Joy in the Journey

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  "You'll find plenty of fingerprints," Polly said. "Guessing most of them will be from the company who produced the chairs and the shipper who dropped them off. Maybe even some of the girls at the salon. I know they've been in and out of here. You can't tell me they haven’t had their hands on everything."

  "So, pretty much the suspect list includes everyone in Bellingwood and the surrounding area," Tab said dryly. "Goodie. You know how I love a mystery. Can I hire you right now to help me solve it?"

  "Funny," Polly said.

  "How did Henry know this man?"

  "We were supposed to have lunch with him today. Henry planned to hire him as a supervisor. He wanted me to meet the man and tell him what I thought."

  "Guess you've met him."

  Polly shook her head. "I hate to tell Henry, but I don't think he's going to work out."

  CHAPTER THREE

  "After all that, do you still have time to go up to the B&B with me?" Henry asked once they were finally back in his truck.

  Polly glanced at the clock on his dash. The boys would be home soon and none of the older kids were back from school yet. This semester had been rougher than the last one. Cat had a mid-afternoon class every day except Friday.

  "I'd better not. Knowing me, something awful would happen up there and I'd be late getting back to the boys."

  "I understand."

  She glanced at him. He didn't sound like he understood at all. "What's up?"

  Henry shrugged, then chuckled uncomfortably. "I don't know. It's been a strange day and I was looking forward to spending time with you. You know, without kids and dead bodies and all. When I woke up this morning, I'd hoped we would be talking about a new supervisor while we trotted around town."

  "Best-laid plans and all."

  "You didn't get any ice cream, either."

  "Pull in, then," she said, pointing to the old convenience store on the highway. "Buy me an ice cream sandwich. I think we deserve something, don't you?"

  "I could take you to the general store and get real ice cream."

  "This is fine."

  "You are so easy," he said as he swung into a parking spot in front of the store. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

  Polly smiled at him. "Really? Thank you." She watched him walk into the store and shook her head. For all the goals he'd set at the beginning of the year, Henry was busier now than he'd been in the last couple of years. And now, just when he saw a glimmer of light at the end of the craziness, it had been extinguished. He was handling it better than she expected. She wasn't sure why anyone hoped things would get easier. Their lives all continued to grow.

  Rebecca wouldn't be home this evening until late. She was rarely home before nine o'clock these days. Either she was involved with things at school or wanted to spend time with friends who were involved, or just wanted to attend an extra-curricular event. So far, her grades were great. At least she had figured out how to use downtime to get her schoolwork done.

  As much as Polly hated the idea of letting her have a car as soon as she got her driver's license, they might not have a choice. Henry, Nate Mikkels, and Kirk Waters were keeping an eye out for cars that would be safe for Cilla and Rebecca. Stephanie wasn't ready for Kayla to have a car, and besides she wouldn't get her driver's license until August. As long as Rebecca had wheels, though, Kayla would have a ride wherever she wanted to go.

  Since Sylvie had made Jason wait until he could afford a car, poor Andrew, whose sixteenth birthday was in April, had scrambled to find ways to make money. He worked at the grocery store up town a couple of days a week, had put a bug in Joss's ear about working at the library whenever she had a spot open, and applied at Joe's Diner to bus tables on Saturdays and Sundays. He also helped his mother at the bakery, a job that made him miserable since she woke him up before daybreak.

  Henry came out with two large glasses of soda and a small bag.

  "Why the drinks?" Polly asked.

  "I needed caffeine and felt guilty buying one for myself without getting one for you."

  She laughed. "Well, thank you very much. Is there an ice cream sandwich in that bag?"

  "Two of them. Did you want more than one?"

  "One is all I need. Henry, are you doing okay?"

  He gave his head a quick shake. "I'm still feeling strange about what we walked in on this afternoon."

  "You've been with me when I found people before. You've been with me through some of the worst of my experiences. What has you so shaken up about this one?"

  "Maybe I'm feeling sorry for myself. I wanted this guy to work out and now I have to go back to the drawing board."

  "There weren't any other good applications?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Polly knew the answer. He’d been working on this for the last two months, looking desperately for someone qualified to lead his teams.

  Henry just looked at her.

  "I know, I know. But there was no one that you saw as a second choice, someone that might need more training or guidance before being released into the wild?" Since he didn't seem to be doing anything with the bag of ice cream sandwiches, she gently pried it from his clutches, then dumped the two sandwiches on the console between them.

  "I've been wracking my brain since the moment I recognized him in that plastic. There's no one. I don't want to go through this again. I need Heath to graduate and come work with me. Like tomorrow."

  "They're already growing up faster than I want them to," Polly said. "No wishing their lives away." She peeled the wrapper off a sandwich and put it in his hand. The poor guy was barely paying attention to his surroundings right now, but he obediently took a bite.

  "Maybe I need to back off and slow things down." He closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat. They still hadn't left the parking lot. "I can't keep pushing myself like this. All my guys are working hard." Henry pursed his lips, then slammed his fist on the steering wheel. "Damn it. Just when I thought we might be able to step up another level." He turned to her. "Do you know how excited my guys are that we're growing like we are? Who knew that they even thought about things like that? But they like walking into places wearing hats and jackets that sport our logo and have people recognize them and say good things."

  "It's been one day, Henry," Polly said quietly, reaching out to touch him. "We'll find a way."

  He huffed. "I suppose it could be worse. I could be worrying about how to pay my guys because we don't have enough work."

  "You've always been smart about measuring your workforce and the work available," she said. "You're just pushing hard now. There is often a mid-point where pain sets in. You're either going to grow now or you’ll shrink back and be a mediocre small-time contractor." Polly sent him a wicked grin.

  "I’ll never be mediocre," he said, rolling his eyes. "Even if we have to stop taking new contracts, we'll still do top-of-the-line work. I won't have it any other way."

  "Sorry. Mediocre was the wrong word. If you want to be a small-to-midsize company, you know it’s okay."

  "Is that what I want?"

  She lifted an eyebrow. "Uhhh, I don't know? Up until right now, I would have responded with a loud no, but maybe you do."

  "Maybe this was a sign."

  Polly scowled at him. "Let's not be ridiculous. The poor guy was murdered. I don't think it happened so you could have a sign that you needed to move your business one way or the other."

  "That's another part of what has me freaked out. I can't talk to my guys about this until Tab does. I want to ask them questions."

  "I'm sure that as soon as she talks to any of them, they'll all be on the phone with you. Ben won't be able to stand it."

  "You're right," he said, nodding. "Maybe we should invite him and Amanda over for dinner so he can just talk it out."

  "In front of the kids?"

  Henry shook his head in frustration. "The kids are so much a part of my life, I forget that I can't do everything in front of them. You're right. As soon as Ben calls, I'll meet him some
where."

  "You can certainly invite him to the house, but I don't want to talk about murder at dinner and you know he won't be able to stop himself."

  "I'm not thinking straight about any of this, am I?"

  "It's okay. I'll help with some of the thinking." Polly pointed at the keys hanging in the ignition. "It’s time to take me home."

  As he leaned forward to start the truck, he smiled at her. "Middle of the afternoon curfew. You'd almost think we were teenagers."

  "Don't even say that out loud. I was a dumb teenager. I never want to be that age again." Polly patted his leg. "Though I wouldn't have minded starting my life with you ten years earlier than I did."

  Henry sighed as he pulled out onto the highway. "With you as my motivation, I would have dealt with this growth issue ten years ago and we'd be settled by now." He wove through town and finally pulled into their driveway.

  "Are you coming in?"

  "No, I need to head up to the B&B. Then I'm going over to the house on North Willow. When I'm finished there, I'll be back in the neighborhood, but I'm meeting with a couple of people about the basement going in at that house." He pointed at empty lots north and east of the Bell House. "They were supposed to be here working by now. I need to find out what's going on."

  Polly had unbuckled her seat belt, so she lifted herself off the seat and leaned over to kiss him. "Would you like me to leave my pop here for you to drink?"

  He glanced down at the two drinks in the console. "You don't want it?"

  "You'll drink them both?"

  "I'm not going to be home until right at dinner. Will you be upset if I'm late?"

  "Of course not. Will you be upset if I text you and send you pictures of the craziness?"

  She felt terrible the minute she said that because tears filled his eyes. The poor man was really on edge today. "I love it when you send pictures to me," he said. "I feel like I'm part of things."

  "Oh Henry. I'm sorry. I'll be sure to send more."

  He shook his head again. "I'm just feeling out of it. I'll be better by the time I get home."

  "I love you." Polly picked up the trash from the ice cream sandwiches and left her drink in the truck. She stood at the side door and watched him leave, then went inside and snapped a quick picture of two dogs and too many cats to count as they all converged on her in the kitchen.

  "The ravenous beasts were waiting. Good thing I have food in the pantry or they might eat me alive." She sent it to him and smiled.

  ~~~

  Polly was feeling a bit overwhelmed and couldn't wait for the side door to open that evening. She had no idea which of the other adults in her family would be home first, but she didn't care. After Henry dropped her off, she had just enough time to let the dogs out and run over to pick Cassidy up at Marie's house before the elementary school onslaught hit. Mona Bright had finally acquiesced to allowing her daughter, Rose, to go to Polly's or the Waters' house after school. That meant that on a good day, there were eight children in the house. Sometimes, other friends made their way to Beech Street, increasing the number exponentially. The Bell House was the best place for the kids to play. On nice days they had an immense back yard. On crummy days, they had a tunnel and the basement or even the big foyer.

  Fortunately, today had been a good day and the kids played in the tunnel and outside. While they chased each other, playing whatever game they had come up with, Polly cut up fruit and cheese and took a container of frozen chocolate chip cookies out.

  After the neighbors had all gone home, she started dinner while the boys finished their homework and practiced for their piano lessons.

  Caleb and JaRon had shown only a little interest in playing the piano prior to Christmas. In January, Polly and Henry decided it was time to get them started. If she had to be the practice tyrant for two, she could handle it for four.

  Noah was in band now, too. He wasn't sure if that's what he wanted to do, but the band director had asked and the poor kid had the worst time saying no to anyone.

  Elijah wanted Noah to learn how to play drums, thinking it would be the perfect addition to a band he might put together someday. He already had it planned out. Caleb would learn how to play the bass and JaRon would learn to play the guitar. Of course, he was on the keys and would sing lead vocals.

  The problem was, Noah was much more interested in learning to play the guitar than the drums, so again, best-laid plans. After some tests with instruments, he decided the saxophone might be fun to learn. There was a lot of squeaking and squawking in the house these days. He was giving it his best shot and every once in a while, a few good notes would come out of that instrument just to offer a smidgen of hope to Polly and Henry.

  Cassidy was playing with a baby doll on the floor in front of the fireplace when the dogs leaped up and ran out of the living room.

  "Who's home?" Polly asked her.

  The little girl looked up and smiled, then returned to her doll.

  "Shall we go see?"

  Picking up the baby doll and cradling it in her arms, Cassidy stood and followed Polly into the hallway. Polly wasn't going through the foyer. If she could avoid looking at the chaos of that room, she didn't have to think about it. The kids had fun playing in there. Since they weren’t using it for anything right away, she wasn't fighting with anyone about it.

  She and Cassidy arrived in the kitchen to see Henry and Heath shedding their boots and jackets on the porch.

  "Hey there," Polly said. "It's good to see you."

  Thundering footsteps on the back steps preceded four boys' entrance into the kitchen.

  "Heath!" Elijah yelled. "Where have you been?"

  "Working, little man," Heath said. He strode over and rubbed the boy's head. "You are getting taller every single day, I swear."

  JaRon scrambled up onto one of the stools at the island. "Guess what?" he asked.

  Heath wandered over to the refrigerator. "What?"

  "I read that book today in school."

  "Which book?" Heath stopped and looked at JaRon.

  "The duck-rabbit book. Kieran said he already read it, but Marlee laughed."

  "You read it out loud?" Heath asked. "I'm proud of you. I didn't know you were going to do that."

  JaRon ducked his head. "I didn't want to say just in case I got scared."

  "But you did it. Good for you." Heath walked around and gave the little boy a hug. "Have you read it to Polly and Henry yet?"

  "No!" JaRon looked at the two of them in great surprise. "No!"

  "We'd love to hear it," Henry said. "You have any leftovers here for two hungry hard-working men?"

  "You didn't eat?" Polly asked. She brushed JaRon's back as she walked past him. "I'm proud of you, too, JaRon."

  True to his word, Heath spent whatever extra time he had with the two youngest boys, helping them read better. Caleb still read at the same level that his younger brother did, but he was becoming more confident as time passed. In the solitude of his sister's room, he could be heard stuttering through simple books as he read to her. No one acknowledged what he was doing for fear that he would stop because he was embarrassed, but Heath encouraged him to go into her room just before her lights were due to go out and read something out loud to her.

  Cassidy adored all four of her brothers, but Caleb could do no wrong in her eyes. Maybe it was those moments they spent together with their books. She seemed to know instinctively that reading aloud was difficult for him, but she didn't care about the words. She only cared that he took time with her.

  When she got frustrated or threw a tantrum or acted out in awful ways, which was more often than Polly cared to admit, it was generally Caleb who could get her to calm down. And when he was out of control or angry, it was Cassidy who toddled over and sat beside him until he was ready to see reason.

  "It's bedtime," Polly said. "Heath, would you mind taking the kids upstairs? They're all showered and ready for tomorrow. I'll have food for you when you come back down."

 
; "Sure," he said. "Come on, guys."

  Elijah grabbed Heath's hand. Polly didn't think he would ever stop being affectionate, no matter how old he got. Caleb wasn't there yet, but JaRon was learning.

  Noah held back and Polly stepped forward. "What's up?"

  "Just wanted to say goodnight."

  She hugged him. "Goodnight, sweetie. I'll come upstairs before you go to sleep."

  "I know. I just wanted to say it."

  Polly pulled him in for another hug. He was going to hit sixth and seventh grade and be that awkward boy who didn't know how to control all of his extremities. He'd be gangly and clumsy, but he was always going to be sweet.

  When the noise in the kitchen had died down, Polly went back to the refrigerator and took out the roast beef she'd cooked for dinner.

  "What about Little Girl?" Henry asked.

  She turned and realized that Cassidy had sat down on the floor under the lip of the island and was snuggling her doll again. Polly laughed out loud. "Which do you want? Slice the roast or take the little girl upstairs?"

  "I should take her, but I really want to just stand here in the silence."

  Polly nodded. "I get it. There's bread already sliced and if you look in the basket, there are some tomatoes. Plenty of chips and crackers in the pantry. I'll be back in a little while." She bent down and tapped Cassidy's shoulder. "Time for bed, sweet thing."

  Cassidy frowned at her. "No." That was one of the words she used regularly. It hadn't taken long for everyone to tire of it.

  "Yes. You know it's time. Let's go put your jammies on. Caleb will come in and read to you."

  "You."

  "I can read you a story, but he'll be in, too."

  "No," Cassidy said. "You. No Caleb."

  Polly blinked. "Why not Caleb?"

  "Mad."