by Kate Kasch
“I thought you would be happy that I am finally contributing to the house. I know you resent the fact that you always have had to pay for everything. I figured that resentment was the reason you didn’t want anything to do with me after the accident.”
Adrienne stared at her sister as guilt rose up from deep inside and settled just under her skin.
“I don’t resent you, Gretchen. And although sometimes I do feel a bit smothered by the weight of all the responsibilities I have – that has nothing to do with why we’ve barely spoken in the last four years. I thought you felt the same way I did.”
“And what way is that?”
“That our family was ruined after Mom and Dad died, and nothing would ever be the same again – so why bother even trying. You and I being together only highlights that they’re not here with us. It was just too hard for me.”
Gretchen’s eyes welled up with tears, but she somehow kept them from spilling down her face.
“I thought you hated me. Hated that you had to handle everything after they were gone – the funeral arrangements, the paperwork, the house of course – paying for the taxes all those years. I would hate me too.”
Adrienne shook her head, “I could never hate you Gretch. I didn’t mind handling everything after the accident – it gave me something to focus on – something to keep my mind away from the sadness, if only for a moment. And what I’ve realized the past few days is that you and I being together doesn’t highlight that mom and dad are gone, it brings them back to life. My only regret is that it took me this long to figure it out – that it took me this long to come back to Chestnut Ridge. And that it took me this long to realize that you are the most important person in my life.”
Now both sisters had tears streaming down their face as they held each other in a tight hug.
“It’s so cold out here – I’m freezing to death. Let’s go home,” Gretchen’s arm was still wrapped around Adrienne, and she led them both to the parking lot.
“But what about Heidi? That camera is everything to you,” Adrienne stopped them short.
“Heidi is helping pay to fix the house. I want to contribute, Adrienne. And this is the only way I can. And like you, I’ve realized there are more important things in my life than a camera. Please.”
Adrienne looked deep into her sister’s eyes and realized her mind was made up. In the end, it was Gretchen’s decision to make – and she had made it.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Adrienne was in the little red rental car following right behind Gretchen in Nick’s big truck. At this point the two sisters had grown accustomed to pulling up to 22 Oak Street and seeing a flurry of activity. When Adrienne left for the pawnshop there were men everywhere taking down the tree that fell, power washing the house and repairing the front stoop. However, this time when the girls drove into the driveway they were once again surprised. There was no one there. No one. Wallace Tree Company was nowhere to be found. Nick and Gabe were gone. 22 Oak Street looked like all the workers had suddenly dropped what they were doing and ran. Someone dropped an ax on the ground mid-swing, wood chips were strewn all over and around the half-chopped down tree, and ladders were still leaning against the house.
Getting out of their cars the girls glanced at each other, puzzled. They walked through the lawn looking at the disaster that had been left behind.
“What the heck happened here? Where is everyone?” Gretchen asked.
“I have no idea. When I left to go find you there were people everywhere. This is really strange.”
Confirming that no one was outside in the yard, the girls went inside the house. They hadn’t even thought to lock the house because it had been full of people, but now everything felt exposed. The house was eerily quiet and as they did a lap around the main level, Adrienne and Gretchen didn’t say a word to each other. They convened back in the kitchen.
“Check your phone – maybe someone texted you,” Adrienne instructed Gretchen.
Gretchen picked up her phone that had been charging on the counter. There were three missed texts. She clicked on them to read and her mouth fell open.
“What? What happened?” Adrienne could sense something was very wrong.
“Ohmigoodness. You’re not going to believe this!”
“WHAT?! Tell me!”
“Nick texted me three times. They didn’t have time to leave us a note. There’s been a fire. At Chestnut Ridge Town Hall.”
“No!”
“Yes. Everyone that was here went there to help. It was an emergency.”
“That’s so horrible! I hope everyone got out of the building safely!”
“I wonder if they need any more help?”
“Thankfully I know Angela wasn’t in the building, since I saw her in the city earlier. Geez, that feels like a long time ago.”
Adrienne and Gretchen were talking over each other, both their minds working overtime thinking of the repercussions. As with the beginning of any major tragedy there were more questions than answers at that point.
“We have to get down there,” both girls said in unison.
On the way to the Town Hall, Adrienne tried her best to follow the driving laws, but her anxiety had gotten the best of her and she was driving over the speed limit, and probably not stopping for the full eight seconds at stop signs. The sound of police cars and fire engine sirens could be heard long before the girls could even the Town Hall. As they get closer, they saw smoke billowing from the smoldering building. Parking as close as they could, Adrienne and Gretchen get out of the car and walked quickly toward the crowd surrounding a taped-off area.
“There’s Nick,” Gretchen pointed to an area of the crowd. Nick’s height made him easy to find. Upon further inspection Adrienne saw Gabe standing next to him. As politely as possible, the girls weaved through the crowd. Most of the people there were standing quietly watching the fire and the emergency workers who were running around with hoses. There was a mix of men and women all showing concern. Some stood with their hands covering their mouths, their eyes unblinking. Others were analyzing every move being made by the emergency workers, and a few people had their eyes closed in prayer. It was a stressful, anxious scene.
When Adrienne and Gretchen finally reached Nick and Gabe, their concern had grown exponentially. The Chestnut Ridge Town Hall was a major landmark for the town. It was an historic building going back to the origination of the town back in the early 1800s. It was also an Underground Railroad stop helping the slaves escape North to modern day Canada. The destruction of this building was truly a tragedy for the people of Chestnut Ridge.
“Hey,” Gretchen softly touched Nick’s arm to get his attention.
Nick turned around and despite the calamity, the two couldn’t help but smile at each other.
“You got my texts, I’m so glad. We felt horrible leaving your house, but we had to come down and see if there was anything we could do to help.”
“Oh, please. You don’t have to explain. We understand completely. This is just so horrible.”
“Do you know what happened?” Adrienne asked to both Nick and Gabe’s general direction – too nervous to ask straight at Gabe. Things had been awkward between them ever since their conversation about Jason.
Thankfully, if Nick and Gretchen noticed the tension, they sure were good at appearing oblivious. “From what we hear it was an electrical fire. The wiring in these historical buildings is just so old – I’m not surprised,” Nick said.
“I’ve always loved this building,” Gabe continued to stare at the carnage.
“Me too,” Adrienne agreed. “I hope they got everyone out safely.”
“Look, over there. There’s Pete Wallace,” Gabe pointed to the front left of the burning building. “I guess he’s on stand-by to take care of any trees that are in danger.”
“And over there – that’s Kurt Jeffries. I see him and his crew have offered to help out,” said Nick. “I think we should go find Bob Fiero, the Fire Chief, and
see what we can do,” Nick said. Gabe nodded his head in agreement.
“Don’t worry girls, as soon as we’re finished up here we’ll come back to your house and get back to work,” Gabe told them.
“Oh please, don’t even think about us. Being here is more important,” Adrienne reassured them.
Nick lingered for a brief second as he and Gretchen held each other's eye contact. To anyone witnessing the exchange, the feelings between them were palpable. It was as if they had known each other for years, not days – they could already look at each other and have a conversation with their eyes. That was a special thing. Adrienne had that once.
Gabe and Nick left to speak with the Fire Chief, and Adrienne and Gretchen stayed for a bit longer making sure that everyone got out of the building safely. When it was clear the fire was under control, and the building was just a smoldering carcass of burnt wood and brick, the girls decided they should go home and deal with that reality. But first, coffee.
In downtown Chestnut Ridge, the sidewalks that were once buzzing with Christmas preparations, were now abuzz with talk of the fire. The girls started to walk toward The Dreamy Bean, when Adrienne stopped short.
“I have an idea,” she turned to go into Peas & Pickles. Gretchen followed Adrienne into the store, and quickly realized her intentions. Gretchen smiled in agreement. The girls loaded as many cases of water they could fit into two shopping carts. When Mrs. Cuthburt, the owner of the store, saw what the girls were doing, she asked them if they wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes. A few minutes later Mrs. Cuthburt was walking toward the girls with another shopping cart filled with premade sandwiches, bagels, giant containers of warm soup, and bags of rolls.
“Oh my goodness, thank you so much!” Gretchen exclaimed.
“No, thank you so much. Let’s remind everyone that although our beloved landmark is gone, our community is still as strong as ever.”
With the help of some of the Peas & Pickles employees, Adrienne and Gretchen pushed the carts out to their little car and started loading up the trunk. In the end, the entire trunk and backseat were filled with waters and food. Gretchen sat with some of the soups on her lap in the passenger seat. With the food and water stacked tenuously throughout the car, Adrienne drove slowly. The crowd was starting to dwindle, but the emergency workers and volunteers were still hard at work. Adrienne parked the car as close as she could get, and the girls each grabbed some bags of food and walk up to the yellow tape. Flagging down one of the police officers, Gretchen flashed her irresistible smile. The officer meandered over, “What can I do for you Miss?”
“Hi there, Officer?”
“Kyle”
“Hi, Officer Kyle. We have a car full of food and water for everyone working. Is there some way we could pull closer, and maybe even get some help unloading everything?”
And just like all the boys in high school, poor Officer Kyle couldn’t say no to Gretchen’s request.
Officer Kyle pulled back some of the yellow tape and allowed Adrienne to pull her car right up next to some of the police cars. He also rounded up a few volunteers to unload the food and waters. Gabe walked over to the girls, he had his jacket off and Adrienne could see that despite the cold temperatures he had worked up a sweat. The remnants of the once beautiful building were still emanating heat regardless of the flames being extinguished.
“This was really thoughtful of you two,” Gabe opened a bottle of water.
“It’s the least we can do,” Adrienne locked eyes with him.
“I don’t like to bring this up, but you have less than two days to put your own house back together. You’re spending some very precious time here.”
“I know. I do understand that – it’s just that when our house needed to be fixed, so many community members gave up their own precious time to come help us. And well, I guess I feel like I need to return the favor. I want to return the favor. This building – what it means to the community – that’s much more important than us winning some contest.”
Gabe looked at Adrienne for a minute, thinking. “That’s very admirable of you, Adrienne. And I know everyone here really appreciates all of this,” he pointed at all the food and drinks. “But it’s not just about winning some contest. It’s about you being able to keep your childhood home. And that’s . . . big.”
Adrienne knew Gabe was right. What they were trying to do at 22 Oak Street was big. It was huge, actually. She glanced over at Gretchen who was, of course, talking to Nick, “Gretch, we should probably get going. We have a lot of work to do.”
Driving away from Town Hall, Adrienne watched the burnt building grow smaller and smaller in her rearview mirror. It had been a whirlwind of a day, and it wasn’t even close to being over. She knew what she and Gretchen needed before they went home -- a gingerbread latte from the Dreamy Bean. When she pulled the car up to the café, a knowing smile spread across Gretchen’s face.
“Gingerbread latte?” She asked.
Adrienne smiled back, “I don’t think I’ve ever needed one so bad in my life.”
“It’s on me this time,” Gretchen hopped out of the car.
As she waited for Gretchen in the car, Adrienne thought about the emotional rollercoaster she and Gretchen had been on since those two red envelopes showed up on each of their doorsteps. They had to find some way to make this work.
Refueling with their lattes, the girls drove home ready to work. But when they pulled up to 22 Oak Street, reality set in. There was so much more work to be done, and they were running out of time.
“I think we should start to prepare ourselves for what happens if we don’t win the prize money,” Adrienne said quietly.
Gretchen didn’t respond. The two sisters sat, sipping their lattes and looking up at the white colonial.
“I have been so sure this was going to work out for the best. But I will admit that with the tree falling on the garage, the fire at Town Hall and all our workers needing to leave to go help there – I’m feeling like the universe is doing all it can to stop us from succeeding. With less than two days until the contest, things are not looking good,” Gretchen admitted.
“Well, let’s see – what still needs to be done?” Adrienne looked more closely at the house. “It appears that the pillars for the portico are fixed, just not painted. And the roof still needs some shingles fixed, the shutters need to be painted and re-hung, the front door and house need to be painted. And of course, there is a half-cut down tree and a hole in our garage . . ..”
“Well it’s 3 p.m., we still have a few hours of daylight. Why don’t we go inside and check out our list and see what you and I can do by ourselves. Like it or not, we’re entered in this contest and judges will be at our house any time between 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve,” Gretchen’s determination gained momentum.
Inside the warm house, the girls’ spirits lifted. The interior of the house looked beautiful. Anyone entering the house would never know how horrible it looked only a few days ago. It was clean, and warm and glowing with Christmas sparkle. However, judging from the outside right now, no one would want to enter the house. Everyone knew, first impressions were everything.
“Let’s look at this list,” Adrienne said.
Harkins Christmas List:
Mow lawn
Trim bushes
Paint house
Clean gutters
Fix roof
Paint front door
Fix Paint front porch/pillars
Paint and Re-hang shutters
Rake leaves
Dust
Wash floors
Clean refrigerator
Buy Christmas tree
Decorate interior
Exterior Christmas lights, wreaths
Clean bathrooms
Fix garage roof where tree fell
After reading over each item, Adrienne found something they could work on, “Okay, so we can paint.”
“We can paint,” Gretchen agreed. “That’s about all we ca
n do.”
“There is a lot to paint. We can paint the house, the front door, the shutters, and the front pillars. There’s a lot to paint.”
“That is a lot. But we can start today, and work straight through tomorrow,” Adrienne felt bolstered by the idea they could do something, anything, that would bring them closer to their goal.
“Tomorrow? You mean you’re not going into work tomorrow?”
“Oh. Work. I forgot,” Adrienne said. “I’ll deal with work later. Right now, let’s get started.”
“Okay. If we can get a lot of the painting done, the only other items on our list are replacing some of the shingles on the roof, fixing the giant gaping hole in the roof of our garage and decorating the exterior. We have all day and night tomorrow and until 5 p.m. the next day.”
“Well, let’s get started. I’ll paint the pillars if you want to paint the shutters. The painting company laid them all out on the side lawn,” Adrienne said as the girls started to walk toward the front door.
“Ummmm, you should probably change your clothes,” Gretchen giggled.
Adrienne looked down at her suit and heels and smiled, “Good point.”
While Gretchen went outside to figure out how to paint shutters, Adrienne raced upstairs to change into jeans and a sweatshirt. After grabbing the portable speakers and some paint out of the shed, she met Gretchen out front.
Gretchen was on the front lawn with a can of black spray paint and all the shutters lined up in a row.
“That was a good idea,” Adrienne yelled over to her.
“It’s so much faster! There are about twenty shutters to paint and I didn’t know how else I was going to be able to finish all of them. And it’s just black over black – so it totally works.”
The sisters spent the next few hours painting and painting and painting. Adrienne’s arms ached and her toes were frozen, but she pushed on. When the sun began its descent into the horizon, the girls continued working in the dusk. Once Adrienne had the whole front porch painted a gleaming white, and Gretchen had all twenty shutters painted they decided to go inside and warm up.