All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  "Well, Mrs. McKenzie knows about Hannah and the kids. She talks to Bruce and emails back and forth with him. She knows her husband can be a jerk and it seems like she loves him anyway. Crazy, I know," Polly laughed.

  "I told her everything. She's going to talk to their other son, Kevin, today. I think. Don't give up on this yet. I vote we wait and see and pray for one of your Christmas miracles."

  "Yeah, throw my words back at me,” Lydia snapped. “I'm not feeling much like a Christmas miracle today. I feel more like Scrooge and the Grinch all wrapped up in one shiny package. Now, where's my ice cream."

  Polly laughed. "I love you, Lydia Merritt. You're the most normal person I've met in my life."

  They pulled into the drive-thru at Dairy Queen and discovered that both of them loved nothing more than a simple twist cone. Chocolate and vanilla ice cream could work wonders when savage beasts needed soothing.

  Chapter Seven

  Ready or not, the time was finally here. All the insanity of the last few days and it was time for Polly to begin welcoming people from Bellingwood to Sycamore House for the first time. She and Obiwan had taken one final walk before the evening began and now she was standing in front of him in her bra and slip attempting to pull her hair back into yet another artful arrangement that would hold throughout the evening.

  "I need more bobby pins," she said and pulled drawers open to find where she had stowed her stash. "There are no more bobby pins. Where are they, Obiwan?"

  He laid his head on his paws and reached out to lick her toes. "Oh, alright. I'll calm down.” She opened another drawer. “See? There they are. Right where I put them." He thumped his tail on the floor.

  Polly walked back into the bedroom and picked up her new dress. Now, this was a beautiful dress. She'd found the dress in Des Moines several weeks ago and knew she couldn't leave the store without it. It was midnight blue and floor length with a sheer, floral patterned lace covering the solid skirt and bodice. Tiny, little sequins sparkled throughout the lace, flickering in the light. Though it was strapless, she had a short matching velvet jacket with pearl buttons. Floral lace also covered the collar of the jacket. She felt elegant when she had purchased it, and knew it was a must have for her first Christmas at Sycamore House. Slipping it on, Polly stepped into her pumps and said, "What do you think, Obiwan?"

  He thumped his tail again. "Thank you. It means a lot to me," Polly said. "I will be back later. If it gets too late, I'll see if one of the boys will come up and take you outside again, alright?" His happy tail seemed to signify his approval of the plan and Polly headed out her front door.

  She knew she was downstairs early, but wanted one last look at the auditorium before it filled with people. Jeff and Lydia, even Henry and Aaron had all assured her the town was buzzing about the party and they would have a full house. Polly opened the main doors to the auditorium and took a breath. The scent of pine was redolent throughout the entire building, but it was beautiful among the cinnamon and vanilla scented candles which had been lit in the room. It looked like a winter wonderland with the trees lit up. Now, if only there was a bit of snow falling outside the windows, it would be perfect.

  Smells from the kitchen filled the foyer and the auditorium and she smiled at Hannah and Sylvie, who were setting food out on the long counter. Tables along the walls of the foyer were filled with cups and plates, and different types of drinks. Several high school girls were bustling about, making sure everything was perfect.

  Jeff came out of the office, looking resplendent in his tuxedo. He had found a cummerbund to match the blue in her dress and was grinning.

  "What do you think, boss?" he asked.

  "Oh Jeff. This is amazing. I know what you showed me, but every step has brought it that much closer to perfection. It's like a dream in here.”

  "Well,” and he let out a breath. “We're ready for action any time. As soon as I give the nod, the music will start and we're off. Are you ready?"

  "I am,” she said “It feels as if I've been ready for this for a long time. It’s just the first in a long line of great things to happen here. Thank you for making this real for me."

  He smiled. "My pleasure." Then, he looked at his watch. "Okay, 7:20. Shall we begin?"

  Polly nodded at him and made her way to the front door. She saw car lights pull in the driveway and waited while they parked. Opening the front door, she wasn't surprised to see Aaron opening the door behind the driver’s seat for Andy, then come around and open the other side up for Beryl and Lydia.

  "How did I know you would be the first ones here tonight?" Polly called out across the parking lot.

  "We wanted to make sure you had everything you needed!" Lydia said. "And besides, Aaron has some news."

  "Good news?" Polly asked.

  "Why don't we wait and see," Lydia said. "Just wait and see, right, Polly?"

  They came in the door and there were quick hugs all around. Four young people stood ready to take coats and exchange them for tags that Aaron stuffed down in his suit coat pocket.

  "Where are Bruce and Hannah?" Aaron asked.

  "Hannah's in the kitchen and I think Bruce is upstairs with the kiddos. He was going to stay with them until they fell asleep, then Sylvie's boys would head up and keep an eye on them," Polly responded.

  "Lydia?" he said.

  "Yes, I know. I'll make my way to the kitchen and work my fingers to the bone while you talk to Hannah," she sighed. "I tell you, a girl can't even go out to a party with her husband anymore."

  Lydia and Andy went back to the kitchen and Beryl took Polly aside. "Could I borrow two of your young people for a minute? I have something out in Aaron's truck I want to bring in for you."

  Jeff stepped up, "Sure, is it heavy?"

  "Not heavy, just awkward, I suppose," Beryl replied.

  "Dave? Joe? Could you give Ms. Watson a hand?" he called across the foyer. Two of the boys came over and went outside with her.

  Hannah walked up to Aaron and said, "Is something wrong? Lydia told me you needed to talk to me."

  "Let's go upstairs, so I can talk to both you and your husband at the same time."

  Her face fell and she looked at Polly, pleading for help.

  "Can I come with you, Aaron?" Polly asked.

  "No, it's alright. Come on up with me, Hannah. Polly should stay here and greet her guests."

  Polly watched helplessly as the two of them mounted the steps. Hannah was dragging her feet, and kept turning around to look at Polly. But, as they hit the landing, more people arrived and Polly put her happy Christmas face back on to greet her guests. Lydia joined her at the door and made a few introductions for her, then guided people into the auditorium. She came back and put her arm around Polly's waist, "It is good news, Polly. Don't worry."

  Polly let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, he scared me so badly. Alright. I can wait to hear it from them, then."

  Beryl came up the steps followed by the two young men who were carrying a six foot by ten foot wrapped gift.

  "Oh, Beryl! What is this?" Polly asked.

  "It's my gift to you," Beryl said.

  "But, but. You shouldn't have gotten me anything."

  "I didn't GET you anything. I painted you something. Here boys, set it down over against this wall. Now, Polly rip the paper away and you'll see what I'm talking about."

  Polly began pulling paper away and she must have been going too slowly, because Beryl started ripping from the other end. When she uncovered the painting, Polly's eyes filled with tears. "Oh Beryl," was all she could say and she crossed over to hug the woman.

  Beryl had painted a beautiful sycamore tree, spreading its branches across the canvas. The branches changed color across the piece, from the new green of spring, to the full growth of summer, the leaves of fall to the empty branches of winter. In the background of the painting, behind the tree was a very light image of Sycamore House.

  "No matter the season, Polly, Sycamore House represents more than an old school buil
ding. It is filled with life, now. Life that you brought to it, life that you bring to Bellingwood.”

  "Thank you, Beryl. This fills my heart. I have no words." Polly turned to Jeff, "Can you get this onto the stage, maybe prop it up on some of those crates under the draping?"

  "I'm on it," he said and beckoned to the two boys to help him carry it in.

  "Thank you, Beryl. I can't believe I own one of your originals. It means the world to me."

  "Good. Now I am going to find some food and drink and start this party." She looked sideways at Polly. "I bet there's no alcohol tonight, is there."

  "Well, I didn't want Sycamore House’s first event to be a drunken brawl."

  Beryl laughed. "I'm only messing with you," and took off.

  Polly continued to greet people at the door until eight o’clock, when Jeff came to get her. Many of the people she had worked with were there and she recognized friends from the party at Lydia's house. Lydia's daughter and family came in from Dayton and Andy rushed over to introduce Polly to her sons. The hall was filling up and Polly was having a great time. Henry had snuck in past a group she was speaking with and winked as he went into the auditorium.

  Jeff said, "We'll leave the kids out here to greet and take coats, but you need to get the evening started."

  "Alright," she said. "Let's do this."

  He escorted her to the podium. The music stopped and within a few moments everyone ceased talking.

  "Welcome to Sycamore House," Polly said into the microphone. "We're glad you could join us to celebrate Christmas and the beginning of new life for this building. My name is Polly Giller and I hope that over the next year, we will find a lot of time to have fun together, both here at Sycamore House and in town. I'm glad to be back in Iowa and can't wait to get to know all of you better."

  As she took a breath, scattered applause began around the room until everyone was clapping. Jeff held his hand up and Polly went on.

  "This evening, we're going to decorate these trees around the room. Find a table, get comfortable and you will see that there are cranberries and popcorn to be strung, paper to make snowflakes or other decorations ... anything you'd like to do. But, each tree is a team effort. We will give the trees away before the end of the evening. There are signup cards on your tables if you'd like to enter your name to win a tree. It will then be delivered to your house and set up by some of your very best workers. They've promised to get them to you over the next couple of days.

  "Now, if you know someone who needs a tree and can't afford one, do me a favor. Write their name on a card and hand it to me or Jeff here. We want everyone to have a little bit of Christmas this year.

  "Enjoy your evening and let's decorate!"

  More applause followed her as she walked down the steps, music began again and Lydia caught her. "Come with me, alright?" she said quietly.

  Polly followed Lydia out to the foyer and then into her office. Bruce and Hannah were standing there, smiling.

  Bruce said, "Polly, thank you for believing in me. Everything is going to be alright now."

  "What do you mean?" she asked. "What happened?"

  Aaron said, "Well, Bruce told us who he'd bought the car from and we started investigating backwards. It seems that an old buddy of his set him up as a transport. Denver police caught him and he admitted to everything. When Bruce started talking about driving out here to Iowa to beg his dad for work, this guy figured it would be a great way to move things across a few states. Once, Bruce got to Story City, another guy was planning to steal the car and move it on to Minneapolis. We're working on that one. A young family would never be suspected of moving drugs or so he thought. So, everything is good. We've got all of the McKenzie's stuff in storage until they find a place to live. They're free to go."

  Polly hugged Hannah. "I'm so glad it has worked out. Oh, your kids are going to be happy that everything is alright."

  "Sheriff Merritt has already taken care of that,” Hannah said. “He spent some time with Sammy and Emma and told them there was a misunderstanding and they shouldn't worry anymore. Neither of the kids was sure what to do with him, but since he didn't have his uniform on tonight, he wasn't quite so scary," she laughed, a little uncomfortably.

  Lydia poked Polly, "See, I told you. A Christmas miracle."

  Polly smiled and said, "You guys can stay here until you figure out where you're going to live. I haven't been able to finish decorating those rooms yet, so there's no reason you shouldn't have the room. And it's Christmas time, for heaven's sake. There's room in this inn."

  Lydia squeezed her and said, "You're a good girl, Polly."

  "Now that this is over, I'll start looking for a job on Monday," Bruce said. "Maybe I can find something to do around here." His lips turned down. "I just wish ... " then he stopped. "Nope. I'm going to be happy this is behind me and my family has a warm place to sleep. Everything else will come in time. Thank you Polly. I can't believe that of all places for me to be pulled over, it was in your lane."

  "I know. It’s kind of unbelievable. But, like Lydia keeps reminding me, Christmas miracles happen!"

  Hannah looked up, "I need to get in the kitchen. Sylvie has to be going crazy," and she took off. She turned around, hugged Polly tightly, then hugged Aaron, then Lydia. "Thank you all for everything! This is a Christmas miracle!" With that, she bolted out the door of the office and headed for the kitchen.

  "Are you all coming in now?" Polly asked. "We can't hide out in here all evening." She strode out of the office and went back into the auditorium, where people were chattering and working away to decorate the trees in the room.

  As she walked around the room, commenting on the trees and the strings of decorations that were filling them, she was stopped several times as cards were pressed into her hands. Many people complimented her on the renovation of the old school. She stopped to talk to some of the women she had met at Lydia's slumber party a couple of months ago, when she heard her name being spoken behind her. She nearly turned around, but stopped as she realized they weren't necessarily being complimentary.

  "I heard she got involved with the mob in Boston and is hiding here in Iowa. Can you believe she's going to bring that type of trouble out here?

  "Well, I can't believe anyone would spend all of that money to fix this old place up. I thought her daddy was a farmer and would have given her more sense than that.

  "What does she think she's doing giving away these trees? People can buy their own trees; they don't need to get free trees that we decorate. That's just stupid.

  "Have you even seen her downtown very much? I'll bet she does all her shopping online or in the big cities. Did you see that dress she's wearing? She probably spent more on it than I did on groceries for the last two years. Imagine.

  "I think that Jeff Lyndsay is homosexual. Did you see how flashy he is? Can you believe she brought one of those to town?

  Polly's ire began to rise and then she felt a cool hand on her forearm. She looked up and it was Henry.

  "Ignore them or confront them, but don't let them get to you," he said quietly.

  "Are you kidding me? They come here and eat my food and listen to my music and think they can say those terrible things? And so what if Jeff is gay, does that mean he's poison? I'm getting angry, Henry. I want to kick them out."

  "Breathe, just breathe. Then think about how you want to handle them. You are always going to find these people around you. This probably isn't the only table of people here who are saying bad things."

  Polly took a couple of deep breaths, then said, "Okay. You're right. I know this type of person. I went to school with these people. I worked with these people. I even went to church with these people. It still doesn't make me like them, but you're right."

  She took another deep breath, then stood up a little taller and walked over to a table filled with several couples. Both men and women had been spewing ugly gossip and she had finally figured out how she would handle it. "Good evening! I'm so glad y
ou're here. I don't think I caught your names earlier."

  Henry was standing beside her as she walked around the table and greeted each person as they introduced themselves to her. "Are you enjoying yourselves?" she asked.

  "Oh yes," said one woman, "You've done a beautiful job with the old place. We were talking about how much you've invested in it."

  "Were you!" Polly said. "Well, I hope the investment pays off soon. My father would have been so happy to see the money he left me used to make this dream come true."

  Polly zeroed in on one of the more snide looking women. "What a lovely dress you're wearing this evening! That shade of green looks wonderful on you!" she gushed.

  "Do you think so?" the woman responded. "My husband here never tells me what he thinks about my clothes. You have a very nice dress, too."

  "Did any of you come up with someone you thought should get a Christmas tree? Surely you know people in town who aren't going to be able to have a tree this year? Wouldn’t it be just awful for there to be kids with no Christmas tree when we could help them out?" Polly went on.

  "Well, if you think of someone, please write it down and hand the card either to myself or to Jeff over there. Isn't he gorgeous?"

  She spun away and walked off and heard Henry giggling in her ear.

  "Now, that's the way to handle a group, Polly. You're good at that," Henry said.

  "It was either that or kick their chairs out from under them, but I wasn't ready to pay for eight new hips and at their age, I'm guessing every one of them would have broken when they hit the floor."

  "Well, they aren't sure what just hit them, and they're going to be very confused for a while." He turned around and glanced back at the table. "Look, they're working on the popcorn string now. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you get a card with a name on it from them before the end of the evening."

  "Oh, that reminds me,” Polly said. “I have a few here. Tell me if these names are all good ideas." She pulled the cards up and handed them to Henry.

  He glanced over them and said, "Yeah, these are all good."