Part 2 -- Moving in
On Monday Gordon emailed frau Schimmel to enquire about how soon he could begin moving his belongings in and she enthusiastically responded that he was welcome to start anytime. Much to Gordon's chagrin his mother insisted on helping him bring all his things over the next day and he was a nervous wreck the entire time. Frau Shimmel enthusiastically met them in the front driveway and gave his mother a tour of the house and garden while he unloaded all his possessions from the car and began setting up his desk and putting his clothing into the closet and large dresser.
He could overhear Frau Shimmel tell my mom how she watches over her boarders and thinks of them as her sons and daughters. She reassured my mom that she would keep an eye on me and report to her if I was engaging in any questionable or immoral behavior.
Gordon could tell that this was not going to be the freedom and fun life that he had hoped for by choosing to go away to school. What caught his ear next had him worried. Frau Schimmel lowered her voice, and he could not make out what she was asking my mom but she heard my mom respond,
"Oh, he has not had an accident for a few months now and it is not that frequent."
Frau Schimmel responded,
"Oh, I see that is very interesting. Gordon claimed it's been over a year. He was less than honest during our interview. Fear not I will bring this up at an appropriate time and I will take precautions to safeguard that the mattress is not damaged."
My mom replied,
"His weak bladder has been a problem since he was a child and a source of constant concern and embarrassment. He occasionally would have accidents when he could not reach a washroom in time and up until her was 12 years old on long car rides I would put him in disposable diapers. His father would get so upset at this babyish behavior that he occasionally spanked Gordon for wetting himself or the bed."
"Thank you so much for telling me about his little problem."
Gordon was mortified that his mother had shared his secret. He fretted about it for the next hour while they had coffee on the back patio. His solution was to pretend that he did not overhear the conversation and hopefully Frau Schimmel would just leave it at that. Most of all he was now terrified that he might have an accident.
He sat with the ladies for a few minutes before his mom prepared to drive back to North Vancouver. Once she was gone Gordon expected Frau Schimmel to interrogate him on what his mom had told her but instead, she was quite happy to have him in her home. She made him a quick lunch and suggested they walk into Fort Langley together so she could show him around, pick up some things for dinner and then in the afternoon he could do some chores.