"Yeah. I need a nap. We didn't sleep very much last night. Molly was too excited and kept waking up."
"I need to stay; do you just want to walk on home?"
Rebecca yawned. "Do you mind?"
"No, that's fine," Polly said with a smile. "You don't even have to take the dogs out. Henry and Heath might be home, but ignore them and go lie down. We're supposed to be at Bill and Marie's by six thirty." Polly picked at the sleeve of Rebecca's dress. "You should wear this. It's wonderful."
Rebecca looked down at herself. "It was fun with Beryl this morning. A clerk thought she was my grandma and we didn't tell anybody anything different."
"Wouldn't she be a crazy grandma?" Polly asked.
"I told her that if I had to pick one, she'd be it." Rebecca leaned in. "But then I told her that she didn't act like any grandma I'd ever known. She was too cool. I think Beryl liked that."
"You're a smart girl."
"You should have seen that store, though. Polly, they had the coolest clothes."
"We'll have to go back sometime."
Rebecca's shoulders dropped and her face fell. "I like shopping at Goodwill with Kayla because we always have so much fun finding things to wear. We could never take her where Beryl took me. The clothes are expensive." She looked at Polly. "It isn't fair that they don't have any money."
"They're doing better than they were, honey," Polly said. "Stephanie is really frugal. I know how much money she makes and she could afford to shop at some of those stores once in a while. But she doesn't want to and honestly," Polly raised her shoulder, "I don't blame her. At your age when you're still growing and your body is changing it just feels weird to spend a lot of money on something you won't wear very long."
"Sal wouldn't agree," Rebecca said with a laugh. "I don't see her in the same clothes very often."
Polly laughed and then snorted a little. "You're right. Maybe I have a strange attitude toward clothing. It's something I wear. That's all. Sal sees clothing as part of her presentation to the world. But you're stuck with me. Sorry to say."
"That's okay," Rebecca said, patting Polly's arm. "Most of the time it's just fine. I don't pay too much attention to what I wear, but sometimes it's really fun to get to buy fun things and dress up. I feel like I'm a different person." She put her hand on the back of her head and struck a pose. "Like maybe a world traveler or a spy or maybe even a famous artist."
"I'm not so sure I like the whole spy thing, but you can do anything you want. And I'll even spring for some of the fancy clothes to go along with it."
"Beryl says that the kind of clothes you wear make people look at you in different ways," Rebecca said.
"She's right," Polly said. "What do you think she was trying to portray today?"
"I don't know. That she loves color?"
"Look over there." Polly pointed to where Beryl was standing with Lila Kahane, Lydia Merritt, and Andy Specek. "Tell me who Beryl wore that outfit for?"
Rebecca shook her head.
"She wore it for Lila. Lydia and Andy have seen her in everything under the sun, including those silly shorts she wears in the summer when she's painting in her studio."
"They’re the worst," Rebecca said in complete agreement. "She should be ashamed of those."
Polly leaned over, "But I'll bet they're comfortable. However, when she is going to meet someone who already has a preconceived idea of who she is, what does she do?"
"Oh," Rebecca said. "She wore that because she knew Mrs. Kahane wanted to meet a flamboyant artist."
"Exactly. That's what she was trying to tell you. Beryl dressed for her audience."
"But everyone else in town knows Beryl. They don't care what she wears."
"They've seen her in her flamboyant clothes and in her..." The truth was, Beryl rarely dressed sedately. "…less flamboyant outfits."
Rebecca chuckled.
"What I think Beryl was trying to tell you was that you're in charge of how people perceive you. If Beryl dressed in a trim, navy suit with a white blouse and dark pumps, would you think of her as an artist?"
"No," Rebecca looked at Polly like she was nuts.
"But the thing is, Rebecca…" Polly looked straight at her. "…and don't you ever forget this. You're in charge of how people perceive you, but if they get it wrong, that's their problem, not yours." Polly tapped her index finger on Rebecca's chest. "Nobody gets to tell you what's right or wrong for you to wear." Then she smiled. "Except me and Henry, of course."
"So if I wore a slinky dress to school?" Rebecca got a wicked grin on her face.
"I'd lock you in the house until you changed your clothes. You're a smart girl and that would be a dumb choice."
"I know. I was just messing with you. I still think that some of the dress code stuff is stupid, though."
Polly sighed. "So do I, but since there are plenty of people who make bad choices, we get stuck with the rules that stop those bad choices from being made. However," she said with a smile, "junior high and high school are just a short period of your life and you can work within those rules to come up with great outfits."
"She isn't going to be here for my party, is she," Rebecca said.
"Kayla?"
"Yeah."
"It doesn't feel like it. I talked to them again last night, though."
"You did? What did Kayla say?"
"That she misses you. But I actually spoke with Stephanie. We talked about Kayla and school and we talked about keeping them safe."
"I just wish that man would do something stupid so he'd get caught and everything would go back to normal."
Polly nodded. "I get that. We'll just hope this works itself out really soon."
Rebecca stood up. "I'd better go home if I'm going to take a nap. Thanks for everything." She bent to hug Polly. "I love you, y'know."
"I love you, too. Just one more day until your birthday."
"What did you get me?"
"Nice try, goofball. I'll see you at home."
Rebecca skipped to the front door, turned and waved at Beryl, then with the jangle of a bell, she was gone.
~~~
"What are you doing tonight?" Polly asked Sal as she tucked gifts back into boxes, doing her best to make sure the cards were attached.
"Lisa made reservations at a restaurant in Ames." Sal sat back in the booth where she'd taken refuge.
Her mother was still talking with Beryl, and Polly refused to look that way in case Beryl attempted to plead for help. So far, though, Beryl had been polite and nice. The surprising thing was that Lydia and Andy were still involved in the conversation.
"Mark's mom didn't come in until today?"
Sal nodded. "They met about an hour before we came up here. Mom started off right away on the fact that we weren't married. She asked Kathryn if their family would do things that way. Of course this was after she'd peppered Mark with questions last night about why he wasn't being honorable about this." She laughed. "Honorable. Like he's the only one responsible for the choice in this matter. She hasn't asked why I'm not being honorable."
"Are you going to get married?" Polly asked. "You avoid this question all the time. What do you want to do?"
Sal hunched in on herself, turned to glance at her mother and then dropped her head. "I don't know."
"And Mark's okay with that?"
"He has to be."
"What are your reasons for not wanting to get married?"
A tear leaked out of one of Sal's eyes before she brushed it away and hardened her face. "I have a lot of reasons. And now's not the time."
"Okay," Polly said. "I'm sorry. You have to do what you think is right."
"That's not it."
"You aren't doing what you think is right?"
Sal picked up a piece of tissue paper and smoothed it out on the table, running her hand back and forth across the top of it. She picked it up to brush a crumb off the table and then started smoothing it out again. "I'm so scared, Polly."
"I understand that. This is
all really big."
"But what if Mark and I end up like Mom and Dad? Dad hides from her. He refuses to fully retire so he doesn't have to spend time at home. She is gone all the time, doing her own thing, but when she's with him, she constantly tells him what he's doing wrong. He just takes it and turns the television on. He never disagrees with her and never fights back. I don't want to become that harpy with Mark."
"Why do you think you'd start doing that?"
"Surely Mom wasn't like this when they first got married. Why would Dad have married a woman like that? Something changed her. Was it because I came along? Maybe she realized that being a mother changed everything. What if she wanted to do something else with her life but was stuck raising a bratty little girl? They never had any more kids, you know."
"Have you ever asked either of them?" Polly reached out and took the paper from Sal, then folded it down to fit in the gift bag she was holding.
"No. We don't talk about things like that."
Polly chuckled. That was the truth in most of the families she'd known. Fortunately, she'd grown up with Everett Giller and he refused to allow her to get away with hiding her feelings. They'd stayed up until three o'clock in the morning one night after she sulked around the house all day. Every time she tried to get away from him, he found her and sat quietly beside her until she moved on. The only place she'd been safe that night was in the bathroom, and even then, he stood outside the door until she came back to the living room. She'd escaped to her bedroom and he followed her in, pulled up a chair and sat there, reading his book. She couldn't even remember what it had been all about, but Polly had learned that night that it was much easier to just talk to him.
She bent over and picked up the gift from Rebecca. Sal took it out of her hands.
"This is really cool," Sal said. "That little girl shows promise."
Rebecca had done a pencil sketch of Sal working in the nursery, hanging a quilted hot air balloon on the wall. Polly had taken the picture one afternoon, thinking it was a perfect shot and when Rebecca saw it, she agreed. Once it was finished, she'd spent a Sunday afternoon with Henry at the shop picking out wood for a frame and then another afternoon with Polly in Ames picking up glass and hardware to finish it.
"She does," Polly said.
"And how cute was she today," Sal said. "That adorable dress and beret?" She chuckled. "You can tell that Beryl has fun with her. I'm sorry I can't be at her party tomorrow afternoon." She looked around. "Where's my purse?"
A quick glance at the table where she'd been sitting and Sal started to heave herself out of the booth.
"I'll get it," Polly said. "Sit still."
Sal slumped. "Thanks. There's something in it for Rebecca."
Polly collected the purse and then set it on the table in front of Sal, hauling another pile of gifts over to pack up.
"This is a gift certificate for a day out with me. I want to take her to Omaha or Minneapolis to go shopping." Sal looked up at Polly. "Without you, okay?"
"That's fine with me," Polly said with a shrug. "She loves you."
"I might leave the baby with you."
Polly put her hands up. "Oh no you don't. I love you so much you have no idea, but you are not leaving a brand new baby with me for a whole day. Ain't no way. You can call Marie or Jessie or I don't care who, but until that baby of yours can walk and feed itself, I refuse to be responsible."
She stopped when she saw tears in Sal's eyes. "Oh lord, Sal, you know how I am. You can't be upset at me for this," Polly pleaded.
"I can't believe you won't love my baby."
"I'll love your baby like nobody's business," Polly said. "You just can't expect me to take care of it by myself. Please!"
"Mark and I don't have any parents around here to help us. I was hoping that you'd be my surrogate family. And now you're telling me that I have to do this all by myself?"
Sal was working herself up and Polly finally put her hand out. "Stop, honey. Don't do this to yourself today. I'll be there whenever you need me, you know that. I promise."
"Do you?"
Polly took a deep breath. "Of course I do." She picked up a bottle, then looked for the box it had come in before looking back at Sal. When she did, she scowled at Sal's evil grin. "You set me up."
"It was so easy," Sal said through laughter. "You're as bad as Mark when it comes to my tears. I have to keep reminding myself that I can only use this power for good, but then you walk into my web and I can't help myself."
"So you won't make me take your baby a whole day by myself?"
Sal rubbed her growing tummy and smiled. "I am scared to death to be alone with this baby. Why would I expect you to do it?"
"That's awfully sensible. It doesn't sound like you."
Pushing Rebecca's print back at Polly, Sal said, "Stop it. You're being mean."
"I think I deserve to be a little mean. That was quite a performance."
"Yes it was," Sal said, preening. She looked at her watch. "I suppose we should get those ladies moving. I want to rest before we go to Ames. If I don't drag Mom away from Beryl, she'll never let the poor woman go."
"Where did Kathryn and Lisa go?"
"They had some secret hush-hush thing they were going to take care of this afternoon. Kathryn is leaving early tomorrow morning, so apparently it had to happen today."
"Maybe they're going to install a barre in your nursery. You know, in that family, your child is going to learn how to dance at an awfully early age."
Sal chuckled. "That would be okay. Just as long as no one expects me to balance precariously on my tip toes." She finally pulled herself to a standing position. "Especially if I'm pregnant. The other morning, I stood up from the bed and had to catch myself on the bedside table. I nearly pitched forward because my center of balance was so wacky. Most of the time I know where all of my parts are, but that time, not so much." She looked up and her eyes filled with tears again.
"What now?" Polly asked, turning to see what had made Sal emotional.
"He came."
Mark Ogden walked in the front door, as gorgeous as ever, even though he was in an old pair of jeans and a loose fitting plaid shirt, tucked half in and half out of his pants. He strode across the room to Sal, ignoring everyone else and took his cowboy hat off before pulling her into a hug.
Polly stepped back and stared at the two of them. When she looked around, she realized she wasn't alone. Every other eye in the room was watching as Mark tenderly caressed Sal's cheek before kissing her forehead.
"Good afternoon, ladies," he said. "Did you have fun?"
"We had a wonderful time, Mark," Lila Kahane crooned, gliding over to link her arm through his. "Your baby received many nice gifts today. I was just telling Ms. Watson and her friends that I'm looking forward to your little family's first visit to my home so that I can show you off to my friends. We'll have another shower for the two of you so that Sal's old friends don't feel like they've missed out on this special moment of her life. Perhaps her father will even have time to spare for the event.
Sal shut her eyes and leaned on Mark.
"Are you tired, dear?" Lila asked.
"Yes mother," Sal said quietly. "If you and Mark could put these things in the car, I'm ready to go home and lie down."
Lila clapped her hands together twice. "Come on everyone, if we each pick up a box, we can do it in one trip."
Mark bit his lip, gave the room a wink and a grin before releasing Sal. "I think I can handle most everything, Lila. Why don't you take that gift bag and we'll start packing."
Sal looked around to find Camille and Elise and spent a few minutes with them, while Polly grabbed up another stack of gifts and headed for the front door, thanking all of her stars above that she didn't have a mother like that.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"Are you walking or do you want a ride home?" Mark asked, pointing to the darkening sky.
"I'm good," Polly replied. "I should have enough time to get home before the s
torm hits. Thanks for coming up to help."
He smiled. "I knew that this weekend I'd best plan on being around. Sal and her mother are a pair."
"They've always been at odds," Polly said, "but for the first time, Sal seems more confident and less worried about her mother's criticism." She poked his arm. "I don't know if it's you or the baby, but it's a good place for her to be."
He reached down and took Polly's hand. "Would you talk to her?"
"About what?"
"About marrying me. I don't want to pressure her into doing something that she really doesn't want to do ..." His voice trailed off. "Sorry. I shouldn't do that to you. We'll figure it out."
"No, Mark," Polly said. "We're talking. She's scared and having her mother here isn't helping. She doesn't want to live in a marriage like her parents have. She's certain that something awful happened when she was born that tore her mother's heart out, but Lila won't talk about it. Sal is a smart girl; she'll figure it out."
He chuckled. "I was infatuated with that girl the first time I saw her and couldn't believe she even gave me the time of day. But as I got to know her, she became so much more than just an infatuation. She's exciting and wild, brilliant and ready for anything. She has embraced this pregnancy with every ounce of her being and she loves with a deep, abiding passion. I don't want to live a single day without her and it terrifies me that she'll scare herself away."
"You should say those exact words to her," Polly said. "You made my heart skip a beat and it isn't even about me. Now go on and rescue your fair maiden from the evil queen."
"As you wish," Mark tipped his hand to his hat, bowed slightly, and headed back into the coffee shop.
"Dang," Polly said out loud waving her hand in front of her face. "That boy makes my heart swoon. I'm going to have to have a chat with Henry." She chuckled. "Yeah. That's a bad idea."
Just before she crossed the highway to Sycamore House, Polly's eye caught a glimpse of something gold in a bush up against a fence. She walked over to see what it was and as she got closer, peered at it and realized she was seeing Rebecca's new beret. She shook her head. That girl would lose her head if it weren't attached. Polly picked it up, brushed it off, and crossed into the garden.
Reflecting Love's Charms (Bellingwood Book 14) Page 16
