"It was," Polly laughed. "We rented it at the video store downtown to watch the whole thing before the first Special Edition came out. I'd forgotten about that."
Hannah took Tyler out of Andy's arms and pulled him close to her chest. Bruce swung Emma up into his arms and she laid her head against his shoulder.
"Thank you for everything Polly."
"Look,” Polly said. “There's a bunch of stuff over in my apartment for the kids. There are some toys they've been playing with, a travel crib for Tyler to use and all of their clothes. Let's gather up what you want to use and bring it on over here."
In a few minutes, the kids' things had all been moved across the hall and the extra cot was set up for Sammy. Polly let Obiwan out and started the tour with Bruce and Hannah.
After showing them where everything was located in the bathrooms, she took them downstairs to the kitchen. "You can use anything in here you like," Polly said. "I'm going out tonight, but I thought we could bring pizza in."
Hannah was looking at the pantry shelves and wandering around the kitchen. "This is amazing. I've never seen anything like it!" she exclaimed.
"The pantry is full and so is the refrigerator. If you see anything in here you'd rather cook up, I'm fine with that," Polly said.
"Could I? I love to cook and we've been eating nothing but junk for the last couple of days," Hannah replied.
"Sure! Do you think you need anything more?" Polly asked.
Hannah opened the refrigerator and then the freezer. She glanced over at the pantry and said, "Honestly, you have enough here to feed an army. I'll find something to make for tonight. Thank you!"
"Then make yourselves at home. If you want to take a few of the folding chairs upstairs, that's fine. If you want to eat in the auditorium, that's fine, too. Feel free to do whatever you'd like while you're here." Polly said.
She scratched Obiwan’s head and said, "Now, I need to run this dog for a bit, take a shower and get ready!"
Lydia and Andy followed her outside with Obiwan. "You're doing a good thing, Polly," Lydia said as she patted her arm.
"I hope so. I knew Bruce pretty well when we were in high school. And Hannah seems like a nice girl. I hope it all works out," Polly replied.
"You know me," Lydia said, "I see the world through rose-colored glasses. I think we’re going to have a wonderful little Christmas miracle."
Andy snickered as the two women walked back to Lydia's Jeep. Polly took off at a slow jog with Obiwan by her side as Lydia and Andy pulled out of the lot.
Later, Polly laughed as she came out of the bathroom. She hadn't taken that long to clean up in months. She'd clipped nails, shaved hairs, fussed over her makeup and had somehow managed to curl her hair into what she considered a relatively attractive coif. Now, she needed to find something to wear. Obiwan was curled up in her pillows and watched as she began pulling clothes out of the closet.
"A dress," she said out loud. Obiwan cocked his head as if listening to her. "Huh. He's not wearing a tie, so nothing terribly fancy." She flipped through the hangers and then flipped through them again. "You wouldn't think it would be this hard. I've been out on dates before."
She finally settled on a belted, forest green dress with velvet cuffs on the sleeves. A pair of black pumps and some black drop earrings and she felt pretty comfortable with her ensemble. Spinning around, she said, "So? What do you think, Obiwan? Too much? Not enough?"
The dog got up, stretched and walked to the end of the bed. He sat back down and put his paw out. She shook it. "I'm going to take that as confirmation that it's alright. Now, because I don't want to deal with your hair all over me, you stay here and I'm going downstairs. Polly bent over and kissed him on the head. He jumped down and followed her out of the bedroom, then sat and watched as she lifted her coat off the coatrack and grabbed her purse. "I'll see you later," and she walked out the front door of her apartment.
When she got downstairs, she was greeted by both Sammy and Emma.
"You're beautiful!" Emma gushed.
"Wow, you look like an angel," Sammy echoed.
"Thanks, you two. What are you doing down here?" she asked.
"Mommy's in the kitchen making dinner. We're supposed to stay down here with her while Bruce and Tyler take a nap upstairs," Sammy told her.
Polly walked back into the kitchen, the kids closely behind her. "Are you finding everything you need?" she asked Hannah.
"Oh, Polly. This kitchen is wonderful! Thank you for letting me use it," Hannah responded.
"I'm glad you are. When they finally got my kitchen installed upstairs, I quit spending so much time in here." Polly looked around. "It is pretty nice."
The front door opened and Polly called out, "I'm back here in the kitchen!" Henry came around the steps and walked up to her.
Emma asked, "Are you taking her out on a date?" then giggled.
"I am," Henry responded. "Since she looks so beautiful, I should probably make this a very nice date, shouldn't I!"
Sammy looked at the two of them, "I'd take her out to a fancy dinner, then for a ride in a boat!"
Hannah laughed, "That was a 'date' we all took this summer."
"Well, it might be a little too cold for a ride in a boat tonight,” Henry said, “but I have some other ideas. We will start with a fancy dinner, though. I promise."
He took Polly's hand and tucked it into his elbow, "Shall we go?"
"Have a good evening, Hannah!" Polly said, then knelt down to get closer to Emma and Sammy, "And you guys be good, okay? I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"You look wonderful, Polly," Henry said as they walked out the front door.
Polly looked him up and down. He looked pretty good in his nice slacks, a black turtleneck and a jacket. "I don't think I've ever seen you in anything but jeans," she said. "You look pretty fabulous yourself!"
"See, this was a great idea," he chuckled. "We get to see that the other person actually owns nice clothing."
Instead of his truck, a beautiful older model teal car sat in front of the school. "What is this?" Polly asked.
"It's my pride and joy. I never bring it out in the winter, except for special occasions." Henry opened the passenger door and held it while Polly entered and waited as she pulled her feet into the car. He shut the door and walked around to the driver's side and got in.
"This car has been in our family since my grandpa bought back in 1955. It's a Ford Thunderbird."
Henry seemed proud of that and Polly smiled. She knew it had to be a pretty great car since he was so happy about it.
"Cool!" she said.
"It is cool," he replied. "I guess you don't like old cars?"
"Well, I've never been around anyone who does," she giggled a little sheepishly.
"I've been taking care of this baby since I was in high school. As soon as Dad would let me, I was under the hood figuring out how it worked. Both he and grandpa took pretty good care of it, so I haven't had to do any restoration. It sits inside the shop unless I'm going out for a drive and I kind of thought that since tonight was special, it would be fun to show off a beautiful girl in a beautiful ride!"
She ran her hand over the dashboard. It was the same color as the outside paint job. "Alright, this is pretty cool," she said.
"It's even more fun in the summer with the no top, but we'll leave it up tonight. It's cold out there." He winked at her.
"Tell me what's special about the car," Polly asked.
She smiled as Henry began describing the engine and telling her about the very first year the Ford Thunderbird had been built. As he talked about the history of the car and the dreams of its creators, she realized how comfortable she was. She hadn't been on a date since the breakup with Joey Delancy last spring and Henry was animated as he compared the Thunderbird to other Ford cars of the time.
As he pulled on to Highway 30 and headed for Ames, he stopped talking. "Did you hear anything I said? You look as if you were a million miles away."
&n
bsp; "No, I was listening. I was just thinking about how nice it was to be out with someone I enjoyed. I'm hoping you won't get all psychotic on me tonight, okay?"
"I promise. No psychotic. And if I do, you can kick the wheels of my baby here."
"Thanks," she said. "Where are you taking me?"
"There's a nice little restaurant on Main Street. I've only been there once when Mom and Dad were in town. I think you'll like it."
"So," she said. "A fancy dinner and then a boat ride?"
He chuckled. "No boat rides tonight. Maybe we'll drive around and look at Christmas lights. And I'll be sure to get you home on time, I promise. I know tomorrow is a school day."
"That sounds great." She placed her hand over his which was on the steering wheel. "Thanks for this, if I forget to say so later. This is really nice." She left her hand there for a few moments and when she pulled away, he took it in his. They rode in silence, then he let go to turn on the radio.
"I'm kind of a sucker for Christmas music," he said. "I figure that I only get to listen to it once a year, so it's always on in my truck." He fiddled with the knob until he tuned in "Holly, Jolly Christmas." He glanced back down at the seat to find that Polly had left her hand where he could take it again. He took it in his and before either of them knew it, they were humming along to the music.
Henry took an exit and wove his way through the streets of Ames until he pulled up in front of a small restaurant across from the old train depot. When they went inside, they were greeted by a hostess who seated them after Henry gave her his name. The ambiance was warm and comfortable and their waiter was on hand with a menu and wine list. After they ordered, he disappeared, returning with bread and wine.
They talked all through supper, only stopping to acknowledge the food that arrived and the waiter's short interruptions regarding any needs they might have. Henry told her about his family, growing up with a father who knew how to do nearly everything. When he finally had enough of working for others, he turned his part time job as a fix-it man and cabinet maker, into a full-time business. Henry grew up helping out in the shop, learning his father's craft, went away to college for four years and then decided he was going to be just as happy working with his dad.
Polly told him about growing up on the farm and losing her mother. When he asked how hard that had been, she thought for a moment and said, "You know, I realize that it should have been awful, but Dad, Sylvester and Mary did everything they could to keep life normal for me. Mary was there and she had always loved me, so it wasn't that difficult."
"Did your Dad ever date again?" Henry asked.
"I think he did while I was in college, but I don't think it was ever serious. He never introduced me to anyone as being special in his life." She paused and thought about it. "You know, that's too bad. I never thought about it, but he should have found someone else so he could have been happy. I wasn't around enough to be with him when he was lonely and he was always available when I was home. Wow, I must have seemed very self-centered to him."
"Oh, I can't imagine that's true," Henry replied. "If he had wanted to do something else, he would have. You're his daughter and you know what you want and know how to go get it."
Polly laughed. "I suppose you're right. I never thought about it before."
They talked some more about her friends in Boston and how much she had enjoyed living there. "Have you ever been on the east coast?" she asked Henry.
"No. Not really," Henry said. "Maybe someday I'll be a tourist. It didn't ever seem like something I wanted to do all by myself."
It was Polly's turn to wink. "I'll take you out there someday and show you all up and down the eastern seaboard."
"Now, that's a date!" Henry laughed.
After dinner, they walked back to the car and he opened the door for her again. Polly snickered. "You're going to make me feel all girly."
"You should," he responded. "You look all girly tonight." As she put her left foot into the car, he bent in and kissed her lightly on the lips, then took her hand and helped her into her seat.
Polly went still when the door shut beside her. He'd kissed her! It was nothing like the possessive kisses from Joey. Polly could feel the blood rushing to her face and hoped Henry wouldn't notice when he opened his door and the light came on.
He got back into the car and backed out of the parking space, putting his right arm up over the seat back as he turned to look out the rear window. Polly felt like a kid again, wondering if he would touch her shoulder. The bucket seats kept them separated unless she sat on the little center hump, so she decided to stay where she was. Henry left his arm there brushing her shoulder and neck with his fingers as they began to drive around Ames.
They oohed and aahed and talked about Christmas lights until Polly yawned.
Henry laughed, "I've never bored someone to sleep before, so it’s probably time to start heading back to Bellingwood." He turned a corner and began heading west.
"No," she said. "It's not that. I had two little kids in my bed last night and a baby in the room. I don't think I got nearly enough sleep."
"Oh, that's right!" Henry exclaimed. "I forgot about that. So, who are these people staying with you?"
Polly told him about her past with Bruce and found herself telling him everything that had happened since Bruce and Hannah drove into town.
"It seems like you're becoming the focal point for crazy stuff in Bellingwood, Polly. We've never seen this much activity!" He laughed.
"That's not funny," she said. "I lived a pretty quiet life in Boston, too, you know. Nothing crazy ever happened to me until I moved back to Iowa."
"It's alright, Polly. I’m kidding you, but, you are certainly upping the level of entertainment for us poor ‘ole country folk!" Henry's speech pattern slowed to a drawl.
"There you go," Polly chortled. "Feeding into the Iowa stereotype. A bunch of slow, country hicks who couldn't find their way around a big city, much less be smart enough to deal with high powered business men."
"I'll bet you heard a lot of that while you were in Boston, didn't you!"
"Oh, you have no idea," she said. "I was in Filene's once when I first got to Boston. I was at the checkout counter and because my finances were still in flux, I wanted to write a check from my Iowa account. I asked the clerk if I could write a check from a bank in Iowa and she stuck her nose in the air and said quite primly, ‘Out here, Miss, we pronounce that O-HI-O!’ She took my check, though, and I laughed and laughed on my way home. She had no idea that anything existed west of the Mississippi River. Sometimes it felt as if they still believed we traveled in covered wagons and had to battle wild Indians to get from our home to work every day."
Polly shook her head. "It wasn't always that bad, but I did discover that Iowans ... well, probably people from the Midwest ... had a much better grasp of the entirety of the United States than those in Boston did. All they paid attention to was their little corner of the world. It extended from Maine down to Hilton Head and sometimes out to Pennsylvania and the Great Lakes, but anything beyond that was wilderness in their eyes."
"I made some good friends, though," she giggled. "One of these days, I'll convince them to get on a plane and rather than fly over the Midwest to the other coast, stop and see what’s going on out here."
As they drove, he left his arm on the back of the seat. Polly didn't pull away, but the closer they got to Bellingwood, the more awkward she began to feel. She liked Henry, but wasn’t ready to start a full-out relationship with him. It had been so long since anyone had paid attention to her like this, she wanted to take her time and not hurry it along.
He finally pulled up in front of the school. All the lights were on and the white twinkling Christmas lights around Sycamore House looked wonderful. Polly thought they would look even better if it snowed.
Henry put the car in park and reached for his door. Polly stopped him. "This was a wonderful evening, Henry. Thank you."
He smiled and his eyes seem
ed to light up, "I had a great time, too, Polly. I hope you will let me take you out again someday soon."
"That would be nice," she said. "Well," and she turned to look at the front door of Sycamore House, "I probably need to make sure everything is still standing."
Henry opened his car door and got to her side just as she was pushing it open. He took her hand and helped her stand up, then walked her to the front door, which unlocked as she approached it.
"This bluetooth door locking system has been a real lifesaver," she said. "I couldn’t take any more key stress after the fiasco this fall. This is better. I love that I can just send a key to your smartphones. I'd hate to have to come downstairs every time somebody wanted to get in the place."
"You're quite the tech geek, Polly," Henry laughed. He opened the door and waited as she stepped inside.
"Well, good night, Henry. Thank you again ... so much," she said.
He stepped in and kissed her again, another light kiss on her lips. Before she could do anything more, he stepped back and let go of her hand.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Polly."
"Good night, Henry. Thank you."
She watched as he walked back to his car, then waved as he drove away. She shut the door to Sycamore house and heard it lock behind her, then walked back to the kitchen and saw that it was clean and the lights were off. Heading back for the stairs, she flipped the main level lights off and walked upstairs, her mind chasing itself around and around about Henry. She turned off the lights in the hall as she opened the door to her apartment. Glancing back at the first bedroom, she saw light coming out from under the door and smiled. She hoped they were happy to be together again.
As soon as she walked into her apartment, she was greeted by a bouncing Obiwan.
"Well, darn it!" she exclaimed. "I forgot all about you! Alright. Let me get some real clothes on and we'll go outside."
Polly quickly changed into her sweats, snapped a leash on Obiwan, grabbed a flashlight and ran downstairs to give him a quick run around the school. She was going to be glad to drop into her own bed, all by herself tonight.
All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood) Page 32
