The Leafing: the 2nd book in The Green Man series

by Sharon Brubaker

  “Hey, lady,” one of the attendants called. “Did you lose something?”

  Sylvia grabbed the necklace with her hand.

  “I’m okay,” she returned. “I thought I had dropped something from my car.”

  “All right, then,” the attendant told her. “Now move along.”

  She got back in her car and drove slowly to the trash area. She wondered what would have caused this reaction from the ring on the chain. What did the ‘no’ mean? The only thing she could think of is that she was above a dirty mountain of trash and wondered if they had built the recycling center on top of mountains of old trash. She didn’t know.

  Sylvia didn’t have much time to think of thieves and murderers or weird dowsing incidents in the next two weeks. Gwen’s future sister-in-law Claire peppered her with phone calls, texts and emails for the upcoming wedding shower. Also, Audrey, Claire’s Mother also called frequently. The upcoming shower was in early March at the country club near their home. Finally, the weekend arrived. Winter chill was still in the air, but it was sunny and bright as she started her drive to Connecticut on Friday morning. The previous night she had taken Marian and Jon to dinner before leaving Percy at their home. The house felt empty when she had arrived home. She missed her big bundle of fur. She called Marian to check on him in the morning.

  “He’s just fine, Sylvia,” Marian said. “Don’t worry. You know Jon, Owen and I will spoil him rotten.”

  “I know, I know,” Sylvia answered, “but, give him a big hug from me.”

  Marian chuckled and reassured her that all would be well. Sylvia headed north on I-95 through Delaware and over the Delaware Memorial Bridge until she hit the turnpike north. From the turnpike she drove onto the Garden State Parkway. Sylvia couldn’t remember the name of the town Tony lived in nor what exit was near his New Jersey home. Fueled by caffeine and lively Celtic music, she whizzed through traffic. At the end of the Garden State, Sylvia stopped to stretch her legs at a rest stop. She liked watching the people at rest stops, and treated herself to hot caramel cider at Starbucks with a pumpkin muffin , sitting down on a bench to watch the comings and goings. Sylvia didn’t feel comfortable driving through the central New York City, so she bypassed the downtown route and went around via the Tappanzee Bridge. Sylvia arrived in Old Saybrook, Connecticut a couple of hours later. Her car’s GPS brought her to the driveway of a massive home near the Long Island sound. It was huge white clapboard colonial. Snow was still heavy on the ground, but the sun was high and the driveway and walks were clear. Sylvia could see patches of green poking through some of the snow. Sylvia went up to the door and rang the bell. Sylvia wondered what kind of dog they had, as she heard muffled barking from deep inside the house.

  Claire Beecher, Gwen’s future sister-in-law, opened the door. She was a polished young blonde woman with fire in her eyes. She gave Sylvia a hug as she came through the doorway. Two Dobermans trotted in, their claws clacking on the hardwood floor and slate foyer. Sylvia held down her hand and they sniffed it interested at first and then sat down obediently.

  “Sylvia! You made it!” Claire cried after the hug. “Come in, come in!”

  Sylvia entered the house. It was filled with warmth and light. The outside of the house looked very traditional, but windows and hardwood were off to the right of the grand foyer. Gwen was at the top of the stairs and ran down them pell-mell when she saw Sylvia standing inside the doorway. Sylvia was engulfed in a bear hug from Gwen. A door opened from a room off to the left and Audrey Beecher came in. She seemed, to Sylvia, the epitome of a well-bred society wife. Her long blond pageboy haircut was neat as a pin and she wore a very preppy cardigan over a skirt and ironed blouse.

  “Sylvia,” she said, extending her hand gracefully, “so lovely to meet you at last.”

  Gwen and Claire helped Sylvia take her things up to a guest room. She wondered how many bedrooms this place had. She hoped she would have a few moments with Gwen privately. Claire and Gwen had told her about the weekend plans. Privately, Claire told Sylvia about a plan to take Gwen out on the town after the official bridal shower, if they could get away from Audrey for a few hours. So Sylvia had brought two gifts for the bridal shower. One gift was for the country club shower – a monogrammed bag with monogrammed beach towels and flip-flops that left an imprint of ‘just married’ when you walked in the sand. Gwen and Frank were to go to Hawaii for their honeymoon. The other gift, for Claire’s ‘other’ shower was racy lingerie that she had picked up for Gwen. Sylvia unpacked and looked longingly at the bed. She almost felt she could take a short nap, but knew the weekend was chock full of activities. There was a knock at her door. Sylvia opened it.

  Gwen came in and burst into tears. She sat on the bed gulping great breaths to get herself together. Sylvia sat down next to her grabbing some tissues and handing them to her friend.

  “What’s wrong, Gwen?” Sylvia asked, concerned.

  “I-I think it’s just wedding nerves,” Gwen replied, hiccoughing a little.

  Sylvia went into the bathroom adjacent to the guest room and found a glass. She filled it with cold water and took it back to Gwen.

  With a voice barely above a whisper, Gwen said, “She’s taken over, Syl! She’s running the whole, entire show!”

  “Who?” Sylvia asked Gwen.

  “Mother Audrey,” Gwen said, nearly spitting out the words.

  Gwen went on to tell Sylvia how stressed she had been at work. Gwen’s damned need of being a perfectionist, helped her decision to turn over control of the wedding planning to her future mother-in-law so that she could focus on her new job. It was a relief, at first, but then, Audrey had taken over. Now Gwen didn’t feel as though she had any choices for the upcoming nuptials.

  “I just want to elope now!” She told her friend, “Franklin said absolutely not, of course, but I’m not sure what to do.”

  Sylvia’s usual cool, collected friend was a mess.

  “What about your Mom?” Sylvia asked, “What does she say about all this?”

  Gwen groaned, “Oh, my God Sylvia! You know my Mom,” Gwen insisted. “She’s off finding herself somewhere. I hope she can find herself to come to the wedding. She’s so happy she doesn’t need to pay for anything. “It’s ‘serendipitous’ she says,” Gwen said almost bitterly.

  Gwen’s family was a mess. She, also, had lost her father at a young age. Their mutual loss was one of the things that had bonded them in college – Sylvia’s Dad to a heart attack and Gwen’s father to a drunken driving accident. Sylvia’s Mom went into banking and on to a career while Gwen’s mother went to ‘find herself.’ She traveled to various venues to learn aromatherapy, massage therapy, meditation and more. For the majority of her life, Gwen had to be the adult in the household as she needed to raise her mother and keep an eye on her father and his alcohol consumption before he died. He had been an alcoholic, drinking at home or in a social crowd, but mostly at home. Over the years it became worse. Gwen had often said to Sylvia that she was glad no one else had been involved in the accident. Numbers became Gwen’s friend because they were always a constant in her life and they were creative in their way too. When she had fallen in love with Franklin Beecher, she became part of a very traditional New England well-to-do family and Gwen had embraced it. She had yearned for a traditional family. Now, she was having some regrets.

  Sylvia didn’t know what to say. Her only thought was consulting Claire. “Can you trust Claire?” she asked Gwen.

  “I think so,” Gwen said.

  “Maybe she can work on her mother,” Sylvia suggested.

  “Maybe,” Gwen said.

  Sylvia didn’t like that her usually confident friend sounded so unsure of things. She gave her a hug.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up and then you can give me a tour, okay?” Sylvia asked Gwen.

  Gwen went to splash cold water on her face, pinch her cheeks and pat her hair into place. They walked downstairs to the family. Gwen led her to the family room where long windows l
ooked out over the Connecticut marshes and where Sylvia could see the Long Island Sound in the distance. Franklin senior was working on a fire. Franklin junior or Frank, as Sylvia knew him, was making drinks at a bar. Audrey walked in with nibbles on a platter and Claire was curled up in the corner of a couch. Franklin senior stood up and gave Sylvia a kiss on each cheek. Frank gave her a hug after he delivered drinks to his father and to Claire.

  He raised one eyebrow in a question, “Still red wine?” he asked her.

  Sylvia nodded in response. Frank went to get her a glass of wine, which he handed to her after a few minutes, and an icy cold artisan beer to Gwen. Audrey was sipping at white wine. Sylvia presented a basket with wine and gourmet treats and chocolates from local bay vendors to Audrey.

  “Thank you, dear,” she said, “You needn’t have bothered,” she said, but Audrey looked pleased.

  “Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day,” Audrey told everyone. “We should be at the club before noon to make sure things are just right,” she said.

  Sylvia glanced at Gwen who gave her a look that said, “I told you so.”

  “What are the plans after the shower?” Claire asked casually.

  “Resting would be appropriate,” Franklin senior said chuckling.

  “A simple dinner, I think,” Audrey said.

  “Well,” Claire said slowly, “I think I would like to take my future sister-in-law and her best friend out for dinner. Will that be all right?”

  “Of course,” Audrey said.

  “Can I come as well?” Frank asked.

  “No, big bro,” Claire teased, “girls only!”

  Frank gave a pouting look until Gwen whispered something in his ear that made him grin.

  “Well,” Audrey said, interrupting, “after our dinner, I think we should update Sylvia on the wedding. She should try on her bridesmaid gown tomorrow morning before we go to the Club.”

  “I would appreciate that,” Sylvia said. “Any chance I can take a walk on the beach before dinner?”

  Audrey shivered. “Too cold for my bones,” she said. “No thank you.”

  “I’ll go,” Claire said. “Bundle up.”

  “Should we take the dogs?” Sylvia asked.

  The two Dobermans were lying in front of the fire. Sylvia patted her thighs and they stood up and came over.

  “Walk?” she asked and they wagged their tail stubs enthusiastically.

  “I’ll get their leashes,” Franklin senior told her.

  “Do you want to come too?” Sylvia asked Gwen.

  Gwen shook her head. “No, I think I’ll help with dinner.”

  “Would you like us to stay and help out as well?” Sylvia addressed the question to Audrey.

  “No, no,” Audrey insisted. “Go and enjoy you walk.”

  Claire had retrieved coats from the closet and Franklin put leashes on the dogs. The girls went out the French doors and through the yard. The leftover snow was slushy from the day’s sun. At the end of the yard, a boardwalk wound its way through the saltmarsh. Sylvia could see the water in the distance. Since it was single file, it was difficult to maneuver the dogs and walk and talk. Conversation was held until they reached the beach.

  “Oooh, lovely,” Sylvia breathed.

  This beach was very much like her beach on the bay, but the smell of salt was stronger and the waves were heavier. Snow lay caught up in the marsh grasses and in eddies in the dunes. Sylvia loved the stark beauty of the winter beach. She breathed deeply and walked alongside Claire.

  “Thanks for walking with me,” she said.

  “Sure,” said Claire. “Hey, Syl, is Gwen okay? She seemed upset this afternoon.”

  “Are you psychic?” Sylvia teased. “Yes, she’s upset.”

  “Not having second thoughts about getting married, is she?” Claire asked worriedly.

  “No, not that,” Sylvia insisted. “I think she wants a bit more control with the wedding plans.”

  “Oh,” Claire said. “I understand. Mom tends to take over things. Gwen had better get used to it, if she’s going to be part of our family.”

  “I know, and Gwen appreciates all of the help because of her work schedule, but it is her wedding,” Sylvia insisted.

  “I understand,” Claire restated, “and I’ll see what I can do. Gwen’s one of the nicest things that has happened to this family.”

  They walked back to the house. Sylvia felt more relaxed and knew she had to find a way to talk to Gwen.

  Audrey had prepared a lovely dinner with roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and petite vegetables. It was all delicious, but Sylvia couldn’t help but think of Marian’s delicious special mashed potatoes with butter, sour cream, cream cheese and herbs. Audrey filled Sylvia in with the recent wedding changes. She discussed music choices during the ceremony and the reception menu. Sylvia murmured polite assent to the changes, but noticed the rest of the family ate in silence.

  Dessert was served in the family room. Sylvia offered to help with the cleaning up, but Audrey had hired out.

  “Wait until you see your dress,” Gwen commented to her. “It’s gorgeous.”

  “I’m a bit weary,” Audrey said, “I think I’ll go up to bed. Breakfast will be laid out in the kitchen. Please help yourselves in the morning. Girls, we need to be able to leave by eight thirty. Please be ready.”

  “So sayeth the queen,” Claire muttered at her mother’s retreating back.

  Sylvia caught the comment and gulped back a laugh. Claire’s eyes danced with mischief. Her father took the dogs for their nightly round outside and also retreated to bed.

  “Party time?” Claire asked them.

  “I would love to,” Sylvia told her, “but, the party would last about five minutes! I’m really tired from driving.”

  “You need to get some rest so that we can party tomorrow night,” she advised.

  “Okay,” Sylvia said. “Will do, good night all.”

  Sylvia had hoped Gwen might follow her to talk, but she was wrapped up with Frank on the couch. She looked sleepy too. Sylvia headed to the guest room and after preparing for bed, lay sleepless. It was nice to get away for a bit, but she missed Percy and her home at Bayside. Originally, Owen was to come on this weekend as well. She sighed. Things had certainly changed in the last few months.

  Saturday dawned bright and sunny. It was definitely warming up. Was it due to the Green Man’s influence? Sylvia wondered again. She made her way to the kitchen where Franklin senior was sitting with coffee and newspaper.

  “Good morning,” he said, “help yourself.”

  The dogs were at his feet and looked up at Sylvia, but accepted she was there and lay their heads back down. Sylvia looked at the coffee maker. She had several choices of the small Keurig cups to choose from. The coffeemaker beeped and buzzed and filled her cup with steaming coffee. Gwen entered next, still looking tousled from sleep and yawning.

  “Morning,” she said. Gwen was not a morning person; Sylvia knew that from years of experience. She knew better than to tease her friend about how many times she hit the snooze button.

  Sylvia helped herself to a bagel and cream cheese and sat at the table.

  It was silent. Sylvia wasn’t uncomfortable, but conversation would have been nice. Claire burst in a few minutes later with her unbridled energy. Claire made her smile.

  “Good morning,” she greeted cheerily.

  Grateful, Sylvia returned the greeting.

  “Are we ready for this day?” she asked Gwen, “You had better get ready. I heard mother moving about.”

  Gwen raised an eyebrow and then nodded, but still didn’t speak. She got up to head upstairs. Sylvia shook her head at her friend’s retreating back.

  “Some things never change,” she said.

  Claire snorted with laughter. “So, Gwen has never been a morning person?” Claire asked Sylvia.

  “Not as long as I’ve known her,” she said.

  “I just thought it was Frank’s influence, if you know what I mean
,” Claire jibed and winked at Sylvia.

  “Claire,” her father admonished.

  Claire shrugged.

  “What’s all this?” Audrey asked as she entered the kitchen. “You are certainly all in a good morning mood!”

  “Nothing,” Claire said blithely.

  Her husband didn’t offer any explanation either, but smiled and focused on reading the paper. Audrey prepared coffee and brushed away invisible crumbs from the marble countertop. Everything was pristine. You would never know that a dinner had been prepared in the kitchen the previous evening.

  “Is our little bride awake?” Audrey asked.

  “Yes,” Sylvia answered Audrey, “she’s getting dressed.”

  “The gowns are so lovely,” Audrey told Sylvia, “just wait until you see them.”

  When they were all ready, Audrey herded them to an elegant SUV. Sylvia brought her gift bag with her for the shower and added it to the stack of gifts in the back of the car. Claire sat up front with her mother and Sylvia and Gwen sat in the back. They drove along the shoreline towards town.