The Charity

by Connie Johnson Hambley

  “Well now, this is it! One hundred and fifty acres of the roughest terrain in Harlan County!” She swept her arm in a dramatic gesture. “I just love coming up here, but my Gawd! What a drive! Can you just imagine what it must ‘a been like to drive a horse trailer up that road? My Uncle Milliard had nerves of steel, but my Auntie just could not stomach the trip. She would wait down in the valley at Electra’s house and wait for Uncle Mill to fetch her up with the pickup after he was done haulin’ the horses up that road.”

  “Electra?” Jessica turned her head toward Lainely at the mention of the name. It sounded vaguely familiar to her.

  “Why yes! I almost forgot to mention her to you! My Heavens! Why Electra Lavielle is your closest neighbor there at the foot of the valley. She is just a true sweetheart of a woman! She knows everything about everyone in town and writes about it in the local paper in her own column!”

  “Oh, right. That must be where I remember her name from. It sounds like she likes this time of year, too.”

  Lainely laughed. “Oh my Gawd yes! She just throws the most magnificent parties. Everyone, and I mean everyone, just dies to go to one. She is such a sweet thing. I think it must break her heart to say good-bye year after year to her close friends. She just manages to keep a smile on her face somehow.”

  “I’ll bet,” Jessica said quietly to herself as she continued walking around the property.

  The barn was of average size made of eight large box stalls divided into rows of four on either side of a broad corridor. Each end of the barn opened with a giant sliding door. One opened to a paddock out the back and the other faced the house and the driveway. Just inside of this door was a small office on the right side and a tack and feed room on the left. The back of the barn led to a series of smaller paddocks with the mountains as a dramatic backdrop. Overhead a large hayloft could be accessed at several points by ladders.

  Jessica climbed into the hayloft and looked at the beams and the roofing timbers. Although the outside of the building was in need of a fresh coat of paint, the inside and the structure of the building were in very good shape. It was obvious that a lot of care had gone into maintaining the barn over the years and that only recently had it begun to show some wear from lack of use and care.

  Hopping down from the loft, Jessica followed Lainely to the house. It was situated on the right side of the driveway with the front facing southwest. Its white sides were bright in the afternoon sun, and Jessica squinted against its glare. Following a short brick walk past a patio overgrown with weeds and a small fenced enclosure that must have been a garden area, Lainely let Jessica in through the front door off the porch. The floorboards creaked in seeming surprise at having to bear someone’s weight again, and the door jammed itself in their path and only relinquished its stance after Lainely heaved her shoulder against it several times.

  The two women stood in the front hall for several moments in silence. Each caught in their own thoughts. Jessica looked briefly at Lainely, surprised at the uncustomary pause in her conversation. She thought she saw a slightly wistful look on Lainely’s smooth face.

  The house was empty except for some overly worn rugs, a mismatched table or two and a large, lumpy couch and armchair covered in faded gold damask. Sunlight flooded in through a dirty window at the top of the stairs immediately in front of them. The downstairs was divided into the smaller rooms that were in fashion at the time the main house was built. To the left was a room that must have been the formal dining room judging by the corner cabinets and its ornate tile hearth. Further around to the left was the addition that housed the kitchen and large breakfast nook. The addition was ‘new’ in that it was built within the last 100 years or so. The last update to the kitchen itself must have been in the mid-seventies complete with brown appliances and large floral print wallpaper. Jessica wrinkled her nose.

  Lainely was watching her client carefully for any reaction and pounced at the first opportunity. “Just terrible, isn’t it? Why mother, may she rest in peace, just about passed away dead when Auntie did this to her kitchen. Auntie was just so proud of herself when she came up with the color scheme, brown, burnt orange and avocado green. Just what in the world was anyone thinking when they dreamt up those colors. Gawd awful! But mother always hinted afterwards that color blindness ran in her family, and it must have been poor Auntie that got the lion’s share. Well, I always thought that color blindness was something you got after you lived in a house with these colors for a while!”

  “It’s nothing that some new wallpaper and a coat of paint won’t fix. The sooner the better, don’t you think so?” Jessica was standing with her back to Lainely looking out the back door up to the barn. The mountainside was washed in sunlight. “The place seems to have roughed out the neglect of the past few years. I’m surprised to see a couple of horses up on that hill. Has anyone been taking care of the place?”

  “Well, no. Not really. The house has been closed down ever since they took Uncle Milliard’s body back down the mountain. But I’ve made sure the horses had someone looking after them. Uncle Milliard was adamant that those horses never come down the mountain and that they stay with the farm. I made him a deathbed promise that I would see to it that those fine horses stayed in their born and bred home. It just seemed like the least I could do.”

  “Lainely, I’d like to buy the farm. I am willing to offer you fifty thousand dollars off the asking price. How about it?” Jessica braced herself for the battle.

  “What! You actually want it?” Lainely caught herself and sputtered. “Why that’s a crime! This is a fine piece of property that has just been begging for the right person to come along! Why I just can’t insult the sellers by goin’ in with a price like that. I mean, what will they think?”

  Jessica had been listening to her companion softly and consistently dissuade her from this property. She was certain that Lainely had done so countless times before with other prospective buyers and had been quite successful at it. Lainely’s point of keeping two old hacks on the farm was a nice touch. The worn look of them probably kept a few potential buyers from seriously considering it as a viable horse farm.

  On the way up to the farm, Jessica had reviewed the folder Lainely had prepared on the property. It was complete with topographical maps showing the steep terrain and the lack of any close neighbors. It was surrounded by National forest on three sides. Lainely had played that card very well. In a socially active town like Perc, anyone drawn to living there would not want to be banished to its outer reaches. So that had culled many more buyers from the pack.

  But what Jessica also learned from the file was that the property was owned by a trust managed by a law firm in Louisville. They had consistently lowered the price over the years to an already basement level for properties of this type. Most of the price reductions had come in the recent months. Jessica surmised that they were growing tired of the frequent visits to check on the property and wanted the ease of managing cash for the trust’s beneficiaries, whoever they were. Jessica could always negotiate up if she had to, but she sensed that the executors would jump at the offer.

  “Well, Lainely, I’m sure that they will be happy to consider an offer, especially one coming from a relation such as you. Let’s go back and get the paperwork done.”

  A brief storm passed through Lainely’s eyes before she remembered her manners. “Why of course. Certainly, Tess.”

  The ride back down the mountain seemed to have even more bumps and turns than the ride up. Lainely chatted on about the families in the town and how much everyone pulled together when the town was empty during the winter months. Her favorite things were the small hunts that went on and intimate dinner parties thrown by one person or another. She mentioned the article on the Harvest Hunter Pace and added that anyone riding in the event was automatically invited to the huge Hunt Ball hosted by the Lavielles. The pack of riders normally numbered in the hundreds. Many entries w
ere made just so they could go to the Ball. Jessica had gotten the picture of a close-knit town accustomed to its genteel way of life and proud of its position in the social and horse worlds.

  Lainely finally stopped the subtle attacks on the property and tried a different angle. “Now then, Sweetheart. What kind of financing did you think you wanted to arrange. I know several wonderful bankers in town that would be most pleased to help you out. Why, Jeffrey Curtis just up the street at the First National Bank and Trust would be most honored to help you out. I could give him a call right now and—”

  “No. Thank you. That won’t be necessary. I have my own means and don’t need additional cash. Please, let’s just make the call to the trustees and see what they have to say.” Jessica had a suspicion that Mr. Curtis would be difficult to get any money from, anyway.

  Jessica enjoyed watching Lainely’s face try to hide the calculations that were going on behind it. Jessica knew that Lainely’s ‘people radar’ did not pinpoint her as a wealthy woman or a trust fund brat. Jessica assumed that she was categorized as a ‘Small Time Work-a-Holic’ not ‘Woman of Independent Means.’ Jessica wanted to keep Lainely off balance.

  She flashed her most brilliant smile as they entered Lainely’s office. Belying the small ad that Jessica assumed would be of someone starving for a sale, the furnishings were expensive and the office professionally appointed. Lainely ushered Jessica into the smaller of the two conference rooms.

  “You’ve told me so much about Perc, I can’t wait to be your neighbor.” Jessica really didn’t care if she was liked or not, especially by Lainely, but she knew her tactics would carve out the space she needed from people.

  Lainely made the call to Louisville and acted as a mediator for Jessica on several questions, finalizing the details of the sale. After a brief conversation she hung up the phone and sighed.

  “That’s it then! They said yes!”

  The paperwork and deed were quickly drawn up and Jessica arranged for the funds to be transferred to the designated bank in Louisville. Any money remaining after the sale was deposited into the First National Bank and Trust. She had made a point to meet Jeffrey Curtis on Lainely’s advice and found him to be pleasant enough to deal with. Jeffrey treated her very solicitously when he learned of the sums of money she commanded with a phone call. She was careful to cultivate the image of substantial independent wealth which could come his way if she was pleased with his bank’s services, thus ensuring his ongoing attention and care to her funds, as well as her privacy.

  Her first order of business was to open the house and assess its readiness for winter. Although not huge, it was rambling with additions and renovations done throughout the generations. When viewed from outside its tall peaks and sloped roofs seemed to echo the mountains themselves. The house had much customized detail inside and would eventually be charming, but was in need of a lot of work. Besides the downstairs’ den, kitchen, dining room and living room, the upstairs had three bedrooms with interconnecting nooks and large closets. Jessica rarely ventured into the sizable upper attic spaces or basement and only did so for maintenance reasons. Mice had made nests in the pipes which had gone unused for so many years and a couple of windowpanes had broken in storms, allowing rain to soak old plaster walls. Other animals found the inside of the house a convenient spot to nest and Jessica knew it would be a little while before she got rid of all of her rodent friends. Fortunately for her, the slate roof was in good condition and did not require her attention.

  She ordered more hay and grain and got to know the two horses that were packaged with the farm. The animals had been fed and brushed over the years, but that was the extent of their care. Such a shame, thought Jessica, they looked like they were pretty good horses once. They had forgotten nearly all of their training and only permitted Jessica to touch them while their noses were buried in their feed buckets. Jessica stroked their long necks and talked to them continuously in a soft, steady voice.

  “We’ll get to be good friends, soon. Won’t we sweetie? There ya go. Easy girls. Nice day out, huh? Yeah, easy gals.” She looked at their two faces and recalled the names Lainely told her. The taller one, the bay, was Empress and the smaller horse, a gray-ish roan, was named Banshee. They eyed her suspiciously as they lipped the treats from her hand.

  On and on she would talk with them and slowly gained their trust. The summer passed and they grew more sleek and their coats once again glowed with health. Jessica enjoyed spending the hot days working on her house and barn. She had the luxury of time on her side and fell into step with the unhurried rhythm.

  After one of her early morning feeding and training sessions, Jessica hopped into her Jeep and made her way into town. The air had a noticeably cooler feel to it and she was surprised by the passage of the seasons. She was enjoying getting to know the town and its core citizenry and did so slowly, one by one. This was the best way to determine who would respect her privacy and who would not. Jessica wanted to stay in this town as long as possible and she could not afford any mistakes.

  The hardware store owner, Hoyt Percival, was the first to know her on sight and their smiles and head nods gradually warmed to pleasant chats in the morning sun. Hoyt was a tall man a bit past his prime who liked to wear his wire-rimmed glasses at the tip of his nose and red suspenders with his baggy jeans. Jessica liked him and they laughed at each other’s clumsy handiwork hints. Jessica enjoyed teasing Hoyt about the masking tape loop that was holding up one end of his store’s front window curtain rod and greeted him with “’Morning, Hoyt! Glad to see the rod’s still up!”

  “Well, now Missy. I guess it would take a Yankee woman like yerself to notice something like that,” he drawled with a wink at Jessica.

  That day the hardware store was busy with one other customer. Father Bertrand Steeves, caretaker of the spiritual life of Perc, had been looking at brooms and mops in a corner when Jessica arrived. With his long strides and black robes he was quite a character during Sunday services but today he wore more casual clothes and he angled himself into their conversation. “Well Hoyt! Do you know this young lady?”

  Hoyt glanced up and beamed. “Father Steeves! Nice to see you. You haven’t met our newcomer yet? This is Miss Tess White.”

  “I haven’t had the pleasure!” He turned to Jessica. “I’ve seen you at church sitting in the back pew most Sundays but I missed you at the coffee hour following the services.”

  Jessica shook his extended hand but politely demurred his implicit invitation. “It’s nice to meet you too. I’ve wanted to introduce myself, but I usually am on my way back to the farm right after services.”

  Father Steeves assessed her bright eyes and shy smile artfully cultivated both to be friendly and to hold back from people. He was quite good at knowing what someone’s inner person was like. Tess White struck him as someone who was yearning to talk and connect with others, but was not allowing herself to be free.

  Jessica continued, “Last week you made an announcement during the service. You said something about a school for the learning disabled needing some volunteers. Who do I need to talk to about helping out?”

  “Well! That’s fine! Fine! Consider it done!” The priest’s words boomed out of his chest with robust joy at prayers being answered. “I’m glad you want to get involved, Tess. Several other parishioners have indicated a desire to help as well.” He paused and thought for a moment. “I think they are all planning to meet at the church next Tuesday morning and drive up together. Why don’t you meet them there around 8:30?”

  Father Steeves had a hard time deciphering the expression he saw in her eyes when he mentioned the group forming, but Jessica smiled and agreed instead to meet them at the school. He was quite pleased with the turn of events and sent a mental note of thanks heavenward.

  The Franklin School for the Disabled was located north of Perc near the state parks just past Jessica’s end of the valley. It was
an establishment of several small, squat brick buildings flanking a larger building with four large columns. Each of the smaller buildings was a dormitory for the residents. The top two floors of the dorms had a portion dedicated to the staff’s apartments. The bottom two floors held the kitchens and specialized activity areas. The large central building was for administrative offices and classrooms. Stables and paddocks, long abandoned, flanked the southern border of the property.

  The volunteers were needed to clean out the attics and storage rooms of unwanted items like furniture, books and other things that had been accumulated through the years. The school’s plan was to have a tag sale and general clean-up day that coming Saturday. Everyone from Perc and the surrounding towns were invited to donate their old, unused items to the school and join in the general cleanup and festivities. Any donated items in need of repair would be tended to by the residents themselves under the helpful eyes of the staff. Most of the items had been dropped off by the time she arrived and had already been assessed as needing a cleaning, repair or were ready to sell. Jessica learned that this was a much anticipated annual event and that it raised a great deal of money for the school.

  The residents at the school were a mix of severely mentally challenged children and those who were fairly high functioning, but in need of continuous expert care. The programs they attended were considered some of the best in the state and the school enjoyed an excellent reputation. All of the staff helped each resident participate in the clean-up day as much as they were able to. Those that could participate enjoyed the sanding and polishing of the furniture, making most items almost new again.

  Jessica watched a group of three young girls and their aide busily repairing an old wooden doll’s crib. The young aide seemed to be at a loss to get one girl with thick brown pigtails to participate. The girl sat with her head tilted to one side and rocking slowly back and forth. The other two girls were using soap and water to clean to the crib’s rails. Jessica walked over to the group and sat down.