Pages of the Past (Bellingwood Book 9) (6 page)

"Polly says we're supposed to do our very best and sometimes she makes me redo problems if I mess them up."

"Why?"

"Because I'm learning, I guess." Rebecca didn't sound too confident of her reason.

"Because learning is more than just getting a grade," Polly said. "Learning is about the whole process. Let me see your sheet, Rebecca. Yours too, Andrew."

Both kids handed her their work. As far as Polly could tell, Rebecca's was pretty much right. She put Andrew's back in front of him and pointed at number six. "Are you sure about that answer? Check your subtraction."

He peered at his answer and then looked up at Polly. "Thank you. I'd have gotten it wrong."

Kayla's eyes bounced back and forth between the two kids and then she timidly held her paper up. "What about mine?"

Two of her answers had errors in the calculations and Polly put the sheet back down in front of her. "You need to look at your answers for number two and number ten. The others look good." The timer on the oven rang and Polly said, "Rebecca, do you want to get the brownies or help Kayla with her work?"

"I'll get the brownies."

"Hot pads. Don't forget the hot pads."

Rebecca slipped out of her seat and Polly took it and sat down. She leaned back and grabbed a notepad from the corner of the counter behind her.

"Let's work through these numbers and see if you come up with a better answer," Polly said. She turned back around. "Just put that on the cooling rack for a few minutes. I'll cut it."

"Okay," Rebecca said.

Kayla had taken the notepad and was reworking problem number two. Polly saw her eyes light up and she worked through it to the right answer.

"Good," Polly said. "Now try number ten again, using the information you just learned."

"That was easy," Kayla said when she finished the second problem.

"Sometimes you just have to slow down and think it all through. We have plenty of time, so why don't you three take a break. Andrew, do you want to put Star Wars in and I'll bring brownies over? You can watch it for half an hour and then come back and write your poems."

He ran across the room to queue up the movie and dropped into the chair beside the sofa. Obiwan jumped up to join him.

"Come on," he called as familiar music played into the room. "This is the best movie!"

Kayla followed Rebecca and the two girls curled up on the couch. Rebecca took a blanket off the back and threw it over their laps.

"Hit play," she said. "We're ready."

Polly cut brownies and poured milk, then took the treats into the living room and waited until the opening scroll had finished before passing them out.

"This is in space?" Kayla asked.

"Yes, it's awesome!" Andrew declared. "Just watch."

"It's my favorite movie in the world," Polly whispered. "I make him watch it all the time."

"It's my favorite too," he agreed. "But there are six of them and they're all good."

Polly rolled her eyes. Thank goodness he was young enough to appreciate the movies, no matter what. She had decided that complaining about Jar Jar Binks was not necessary around the kids. They didn't know they were supposed to hate the character.

"You should see her office," Rebecca said. "She has Star Wars everywhere."

Kayla nodded, caught up in the plot. When the image of Leia was projected from R2D2 and said, "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope," Kayla's eyes jumped to the dog. The image repeated the phrase and Kayla pointed to the dog.

"Polly is Star Wars crazy," Andrew said. "Keep watching. This is a good part." He directed her eyes back to the screen.

Polly interrupted them after the half hour was up and though there was moaning and complaining, she insisted, and they settled back in to work on their poems. She went into the living room while they worked and opened her laptop. There were so many things spinning in her mind that she wanted to get them into her notes program while they were still fresh.

Ideas about the new bakery and the possibility of an afterschool kids club at Sycamore House gave her lots to think about. The most frustrating thing was the fact that she didn't have enough employees to make it all happen easily.

Jeff would tell her that was the least of her problems. She didn't have any business for the bakery and she was already trying to hire more employees. Heck, she didn't even have a finished building. It wouldn't come together for months. But it was so exciting to think about starting a new project, she could hardly contain herself.

"I'm done," Andrew said, coming out to the living room. "Can I turn the movie back on?"

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Not until everybody is done," he grumped.

"Exactly. Get your book out and read quietly or something."

"I just wanted her to see the whole thing before we have to go home tonight."

"The movie will be here the next time Kayla comes over and I'm sure you'll remember where you left off."

"Okay. Can I go down to my desk?"

"Why do you want to do that?"

"I dunno. Just something to do."

"Where's the book you're going to read?"

"In my backpack."

"The girls won't be that much longer. Why don't you bring your book out here and read with me. You and Obiwan can have the other couch."

"Fine." Andrew slopped his feet across the floor back to the dining room and then came back, dragging the backpack behind him.

"If you scratch the floor because you're being a poop, I'm siccing Henry on you," she said.

He picked the pack up and carried it to the sofa and sat down.

"What's up with you, anyway?" Polly asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing really? Or nothing you don't want to tell me about it."

"Nothing."

"That's helpful."

He whispered at Polly, "Is she coming here every day?"

That was it! He was jealous of Rebecca's time. Polly wondered if he noticed the crush Rebecca had on his older brother. That would just kill him.

"Who knows how often she'll come here, but wouldn't you rather she had a safe place to go after school than wander around town by herself?"

"I guess. But ... oh nothing."

"I get it, Andrew. But trust me. More friends are more interesting than just one friend. You might find that you really like her."

"I like her fine. She's just a girl, but she doesn't know all the stuff that Rebecca and I do here."

"Then you'll have to teach her."

A knock at the front door of the apartment startled both of them.

"I got it," Andrew said and ran to open the door. Rachel was standing there with a slip of paper in her hand.

"What's up, Rachel?" Polly asked. "Come on in."

"You're supposed to call Kayla's sister at the convenience store. She didn't know how else to get in contact with you." She walked over to hand Polly the piece of paper. "That's her cell phone."

"Did she say anything?"

"No, she just wanted you to call her. She said it was important."

"Okay, thanks for bringing this up to me. When are you heading over to the winery?"

Rachel smiled. "In an hour. I can't wait. I haven't seen the whole place yet. Billy said we could go some Thursday night during the summer. They're going to have musicians and wine tastings and stuff."

"That will be fun. Okay, thanks for this. I'd better find out what she wants."

Polly took out her phone as Rachel pulled the door shut behind her. After dialing the number, she waited for someone to answer.

"It's Stephanie," the girl said.

"Hi, Stephanie, this is Polly Giller over at Sycamore House. You called?"

"Yeah. I'm so, so sorry, but I have to work another shift tonight and I don't know what to do with Kayla. Maybe she could just walk over here and stay while I work?"

"She can stay with us and you can pick her up when you're done. What time will that be?"

"Not until eleven thirty."

"She won't get home until eleven thirty?"

"I know. It's bad, but there isn't anyone else to work here. I have to stay."

"I get that, but wow. Eleven thirty?"

"I don't know what else to do. I'm sorry."

Polly bit her lower lip, trying to think through the evening. They could take Kayla to dinner with them. Maybe she should just offer to let the girl spend the night. At least she would get to sleep at a reasonable hour.

"Would you mind if I ran over to meet you?" Polly asked.

"Sure. But why?"

"Because I'm going to see if you want to let Kayla spend the night with us and I'll take her to school with Rebecca in the morning. But I want you to meet me first."

"I know your husband. He always comes in for ice cream sandwiches."

"Yes. I guess he does. But I'd like to put a face to your name. What do you say to her spending the night so she can get to bed at a normal hour?"

"Sometimes she doesn't go to bed until ten thirty or eleven. Tonight wouldn't be too late."

"I see."

"That's bad, isn't it?"

"No. Don't say that. I'm not trying to give you trouble. Let me come meet you. I'm serious about her spending the night, though. You can pick her up after school tomorrow."

"I have to work until five thirty. She usually goes to the library until I'm done. I've never gone a whole day without seeing her."

Polly took a breath. "Then I'll bring her and Rebecca with me right now. But if she's staying here until after eleven thirty, I can guarantee she'll be asleep. I'll probably be asleep."

"Okay. Come on over. I'm really sorry about this."

"You don't need to apologize. It's okay. We'll work it out. I want to make it easy for you and if you're really uncomfortable with her spending the night here after you meet me, we'll figure out how to fix it for you."

"Thanks. I have a customer." Stephanie Armstrong clicked off and Polly walked into the dining room.

"How are you girls doing on your poems?" she asked.

"We're close," Rebecca said.

"It's time for another break. Put your shoes and coats on. We're going to run over to the convenience store to meet Kayla's sister. She has to work a late shift tonight and Kayla's going to hang out with us for a little longer."

"Yeah!" Rebecca yelled and jumped up. "You'll get to meet Henry and Jessie and see their other dog, Han. And I'll take you down to meet my mom."

Rebecca usually spent a couple of hours in the evenings with her mother. The amount of time was perfect for both of them. She came back upstairs to get ready for bed before her mother completely ran out of energy and before Rebecca had to watch Evelyn Morrow help Sarah through her own evening preparations. Sarah did her best to rest up for the weekends when Rebecca was able to spend a great deal of time in her room. They'd found games they could play together and sometimes Sarah just watched as Rebecca drew all she could see from the large windows in the room.

"You girls get ready to go. Andrew, do you want to come, too?"

"No, that's fine. I'll stay here and read."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Whatever."

"Boys," Kayla said with feigned disgust.

"Boys," Rebecca huffed.

CHAPTER SIX

Stephanie Armstrong was a nice enough girl. She seemed too young to have the stress of raising a younger sister, but the two interacted well. Kayla hugged Stephanie when she got to the convenience store and after hellos, they were discussing Kayla's day and her homework. Star Wars took a few more moments and then Stephanie asked Kayla to show Rebecca the puzzle magazines.

When the girls were out of earshot, Polly smiled at the young woman and asked about Kayla spending the night again.

"Don't feel like I'm insisting," Polly said. "You just tell me what you'd like to do and I'll help you out."

"I know that I'm keeping you all up late, too," Stephanie replied. "That's not fair. I've never had to do two shifts in a row. Usually I get some time to take her home and make dinner before I have to come back to work, but Brian is out of town and he couldn't cover for me."

"I get it. It's hard to make things work when you're alone. My best friend has two boys and I know how hard it's been for her, trying to go to school and work. Luckily her sons get to hang out at Sycamore House."

Stephanie screwed her lips up and twisted them as she tried to make a decision. "She doesn't have any clothes for tomorrow."

"That's right," Polly agreed. She needed to let the girl figure this out for herself.

"But she does have a key to the house..."

"We could take her there after dinner."

"It's going to be so weird to be alone. We've never been apart at night."

"Stephanie, please. If you want to come get her when you're off work, that will be fine."

"She really likes Rebecca. It could be like a slumber party. She's never done that before."

"Rebecca likes her too and I'm glad they're friends. Rebecca has needed a good friend."

"Really?"

"That's a story I'll tell you some other day. But trust me when I say that they're good for each other. Mrs. Hastings did a great thing when she put them together."

Stephanie nodded. "She's been a good teacher for Kayla. I wasn't sure how my sister would adjust to a new school. It's been a rough year for her."

"I know you don't know me very well, but I really only want to make this as easy as I can for you."

"Everybody in town talks about you. I can't believe I've never met you before. Your husband comes in all the time."

"Tell me he doesn't explain why he's buying all those ice cream bars."

"He just said they're your favorite."

"Yeah. And he buys them for me when I'm stressed out or upset. He's a smart, smart man."

"Well, we stock more since you two got together," Stephanie said with a grin. "At least that's what Brian said."

Polly laughed out loud. "Great. We're changing the economy of the convenience store."

"Yeah. Just don't stop eating them. You'll kill us."

"Not any time soon. Don't tell Henry, though. I quit buying them at the grocery store so he can pick them up whenever he wants to do something nice for me."

"That's funny," she said with a slight smile.

"Just don't say anything. I don't want him to know I'm on to him."

"Okay," Stephanie said.

"Great. He's one of my favorite guys in the world."

"Okay. She can stay with you tonight."

The transition was abrupt, but Polly accepted it. "Do you want me to bring her to you in the morning before school? Is it going to be hard on you two if you don't see each other until later?"

"No, that's okay." She gave a laugh. "I wouldn't hate sleeping in one time, but don't tell her I said that. I never want her to think that she's a problem for me."

"Got it. We'll keep each other's secrets."

"Kayla?" Stephanie called out. They waited until the two girls joined them at the counter.

"Yah what?" Kayla asked.

"What do you think about spending the night with Rebecca since I have to work so late? You could go home and get clothes and your toothbrush and stuff. They'll take you to school and I'll see you after I get off work."

Rebecca was practically vibrating with glee. She waited to see what Kayla's reaction would be before she got too excited. When her friend looked at her with big eyes, the two girls jumped up together and then did a quick high five.

"Awesome!" Rebecca said.

"Give me a hug," Stephanie said and reached out for Kayla who ran into her arms. "And promise to be good."

"I will. I promise. Thank you."

"I love you and I'll see you tomorrow. Okay?"

~~~

It had only taken a minimum of chaotic organizing to get everyone ready to go to dinner. By the time Henry and Jessie arrived, homework was completed and the kids were settled in on the sofa watching the end of Star Wars. Jason came up to get Andrew before the movie was over, causing no small amount of consternation for the boy, but knowing Eliseo was waiting, he got his things together and left with his brother.

A flurry of activity occurred as everyone got ready to go. Polly took the dogs out for a quick walk in the back yard. Han was learning to negotiate the stairs, but since she was in a hurry, she picked him up and called for Obiwan to follow.

The hostess at Davey's smiled when they all walked in. She counted heads and said, "Table for five?"

Polly nodded. She automatically reached out to put her hands on Kayla and Rebecca's shoulders in order to move them forward ahead of her, but drew back, remembering Kayla's initial response. "Go ahead girls, follow Mariah." She nodded to Jessie to go ahead and then took Henry's hand.

"There are a lot of females at this table tonight," he said.

"You're good for us all," Polly said. The restaurant was busy and Mariah led them to a large room in the back. Polly waved at Lydia Merritt, trying to catch her friend's attention, but Lydia was staring at her salad, unaware of the activity around her. However, the only large table available was right next to Lydia and Aaron.

Polly slipped in beside them and said, "Looks like you've got company tonight."

Both Lydia and Aaron glanced up from their plates in surprise. Lydia jumped up and hugged Polly. "I wish we'd have known you were coming. You could have joined us."

"We practically are," Polly said.

Aaron had stood with her and shook Henry's hand, then took Polly's. "How are you this evening?" he asked stiffly.

"I'm good. How are things with the case? Rumor has it that you know the man who was killed." Polly sat down and continued. "Why didn't you say something to me? There I was acting all girly and scared and it was someone you knew."

"You were alive and it was too late to do anything for him. Simple priorities," he said.

Polly hadn't seen much of Aaron after he'd escorted her to the back of the caretaker's house and now that she had a chance to look at him, she was shocked at what she saw. He'd lost weight and he looked drawn and exhausted. His eyes were dark and his skin sallow. Gone was the easy laughter that came to his face. His entire demeanor had changed. She didn't know the man standing in front of her and was glad that Lydia had said something earlier so she was at least prepared.

"What's good tonight?" Henry asked. "I'm feeding a crowd."

"I'm sure the kids will find something that interests them," Aaron responded and sat back down.

Lydia took a deep breath and gave Polly a sad smile. "It's just a salad for me tonight. I don't feel much like eating. Benny's your waiter. He'll tell you the specials. I've forgotten what he said. I think there was a chicken strip meal, but I must not have paid much attention."

Polly took her hand, squeezed it, and gave Lydia another hug before the woman re-took her seat. "You two enjoy yourselves and forgive us if our table gets too loud. I think poor Henry is about to find out what it means to take four women out to dinner."

"Enjoy your evening," Aaron said, effectively dismissing her.

Henry held Polly's chair for her and sat down. He took her hand under the table and squeezed it, his eyes asking what he couldn't say out loud. She gave a slight shake of her head and turned to the table.

"Okay girls, what'll it be? Shall we get some appetizers?"

Rebecca nodded furiously and Kayla took a cue from her and asked "What do they have?"

"We like the platter. It has onion rings and fried mushrooms and cauliflower, cheese sticks and a cheesy dip with veggies. How does that sound?"

"Great," Kayla said.

"Jessie? Anything else?"

"No, that's wonderful."

Kayla and Rebecca pulled their menus down in front of them and chattered about the various offerings.

"Should we order off the kids menu?" Rebecca asked.

"Do you see something there you'd like to have?"

"I want chicken strips, if that's okay," Kayla said. "I can share with Rebecca if it's too much."

"Oh no," Rebecca assured her friend. "Polly and Henry will let you order your own meal, won't you, Polly?"

"You bet. If we have that big appetizer platter, maybe I should order off the kid's menu, too."

Polly tried to ignore the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them and the Merritts. It was completely unnatural. Any other time they would have all been laughing and telling stories, mostly to entertain Jessie, Rebecca and Kayla, but tonight Polly and Henry both felt the deathly quiet behind them.

Fortunately, the rest of the table had no idea that things weren't normal. Jessie's baby was wide awake, turning and kicking, so she let Rebecca and Kayla touch her belly. Kayla was in awe and for quite some time, kept watching Jessie, hoping for more movement.

Before they'd gotten through with their appetizers, Lydia placed her hand on Polly's shoulder, bent over and gave her a quick hug.

"It was good to see you tonight," she said. "I hope you have fun with the rest of your evening." She smiled across the table. "It was nice to see you again, Jessie. Be sure to let me know if you need anything."

Jessie nodded and smiled as Lydia left with her husband.

~~~

"It's that one," Kayla said, leaning forward to point out the front window.

Henry pulled into the driveway of an older model trailer.

"Do you need any help?" Polly asked her, turning the overhead light on in the cab.

"No, I can do it. I just need pajamas and a shirt for tomorrow."

"Don't forget fresh undies and socks," Polly said.

"I would have forgot that."

"And your toothbrush and hairbrush."

"Yeah. Okay."

"And do you have your own shampoo?"

"No, I use Steph's."

"Then you can use Rebecca's. Do you need your own pillow or anything?"

"I don't think so." Kayla sat back. "Maybe you should come in and make sure I don't forget anything. I've never done this before."

"Can I come too?" Rebecca asked.

Kayla was startled by the question and Polly understood right away. "Why don't you and Jessie keep Henry company. We won't be very long. I promise."

The porch light wasn't turned on, so Kayla fumbled with the lock. Once inside, Polly wasn't surprised to see a very spare living room. They had an old sofa with worn spots that someone had attempted to cover with blankets. Two plastic TV trays sat in front of the couch and an old television sat on a rickety stand.

The carpet was vacuumed and things were clean and neat, but the walls were dingy and the curtains hanging in the windows were thin.

Kayla went into the kitchen and dug under the sink before coming up with a plastic grocery bag.

"My room's back here," she said.

Polly followed her and glanced into what had to be Stephanie's room. It contained just a bed with a few knitted blankets piled on top for warmth and crates stacked neatly that held her clothing. A lamp and clock rounded out her possessions.

Kayla's room was just as spare. The blankets were bright and cheery and they'd found a set of sheets that were decorated with clouds and flowers. More crates stacked on their sides held the girl's possessions, from clothing and shoes to books, dolls and a few games and puzzles. A lamp sat on a card table in the corner and two chairs were pushed in neatly.