Image Carriers. Genel Anthony

about the topic, Adam thought he’d better rationalise their conversation. “I am not sure about all this, Joey. Tom could just be a lonely, old rich man looking for company. I don’t think we should entertain his…” Adam stopped to think for a short moment and continued, “Well, I think we should leave the man alone.”

      Joey sat up and was not going to leave it at that. Deep down, he was sensing that there was more to Tom and he told Adam. “I can’t put my finger on it mate, but I think the old guy is on to something. I don’t get that he is bullshitting us.” Adam secretly thought along similar lines.

      Adam was amazed at Joey’s reaction and seemingly keen interest in Tom as Joey was lazy, not really interested in anyone or anything unless it was his music and catching up with one or two of his no-good acquaintances. Joey’s interest in Tom mystified Adam somewhat, but Adam also couldn’t get rid of his own gut feelings about Tom and wondered what the attraction was.

      “Yes, Joey,” Adam humoured him, as he wanted to change the subject. Adam had other things on his mind and didn’t appear to have the energy to continue the conversation. “Let’s talk about Tom another time,” he said, getting up and going to bed. Joey sighed and flicked over the television channel and returned to his thoughts about how he could get Adam interested in returning to Tom’s house.

      As Adam went into his bedroom, Joey quickly shouted out, “Okay mate, sleep on it, we will catch up in the morning about Uncle Tom.” Adam pretended he didn’t hear Joey.

      The following Saturday morning, Adam heard an irritating noise that woke him up. He slowly opened his eyes to see that it was 7.30 am. From what he could make out of the noise, it sounded like scraping metal. He lay there thinking what it could be and then realised that Joey did stupid things like this from time to time, disturbing his sleep and peace. After a short while, Adam got up and went to investigate. He was surprised to find Joey cleaning the dishwasher, and he had already washed the kitchen floor. Even the bench space looked sparkling clean, and a strong smell of bleach overwhelmed his senses. Adam opened the kitchen window and door to let the cold air in and the peroxide stench out.

      Adam couldn’t get Joey to do domestics at the best of times, so he quickly became suspicious when he found Joey cleaning away. He wondered secretly to himself what the catch was. But Joey soldiered on, looking really interested and focused on his cleaning. Adam couldn’t resist any longer and asked Joey outright what he was doing, and why he was cleaning that time of the morning–and a Saturday morning of all mornings!

      “I couldn’t sleep in, so got up early and thought I’d clean up,” Joey responded casually as if this was a common thing that he did, when in fact it wasn’t. Adam recalled many arguments and shouting matches over the years regarding Joey pulling his weight around the house. The first thing Adam thought about was that Joey was being a model flatmate so that Adam would agree to visit Tom, but then again, Joey didn’t normally do things in a roundabout way. Joey used other methods to get Adam to do things for him, like continually nag. He would also say things that Adam wanted to hear in terms of him furthering his education and trying to do the right thing in the world.

      Adam decided to ignore him for a while and see what developed later. He returned to his room and started reviewing some old work he had taken into his room from his office, which was another room down the hall. Occasionally, he would see Joey walk pass his door, spying on Adam as he carried a bucket on his way through to the laundry, sighing loudly, so Adam could hear and see him working very hard. Eventually, Adam left his room and went into the kitchen to grab something to eat. By this time, young Joey had completed his morning chores, and sat suspiciously quiet, tinkering away on his laptop on the corner lounge seat. He had the view of the entire lounge, kitchen and hallway. Joey seemed quite guarded about something, as he kept observing Adam’s facial expression from time to time. That morning, Joey was on his best behaviour for some very strange reason.

      Adam finally asked Joey what was going on as he couldn’t find the coffee and sugar jars. It turned out that Joey had dropped Adam’s delicious left over lasagne from the night before on the floor when he grabbed something to eat earlier. He had accidentally tripped after knocking his lower leg against the unseen opened dishwasher door. And as he tried to balance himself from falling, he grabbed onto the bench top for support, knocking over the sugar, coffee, tea and other items as he fell clumsily to the ground. Joey and everything on the bench top fell on the slippery floor in a messy heap, joining the already spilt lasagne. It seemed like poor Joey had a big morning and now sat exhausted in the corner, nursing a sore leg, waiting to see if Adam was going to get upset over tonight’s dinner being no more.

      Just then, the telephone rang loudly, making Joey jump in fright. He was already feeling guilty and knew that it would only be a matter of time before Adam realised that there was no coffee, tea or sugar in the house. Joey often heard Adam’s repeated story about lasagne tasting better the next day after all the tasty ingredients settled for twenty- four hours and became more flavoursome. He remembered Adam telling him the night before that he was not going to eat too much of the lasagne, but save it until the following evening, which was today, to really enjoy and appreciate the cheesy pasta dish. It was only a matter of time before Adam found out that his lovingly home-cooked lasagne that stood for 24 hours was in the bin outside.

      It was Carol on the phone. She initially apologised for calling Adam at home, but she often did in what she considered emergencies, and this was one of those calls. After dialling into the office to retrieve messages, as it was the weekend, she received a strange call from Evelyn.

      “Evelyn?” Adam cleared his voice.

      “Yes. Very strange call, Adam,” Carol continued. “I am even getting goose bumps just telling you.”

      “What did she say?” Adam asked, looking more alert now.

      “She sounded distressed. She said that she wants to thank you for your support, and she respects you a lot, and that you have helped her with her demons and she is very

      grateful,” Carol paused and then continued, “and that she was ringing to say goodbye.”

      “Goodbye?”

      “Yes!” Carol seemed to become more distraught as she recited the message to Adam over the phone. She then let out a faint sigh, as if relieved.

      “Is that all she said?” Adam asked as he began to pace about, still holding the receiver to his ear.

      “Yes. It was very peculiar. She seemed like old Evelyn, but… it’s just odd. What do you think she means by saying goodbye?”

      “I don’t know, Carol. Look, thanks for letting me know. We can’t really do anything now, as we haven’t got any contact details. Leave it with me. Thanks Carol.” Adam hung up the phone and looked a little pale in the face.

      Evelyn was not under the care of Adam and only visited occasionally to touch base. The last known address was a tiny rented apartment that she had moved out of over five years ago. There was no way of contacting Evelyn. Adam and Carol had tried over the years to get at least a contact number, but Evelyn always reported that she had no phone. They only had her mailing address, the post office box, but now that has been cancelled as well, after her quarrel with the manager there.

      Joey could see Adam’s distress as Adam paced around looking deep in thought. Adam was thinking along the lines of suicide. Usually when people say their goodbyes and are in a poor state of mind, it means that they may be considering self-harm. Joey asked if everything was okay. Adam briefly updated Joey with Evelyn’s news.

      “I don’t think so,” Joey remarked as he played around with his laptop.

      “You sound confident,” Adam responded, looking curious.

      “I just feel that she is not going to kill herself. It’s something else, mate. Maybe it’s to do with a friend or someone. Has she got any animals, pets; you know how loopy she is. She probably saw her cat catch a bird and is now freaking out.” Joey would make these remarks from time to time, but the astonishing thing about his spontaneous comments was that they were often proved correct. Adam felt a little relieved, as Joey seemed so sure of himself.