Tomorrow's Promises (Bellingwood Book 7) (25 page)

"I'm sorry, Jessie."

"Oh well. I guess I brought it all on myself and I probably deserve it."

"No, that's not true and I don't want you to ever think that." Polly said, drawing the girl to the living room sofa. "No one deserves to be treated like that man treated you and to be completely honest, no one deserves to be treated like your mother is treating you."

"Then what did I do to make all of this happen?" Jessie began to cry and Polly pulled her close and let her sob. Rebecca and Andrew looked out the door at them and Rebecca tentatively approached them, sending Andrew back to the media room with a little wave.

"Jessie?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"She's had a pretty rough couple of days," Polly said.

Rebecca sat down on the other side of Jessie and rubbed her back. "My mom says that when I'm sad, I should think of the prettiest thing I've ever seen and tell God thank you."

"What's the prettiest thing you've seen, Rebecca?" Polly asked.

"I saw two rainbows one day. Mom told me they were a sign from God that things would get better. And she was right because the next day we moved to Bellingwood."

Jessie sat up and smi
led down at Rebecca. "Thank you."

"What's the prettiest thing you've ever seen?" Rebecca asked her.

Jessie took hold of Polly's hand and looked up at her. "It had to be yesterday when I saw Polly come in to the police station for me. I didn't know what I was going to do."

Polly hugged her again.

"Polly showed up at my house when I didn't know what to do either. She made my mom go to the hospital and then brought me here to stay."

"Okay girls, that's enough of that," Polly said through tears that threatened to overwhelm her. She was getting tired of crying all the time. "I have one more piece of good news, Jessie."

"What?"

"Your dad and brother packed some of your things in the trunk of that car. I think your clothes are there and I'm not sure what else. He didn't tell me."

Jessie jumped up, her face brightening. "Let's go see!"

"The keys are in the office downstairs. Let's ask Andrew and Henry to help." She was glad to give the girl something to look forward to after the wrenching pain she must have been going through the last couple of days. That Jessie was functioning at all was a surprise to Polly.

"I'll get Andrew," Rebecca said, jumping up and running into the media room.

"Henry?" Polly called. He came out of the bedroom. "Would you help us bring some of Jessie's things up from her car?"

He nodded and went back into the room, coming out a moment later with his shoes on. Polly watched him cross the room and still couldn't believe that he was living in the same house that she was and that he was so comfortable here. With all of the chaos that surrounded her, he was normal and stable.

They went downstairs to the office and Polly took the keys that Curt Locke had given her from the top drawer of her desk and handed them to Jessie. The parade made its way to the front parking lot and an old red car parked at the end. Jessie opened the trunk and a sound of joy escaped her as she reached in and grabbed a beat up rag doll.

"Milady!" she cried. "He sent Milady!" A stuffed black cat and a brown stuffed bear ended up in her arms. "They're all here. I never thought I'd see them again."

Polly smiled. No matter how old you get, some vestiges of childhood will always be important.

Jessie rummaged around in the trunk and finally pulled out a stuffed purple horse. "This is Durango. I don't ever want to leave him behind again."

Henry lifted out two plastic garbage bags filled with clothes and Rebecca grabbed a grocery bag filled with bottles and
jars. "Is this your makeup?" Rebecca asked.

Jessie nodded.

"Can you show me how to wear it sometime?"

Jessie looked at Polly, who just smiled.

"Sure. When I find everything and if your mom says it's okay, we'll do that."

"I can carry something." Andrew looked into the trunk and lifted out a paper bag that had been taped shut. "What's in here?" He held it up to Jessie and said, "It's kind of heavy."

Jessie slid her fingers under the tape and ripped the top a little. "It's my CDs. I haven't listened to these in forever since I got my phone. But I don't have a CD player."

"There's one in Polly's media room. I know how to use it," he announced. "I'll show you."

"That would be great," Jessie said and looked back at the empty trunk. "I guess that's all he sent. That's okay. This is better than nothing."

"Is there something you're missing?" Polly asked.

"It's okay. There's nothing important."

"What is it?"

"I kind of hoped to see my guitar and my journals. I guess Mom got her hands on those. She probably threw them all away by now. Dad probably didn't even know they were there. And I had some earrings and bracelets that he gave me. None of that is here either."

Polly pushed the trunk lid down. "I'm sorry. We'll get you a couple of empty journals tomorrow. I know that doesn't replace what you had, but at least you can start again."

Jessie nodded. "I guess." Then she looked at Rebecca and Andrew, who were following Henry into the building. "She would tell me to think of something pretty. I should be thankful that I got my clothes and my animals back."

"You can be sad when you need to be sad. I think you've earned a few days of that." She saw Eliseo and Jason coming up from the barn. "Can you find your way back upstairs? I need to talk to Eliseo for a few minutes."

Jessie looked at the two coming toward them and then glanced away, "Sure. Thank you." She turned and went to the front door while Polly walked to meet them.

"Is she staying here for a while?" Jason asked.

"Yes she is."

"You take everyone in, don't you?" he said.

"I guess that was the purpose of Sycamore House. But it does seem to work out that way. What are you two doing?"

"We're going down to Boone to see Mr. Bedford," Jason announced. "I have to ask Mom if it's okay."

"Go on in, Jason," Eliseo said. "Let me know what she says."

Jason took off and Polly said, "Did you know Mr. Bedford had a granddaughter? Lucy said they had lunch together at the Diner last week."

Eliseo shook his head. "He never said anything to me about her. But then we hadn't seen much of each other this last week. It's been pretty busy around town."

"Have you heard how he's doing?"

"They might still have him in surgery. He was pretty messed up. I'm sorry you had to deal with that this morning."

"It feels like it was a week ago," she said. "I'm just glad we were there. And it should be me apologizing for wigging out on you. I've never done that before."

He chuckled. "You were pretty funny. I really think I could have tipped you over. The weird thing is, you were fine until I got there. Then it's like you quit focusing on everything."

"It was a lot of blood."

"You're right, it was."

Jason came running back outside. "Mom says they took him to Ames and that he might not live."

Eliseo shut his eyes. When he opened them back up, he said. "Then we're going to Ames. We'll be back to bring the horses in this evening, Polly. Don't worry about them."

"Just call if you need me to do anything," she said.

"Are you coming with me, Jason?"

"Mom said I could. Can I drive?"

"Maybe I'll let you drive on the way back." Eliseo shot a smile at Polly. "It's going to be difficult to keep this one contained. He's ready to go."

"Good luck with that."

She watched them go back down to Eliseo's car and drive off. Things really needed to slow down again. She was ready for normal, even if it only lasted a few days.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE

"Down he goes!"

Polly woke from her nap
to the sound of kids yelling. She went out to the living room see what was happening. Henry looked up and said, "I'm sorry. We tried to stay quiet as long as possible and it got out of control."

"What's going on out here?"

Jessie was in one of the overstuffed chairs with both cats on her lap. Andrew and Rebecca were flopped on the floor playing Battleship.

"You're playing Battleship and you didn't wake me up?" she asked. "That's not fair."

"Henry's playing the winner of this game. Jessie said she didn't want to today. But that's okay" Rebecca backed up, taking her board with her and sat in front of Jessie's chair, leaning back on her legs. The older girl had definitely found an ally.

"I told them we could play as long as they stayed quiet." Henry stood up and walked over to Polly. "That was most of the fun - watching them try to laugh with no sound."

"Thank you for letting me sleep, guys. Now I have to figure out what to do for the rest of the evening," Polly said.

"Mom is downstairs cooking something for some class. She's making supper for everyone."

"I'm going to run down and talk to her. You can be as loud as you want now. I'll be right back." Polly gave Henry a quick hug. "Do I need to take the dog out?"

"Nah. Don't worry about it. We'll get him later. He's fine." He kissed her on the forehead and went back to the Twister mat. "Are you two ready for some more?"

Polly left by the front door and went down to the main kitchen. Whatever Sylvie was making, it smelled wonderful.

"Hey there," she said, walking in.

"Just a sec. I nearly have it." Sylvie didn't look up.

"I have an idea and you're going to think I'm crazy."

"What's that?" Sylvie still didn't look up from the stovetop. She was watching the pan intently.

"I want to go out tonight. I want to call Joss and Sal and go out with my girlfriends. I don't want to think about dead people or laundry or kids or people being in trouble. I just want to spend time with you. When you finish here, what do you think? We could go for pizza and then head over to the Alehouse."

"Uh huh." Sylvie pulled the sauce pan off the burner and poured the chocolate into molds sitting beside the stove. "There. Those should be perfect." She set the pan down and looked up at Polly. "Sorry about that. The chocolate was almost finished. I'm taking these with me tomorrow morning."

"Okay. Got it. So, do you want to go out tonight? We've never done anything like this and I think it's time."

Sylvie laughed. "I haven't had a girl's night in years. It sounds awesome. But what about the kids?"

"Well, Henry will be here and Jessie is upstairs. Rebecca has fallen in love with her and I suspect that spending time with those two little ones is good for her soul. Jason can either hang out with them or Eliseo or I can call Doug and Billy. Is this a yes?"

"Why not?" Sylvie shrugged. "It would be good for me to think about something other than work or school. I'd love it."

"Great. I'll call Sal and Joss and make sure Henry is going to be here. It's a date."

"Tell them that dinner will be ready if they want to eat here in the kitchen. Ben and Amanda will still be eating with them. I've already talked to her and told Sarah."

"Thanks. They'll be down." Polly went up the back way, taking a load of laundry with her. When she got back upstairs, the noise
hadn't lessened. This time, Henry was playing against Andrew. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to have found a man that enjoyed playing with the kids she loved. Polly dropped the laundry on her bed and went into the living room and sat on the edge of the sofa. When the action broke, she interrupted. "Henry, would you mind if I went out with Sal, Joss and Sylvie tonight?"

He leaned back and said, "That sounds great. We can take care of everything here. Are you okay with that, Jessie?"

The girl nodded. "I guess."

"I was hoping you could hang out with Andrew and Rebecca," Polly said to her. "Sylvie will have dinner ready downstairs and you can meet Rebecca's mom. I don't know when Jason and Eliseo are going to be back from the hospital in Ames."

"Don't worry about a thing. There are more than enough kids around to keep all of us adults in line," Henry said. "Go have fun."

Polly bent over and kissed him on the cheek, then picked up a red peg and placed it in Andrew's board. "That's his patrol boat."

"Hey! That's not fair," Henry cried.

"Ah ha!" Andrew said. "G-7."

"You got me."

Polly went into her bedroom and shut the door, then called Sal and Joss. Neither had plans for the evening. Sal told Polly that Mark was still exhausted and wouldn't mind going to bed early. He had another long week ahead. Joss and Nate were still mourning the loss of hope for a child, but Nate was in the garage working on a car. She was more than ready to get out.

They were meeting at Pizzazz downtown, the pizza place owned by Mark Ogden's brother-in-law. Polly was surprised at how busy it was on a Sunday evening. In fact, the entire business area was buzzing with people who were walking around or sitting in their cars chatting.

"Is it always like this?" Polly asked Sylvie. They'd decided to walk since it was such a beautiful evening and really only three blocks from Sycamore House.

"You never come uptown in the evenings?"

"Not on Sundays. I usually put the horses to bed, make dinner and crash for the next week."

"Well, you need to get out more often. Yes, it's usually like this. Especially in the summer when it's nice."

Sal was waiting for them just outside the front door. "I made Mark call his brother-in-law. He's holding a table for us."

Polly poked Sylvie. "It's good to know people, isn't it?"

Joss came around the corner, "I should have just walked," she said. "I parked down at the medical building."

"How are you doing, honey?" Sylvie asked, hugging her.

"We're doing fine. It was disappointing, but something will happen. I'm starting to believe again. Nate's still angry, but he'll get over it. Some grease under his fingernails,
an expensive tool he desperately needs to buy for the shop, and he'll settle down."

"Let's get the party started," Sal said, louder than Polly expected. A few people looked up at them and she just waved back.

The owner of the restaurant, Dylan Foster, showed them to an empty table. "My wife tells me that Mark finally talked you into moving to Iowa," he said as he held Sal's chair for her.

"Yeah," she said. "But don't let him think he had anything to do with it. It will go to his head."

Dylan winked at the others. "It sounds like this one knows exactly how to manage my brother-in-law. Appetizers and drinks are on me tonight. I'll send Bri over to take care of you. Have fun." He patted Sal on the shoulder before heading back to the kitchen.

"Well at least someone in the family likes me," Sal said.

"Oh come on, you met them all last Christmas. That wasn't bad, was it?" Polly asked.

"No, they're really nice. Mark's mom is gorgeous."

"That must be where he got it," Sylvie said. "All the women in town just call him the hot doctor. You won't believe how mad they were that he pawned all his small animal work off on his partner. He's a nice guy, but not nearly as pretty to look at."

"We're going to have to find you a man one of these days," Polly said. "You have until your classes are finished and then I'm going to be relentless."

"I won't have time for that. And how would I ever explain to Jason and Andrew that I'm dating again."

"Yeah. Because single moms never date," Sal said snidely. "That's a terrible reason."

"Jason is really protective of me. I think it gets worse every year he ages. And speaking of age, I'm no spring chicken. Look at us. I'm an old lady in this group."

"So that's why you like spending time with Lydia. You get to be the youngster!" Polly said, laughing.

"I was until you came along. But at least they put me in the same age group as you. Young."

"Well you can just stop calling yourself old right now. You're beautiful and you're going back to school and building a fabulous career. Any man would be lucky to get you." Joss rubbed Sylvie's forearm. "And I'm with Polly. We're going to be on a mission."

"The last man who was in my life was the biggest jackass the world has ever seen." Sylvie caught herself and looked at Polly. "I'd daresay he was worse than your Joey."

"He wasn't
my
Joey. I didn't want anything to do with him," Polly protested.

"Well, Anthony Donovan was one of the worst." Sylvie took a sip of the beer in front of her, then took another long drink and set the mug back down on the table. "He was awful."

Polly had never heard the man's first name and this was the first time Sylvie had said anything about her ex-husband. She didn't know whether to offer sympathy or stay quiet in hopes that Sylvie would continue to talk. She chose to stay quiet. After her conversation with Eliseo earlier this morning, she had no idea what to say.

"But that's not what we're out here to talk about tonight. This is supposed to be fun and those years were definitely not fun."

"How long did you stay with him?" Sal asked.

"Much too long. Jason was getting old enough to know that his dad was hurting me. I don't even know if Andrew remembers him, though." Sylvie took another drink and then reached for a tortilla chip and dipped it in the queso dip. "One day I saw my fear reflected in Jason's eyes and that's when I knew it was time to deal with it. My boys weren't going to grow up afraid for their
mom and they weren't going to learn how to hurt others."

"What did you do?"

"The next time he beat the hell out of me I called the Sheriff. Aaron Merritt was the one who showed up. He took one look at me, saw that there were two little boys in the house and got us out of there. I moved in with my mom for a while and then got my own place. Anthony went to jail. I don't know what Aaron said to him but he never came back to Bellingwood. I divorced him while he was in jail, packed his stuff and gave it to Aaron. He's called a couple of times over the years, but I never saw the man again."

"Do the boys ever ask about him?" Joss asked.
             

Sylvie gave her a weak smile. "Jason hates him. I don't know how to fix that because the man was evil. He didn't just beat me up when he was drunk, he beat on me whenever he felt like it."

"Why did you stay?" Sal asked.

"I don't know. I
had no job and two little boys that needed me." Sylvie rested her head in her left hand, then looked up at them. "My dad knocked my mom around some. It wasn't as bad as what Anthony did to me, but he always made her believe that she'd done something to deserve it. When we first got married, things were fine. He got mad, but he never really hurt me. He wasn't even really too bad when Jason was born, but after Andrew came, it was like we were all too much for him. And I knew that I pissed him off. I was taking care of two little boys and ..."

Sylvie had been speaking with her eyes on the table. She looked up and around at the three sitting with her. "I almost made the same excuses that I made back then. I don't care that I pissed him off. It took me a long time to figure out that it wasn't my fault. Neighbors had called the police several times before Aaron finally showed up and made me deal with it."

Polly put her hand on Sylvie's knee. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I am too," Sylvie said, "But I learned how to take care of myself and I wouldn't trade that for anything. I wish Jason had never known that kind of fear, but I can't change what was."

"Jason already keeps an eye on people to make sure they are taken care of. He's going to grow into a terrific young man. He's got a lot of compassion," Polly said.

"Yeah, but I'm going to end up killing him before he gets to be that terrific young man," Sylvie said, laughing. "Oh, he's got some serious attitude. If Eliseo wasn't around to make him straighten up, I'd be punishing him every day."