“Does your mother put her dirty clothing somewhere else?” Polly called out.
“I have it,” Rebecca said. “We keep it all in the bathroom.”
Polly gathered the pile of sheets and blankets and went back to Rebecca’s room. The pillows were back on the bed, but the comforter was tossed beside the pile. “Okay,” she said. “Anything else we can wash?”
Rebecca held the bag open while Polly stuffed the sheets into the top. “I don’t think so. Should I get the soap?”
“No, I have plenty. Is there anything else we need to do here before you leave? Is the back door locked? Are all the windows closed?”
“We never unlock the back door and it’s too cold to have windows open.”
“What about your Mom’s car. Should we lock it?”
Rebecca grinned at Polly. “We never lock it when we’re here. Mom says no one would want it.”
“Okay, do you have a key to the house so we can lock the front door when we leave?”
“It’s in my backpack. But can we take mom’s keys too? Just in case?”
“Absolutely. I’ll take the laundry. You get your backpack and overnight bag. Are you ready for an adventure?”
“I haven’t had one of those forever,” Rebecca said, running to the front room. Polly followed again and saw her pick up a set of keys from a table just inside the front door. They went outside and Polly tripped the lock closed, then led Rebecca to the truck.
They drove to Sycamore House and Polly pulled into the garage. She was glad the door was already up, because she was tired of having to explain that hideous spray painted message. Once inside, Polly dropped the laundry beside the washing machine.
“How about we take care of that tomorrow. We’ll just have fun tonight.”
“Okay,” Rebecca said brightly. “What’s this?” She’d stopped at Andrew’s nook under the stairs.
“That’s Andrew’s,” Polly responded. “Those are his books and it’s where he likes to write when he’s here. He hasn’t used it as much since school started, but in the summertime when he’s here every day, he likes to hide under the desk and read.”
“I’d love to have all these books to read.”
“Oh, sweetie. Wait ‘til you get upstairs. I have a problem with books. They seem to have babies on me when I’m not looking.” Polly opened the door and gestured to the stairway. “There might be an animal or two when you get to the top, but they’re all friendly. The dog’s name is Obiwan and the cats are Luke and Leia.”
Rebecca didn’t say anything about the animal’s names, and Polly wondered if she’d ever heard of Star Wars. If not, that was changing this weekend, too. Everyone should have an opportunity for indoctrination. The girl walked up the stairs hesitantly, carrying her bag, and stopped when she cleared the top step.
“Go on in. You can leave your bags on my bed. Andrew should be in the living room. The door is open.”
Polly watched as she obeyed, setting her bags carefully at the end of Polly’s bed. Because Obiwan had heard her voice, he came tearing into the bedroom, nearly knocking Rebecca to the ground. Once he sniffed Polly, he turned around and went back to the newcomer. He nudged her hand and she set it on his head, then removed it and kept walking.
“Rebecca!” Andrew yelled. “What are you doing here?” He jumped up and ran over to his friend.
“They took Mom to the hospital. The doctor says she is really sick. She might die.”
“She won’t die. They won’t let that happen. You have to have your mom. Right, Polly?” Andrew looked up at her, pleading for her to assure them.
“They are going to do everything they can. You know Doctor Mason, don’t you, Andrew?”
“He’s the best. He knows everything,” Andrew said. “If he’s taking care of your mom, she’ll be just fine. Come over here and see Polly’s games. Wanna play?” He grabbed Rebecca’s hand and pulled her to the sofa, then thrust a controller into her hand. “You’ll be great at this one.”
Polly went back into her bedroom and sat down on the bed. Poor Obiwan didn’t know which way to go. He wanted to jump up and sit beside Polly, but he was also desperate to check out the new person in his house. Curiosity took over and he ran to the living room, jumping up beside Rebecca.
“He’s cool, Rebecca. He likes everyone. He’d never bite you,” Polly heard Andrew say.
“He’s so big!”
“You should play outside with him. He runs like the wind.”
“Maybe tomorrow,” she said quietly.
Polly looked down at her phone. It was nearly six o’clock. All of a sudden she realized that she was supposed to have made dinner for Henry and his father. This certainly wasn’t how she planned to begin her weekend. How upset would Henry be if she canceled? All she could do was call and find out.
“Hey Polly,” Henry answered, “What’s up?”
“I have a problem with dinner tonight.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but I haven’t been here all afternoon. I ended up dealing with a friend of Andrew’s and her mother.”
“What happened?”
Polly got up from the bed and walked back over to the rear stairway so Rebecca couldn’t hear her speaking. The two kids were playing a racing video game, but Polly didn’t want to take a chance.
“His friend, Rebecca’s, mother is really sick. I ended up taking Rebecca home from school and we found her mother unable to move out of her bed. I called Doctor Mason and he called an ambulance. She’s in Boone by now and Rebecca is here with me.”
Henry chuckled. “Have you taken in another rescue?”
“Shaddup. It’s just until her mother comes home from the hospital.”
“You did! Oh Polly, this is why I love you.”
“But I haven’t even thought about dinner. I’m so sorry.”
“Dad and I will go over to Davey’s. He’s probably itching to get back with all of his buddies anyway. We’ll do dinner another time. Do you need me to bring you something.”
“No, I think we’re good. I was really looking forward to seeing you tonight, though. I feel like this week has been nuts.”
“I know. Me too. It doesn’t look like next week is going to be any better, though. As soon as work begins at the winery it’s going to get busy.”
“That has me worried. We have to find time. I don’t like this.”
“I love you too, Polly. I’ll tell you what. If you get into your bedroom before ten thirty, take your laptop. We can video chat for a while, just like we would if I was out of town.”
“Thanks, Henry. And thanks for understanding about dinner. I promise to make it up to you.”
“Take care of your kids and let me know if you need anything. Order a pizza and make them deliver it. Okay?”
“I will. Thanks again.”
Polly hung up and slipped down the back steps and into the kitchen. Sylvie had a large crew on hand this evening. There was a wedding tonight and two wedding receptions tomorrow. She had a big weekend and everyone was working. Polly walked in and caught Sylvie sitting at the back table, her head nestled in her arms. She glanced up at Rachel, who put her hand over her mouth and faked a large yawn.
“Sylvie?” Polly placed her hand on Sylvie’s shoulder.
“What? What? Did I miss something? What am I doing with my head down? Rachel! Where are we?”
“We’re fine, Sylvie. Everyone is eating and Hannah and I are cleaning up. The kids are taking care of the tables.”
“Okay. Thanks. What’s up, Polly?”
“Have you slept this week?”
“Not at all. I’m not going to sleep until May at this rate. Is everything okay with the boys?”
“Everything is fine. Can I ask you a silly question?”
Hannah walked over and put a cup of coffee on the table beside Sylvie. “Do you need one?” she asked Polly.
“No, I’m fine. Thanks.” Polly turned back to Sylvie. “Do you know anything about Andrew’s
friend, Rebecca Heater?”
Sylvie thought for a moment. “I didn’t even know he had a friend named Rebecca.”
“She’s a little girl in his class and she moved here last fall.”
“Oh. Is she his girlfriend or something?”
“I don’t think so. She’s really creative and I think they kind of get each other.”
“She’s probably that girl who draws pictures for his stories.”
“I think that’s right. Anyway. I took her home after school today and found her mother deathly ill. Doctor Mason came over and sent her to Boone, so Rebecca is staying here at Sycamore House until her mom comes home.”
“I should be more upset that I don’t know anything about this girl, but I’m too tired to even think about it,” Sylvie said. “I’ll be upset later. How’s that?”
“You don’t need to be upset at all. I was going to ask if you would mind if Andrew and maybe even Jason stayed here with me for the weekend while Rebecca is around. I’d set the air bed up in the living room and we could have a slumber party. They can play video games and watch movies and I’ll feed them.”
“Really?” Sylvie looked up at Polly, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “I could have the apartment all to myself and not worry about the boys?”
“If that works for you.”
Sylvie surged across the table and hugged Polly. “You really are the best friend in the world. How long will you keep them?”
Polly hugged her back and then stepped away, laughing. “They can stay as long as you need them to stay, but promise me you’ll take them home eventually. When Jason comes back up from the barn, we could go over to your place and get their things. Can I do anything else to help?”
“No, that would be awesome. Can you keep them until Sunday night? After being here all day tomorrow, I could sleep in on Sunday and catch up on some studying. I’ll be back in the kitchen Sunday afternoon, though. There are some techniques I need to practice for class.”
“Sylvie, I’ll do anything for you. Of course they can stay that long. Jason will help Eliseo tomorrow and Andrew and Rebecca can hang out with me.”
“This is perfect. I might live through this weekend after all.”
“Really, Sylvie. You need to talk to me about things like this. I should help you out more often.”
“You have enough to deal with, but I appreciate it. By the way, what was up with the graffiti on your garage?”
“The vandal is back. I don’t know what I’m going to do about it, but one of these days I’m going to catch him and then I’m going to pour a bucket of red paint over his head.”
“I’ll bet you would, too. Tell my boys I love them and if they need me, I’ll be here, but otherwise … I’m sleeping in a quiet apartment this weekend. Whee!” Sylvie took a drink from the coffee cup, firmly set it back on the table and strode back into the middle of the kitchen. “Okay. I’m better. What’s next?”
Polly figured that was as good a time as any to leave. She glanced at the bag of laundry and thought she might as well ask the boys to bring theirs with them too. Once she got started, there was no reason not to just keep washing clothes this weekend.
She went back upstairs to find that Jason had returned. He was in the dining room eating crackers.
“Hey guys,” she said. “I have a proposal for you. Rebecca is spending the weekend with me and I just talked to your mom. She has a really busy weekend ahead. What do you think about getting your things and staying here at Sycamore House? You can play games and watch movies, sleep when you want and hang out. We’ll get pizza tonight.”
Andrew jumped off the sofa and pumped his fist in the air. “Yes! That’s awesome! It will be cool, won’t it Jason?”
Jason just nodded. He didn’t seem quite as excited. “Sure. Can I hang out with Eliseo in the barn tomorrow?”
“As long as you want. And if you want to call Doug and Billy and see if they’re around, you can do that too.”
His face lit up. “I’m in.”
“Great. Put your coats on and we’ll go get your things and pick up a pizza.”
Andrew rushed to Polly and threw his arms around her. “You’re the best ever. This is going to be awesome.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Leaning up on her arms so she could look into the living room, Polly watched Andrew and Rebecca sleep. He was on the air mattress and Rebecca had taken the couch. Luke and Leia were curled up around Andrew even though he sprawled from corner to corner. Polly had pulled the blanket over him about two o’clock and now it was bunched around his ankles again. Poor Rebecca was curled into a ball at one end of the sofa and hadn’t stirred all night. This was going to be a tough weekend for her and Polly was glad Andrew was around to help distract the little girl.
Jason escaped to Doug and Billy’s apartment, calling Doug to beg him for the couch. The giggles and game playing that happened in the living room last night wouldn’t have been as much fun with an older brother scowling over them. Polly had made sure Doug was okay with having a houseguest for the weekend and he thought it would be great fun. Since Jason was there, Doug invited a group of friends over tonight for a gaming party. Polly asked about Anita Banks, knowing that she’d been up earlier in the week to dig into the strange email Polly received. Doug blew Polly off, saying that he’d been at a job site and had missed her. One of these days Polly was going to have to dig a little deeper. She just couldn’t let it go.
She chuckled to herself. She really was in training for Lydia’s job of taking care of everyone in her sphere of influence.
Andrew stirred and rolled over, then opened his eyes. He looked up at Polly and gave a little wave, then glanced back at Rebecca, who had yet to move. Both cats stretched and ambled off the bed to the floor, then walked into the bedroom. Luke looked up at Polly and in a split second, jumped up beside her. He sat down and started cleaning his shoulder.
Andrew tried to mouth something at her and Polly beckoned for him to come into the bedroom. He stood up and came across the room to her. “What time is it?”
“It’s about seven. Did you get enough sleep last night?”
“That was fun. What are we going to do today?”
“I don’t know. I want to take Rebecca down to the hospital to see her mom. If you went with us, we might take a side trip to the bookstore. What do you think about that?”
His eyes lit up. “I’ve wanted her to see that place!”
“Why don’t you go into the bathroom and get dressed for the day. When Rebecca wakes up, we’ll make breakfast. I want to go over to the hotel and then to the winery and say hello to Henry.”
“Is that where you found that guy’s body?”
Andrew thought it was just the coolest thing to have a friend who kept finding dead bodies. Fortunately, his mother understood that Polly did her best to protect him from the reality of it. So far, he was handling it all very well.
“It is. Now go get dressed. Can I talk you into taking Obiwan outside for me?”
He nodded distractedly and wandered back into the living room to collect his things before disappearing into the bathroom. Polly jumped out of bed, grabbed a robe and ran downstairs to do more laundry. She’d gotten through two loads and figured if she kept at it, everything in three homes would be clean before the weekend was over.
She pulled the sheets out of the dryer and started a load of her own clothes. Andrew came downstairs with the dog while she was folding the last of Rebecca’s sheets. “Rebecca is still asleep,” he said. “She must be tired.”
“She had an emotional day yesterday. I’m sure she’s exhausted. I’m going to take a shower, so if you get back before I’m out of the bathroom, stay quiet, okay?”
“Okay. Do you want me to feed the animals?”
“That would be great. Obiwan would love you for it.”
He patted his thigh and Obiwan followed him. Polly laughed. This was the perfect age. If she could have kids in her life starting at this age, it would be just f
ine. The idea of changing diapers and cleaning baby vomit off of all her shirts was more than she wanted to think about. People expected her biological clock to be ticking at age thirty-three, but it seemed to be in permanent stasis and she was fine with that. If it ever clicked on, she’d deal with it, but things were pretty wonderful as they were.
She stuffed the folded sheets into a large shopping bag and ran back up the steps. Before closing the door to the bathroom, she checked on Rebecca one more time. The girl was still resting peacefully, so Polly hurried through her shower and got dressed.
Andrew hadn’t come back upstairs when she came out of the bathroom. He was really giving Obiwan a good run this morning. She slipped on a pair of socks and stripped her own bed, piling up more laundry at the top of the stairway. Then, she went through the living room into the kitchen. The cats followed close behind her, hoping for breakfast, so she fed them and put Obiwan’s food in his dish.
“Polly?” Rebecca’s voice called.
“Yes, honey.”
“Where’s Andrew?”
“He took Obiwan outside. He should be back soon. Are you ready to get up?” Polly turned around and watched as the girl stretched. Her hair was pressed to her face and she brushed it aside.
“What time is it?”
“It’s about seven thirty.”
“Do I have to take a bath? Mom doesn’t make me on the weekends.”
“Then you don’t have to here either. Why don’t you go into the bathroom and change your clothes for the day. We’re going to run some errands and go to Boone. Do you need help with anything?”
“I’m fine.” She picked up her bag and went into the bathroom and shut the door. Polly’s heart was heavy. She wanted to hold onto the poor little thing and tell her it would be okay, but they hadn’t gotten to that point yet.
Andrew came running in the front door and yelled, “Polly!” Then he stopped and looked around furtively, “I’m sorry,” he said, much quieter.
Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 06 - A Season of Change Page 10