A Big Life in a Small Town (Bellingwood #2) (6 page)

"Their mamas raised 'em right," Henry said. "And Jerry has done well with them. When they finally grow up, they'll make pretty terrific men."

Lydia walked in the front door and waved at Polly. Henry saw the box of take-out bags and said, "Hey! You didn't get lunch for me?"

"Nope," Polly responded. "It's a girls' lunch." She held up her finger. "And don't give me any trouble about it. Elise is coming down to eat with us and you made her cry this morning."

"I what?" he exclaimed. "I didn't mean to make her cry. All I did was walk in the front door."

"I know," Polly laughed. "It's
fine. She's uncomfortable around people and all of a sudden I think you were one more than she could handle. So stay away, okay?"

He dropped his chin to his chest. "Fine. I'll eat my boring lunch with the rest of the guys." He stood up to leave. "You should stop in and see our progress after lunch."

"I will. Now go." She shooed him out, then put her sleeping kitty back on the blanket, shut the door and ran up the steps. A quick knock on Elise's door and the girl met her, wearing jeans and a blue top. Her feet were still in slippers, but she'd curled her hair and put mascara on.

"Do I look
okay?" she asked Polly.

"You look great. So ... you're meeting Lydia, Andy and Sylvie. They're three of my best friends in the world and they are very nice and easy going. Don't worry, okay?"

"I'm fine," Elise said. "This is good. I'll be fine."

Polly led Elise to the auditorium. Andy and Sylvie had set things up and Styrofoam containers sat at places around the table. After introductions, everyone sat down and the chatter quieted as they began to eat.

Polly looked up from her pork tenderloin sandwich, "Will I ever get to the point where I have had enough of these and can order something else?"

Elise peered at Polly's plate, "I don't think I've ever tasted one."

"I’m about to change that! Here!" Polly sliced off a chunk of her sandwich, complete with all the toppings and, spearing it with her fork, pushed it toward the girl. "You have to try it! This is one of those things Iowa restaurants have made nearly perfect."

Elise took the piece of sandwich off Polly's fork with her hands and put it in her mouth. As soon as she began to chew, she smiled. "I like it! I'm going to have more of these."

They all chuckled and Lydia said, "Stick with us, girl. We'll show you all the joys of eating in Iowa. And there are plenty! What are you getting your Doctorate in, Elise?"

The poor girl rapidly swallowed the bite in her mouth and said, "Mathematics. You won't believe it, but I've been researching social networks. It sounds kind of funny since I don't seem to have any of my own." Her eyes drifted off for a moment and she dropped her head.

"Social Networks? Like Facebook and LinkedIn?" Andy asked.

"Yes, and many others. I posit that we can measure a person's friendship network and predict future relationships. That's where my research has been taking me and that's the math I've been working out," Elise responded.

"You can tell me what relationships I will have in the future?" Lydia looked astounded.

"Well, yes and no. I did some experiments on and pulled data from some of the popular social networks as relationships between friends and friends of friends were created. The numbers tell me that to some degree math can predict how you will interact and build your network of friends based on who your current friends know."

Polly shook her head. "I feel like I'm watching an old episode of NUMB3RS and Charlie Eppes is about to say, ‘Imagine, if you will ...’"

Elise giggled. "I'm not nearly as cute as he was, nor am I as at ease telling people what is going on up in my head. He always had great analogies for the things he was doing. I just do them."

Lydia patted her arm, "You were fine. I'm an old lady and I think I get what you're saying. And if I don't, that's fine, too."

Polly tossed a
French fry across the table into Lydia's container while Elise looked on with wide eyes, "You're not old."

Lydia turned to Sylvie, "Did you hear about our dead body yesterday?" she asked.

Elise stopped with her fork poised in the air, "You found another dead body? Here at Sycamore House?"

"Oh no, dear. I went to check on an elderly friend of mine, and she had died in her house," Lydia said.

Elise put her fork back down into her Styrofoam container with her mouth wide open.

"It wasn't that bad and she's at the funeral home now, don't worry," Lydia continued.

Sylvie said, "Was that Madeline Black? I heard she died, and I should have known you were there." She shuddered. "I'm glad I wasn't. I think I'd like to keep my limit of dead bodies at zero. Have you talked to her kids?"

Lydia scowled. "I talked to her son yesterday. He wasn't at all interested in doing anything other than call in professionals. I didn't talk to Amy, though, because he said he would let her know."

"I should probably call her and find out when she's coming home," Sylvie responded. "We were pretty close friends in high school. And her brother was always kind of a jerk. For some reason, he thought he was quite a hot shot. He was a lot older than we were and out of college while we were still in high school. I think he is an engineer and works down in Creston."

"He sure does," Lydia said. "Would you really call her?"

"Of course! When she does come back to the Midwest it is always for such a short time and we rarely see each other. I should make a point of it this time," Sylvie said.

"Well, I have a little mystery maybe she could help me solve, if you wouldn't mind asking her about it," Lydia said and told Sylvie and Elise about the note that had been found on the table and the fact that Laurence Black had no intention of looking into it.

"I will call her and ask," Sylvie said. "In fact, I'll step out and do that right now." She picked up her phone and walked out of the auditorium.

"How's your kitten, Polly?" Andy asked. "Did everything go well?"

"She's great, though I'm not sure what I'm going to do with her at night. Dr. Hottie thinks I should keep her away from the boys until she heals up a little more." Polly's voice lowered into a conspiratorial whisper, "That man is gorgeous! And Marnie told me I was one of the few small animal clients he didn't turn over to his partner. What do you think about that?"

Lydia's laugh filled the auditorium. "Oh my, the single men of Bellingwood are going to enjoy having you around, Polly. The single women? They're going to hate you."

"I'm just having a good time. It's nice to have some freedom and enjoy hanging out with people. It's not like he's acted terribly interested in me, though. This morning he told me how to take care of Leia and then left. I guess I'll have to settle for enjoying my date Friday night with Henry," Polly said.

"Yeah. Like that's settling," Andy smirked.

"I know! But, tell me what I'm supposed to do with my little girl? Do I just hover over her and not let her on the floor with Luke and Obiwan?" Polly asked.

"I could help you," Elise said timidly.

"I don't want to bother you with animals. You have a lot of work ahead of you and this is the week you start flipping your schedule, isn't it?" Polly said.

"But, that would be perfect. She'd be a great companion while I was shifting my sleep hours. My cats were always up all night and slept during the day. We'd do fine. Really. I'd love to have her around for a while."

Polly looked around the table, "My life was never this easy when I lived by myself in Boston," she remarked. "Thank you, Elise. I think Leia would love having all your attention. It will only be for a week. We'll mix her back in with the boys and you can play with the kittens at my apartment any time after that.”

Elise smiled and picked up her food. "I'm going upstairs to finish this and get back to work. There are some things I want to research about real, live friendship networks before I start writing."

She stood up and walked to the door, then turned around. "Thank you," she said.

Polly said, "I'll bring Leia up in a little while and we'll get
her settled in your room, okay? Thank you!"

Sylvie walked back in after Elise had left and sat down, "Was everything okay with her?"

"Sure. I think she had a little inspiration," Lydia said. "What did Amy have to say?"

"She's coming into Des Moines by herself tomorrow and her family will come out for the funeral on Monday. She says she is planning to go through some of her mom's things this week. She doesn't know anything about a mystery or what her mom could possibly have meant, but was wondering if you," and she looked at Lydia, "might have time for lunch at her mother's house on Friday or Saturday."

"And," Sylvie continued, "she said to tell you that if Laurence was short with you on the phone, you shouldn't take it personally. He's annoyed because Madeline asked Amy to be the executor of the estate and he's informed her that if she is going to do it, she will do it all. He's mad at the world, not at you."

Lydia smiled. "That makes more sense, then. And I'd love to have lunch with her. Thank you, Sylvie."

A ha! There was the ace of diamonds! Polly was in her office Friday afternoon playing a game of Solitaire on her computer. Things had been quiet the last couple of days. Elise had taken Leia in and seemed to love having the companionship even though Polly worried a little bit about getting her kitten back. The glass company had quite a few of the bookcases covered and Andy was already filling them with items from the crates. She had set up an account with the newspaper office downtown to print signs and information placards for the displays.

Yesterday afternoon it had been cold enough that Polly met Jason and Andrew outside their school to bring them over to Sycamore House. Even though Sylvie didn't start classes until next week, she was working as many hours as possible and everyone seemed happy with the arrangement, especially Obiwan. Those boys wanted to be out as often as possible with him, so one or the other would take him out to play throughout the afternoon and early evening. Polly had made supper last night and invited Elise to come over and eat with them. She was quite comfortable with the boys, telling Polly they reminded her of her older brothers when they were kids.

Henry popped his head in the door at four thirty. "I'm taking off now. You're picking me up, right?"

She looked up and nodded at him. "Sure. I'll be there around six."

"Do you even know where I live?" he asked. "You've never been there. In fact," Henry paused and scowled at her. "You've never seen my shop!"

"You're right. I know," she responded. "But, I think I can find your house. You're over on Willow, aren't you?"

"Yes," he agreed. "But, do you know which Willow?"

"Well, it's not the one that goes past the Elevator, so I'm assuming I'll turn on Monroe and go over and find your place. The shop should be obvious, shouldn't it?" Even she knew she was sounding a little snippy.

"Yeah," he said. "I guess you can find me. I'll see you at six, then."

"Great," she said, trying to put a smile back on her face. "I'll see you then."

He left and she closed the Solitaire window. What was up with her? Then it hit her that it might have something to do with the fact that she'd made absolutely no plans for tonight and it was her responsibility to take him out on a date. She'd set herself up for failure on this one, hadn't she.

Polly quickly opened her browser and searched for theaters in Ames. It had been a long time since she'd paid any attention to what new movies were out, she was sure nothing would be familiar. She didn't even know what kind of movies Henry liked. Great date planner she was. As soon as she'd found the theaters, she looked for restaurants she could get into. It took her about 15 minutes to get her plans in place, but then she felt better. She had a plan and a general idea where to head once she got into the city.

Sylvie walked past the window to her office and waved. She poked her head in and said, "I'm here to pick the boys up. I take it they're in with Andy?"

Polly stood up and walked out with Sylvie, “I think they're having as much fun as she is." They opened the doors to the auditorium and walked in. The boys and Andy acknowledged their presence by looking up from a crate they were digging through and went back to their work.

"What are you doing tonight, Polly?" Sylvie asked.

"I'm taking Henry out on a date. Can you imagine that?" Polly said. "I got a little pushy with him about making things equal, so it ended up being my turn. We're going to dinner and a movie. What about you?"

"Amy’s in town and staying at her mother's house. I told her we would take her out to dinner at Davey's tonight." Sylvie stepped forward and spoke in a louder voice, "Boys, we have to get going."

Andy looked up, "What time is it?" she asked.

"Nearly five o'clock," Sylvie said. "And I need these boys to get dressed up for dinner, so I'm going to steal them from you."

Andy flung her hands in the air. "Five o'clock! I told Bill I'd come out tonight and babysit. I have to scoot!" She followed Jason and Andrew to the door. "These boys are a great help to me, Sylvie." She wrapped her arms around Andrew, then patted Jason on the back. "Thanks for everything boys, I'll see you next week!" She stood beside Polly as they left.

"Did I hear you say you're taking Henry out tonight?" she asked Polly.

"I am. We're going to Ames. I should probably hurry upstairs and get ready to go. It does feel strange being in charge of this date."

"You'll be fine and you'll have fun. Now, do you mind if I leave a mess in here?" Andy asked.

"No, I don't mind at all. We'll pull these doors shut and lock them, and it will be here for you on Monday." Polly walked Andy to the front door and watched as she drove away. Jogging up the steps, she stopped at the top, hearing what sounded like crying coming from Elise Myers' room. She walked over to the door, listened for a moment and heard steady sobbing.

She knocked on the door, "Elise? Are you
okay? Elise?"

"I'm fine. Just a minute." The door opened and Elise stood there in her hoodie and sweatpants, her face and eyes red, tears still on her cheeks. "I'm sorry, was I bothering you?"

"No," Polly said. "I was just a little worried about you. Is everything okay?"

"It will be," Elise said. "But, I can't talk about it now."

Her eyes filled with tears again and Polly reached out to touch her, but Elise pulled away and moved to shut the door. "I'm sorry," the girl said. "I need to get back to work."

"Let me know if you need anything. But, you should also know, I'm leaving for the evening. There's plenty of food in the refrigerator downstairs. Help yourself to anything you want."

"Thank you, Polly," Elise said as she closed the door to her room.

"Weird," Polly thought and walked across the hall to her apartment. Obiwan and Luke were curled up together on the sofa and looked up as she walked in. "Come on, Obiwan," she said. "I don't have much time and you need one last run before I leave.

He pulled himself up and stretched, then put his paws on the floor in front of the couch and stretched again. Luke seemed annoyed at being disturbed, but snuggled into the warm spot the dog had left behind.

"Come on," she said, as she pulled on her coat and gloves. "We have to hurry!"

He sat in front of her, waiting for the leash to be snapped on to his collar, then they went downstairs and outside. Polly looked up into the windows of Elise's room and saw her staring outside, as if watching for something. Who could know what news she had received? Elise caught her eye and waved, then moved away from the window and Polly continued walking with Obiwan. She didn't let him stay outside too long, knowing she needed to quickly shower and change her clothes. At least she didn't have to dress up tonight. She wasn't quite as formal as Henry when it came to dating.

The big "Sturtz Contracting and Woodworking Services" sign on the front of the building beside his house was a rather significant clue when it came to finding where Henry lived. His truck was another. Polly rolled her eyes and laughed. "It wasn't that hard to find you, ya nut," she said to herself as she opened the door of her truck. Then, she stopped in her tracks. Back or front door? Oh, to heck with it and she walked up the steps to the front door and rang the doorbell.

Henry was living in the same house his parents had owned for many years. He had told her it was also his grandparent's home, so it had been in his family a long time. It was a large, two-story home with a porch that extended across the entire front of the house. The door was in the middle and on one end a porch swing hung from the ceiling. He answered the door and invited her inside.

"I'm almost ready to go. Let me get my coat."

The front room was also the length of the house and looked as if it were two living rooms, one on either side of the front door. She could see through a very short hallway into what must be the dining room. There was an old piano on the far wall of that room and she could see a little bit of the dining room table. On the right side of the little hallway was a doorway, which she assumed led to the basement. The closet was at the end of the left living area. He pulled out a short leather jacket and shrugged into it, then zipped it shut.

Then he chuckled, "I hope you're not taking me somewhere fancy for dinner tonight. I'm probably not dressed for it."

"You look great," she laughed. And he did. Jeans suited this man. A dark blue sweater with small flecks of white covered a button down shirt and it suddenly occurred to her that all of that blue accented the color of his eyes. Huh. She noticed his eye color. That was new for her.

"Well?" he asked. "Are you finished? Am I fine?"

She snorted with laughter and blushed immediately. "Whatever!" she said and turned around to go back outside.

He pulled the door shut to the house and followed her down the steps, hurrying to open the door of the truck for her. "Don't even," he said as she tried to object.

Polly laughed and stepped up on the running board and into the truck. Henry walked around and got in on the other side, then asked. "Where are we going?"

"Hickory Park. I haven't been there in years.
Do you like barbecue?"

"I can't believe you haven't been there since you got back. Of course
I like barbecue!" He smiled at her. "Can I have ice cream, too?"

She laughed again. "If you have ice cream before we go to the movie, there won't be any room for popcorn!"

"There's always room for popcorn. And Twizzlers. I want popcorn and Twizzlers and an Icee. Well, maybe not the Icee. I'll have to see how full I am."

Polly shook her head and laughed. "Anything you want. But, if you eat so much it keeps you up all night, don't call me."

He pouted and said, "That's no fun. Usually if you pay for it, you own it."

"That's sick. I'm n
ot owning your pain and agony, so there."

He turned in his seat, "Tell me what's up with your guest?"

"What do you mean?" Polly asked.

"I don't know. I was just making conversation. She seemed
so upset when I walked in the front door the other day and I haven't seen hide nor hair of her since then."

"I've never been around someone who is that afraid of people," Polly said. "She ate lunch with me, Lydia, Sylvie and Andy the other day, too, but other than that, she has kept out of sight. Now, she did say she is going to begin flipping her days and nights around, and she is taking care of Leia while
my little girl is recuperating from her surgery, so maybe she has turned into a night owl and we will never see her during the day."

"Don't you think that's odd?" he asked.

"I suppose from our standpoint it is," she replied. "But, I guess that if I open those rooms up to people who are trying to escape the real world and explore their creativity, I'm not necessarily going to be getting run of the mill clients."

Henry chuckled. "I guess not. How long is she staying?"

"She's paid me for two months." Henry's face showed the shock he was feeling and Polly said, "I know! But, she's the one paying for it. She told me her family came up with the money to send her here and it's not like she can leave. She doesn't even have a car."

"That gets stranger and stranger," Henry said. "Well, maybe when there's a movie made about another eccentric mathematician ... her ... they'll find gorgeous, young actors to play us."

"Okay, changing the subject," Polly began. "Are we truly going to be able to pull off a barn raising?"

"It’s not going to be a problem, Polly!" Henry said, assuring her. "The lumber and all necessary supplies will be delivered on Wednesday. That will give us time to make sure everything is ready. I've already lined up twelve or fifteen guys to help and they’re already talking about what fun it will be. I'm guessing there could be close to fifty men here that day. I’ve also contracted a crane and operator to lift the trusses for the roof. I think it will be fine."

"I'm trusting you with this, Henry. I have no idea how it is supposed to work," Polly said.

"I don’t know how the event is supposed to work, but I can get the structure built. It will actually be pretty cool to see it go up in one day." He paused and said, "Unless we end up with a whole lot of people, the inside work will happen after the structure is up."