by Dale Young
“Logan,” Harmon said quickly, “I should have told you that he’d probably show up today.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Logan said, interrupting Harmon. Then he nodded in the direction of the road. “Should I worry about him?”
Harmon paused and then reached for his handkerchief. He patted his forehead and then put it back in his pocket.
“I won’t lie to you, Logan. If I were you, I’d be worried. Like I said before, that family has wanted this land for generations. I don’t know what Rosemary did to keep them at bay but now that she’s gone I wouldn’t underestimate them if I were you.”
He squinted as he looked into the distance at the point on the road where Chip’s truck had disappeared from sight. Then he turned to Harmon.
“Can we see the inside of the house?” he said. Harmon responded immediately.
“It would be my pleasure, Logan.”
***
Logan stood in the large foyer of the house unable to hold a thought in his head. He had never seen anything like the entry foyer to the Shaw house. He was standing at the base of a large staircase that led to the second floor and it reminded him of the old movies he had seen about Southern plantation homes. The staircase ran up the side of the foyer, which to Logan was large enough to be a room on its own. The foyer was open and well lit by a large chandelier hanging above them. The floor was very old hardwood covered by a large, intricately woven rug. Off to his right was a huge dining room and to his left was what appeared to be the main living room for the house. A large fireplace sat against the wall and above it was a portrait of a woman. Harmon noticed Logan looking at the portrait.
“Logan, I present to you your great-grandmother, Mrs. Rosemary Abigail Shaw.”
He looked over at Harmon and then back at the portrait. He could not find any words so he simply nodded at Harmon and then walked slowly into the living room. He moved around the furniture, which consisted of an antique couch with matching high-back chairs gathered around an oval-shaped table with a marble top, until he was standing within a few feet of the portrait.
Rosemary was a tall and slender woman. The portrait had obviously been made in her later years. Her hair was gray and her dress was long and hung almost to the floor. She was wearing a necklace, earrings and a wedding band on her finger but she was alone in the portrait. Everything about her appearance reflected affluence and wealth to Logan, and he could not believe that he was her great-grandson, nothing more than a used-car salesman from Wilmington.
“That portrait was made long after her husband Carson passed away.” When Harmon mentioned Carson’s name he again removed his handkerchief and patted his brow. Then he returned it to his pocket. “If you would like to see her in her younger years, there is a portrait of her and Carson in the dining room.”
Both men walked out of the living room, across the foyer and into the dining room. There in the center of the far wall was another large portrait. A man was standing beside Rosemary, who was seated in a chair. Her hair was a light shade of brown and Logan could tell she was much younger than she was in the portrait in the living room.
“Your great-grandfather, Logan. His name was Carson Wentworth Shaw. He was a good man.”
He had no words to describe how it felt to see the man and woman in the portrait. For so many years he had wondered what his relatives looked like and where they had lived. All those years of not knowing, and now here he was standing in a stately manor looking at a portrait of Carson and Rosemary Shaw, his paternal great-grandparents.
“The resemblance is striking,” Harmon finally said, breaking the silence in the room.
Logan looked over at him and then back at the portrait. He knew Harmon was talking about Rosemary because he could see the resemblance himself. He did look like her, and the realization of this caused a small pang of pride to flutter in his chest.
They stood for another minute while Logan studied the portrait of Rosemary and Carson. Then Harmon spoke.
“It’s getting late, Logan. I’ll take you around the house and then I’m going to call it a day. My wife will have supper ready soon.” Logan was getting hungry too, but he didn’t mention this to Harmon. Logan didn’t want Harmon to think he was trying to invite himself to dinner. Logan was sure there had to be something to eat in the house and he would find it as soon as Harmon left.
“Sounds good, Harmon. Let’s have a look around.”
The two men left the dining room and moved into the kitchen. To Logan it was like stepping back in time. The kitchen was large and expansive, with a black and white checkered tile floor. The stove was a pastel yellow color and sat on four legs. The refrigerator looked about as old, but was extremely well maintained. The countertops were some sort of stone, and there was a large island in the middle of the kitchen. Above the island hung a large metal rack that held an assortment of pots and pans.
“Wow…” Logan said as he looked around the room. Off to his left he could see into the pantry, and he immediately realized that it was larger than his entire kitchen back in his mobile home. He could see canned food and boxes of dry goods lining the shelves.
“You’ll find plenty to eat in there, Logan. I’m sorry that you’ll have to eat all by yourself on your first night in the house but you’ll enjoy it. It will give you some time to think about things.”
“I don’t mind at all, Harmon. This is still so unbelievable to me,” Logan said as he waved an arm at the kitchen. “And don’t let me keep you from your wife. We can take up where we left off tomorrow if you’d like.”
“Nonsense, Logan. Let’s finish the tour and then I’ll be on my way.”
13
Harmon shook Logan’s hand on the front porch. They had finished the tour of the house, including the upstairs bedrooms. They had not gone up into the attic but Harmon had taken Logan on a brief walk around the backyard and had showed him one of the closest tobacco barns. As they had walked around the backyard, Harmon’s rumbling stomach and the thought of his supper waiting on him at home had caused him to finally tell Logan that it was time for him to go home and that they could take up their business again in his office at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. They chatted for a few more minutes on the front porch before Harmon handed Logan the keys to the house and told him to be sure and lock it up if he went anywhere.
He waved at Harmon’s Mercedes as it moved slowly down the long driveway towards the road. Then he took a look across his expansive front yard before his eyes settled on the old statue sitting in the middle of the dry fountain. Maybe he would find a way to turn the water back on to the old fountain. But right now it was time to find something to eat.
The pantry held an assortment of canned vegetables, soups and even an assortment of home-canned jams and jellies. Logan then walked over to the refrigerator but was dismayed to find it completely empty. He figured this was a good thing, and that anything that had been in it on the day his great-grandmother died would have been spoiled by now anyway. Someone had obviously cleaned out the refrigerator. Perhaps he would ask Harmon about that tomorrow. It didn’t matter anyway. Logan doubted that his great-grandmother would have had any TV dinners in her freezer, or hot dogs in the refrigerator, and he wasn’t used to eating anything else.
He remembered that he had spotted a large tin of coffee in the pantry so at least in the morning he would be able to brew a pot and maybe enjoy a cup while sitting on the back porch. He smiled to himself at the idea of having coffee on the back porch while trying to figure out what he was going to do.
Logan ambled around the kitchen for a few more minutes and noticed that the sun was almost ready to slip over the horizon. As he looked out across the field behind his house he wondered what in the hell he was going to do with all of those tobacco plants. He would have to ask Harmon about that in the morning.
Suddenly Logan heard a pecking sound from somewhere near the front of the house. He walked across the kitchen to the entrance to the foyer and paused. The house was still and
silent. Then the pecking noise resumed and Logan felt his heart begin to thump in his chest. Then he realized where the noise was coming from and breathed a sigh of relief.
Someone was knocking on the door.
Whoever was at the door was pecking at it with their knuckles instead of ringing the doorbell. Who would be knocking on his door at this time of the evening? Perhaps Harmon had forgotten something and had returned for it.
He walked uneasily down the foyer to the front door. He was almost certain that it wasn’t Harmon but who else could it be? He knew Harmon had been ready to go home to his supper and wouldn’t have come back for anything. But still, it had to be him.
Logan suddenly thought about Chip McPhale. Maybe Chip had returned and wanted to discuss the ownership of the land in a more personal way, one that involved fists and elbows to the chin. Logan knew he had to stand up to Chip and that he couldn’t let him push him around. But it was obvious to Logan of what side of the tracks Chip came from, and that the last thing he wanted to do was to fight with him.
He put his hand on the doorknob and swallowed the rock in his throat. He was just going to have to face Chip man to man. There was no other way. Logan hoped that the playground mentality of standing up to a bully to make him back down would work in this situation.
Logan turned the doorknob and then opened the large wooden door. He was greeted by the smiling face of Colby. And she was holding a large dish covered in a red and white checkered cloth.
He felt his spirits lift at the sight of Colby’s pretty face. Her blue eyes and sandy blonde hair were just as gentle and kind as they had been at the diner. She was wearing faded blue jeans and a pale yellow shirt that accented her summer tan.
“Hey there. I thought I’d bring you a little housewarming gift, courtesy of the diner. I’m sorry for dropping by unannounced. It’s so rude.” Colby then smiled again causing Logan’s mind to go completely blank. Colby’s pretty face, along with the smell of whatever was in the dish had completely disarmed him.
“Oh no no, it’s fine,” Logan stammered. “Please come in.”
Colby stepped through the door and walked by Logan. She didn’t make any attempt to put distance between him and her, and as she moved close to him Logan caught a gentle hint of perfume. But then the smell of the dish in her hands reclaimed his senses. It smelled good, and he could feel his stomach starting to rumble.
“What’s in the dish?” Logan said as he closed the front door.
“Chicken and dumplings,” Colby replied. “It’s one of our specialties at the diner. I make it myself.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever smelled anything better,” replied Logan. He was having a hard time hiding his astonishment. Here he was standing in the foyer of a large Southern manor talking to a pretty girl holding a dish full of chicken and dumplings that smelled absolutely heavenly. What a difference a day makes, he thought to himself.
“Hold this for a moment. I brought some tea but I left it in my car. I’ll be right back.”
Colby handed Logan the dish and then opened the front door. She left it standing open as she went to her car and retrieved a half-gallon jug of sweet tea. The she returned to find Logan sniffing the dish of chicken and dumplings, his eyes wide with wonder. Colby couldn’t help but grin at him.
“You know, in a little town like Starlight no one can keep a secret. So when Sandy stopped by the diner and said you and Harmon were going out to the house tonight I knew you would need something for supper. Sandy was friends with Rosemary and her and a couple of Rosemary’s other friends kind of got the house in order after Rosemary died. I remember Sandy saying that they cleaned out all of the food in the refrigerator so it wouldn’t spoil.”
“Yep, it’s empty. But the pantry is full of stuff. I was just in there looking around trying to figure out what I was going to eat for dinner.”
“That problem has been solved. Let’s get busy.” Colby gave him a wink. “I haven’t had supper either. I’m starving.”
Logan and Colby walked to the kitchen where he sat the chicken and dumplings down on the table. Colby sat the sweet tea down beside the dish and began looking through the cabinets for the drinking glasses. When she found them she picked two and sat them on the table. Logan had already put two bowls on the table and was in the process of getting the silverware. Once they had everything they sat down at the table and Colby spooned their bowls full of chicken and dumplings while Logan poured the tea.
“The icemaker is empty too,” Logan said, unable to think of anything else to say. He was still overwhelmed at his turn of luck. If someone had told him last week that he would be sitting in a house like this having dinner with a girl that looked like Colby he would have certainly told them they needed to check into rehab to kick their drug addiction. How in the world could he have such a turn of luck?
Logan ate a spoonful of the hot chicken and dumplings and felt a wave of pleasure course through his body. It was by far the best thing he had tasted in years. Colby could tell by the look on his face that he was enjoying the food. When Logan’s eyes met hers, he suddenly felt embarrassed. He had eaten four or five spoonfuls of the chicken and dumplings without even saying a word.
“Sorry,” Logan said sheepishly. “I’m being a slob. It’s just that my supper usually comes in one of those plastic trays that go in the microwave. I haven’t tasted food like this in, well, I don’t know how long. You said you made this? It’s delicious. In fact, delicious isn’t a big enough word.” Logan realized he was rambling again. He couldn’t believe that Colby was having this effect on him. He felt like a teenager on his first date.
“Oh, it’s easy. You just boil chicken on the bone in a pot of water. Add some salt and pepper and a few more other spices, a bay leaf or two, maybe. The chicken has to have bones in it so that it will make a good broth. But I don’t make the dumplings. We buy the frozen kind. Some people make their dumplings out of biscuit dough but I can’t for the life of me figure out how to make good homemade biscuits. My grandmother tried to teach me once but I just couldn’t get it. Biscuit making is turning into a lost art in the South. Imagine that.” Colby smiled at Logan and then went back to eating her chicken and dumplings.
Logan and Colby finished their meal while talking about Starlight. Colby told Logan a little about growing up around the tobacco fields when Starlight was more prosperous and he told her about growing up in Wilmington. When Logan finished his second bowl of chicken and dumplings, he leaned back in his chair and smiled.
“That’s the best meal I think I’ve ever had. Thank you for making it. How about I repay you with a tour of this big old house that they tell me now belongs to me. And to think, my mother-in-law said I’d never amount to anything.” Logan was immediately sorry for the remark.
“Oh? I didn’t know, um, I didn’t know you were married,” Colby said as she pulled her hands off the table and dropped them into her lap.
“No, I uh, well, I used to be. I’m divorced.” Logan looked down into his empty bowl. Then he took his hand and began to push his half-full glass of tea around in small circles on the table. “And I guess my mother-in-law, I mean, my ex-mother-in-law was right. I’m just a used-car salesman. But no, I’m not married anymore. She left me for a…”
Colby spoke up before Logan could finish his sentence. “Well, that’s a good thing,” Colby said as she grinned at Logan. “I mean, it’s a good thing that you’re not married anymore. In this town people would talk if we were sitting here having dinner together and one of us was married to someone else.” Colby winked at Logan and then took a sip of her tea. “Gossip travels pretty fast in a small town like Starlight. Don’t let the slow pace of life around here fool you. This town has its fair share of busybodies, let me tell you.”
Logan smiled at Colby. Her Southern charm was intoxicating. She was a far cry from any woman he had ever met in the city.
“So how about that tour?” Logan said as he patted the table with both of his hands. He was relieved
that Colby obviously didn’t want to hear all the details of his divorce. “We can put the chicken and dumplings in the refrigerator. I’ll have the leftovers for breakfast in the morning.” Colby crinkled her nose at the sound of this.
“I’d love a tour. I’ve never been in this house, even though I’ve known Rosemary for most of my life. Then again, everyone in town knew Rosemary. She was a sweet lady. She didn’t socialize much, but everyone still knew her.”
14
Logan and Colby walked down the long hallway on the second floor of the house. They had just finished looking at all of the bedrooms full of antique furniture. Each bedroom had a four-post bed, a dresser and a nightstand on each side of the bed. The furniture was elegant yet modest and fit the antebellum character of the house to a tee.
At the end of the hallway was a door that Logan assumed led to another bedroom. When he opened it he saw that it was a narrow staircase that led to the third floor of the house.
“Must go to the attic,” Colby said as she moved close to Logan and peeked up the staircase to the dark attic above. Logan caught a hint of her perfume again as she stood close to him and in his mind he wanted to believe she had moved close to him on purpose, but in reality he figured that she just wanted to see up the staircase out of curiosity. But when she turned and looked into his eyes he got the feeling that his first inkling had been correct.
“Wanna go up there and have a peek?” Colby grinned at Logan.
“Absolutely.” Logan stepped into the doorway. He knew he would gladly fumble around in any dark room, basement or attic if it meant getting to spend a few more minutes with Colby. She was magnetic and he knew he had never been so attracted to a girl in his entire life.
He fumbled around for a light switch but was unable to find one on the wall. With Colby following close behind, he slowly crept up the creaking stairs through the darkness until he could poke his head up above the attic floor at the top of the stairs.