"You're absolutely right. Henry shouldn't have said anything. He's a dumb, stupid man," Lydia responded.
"And you told him so in no uncertain terms," Beryl laughed.
Sylvie turned to Andy. "She scared me and I was far away!"
Andy giggled. "Yep, I guess we know who the scary one is in the bunch. We're siccing her on men we want to send screaming home to their mamas."
"Hey!" Polly laughed. "I'm not that mean."
"Do you want us to go ask Henry?" Beryl asked.
"Fine. I was pissed off and I was mean."
"Oh, we got that. And we're not going near the conversation. At least not without chocolate." Andy laughed.
Lydia said, "We understand that you don't want to talk about this right now. You don't know any of us well enough to trust with it, much less all of us as a group. It's your story and when you're ready to talk, whomever you choose to talk about it with will listen."
Polly stood up and smiled. "I'll be right back." She left the stage and walked into the kitchen and returned with a large bowl of chocolate candy.
"Here," she said. "First of all, I'm sorry you guys got splattered. I'll deal with Henry and his bad behavior later."
She passed the bowl around.
"Why do you have all of this candy?" Beryl asked.
"Um, hello? Tomorrow night is Halloween," Polly said.
"You're going to open the school for kids?" Andy asked. "No one knows that or it would have been a big deal!"
"No, I'm not going to open up or anything, but just in case kids show up, shouldn't I be ready?" Polly said.
"Well, you won't be if we eat everything this afternoon. So, is this going to be a long conversation?" Andy queried.
Polly sighed then looked at Lydia. "Did you tell them about the phone call last week?"
"Oh honey, no!" Lydia was shocked.
"Really? Alright, well, here's the deal." Polly repeated the story she had told Lydia and Aaron the morning Joey had interrupted their breakfast, then went on.
"This morning, Joey showed up here at the school. I don't know how he tracked me down. I didn't tell anyone in Boston where I was going. It completely freaks me out that he found me, but I sent him to Boone to get a hotel room because it doesn't look like he's going anywhere until we talk this out.”
Andy interrupted. "You do know your purchase of this place is public record, don't you. All he had to do was a little bit of searching and he could easily find you."
Polly looked up. "And he knew Sheriff Merritt's name since he answered my phone that day, so he knew what county to look in. Alright, while that's creepy, at least it makes sense."
"How long has he been around?" Beryl asked.
"Well, he said he flew in yesterday and got a hotel in Des Moines, then drove up here early this morning. That sounds about right. He gets something in his head and then charges off and does it."
She looked around at her friends, "I don't want to go out tonight, but I've got to deal with him or he'll be up here haunting me all the time. He doesn't take no for an answer."
"Is he the reason you left Boston?" Sylvie asked quietly.
"I guess he is. It's not like I was planning to stay there forever. I knew someday I was coming back to Iowa. But, before all of that happened, I had planned on being out there a few more years. I like it there a lot and I have good friends there. I had a great job and I adore exploring all the history. But, I was getting tired of the noise of the city and was ready to be back where people thought about others every once in a while.
"I wasn't here when Mary died and I wasn't here when Dad died. Those were awful phone calls to get, knowing I hadn't had a chance to tell them one more time how much I loved them. Especially Mary. She took such good care of me when I was young. I suppose I told Dad every time we were on the phone, but it was still hard closing out his house, knowing I'd missed the fun part of his life after he quit farming.
"We had talked a lot about when I found the right guy and had kids. We talked about me coming back here and living close by so he could make toys for them. He'd bought plans to build beds and changing tables."
Polly giggled, "It's probably just as well he didn't find out I wasn't in a hurry to get married and have kids. He'd have been disappointed."
"No, he wouldn't have," Lydia said. "He'd be happy to have you around, no matter what you were doing."
"Well, this place is kind of my response to him, I guess. And as mad as I get at Henry, he's a lot like Dad. The glint he gets in his eye when he talks about making things out of wood is so much like Dad. Damn. I'm going to have to apologize to that stupid man again."
"Again? You ripped his balls off twice today?" Beryl looked shocked.
"Yeah. He got all up in my business this morning when he walked in on me talking to Joey."
"Wow," Beryl said, "He's dumber than I thought. Most men would only set themselves up for that abuse once in a day."
"He's not so dumb," came a voice from the auditorium floor. Polly pulled back the curtain to see who was there. It was Henry. He continued, "It got you talking to your friends. Don't forget ladies, I have a younger sister who lives to torment me. These balls are made of pure titanium." He chuckled, turned around and left the hall.
"Crap," Polly said. "How long do you suppose he was standing there?"
Stu Decker answered her. "Oh, pretty much through your entire conversation."
"And you didn't tell us?" Lydia asked.
"Ummm, no?" he responded.
"Well, you're not much protection at all, are you?" Beryl said.
"Look, the guy needed some kind of relief after the takedown he'd had. We men have to stick together. It seems to me he needed more protection than you."
Beryl turned her back on him and thrust her hand in the air as if she were dismissing him completely.
"What are you going to do if this Joey character won't leave you alone?" she asked Polly.
"I dunno," Polly replied. "I'd like to think he would be reasonable, but obviously he's not if he's out here trying to talk me into getting back together with him. I don't know how many times it’s going to take for me to turn him down before he gets it.
"And honestly, ladies, I have absolutely no idea why he is so obsessed with me. We were only together for about five months and we hadn't ever talked about long-term goals in our relationship. He dated plenty of other women before he met me and there is one other girl at the library who was interested in him. This just seems so odd."
Lydia said, "That's exactly right. This is odd. Honey, if you can't get him to be reasonable in a hurry, you might have to admit you can't handle his level of crazy and get some help with it."
"What would we do? Put him in jail? That's not going to help,” Polly said.
"Polly, if you think for a minute that his anger won't turn on you at some point, you're flat out wrong. Just because he is nice to you right now doesn't mean he'll be nice to you when he doesn't get his way." This came from Sylvie. "Before you know it, you're the target."
"So where are you meeting him tonight? Tell me you're not meeting him at his hotel." Lydia said.
"Oh! No!" Polly exclaimed. "I told him to wander around Boone today, there's plenty to do there and he's as much of a history nut as I am. He'll probably end up at Mamie Eisenhower's house and lose track of time. We're going to meet at the Giggling Goat at seven o'clock. It's the only place I knew he'd easily find. That should be alright, don't you think?"
Lydia looked at the other three women. "That should be fine. So, would you freak out if you saw some friends having a drink and a sandwich there?" she asked pertly.
"Yes, Lydia. I might." Polly responded.
"Oh, well darn. I'm pretty sure some of us would like to know what this guy looks like so we can keep an eye on him if he shows up."
Polly sighed. "Are you going to be upset if I tell you not to eat there tonight?"
"I don't think that upset is the right word," Lydia replied. "Disappointed, maybe," an
d she looked hopefully at Polly.
"Fine," Polly said, her lips pressed together. "But, you can't sit at the table next to us and you can't sit with us and you can't blatantly eavesdrop."
Then she sighed, "In my entire life I have never met people as pushy as you when it comes to my life."
Beryl giggled. "Who? Us? You're the most excitement we've had in years!" She laughed out loud. "It was getting pretty boring around here. All we did for fun was tease Lydia and Aaron about their nightly escapades and after this long, even that has gotten pretty boring."
Lydia swatted her friend's arm. "I want Aaron to see this guy and I want this guy to see Aaron and know you are our friend. After that, your evening is your own. Whatever you decide, we will try to live with it."
"Do you mean like take him back?" Polly sounded surprised.
"Yes, like take him back. You're not a stupid girl, Polly. If you liked him once, you had to see a lot of good things in him."
Polly thought about it. "You’re right. He is witty and smart about all sorts of things and he loves history, probably more than I do. He took me to a lot of offbeat hidden away haunts in the Boston area. He loved to read and liked the same kind of movies I like. He created these wonderfully romantic outings, taking me all over the region. It was like New England was his to show off. He is a great cook and things seemed to be pretty good."
"He sounds great," Lydia said, "What does he do for a living?"
"I'm not sure," Polly said. "No, it's not like that," she assured them, seeing the shocked looks on their faces. "His parents have a lot of old family money and he doesn't need to work. He's spent most of the last few years going to school. He has a couple of Master's degrees. One in Art History and another in Literature. He's decided he is fascinated by ancient languages and is working on a degree right now as well as spending time at the Peabody Museum in their collections."
"Do you know his parents well?" Andy asked.
"I met them a couple of times. His mother is active in Boston's Junior League. She spends most of her time volunteering and doing social things. I didn't fit in with their idea of a spouse for their son, but they were nice enough to me."
"What do you believe they think about him being out here and what did they think about his jail time?" Lydia pressed.
"I don't know if they even knew he was in jail. I had to bail him out the first time around." Polly paused and thought, "Huh. I guess I don't know. I didn't see either of them at his trial and after that I guess I didn't ever see them again." She shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea what they thought and I bet they don't know he's here in Iowa. They didn't pay much attention to his life. Both times I met them it was at some charity event he took me to. He had to show up or he told me they would cut him off.”
"Sounds like a spoiled, entitled brat to me," Beryl muttered.
"Stop it." Lydia hushed her.
"You're probably right,” Polly continued. “It never showed itself that way. He was always polite and a gentleman. We never did anything I didn't want to do. He always asked me first unless he was surprising me with something and there were often fun surprises. He didn't go overboard buying things, it seemed like he knew that would put me off. He was nearly perfect. If he hadn't lost his temper, heck, in a few months I probably would have asked him to marry me.
"I'm glad I saw the real Joey when I did. The first time I thought I'd provoked his response, it came out of the blue. He'd never behaved like that before. So, I figured somehow it was my fault. However, the second time? I wasn't buying it. There was no provocation that time on anyone's part and he crossed the line when he came into where I worked and threatened one of my patrons."
"Do you think he has gotten any help?" Sylvie asked.
"He said he has been through an anger management class and spent time working with a counselor. But, he quit both of those even after they were mandated by the court the last time, so I don't know if I believe him." Polly replied.
"So," Lydia said, "What is your plan for tonight? What are you hoping to accomplish?"
"I don't know. I'd like him to be honest with me first of all. This morning when I asked how he found me, he avoided the question. I want him to hear himself say that he is stalking me. Then, I want him to tell me why he thought it was appropriate to track me down more than six months after we had broken up. I think he made a lot of this stuff up in his head and hasn't thought about the reality of his actions. He's not this stupid! At least I didn't think he was this stupid."
She sighed, "And if he is having some kind of emotional or mental breakdown, damn. I don't know what I'll do with him."
"Do you know how to reach his parents?" This came from Andy.
"Well, I suppose I could track them down. I don't have any direct numbers for them, but I'm sure there are ways to reach them. Yeah. I know enough about them to be able to contact them."
"Then that should be a backup plan,” Lydia said. “Make his parents deal with him. They put him out there in the world like this and they can take him back. It's not up to you to fix him up. Just remember that."
"I know, Lydia. That makes a lot of sense. It isn't easy for me to take my hands off a situation I was involved in, but I don't need this."
They went back to work, talking more about Joey and Polly and making plans for dinner. Lydia texted her husband to let him know what the plans were for that evening.
Soon enough, Stu stepped up on the stage and said, "Ladies, it's 4:30. My shift is nearly over and guys are packing it in for the weekend. Can you get to a stopping place?"
"Wow!" Polly said. "That went fast. Just a couple more pieces and we'll hand everything over." She finished entering the information about a Han Solo action figure and saw that Beryl was photographing a small camera. When they were finished, Beryl pulled the SD card out and handed it to Stuart, Polly logged off and unmounted the hard drive and handed that over as well. They gathered up their stuff, walked back into the kitchen and waited while he shut the lights out and locked up the auditorium.
Sylvie was the first to leave. "I'm sorry I can't be there tonight. I haven't spent any time at home with the boys this week, so we're going to watch a movie and make popcorn. I hope it goes well for you." She hugged Polly and waved as she left.
"We'll see you later, Polly," Lydia said. "We're going to get there around 7:30 or so. We'll pop by like casual friends, then watch you like a hawk from across the room. How's that?"
Polly laughed. "You guys are too much. You do know that I'm 32 and lived alone in Boston for the last, oh, fourteen years?"
Lydia smiled at her, "Uh huh. You're in our territory now. Thirty-two is like fifteen to us. And besides, what else are we going to do on a Friday night? Like Beryl said, you're our entertainment now."
"Okay," Polly said, "I guess I'll see you later!" She watched them leave and shook her head.
Then she realized she had one more thing to do. As she was heading up the stairs, Marvin, Leroy and Ben were coming down.
Leroy said, "What in the hell, lady? You're tough! Henry has been limping around all afternoon from the beatdown you gave him."
"Yeah," she retorted, "And don't you forget it. Cross me and it will be painful."
She watched them leave and made her way up the steps. Henry was sitting on a five gallon bucket drinking a bottle of water.
"Hi there," he said. "Want a seat?" and he gestured toward another upside down bucket.
"Here I am again,” Polly sighed. “Telling you I'm sorry the second time today. I shouldn't have gotten so angry at you."
"Well, I suppose I deserved it. I'm not used to being around a woman who gets all fiery like that. You're kind of scary."
"That's what everyone keeps telling me. I'm sorry. Okay?"
"It's alright. I'm sorry too. We're going to have to stop doing this or people will talk, though." He laughed.
"Talk? About what?" Polly was astonished.
"About us." he replied.
"What about us?" she asked
.
"Oh nothing. No big deal." Henry shook his head as he stood up. He swallowed down the last of the water and tossed the bottle into a bucket.
"Look, I need to be in here tomorrow to check this first coat of finish. I won't show up until after 8:30. Will that be okay?"
Polly looked up at him, still processing on the 'us' comment. "Sure," she said distractedly. “Doug and Billy will be gone by then. You have a key, right?"
"Right. I'll see you then. Make sure the doors are all locked up tonight before you leave."
"What?" She asked, "Oh, alright. Sure. See you tomorrow."
Henry walked downstairs and she heard the door shut behind him. She walked back down to find Doug and Billy standing in the door to the room they had claimed as theirs.
"I'm going out tonight, guys. Sorry about that. There are frozen pizzas in the kitchen and plenty of chips and pop. There's also candy and stuff in there too."
"What time are you leaving?"
"Probably about 6:30, why?"
"Do you care if we bring some friends over to play video games? We'll be done by eleven or so ... maybe midnight," Billy assured her.
"That's fine, but I don't want people on the floors upstairs and I don't want people in my room or in Henry's stuff over there." She gestured to the room Henry had claimed as his workshop. "You can have free run of the kitchen, though."
"Great! We're going to head out and get our stuff for the night and we'll be back before you leave, we promise!"
"Guys, you are being awesome about this. I'm sorry you have to play baby sitter to an old lady."
"Are you kidding? It's like we're on vacation! Our parents aren't bugging us to help around the house, you have great food, we can play games and watch TV whenever we want. This is great!"
"Well, one of these days I will take you out for dinner,” she said. “Anything you want."
"Cool!" Doug said, "We'll be back in a bit." They took off and shut the door. She locked it behind them and went back upstairs. She lay down on her bed, her eyes burning from exhaustion. She set her alarm for 5:45 and dropped off to sleep.
All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood) Page 16