Are you a good golfer?"

Gus shrugged. "Mediocre. I'm happy to shoot around ninety if I can keep the ball on the fairway. Otherwise, I can hit triple digits."

"Oh," she said, looking thoughtful. "And fishing? Do you have a boat?"

"My father has a twenty-one foot boat that's great for around here. Lots of room for fishing, but no other accommodations."

"I've never been fishing," she said, looking anywhere but at Gus.

"Then I'll have to make sure you get a chance. What's even more fun is whale watching."

"You do that, too?" Her interest was obvious.

"Sure. The boat is on a trailer and we take it up to Sayward and cruise around there. You never know what you're going to see in that part of the island."

"So you get to see Killer Whales?"

"Yes ... Orcas are common in that area. But there are also humpback and some people say blue whales have been sighted in Johnstone Straits. I don't know one from another but I can tell you they are big, and the first time I saw one up close, it scared the hell out of me."

"How close were you?" she asked, fascinated by Gus's experience.

"About a hundred meters, I'd say. That was plenty close enough for me. I didn't see them coming until they surfaced and blew. I must have jumped six feet in the air. Damn near went overboard," he laughed. "We aren't supposed to get too close to them, but we had no idea they were there until they appeared."

"Oh, that would be amazing," she said. "I would give anything to see that."

"I'd be happy to invite you along the next time we head up there," Gus said with a smile.

"Thank you. I would love to get some pictures too."

"What kind of a camera do you have?" he asked.

"A Nikon DSLR. I have a telephoto lens too. I enjoy photography, especially outdoors."

"Well, you're in the right part of the world for that. We also take the boat over to Ucluelet on the West Coast during the gray whale migration. Tons of wildlife in and around Barclay Sound."

She had a dreamy looking in her eyes. Gus guessed that she was imagining being there to see all the sights and he was chuckling to himself that he now had the magic key to unlock Tatya's personality. Ski, golf, fish, and sightsee. He had it all at his fingertips.

"Do you have your golf clubs with you?" he asked.

"Yes. Shall we play a game?"

"Sure. Sunday looks like nice weather, so we could get a time at one of the local courses."

"Don't make it too hard, Gus. I'm still a beginner."

"I know a nice, flat course with wide fairways and not too many trees. We could play there and see how you do."

"Okay. Will you make a time?" she asked.

"Sure. If they won't accept twosomes, we can go out and wait for another one or two to join us. I do that all the time."

"Okay," she smiled. Again, it was a side of Tatyana I had seldom seen, and it was a nice side.

-0-

"You played better than I expected," Gus said as they relaxed in the clubhouse after their game.

"I surprised myself. If I could learn to play the short shots better, then I think I could score much better."

"No doubt about it. You hit the ball almost as far as I did. Most of the time it was on the fairway, too," he remarked.

"When I went to buy clubs, the pro said I should buy men's clubs because of my height. I thought he was insulting me, but he showed me the difference between them and I could see he was right. So maybe that's why I hit the ball further."

"That and the fact that you have a nice swing," Gus said. "You don't try to overpower the ball like I do sometimes. Your teacher did well by you."

That brought about another smile. It had been a very nice afternoon and you would never know that the two of them had an adversarial relationship during the past weeks. In Gus's mind, it was like she was two different people. He definitely preferred the weekend Tatya from the weekday version.

-0-

Monday morning they were back at it again. This time is was exterior window and door trim. The plans called for rough cedar on three of the homes. Gus had chosen to order re-sawn cedar, thinking it was close enough. Tatya disagreed and the battle was on. Luckily, none of it had been cut and nailed on the houses. When Tatya pointed out the appearance difference, she won another argument. The re-sawn cedar was stored away for other houses where it was specified. Gus slinked off in chagrin at having lost another skirmish in their ongoing war.

Gus worked hard to avoid more conflict that week. He had something in mind and wanted to at least be civil to Tatya when he discussed it with her.

"Tatya, my parents and I are going fishing this Saturday. Would you like to join us?"