Look Always Forward (Bellingwood Book 11)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  "I'm not kidding you. They honestly thought that all they had to do was put the date out there and the world would give them the perfect wedding."

  "Have they bought a dress?"

  He nodded. Yes, they have a dress. They bought that two years ago when the daughter announced she was going to find a man and get married. Polly," he said. "They bought the dress and then went out to find a husband to accessorize it!"

  "He's the dumb one, then. If he's stupid enough to make a choice to be part of that family, I guess you can hardly feel sorry for him. What are we doing about this?"

  "They'll have to go to the courthouse in Boone to get married on Friday. I made it clear that needed to happen without our intervention. Monday morning they're meeting here with a wedding planner friend of mine that owes me a huge favor." He shook his head. "I'll probably owe her a couple after this. But she knows what's going on and apparently, they're willing to pay."

  Polly muttered, "The mother probably thinks this is the only way to get that stupid girl out of the house and into someone else's hands."

  "She's not much better," Jeff replied. "They haven't even sent out invitations. Which is a good thing, I guess. I talked to Ryan at the winery and there's a room available." He threw his hands up in the air. "I think I did all I could do. How are things in the rest of the world?"

  "Aaron is gone and Denis is settling in," Polly said. "I started to walk back to the kitchen, but Sylvie sounded, ummm, snippy with someone, so I didn't go far enough to see what was happening."

  "I should go back and help. Just to make sure she doesn't chew up and spit out the repairman." He stretched and leaned back in the chair. "Am I walking out the door yet?"

  "Sure you are. I'm watching it happen," Polly said with a laugh.

  Alistair Greyson walked in the front door and Polly glanced at Jeff, wondering if he'd seen the man. Jeff's eyes were closed and he was breathing slowly through his nose.

  "Grey is here," she said quietly. "Do you want me to talk to him?"

  "He is?" Jeff jumped up. "I'll talk to him, unless you want to. I don't want to tell you that you can't talk to him."

  "Were you falling asleep?" she asked.

  "Maybe a little. I was relaxing as best I could. It was just for a second, right?"

  "Go on. Talk to Grey."

  He gave his head a quick shake and opened the door.

  "Grey," he said. "How are you? Come on into my office and we'll talk."

  Polly leaned back in her chair. What a strange day this had been so far and with Henry gone for the foreseeable future, it was going to stay strange.

  "Polly?"

  She looked up to see Andrew standing in her doorway.

  "Hey, what's up? I kind of lost track of you."

  "I took the dogs out and I'm bored."

  "What do you mean you're bored? You got all of those books."

  "I know. But I got used to reading with people around and it's too quiet upstairs. When are Rebecca and Kayla coming back?"

  She smiled and gestured for him to sit down. "I don't know. I hope they're having a great time with Stephanie. What do you think we should do to keep you from being so bored?"

  "We could go out back and set up the croquet set," he mentioned, his voice laced with hope.

  There wasn't anything keeping her inside. "That sounds great. Let me change my clothes while you set up the wickets."

  "You'll really do it?"

  "Why not?" she asked.

  "I don't know. You're an adult."

  "I'm not too old to play outside. Now go. I'll be there soon."

  Andrew tore out of the office.

  Before Polly could get up, Alistair Greyson was standing in her doorway.

  He made a sweeping gesture into a bow and said, "I apologize profusely for my behavior last night and for the fact that I caused you to doubt my commitment to the honor you bestowed on me as manager of your fine inn. I hope you accept my sincere apology and will offer me yet another opportunity to prove my worth to you."

  She thought through all of the words that he had just spilled out and finally said, "Of course. I assume that you have worked everything out with Jeff."

  "I have," Grey said. "He is a man with a generous heart and on my honor I will not disappoint him."

  "Mistakes and failures are part of life," Polly said. "Honesty and honor go a long way to covering them, though, don't they?"

  He took a deep breath and released it. "I may fail again," he said.

  "We all do," she replied. "It isn't the end of the world."

  "If I might ask one more boon?" he asked.

  "What can I do for you?"

  "It's what I might be able to do for you. But I would have to ask that you trust me, and that is something I have yet to earn."

  "What is it, Grey?" Polly asked.

  He glanced toward the addition. "I'd like the opportunity to speak with the young man who set in motion all of the things that brought us to this point."

  Polly hesitated.

  "I know that you know nothing of my background, but Mr. Lindsay does. I've spent the last seven years working as a clinical therapist with young people. I would like the opportunity to see if there is anything I can do for him."

  "You have?" She didn't know what to make of that. "Why are you working as a hotel manager in a small town?"

  "It's the right thing to do in this season of my life," he replied. "But I am qualified."

  "I don't have any authority to tell you whether or not you can spend time with him. That would need to be a discussion you have with Evelyn Morrow, his mother, and anyone else who is involved with Denis's care." Polly thought about it. "And probably Denis himself."

  Grey nodded gravely. "I understand."

  "He has just gotten here," Polly continued. "Let me mention your request to Mrs. Morrow."

  He swept his arm in front of him and took another bow, "Thank you kindly. And now I will return to my work. I have been away long enough for this day."

  Grey strode out and as she watched him walk past the windows in the hallway and out the front door, all Polly could think was that he needed a cape and a tricorn hat.

  Polly's phone rang and she was surprised to see that the caller was Evelyn Morrow. "Evelyn?" she asked. "How can I help you?"

  "Would you mind bringing your no-nonsense self over for a few minutes? I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm getting nowhere and I need just a bit of assistance."

  "The mother?" Polly asked.

  "You are a smart girl. I can't seem to get through to her."

  "I'll be right there."

  She walked out and stuck her head in Jeff's office. "I'm going to give Evelyn Morrow some backup. If you hear screaming, come get me."

  "What's going on?"

  "I think she's having trouble with Leslie Sutworth. What happened today? Did we get a crazy-person bomb dropped on us?"

  "Can I help?"

  "Let me see what I can do. You're close enough that if we need you, we'll let you know."

  He grinned and waved her away.

  "I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to," Polly muttered under her breath as she walked toward the addition. She opened the door and walked down the short hall to Evelyn. "What do you want me to do?"

  Evelyn opened the door to Denis's room, where Leslie was kneeling at his bedside, crying and sobbing. "She won't leave." She pulled the door shut again. "I have been firm with her, I have cajoled, I have begged, I have wheedled. I've done everything I can think to do outside of grabbing her legs out from under her and dragging her by the ankles into the hallway. I thought I'd save that for the last resort."

  "Physically removing her is off the table?" Polly asked.

  Evelyn shrugged. "If it comes down to it, I suppose not. I understand that she's his mother and is worried about him, but good heavens, Polly. He's had issues throughout his life and she's had a full week to get used to his physical disability."

  "Having him here is new," Polly said. "Sh
e's always known where he was at night. He lived with her, right?"

  "I suppose that's true."

  "And when he was in the hospital, she knew that he was safe with nurses and doctors. So, this is new."

  "You're right. Maybe I just needed you to calm me down," Evelyn said. "I've about had it up to here with the woman." She waved her hand in front of her forehead. "She's been hovering in my space since early this morning."

  "And here I thought you were one of the most patient and kind women I'd ever met," Polly said.

  "I'm good with the dying," Evelyn replied. "Not so good with wailing family members. But I can usually kick them out when they get too far out of control. This woman simply won't listen."

  "Let's see what we can do." Polly opened the door, took a deep breath and said, "Mrs. Sutworth?"

  When the kneeling woman didn't respond, Polly walked across the room and put her hand on Leslie Sutworth's shoulder. "Mrs. Sutworth, I'm speaking to you."

  "You can't make me leave him," Leslie said.

  Polly put all of the steel she could muster into her voice. "Stand up." She accompanied her command with a firm grip on the woman's upper arm.

  Leslie followed Polly's lead and stood. "You can't make me go away. I won't go. He needs his mother."

  "Come with me," Polly said and took Leslie's hand, drawing her across the room to the door.

  "Noooooo," Leslie cried and grabbed the door frame.

  "Do not be a fool," Polly said flatly. "You're acting like an imbecile. Come out into the hallway and discuss this calmly with me." She glared at the woman. "Right. Now."

  With a look of defeat, Leslie released the door frame and followed Polly into the hallway. Evelyn quickly stepped inside the room, gave Polly a grateful glance and shut the door.

  "You people are horrible," Leslie wailed. "You are trying to keep me from my son."

  "No one is trying to keep you from him, but you are making it difficult for the woman you've hired to care for him to do her job."

  "But he needs his mother," she cried out.

  "Don't we all," Polly replied. "How old is Denis?"

  "He's twenty-two," Leslie said. "But that doesn't make any difference. He's still my boy. And he's fragile and can't live on his own."

  Polly slipped her arm around Leslie's back and walked her toward the front door of the addition. "He isn't on his own, but he does need you to give him space. How is he supposed to get better when you are in there crying all the time?"

  "How does that make it any worse?" Leslie asked. "At least he knows that I'm there and that I love him."

  "Don't you think maybe he needs positive emotions right now?" Polly responded. "Fewer tears and more joy? Have you told him yet that you are glad he's here or have you spent every moment that you have with him wailing over his injuries?"

  "But he's my son," Leslie protested.

  There wasn't going to be any good way to get through to this woman, but Evelyn had asked for help, Polly had agreed, and something had to be done. If Denis's psychiatrists were blaming the boy's father for his issues and not looking at this poor woman, Polly wanted to send them all back to school.

  "Yes he is and it is time for you to let him grow up and start living for himself. You can't hold onto him forever."

  "But I can't let him go when he's in the middle of a crisis."

  "Tell me, Leslie," Polly said quietly. "When were the times in your life that you felt you grew up the most? Were they when your parents did everything for you? Were they when life was easy? Or did your biggest periods of growth occur when you had to struggle?"

  That stopped the woman. She stood, staring at Polly with her mouth open, about to deliver another protest. But she had no response.

  "Are you trying to tell me that all of this is going to help Denis grow up?" she asked.

  "I can't tell you that for certain, but I'm positive that if you hover over him, wailing and crying and throwing tantrums when you have to leave, that isn't helping him. He's the one who has to heal, in body, mind and spirit. You can't do it for him. The only thing you can do is encourage him, pray for him and love him."

  "I pray for him every minute of every day," Leslie said.

  Polly smiled. "I'm sure you do. Now I also know that you have two other children who probably need to see their mother be strong. You shouldn't force them to be the strong adults in the family. You know that, right?"

  "This whole thing has thrown a wrench into my life, Polly. I don't know how I'm going to get through it."

  "One of the things I've learned is that every crisis has an end. It might be five years down the road, five days in front of you or it might happen in five minutes. But we can get through it. You can handle this. You've raised three children on your own for several years. You've done that. You can do this."

  Leslie's shoulders sagged and she let out a small whimpering sigh. "He'll be safe here tonight?"

  "He'll be safe here every night. Evelyn is a wonderful caregiver. You hired her to do this job and she wants to do it well. You just have to let her."

  "I haven't cooked or done any laundry for a week," Leslie said. "The kids have tried to keep up, but they have their own lives."

  "Go kiss your son goodbye and head home. Try to sleep tonight. I'll ask Evelyn to text you when she has Denis settled for the night and when they wake up in the morning. If there are any problems, you'll be the first to know. And tomorrow, why don't you spend the day with your family at home..."

  "We should probably go to church."

  "Then, do that and bring lunch over with the other two kids. Make Denis's life here as normal as possible. Then go home and spend Sunday evening preparing for your week back at work. Can you do this for everyone involved?"

  All of the exhaustion of the week settled on the woman. Her eyes glazed over, her body sagged with relief and she nodded. "I can be strong. I'll do it for my boy. I'll do it for my family."

  Polly walked back to Denis's door with Leslie and lightly tapped on it before opening it.

  "Evelyn?" she said. "Leslie is going to say goodbye to her son. She won't be back until tomorrow after church to have lunch with him. I've promised that you will text her when he's settled for the night and when you are both up in the morning. And I've also promised that she'll be the first to know if something goes wrong."

  "Of course," Evelyn said and stood up from the chair she'd been sitting in.

  Leslie approached her son, bent over to kiss his forehead and then whispered in his ear. She stroked his hair and then walked away from him, tears filling her eyes. She pushed Polly away, when Polly tried to approach her. "I'm leaving now. I don't want to talk to anyone."

  Polly stepped out into the hallway and watched the woman walk out the main door to the outside sidewalk and then turned back to look at Evelyn.

  "Thank you," Evelyn said quietly. "I don't even know if Denis was fully aware of what was happening here. He's had a long day and has been in and out of sleep."

  "I doubt if this is over, but at least you two can rest tonight," Polly said. "Feel free to let me know if you need more help."

  "Thank you again," Evelyn said.

  "Speaking of help." Polly stopped moving and turned back. "Have you met the other man from the accident?"

  Evelyn nodded. "Just once. He came down to see Denis in the hospital. He seems like a nice man."

  "He'd like to stop in and spend time with Denis every once in a while. Apparently, he has some kind of therapy background. Can he contact you?"

  "We'll see," Evelyn said, her brow furrowed in concern. "I'd like to know more about him and I'd also like to know why he wants to be involved."

  Polly chuckled. "He's kind of a knight errant. We all are looking at him as a Don Quixote."

  "He does talk funny," Evelyn agreed.

  "I doubt that he has any ulterior motive. He's a genuinely nice man. He probably just wants to help."

  Evelyn nodded. "Let's see how it plays out."

  CHAPTER SEVEN
TEEN

  Vaguely remembering that she had something else to do, Polly flopped down on the sofa. When she realized her dogs were gone, she remembered the game of croquet. Maybe Andrew would get distracted by something else so she could shut her eyes for a few minutes.

  The situation in the kitchen had gotten worse while Polly dealt with the Sutworth's. Sylvie had stopped speaking in coherent sentences and the repairman was red-faced as he scrambled to find the problem. When Polly looked in, Rachel gave her a slight head shake and before Sylvie could see her, ducked back down as she created plates of salad. Polly had run for the front steps.

  She heaved herself back up off the sofa and headed for the back door. Before she was in Henry's office, the front door opened and closed and Rebecca called out.

  "Polly, are you up here?"

  "Back here, honey. Did you have fun?"

  "You have to see what I got," Rachel yelled across the apartment.

  Polly glanced at the back steps. Andrew was going to be frustrated with her. This was bad. She had no idea which way to go. She started for the living room, turned to go to the stairway, moved her body to face the living room and then stopped and laughed at herself. She couldn't move. Either way, one of her favorite people was going to be disappointed.

  "Polly?" Rebecca called again, closer as she came toward Henry's office. Rebecca stopped in the doorway. "Were you going somewhere?"

  "Andrew is waiting for me to come play croquet. It's been absolutely nuts here today."

  Rebecca nodded. "Okay. I guess this can wait. It's no big deal." She headed back toward the living room.

  "Wait, honey. I want to see what you bought. I'm so glad you had a great day," Polly ran after her and put her hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "Andrew can wait a few more minutes and tonight when it's just you and me, I want you to model everything. Now, pour it all out here on the sofa and show me."

  The girl lit up and ran back into the living room and returned with two large shopping bags and three plastic bags.

  "Holy cow," Polly exclaimed. "What did you do?"

  "We went to the Goodwill in Boone and then the one in Ames and then we went to Target. Stephanie took us to McDonald's for breakfast and then we went out for lunch and on the way home, even though I was stuffed to the brim, she stopped at Dairy Queen and I had a twist cone. I'm not going to eat for a week!"