Secrets and Revelations (Bellingwood #4) (4 page)

They were passing the office when Polly heard Jeff call her name.

"Yes?" she asked, walking through the outer office toward his door.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to you again yesterday since things got so busy, but I'm really sorry about that woman who was in my office."

"You don't have to apologize," she said, "but what in the heck?"

"I'm pretty sure she believes she is doing us some big favor by holding the quilt show here. Never mind that no one else in town wants to deal with her or that the show is too big to hold anywhere else."

"Well, what was up with her not wanting Eliseo around?"

"You really don't want to know."

"I don't?"

"It will just make you mad."

"Why aren't you mad, then?"

"I'm furious, but I have to work with her."

"How in the world does this quilt show continue to happen with someone like her running things?"

"Because there's a $2500 prize package, Polly. Her husband sponsors it for her. Some of these quilts will go to the state fair, but many will be sold. There's some good money in this show."

"Wow. I had no idea."

"Mrs. Rothenfuss has managed to bring national attention to this show over the last several years. She informed me that she had quilt buyers coming in from as far away as Florida so I needed to ensure we had excellent security."

"That's what I don't want to know, isn't it." Polly said.

"That was part of it."

"What did you say to her?"

"I told her that all of our employees were trustworthy and while I was confident things would be perfectly safe here, if she wanted to contact either Aaron Merritt or Ken Wallers for additional security, we'd be glad to work with them."

"Do you think she will?"

"I think both men will laugh at her.
But, she can do whatever she needs to do."

"Okay. Don't mind me if I run away when I see her coming."

Jeff laughed. "She's going to be here again this afternoon. They want to measure the auditorium, the classrooms and the hallways so she can finish her map of where the quilts will hang."

"I'll find somewhere else to be. I have no idea why she felt it necessary to ignore me, but I don't have to take that."

"She's a sad, mean woman, Polly. I think this is the only thing she has left in her life. It's not about you, it's just that she has a false sense of self-importance and a miserable attitude."

"I know, I know. It's not about me. It's not about me."
Polly left the office, muttering "It's not about me," and went up to her apartment. She fed the animals and ran down the back stairs to do more laundry. She took a load of towels back up the steps and dropped them on her bed, grabbing one to take into the bathroom.

After a shower, she pulled clothes on and stood in front of her bed folding the rest of the towels.
She put them away and sat down on the edge of her bed. The early morning had really messed with her. She lay down and began thinking about the things she wanted to do over the next few weeks. She picked her phone up from beside her and texted Henry.

"Hey. What do you think about driving over to Story City on Saturday with me? I should look at the storage unit and remind myself of how much stuff I have to move."

"I don't know if I can. Roy Dunston and his kids will be here."

"Oh. I forgot all about that. Forget it."

She set the phone back down on the bed beside her and shut her eyes. Waking up to that stupid nightmare must have completely wrecked her emotions. She began to feel sorry for herself and felt tears welling in her eyes again.

"Stop it," she said out loud. "No crying. He told you that he might be busy and just because he can't always be there when you want to do something
, doesn't mean he won't take care of you."

It didn't help. She was gone.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming text message and she ignored it, curling in on herself and letting the tears leak out.

Polly knew that if she didn't deal with the email that was haunting her, her emotions would continue to be all over the place, so she left her phone on the bed and went out to the living room and picked up her laptop.
She read the email one more time and then replied,

"I know nothing about you, but if you would like to come to Bellingwood, I'd be happy to meet with you."

She hesitated with her hand on the mouse, then sent the email and stood up.

There was a knock on her bedroom door and she looked up to see Andrew standing there.

"What's up, bud?" she asked.

"Mom said she has breakfast if you want to come down.
She also made a special pot of coffee for you."

Polly followed him back through the bedroom, scooping up her phone and slipping it into her pocket.

At the bottom of the steps, Andrew opened the door to the storage room and Polly smelled sausage.

"Thanks for coming up to get me, Andrew. This smells great."

"You're going to love it!" he said.

Polly had purchased a rustic trestle table for the kitchen, placed so that anyone sitting there could look out into the back yard. She tried not to feel guilty that she hadn't followed through on the vegetable garden this year and hoped that next spring would be a different story.
Benches fit under the table and there was easily room for eight people. Sylvie had set out plates and silverware and was pulling a casserole out of the oven.

"What did you make?" Polly asked.

"I found a recipe for a sausage and gravy casserole. It calls for canned biscuits on top, but I make my own."

"Wow. It
looks awesome."

"Taste the coffee in the little pot over there. Dan, the sales guy, asked if I wanted to try something new."

Polly poured a cup and sniffed it, inhaling the spicy scent. "It smells wonderful!"

"He thought I might want to have it available this fall. This is a Chai-spiced coffee.
They have pumpkin and ginger as well. I think these might be perfect for some of the fall and winter wedding receptions."

"Mmmm," Polly said as she sipped it. "I like it."

"I knew you would." Sylvie dished up some casserole on a plate and set it in front of Andrew. "Do you suppose Eliseo and Jason are coming up?"

"Call them," Polly said, taking another sip.

Jeff wandered in and sat down beside her. "That smells good.”

"Try it," she responded and handed him the mug.

He sniffed it and handed it back, "Oh, that's good. I'll get my own. Over here?" He pointed at the coffee pot. Polly nodded.

"They'll be up in a minute. Andrew keep an eye out, they're coming in the back door." Sylvie said.

She stayed busy while everyone ate, even though they all protested. Jason and Eliseo came in the back door and joined them. Polly looked around the table at her family. It felt like it was always expanding and she couldn't wait to see who would be next to join them.

Sylvie pulled three coffee cakes out of the oven and began slicing them into pieces. Jeff arranged things on carts, much as he had the day before and left the kitchen.

"Can we ride now?" Jason asked Eliseo.

"Whenever you're finished," he responded.

"Let's go! I want Mom to see," Jason said, jumping up.

Eliseo quietly began picking up their dishes, moving slowly enough that Jason was bouncing at the door.
"Don't you think we ought to help your mom clean up after she made breakfast for us?" he asked.

"She can do it," Jason said. "She knows where everything goes."
He had his hand on the door handle.

"No, that's not how I work.
If you want this to go faster, you'll help," Eliseo responded.

Polly looked at Andrew who had a smirk on his face.
Without a word, he picked his plate up and took it over to the sink, then came back and got Polly's. He waltzed past his brother and into the storage room to his hideaway. Jason couldn't stand it and picked up as many items from the table as he could carry in one trip. He made one more trip and then Polly stood, gathering the rest of the things.

"I have it
now," she said. "You guys go on. Thanks for helping."

Eliseo and Jason went back out the kitchen door and she watched them walk to the pasture.
The poor kid couldn't catch a break. There were too many adults in his life who appreciated his good behavior and intended to ensure he remained that way.

When Sylvie returned to the kitchen, she glanced around. "Thanks for cleaning up, Polly."

"It wasn't me," Polly replied. "Eliseo wasn't going to let Jason ride until he'd helped. It nearly killed him, but he got it done."

They stacked dishes into the dish washer and Sylvie began pulling things out of the cupboards and onto the prep area.
Polly was standing at the dryer, folding clothes into a basket when she heard Sylvie gasp and say, "Oh!"

Sylvie rushed past the storage room door and opened the back door of the kitchen and Polly followed her. Eliseo and Jason were riding the two horses up to the back of the building.
Jason was sitting proudly on Nat while Eliseo held Nan back and watched.

Polly saw Sylvie's mouth twitch into a small smile. She turned around and went back into the storage room and tapped Andrew's shoulder.
"Come with me a minute. Your mom is watching Jason ride Nat."

Andrew put his book down and followed Polly back into the kitchen and out the back door.

"Isn't he pretty, mom?" Jason asked as she approached the horse. Nat nickered at them and lowered his head. Sylvie put her hand on the white blaze that came down his forehead to his nose.

"He's beautiful, Jason," she said. "I'm proud of you."

"I'm not scared of him, even though he's so big," Jason said.

"I know you're not."
She turned to Eliseo. "Thank you for this."

He shook his head, "He's done all the work. He's been doing it all spring, getting to know the horses and letting them learn to trust him. They like him, Mrs. Donovan. He's a good boy."

"Can I ride in the parade with Eliseo?" Jason asked.

She looked up at the man on the horse.
"Really?"

"If you agree."

"Please, mom?"

"If Polly and Eliseo say you can ride, then I'm okay with it."

"Thanks!" Jason exclaimed. He bent over and put his head on Nat's neck, rubbing as far as his arms would let him.

Sylvie backed up and watched as the two rode past the garage and onto the lane.

"Thank you, Polly," she said. "Did you see how happy he was?"

"I did. But, Eliseo was right. Jason earned this. He works hard with these horses."

They went back inside and Sylvie washed her hands.
She didn't say anything else. Polly shrugged, knowing her friend well enough to recognize she needed some space to be emotional. She followed Andrew back into the storage room. He went to his desk to read while she emptied the dryer and took the last of her laundry upstairs.

Eliseo
was upstairs cleaning out the front guest room while Polly struggled to concentrate in her office. Lydia Merritt had artfully planned and purchased a beautiful set of furniture and announced that room would now be called the Cherry Room. The poet who had been staying there for the last six weeks had left earlier in the day after announcing, quite dramatically, that he was ready to return to civilization. In a quiet aside, Jeff told her that the man was from a small town near Louisville, Kentucky. She guessed people saw civilization where they wanted to see it.

Jason and Andrew begged their mom for permission to spend the afternoon at the city pool across the street
from Sycamore House. They were to be back at Polly's apartment by five thirty so Jason could help bring the horses in at the end of the day.

Polly looked out her window. There were too many cars in the parking lot for her to see across to the pool.
But that didn't stop the flood of memories. Every summer afternoon when she was young, she'd find a way to get into town and go swimming. She had terrible crushes on the older lifeguards and loved meeting her friends there. She played in the water until Mary called to her from outside the fence that it was time to go home. The very best days had been when she got to spend the night with a friend in town and they stayed at the pool until it closed.

"Polly?"

"What?" She demanded, spinning around in her chair. Mark Ogden and Henry were standing in her doorway.

"I'm sorry. I was thinking about something else.
What's up?" she asked.

Mark laughed. "I want to hitch Demi and Daisy to the wagon today. Do you want to join me?"

"Where did you get a wagon?"

"Henry finished it in his shop last week and we brought it across the back lawn."

Polly scowled at them. "No one ever tells me anything. I didn't know you were making a wagon," she said to Henry.

"I didn't make it, I just restored and cleaned up something that Mark found up in Lehigh. We wanted to surprise you."

"You succeeded! I'm surprised!" She jumped out of her chair. "Let's go see this!"

The two men parted as she dashed between them and out the main door of the office.

When she realized they weren't moving as quickly as she was, she turned on them. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Eliseo was waiting at the barn. He had brought Demi and Daisy in from the pasture and had them harnessed.

"I think they're as excited as you are," he said to Polly.

"I doubt it!" she replied.

The three men got the horses hitched up to the wagon. Henry had painted it shiny black and trimmed it with the Sycamore House blue. The wheels were black with blue spokes and the front bench was also painted blue. It was beautiful and all she could think was that in her wildest dreams, she never could have come up with this.

Mark climbed in, then reached out a hand to Polly. "Do you want to ride with me?"

"No, not this time. It's enough that they have the extra weight of the wagon. I'm not going to add anything more to it."

"Oh, for heaven's sake. You don't weigh that much and these two can pull quite a bit more than we have here.
Come on up."

Polly found a place to put her right foot, then took Mark's hand as he helped pull her up to the bench.

"We'll be back in a while if all goes well," Mark said to Eliseo and Henry. "We'll be back in a minute if it doesn't."

Eliseo opened the gate to the front lawn and Mark flicked the reins to signal the Percherons to move. Polly felt their strength as the wagon rolled forward and realized she was holding her breath.

"Shall we take a short ride through the neighborhood?" Mark asked.

"Do you think they're ready?" Polly responded.

"They've been ready for a month. We just had to wait for Henry to finish. Once I knew he was close, Eliseo and I talked to Buddy Ferman so he could get them shod for asphalt and then we all had to keep our mouths shut around you."

Polly smiled at him. "Thank you. This is a wonderful surprise!"

"We won't stay out too long today. I want them to get used to being on the road again, but we'll do this again. I think we should ride in the parade with Eliseo and Jason. What do you think?"

"It’s crazy, but it sounds terrific. Can we put Andrew in the back?"

"Of course we can. He'll love it."

"You aren't going to make me braid their manes or tails, are you?" she asked, laughing.

"No," he chuckled with her. "I think they look beautiful as they are.
We're not showing them, we're just showing them off. The town will love seeing all of them together. Horses this big are quite a sight for most people."

"I'm surprised there haven't been any accidents out here on the highway," Polly said.
“I watch people slow down and gawk when they drive past. I want to tell them they can pull in and look. Maybe we'll get that message across during the festival. As long as they don't cross the fence, I don't care who looks at my beauties."

"Have you heard anything from Sal lately?" Mark asked.

Polly had to follow his abrupt topic change. Sal Kahane was her best friend from Boston College.

"I email back and forth with her every once in a while," Polly said. "Why? Is there something up?"

"No, I just wondered if she'd said anything to you about coming out to visit."

"She hasn't said anything yet.
Are you two making plans for something?"

"No!" he exclaimed. "Well, no big plans yet.
She thought she might come out in November or December. I know she doesn't celebrate Christmas, but I thought it would be fun for her to see what we do out here."

"Oh, she celebrates Christmas more than you think," Polly laughed. "Her parents aren't terribly happy with it, but Sal is kind of an all-inclusive holiday girl. She starts with Thanksgiving, enjoys Hanukah, then Christmas and rounds out the season with an immense New Year's Eve party. We always had a big Christmas tree in our dorm room. Everyone else thought we were
over the top, but Sal loved it as much as I did. I even got her to go to a Christmas Eve service one year. Pretty sure she was the one in tears when the candles were all lit at midnight."

"Then maybe she would come out for Christmas," Mark mused. "My family is coming down to Bellingwood this year. We're already making plans."

"That might be a little intimidating," Polly remarked. "You're going to make her meet your family?"

"Why?" he innocently asked.

"Because that's kind of a next step thing in a relationship," Polly said. "Have you even gone out to see her in Boston?"

"Not yet, but I think I’m flying out in mid-September.

"You are?" Polly was surprised.

"Maybe," he said coyly. "Now don't you be getting any big ideas. And if she's not comfortable meeting my family, then we'll figure something else out, but I'd love to have her here for the holiday celebrations."

Polly shook her head. "You two don't have a clue, do you?"

"What do you mean?" he protested.

"For this to work, one of you is going to have to give up the life you’re comfortable with. Is that going to be you? Is it going to be Sal?"

"We're not talking about that right now. We've decided to just enjoy finding out about each other and go from there."

"You’re right. I'll be good," Polly said and patted his leg. "You two are adults and it's not like I can talk. I'm not making a lot of future plans with Henry."

"Exactly!" Mark said as he turned the horses back into the Sycamore House driveway.

Polly saw Lydia and Beryl standing at the front door of the building and waved at them.

"Do you want to do a drive-by?" Mark asked.

"Can we?"

"Of course." He moved the reins and the horses picked up speed and then as they approached the two women, he pulled back and they came to a stop.

"What do you think of Polly's new wheels?" he asked them.

"Girl, you're gonna be the talk of the town!" Beryl said.

"Could I touch them?" Lydia asked quietly.

"Of course you can, Lydia!" Polly said. She glanced at Mark, who nodded and held out his hand as she stepped down to the ground.

"I'm sorry. It didn't even occur to me that you'd never gotten to meet them."
Polly put her hand on Demi's neck, who was standing closest to Lydia. "Walk around front so he can see you."

Lydia stood in front of the horse and he lifted his head.

"He's just saying hello," Polly said.

"They're really quite beautiful, aren't they," Lydia said.
"I feel so small next to them."

Polly chuckled. "You should come down to the barn sometime with me and have all four of them surround you.
There's nothing quite like it!"

"How do you know which one is which?"

"Nat has the biggest white blaze on his forehead. Nan is the largest of them and she has a spot of white on her nose. Now, these two both have white on their feet, but Daisy's is on her front right foot and back left, while Demi's two back feet have white on them. You can also see that Demi has a small white patch up near his eyes. Those are the easiest ways to tell who is who."

"That's amazing, Polly. How long did it take you to figure all that out?"

Polly smiled. "Honestly, when Mark introduced me, I knew I was going to have to identify them pretty quickly, so I entered all of their differences into my phone's note app. But, when they first got here, each had such different needs, it was easy to get to know them while they recuperated."

Beryl slid over to Mark. "Hey there, pretty boy. Will you give me a ride?" she asked, dramatically batting her eyes.

Mark had the decency to blush. "I was just about to take them back to the barn, but we can take a spin around the place. Do you mind walking back up from there?"

He reached down and gave her a hand.
Polly smiled as the woman clambered up to the bench seat. After the water heater exploded in her art studio and scalded her, Beryl had returned to normal pretty quickly. Henry renovated her studio with the help of several others and last month, Beryl announced she was in love with her new place and wasn't inviting anyone over because she was going back to work. Polly knew that the accident had messed with her work schedule and she was madly trying to finish several commissioned paintings.

Lydia stepped back and watched with Polly as Mark and Beryl rode away.

"What are you two doing here today?" Polly asked.

"I had to go down to Boone and since Andy is busy with Len all the time, I made Beryl leave her studio for a while. We drove in and saw you and Mark with the horses and thought we'd stop by.
I also wanted to look at the gardens and see how they were doing. Have you looked at them lately?"

Polly hung her head.
"Not very closely. It all looks very pretty, though. Maybe I'm afraid that if I get too close I will destroy something.

"Stop it. You can't hurt anything over there.
Come on. Let's take a walk. Beryl can catch up."

Polly stopped and said, "I thought Len was working with Henry. How come Andy doesn't have time for you?"

"She does and he is, but they had something planned for today. Don't mind me. I was much too comfortable with her being available to me unless she was with her grandkids."

"Speaking of grandkids, how is your new baby?"

Lydia's daughter, Marilyn, was the mother of a set of twins and a brand new baby, which meant that Lydia hadn't been around quite as much. Polly's life had gotten busier so she wasn't lonely, but she did miss spending time with the women who had welcomed her to Bellingwood last fall. There had been some wonderful moments with these women, but even in a few short months, lives had changed and they were busy with other things.

"That little girl is a grandma's dream. She's going to be the prettiest little thing you will ever see. Trust me," Lydia laughed. "We're just glad she is healthy and happy. I’m taking the twins this weekend so Marilyn and Brian can rest a little with her.
Marilyn calls it GrammaCamp, I just call it perfect."