Pages of the Past (Bellingwood Book 9)

by Muir, Diane Greenwood

  "Trouble with the kids?" Henry asked.

  "No!" Joss said as Nate held her chair for her. "You won't believe where we've been."

  She looked around the table and finally Polly said, "Where?"

  "Right around the corner, back there." Joss pointed toward the south side of Sycamore House.

  Henry laughed. "I give up. Were you just outside making out? It's a little chilly for that, don't you think?"

  "No, you nut. Down the road and around the corner. You know that broken down farmstead? We're buying it so I can have a big house and lots of room. Nate's going to move his garage to the one good building on the property. I can't wait!"

  Polly's eyes filled as she watched the joy on her friend's face. "We'll be neighbors?"

  "Yes. You can ride Demi over to see me. Maybe we'll get a horse. And a dog and some cats."

  "Whoa," Nate said. "Let Polly have the animals."

  "Our children will need pets. They're good for kids," Joss argued. She pursed her lips and looked at her husband. "You don't really want to fight with me about this, do you?"

  A laugh burbled from his lips. "I'm no fool. Besides, it will be a year at least before we're even in over there. Are you ready to build a house for us, Henry?"

  "I'd be honored," Henry said. "It sounds like fun."

  "A great big, rambling house. One that looks like it was added on to over the years. I don't want one of those pristine, pretty things," Joss said. "Can we do that?"

  "We can do anything you want."

  Polly saw Aaron jump to his feet and followed his eyes to the front door. "Oh my," she said, trying not to point. "That's Helen's date."

  Everyone turned to look.

  "He did not," Joss said.

  "You know what?" Henry asked. "It's a great idea. She has no idea of his background. He's a good guy who just got lost for a while."

  Sal looked confused. "Who is it?"

  "That's Doug Leon," Polly said. "The guy who hoarded those items we have in the cupboards along the wall here. Look at him. He's in a nice suit and smiling."

  The room had gone quiet, but soon everyone went back to their conversations. Aaron escorted Doug to their table, seating him between Len Specek and Helen, greeting both by shaking their hands.

  "That has to be Lydia's doing," Polly said.

  Henry agreed. "If she set it up, then he's in good hands. I think she and Andy have been part of his life since that day we discovered what he was doing. Every once in a while Len has him into the shop to help out on a project. He's a good, hard worker."

  Nate bent over and said, "But he's ancient."

  "So what? It's not like he and Helen are going to be married. She lives in Atlanta. Let them have a fun evening." Polly laughed. "Do you think he dances?"

  "If your table is all here, you're welcome to go to the buffet any time," a young girl said to them.

  "Thank you," Polly responded. "You guys go ahead. I'm going to wander.

  "You always do this," Henry said as he caught up to her.

  "What?"

  "You don't eat. Everyone else enjoys one of Sylvie's terrific meals while you wander."

  She took his hand and turned in so they were face to face, "I get too excited to eat. This is my house and these are my employees and the room is filled with my guests. Do you see Jeff or Sylvie or Eliseo eating? It's just too much for us to manage. And please, it isn't like I'm going to starve. I just need to make sure people are enjoying themselves and get a chance to tell me they're having a good time. It's my job."

  "Taking care of you is full-time work," he said with a sigh.

  "You don't have to walk with me. You know that. Go eat."

  Henry looked yearningly at the buffet table. "Do you mean that?"

  "Of course I do, you nut." Polly kissed his cheek and laughed at him. "I'm going to say hello to Lydia's table and then check on Rebecca and Sarah. I'll find you when it's time to dance, I promise."

  She made her way past tables filled with people she'd spent the last two years getting to know. Some stopped her to tell her that she'd done a wonderful job with the place, another couple stopped her to tell her how terrific their daughter's wedding reception had been and she finally arrived at Beryl's side.

  "How are you all?" she asked.

  Aaron stood up. "Are you joining us?"

  "No. I just wanted to stop by and meet Helen's date for the evening. How are you, Mr. Leon?"

  He stood and shook her hand. "Fine, thank you. It's a lovely affair you're having."

  "I'm glad you could make it. Are you ready to kick up your heels?"

  "I don't dance very well, ma'am, but Mrs. Lydia and Mrs. Andrea have been practicing with me. They told me I needed to learn, so I've been learning. I hope this band plays something other than that rock and roll stuff. I can't dance to that."

  "We'll see what we can do," Polly said. She knelt down beside Beryl, held out her camera, and said, "Would you mind taking pictures of Sarah and Rebecca tonight? I know you're a better photographer than I am and I know that you'll pay more attention than I will."

  Beryl pulled Polly in for a hug. "You're a sweetheart. Of course I will. It will keep me from becoming a wallflower and you know how I hate sitting by myself when everyone else is having fun."

  "We'd never leave you alone," Lydia said.

  "You'd better. That man of yours should keep you on the dance floor all night - making up for those weeks and months he didn't hold you tight."

  Aaron was standing behind Lydia's chair and bent over and kissed his wife on the head. She reached up and took the hand resting on her shoulder. "We'll find ways," she said.

  "Enjoy your evening," Polly said. "I want to check on Rebecca's table, too."

  Beryl followed and when Polly settled down between Rebecca and Sarah, said, "Look up and give me a smile, ladies," then took a picture. "I'm going to be all over the place tonight. You might want to make sure you smile all the time. She took pictures of everyone at the table. Kayla hammed it up with her sister and Beryl caught a wonderful picture of the two of them with Kayla kissing her sister's forehead.

  "How are you feeling, Sarah?" Polly asked.

  "I'm wonderful. Thank you for everything. This has been a good week." She was smiling and looked radiant, though Polly knew that was due to the Evelyn's use of makeup rather than her health. In truth, she was quite pale and thin. Rebecca had found a beautiful red and black dress for her mother and she'd borrowed a shawl from Lydia.

  "I'm glad you're here. Let me know if you need anything."

  "I have everything I need right here." Sarah reached out and squeezed her daughter's hand. "You've given me my heart's desire."

  The band was moving to the stage and Jeff lowered the lights at the front of the auditorium.

  "Excuse me, I'm going to find Henry," Polly said.

  Rebecca ran after Polly and stopped her by taking her hand.

  "What is it, honey?"

  "Could Henry…" Rebecca looked down at her feet.

  "Could Henry what?" Polly pressed.

  "Could he ask my mom to dance tonight?"

  "Are you sure she wants that?"

  "Just for a minute. It's Valentine's Day. It doesn't have to be very long. Please?"

  Polly wasn't at all sure what to do about those pleading eyes. She knew Henry would do whatever she asked of him, but didn't know how Sarah would react to it. "I'll ask him. But if she says no, you'll be okay with that, right?"

  "She won't."

  "You go on back and finish your dinner. I'll talk to Henry."

  Rebecca hugged Polly tight. "Thank you for making this a perfect night for us."

  Polly took a deep breath as Rebecca skipped back to her table. If this was what raising kids was like, she was going to be in trouble. How could she say ever no to that child? Rebecca didn't ask unreasonable favors, but she did make it nearly impossible to ever refuse her anything.

  She stopped to say hello to several others on her way back to the table. Her
friends were finished eating and opening cupcakes.

  "Do you want something to drink?" Henry asked.

  "No, I'm fine."

  "Polly." His scolding wasn't too strong.

  "Come on," she said, taking his hand. "Dance with me. Let's get this party started."

  "But cake!"

  She took his hand and tugged him out of the chair. "Cake can wait. Anyone else?"

  Joss looked at her husband, eyes still filled with the excitement of a new home. "Please, honey?" she asked.

  "As long as you don't expect me to dip you or spin you around or anything like that."

  The three couples made their way to the dance floor and found that others followed them.

  "When I was in high school, no one ever liked dancing unless they were a couple," Polly said.

  Henry pulled her in tight to him. "It was the only time that we got to hold someone close. If we got those girls close enough, you know we could feel their..."

  "You brat," she said. "Are you serious?"

  "Come on, like you didn't know that."

  "I'm so naive," she said with a laugh.

  "We were just horny high school boys trying to figure out what came next."

  "You knew what came next."

  He tipped her face up to his. "I didn't know, Polly. I truly didn't know. Talk about naive. I was that boy."

  "Thank heavens. I didn't like dances because I was so bad at it. It's a good thing Mark Ogden showed up when he did."

  Henry coughed.

  "What?" she asked innocently, dramatically batting her eyes at him.

  "That was a bad weekend."

  "Only because you were being a dope."

  "It was still a bad weekend. I thought I was losing you to him and you didn't even know that I'd found you."

  "Stop thinking about it. Look at me. I'm dancing with you and you can feel my breasts pressed up against you." Polly couldn't help herself and giggled. "That's just so weird."

  The song came to an end and she said, "Would you ask Sarah Heater to dance tonight? Rebecca wants you to."

  Henry glanced over at their table. "Sure. I can do that. Why?"

  "I think Rebecca wants Sarah to have some good experiences. I want Rebecca to have the memories. You don't mind?"

  "I'll do it now. That way if Sarah gets tired, she can go back to her room. Am I being the perfect husband?"

  "You always are," Polly said. "Thank you."

  She turned to see if there was anyone else in her vicinity that might want to dance with her and spied Doug Randall. She beckoned to him and he shook his head violently. She beckoned again and winked. He shook his head again. Polly finally walked over to him and bent down to whisper in his ear. "I'm going to embarrass you if you don't help me out here. Please?"

  "But I don't like dancing."

  "You'd better learn. Girls like it. Come on. It's easy." What was she doing offering to show him to dance? She'd come a long ways.

  "You aren't going to let me get out of this, are you?"

  "Nope. Come on. Do a girl a favor."

  He heaved a sigh and stood up to follow her to the dance floor.

  "Put your left hand here and give me your right hand," Polly said. "Now relax. You listen to music all the time. You can do this."

  "You're mean."

  "Why, yes I am. But see, you're fine." She moved with him and smiled when she saw that Rebecca had pulled Andrew out onto the dance floor. He shuffled along with her while she watched her mother and Henry glide along beside them. Beryl was taking pictures as fast as the camera would recharge.

  Then the music stopped and everyone was turning to the corner of the room near the kitchen.

  "Dude," Doug said quietly. "He's really doing it."

  "What?" Polly asked.

  Doug took her hand and pulled her with him, pointing to the action. "That."

  Polly saw Doug's friend, Billy, down on one knee in front of Rachel. She was dressed in her chef's apron and hat, but her eyes sparkled with tears as he slipped the ring on her finger.

  "Yes," she said and dropped down in front of him to kiss and hug him. "Yes, of course I will."

  "It's going to change everything," Doug said.

  "But for the better?" Polly asked.

  "We'll see."

  "I thought you liked Rachel."

  "I do. I just hope he's ready for all this."

  Kayla chose that moment to grab Polly's hand. "Polly, come quick."

  "What's wrong?"

  "Jessie needs you. She's in the hallway."

  "Get Henry," Polly said to Doug and ran after Kayla. She found Jessie and Stephanie standing together. Jessie was bent over, breathing heavily.

  "What happened?" Polly asked.

  "My water broke. I think I'm going to have a baby. Right now."

  Henry rushed into the hallway, took a look at Polly and Jessie and said, "Are we taking a ride tonight?"

  Polly nodded. "We'll head for the truck. Would you go upstairs and get her go bag? And grab some clothes for me too? I've got a stack on the corner of my dresser just for this."

  "I'll meet you in the garage."

  "Let's go through the kitchen," Polly said. "You don't want to go back through the party."

  "No," Jessie said, with wide eyes. "It was embarrassing enough that people around me saw it happen."

  "Don't worry about them." Polly looked up and saw Doug standing in the doorway, his mouth open. "Doug?"

  "Uh, yes?"

  "Could you tell Jeff where I've gone and maybe let Joss and Sal and Lydia know too? And Evelyn. Rebecca knows she's staying downstairs until I get back."

  He was still staring at them.

  "Could you do that for me, please, Doug?"

  He snapped out of his trance and said, "Sure. Joss and Rebecca."

  "Sal and Lydia too. Thank you. Remember to tell Billy and Rachel congratulations for me."

  He turned and headed back into the party.

  "I think we freaked him out," Polly said. "Let's get going."

  "Polly?" Jessie said, grabbing her hand.

  "Yes, honey?"

  "I'm scared out of my mind. I don't know if I can do this."

  Polly gave an evil cackle. "It's a little late now. You have no choice. But don't worry. I'll be right there with you. We'll get through this and everything changes tomorrow. You'll see. It's going to be a blast."

  THANK YOU FOR READING!

  I’m so glad you enjoy these stories about Polly Giller and her friends. There are many ways to stay in touch with Diane and the Bellingwood community.

  You can find more details about Sycamore House and Bellingwood at the website: http://nammynools.com/

  Join the Bellingwood Facebook page:

  https://www.facebook.com/pollygiller

  for news about upcoming books, conversations while I’m writing and you’re reading, and a continued look at life in a small town.

  Diane Greenwood Muir’s Amazon Author Page is a great place to watch for new releases.

  Follow Diane on Twitter at twitter.com/nammynools for regular updates and notifications.

  Recipes and decorating ideas found in the books can often be found on Pinterest at: http://pinterest.com/nammynools/. Watch for more pictures and stories about Diane and Max's trip on Route 66 and up through the Grand Canyon and into Utah and home.

  And, if you are looking for Sycamore House swag, check out Polly’s CafePress store: http://www.cafepress.com/sycamorehouse

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  There is nothing more fun than writing - at least for me. It takes a lot of solitude – a perfect life for this hermit. One little black and white cat named TB (The Beast) lives with me to remind me that there's a bigger world than what's going on in my head. I love that little bugger, even when he pesters me while I'm desperately trying to finish a chapter.

  Thank you to Rebecca Bauman, Tracy Kesterson Simpson, Linda Watson, Carol Greenwood, Alice Stewart, Fran Neff, Max Muir, Edna Fleming and Nancy Quist for all they
do to make these books happen.

  Continuity issues, typos, odd grammatical issues, missing or extra words get caught because they spend time reading this when it is still pretty raw. I take all of their input and use it to help me build a better book. I couldn't do this without them.

  The Facebook iteration of Bellingwood had a contest to choose the name for the new coffee shop and bakery. Great names and lots of fun.

  Jancie Ter Louw's "Sweet Beans" was the winning name and Sal is so thankful to have that dealt with. Other awesome names were offered by Pam Weaver, Kay Pflueger, Phyllis Mescia, Kate Hickson, Nola Knowles, Cathy Callahan and Brad Hickson.