Be My Guest (16 page)

Last night Rose explained that her parents
had installed central heating in the house, but no central
air-conditioning. An air-conditioning unit in the second window
hummed in the background as Aurora reviewed her accomplishments of
the day. She sat in the rocking chair with her open briefcase on
her lap.

When the phone on the table between the
chair and the bed rang, the sound startled Aurora. Kelly called the
minute she got in from school and the bus ride home. Kelly’s
comfort in calling sent a wave of warm pleasure through Aurora.

"Were your new pink jeans a success with the
other fifth grade girls?"

Kelly bubbled, "All my friends loved them.
Marcie's going to ask her stepmother to get her jeans like mine.
Then we can be twins. Won't that be great?"

With a wistful smile, Aurora remembered
herself at Kelly's age. "So, you had a good day at school."

"Yeah, it was really neat. That snobby
Felicia was positively green with envy. She likes to be the best at
everything."

Aurora thought of Kelly alone on the ranch
with Will working. She wondered if Lily stayed at the house until
Will came in for the day. What a change a child made in one's life.
"Now that you're home, what will you do?"

"I'm going to ride Misty. Catrina is coming
with me. Her pony is Twilight. The ponies are sisters."

Aurora smiled again. She thought she knew
the answer to her question, but asked anyway. "Oh, my. Misty and
Twilight. Who chose those names?"

Kelly laughed as if it were a great joke.
"Catrina and I did. Dad and Raul thought they were dumb names, but
Catrina and I like them. Misty and Twilight like them too."

Kelly chatted on as if the two had been
friends for Kelly's entire lifetime. When Kelly's talking streak
ran its course and the phone call ended, Aurora's ear felt ready to
fall off.

On her explorations of the downtown area
earlier in the day, Aurora drove by Peggy's shop several times.
Though tempted to go inside, she decided to wait for Rose to
accompany her. Once Rose returned home, she kept Aurora entertained
with talk of the family and her many travels.

The first half of the week progressed
quickly to Wednesday afternoon. Rose asked Aurora if she could
manage a visit to Raphael's Cards and Gifts and meet Peggy Hopkins.
Eager to see this shop, the very type shop she thought she might
enjoy owning, Aurora insisted she could handle the visit.

Rose attempted to prepare Aurora. "Peggy's
business has declined in almost direct proportion to her health
over the past few years. Please keep in mind that it's a good
location in the old downtown area with red brick-paved streets.
Actually, it's only a few blocks from my house."

Once they reached the shop, Aurora
understood why Rose had tried to prepare her. In the front window
sat a jumble of items with no apparent order or theme. Even with
Rose's warning, Aurora was unprepared for the interior of the
store. The dimly lit store seemed cluttered, and desperately needed
a thorough cleaning. Each of the fluorescent light fixtures
designed to hold four light tubes had only two working tubes and,
combined with dark blue walls, made the store seem dark and dreary.
Indoor/outdoor carpet in a darker blue advertised the lack of
thorough cleaning.

Aurora visualize great potential. She itched
to make some changes and hoped Peggy would agree to give her a free
hand. A good cleaning and more light would do wonders.

Raphael's shop owner and Rose appeared very
different in both appearance and nature. Peggy reminded Aurora of
an aging beauty losing the battle to appear forever young.
Bracelets on her wrists jangled as she came forward to meet them.
She shook Aurora's hand with a limp greeting then crossed her arms
defensively. A single finger twirled one of the necklace strands
dangling from her neck.

In spite of Peggy's guarded manner, empathy
for this woman hit Aurora. Even through her makeup, Peggy's skin
displayed an unhealthy pallor. Lines of strain creased her face and
weariness showed in her eyes, and her shoulders slumped in
fatigue.

Peggy called to a small, dark-haired
woman--"Mattie, will you watch the register while I show these
ladies around?"--as she led Aurora and Rose through the shop.

"You can see that we're a small shop, but we
have a good location and a nice variety of merchandise. Of course,
we're not as busy now as at Christmas time, but this is one of our
busiest seasons." She turned to Aurora. "In spite of Rose's
assurances, I'm worried about leaving the shop right now. Are you
sure you're willing to try to keep things going while I'm out for
four weeks?"

"I'll do my best, I assure you. I'm on my
way to Colorado, but I'll stay until you're able to return to
work," Aurora placed her hand on the woman's shoulder and gave a
reassuring pat. "I'll be here when you open tomorrow morning. You
can show me exactly what you want me to do while you're out. By
Saturday evening, you'll have shown me everything you want done.
You'll have seen the way I work and will know whether or not you
want to trust me while you're recovering from your surgery."

Peggy's delicate fingers fluttered to her
throat and a flush crept over her cheeks. "Oh, um, my goodness. I
didn't mean to imply I don't trust you...It's just that this store
is so important to me. It's also my primary source of income and I
can't afford to neglect it. However, if Rose says you're a good
business person, then that's good enough for me."

"Thank you, Peggy," said Rose as she offered
further reassurance, "I called Aurora's former employer in Houston
and talked with him, with her permission, of course. Aurora will
show you letters of recommendation as well as her credentials. You
won't have to worry, my dear."

Aurora added, "I think it's best to keep
this on a professional level if possible, Peggy. I wouldn't want
anything I do or say to harm your friendship with Rose." She
reached into her handbag and extracted several sheets of paper.
"I've brought you a copy of my resume and letters of
recommendation. Please call any of the places I've worked while
I've been traveling and my former employer in Houston."

Rose nodded her satisfaction. "It's not as
if you'll be out of the country, Peggy. If Aurora has a question,
she can call you and ask."

Peggy appeared only somewhat mollified by
these reassurances, but agreed to let Aurora try managing the shop
for her. They agreed on a modest salary, and Peggy gave Aurora keys
to the front and back doors.

As Rose and Aurora were about to leave,
Peggy admitted that each day she grew worse than the day before.
"Unless I do something to improve my health soon, I'll have to give
up the shop entirely."

Rose took Peggy's hand and patted it. "It'll
all work out, dear, you'll see."

A worried frown crinkled Peggy's brow but
she tried to smile at the other two women. "I hope so."

Chapter Eight

Working
with Peggy positively ranked
as the most frustrating job experience of Aurora's life. It soon
became obvious that Peggy Hopkins wanted absolutely no changes of
any kind from a girl less than half her age. Aurora's few tentative
suggestions met with disapproval from both Peggy and her devoted
assistant Mattie. With more patience than she knew she possessed,
Aurora learned as much as possible about the mechanics of operating
the store exactly as Peggy wished.

As Aurora had anticipated, she was told the
stock of cards, gift wrap, and other items carrying the card
company name and logo had to be purchased. Those seasonal items not
sold were the property of the store, and could not be returned to
the card company for even partial credit. That made good marketing
and careful buying even more crucial.

Aurora shook her head once more as she
surveyed the dusty shelves and poorly arranged merchandise. Peggy
seemed her own worst enemy. Suffering from the fatigue and
discomfort of her medical problem, she could hardly manage to get
through the day. Perhaps she no longer even saw the dust.

Although mentally and physically exhausted,
by Saturday evening Aurora had a very nice feeling about her
ability to manage the store. Over dinner that evening, she relayed
her feelings to Rose and Will.

"It's small but it could be such a great
store if some changes were made! Even as it is, it can be a good
store. A good cleaning and some extra light tubes in the fixtures
will help a lot." Excitement bubbled up in her as she thought of
the improvements she could make in the store with no additional
expense and only a little extra effort.

"Well, you survived three days with Peggy
Hopkins without losing your temper and choking the woman. That's
more than I could do." Will shook his head, then his eyes widened.
Apparently he realized what he'd said about his favorite aunt's
best friend.

Rose’s mouth opened in astonishment. "Why,
Will, I had no idea you thought that about Peggy!"

"I'm sorry, Aunt Rose, that sort of slipped
out. Frankly, though, now that it's out, that woman is a dingbat! I
never understood how the two of you could be such lifelong
friends---you're such opposites."

"Maybe that's why. When her husband was
alive, though, she wasn't quite as much of a 'dingbat' as you call
it. I think Harvey's death left her at a total loss." Rose tapped
her fingernails on the table and lost herself in memories. "My, my.
That was ten years ago. She depended on Harvey so much to help her
with all her decisions. They married right out of high school, you
see. She went from her domineering parents' home to life with
Harvey. Peggy never learned to do anything on her own until Harvey
died. It was quite a shock, as you can imagine. You know, I think
that's when her business started to go downhill."

Aurora wondered why Peggy had no family
helping her while she was in such poor health. "Does she have any
children who might help?"

"Her only child lives in Florida. Clara has
a pack of kids and it's really hard for her to get away. Clara and
her husband have asked Peggy to come live near them, but she's
afraid. In fact, she doesn't even visit them often because of the
store."

Will grimaced. "If she's so worried about
the store, why doesn't she fix it up? It's a depressing place. I
don't know how she stays in business."

"Well, in my opinion, Peggy seems afraid to
make a change or try anything new because it's impossible to first
talk it over with Harvey. Those few changes she's made, such as the
dark walls and carpet, have been disastrous. As a result, the store
just hasn't kept up with the times." Rose stood up, "Now, you two
go for a walk or something. Aurora's worked all day and I haven't,
so I'll handle the dishes by myself."

Will seized the opportunity to be alone with
Aurora, due to Kelly spending the weekend with her maternal
grandparents in Snyder. He invited her on a driving tour of Post,
and started at the statue of town founder C. W. Post, the cereal
manufacturer, on the lawn of the Garza County Court House. From
there, they drove four blocks west to the old C. W. Post home.

By this time dusk crept over the town. "I
guess I'll save the rest of the tour for another day. Old C. W.
Post was ahead of his time, you know, a real pioneer. He planned
the streets and growth of the town very well." Will guided the
truck aimlessly up and down the streets, anxious to prolong their
time together.

"I have to confess that I read about Mr.
Post and his organization of the town. At the Chamber of Commerce I
found information on the history of the town and the area. I know I
should have told you earlier, but I enjoyed the drive with you."
She flashed an impish grin. "The tour is much nicer with a handsome
guide.”

The effect of that grin amazed Will. "Let's
go back to Rose's and sit on the porch swing."

"That sounds perfect. Although the view from
her front porch can't compare with the view from your patio, it's a
nice evening to sit in the porch swing."

A couple of blocks later as they passed one
of the convenience stores with gas pumps in front, Aurora grabbed
Will's arm and shouted, "Will, please drive by that little store
again. I'm sure I saw one of the men who tried to run me off the
road."

Will turned the truck right and circled the
block. When they returned to the small store, only a battered Ford
Escort sat at the gas pumps. The vehicle Aurora saw on their first
pass by the store had disappeared from view.

Will parked his truck in front of the store
and opened the door of his truck. "I'll see if I can find out
anything about the guy who just left."

Aurora slung her purse strap on her shoulder
and followed fast on his heels. "I'm coming with you."

The cashier of the store insisted he had
never seen the man before and that the man paid in cash so there
was no way to get the truck license or owner's identity. No amount
of prodding could produce a satisfactory answer from the man, so
Aurora and Will left.

As Will drove the truck out of the parking
lot and toward Rose's house his jaw clenched several times before
he spoke. "That guy was lying. He knew exactly who we were asking
about."

"Yes, I'm sure of it. He must be a friend
the cashier protected." Aurora crossed her arms and glared ahead,
checking for a glimpse of the truck once again.

"We need to let the sheriff know about this,
as well as the trooper in Snyder." Will wondered if he should warn
her and take a chance on frightening her? Better to be frank than
take a chance.

"Aurora, if that cashier knows the men who
tried to abduct you, he's sure to pass along the news that we were
asking questions. The cashier may not know who I am, but there
aren't many women who meet your physical description. That will
alert the two you're in town and can identify at least one of
them."