5 From the Grounds Up

by Sandra Balzo

  Either way, I needed an ally. And I had one.

  'Up to you, Cuz,' Ronny said smoothly. 'Something tells me we're all going to be mighty busy over the next few months. Now Maggy, you're going to talk to your former partner, correct?'

  'Correct,' I said. Talking business had helped lift Sarah's spirits earlier, so we'd give it another try.

  'What about the partnership agreement?' Sarah asked.

  'If things go well with Caron,' I said, encouraged, 'maybe Bernie could draw up the partnership papers. He did ours. I mean Caron's and mine.' Patricia's name had been on the agreement, too, though I didn't necessarily want to remind Ronny what had happened to the last person who'd been my 'third partner'.

  'That'll be awkward.' Sarah shivered. Apparently the bourbon wasn't enough to keep her warm in the cool night air of spring.

  'Want me to look into having it drawn up?' Ronny asked while untying his sweater and placing it over Sarah's shoulders.

  'I'd love it,' I said. 'The conversation may be difficult enough as it is.'

  'Done,' Ronny said. 'Sarah, are you riding with me?'

  She looked around like her mind still hadn't registered the plight of her Firebird. 'Oh, yeah. I guess so.'

  'Good,' Ronny said, opening the passenger-side door for her. 'We can talk about the layout Maggy and I put together.'

  Ronny gave me a little wink as he closed the door.

  'Good thinking,' I said, then lowered my voice. 'You'll make sure she's OK before you leave?'

  'Of course.' He stuck out his hand. 'Happy to have you as a partner, Maggy.'

  'Same here, Ronny.' I paused as I tried to remember his wardrobe rotation. 'Fifties tomorrow, right?'

  'I changed my mind,' he said, opening his car door. 'I think all these good vibes cry out for the Psychedelic Sixties.'

  'I'll look forward to it.' As I waved and turned back toward my car, I realized I meant it.

  Me. Ronny. Sarah. This was going to be one hell of a trip.

  Chapter Twenty

  As it turned out, the conversation with Caron the next morning was easier than expected. In fact, I sensed she might be relieved.

  'Oh, thank God.' Caron threw her arms around me.

  'So, you're certain you want out?' I managed from inside the clinch.

  'Want out?' She released me and collapsed on to her flowered couch. 'Of course, I'm going to miss it, but . . .'

  Caron burst out laughing. 'I can't do it. I can't pretend I'm sad. I'm happy, happy, happy!'

  I collapsed even more than my friend had, though into a matching chair-and-a-half. Had everyone around me gone nuts? Next thing you knew she'd be dancing a jig in her designer yoga outfit.

  'I can see that,' I said evenly. 'And I certainly understand if this takes financial pressure off you. The economy has been tough on all of us.'

  Caron hunched forward. 'I suppose, but that's not why I'm feeling good.'

  'Drugs?' I wondered if Ronny's Psychedelic Sixties came complete with marijuana. Was it wrong to hope so?

  'Well, that too,' she said. 'For the seasonal affective disorder, you know.'

  'Seasonal . . . Caron, it's mid-May.'

  She looked hurt. 'I didn't say which season affected me.'

  For myself, I was feeling a little disaffected. I rose from the chair. 'Well, I should be going. Lots of work to do.'

  Caron followed me to the door. 'Don't forget there's that stuff from the old store in my garage.'

  'I'll clear it out as soon as I can,' I assured her.

  'I hope you've thought this through.'

  I turned, my hand on the knob. 'Sarah and me? I think we'll do just fine.'

  And I did believe that, despite Sarah's current problems and the 'accidents'. Plus, Ronny's presence should have a balancing effect--and not just on our bottom line.

  'I didn't mean so much with Sarah and you, specifically,' Caron said. 'I'm talking more about staying in the coffee business, period.'

  She moved closer. 'The first morning that I didn't have to get up at five? I slept in till noon.'

  'We took turns opening,' I protested. 'And if that was a problem, we could have asked Amy to take opening. She wouldn't have minded.' Amy certainly would have, but I preferred to ignore facts that didn't support my point.

  'But Maggy,' Caron continued, voice hushed in wonder, 'I realized that I didn't ever need to get up at dawn again. Not ever. Not if I didn't want to.'

  What I wanted to do was smack her one. 'Some of us have to work, Caron. It's not just a frolic. We can't take yoga classes at ten a.m.—'

  'Ten thirty,' Caron corrected.

  '—because we have to support ourselves.'

  'That's not fair, Maggy. Before you and Ted divorced, you could have quit.'

  'First of all, it wasn't that Ted and I "divorced". We split because he fell in love with somebody else.'

  'Ted was a fool.'

  'As it turned out,' I said. 'My point, though, is that the failure of our marriage was not my choice.'

  'Until you found out what a cheating man-whore he was,' Caron said.

  'Yes.' I wasn't going to let her get me off-topic. 'Thing is, I enjoyed working--both at the bank and at Uncommon Grounds.' Though truth be told, I wasn't so fond of the five a.m. starts, either.

  'But even if I hadn't enjoyed jobs, I needed to work. Ted never made much money as a dentist.' At least that he didn't spend on drilling his hygienist.

  'I'm sorry, Maggy. I didn't know.' A tear ran down Caron's freckled cheek.

  This time I was the one who gave her a hug. 'No, it's me that's sorry. For myself.'

  'You don't even like yoga,' Caron said with a timid grin.

  I laughed. 'They'd have to pay me to put my foot behind my head.'

  'I understand there are places that are willing to do that.' Now she was laughing, too.

  'Heavens,' I said in mock horror. 'Not in Brookhills.'

  Caron raised her eyebrows. 'Don't tell the town chairman.'

  'Our secret.'

  We stood staring at each other.

  'I'm going to miss you, you know,' I finally said.

  'Me, too,' she sniffed.

  'Do not do that,' I warned. 'It's tough enough dealing with Sarah's tears.'

  'Sarah? Tears?'

  'Long story, but her car was pretty much totaled yesterday, and Sam and Courtney want to move in with relatives on the east coast.'

  'Relatives?' Caron echoed. 'I didn't think any existed. At least, who wanted them.'

  'Things have changed. Patricia's sister Patrice—'

  'Her sister is named Patrice?' Caron interrupted.

  'And mother, Patsy. You didn't know?'

  'Patricia didn't talk about her family much.'

  'Well Sam and Courtney connected online with their cousins--Patrice's son and daughter. The cousins invited the two of them to visit on Cape Cod and just a day into the stay they both have decide they don't want to come back.'

  'Oh, God,' Caron said. 'That's not good.'

  'Sarah's absolutely despondent.'

  'I'm sure, but that's not what I mean. Patricia once told me her family was about as dysfunctional as they come.'

  'In what way?' I asked, a new worry growing in my gut. 'I mean besides Patricia's mother's multiple marriages.'

  'And lovers,' Caron said. 'Apparently there was a parade of them coming through. A legion of "daddies".'

  God. 'Meaning, abuse?'

  'Patricia wasn't specific, but . . . well, that was my impression.'

  'But let's be fair here,' I said, not wanting to jump to conclusions. 'Even if it's true, Patricia came through all right. Maybe her sister did, too.'

  'Patricia survived it, but she spent her life doing what men told her to do. Does that sound normal?'

  Not to me, it didn't. And, in truth, it was probably what got Patricia killed.

  'Tell you what,' I said. 'I'll talk to Pavlik and see what he can find out about the family.'

  'Good, and I'll talk to Bernie and see
what Sarah's legal options are.' She caught the doubtful look on my face. 'Hey, copyright attorneys know the law, too. And they also know other attorneys who might be able to help.'

  She was right. It was like Ronny being able to call in favors from his subcontractors.

  'What should we tell Sarah in the meantime?' I asked. I didn't want to keep anything from her, but I also didn't want to alarm Sarah through mere speculation. Especially given her current state of mind.

  'Nothing,' Caron said. 'All we have to go on is my memory of what Patricia told me.'

  'Hearsay,' I agreed. 'You know what I don't understand, though? Sarah and Patricia were best friends. Wouldn't Patricia have told her?'

  I didn't add 'if she told you'.

  'If she told me, you mean?' Caron didn't take offense. 'I honestly believe she didn't mean to tell me. We went to a Hitchcock film festival and Marnie was the feature.'

  'Oh.'

  Not Hitchcock's best film, but I could see that it could spark memories for Patricia. 'I'm going to call Pavlik. You talk to Bernie. Is he at his office?'

  'His office here,' she nodded over her shoulder toward the back of the house.

  'I didn't know he had a home office,' I said.

  Caron's face reddened. 'He gave up the outside office. Didn't really need it.'

  'And Flora?' She'd been in Bernie's office for years.

  'We couldn't . . .' Caron's face was nearly burgundy, the freckles gone. 'I mean, Flora retired.'

  I took my friend by the shoulders. 'It's me, Caron. Not your yoga friends. Everyone has to cut back.'

  She swiped at the tears and tried to smile. 'The new measure of stature in Brookhills is how much you've lost in the market.'

  'Hell,' I said, smiling back. 'It's easy to lose it in the market. You've got to really try to have the roof literally fall in on you.'

  'So you're not mad at me?' Caron asked tearfully. 'I mean about bailing on you with Uncommon Grounds?'

  'No. Like I said, we're going to be fine. Maybe even better than fine if everything works out with the commuter train line.' I looked at her. 'Sure you don't want in?'

  'Absolutely sure. We can't afford it.'

  I punched her in the shoulder lightly. 'See? Doesn't it feel good to admit it? It's nothing to be ashamed of these days. Being broke is the new black.'

  Now Caron laughed outright. 'Glad I'm keeping up with the trends. And I wasn't lying when I said it felt good to sleep past five.'

  'Don't I know it.' I tugged on the door handle. 'I'm going to make the most of these weeks before we re-open.'

  I stepped out on the porch and turned back to her. 'Friends?'

  'Always,' Caron said. 'Now you go see Pavlik and I'll trek to the back bedroom and consult with Bernie. We have another friend who needs our help.'

  I drove to the depot and parked. Then I called Pavlik and relayed what Caron had told me.

  'Even if Patricia meant what Caron thought she did, any abuse was a long time ago.'

  'Would there be records?' I asked.

  'We'll see. Do you have any idea when this Hitchcock film festival was?'

  'Caron didn't say,' I said. 'Is it important?'

  'Probably not,' Pavlik said. 'I'm just curious. Patricia Harper decided to take control of her life in Brookhills. I wonder whether seeing Marnie triggered that.'

  'And opening up to Caron,' I said. 'Maybe it freed Patricia in some way.'

  'I'll see what I can find out about her early life and anything current on the sister. Do you know what Patrice's last name is? She's married, right?'

  'Right. And I don't know if she took her husband's surname or not.'

  'I'll be able to find out easily enough,' Pavlik said, and I could hear his pen scratching across the paper as he made a note. 'You do know that even if a child is abused, it doesn't naturally follow that he or she will become abusive later on.'

  'But the statistics—'

  'Most statistics cite the percentage of abusers and child molesters who were abused as kids themselves. That's not the same as the percentage of victims who eventually victimize others. And we don't even know how many children are abused. It's vastly under-reported.'

  'That's not exactly reassuring.'

  'I know. What have you said to Sarah?'

  'Nothing. I wanted to talk to you first.'

  'Good. We don't want her going off half-cocked.' I could hear him tapping his pen on the pad now. 'I was going to suggest that I come over tonight, but maybe you should be with Sarah.'

  Again the concern over Sarah. I was worried, too, but I had a feeling Pavlik had more basis for it than I did. I'd wring it out of him tonight. Maybe even make him go off half-cocked.

  'Sarah's cousin Ronny--or step-cousin, really--is watching over her.'

  'You mean Kornell Eisvogel's son? I saw his name as next-of-kin in the reports.'

  'Right. He's going into partnership with Sarah and me in the new place.'

  'Really?' Pavlik's voice got playful. 'I think I'm jealous. What does he have that I don't?'

  'Money,' I said, matching his tone, 'and neon green polyester pants. How do you measure up?'

  'Negative on the first two, but I think otherwise I measure up pretty well.'

  'That you do,' I said, getting twinges--and I don't mean of guilt. 'Why don't you come over about seven? We'll have dinner and a sleep-over.'

  'Is Frank going to be there?'

  Since I knew Pavlik loved Frank, I wasn't sure how to answer that. Sheepdog as nuisance or sheepdog as incentive. But I hadn't been in public relations for all those years and learned nothing. 'He will be, at the appropriate moments.'

  'But not the inappropriate, huh?' Pavlik's voice was low. 'Sounds perfect.'

  'To me, too,' I said. 'See you at seven.'

  'Yes, you will.' He hung up.

  I held the flip phone to my heart for a moment before I hung up, too.

  Thud-thud. Thud-thud.

  I jumped.

  'You OK?' Ronny asked from outside the car. 'You've been sitting out here for a while.'

  Sarah's cousin was wearing a purple and white striped long-sleeved T-shirt, flowered suspenders and jeans. The jeans had a peace sign embroidered on the front pocket and a double strand of beads as a belt.

  Who knew Ronny was a beads-and-suspenders type of person?

  'I just stopped by to see how things were going,' I said, getting out of the Escape. 'Wow, you look—'

  'Like Ronald McDonald after a bender.' Sarah was waiting for us in the recliner on the porch.

  I sized up the outfit from his platform shoes to . . .'The orange Afro might be a bit much,' I told him.

  'You think?' He pulled it off and patted down his brown hair. 'I don't want overdo it.'

  'Heaven forbid,' Sarah said dryly. She seemed more herself today. Bitter, cynical, sarcastic. In other words, reassuringly normal.

  'So did you two go over the plans last night?' I asked as we reached the front of the building.

  Before they could answer, I stopped short. 'Ronny, you fixed the steps.'

  'It didn't take long,' he said, modestly. 'I replaced the planking on the deck, too.'

  'We can walk to the door without edging around the hole,' I said appreciatively. 'Thank you so much.'

  'You don't have to thank him,' Sarah said. 'Ronny's one of us now. We can treat him like crap.'

  Yes. Definitely the Return of the Emotionally Prodigal Sarah.

  'We cannot,' I said, taking Ronny's arm. 'He is contributing seventy-five thousand dollars plus his expertise. We will treat him like a king.'

  'I only do the twentieth century,' Ronny said with a straight face. 'Royalty isn't my thing.'

  Good to know.

  Having found Ronny impervious to insult, Sarah turned on me. 'He's contributing money and his contracting work. I'm contributing the building. What do you bring to the table?'

  'The tables themselves, for one thing, plus whatever else we salvaged from Uncommon Grounds. Caron doesn't want any of it.
'

  'So you talked to her?' Ronny asked eagerly. 'What did she say?'

  'Caron's happy to be free and clear,' I said with a shrug. 'She wishes us well, but is absolutely thrilled to be able to sleep in and take her yoga classes at reasonable hours.'

  It was true, as far as it went. And I didn't intend to go any further, either with Caron's confidences about their financial state or with what she'd told me about Patricia's family.

  'Great,' Ronny said with a huge smile. Then he tried to temper it. 'I mean, I'm sorry she's not going to be working with us and all.'

  'Even if she had,' I assured him, 'we wouldn't be jettisoning you. We're very, very lucky to have you.'

  The smile got bigger.

  'Can we stop this love-fest and talk business?' Sarah said sourly. 'Ronny, did you tell me you're having an agreement drawn up?'

  'I did.'

  'Oh, good,' I said. 'I didn't even see Bernie.'

  'No worry. I called a lawyer friend and he's putting a partnership contract together. We should have it to read over on Monday.'

  This being Friday, that sounded just right.

  'Oh,' Ronny continued. 'You asked earlier whether Sarah and I went over the plans.'

  I'd forgotten. 'And did you?'

  'We did. They're fine,' Sarah said. 'What do I know about this stuff anyway?'

  'Which is the other thing that I'm contributing,' I said, sticking out my chest. 'My expertise.'

  'Right. Like you knew anything about coffee eighteen months ago. Have Tien and Amy looked at the layout?'

  'Tien has, but not Amy. I can drop off a copy to her.' I looked around. 'What's the agenda for today?'

  'I'm meeting with the electrician and plumber to get an estimate,' Ronny said. 'Depending on what they come up with, we may want to change our thinking.'

  'In what way?'

  'If some electrical and plumbing can be salvaged, then it's going to be a lot cheaper to keep the appliances and sinks in the same area, rather than moving them.'

  'And if not?'

  'Then we can put things wherever we want.'

  Well, that didn't sound so bad.

  'Because,' Ronny said, 'it's going to cost a fortune anyway to rewire and re-plumb the place. Might as well do things the way we want them.'