Annie's Answer

by Hanson, Pam Andrews

  “Mattie wants the kitchen to be clean when your parents get home. I can’t imagine your cleaning service does cupboards,” Annie said defensively.

  “Well, neither are you from now on. Aunt Mattie, I didn’t hire Annie to be a maid. The two of you will have to find something else to do—something safer.”

  “I suppose you expect us to play checkers,” his aunt said in a sour voice.

  “We’ll think of something,” Annie assured him, suddenly afraid he might replace her with an elderly woman closer to Mattie’s age.

  “I’m sure you will,” he said as he loaded the entire contents of the cupboard into a big black garbage bag.

  “Someone might be able to use those canning jars,” Mattie weakly protested.

  “They’re going in the recycle bin.” Nathan’s tone practically dared her to argue.

  Annie felt deflated, her bubble of happiness burst by the Nathan’s disapproval. Even if he hadn’t fired her on the spot, was their date tomorrow still on?

  He disappeared for a few minutes, lugging the ladder and the plastic bag to the bins in the garage. Annie expected him to leave from there, but he came back to the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry for getting mad,” he said to both of them. “Just don’t take on more dangerous jobs, Annie. And don’t expect her to, Aunt Mattie. Promise me, both of you.”

  Annie nodded, and Mattie made a little huffy sound. Nathan seemed satisfied.

  “I can fix your lunch in a hurry,” Mattie said, her good humor restored.

  “I don’t have time. I have to get back to the office,” Nathan said, looking at Annie. “I’ll call you later.”

  He left without saying anything else.

  Did that mean their date was till on? Now that the crisis was past, she hated herself for taking a risk on the old ladder. She should’ve stood up to Mattie instead of balancing on the top of a stack of old wood. Nathan must think she didn’t have a brain in her head.

  More than before, she was certain Nathan would never see her as anything but his aunt’s companion. He’d probably keep his word about tomorrow night, but that would be the end of it.

  Chapter 12

  When Annie got home Wednesday evening, she went to her closet and tried to find an outfit appropriate for a date with Nathan. He must think she was a klutz, falling off a ladder into his arms, so it would probably be the one and only time she went somewhere with him. She was determined not to wear anything that looked like a thrift store reject, but her wardrobe was suffering from major neglect.

  It was hopeless. Even her best jeans were faded and threadbare in spots, and she hadn’t thought about new clothes in ages. She was ready to cancel the date when she took out her plastic-covered prom dress. The sapphire blue gown hadn’t been out of the bag since she’d brought it home from the dry cleaners, but it was every bit as nice as she remembered. Never a fan of frills and flounces, she’d helped her mother sew a classic design, strapless with a fitted bodice. It would be perfect for an important date if it weren’t floor length with bare shoulders.

  Spreading it out on the blue and yellow quilt that served as a bedspread, she laid a white lace jacket on top. Although she’d had the jacket for ages, a gift from her aunt in Omaha, Annie rarely wore it because she’d didn’t have anything to go with it.

  Now she did. All she had to do was shorten the skirt of her prom dress, and she wouldn’t have to feel out of place with Nathan.

  Rushing to the dining room where her mother kept her sewing machine, she laid the dress on the table and used a measuring tape to put pins where the hem should go. Tired as she was, this was her one time to shorten the dress.

  Her eyelids were dropping when she finally finished sewing the new hem by hand. In her bedroom the clock on the bedside table told her it was past two a.m., and she needed to get up early to press it.

  The night seemed five minutes long, but she managed to finish ironing before anyone else was up. She hurried to get ready for work, just grabbing a toaster pastry on the way out.

  “What’s the hurry?” Gramps asked as she rushed past him nibbling on her nasty breakfast.

  “I have to stop at the newspaper on my way to the Sawyers,” she said, her conscience forcing her to apologize to Marge for the poor showing on the ads for this week’s issue.

  “Oh, I forgot to leave a note for you,” her mother said coming into the kitchen. “The church secretary called and asked if you could come a little early tomorrow. The woman who usually helps fold bulletins is out of town on vacation.”

  A vacation! In her world it was a foreign concept. When was the last time Gramps had loaded up the car and taken them to the beach or to visit relatives?

  That was beside the point. How on earth could she spend extra time helping at church when she had zero minutes of spare time today or tomorrow?

  Annie was in her car, putt-putting to the Westover Weekly, when an idea hit her. Maybe Mattie would like to go to church with her tomorrow and help out. Folding bulletins was something she could do sitting down, and it would keep her occupied for a while. It was worth a try.

  Meanwhile, she parked her VW and hurried to the employees’ entrance in the alley that ran behind the old brick building. Marge was an early bird, always cheerful in the morning, but Annie still dreaded talking to her. There was no question she’d let her boss at the paper down. She’d scored more advertising her first week on the job than she had this week.

  “Good morning,” she called as she looked for Marge.

  Instead her husband, Ted, came out of his office.

  “She went out to hustle a few more ads before we send the paper off to be printed,” he said with a frown.

  Ted Owens always intimidated her. He was well over six foot and tended to bellow when he gave orders. He obviously wasn’t happy this morning.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t make all the rounds this week,” she said, knowing an apology didn’t make up for the lack of revenue.

  “We’re not angry, Annie,” he said, his tone of voice belying his words. “But you’ve taken on too much. I think it would be better if you forget about selling ads for us. I have a lead on someone else for the job.”

  “I understand,” she said, trying not to feel rejected. Ted was right. She simply didn’t have enough hours in the day to live up to their expectations. “I appreciate having the job as long as I did.”

  “Well, good luck to you,” he said, going back into his office and closing the door.

  She’d never been fired before. It was for the best, but it still hurt. She wished Marge had been there so she could apologize for letting her down, but there was no time to dwell on it. As it was, she was going to be a few minutes late getting to the Sawyers.

  Nathan delayed leaving for work as long as possible in hopes of seeing Annie. He needed to tell her when he’d pick her for this evening, but he could do that quickly with a phone call. What he really wanted was to make sure she still wanted to be his aunt’s companion after her unfortunate fall yesterday.

  She was late. Did that mean she’d had second thoughts about coming?

  A client was due for an appointment in a few minutes, and he had to leave. Bonnie was taking today and tomorrow off because a relative was visiting—time she certainly had coming and deserved. But he’d turned down her offer to find a temporary replacement, believing it would take too much of his time to show a temp what to do. Now he had an important consultation and no one to open the office.

  Getting into his car at the latest possible moment, he heard the aging VW pull in behind him. Common sense told him to go, but he resisted, wanting at least a few words with Annie. He rushed back to her car before she had a chance to get out.

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said with an odd little catch in her voice as she stepped out of the vehicle.

  He picked up on her distress in spite of her attempt to conceal it with a forced smile.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Oh, yes, sure. Just a little rushed th
is morning.” Her cheeks were as pink as the knit shirt she was wearing.

  “Your hours aren’t set in stone. If you have something to do before you come here, that’s perfectly all right.”

  “I appreciate that. I had to stop by the newspaper. It seems I let them down, so that’s one less job I have to do.” She started to walk around him with her eyes focused on the ground.

  “They fired you?” He felt a sudden flash of anger at the person who’d caused the unhappiness on her face.

  “It’s okay. I really don’t have time to sell ads. I’d better go inside. Mattie will be expecting me.”

  “Mattie can wait.” He needed to get to work, but not before he heard more about why she’d lost her job at the paper. “Do you have a contract with them? Did they offer severance pay?”

  She laughed, a light melodic sound that washed over him like a cooling mist.

  “I sounded like an attorney, didn’t I?”

  “You sounded like a concerned friend, but no, I never had a contract. It was only a part-time job.”

  “Don’t worry about the lost income. You’re worth a lot more to me than what I’m paying you. I’ll just bump your salary up.…”

  “No, please, no. You’ve over paying me already.” She was so insistent he dropped the matter for now.

  “I wanted to tell you I have reservations at the Windsor Inn for dinner and tickets for the Barn Theatre. Can I pick you up fairly early, say 5:30?”

  “Yes, that’s fine.”

  “You can leave as early as you like. Aunt Mattie won’t object—and don’t let her talk you into any balancing acts on a ladder. You’re not here to clean house. You gave me a scare tumbling off.”

  “Thanks to you, I wasn’t hurt.” She kindly didn’t mention that he probably startled her into falling.

  “Well, I’ll see you this evening. I have to get to work.”

  “Have a nice day,” she said, turning to hurry to the front door of the house.

  “You too.”

  Before he could get in his car, Aunt Mattie was standing in the doorway waiting for Annie. He should be thankful his sometimes difficult relative was getting along so well with her, but he was more concerned about his growing infatuation. He was nearly thirty and too old for crushes. Maybe when they were better acquainted, reality would set in and he could get adorable Annie out of his mind.

  Chapter 13

  “You’d better get going,” Mattie said in the middle of the afternoon. “You don’t want to keep Nathan waiting. That boy was born with a built-in clock.”

  “There’s plenty of time,” Annie assured her. “I’ll sweep the patio before I leave.”

  “Nonsense! It will still be there tomorrow. A girl needs time to primp before a date.”

  “It’s really not a date,” Annie said, trying to convince herself as well as Mattie. “But speaking of tomorrow, I have an idea if you’re interested. It’s my day to help out in the church office. The woman who folds the bulletins is on vacation, and they asked me to do it. Would you be willing to come along with me and—”

  “That’s the best idea I’ve heard in a long time. It’s about time I did something useful.” The older woman’s smile transformed her face.

  “Great! Would the morning work for you?”

  “Any time would. I’m starting to run out of ideas to keep us busy around here.”

  Annie didn’t know whether that was good or bad, but taking Mattie to the church would certainly solve the problem of what to do with her for at least one day. She understood Mattie’s need to feel useful, but she was beginning to worry about Mrs. Sawyer’s reaction to all the cleaning and organizing in her house.

  “We’ll go shortly after nine then,” Annie said.

  “If you’re out late, you needn’t get here that early,” Mattie said. “But it’s time for you to leave. Go.”

  This was one time when Annie appreciated her bossiness. It would be nice to have time to do her hair and nails and have a leisurely bath. She rarely had time for makeup in the morning, but it would be fun to experiment if her meager supply hadn’t dried up from lack of use.

  Now all she had to do was hope the VW wouldn’t stall on the way home.

  The house was empty when she got there, but both her mother and grandfather came home in time to see the results of her careful preparations.

  “You look absolutely stunning,” Mom said. “When did you have time to shorten your prom dress?”

  “Last night,” Annie admitted.

  “I would’ve done it for you.” Her mother had her twirl around to see if the hem was even. “I guess you managed just fine on your own.”

  “Yes, you look nice,” her grandfather said with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm. “I just hope.…”

  “What?” Annie asked.

  “Well, don’t get your hopes up too much.” He shrugged.

  “Hopes about what?” Annie knew what he meant, but she didn’t want him to rain on her parade, not this evening when she was super nervous already.

  “Never mind,” he said dismissively. “I’m just an old man looking for something to worry about.”

  “Well, don’t worry,” Annie said a little sharper than she’d intended. “This is just a thank you for keeping Nathan’s aunt happy. I know nothing will come of it.”

  “You look lovely, dear,” Mom said just as the doorbell rang.

  Annie braced herself for an awkward moment before going to the door, but Gramps put on his welcoming smile, the one he used to greet members of the congregation after a service.

  “Hello,” Nathan said when she opened the door.

  She was used to seeing him dressed up for work, but he’d outdone himself in a silky suit that captured shades of green and bronze without being either one. His copper colored dress shirt could’ve been made to go with it, and the necktie brought the whole outfit together. He looked gorgeous, and she didn’t know how she could go with him wearing a made-over prom dress. Her little lace jacket suddenly seemed too childish, and her heels needed to be two inches higher to be fashionable.

  “Nice to see you, Nathan,” her grandfather said, offering his hand.

  Was her mother really blushing when Nathan turned his attention to her?

  Fortunately the encounter of the family-kind was brief. Nathan hustled her out to his car after a minimum of small talk.

  “You look lovely,” he said when she was belted in beside him on a white leather seat that almost had to be custom-ordered.

  “So do you,” she said impulsively, feeling even more awkward after she said it.

  “How did your day with Aunt Mattie go?” he asked as he started the low humming motor.

  “Fine. She’s running out of jobs at the house, but tomorrow she’s going to church with me to fold bulletins.”

  “Great. She’s been at home too much. We got bad news from the contactor Dad hired to see if her house can be repaired. He recommends tearing down what’s left.”

  “She must be upset.”

  “She doesn’t know yet. So far, there’s no plan B.”

  “I assumed she’d be staying in Westover.” Annie felt sad for her but didn’t know what else to say.

  “Dad wants her to, but I don’t think she and my mother could live in the same house. If Mattie agrees, I’ll have to find an alternative for her, maybe assisted living.”

  “That would be sensible but.…”

  It wasn’t her business, but she had a feeling Mattie would hate being in an old folks’ home.

  “She won’t go for it,” Nathan said as if reading her mind.

  “Maybe an apartment.”

  “There aren’t many good ones in town. I suppose she could buy a little house, but that’s a different set of problems. You can see how she tries to do too much.”

  “She might be lonely.” Annie suspected Mattie would feel abandoned living by herself in Westover. “Do you think she’ll want to go back to Iowa?”

  “Probably, but she doesn’t hav
e family there, no one to look after her.”

  “She has friends.” Annie remembered how happy the phone call had made her.

  “Friends her age. She can’t count on them being able to help her, no matter now well-intentioned.”

  “I can see the problem.”

  “Well, let’s not talk about Mattie this evening. I’m really looking forward to a quiet dinner and a good play. Have you been to the Barn Theatre?”

  “Once when they did a children’s play. It was a long time ago.”

  “I’ve heard they’ve improved the place a lot. Put in old theatre seats instead of folding chairs and generally updated the facilities. My parents have a sponsoring membership, but I haven’t had time to go in years.”

  Annie took a deep breath. The Sawyer family seemed to be financially involved in almost everything in Westover. She knew from helping the treasurer they were the church’s largest donor, and their name was on a bronze plague at the public library for helping renovate the building Andrew Carnegie had donated to the town a hundred years ago. The same was true at the hospital where Mrs. Sawyer had headed up a drive to build a cancer treatment center. What would it be like to be able to help so many people in so many ways?

  She was glad when they reached the restaurant located in an historical Victorian house on the outskirts of town. It was the most upscale dining place in town, and she’d never even thought of eating there.

  In the foyer a receptionist in a black floor-length gown and stiletto heels greeted Nathan, calling him Mr. Sawyer, and escorted them to one of several dining rooms. The tables had white linen cloths and an array of crystal and china in the place settings. There were antiques and walls covered with oil painting in heavy gold frames, so much to see she could hardly take it all in.

  Their server appeared immediately, a young man in a burgundy waiter’s jacket and black slacks who was familiar to Annie.

  “Hi Randy. I didn’t know you worked here.” The words slipped out, and she almost said ‘whoops’ when Nathan looked up in surprise.