Treasure Uncovered (Bellingwood #3)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  Beryl snickered, "I can see this one coming."

  "She walked in and the place was a total dump. He hadn't even bothered to pick up his dirty underwear."

  Polly shuddered at the memory.

  "It didn't occur to him that it might be offensive, so his filth stared at Polly all evening. He invited her to sit at the dining room table, which was covered with dishes and empty food trays. When she looked at him he shoved it all to one end and picked up a chair, shaking the stuff off it to the floor. She told me she was scared to sit down because she was afraid she'd stick there forever. So, she asked if he had a clean towel anywhere in the apartment. He went to a drawer beside the kitchen sink and said, 'I think Mom left me some towels,' and pulled out an unopened package of dish rags. Polly ran some water over one and scrubbed the chair as clean as possible, then wiped down the table where she was going to work. He asked her if she'd like some supper and what did you say to him, Polly?"

  "'No, I'm not feeling very well.' I thought that if I ate a single thing in that apartment, I would vomit."

  Sal continued, "He started drinking beer as Polly pulled out her books. They were talking about one of the books and why James wrote from the point of view he chose and the next thing she knew, this kid left the table, walked over, sat down on the sofa and turned on the television. When she asked about his paper, he told her he was dropping the course and asked if she wanted to make out."

  "What did you do?" Andy asked Polly.

  "I put my books back in the bag, packed up my laptop, tossed the dirty wet rag at his head and left. That was one of the worst nights ever!"

  "I wonder what ever happened to him," Sal mused.

  "Hopefully he hired a maid or else he probably died from his own filth."

  When they finished lunch Andy said, "We're going to Beryl's house. You two ought to come over and see the progress on the studio. I think you'll be pleased, Polly."

  "That's a good idea," she agreed. "We'll follow you."

  They all made their way to Beryl's and while Andy and Beryl went inside the house, Lydia, Polly and Sal walked around back to the studio. Polly could hear noise coming from inside the little building and when they walked in, were greeted by several of Beryl's friends. Her art students were there and the place had been decorated with balloons and flowers. A cake was set out reading "Welcome Home," and festive paper plates, napkins and cups were neatly arranged.

  "Nice," Polly remarked as she glanced around the room. She recognized a few of the people, but others simply smiled and nodded. Once again, she knew they recognized her. One day she hoped to be able to put more faces and names together at the same time.

  It didn't take too long before they heard Andy talking to Beryl as they walked from the house to the studio and when Andy opened the door, they all yelled "Surprise!"

  "Dammit," Beryl said, "You should have made me pee before I left the house. You know I don't handle things like this well."

  Deena, the young girl who had been at Beryl's the day of the explosion rushed over to hug her mentor. "Look around," she said, "This is going to be wonderful when it is finished!"

  She pulled Beryl into the room and Polly watched as the girl pointed out some of the new features of the cabinets they were building. When they approached the back room, Beryl stopped and turned on Polly.

  "You cleaned up the blood. I was looking forward to showing that off to my guests."

  "Sorry about that," Polly laughed. "I couldn't leave those ugly brown stains. They bothered me."

  Deena looked up and said, "That was one of the worst things I'd ever seen, Ms. Watson. I was so scared for you."

  "I know you were, dear. But, you handled yourself like a professional. I'm lucky you were around."

  They disappeared into the back room and within moments, Beryl came out laughing.

  "Whose great idea was it to lock up all of my flammables? Did y'all think that one explosion was enough or what?" She strode over to Polly, "You know that all of this perfect organization is going to mess with my chaotic flow of creativity, don't you."

  Polly shook her head, "I am completely confident that within a week of you getting back in here, things will be as chaotic as you desire."

  Beryl poked her in the arm, "Think you know me pretty well, do you? Maybe I'll surprise you."

  "Maybe the only reason you ever keep this place organized is because your students put your things away between sessions," Polly smirked.

  Deena stood behind her mentor and giggled. Beryl spun around, "Don't you laugh at me, sweetling. You're the one I'm going to hold responsible for keeping this place up to snuff."

  "Yes ma'am."

  "Such deference," Beryl laughed. "I don't know what I'm going to do when she decides to go to college."

  Polly recognized the man who had stopped her earlier in the week, "Mr. Storey!" she called out. He looked up and caught her eye, then made his way over.

  Putting his hand out to shake Beryl's, he said, "Welcome home, Miz Watson. I'm glad you are doing alright."

  "Thank you!" she said, "I'm sorry my water heater's explosion broke one of your windows. You will be sure to stop by some morning and give me the bill. Bring your sweet wife and we'll have coffee."

  "That's alright," he responded. "I've already had it replaced and it wasn't that much money."

  "Well, you should come over and have coffee some morning anyway. We've lived beside each other for so many years and have never done that. Why don't we plan on it next Thursday. Will you come?"

  He stood there, speechless. "Well, I would need to talk to Vanessa..."

  "Tell her that I will be expecting the two of you next Thursday at nine thirty. You don't need to bring anything except maybe the receipt for the window. I'll have coffee and rolls for us. Now, if you will excuse me, I see someone I need to speak with."

  Beryl turned away and walked toward another cluster of people. Polly watched as Beryl's neighbor tried to comprehend what had just happened.

  "Nice to see you again, Miss Giller," he said, then walked out the front door and left.

  Polly chuckled and said to Sal, "Well, that was hilarious."

  "What just happened?" Sal asked.

  “Beryl ensured that he would never complain about anything around here again. And I'll bet she has also ensured that he'll keep a pretty good eye on her safety."

  "She wasn't letting him say no to coffee."

  "And she also didn't let her invitation be set aside. That was fabulous!"

  Len Specek, who was handling the installation of the cabinets for Henry, was standing in a corner, waiting for the party to die down so he could go back to work. Polly watched him eyeing Andy and sidling up to her, said. "Go talk to him. He doesn't look comfortable."

  "If I go anywhere near him, Beryl is going to say something awful, I just know it!" Andy replied.

  "Sheesh," Polly said. "Come on." She grabbed both Sal and Andy and approached the poor man.

  "Hi, Mr. Specek," Polly said. "I'd like you to meet my friend, Sal Kahane from Boston."

  He reached out and shook her hand. "Welcome to Bellingwood," he said. "I hope you are enjoying your stay."

  "It's a wonderful community," Sal replied. "I can see why Polly loves it so much."

  Polly could barely hold back her laughter as she watched Beryl sneak up behind Andy. She glanced at Len Specek, who had absolutely no idea what was about to transpire.

  "Who's the hot dish?" Beryl said directly in Andy's ear.

  Andy jumped and then clutched her heart.

  "Careful dear, you'll bloody my nose if you keep flinging your head around like that. Then, there will be blood on my floor again and Polly won't be happy." Beryl laughed. "So, is this the hot thing you've been hiding from all of us?"

  Andy looked at Polly with a scowl on her face. "See, I told you."

  Polly shrugged and smiled.

  "Hey! You! I'm right here. Are you going to introduce me or am I going to have to embarrass you?"

 
Andy took a deep breath, stepped to the side and said, very graciously, "Beryl Watson, I know you have met Len Specek since it isn't like he is new in town. So, please, I'm begging you, be polite."

  "Why, Len Specek!" Beryl said, "You look fabulous! It's so good to see you again. It has been absolutely years since we've seen each other."

  "Months," Andy muttered. "You saw him at the hoe-down. Now you're being obnoxious."

  Beryl continued gaily, ignoring the obvious discomfort of her friend. "I'm so glad that you and Andy are finding time to be with each other. It's wonderful when old friends reconnect, isn't it? She has spent this last week telling me absolutely ..." Beryl paused, "nothing about you and it's making me crazy. So, I think that you and she should come over for dinner next week sometime. Let's make it Sunday noon. I would love to reconnect with you and since Andy has been such a wonderful friend this last week, maybe I can tell her thank you all at the same time!"

  "Oh no," Andy said. "You don't have to agree to this, Len."

  "Yes he does!" Beryl insisted. "Don't you?"

  The poor man obviously had nothing to say, but finally responded, "Dinner would be nice." He took Andy's hand, "I'm sure it will be very nice. Don't worry, Andy. It will be fine."

  Polly heard Sal giggle, then Lydia stepped in and said, "Beryl, you have to be nice."

  "I am being nice. I invited them over for dinner. How is that not nice?"

  "Don't you want some cake and maybe some punch?" Lydia asked, taking Beryl's arm and moving her away.

  "That's why you wouldn't let me eat dessert at Davey's. Is everyone waiting for me?" Beryl spun around and said to Andy, "Look what you made me do. I got all interested in you and your friend here and everyone had to wait for cake."

  Deena rushed over to the cake table and handed the knife to Beryl, who made the first cut, then announced, "Let them eat cake!"

  Soon, plates were handed around the room and Beryl wandered over to heft herself up on a cabinet under a window. Polly and Sal made their way to her.

  "Sal and I are going back to Sycamore House. I'm glad you are back where you belong and I can't wait to see you working out here again.

  "I know that you did most of the design for this place, Polly and I love it. Thank you."

  "Please be good to Andy," Polly pleaded.

  "Nope. Not gonna. She doesn't get to have a new boyfriend and hide him from us. If she'd been upfront about this from the beginning, it would have been far less painful for her."

  "Alrighty then," Polly laughed.

  She leaned in and hugged Beryl, then turned to wave goodbye to Andy and Lydia. Sal followed her out to the truck and they drove back across town.

  "This has been a crazy day, Polly," Sal said as they went in the front door of Sycamore House. "Is it like this all the time?"

  "Oh, heaven's no. If there was this much excitement every day, I'd be exhausted all the time!"

  They moved aside as three very young men rushed to the front door, followed by several children who were chasing each other out into the parking lot.

  "There's a wedding reception tonight. I'm sure they're decorating the hall," Polly remarked as they headed up the steps.

  When they got to the top, Sal moved toward her door and Polly said, "Come on over whenever you're ready. The door will be unlocked."

  She went on into her own apartment, sat down on the sofa and was immediately joined by two cats and a dog. As she leaned back, Obiwan attempted to curl up on her hip, sprawling himself out on the rest of the couch, while the two cats finally perched, one on her chest and the other behind her head. She shut her eyes and woke up when all three animals jumped off and came to attention.

  Polly had enough time to sit up and rub her eyes before Sylvie's boys came barreling in.

  "Oh. Hi, Polly!" Jason said. "I didn't expect to see you here."

  Andrew chimed in, "You're never on the couch when we get here!"

  "I know," Polly replied. "But, I'm here now. Did you stop and say hi to your mom?"

  "She was busy," Andrew said. "But she gave me this!"

  He showed her a zippered bag of cookies. "She said we could eat them all!"

  Polly watched as he counted the cookies in the bag. When he looked back up, he announced, "There are seven in here. Would you like one too?"

  She stood up and headed for the kitchen, with the boys following her. "I would love one. Who wants milk?"

  Jason stood in front of the cupboard which held the glasses. "I know Andrew does and I do, too. Should I get a glass for you?"

  "That would be great, Jason. Thank you." Polly pulled out the last gallon of milk. She hardly ever drank the stuff, but since the boys had started coming to her house every day after school, she made sure to have plenty of juices and milk on hand.

  Andrew had placed napkins out for each of them and when he began counting out the cookies, he hesitated. "Would you like two cookies, Polly?"

  She giggled to herself and said, "No thank you, Andrew. I've had plenty to eat today and I'm going out to dinner tonight. One cookie will be perfect."

  "Cool!" he said as he split the cookies up. She nearly choked, though, when she realized that he had carefully chosen the largest cookie and placed it on her napkin. He was climbing into his chair as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his head.

  When she released him, he brushed his hair back into place and said, "What was that for?"

  "You're a great kid. You're both great kids."

  Andrew dramatically rolled his eyes at his brother and got down to the business of eating his cookies.

  Polly took a bite and said, "Hey, what kind of cookie is this?"

  "Mom calls them monster cookies," Jason said. "She says the original recipe called for cookies that were this big."

  Polly laughed as he spread his arms open wide. There were M&Ms, chocolate chips, peanut butter and oatmeal exploding in her mouth. "These are great cookies," she said.

  "What do you boys plan to do this afternoon since you don't have any homework?" she asked.

  Andrew grinned, "It's my turn to choose the game today. We're racing!"

  "I always beat him, but he still wants to race me," Jason said.

  "Someday I'm going to win," Andrew declared. He jumped up, slugged down the rest of his milk and ran for the entertainment center. He pulled out a game and plugged the controllers in and sat down on the floor.

  "Come on, Jason!" he said. "Come on!"

  Jason's attempt to be dignified as he walked over to sit beside his brother touched Polly's heart. She smiled as she picked up their glasses and napkins, wiping the crumbs from the table into her hand.

  Jason said, "We'll play one game and then take Obiwan outside. Is that alright?"

  "That sounds great," she said. Polly began cleaning up, assuming that after dinner tonight, if they wanted to settle somewhere, they might come back to her apartment.

  Jason and Andrew, true to their word, took Obiwan outside and when they returned, Jason said, "Eliseo asked me to tell you that he and I could take care of the horses tonight. Would that be alright? And Mom said to ask if we could stay later because the reception gets over at ten o'clock."

  "Sure, both of those are fine," Polly said, while she tried to wrap her head around finishing a double date in her apartment with two young boys. She had looked forward to spending her last evening with Sal having fun, maybe playing games or watching classic movies, something both she and Sal did a lot of when they were in college. Polly fancied herself in love with Cary Grant, while Sal was a swooning fan girl in love with Gregory Peck. It mattered to neither of them that those men were old enough to be their grandfathers and were both dead, it was enough that they were gorgeous, suave and debonair on screen.

  She shrugged it off. They would figure something out.

  Jason was out in the barn with Eliseo when Sal knocked at Polly's door and came in. Andrew was sitting on the couch curled up with the animals, writing in one of his many notebooks. His mouth dropped open
and he didn't say a word, but simply stared at the tall, dark-haired beauty that walked in. She was dressed to kill in three inch sparkling black heels with legs that went up to the middle of her thigh, where they were suddenly interrupted by a skin tight red dress. Sal had piled her dark hair on top of her head, adding to her height and her makeup was designed to light up her eyes. She wore simple diamond earrings, which Polly recognized as a gift from an old boyfriend in college and a diamond chain around her neck.

  "Umm. Wow." Polly said. "I haven't seen you dress up like this in years! We're going to have to change our plans for tonight."

  "Too much?" Sal asked, grinning as she spun around.

  "For Hickory Park it is," Polly laughed. "Let me make a couple of quick calls and oh, for heaven's sake, it's going to be a riot getting you up and in the pickup truck while you're wearing that dress!" She started to laugh out loud and looked down at Andrew. He was still a little star struck.

  She quickly called Henry and said, "We have to go somewhere nicer than Hickory Park tonight and you have to dress up."

  "Why?" he whined. "It's been a busy week."

  "Just do it. You'll see why."

  "I'll be over in a while, then. I have to pick out what to wear now!" He laughed and they hung up and she made her next call to Mark Ogden.

  "Absolutely no overalls tonight. We're dressing up!"

  "But, I ironed them and everything!" he laughed. "Okay, that's no problem. How dressed up are we doing?"

  "A lot dressed up," she laughed. "Trust me."

  "I look forward to it. You always look gorgeous when you dress up."

  "Tonight you won't even notice I'm in the room," Polly laughed.

  "Well, you've done it," she said to Sal. "Now you have to come help me find something to wear that doesn't make me look like your lowly stepsister."

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Nodding toward the boys on the sofa, Sal grinned, “It looks like they’re impressed with you.” She turned to them. “What d’ya think, boys?”