Chapter Twelve

Twelve

Gourmand Mansion

Paine Harbor

Given his assignment to get to know the culture of Paine Harbor, Oliver decided to start at the top and made an appointment to meet Mrs. Gourmand at her mansion overlooking the island. Oliver sensed correctly anything less than a business suit and necktie would not be well received. Greeted by Mrs. Gourmand's maid, he was instructed to wait in the salon. The salon was decorated in the style of early twentieth century wealth, rich with Tiffany glass lamps, dark mahogany paneling, rare Persian rugs and overstuffed sofas and armchairs. It was also filled with an array of unusually beautiful orchid plants.  He was taking it all in when a door behind him quietly opened and Mrs. Gourmand entered. Oliver rose to his feet as if he was meeting royalty.

“Mr. Grace, I presume,” she stated. 

“Yes, it is very nice to meet you Mrs. Gourmand. Thank you for meeting with me today,” Oliver said while reaching out his hand to shake hers. She ignored his gesture and sat down. Oliver followed suit. 

“Well, you want to interview me for a movie?” she said immediately getting to the point. “I'm not sure how I feel about that. Hollywood hasn't made a good film since “Gone With The Wind” if you ask me.” Just then, her maid walked in with a silver-serving tray with tea and cookies, and began to pour. The room grew quiet as she attended to them. Once she left the salon, Mrs. Gourmand spoke up, “Well then, go ahead, ask me your questions.”

Oliver smiled nervously. He had heard things about Mrs. Gourmand, but never thought he'd be so completely intimidated by her as he was. He felt like a school child in the principal’s office. “Well, as you know, I'm doing research for a motion picture studio in Hollywood. They asked my wife Sandy and I to come and live here for three years to gain a feel for the people and culture of Paine Harbor so their screenwriters can present a fair and accurate picture of what makes this community unique.” 

“Stop right there, young man.” she interrupted, pausing to take a sip of her tea. “I won't have you making us look like buffoons for the entire world to see. I won't have it.” 

“No ma'am,” Oliver replied with a dry mouth. “That is certainly not my intention. I want to really get to know your community so it doesn't happen and this is precisely why I asked for this meeting. From what I hear, you are probably the most influential and prominent member of Paine Harbor. Tell me, what in your observation makes Paine Harbor unique?”

“It's simple. Hard work and respect. As my late husband was dying, he told me, 'Penelope, you are smart. Buy up the fishing boats and local businesses, make sure everyone knows their place, and you'll be profitable and the town will flourish.' And this is exactly what I've spent my life doing. I employ many people, from those who manage my fleet, the captains, the fishermen, to those who manage my packing plants and those who work in the plants. Everyone knows his or her place and it works. If someone steps out of line and attempts to buck the system, my management team gives them fair warning to stop. If they do, all is forgiven, but if they don't, well, they invited the trouble upon themselves, I'd say,” she paused as if there was nothing else to say. 

“That's interesting. What was Paine Harbor like before you expanded your fleet and bought up most of the surrounding businesses?” he asked.

“It was much smaller, the people were quite poor and there was a great deal of fighting amongst the fishermen. I believe in some small way, I've made Paine Harbor a better place to live,” she replied in sincerity and with no small amount of pride. She went to inform Oliver about the growth of the economy due in no small part to investments she had made to the fishing industry and its surrounding businesses. “I know the Paine Harbor of today is a far better one than of twenty years ago. More jobs. Better jobs, in fact. Not just for the fisherman, but for the employees at my cannery, the foundry and the various ancillary shops that can found downtown and at the docks. Even the school has improved. Did you know out of last years graduating class at the high school, nearly 40% have continued their education in college or university?”

Offering him another cup of tea, she paused ensuring Oliver was taking all of this in. Continuing she stated emphatically, “I want to make sure you get an accurate picture of Paine Harbor. We may not look like much to a mainlander like yourself, but we have made significant progress.”

“Thank you. That is good news,” Oliver continued on with some trepidation. “Please forgive me for bringing this up. I spoke briefly with one of your former employees, a fishermen named Ricky Böndunum. He says one of your boat captains was responsible for the loss of two of his fingers and he was fired when he spoke up about this.” 

Oliver immediately knew he had touched a sore spot by the angry look on Mrs. Gourmand's face as soon as the words 'Ricky Böndunum' came out of his mouth, what he didn't know was how she'd respond to his question.

“Mr. Grace, as I'm sure you are well aware, there are always two sides to the story,” she said gently. “Oh, would you one of my homemade lemon zest cookies? Here, please. They are delicious.” As Oliver munched appreciatively, she continued to discuss the various reports she'd heard about the incident aboard her boat, and immediately made clear to Oliver; “I've offered a generous financial restitution package to Mr. Days for his loss, as well as medical care to help him in his healing. But what you may not know is Mr. Days comes from a long line of alcoholics and since the accident, he has pretty much stayed drunk or at least near drunk. In additon, it appears he and a friend of his vandalized one of my boats in a drunken rage. Still, my offer for restitution is good. I believe I'm being more than fair, as I'm sure you'd agree.” Oliver found himself nodding in agreement with Mrs. Gourmand's statements.

“Thank you for your candor. Let's move on to another subject, if that's okay.” Oliver paused awaiting her approval. She nodded. “I've noticed there is only church on the entire island. Tell me about the spiritual condition of the people of Paine Harbor. Are the people here Christians? Or do they practice another religion, or none at all?”

“That's an interesting question. Frankly, I didn't expect it,” she replied thoughtfully. “First of all, I used to attend Paine Harbor Community Church until Reverend Sharp took over. I just don't appreciate his brand of Christianity. In my opinion he is one of those ‘hell-fire and damnation’ preachers. So, I personally haven't been a churchgoer for a long time, but I still send them money a few times a year. Got to make sure I stay on the good side of the Man Upstairs!” Oliver watched her face carefully, as she considered her last statement. “I really don't know about this issue, young man. Most of the people here believe in God, but the Reverend has turned off so many people over the years resulted in just a small group of faithful ones who attend. Frankly, the people of Paine Harbor are so busy trying to make a living and caring for their families that they don't have time to think about God and such things. Please don't get me wrong; Paine Harbor has a great many good people. They love their families, work hard and generally don't drink excessively. You know what I mean, salt of the earth types.”

Just then, the maid came into the room, looking nervous. She approached Mrs. Gourmand and whispered something in her ear. Mrs. Gourmand immediately stood up and announced to Oliver, “I'm sorry, Mr. Grace, something urgent has come up with my fleet, and I must attend to it. Please forgive me, perhaps we can continue this another time.” She rushed out of the salon, out the front door and into her waiting car, leaving him in considerable shock.

Grace Cottage

“Sandy,” Oliver reported upon arriving home a few minutes later. “It was the oddest thing. One minute she is a hard-nosed businesswoman, the next moment she shows insight and compassion. She is certainly not what I expected.” 

Giving Sandy an overview of their conversation, he was surprised when his beloved wife’s face suddenly lit up like Times Square on New Years Eve.

“Honey. You know what I'm thinking?” Sandy teased with a smile. “I think she's lonely. Sitting up there in her big old house with no genuine friends. Let's invite her to dinner. Let's be her friend. What do you think? Do you want to?” 

Oliver thought about it for a moment, and replied. “I know it’s the right thing to do, but I'm not sure I really want to. I mean, our cottage is nice enough - but the Mansion on the hill is really something - plus there is something about Mrs. Gourmand which scares me.” 

Sandy began to laugh. “You? Afraid? You? Mr. Oliver Grace, late of Hollywood? A little old lady on an island in the middle of nowhere intimidates Mr. Big Time Movie Studio Man? C'mon!” she lovingly hassled her husband. 

“You know what lady! If you weren't 'with child' or in this case 'with children' – I'd toss you on the ground and tickle you until you say 'uncle',” Oliver replied in good spirits.

“Oh, yeah! Mr. Scared of the Little Old Lady, you and what army?” Sandy said while laughingly jumping on Oliver's lap. 

“You know,” Oliver said with a nearly straight face. “The person I should be afraid of is YOU!”