Dress Me in Wildflowers

by Trish Milburn

  Above the table in the entryway hung a new panoramic photograph of the valley, the tree leaves so bright with color Farrin could almost see them wave in the breeze. She noticed a signature in gold ink in the bottom right corner. Janie Carlisle.

  She remembered Janie’s brief mention of enjoying nature photography. Farrin stepped back into the middle of the hall and stared at the picture. Janie was good, really good. The composition, the lighting, the angle — they were all perfect. She wondered if Janie had others because here was a way she could bring in some more income, particularly after the inn restoration was complete.

  Farrin climbed the stairs and found the area where Janie was currently working, the bedrooms along the eastern side. She wandered through the rooms, ideas whirling. The space could use a bit of color.

  She descended the stairs while dialing her phone. “Faye, are you and the other Homemakers still looking for projects to help out the fire department?”

  “Yes.”

  “How would you all feel about making some quilts for the inn?”

  “How many?”

  “Twenty for the rooms and perhaps a few to sell.” She stopped in the entryway and stared at Janie’s photograph. “I’m thinking about starting a little gift shop with locally made crafts. Should make the inn more attractive to a buyer if it’s already producing some income.”

  “That’s a great idea. I’ll make some calls and let you know, but I think the gals will be excited.”

  Farrin was too. The gift shop idea blossomed from there as she examined the small room at the front of the inn that seemed made for the purpose. Some of the wares could be showcased in the window, attracting any tourists that might happen through town as well as locals searching for a special gift. She imagined bright patchwork quilts, Janie’s photos of the area, homemade soaps and candies. She’d have Janie scour the area for craftsmen and see if they were interested in participating.

  With her brain buzzing, she walked out into the garden and saw that Drew had been hard at work removing debris and weeds. The benches sported a new coat of bright white paint, and a few of the same wire and glass ornaments she’d seen in his gardens now graced hers. She couldn’t wait to see what the gardens looked like come spring.

  Farrin stopped in the middle of the path. Would she even still own the inn then? For a moment, she couldn’t bear the thought of giving it up. But she had to. There was no life for her here, there never had been. She just had to ensure the inn’s preservation.

  After examining the quality workmanship of the construction crews, she was satisfied that zoning and codes would have no reason to object to the property. It was like life had been breathed into the inn again, and it made her heart swell that she’d taken the leap of faith to make it happen. The thought that even now this site could have been paved over made her grit her teeth.

  She chose a sunny spot at the dining room table to spread out the work she’d brought with her. Before she could dive in, her phone rang. She looked at the display. Justine. “Yes?”

  “Someone else had your hunch about Tayla Begard getting an Oscar nod.”

  Farrin sighed. “And they’ve already agreed to outfit her.”

  “You guessed it.”

  “Who?”

  “Still working on that. And just so I can totally ruin your day, we got word the rent is going up again.”

  Farrin pressed her fingers against her forehead. “Don’t these people know that their rent is more than the GNP of some countries?”

  “I’m fairly certain they don’t care.”

  “Do me a favor. If you get any more of this stellar news today, don’t call me.”

  When she ended the call, Farrin looked around the room, wondering if sinking so much money into this inn was the worst decision of her life.

  After a couple of hours of work, she stood to stretch and heard the front door open. Had Janie decided to come in today after all? But the footfalls were too heavy for Janie. Farrin stepped out into the hall to see Drew peeking into one of the front rooms. He glanced up and saw her.

  “Hey, thought I’d bring you some lunch,” he said as he held up two white paper bags. “It’s chicken casserole day at Thelma’s.”

  “I thought you were busy today.”

  “Even the judge lets us eat lunch.”

  He’d brought her lunch without even asking. Something about that made her twitchy.

  “So, do we get to sit down to eat or are we going to stand here and eat out of the bags?” he asked.

  She motioned him toward the dining room, then slid all her work to one end of the long table.

  Drew sat the bags on the table, then moved around to the end where he could look at her drawings. He lifted one of a particularly detailed wedding gown for an aristocrat in England. “I’m guessing this dress costs more than some of the people around here make in a month.”

  She’d heard that type of comment before, but his held no trace of the unfairness that dripped from other people’s accusatory remarks.

  “Probably so.”

  Farrin pulled the food from the bags. Thelma’s wonderful chicken casserole, steamed broccoli, corn and fresh yeast rolls. “You didn’t have to bring me lunch.” Though her stomach was glad he had.

  “I saw Faye at the bank, and she said you were down here working and that you’d probably forget to eat.”

  She realized Faye the matchmaker wasn’t going to give up quite so easily.

  “So, did you have any damage at your house?”

  “No, just a few smaller limbs down. Though I think if it had rained longer, Angel Creek would have covered the road.”

  They slid into chairs opposite each other.

  “The garden here looks great. Thanks for all the work you’ve done.”

  “It wasn’t so much. The bigger part will come in the spring.” He scanned the room. “Janie and the kids are doing a good job in here too.”

  “Yeah. Did you know she did nature photography?”

  “No.”

  Farrin laughed. “My God, there is one smidgen of detail in this town everyone doesn’t know.”

  He smiled at that. “I bet there are a few other secrets lingering about.”

  Now what had he meant by that? Was he talking about his own secrets? What were they? No, she didn’t want to know.

  A different possibility struck her. But he couldn’t know about her family. No one here had known other than her mother and herself.

  “Is something wrong?” Drew asked.

  “Uh, no. Thinking of something I forgot to do.” She really was the most inept liar. She took a bite of casserole, chewed it slowly, then swallowed.

  “So Janie does nature photography?”

  “Yeah. There’s a beautiful photograph in the hallway that she evidently took. It gave me the idea of starting a little gift shop in the front of the inn with locally produced crafts. Bring in some money for the artists and the inn.”

  “A start to making it self-sustaining.”

  She nodded. “Exactly. More attractive to potential buyers.”

  Drew looked down at his food. “Makes sense.”

  What was that hint of hesitance? If he suggested she keep the inn too, she would give up trying to make people here see reason. She had an office, employees, a business, a home, responsibilities — all in New York.

  “So, those ornaments that are in your gardens and the ones you put out here, are they locally made?”

  “Yes. A lady who lives up by Catawba Park makes them.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “There are actually a lot of artists and craftsmen around. I can get you some names and numbers.”

  “That would be great.”

  As Drew gathered his takeout containers and returned them to the bag, he seemed as if something bothered him.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  He looked up, hid whatever truth might have been near the surface. “No, sorry. Just thinking about the cases on the docket this afternoon. It’s district c
ourt day, so it’s pretty full.”

  While that might all be true, she’d bet Manhattan it hadn’t been what was pulling at his mind. She hoped he was more convincing in the courtroom than sitting across the inn’s dining room table.

  After Drew left, Farrin found it hard to concentrate on her work and started calling people on the list he’d left her of local artisans. He’d promised to get her more, but the off-the-top-of-his-head list got her started. And so far, everyone had been enthusiastic about the idea, which served to get her even more excited. This was how she’d felt during the early days of planning her dressmaking business, when everything was new and an adventure and it was difficult to eat or sleep because she couldn’t stop or even slow the surge of ideas.

  Within three hours, she had commitments from the lawn ornament maker, a metalworker who’d made Drew’s garden gate, a soapmaker, a woodcarver known for his carvings of the area’s native birds and flowers, a watercolorist and a maker of homemade jams and jellies. Faye stopped by with her friend Opal to check out the space allotted to the gift shop and to tell Farrin how excited they and the other homemakers were about the quilt project. Farrin took them upstairs to show them the different rooms so they could take notes about colors and patterns they thought would complement the décor of each.

  “So, are you going to open back up as a hotel?” Opal asked.

  “That’s probably too big of an undertaking with me not living here. But if the rooms look inviting and a potential buyer has that in mind, it might tip the scales in favor of them making the purchase.”

  “Well, then, I do hope we get someone who loves this building as much as you obviously do,” Opal said.

  The front door opened, allowing the sound of a school bus out on Main Street to filter up the stairs.

  “You all look around all you like. I’ll be back up in a few minutes.”

  Farrin descended the stairs halfway before she noticed Dara and Jason standing in the entryway taking off their coats. “What are you two doing here?”

  The twins looked up, a little startled. “Mom is running a little late today,” Dara said. “She said for us to wait for her here.”

  “Oh. Would you all like some hot chocolate?”

  “Sure,” said Jason. When Dara nudged him, he added, “Thank you.”

  Farrin led the way to the kitchen and put on some water to heat. The kids dropped their backpacks in the corner and sat at two of the four spots at the much smaller kitchen table.

  “How was school?”

  “Fine,” the twins said in unison.

  For some reason, these normally sunny, eager-to-please kids appeared reserved and on edge.

  “Do you come here often after school?”

  “Every day,” Dara said. “But we never stay more than an hour. Mom gets us home in plenty of time to do our homework.”

  Sometimes Dara sounded like a responsible little adult. Farrin wondered why.

  “That’s good.” Farrin paused only long enough to pour the hot water into the chocolate mixes and set the steaming mugs in front of the kids. “So, is your Mom late very often?” Farrin didn’t like the idea of these two being left alone in the afternoons, even in a quiet town like Oak Valley. Crimes against children knew no boundaries now.

  “No, only today.” Dara seemed hesitant to say any more, so Farrin didn’t push her.

  When Faye and Opal came downstairs, Farrin went out into the hall to talk about their ideas and to say goodbye. When she returned to the kitchen, she found the twins with their homework spread out in front of them. What nine-year-olds voluntarily started their homework on a Friday afternoon?

  “You’re getting started early,” she said as she leaned against the doorway.

  “We’re supposed to go trick-or-treating tonight, and we’ll be here tomorrow.”

  “So, what are you dressing up as?”

  “Firefighter,” Jason said without looking up. No surprise there since all things firefighter were Jason’s latest passion.

  “A princess,” Dara said with a giant smile. “A forest princess. Mom helped me make a wreath of leaves, acorns and pinecones to wear on my head.”

  “I bet you’ll be lovely.”

  At that moment, she remembered the gifts she’d brought for the kids. She retrieved them from the tote bag in the dining room.

  “Awesome!” Jason said as he spotted the replica of a New York City fire engine.

  To Dara, she handed maps of New York City, Ellis Island and Liberty Island and a book of New York’s wildflowers.

  “Oh, thank you.” Her homework forgotten, Dara flipped through the eye-catching photos of bluecurls and jewelweed.

  Farrin smiled at their enthusiasm and wondered at how different they were from their mother at the same age.

  When the front door opened again, both kids looked up. After only a few footsteps, Dara said, “That’s Mom.”

  “Kids, let’s go.” Janie’s voice sounded weak, like it had the night of the reunion.

  While Jason and Dara gathered their homework, Farrin walked into the hall. Janie looked like a washcloth that had been wrung out and left to dry.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Must be the flu. I don’t feel very good.”

  “You need to be home in bed.”

  Janie nodded. “I think I’ll rest a while before I take the kids out trick-or-treating.”

  “If you’ve got the flu, the last thing you need to be doing is traipsing about after dark.”

  “But they’ve been looking so forward to it. I can’t disappoint them.” By the time Janie got to the end of her sentence, she sounded totally winded and sank onto a chair to catch her breath.

  “I’ll take them,” Farrin said. Why was she doing this, getting so attached to those two sweet little faces? She wasn’t even good around kids, hadn’t been around them much since she’d been one herself.

  “I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

  “It’s no problem.” She forced a laugh. “After all, Oak Valley isn’t that big. How long could it possibly take, a couple of hours?”

  Inexplicably, Janie suddenly looked on the verge of tears. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

  Janie left with the children, and Farrin secured the inn’s doors before heading for the apartment complex.

  By the time the trick-or-treating excursion ended, Farrin was laughing and stuffing candy in her mouth just like the kids. She’d have to run laps around Oak Valley to get all those miniature candy bars off her hips.

  The kids surprised her again when they calmed their excitement before opening the door to the apartment. It was a good thing too because Janie was asleep on the couch. Even with them being quiet, Janie woke and offered a weak smile.

  “Did you two bring home tons of candy?”

  “Yes,” Dara said as she pulled out a Hershey bar. “I saved this for you. Plain, no nuts, just like you like them.”

  Janie pulled herself to a sitting position and kissed her daughter on the top of her head. “Thank you.”

  Not wanting to interrupt, Farrin stood still next to the door while the twins told their mother about every single stop of the night, including how “Mrs. Dudley had those awful popcorn balls again.” Farrin stifled a laugh because she remembered Mrs. Dudley making those inedible concoctions when she’d gone trick-or-treating.

  After Dara and Jason exhausted their stories, they took the candy and headed for their room — but not before Dara hugged Farrin and Jason offered a thank you.

  “You’re welcome.”

  When they’d disappeared into their room and switched on some music, Janie said thank you as well.

  “No problem. It was actually kind of fun. And I agree with them on the popcorn balls.”

  Janie laughed. “Do you remember how they used to stick to your fingers?”

  “Yeah. It was like trying to get industrial-strength glue off.”

  Janie’s laughter ended in a coughing fit.

  “Come on, you
need to go to bed.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “No arguments. You won’t win. I’m used to bossing people around.” Farrin smiled, trying to alleviate Janie’s obvious embarrassment at being sick yet again in front of her.

  When they reached Janie’s bedroom, she collapsed on the side of her bed. Farrin pulled the covers back and urged Janie, who’d already changed into her pajamas, into bed.

  “You’ve kind of had a bad fall of being sick.”

  “Yeah.” Janie’s voice broke. A tear ran down Janie’s cheek, followed by another. “Why are you doing this?”

  “What?”

  “Being nice to me?”

  “I . . . you just seemed like you needed a little help.”

  Janie turned her head away and inhaled a shaky breath. “But I don’t deserve it. I . . . I remember how horrible I was to you.”

  Farrin swallowed and fought the urge to retreat. She did not want to relive those days again. She was surprised Janie even remembered the things she’d said.

  “It was a long time ago.”

  “But I was so awful, especially prom night. That’s why I was so shocked when you helped me at the reunion, then even more so when you hired me.” Janie turned her teary eyes back toward Farrin. “I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

  Farrin fought her own tears, but at the same time an incredible heaviness lifted from her chest. “It’s okay.” And she was shocked that she really meant it. She handed a tissue to Janie so she could wipe her eyes. “No need to cry. It’ll only make you feel worse.”

  “Actually, it feels good. I’ve felt like I was going to explode for so long. I can’t cry in front of the kids.” Janie pushed herself up against the headboard of the bed. “I need to tell you something because I feel you gave me a chance with the job, and I need to be honest with you.”

  Farrin didn’t want to hear any more dredging up of the past, but the tight look on Janie’s face kept her still.

  “I was late today because I got sick on the way home earlier than I normally do. Every Friday for six weeks, I’ve been taking chemotherapy and today they upped the dosage.”