What Are the Odds

by Marja McGraw

  We strolled back to the tables where the men sat and chatted. I guess men don’t call it chatting, but that’s okay. I was glad they’d formed friendships.

  Stanley looked so happy to be a part of it all. The expression on his face did my heart good.

  Bubba sat by Pete, grinning. Oh, that grin was something to see.

  “Okay, gentlemen,” my mother said. “The tile people will be here bright and early tomorrow morning, so I’m thinking we’d better call it a night.”

  Everyone stood and began collecting their belongings.

  Micah stepped in front of me. “Why don’t you walk us out,” he said softly, which was unusual for him. He and Zoë were outgoing, not the type to whisper or act secretive.

  “Sure.”

  “I mentioned something in storage at my brother’s house. I wanted to tell you about it.” He glanced in my mother’s direction. “Remember? You wanted to scare your mother.”

  He had an evil grin on his face.

  So did I.

  Chapter Forty-five

  “Back in a minute,” I said to no one in particular. “I want to ask Micah a couple of questions about the neighborhood, if you can call it a neighborhood.”

  That should throw everyone off. I walked as far as the gate with him.

  “I have something that will… Well, you’d have to see them. Come over in the morning and I’ll show you what I’m talking about. They’re silly, but they’ll make your mom watch over her shoulder.”

  “What are they?” I asked. “Give me a hint.”

  He told me what he was talking about and I laughed. “I don’t know if she’ll fall for that or not.”

  “Trust me,” he said. “Do it right and it won’t give her a heart attack, but it will make her start watching everyone with suspicion in her mind.”

  “You’re on. I’ll be over bright and early.”

  The rest of the Hansens caught up to us so we changed the subject and tried to act nonchalant.

  “Have a good night.” I waved at them.

  They closed the gate and headed home.

  I’d have to share my plan with Pete. I’d need someone heavier than me to make a dent in the Scare My Mother plan. I didn’t think he’d have a problem with it. He’d probably think it was ridiculous, but I knew he’d go along with me.

  I helped my mother and Felicity finish cleaning the tables before Pete and I headed for bed. It was late and we were tired, but we’d had a good day.

  Before we went to sleep I told him about my dastardly plan to scare my mother. Under the circumstances, dastardly seemed like a good description.

  He laughed. “Only you would think of something like that.”

  “Well, I had a little help from Micah.”

  ~ * ~

  The people from the tile company showed up bright and early the next day. Well, it wasn’t really a bright day. Monsoon clouds had moved in again. It looked like we were in for more rain. Interesting, someone at dinner had said the monsoon season was over in September. Mother Nature hadn’t been listening.

  Frank called the boys together and suggested they finally get the trench dug before the rains came. Remembering the last rain, Pete and Stanley started digging as soon as we finished breakfast.

  My mother filled the sink so she could wash a few pots and pans. “You realize that if it rains this afternoon we’re going to have to postpone our plan to catch Blondie, don’t you?”

  “I do.” I threw several paper plates in the trash.

  Felicity collected the silverware and dropped it into the soapy dishwater. “It doesn’t matter when we catch her, just as long as we do. Right? I mean, what difference is one more day going to make?”

  “None that I can think of, and maybe we can get a little more work done around here.” I really wanted to get as much done as possible before we left my mother and Frank alone.

  Mom handed me a couple of forks to dry. “I asked the tile people to do the living room first so we can finish painting in there. The apartment is painted, but the rest of the house still needs work.”

  Felicity and I nodded, but my enthusiasm was waning. The house seemed like a never-ending job – a money pit, although we were saving my parents substantial funds by helping. Honestly, we were having fun, regardless of the work. I guess I still had a modicum of enthusiasm after all.

  “I’m going to have to excuse myself for a few minutes.” I wiped off the table and threw paper towels in the trash. “Tyler asked me to come by for a few minutes. He wants to ask some technical questions about the work I do.”

  “Oh? What kind of questions?” Mom looked curious, but not overly so.

  “I don’t know. I’ll have to let you know later.”

  With any luck she’d forget about it.

  I’d have to warn Tyler and the women not to let her know I’d actually met with Micah.

  “Want me to go with you?” Felicity asked.

  “No, this is one of those times you’d probably be bored. And I think Zoë and Racheal are leaving for town.” I was turning into such a good little liar, but not without just cause.

  Before anyone could ask another question, I left the house and headed for the Hansen place.

  Surprisingly, Micah was waiting for me. “Follow me out to the shed.”

  I did, and you could have knocked me over with a feather.

  “We used these as a Halloween joke, and they worked perfectly. I mean, it’s not like they’re big enough to belong in a circus or something.”

  I started to laugh. “Oh, Micah! These are perfect. She’ll catch on, but not right away. I could try to explain it away, but I can hear her already. She’ll say, ‘Welllll, you never know about these things.’ She’s always looking for a mystery to solve.”

  “Her and my brother. Stop in and see him before you leave. I’m sure he has questions about our plan. He’s been worried all morning about the rain throwing a in a monkey wrench and wrecking things.”

  “I will. Maybe he’s got a sack I can throw these props in, too. It would be just like my mother to come walking out and see them.”

  Micah shook his head. “Don’t bother Tyler about it. I’ve got an old burlap bag you can use. I’ll bring these up to the house in a few minutes.”

  I turned to head for the house, but stopped and turned back to him, grinning. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re devious?”

  “Many, and by the look on your face I’d have to guess you might be a devious woman on occasion.”

  I just laughed and walked to the house.

  Tyler and I spent about half an hour together. As it turned out, I had unintentionally told the truth to my mother. He really did have some questions about being a private eye. I gladly answered them. Racheal and Zoë had gone to town, too, to pick up a few things at a department store.

  “Did you talk to your parents last night?” I asked.

  “Yes, but they didn’t have anything of interest to add to what everyone else has told you.”

  “Well, I was hoping.”

  “I asked my mother about Marion, too. All she said was that she’d always thought of her as kind of an odd duck.”

  “That seems to be the general consensus.”

  Before I left, he handed me a book. “This is one of my masterpieces. Give it a try. I think you’ll like it.”

  “I will, as soon as I can.” I was curious about his writing. I loved a good mystery, but I wouldn’t know if he could put one together until I read the story.

  Returning to the house with my burlap bag, I talked Pete into taking a break. I set the bag down and opened it, letting him take a peek. Frank and Stanley walked over, curious about what we were looking at, but not wanting to be nosey.

  “What have you got in there? Snakes? Tarantulas?”

  Bubba sniffed every square inch of the bag, his curiosity in full control of him.

  Pete just shook his head. “Sandi’s got a hair-brained scheme to scare Livvie.”

  “Oh?” Frank l
ooked in the bag. “I don’t get it.”

  I explained the plan and that Micah had helped me.

  “Pete is going to do the dirty work.”

  Frank scratched his chin. “Why don’t you get Micah to do it? He’s bigger, and you need big and heavy for this.”

  “What am I? Minced meat?” Pete sounded a little offended.

  Frank laughed. “No, but he’s well over six feet tall and muscular. You’re not as tall or as heavy.”

  “But you’re muscular,” I said.

  Pete and Frank both turned and gave me a look, one that didn’t tell me much.

  “Well, you are.”

  Frank grinned. “Back to my original thought. Let Micah do it.”

  I was surprised. “You’re not going to try to stop me from scaring my mother?”

  “Are you kidding? Livvie will remember this experience for years to come, and knowing her she’ll tell anyone who’ll listen. She likes nothing more than to tell a dramatic story, and end it with humor.”

  Picking up the bag, I ran back to see Micah.

  Bubba followed along, unable to forget the bag. I wondered what had originally been inside, and I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know. He watched Micah take the bag and walk away from us. I wouldn’t let my dog follow, even though he whined.

  It hadn’t taken much to talk Micah into helping. He placed the burlap bag back in the shed.

  ~ * ~

  The men spent most of the day digging trenches, ending them in the field of dirt and weeds. At least the areas around the house and barn wouldn’t overflow with rain water again. Until they had horses, it probably wouldn’t make much difference other than the weeds would be plentiful from all the watering.

  Bubba didn’t help, busily sticking his nose into piles of dirt and digging.

  Pete tried to shoo him away, without much success.

  I returned to the house.

  The tile in the living room looked like old wood flooring. It made the house appear just a bit more rustic. I loved it. The tile company had sent a crew and the tile would be done before the end of the day.

  Mother, Felicity and I worked on the living room until lunchtime. We accomplished quite a bit, but we still had a long way to go.

  After a quick lunch we got back to work. While they painted the next to the last wall, I began installing the base boards.

  Even though the air began to feel humid, indicating incoming rain, the paint dried quickly.

  We finally put the paint away and washed our brushes, having finished the living room. It looked great!

  “How much of the house is going to be tile?” I asked.

  “All of it.”

  “All of it?” Felicity looked surprised.

  “Yes. With strangers tramping in and out all the time, it’ll be easier to keep clean. No carpet here, just nice, washable tile.”

  A light rain began to fall, and our plan to catch Blondie temporarily flew out the window.

  Chapter Forty-six

  “We’ve accomplished a lot today.” My mother laid the brushes on paper towels to dry.

  “We have.” Felicity dropped onto a chair at the table. “We’ve accomplished a lot in the last week.”

  “It’s been fun, hasn’t it?” I looked from one woman to the other. “Just think. Instead of having such a great time, we could have been off having a whole different kind of fun. Maybe somewhere tropical. But honestly? I’m glad we spent our time here.”

  “It won’t be much longer until you all leave.” Mother sounded, well, maybe a little sad.

  “We’ll be back every chance we have.”

  I gave her a hug and she hugged me back with feeling.

  “Don’t leave me out,” Felicity said.

  She joined in and we made it a group hug.

  I wanted to tell my mother that our adventures weren’t over yet, but I didn’t want to forewarn her that I had a plan to keep our Scare Game going.

  I remembered Marion. “Oh, yeah. We still have our plan to catch Blondie. The adventure isn’t over yet. It’s only just begun, in a manner of speaking.”

  Felicity took a huge swig from a glass of iced tea my mother handed her. “Thanks, Livvie. I can’t wait to find out what her story is.”

  Mother poured another glass of iced tea and held it out to me.

  “Thanks.” I was thirsty.

  “It promises to be pretty interesting.” She poured a glass for herself. “Too bad I didn’t put the pitcher out in the sun this morning. This is almost gone. Sun tea tastes so much better than when I make it on the stove.”

  The boys came inside. Pete and Frank had beer, and Stanley took the last of the tea.

  They sat down at the table and everyone was quiet for a few minutes.

  Stanley was the first to speak. “I saw that woman, Marion, out for a walk with an umbrella. Nothing seems to stop her.”

  “It would appear that way.” Everyone’s eyes were on me, as though I had more to say. “That’s all. Nothing seems to stop her. Stanley’s right.”

  Frank looked outside. “The rain is coming down heavier. I don’t think we’ll be able to pull off your plan tonight.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “Do you think the Hansens will understand?” Mother was always worrying about something.

  Pete stood and looked out the window. “Tell ya what. It’s only sprinkling right now, so I’ll go over there and make sure they know.”

  He left before anyone could stop him, and I noticed his limp was quite pronounced. Of course, he’d been digging trenches all day.

  Bubba started to follow him.

  “Stay,” I said.

  He sat down by the sliding glass door, apparently waiting for Pete to come back.

  My mother pursed her lips. “Poor guy. I feel so bad when I see him limping. I don’t understand why he wanted to go to the neighbor’s house.”

  “He knows when walking will help and when it won’t,” I said. “Besides, I have a feeling the humidity is making things worse. He needs to move around. He says it helps, but I have my doubts. The doctor told him it’ll get better over time.”

  Pete was gone for about an hour.

  The rain was heavy again. I could hear it pounding on the roof, sounding like hail. I walked over to Bubba and looked out the window. It wasn’t hail, just large raindrops.

  My mangy mutt sat for a long time, finally lying down and relaxing, and then sitting up to wait again. Maybe he wasn’t missing Pete as much as he’d wanted to go with him.

  The rest of us sat quietly and vegetated, making small talk as the mood struck us.

  Bubba continued to wait patiently. I knew Pete was returning when the dog stood and stared out the window. Apparently he and my husband had come to terms, after locking horns on many occasions. They both wanted to be the alpha in our little group.

  Pete ran his fingers through his damp hair. “I stayed and talked with Tyler and Micah until the rain let up. Talk about two different personalities, and yet they seem to get along. Their wives are nice, too.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” I said. “What did they say about our plan being delayed?”

  “Not much. They’d already figured out it wasn’t going to happen tonight.”

  My mother sat forward in her chair. “Tomorrow night we’ll finally get to the bottom of this.”

  “I sure hope so.” Stanley sounded excited.

  Frank grabbed a bag of potato chips off the sink and brought it to the table. “I’m ready for a snack. I could go find a pack of cards and we could play poker for a while.”

  He glanced at each of us and didn’t see any enthusiasm on our faces.

  “Guess not.” He ate a handful of chips.

  “I think everyone is worn out, sweetie.” My mother patted his hand. “Maybe another time.”

  Pete leaned back in his chair and glanced at Frank. “We’ll play cards one night before we leave. You and me and Stanley, and maybe Tyler and Micah would want to join in.�
��

  “No women?” Stanley asked.

  “Nope. Just us guys.” Pete reached out and rubbed Bubba’s head.

  I moved the conversation back to Marion. “Let’s go over our plan one more time. I don’t want any mistakes tomorrow night.”

  This seemed to be the one subject that held everyone’s interest. In a way, it almost felt like playing a game called Catch Blondie. At least it was something different, not work.

  I fed Bubba, but the rest of us ate dinner a little later, discussed possible reasons for Marion’s behavior, and went to bed. It had been another long day.

  I had trouble sleeping that night. Consequently, I could hear the dog wandering around the house. His nails clicked on the tile, and he was so big that the sounds were fairly loud. And, I could hear him thumping around, pushing on doors to see if they were open. He finally settled down outside our bedroom door.

  Pete was out in about thirty seconds, snoring lightly. Nothing seemed to keep him awake.

  I heard Bubba bark once and run down the stairs, but he quieted down after what I assumed was a peek out the window. Ah. Micah must have come calling with…

  I don’t remember anything after that. Sleep finally overtook me and I slept like I had no cares in the world.

  ~ * ~

  Pete arose before me in the morning. I could hear the shower running, although the sleeping bag was still warm where he’d slept.

  I wanted to look out the window to see if Micah had really been there, but our windows faced the wrong side of the house. I tiptoed to the other bedroom and looked out at the front yard. And there they were, in all their glory.

  Great big, giant-sized footprints, settled deeply in the mud. I grinned. Now those were prowler footprints to be dealt with, and I wondered how long it would take my mother to find them.

  Uh, not long.

  She stood at the bottom of the stairs and called to me, sounding slightly panicky. “Sandi, you and Pete had better come down here. We had a visitor last night, and it wasn’t Blondie. Someone has… Just come down here.”

  “Coming,” I called. “Pete’s in the shower. We’ll be down in a minute.”