Jilly-Bean (Jilly-Bean Series # 1) by Celia Vogel Read Free Book Online

Crossland. He was eighty years old and arthritic and had developed Alzheimer's disease the previous year. Why not put him in a nursing-home, Jean? That's what they're there for! But her aunt could not envisage her beloved father under the care of a bevy of hospital workers who might accidently give him the wrong dose of medicine and kill him off. Her father had become her child; the roles were now reversed.
    After about half an hour, the car reached the property and made a sharp turn through an imposing pair of iron gates. A long winding dirt road led them through large clusters of butterfly bushes and trees. Looking back through the rear window, Jillian could see a cloud of dust marking the car's passage along the lane. The property was sited next to an abandoned church on the outskirts of Oakville and dated back to the seventeenth century. Tall, unpruned yews hid the house from the road. An original simple wooden farmhouse had been transformed by her aunt and uncle into a two-storey mansion— an accomplishment that excited much interest and admiration from the local residents.
    Within moments, they made their way up the steps. Then catching her breath, Jillian walked up to the door and pulled an old-fashioned wrought-iron knocker, which echoed throughout the lobby inside. Moments later, the door opened.
    “Well, Hello, hello!” gushed her Aunt Jean in loud greeting. Jillian thought she looked well preserved for her age, not much changed since she had last seen her. She wore a long silk wrap-around dress in rustic shades of brown and orange that made Jillian feel frumpy in her choice of an oversized sundress picked hastily from the closet and which did nothing for her figure. She stared at her aunt in wonder and amazement; plainly she had no intention of growing old and would fight it every step of the way. Her aunt approached as if to kiss her face but instead kissed the air around her while they faintly pressed and brushed cheeks.
    “You finally got here! We were getting worried, thinking you might have gotten into a car accident.”
    “The traffic was slow. Damned construction!” grumbled Jillian's father.
    Aunt Jean then turned her large sorrowful eyes on Jillian and stepped back a few paces. She tilted her head with measured inclination, critically assessing her niece's dress and shoes, and murmured under her breath, “My graciousness you certainly are growing up fast, Jilly. I still remember when you were a wee, tiny little girl.” Tears had welled up in Aunt Jean's eyes, but in the next instant her face brightened and she demanded, “Come at once and greet your auntie with a hug!” Jillian found it so awkward to hug relatives. “Well, don't just stand there all day, you three!” her aunt gushed. “Come along. Come along.” She guided them into the living-room, where a handful of guests had already assembled, including Jillian's mother, who was helping distribute food to the guests. This was followed by breathless hellos and self-conscious hugs and kisses.
    “Good to see you, Geordie,” shouted Uncle Phil, extending a hand. “So nice of you to join us this evening. I tell you, Geordie, I've lost a bundle in the stock market within the past month.”
    Geordie Crossland's attention shot up immediately: “Oh? Really? What stocks were you in?”
    “Not stocks. Options! A small step up from gambling, let me tell you. ” Uncle Phil was chuckling as he jangled loose change in his pockets. The two men got into a discussion on the price earnings ratios and return on investment of a certain choice stock he had his eye on, which Jillian listened to in respectful and uncomprehending silence. Then turning to her, as if suddenly aware of her presence, he clasped both her hands and squeezed them almost too hard, whispering through the corner of his mouth: “So, little Jilly-Bean's graduated from high school and is off to Queen's, I hear.”
    “Yes, that's true, Uncle Phil.”
    “Ruth, your baby girl is