A Big Life in a Small Town (Bellingwood #2) (4 page)

"Don't worry," Polly said. "I've got just the carpenter to make sure this goes together perfectly." She pulled her checkbook out of her back pocket. "Will it be
okay if it takes a day or so for me to get a truck and some people to pick this up from you?" She wrote a number on the check and said, "Tell me if you think this is fair for the entire set?"

"That's more than I was asking. Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. I have been looking at furniture for several months and if you think it is a good number, it is fair for both of us," Polly responded.

"Thank you, and you can pick them up whenever you are able. Adam is going to be glad I finally have a plan to get his garage back. He thought it was unfair I got my house all put back together only to disrupt his little sanctuary."

She turned to the door leading inside. "If you give me a couple of minutes, I will put the dogs into our bedroom. I'd love for you to come in and have a cup of coffee. I made sweet rolls this morning."

Polly wasn't about to make that decision on her own and turned to look back at her three traveling companions.

Beryl looked around and said, "We never turn down coffee and homemade sweet things. It will be the perfect way to close this deal!" She marched up to the door and said, "We're not afraid of a couple of dogs, now, are we, girls?"

The door led directly into the kitchen. Polly and Beryl both cleared the door so the others could join them and immediately went down on their knees to accept the onslaught of puppy dog love. Polly looked up, "It's easier if you just take the love first and they won't jump up on you as much if you get down to their level."

"Well, listen to the expert!" Beryl laughed. "But, she's right."

Andy chuckled. "Beryl, you go ahead and love the dogs all you want." She turned to the woman of the house. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Oh!" the woman said, "I'm Vera Lucas and these are Sampson and Delilah."

Andy blinked. "Those are big names!"

"Yes, our son thought it was funny. His children were learning about those characters in Sunday School when he got the dogs for us." Vera said. "Adam and I are pretty sure we are nothing more than fodder for his entertainment. But then, that's fair. He always made us laugh. Now, come in! Sit down! I want to hear all about this Sycamore House and what you are doing down in that little town. Did I hear you found bodies in the ceiling?"

Vera put her hands on Sampson, "Down, Sampson. Sit. Down." He wiggled a little and Beryl stood up, then he sat and waited while Vera pulled a treat out of a container on the counter. "You too, Delilah. Sit." The other dog obeyed and received her treat while Polly and Beryl walked over to the table to join Lydia and Andy.

"Can we help you?" Lydia asked.

"Sure," Vera said. She pulled mugs out of the cupboard, handing them to Lydia who had jumped up to help. They passed everything around until plates, napkins, forks, mugs, coffee and sweet rolls were laid out. "Adam is going to be sorry he missed this! When he read about the bodies in the ceiling, he remembered the whole thing. I was busy with a wild toddler. I think I missed everything that was going on in the world until our son was in Junior High. "

Polly said, "Lydia's husband," and she pointed to her friend, "is the sheriff. He took care of everything and these ladies took care of me." She continued, "and this is Beryl Watson and Andy Saner."

Vera nodded, "Nice to meet you." She turned back to Polly. "Tell me what you're doing with that old school?"

Polly described her dreams for Sycamore House as the women devoured their sweet rolls. With frosting dripping from the left side of her mouth, she said, "These are fabulous! Would you share the recipe?"

Lydia swiped at frosting on Polly's mouth with her napkin.

Polly stuck her tongue out and licked her lips clean. "Better?" she asked.

"Yes." Lydia said. "I didn't know your daddy raised you so poorly."

"I was appreciating the goodness of it, so there," and Polly stuck her tongue out at Lydia again.

Vera laughed. "It's a simple recipe. I make them all the time."

She began rattling off ingredients and Polly put her hand up. "Whoa! I don't type that fast! Just a second." After a few swipes on her phone, she said, "Okay, go."

Vera began listing the ingredients again and Polly stopped her. "Orange Zest? That's why they taste fresh! I'm sorry, go ahead."

"Orange juice, also," Vera said and continued. "You can mix up the icing with orange juice too, but I like to use a plain icing so the flavor is more subtle."

"Thank you
so much" Polly said. "I can't wait to try these out on the guys."

Vera looked confused and Polly went on. "I still have plenty of people working at Sycamore House during the day. I'm a little concerned it might become their second home. They aren't going to know how to work anywhere else."

Polly looked around and saw that her friends were finished, "Thank you for your hospitality today. I can't wait to get your furniture into place. Do you have an email address I could send pictures when I get everything finished?" She typed Vera's email address into her phone and stood up.

"Thank you again. I will call tomorrow to let you know when we'll be back to pick everything up."

Vera walked them back out through the garage, pushing the dogs aside so everyone could escape. They waved goodbye as Lydia drove back down the lane.

"Well, that was a much better way to end this day," Beryl announced.

They all chuckled. "I think I'm finally rid of that awful smell," Andy said.

"Me too," Polly said. "If I never have to see ... or smell ... another dead body, it will be too soon."

"What did you think of the bedroom set?" she asked her friends.

Beryl turned around in her seat, "I don't know what you paid for it, but I would have called it priceless. How can you put a price on something that gorgeous ... and with so many pieces?"

Lydia nodded from the driver's seat and Andy said, "I would have had trouble giving up something like that. I'm glad Billy is staying in the house because I discovered I even had an emotional attachment to the washer and dryer his dad had picked out for me."

Beryl laughed. "Andy here is emotionally attached to anything anyone ever gives her. If we didn't keep her out of trouble, she'd become a hoarder like Lydia's new friend, Doug Leon. But I go over there often enough to show her how to toss out magazines and newspapers."

"I don't keep those things," Andy protested. "Just the sweet gifts people have given me over the years"

"And they're all neatly labeled and identified with the date and name of the gift giver, too, aren't they!" Beryl said.

"I'm not talking to you anymore," Andy grumped.

Polly laughed at them. "Speaking of organizing and labeling, Andy, would you be up to curating the pieces of history Doug Leon collected in those crates?"

"What do you mean?" Andy asked, her mood brightening.

"We're installing glass doors on all the bookcases Henry installed in the auditorium ..." Polly began, but Andy interrupted her.

"I could arrange everything according to year and decade and start building a little history about the time period and we could even collect posters. When can I begin?"

"Is that a yes?" Polly asked.

"It's a hell yes!" Andy said.

Lydia laughed. "This is exactly what she needs to keep her from getting old. Polly, you're a wonder woman!"

"I'm not old," Andy said, pouting.

"Not yet you aren't," Beryl laughed. "But the potential for elderly behavior was in your future. You needed a project."

Polly spoke up and said, "This is going to be a big project. There will be people contacting you to reclaim their lost items and if everything doesn't fit, you'll need to ensure there is a good rotation of items."

"When can I start?" Andy interrupted again.

"The glass company won't be finished until the end of next week, but I guess you could probably start arranging things tomorrow if you'd like. Maybe you can tell them where to start, and work behind them." Polly shrugged. "I'm glad to hand the entire project over to you. You can work with Henry and the glass company and make it happen!"

"Thank you, Polly," Andy gushed. "I'll be there tomorrow morning ready to go!"

"You know," Polly said. "I'll bet Sylvie's boys would help you out after school if you'd like some extra hands. They were fascinated with those things."

"They
could be my arms and legs when they're around," Andy said. "That's a great idea."

"You know she's starting classes next week, right?" Polly asked. "The boys are going to be at Sycamore House every day anyway."

Beryl said, "I think she called us all yesterday after she saw you. Goodness, Polly, you're putting everyone to work!"

"I like giving my friends an opportunity to do what they love," Polly said. "And no, I'm not going to hire you to come in and harass the town just because that's what you love to do."

"You're mean, Polly Giller. Just mean." Beryl laughed.

Cold and empty. Polly was standing in the middle guest room when she heard the main door chime and realized she didn’t have a clue how she was going to fill this room, especially since she’d found the perfect pieces for the back room. She trotted out the door and down the steps, opened the door to find Andy standing there with a travel briefcase on wheels.

"You look like an Avon lady!" she laughed. "What are you hauling?"

"I have my laptop and notebooks, and labels and pencils and other office supplies. I want to make sure this is organized from the outset," Andy replied.

"Well, come on in!" Polly said and stepped back from the door. As Andy entered, Polly asked, "I didn't give you a key?"

"I guess I didn't really need one. Someone is always here when I'm here," Andy replied.

"It’s all digital now, here, let me email you." Polly brought up the application and emailed a key to Andy. "There, now you've got access to this main door. You can come and go any time."

"Thank you," Andy replied. "And what a great idea!"

"Yeah," Polly said. "I was getting tired of running up and down the stairs to let people in. This system is pretty handy. Now what do you need to get started?"

The two women walked into the auditorium and Polly flipped lights on.

Andy said, "I thought I'd start on the stage today. I know I was involved in identifying things, but I want to wrap my head around what we have. Can you get the database back from the Sheriff?"

"I already have it and it's in pretty good shape. There is a computer whiz in his office who assembled the entire thing, even aligning the photographs with their descriptions. They gave me a drive we can plug right into your computer."

"That will make everything easier! I will wander around a bit and try to get a visual idea of what we have and how things might fit. This afternoon, maybe Sylvie's boys and I will dig in and make a mess."

Polly smiled. "I'm glad you are ready to take this on. It makes my head hurt thinking about it."

"Then it's good you have me around," Andy laughed and reached out to hug Polly. "And it's good that I have you around. This is going to be fun." She hefted her bag up onto the front of the stage and unzipped the top, pulling out her computer.

Polly stood and watched her, then when Andy looked at her expectantly, said, "Oh, right! I'll go get that drive and be right back. There's coffee in the regular place in the kitchen and I made breakfast pizza this morning. There's still some in the first oven, staying warm. If you want hot and fresh, I'll have two more coming out in about ..." she looked at her phone ... "thirteen minutes. By then, most everyone should be here and hungry."

She bolted out of the door and jogged to her office. When she got back to the stage, Andy was drinking coffee. "No pizza?" Polly asked.

"I had breakfast before I left. Sorry. If I'd known, I would have waited."

"It’s fine. You never know when I'm going to get crazy in the kitchen. The girl upstairs, Elise, says she doesn't want breakfast, but every time I make something, she eats it. I don't want the poor thing to starve while she's working on her dissertation. so I'll cook if she'll eat," Polly replied.

"Has she been down yet this morning?" Andy asked. "I'd love to meet her. Do you know what doctorate she's working toward?"

"I really don't. Something to do with math and people and ... well, I didn't pay any attention. According to my clock, though, she should be down ..." they heard footsteps on the stairs. "... now. Come on into the kitchen and I'll introduce you two."

Andy followed her and stood beside the oven as Polly pulled the breakfast pizza out. She had covered one half with bacon and the other with sausage; the eggs were golden and the cheese was toasty.

"Good morning, Elise!" Polly said as the young woman walked over to the coffeepot.

"Hi, Polly," she said. Elise Myers was the epitome of Polly's ideal bookworm geek. Pale skin with big blue eyes behind dark rimmed glasses. Her long, brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail and looked flat on one side, like she'd slept on it and hadn't looked in a mirror. She was wearing an oversized sweater hoodie and baggy sweatpants. There were silver rings on most of her fingers and this morning she had come downstairs in a pair of well-worn moccasins.

"Elise Myers, this is my friend Andy Saner."

Andy reached out to take her hand, which Elise offered up tentatively. "It's nice to meet you, Elise. How long are you staying at Sycamore House?"

"I hope to finish in another month or two. I can't believe I found a place like this to stay. I needed to be away from everything for a while so I could focus."

"Where are you going to school?" Andy asked.

"University of Chicago," she responded.

"
How did you find out about Sycamore House?" Andy continued. "Are you from around here?"

"No," Elise said. "I'm from Chicago, but one of my aunts is from Clarion and she read an article about those bodies being found, then she asked some questions and found out a room would be open after the first of the year. All of my family gave me money for Christmas so I could rent the room and finish my dissertation."

"That's wonderful!" Polly said. "I didn't know that. I'm glad you found me. Now, would you like some breakfast pizza, Elise?"

The girl nodded as Polly began putting pieces on a plate for her. As Polly lifted a third piece off the pan, Elise held her hand out to stop her. "That's plenty. Thank you!"

Polly moved toward the refrigerator. "Would you like some fruit or juice this morning? I have bananas, or oranges and grapefruit. And here are some clementines."

"I'd love a banana and ..." she paused. "No, that's enough, I suppose."

"Please!" Polly exclaimed. "Take whatever you like!"

"Could I take an orange with me, too?" Elise asked.

"Of course!" Polly pulled the fruit out of a basket and placed both on the plate. "Really, Elise. Any time you want anything, just come get it. Unless you're storing food up there, you don't eat enough to keep those brain cells working!"

Elise giggled shyly as she took the plate from Polly's hand. "Thank you for taking care of me. When I write, I have a habit of forgetting everything else around me. Would you do me a favor?"

"If I can," Polly said.

"If you don't see any sign of me for a while, will you knock on my door and remind me to be a human?"

Polly and Andy both laughed and Polly said, "Of course I will. But, Jeff said you flip flop hours when you're writing."

"I do, but you should at least see me down here every twenty-four hours, don't you think?" Elise's eyes were pleading for assurance.

"We'll keep an eye on you. When you get started, why don't you let us know what your schedule looks like and I'll have your back. No worries. You just do the work."

"Thank you! I know I sound like a nut, but Mom and Dad tell me I have a tendency to forget what planet I'm on when I'm working." Elise picked up her coffee and walked out of the kitchen to the stairway.

Polly heard the front door slam open and then crashing, banging and a yelp. She and Andy both went running out and found Doug Randall, Billy Endicott and Elise Myers in a heap on the floor, surrounded by coils of electrical wire and scattered tools.

"What happened?" she asked.

Elise looked up sheepishly. "It's my fault," she said. "Are you okay?"

She pulled her leg out from under Billy's ankle, then stood up, reaching down to give him a hand. "I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going and when they came in the front door, I got startled, tripped him with my foot and crashed into him." She nodded to Billy first, then to Doug.

Both Doug and Billy were still in shock. Billy looked down at his pants. "I give up!" he said. "Hot coffee is not my friend in this place."

Polly couldn't help it. Laughter erupted as she reached down to give Doug a hand. When he was standing, she picked up the broken plate and began collecting the spilled food. Andy helped her, then, took everything from Polly's hands and went back to the kitchen.

"Doug Randall and Billy Endicott meet Elise Myers. She is my first guest at Sycamore House," Polly said. "Is everyone okay?"

The boys moved their shoulders around, Doug shook out his arms and Billy shook the leg which had been soaked in coffee. "We're good," Doug said. "Are you okay, Miss Myers?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she stammered. "I, I, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry. This isn't the first time we've fallen into the building," Billy laughed. "And it isn't the first time someone has spilled coffee on my pants. I should be used to it by now." He rolled his eyes in Polly's direction.

"Hey!" she said. "That was your fault, not mine."

Henry had come up the steps and saw the chaos in the entryway. "Was there a party and I wasn't invited?" he asked.

Elise took one look at him and bolted up the steps.

"What did I say?" he asked.

"I think she had too many people in her face at one time," Polly said. "Don't worry, I've got it. You clean this up and, Oh no!" she exclaimed. "The pizza! There will be hot breakfast pizza out in a minute." She took off for the kitchen only to meet Andy who was on her way out with another plate filled with food.

"I made another plate for Elise," Andy said. "Where did she go?"

"Come on back to the kitchen," Polly replied. "I'll tell you in there." Andy followed her back into the kitchen. Polly pulled two more breakfast pizzas out of the oven and slid them onto cutting boards. She ran the pizza cutter across the pizzas, then set them on the counter.

"I think she terrified herself, so she took off upstairs. Let me get another cup of coffee and I'll take these up to her. Thank you!" she said to Andy. "I'll be right back. Help yourself."

Polly took the food and coffee and moving past the boys who were gathering their things, went upstairs. She knocked on the door to Elise's room and heard, "Just a minute."

She waited and the door opened. Elise's face was bright red as if she'd been crying.

"I brought you a plate of food," Polly said. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Elise responded. "Just terribly embarrassed. I don't do well around a lot of people and I don't do well at all around a lot of men. They terrify me. I'm sorry to be such a bother."

Polly put the food and coffee on an antique study carrel she had found. "Don't worry about those boys or Henry. They will not bother you and probably feel as badly as you do about the crash. They're all good guys and if they thought you were uncomfortable around them, would probably hide rather than let you see them."

Elise slumped down in the chair. "I'm awful with people. That's why this was the perfect place. No one knows me here and no one will try to get me to go out and do things."

"Do you want to do things or be with people?" Polly asked.

"Not really, but," Elise looked up at her. "I don't know what I want. Sometimes I want to be normal and have friends and go to the movies and hang out at bars, but then I realize that I don't want that at all. I just think I do. I'm so confused." She put her head in her hands. "I don't know. Back at the University, they ignore me and I can do my research and nobody bothers me. But, sometimes I watch everything happening around me and wonder why I don't fit in."

She shook her head, "I've always been on the outside."

"I'm sorry, Elise. If there's anything I can do, I will," Polly said.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I don’t usually talk about it with anyone." Her look of confusion made Polly smile. "Not even my mom. She thinks this is all a choice I've made. She loves me and has always given me space to do whatever I wanted, but she never pushed me out of the house or forced me to make friends."

Elise sighed, "Well, this isn't going to get any work done. Thank you for bringing food to me. I'm sorry I broke your plate and I'm sorry if I hurt those boys."

"The boys are pretty hardy," Polly chuckled. "And plates aren't worth worrying about. Here," Polly said and picked up a pen and a pad of paper. "This is my cell phone. You can call or text me any time you need anything if you are too freaked out to come downstairs. I'm not going to make you be friends with anyone but me. However, you are going to be friends with me. That's already established. Got it?"