Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 05 - Life Between the Lines

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  “Hey there, pretty girl. You never texted me. Are you up and moving?”

  “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Polly exclaimed. “I woke up late and haven’t been thinking straight since then. How’s your day going?”

  “I can think of a few ways it could be better, but since you’re there and I’m here, it’s going well. I can’t talk long but I wanted to make sure you were alive.”

  “I’m alive. I have a lot to tell you, but it will wait.” Polly smiled as she said it. Henry’s curiosity would kill him.

  “That’s not fair. What about?”

  “It’s no big deal. I’ll tell you tonight. I love you,” she said sweetly.

  “You’re a brat, but I love you too. I’ll talk to you tonight.

  They hung up and Polly looked at her lunch. The stew was still steaming and it looked as if Hannah had put their new Panini press to good use today.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Stopping in front of the airport, Polly looked around. Even though Ben Seafold had arrived while she was in the middle of the training session with Obiwan, he assured her that he could find plenty to occupy himself until she picked him up.

  She called his phone and watched a giant of a man reach into his pocket. He answered, “Hello,” and looked up as she drove directly in front of him and rolled down the passenger window.

  “Ben Seafold?” she asked.

  “Then you must be Polly Giller.” He had thick, brown curly hair and a full beard and was probably in his late forties or early fifties. He was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, reminding Polly a little of Paul Bunyan. Hints of grey in his beard shimmered in the light from the truck’s cab when he opened the door.

  “I am, and this is my dog Obiwan.” Polly pulled Obiwan close to her, making room for their guest. Ben dropped his bag behind the seat and after getting himself settled, reached out with one hand to let the dog sniff him.

  The next thing Polly knew, Obiwan was draped across the man’s lap begging for Ben to scratch him. Ben obliged, rubbing the dog’s ears and scratching the nape of his neck.

  “I’m sorry about that,” she laughed. “He can sit here.”

  “No, this is fine. I had to leave my Gertrude at home and I miss her when I’m gone.”

  “What kind of dog is Gertrude?”

  “A miniature dachshund.”

  Polly tried and failed to stifle a snort of laughter. “A miniature dachshund?” The image of the two of them walking together was too much. She pulled out of the airport and headed for the interstate, shaking her head to regain her composure.

  “She’s my girl. I’ve had her for six years and she never fails to let me know how glad she is that I rescued her.”

  Ben Seafold kept his hands on Obiwan. “I got to thinking today,” he said. “This trip probably wasn’t necessary, but Thomas was such a big part of my life, I couldn’t stay away after I talked to you. When I heard he died, I didn’t know what to do, so I guess I didn’t do anything but stay at home and feel sorry for myself.”

  “I wish I would have known,” Polly said quietly. “I’m so sorry.”

  “No, no, no, young lady. I’m here now. Maybe I’ll take you out for a rousing night on the town and tell you stories of Thomas when he wasn’t quite the gentleman you got to know. He taught me all of my vices. Dad wasn’t too happy with many of the decisions Thomas made regarding my education into the world, but we all lived through those days and I had the time of my life.”

  “Did you see much of him in the last few years?”

  “He’d come up to the house every October. In fact, he was planning to come see me after he left here. He told me we had things to talk about. He liked to be at my place around Halloween. He’d dress up in a black suit, paste on a fake mustache and part his hair on the side, then we’d spend the weekend haunting some of his favorite clubs. He would recite Poe’s creepiest stories and then we’d go home and light a fire, drink hot chocolate and watch slasher movies. I both dreaded and anticipated those trips. After a good solid night of scaring me to death, he’d get up the next day about noon and act like that was a perfectly normal day in his life. Then, he’d beg me to take him to an apple orchard or some mundane attraction and we’d be off, acting like tourists for the rest of the time.”

  “He really had a thing for Poe,” Polly commented.

  “I suppose he did. I didn’t see it except around Halloween. But, yes, I think that somehow Poe spoke to his soul. Thomas always wanted there to be more to life than the angst Poe expressed, but after so many years, it was as if he gave up on hope and was simply living until it was over. He enjoyed his friends, he loved to write and he liked meeting his fans, but there wasn’t anything big and wonderful out there on the horizon for him. He had too much respect for life to do anything other than live it, but he didn’t have a lot of …” Ben paused. “Zest. He didn’t have zest.”

  “Did he have zest when he was younger?”

  Ben laughed. “I don’t know if it was his alcoholism or what, but when he was up, he was really quite fun. Every time he got one of those pictures in the mail, he cleaned up his act and got excited about looking for Nelly and his son. Then, when the book was finished, he would come back a lost and broken man. He hadn’t found them, he didn’t know how he was going to start another novel, and each night he drank himself to sleep. Every once in a while Dad talked him into rousing out of his stupor long enough to go on a book tour, but he didn’t do many of those, they were too much effort.”

  “It sounds like those years were rough on him.”

  “They were rough on all of us that loved him. Dad and I always wondered what he could have done if he’d stayed sober. Actually, even if he had just managed to stay away from that terrible depressed drinking he did, things would have been better. But, it’s who he was and honestly, that’s what created those great books.”

  “Did he ever get close to finding Nelly?” Polly asked.

  “No, not really. He was always surprised to find out where they’d ended up. They were all over the country, never staying very long. It wasn’t that easy to track people down back then and Thomas wouldn’t hire a private detective. He figured that Nelly would have left clues for him and if he couldn’t find her, he wasn’t paying someone else to scare her to death by chasing her down.”

  “Kind of like the clues he left for her in the book?”

  “I can’t believe you figured that out. All of those years the books have been in print and no one ever saw that. Thomas never said a word.”

  “I’m surprised he was able to keep it a secret. He told no one! How does a person do that?”

  “There was only one person he wanted to figure it out and I guess she never did or else she would have let him find her.”

  “What about you,” Polly asked, “Do you have a family?”

  “Not yet. Dad decided he didn’t need a city to build a publishing company. We always told him that he found the most remote location in Vermont and gave the banker some money. Not a lot because they couldn’t get anyone to live there except fools. Things have built up a lot in the last thirty years, but it’s not a haven for flirtatious women.”

  They were near Boone and Polly asked, “Have you eaten?”

  “Oh, don’t worry about me. I had plenty to eat at your little airport in Des Moines. After sitting in airports and on airplanes all day today, I’m looking forward to stretching my legs. I have some manuscripts to read.” He chuckled. “Ain’t technology grand? I remember toting boxes of manuscripts for Dad. Nowadays, I load them onto a tablet and read until my eyes bleed.” Polly heard him chuckle again, “And sometimes it isn’t because the tablet is hurting my eyes, but the work is just that awful.”

  “We’re almost to Bellingwood,” she said. “There’s plenty of room to walk around. I hope you’ll like it.”

  “I’m sure I will. I’ve done all the talking on this trip. Tell me about your Sycamore House.”

  She found herself telling her story, of r
eturning to Iowa from Boston to find herself the owner of an old school house that was in desperate need of renovation. As she described meeting her new friends, he laughed in all the right places and encouraged her to keep talking. It seemed like only a few moments had passed and then she was pulling up to the front door.

  Obiwan sat back up and his whole body shook with joy when he saw where they were. As soon as Polly was out of the truck, he jumped to the ground and ran to the front door, wagging his tail.

  “Someone knows where home is,” Ben grabbed his bag from behind the seat and stretched, looking around. “This is a beautiful spot. Really peaceful.”

  “It’s home,” Polly said. “Come on in.”

  She gave him a quick tour of the main level, then took him to the addition. Obiwan followed them to the side door and stopped, expecting Polly to open the door to the outside so he could go to the barn.

  “Not yet, bud,” she said. “We’ll go out later.”

  “You have a barn,” Ben said. “I know that’s obvious, but what kind of animals do you have down there?”

  “I rescued four Percheron horses last winter. Sometimes timing is everything. I knew I wanted to get a horse or two, so I had this amazing barn-raising event. We didn’t even get the barn fully finished before my veterinarian had four horses who needed me.”

  “Are they okay now?”

  Polly pressed the button for the elevator to take them upstairs.

  “They are great. They just needed some tender loving care.”

  They rode up quietly in the elevator. She opened the door to his room and went inside with him, pulling the door closed behind her.

  “Natalie Dormand is across the hallway from you. If another room had been available, I wouldn’t have put you that close to her. Have you two ever met?”

  “We’ve spoken a few times, but I’ve never met her. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

  Polly emailed the keys to his room and outside doors to Ben. “Feel free to come and go as you please. You might feel a little trapped here without a car, but if you want a ride uptown for anything, just let me know. You can call or text me any time.”

  “Where’s uptown and do they have a diner?”

  She smiled. “It’s a wonderful diner and it’s three blocks that way,” Polly pointed toward town. “If you don’t mind the walk, it’s a nice community. If you do mind the walk, it’s still nice.”

  “I’ll be just fine. It looks like you all are ready for Halloween.”

  “We certainly are. There won’t be any readings of Poe’s literature and I’m hoping we don’t scare the children too much, but the Sheriff’s wife is excited about creating some fun for them and we’re all going to be part of it.” She turned to leave. “Welcome to Bellingwood. I hope we can make your stay worthwhile. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Good night, Polly Giller.” He held the door as she left. “I look forward to the next few days.”

  Polly and Obiwan went back down the elevator and out the side door. Obiwan wandered off toward the back of the building and she took out her phone to text Henry.

  “I’m back in town and have Ben Seafold safely ensconced in his room. I missed you today.”

  Within seconds, her phone buzzed with a return text.

  “I missed you too. Have you eaten supper yet? Would you like some company?”

  She had completely forgotten about supper.

  “My truck is out front,” she texted, “Maybe Obiwan and I should come to your house. I can pick up a couple of sandwiches. How about it?”

  Her phone rang this time and she answered it, “What’s up?”

  “Drive around to your garage. You’ll see my truck there. I’ve been waiting here with the cats for you to return. I figured you hadn’t eaten supper and I brought sandwiches.”

  “You’re a nut! We’ll be up in a few minutes. Thanks for sitting with the cats.”

  “They held me down and made me watch an old Superman movie. Don’t you have any chick flicks around here?”

  “I’m sure I have one or two,” she giggled. “I’ll be right up.”

  Obiwan jumped into the truck and Polly drove to her garage.

  Doug was out walking along the tree line with Billy’s dog, Big Jack. Obiwan took off at a run when he saw them, wagging his tail, jumping in the air and barking at his friend.

  “Hi there!” she called out over the sound of two happy dogs.

  “Hey.” Doug didn’t sound like his normal self and Polly walked over to stand with him as they watched the dogs romp around.

  “What’s up? You don’t sound very happy.”

  “It’s no big deal.”

  “But it’s some kind of deal. What’s going on?”

  He stomped his right foot on the ground beside her and planted himself, then looked up. “I’m tired of being alone.”

  “Alone? Where’s Billy?”

  “He’s always out with Rachel. They don’t even stay to play games anymore.”

  “Why don’t you invite your other friends over?”

  “I do. And they come over sometimes, but I feel like I’m the only person without a life around here. And I’m tired of playing online by myself all the time. I should have just stayed in my parent’s basement. At least then there was someone to talk to when I came out for dinner.”

  “They’re gone every night?”

  “Yeah. They go over to Rachel’s house. She has to be there while her mom works. I guess they don’t want Caleb to be alone.”

  Polly took a deep breath and dove in. “Doug, what would you say if I set you up on a date with a cute girl who likes games and geeky stuff?”

  “I’d say she doesn’t exist.”

  “But she does and she’s into Steampunk and is coming to the Masquerade Ball and I told her about you and she’s interested in meeting you.”

  “Don’t be messing with me, Polly. That would be cruel.”

  “I’m not messing. I promise. Weren’t you planning to go to the Ball?”

  “I don’t know.” He scuffed his right foot on the ground. “You’re serious about this?”

  “I’m totally serious. Her name is Anita Banks and she works for Sheriff Merritt in Boone. You don’t have to do anything other than come to the Ball. I’ll introduce you and then if it works out, great. If not, that’s no big deal.”

  “You can’t tell anyone about this. Promise you won’t tell anyone. I mean it, Polly. No one.”

  “I promise,” she said. “Will you be there?”

  “I will. But you can’t tell anybody. Not even Henry. We aren’t talking about this.”

  “Fine. We aren’t talking about it. It’s our secret.” She jabbed his arm. “See. I’m a really great older sister, aren’t I!”

  “Did you really set up a date for me? Really?”

  “I really did. And it has no strings attached. She’s pretty cool.”

  “Wow.” He looked at her. “Wow.”

  “You should come upstairs to my apartment tonight. Henry’s there. He got sandwiches. I’m sure there’s plenty of food. We’re going to watch a movie.”

  “Nah, I don’t want to interrupt. You guys are probably on a date or something.”

  “Stop it. If it were a hot date, I wouldn’t have invited you. Come on up. Henry’s already watched a Superman movie and he’s complaining that I don’t have enough chick flicks. You need to rescue me.”

  Doug’s eyes lit up. The poor guy really was lonely. The immense apartment that she’d had built over her garage probably was pretty empty with only one person in there. She should have caught on to this earlier.

  “Let me take Big Jack up to my place and I’ll be there in a few minutes. Is it okay if I come in the back door?”

  “Just yell when you open the door and come on up. And I won’t say a word,” Polly laughed. She called for Obiwan and he followed her in and up the back steps.

  Henry was sitting on the sofa when she walked into the room. He jumped up. “I have sand
wiches in the refrigerator. Let me get them.”

  “No, you sit back down.” Polly walked to him and kissed him. “We’re going to have company. Poor Doug is lonely. Billy and Rachel are spending a lot of time together at her house, so I invited him to come up and watch a movie with us.”

  He leaned into her ear and whispered, “You are always rescuing someone. I love that about you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “You won’t believe it, but I was starving when I went to the sub shop, so I bought an extra sandwich.”

  “Then I’ll slice them into chunks and we can share all around. Henry Sturtz, sometimes you are the smartest man on the planet. Thank you for taking care of me and all my friends. Now sit down and I’ll get everything out. It’s the least I can do.”

  He followed her to the kitchen, “How was the trip back with that guy?”

  “He’s such a nice man, Henry. His name is Ben Seafold and he looks like Paul Bunyan. He’s huge! But he really liked Thomas and I’m glad he’s here. I don’t trust that Natalie Dormand for some reason and I think there are a lot of decisions that need to be made that aren’t being made.”

  “Is there any kind of memorial service planned?”

  “I don’t even know that! You’d think she would have said something to us. But she was so worried about getting to his computer and the manuscript that I don’t think she’s paying attention to anything else.” Then Polly said, “I wouldn’t know about any of that though. She’s not talking to me or anyone else around here. She hides in her room and comes down for food every once in a while. Weird girl.”

  “Helloooo!” Doug called from the bottom of the stairway.

  “Come on up!” Polly called back. “We’re in the kitchen.”

  Henry took plates down from the shelf and put them on the peninsula.

  “I brought chips and some cookies my mom made,” Doug said, crossing the room. Obiwan jumped off the couch and followed him, his tail madly wagging. “Thanks for letting me come over. I was ready to go out of my mind and if Mom knew I was lonely, she’d make me come home.”

  “Then we won’t say a word,” Henry patted his shoulder. “Come on over and tell me what movie we should watch.”