Chapter Sixteen
It had only taken a few minutes for Polly to pull out a feast of goodies and put them on the counter in the kitchen for the boys and their friends. She had also brought in some extra soda from storage and filled the refrigerator. The guys had spent enough time in the kitchen with her and were comfortable with the stove and knew where to find everything, so she wasn't too worried about them having a party. From what she could tell they were more interested in playing games than getting drunk, so she didn't even have to be concerned about that. However, when she saw them coming in the door with card tables and chairs, she was more than a little curious.
"Exactly how many people are you planning to have here tonight?"
"Oh, no worries," Billy said. "There are only going to be eight of us, but we decided to hang out here in the hallway in front of the food. We'll get everything hooked up, the guys are all bringing their own laptops and it'll be cool."
"Alright," she said, "I'm trusting you."
"Really, Polly, no worries. We're only playing games."
"Okay then. I'm outta here. Let me know if anything explodes, alright?"
"Cool. Wait," Doug stopped. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the Giggling Goat in Boone. It looks like everyone is going down there tonight. I'll see you later."
"Cool." And with that he was setting up chairs and tables and pulling extension cords to the wall sockets. Polly hoped they didn't blow her school up, but it did make her smile. This was one of the things she looked forward to in the future. Hopefully a lot of people would find reasons to use her school for different activities, even if it was just the boys coming in to play games.
She got in her truck, headed up to the county road, turned west and drove until she ran into the next one leading directly into Boone. She'd driven this road enough it was starting to feel familiar. She turned south on Story Street. One of these days she was going to have to ask some questions about the big, old, beautiful homes in this town. Sometimes she drove around just to look at them. But, tonight she was too distracted to do anything other than acknowledge their existence.
She stopped and waited while a train passed in front of her, then crossed quickly over the tracks when the arms went back up and headed for the restaurant. She parked her truck and went inside. Joey was already at a table and stood when he saw her. He walked over to greet her, kissed her on the cheek and took her arm to escort her to their table. The waitress showed up immediately with a glass of water and asked if she wanted anything else.
"No thank you, water will be fine," she said.
"Are you sure you don't want a drink?" Joey asked.
"No, water is fine," she repeated. The last thing she wanted to be was out of control tonight.
"I ordered onion rings. It seemed like something I could recognize on the menu."
"Oh, don't be a snob, Joey."
"I'm sorry,” he said. “Have you eaten here before?"
"No. But, everything should be good. This place is always busy. You should probably have the steak. You're right in the middle of the country, where beef and pork actually live."
"Alright," he laughed. "I'll have a steak sandwich. What about you?"
"Have you ever had a pork tenderloin before?"
"Maybe," he responded.
"Not like this! I'll order one and you can try it. You can be guaranteed that if that is on the menu in an Iowa restaurant it will be great. These people like their pork tenderloin sandwiches."
When the waitress returned with their onion rings, Polly asked for a cup of ranch dressing and Joey placed their order. She had gotten used to him ordering for her, so she let it happen without saying anything.
"It's good to see you, Polly. You look amazing tonight,” he said.
"Thank you, Joey. It was nice to get dressed up. I've been so busy with construction, I haven’t done this in a while." She paused. "I went out with some friends a couple of weeks ago, but that was only girls, so maybe it didn't count."
"Well, you are absolutely beautiful. I've really missed you."
He seemed to be waiting for her to reciprocate, but fortunately, the waitress stepped in with the dressing and a pitcher to refill Polly's water. "Anything else?" she asked.
Polly shook her head and Joey ignored her, so she walked away.
She looked back at Joey and he reiterated. "I've really missed you. I couldn't believe you left town. I wish you would have called to let me know you were thinking about leaving."
Polly looked at him a little perplexed. "Joey, we were no longer together. Why in the world would I have called you?"
"Oh, come on, Polly. We both know that was only a little bubble in our timeline. I'd been waiting my whole life for you and when I met you, I knew there would never be anyone else for me."
"Oh, Joey,” Polly sighed. “How is that even possible if I'm just as certain you’re not the one for me?"
Joey's eyes got hard and his mouth set into a thin line. "Are you telling me there is someone else in your life already?"
"Stop it. Just stop it." Polly's voice got low and threatening. "There is no one else, but I am damned well certain you aren't the person I'm supposed to be with for the rest of my life. I don't know why you are here and I don't like it. I broke up with you and left Boston behind. I'm starting a new life here and you aren't part of it. Don't you dare get pushy with me."
"I'm not getting pushy, Polly. I want you to understand how important you are to me. I will do anything to make you happy, as long as you don't send me away."
"Do you hear yourself, Joey? I'm telling you we aren't together and you keep ignoring me!" Polly was certain that her frustration with the situation was going to explode all over him if he didn’t begin to hear what she was saying to him.
"Polly Giller! How are you this evening?"
Their conversation was interrupted by the overwhelming presence of four people surrounding their table.
"Who's your friend, Polly? Are you going to introduce us?"
She released the anger that had been building inside her and said, "Sure! Everyone, this is Joey Delancy, a friend of mine from Boston. Joey, this is Beryl Watson, Andy Saner and Lydia and Aaron Merritt."
She pointed at each of them as she introduced them. Joey stood up and shook the hand of each of the ladies and then Aaron. If he recognized the name, he didn't flinch or say a word.
"Joey," Polly said, "These are friends of mine from Bellingwood. These ladies have been taking great care of me and it's been fun getting to know them."
Beryl cut in, "She didn't have a chance. We made sure she was going to get to know us. Since she started renovating that old schoolhouse, all sorts of excitement has been happening in our little town. We tell her she's our entertainment. And look, here she is again with someone new! It looks like we might have even more entertainment!"
"No, not tonight, you goofball. We're going to get our own table over here and enjoy a good dinner. What are you having tonight, dear?" Lydia asked Polly.
"I haven't had a pork tenderloin since I got back to Iowa. Any chance I get to have one, I'm taking it, at least for a while." Polly said.
"Well, that sounds terrific. In fact, that's probably what I'll have as well. You two enjoy yourselves this evening!" Lydia turned to Joey. "We've taken a liking to this little girl, you take care of her, okay?"
"Alright," he said, a little shaken. "I'll … I’ll do my best."
They scurried away to their table, out of Joey's line of sight, but Lydia and Beryl planted themselves at the table so they could see everything that was happening as well as make faces at Polly.
Joey sat back down and said, "Those are your friends? Aren't they a little old?"
Polly looked across the table at him, letting disgust fill her eyes. Then, she took a breath and said, "You never did tell me how you managed to find me. I know that none of my friends have talked to you."
"Honestly, Polly, it wasn't that difficult." he replied. "Once I had t
he Sheriff's name, the rest came together pretty easily. Your little friend at the library thought it was great fun to track you down. She told me it was a shame we were no longer together, especially since I'm so gorgeous."
Polly made a mental note to call her old supervisor. Good heavens, it was astounding how stupid people could be.
"Joey. Do you hear how this sounds? You’re stalking me and asking others to help you. This isn’t normal. This isn’t how normal people have relationships." She was doing her best to maintain some level of patience, but this latest bit of news was almost too much.
"Polly, you left me, your friends and your home in Boston! You had a great job … a job you loved. You had a great little home and when we get married you are going to have the opportunity to make a beautiful home. Our children will be happy and you'll never miss living out here in the middle of wherever we are."
Polly stood up. She had finally reached her limit. "That's it. I came down here to try to talk to you and get you to see some sense. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and I wanted to believe you really had been going to counseling and would be sensible about what had happened between us. What I see now, though, is that you are even more delusional than you were last spring."
He reached across the table and grabbed her forearm. His voice got quiet and smooth as he said, "Sit down. Don't embarrass us, especially in front of your friends. I'm not threatening you or anything. Let's have a nice dinner."
Polly looked over his shoulder and Lydia's hand was on Aaron's arm. He looked as if he was ready to explode out of his seat, but she held him back. Her eyes were questioning Polly. With a slight shake of her head, Polly sat back down.
"I'll have you know,” she said. “It is only because I don't want to see you pulverized by my friends that I'm going to sit back down. Your attitude is completely unacceptable and if you can't understand that and get past it, I will be glad to turn you over to the Sheriff and let him put you on a plane back to Boston."
"Oh, Polly, stop it.” Joey’s tone had become patronizing. “You are over reacting. I'm not going to hurt you. Have I ever hurt you? You mean the world to me and I can't imagine living without you in my world. So what am I going to have to do to make that a reality for both of us?"
At that moment the waitress came back to the table with their food. Polly's stomach was so tied up in knots, she couldn't imagine eating anything. She opened the sandwich and layered the lettuce and tomato on one side with a little mayo, then flipped it over and put ketchup on the bun, followed by onion and pickles. This really was her favorite sandwich and she was furious that the idiot sitting across from her was going to make it a miserable meal. She poured ketchup onto her plate beside the fries, then cut her sandwich into quarters.
She sat back in her chair and tried to relax. Picking up one of the quarters, she took a small bite and rolled it around in her mouth. She forced herself to breathe slowly, then smiled a little as she realized this was now the third time today she'd had to force herself to relax. Men drove her over the edge and the one across the table exuded pure insanity. So, how was she going to get rid of him? After a few more deep breaths, which Joey had the courtesy to allow her to have in silence, she was ready to deal with him again.
"Okay, how long are you planning to stay in Iowa?" she asked, and then cringed as soon as it was out of her mouth. She knew exactly what he was going to say and he didn't disappoint her.
"I will be here as long as it takes to convince you to come back to Boston with me," he replied.
"Yeah. That's what I thought you were going to say. I don't even know why I asked. But, what are you doing about your classes or your work at the Peabody?"
"I scheduled a sabbatical for this fall. I don't think anyone really cares if I'm gone as long as I am happy when I return. I'll be happy if you return with me. Hopefully, we can get you home and settled in Boston within the next month or so. I'd like to get started again with my work by the middle of January."
"Oh," she said.
She bit her lower lip; the dry weather was starting to crack them now and she hadn't brought any protection with her this evening. She wondered what the boys were doing back at the school house. Then, it occurred to her that one of these days she was going to have to come up with a cool name for that place. Her mind began wandering through some of the fun places she'd seen while driving around the countryside. Most of those wouldn't make sense in Bellingwood. She was going to have to come up with the name of the school all on her own.
"Polly? Are you listening?" Joey was looking at her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"I asked how you liked your sandwich. For a joint like this, mine is pretty good."
"Oh. Yeah. It's fine." She looked down and saw that she had finished the quarter sandwich she had in her hand and was automatically eating fries. Wow. She'd wandered away from the entire evening.
"So, Joey. How are your parents?" she asked.
"They're fine. Mother is gearing up for the big Christmas ball. She started working on that in June, I believe. Father is planning a trip to Italy for them after the holidays. You know, he had a heart attack this summer."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. How is he doing?"
"I suppose he is fine. I don't get up to the house very often, but Mother calls me once a week to remind me that I have responsibilities and to let me know what is happening in their world. She was concerned that you had moved out west. She said something about Indians and cowboys. Even I know that is nothing to worry about."
Polly smiled and nodded. "No, there aren't too many battles this side of the Mississippi anymore. We even have automobiles and electric lights now." She shook her head, then pulled out her phone. Her mind wondered if she could still outthink the jerk.
"So, I got this new Samsung phone the other day. What are you using now?" she asked.
"It's the same old thing, just updated." He pulled his phone out.
"Can I see it?" and she held out her hand. When she had her hand on the phone, she bumped his glass of wine into his lap. Keeping hold of the phone, she said, "Oh, Joey! I'm so sorry!"
"It's no problem. I'll be right back. Don't even worry about it," he said.
He left for the bathroom and she rapidly began scanning his call history. She found his mother's name and phone number as well as the phone number of the little bimbo from the library who had been helping him. She also landed on a phone number for a clinic in Cambridge and entered those all into a note in her own phone. Sending it on, she cleared back to the main screen and set the phone back near his plate.
Lydia and the others had watched the entire process take place with what seemed to be proud grins on their faces. Polly felt much better. She had people to contact who might help her handle whatever Joey had managed to plan. She felt badly that his Dad was dealing with heart issues and his mother a big soirée, but Polly's life was about to crash right into their carefully laid plans.
She winked at her friends and picked up another quarter of her sandwich. Funny how her appetite returned once she took back control. Then, she had one more thought. Pulling her phone back out, she switched to the voice recorder. As Joey walked out of the bathroom, she clicked it on and set it in her lap and then picked the sandwich back up and took a bite.
"I really am sorry about your pants," she apologized.
"Don't worry about it, Polly. I brought plenty of clothes. If it takes longer than a week to convince you to return to Boston, I'll find a dry cleaner. For that matter, I suppose even Des Moines should have some department stores which would take my money."
"Joey, I'm not going back to Boston."
"Oh, honey," his voice turned to velvet and it made her want to slap him. "I know that you think you are going to do something with that little school up in that strange little town, but you and I both know that you are much better off with me than by yourself."
"No, Joey," she pushed now. "I'm not better off with you and I will repeat myself
one more time. I broke up with you. I left you and I left Boston. I want nothing more to do with you. I want you to get on a plane back to Boston tomorrow and leave me alone. Do you understand?"
"Polly, I have no idea why you are saying these things to me. You and I are a match made in heaven. I've told you over and over again that I waited a lifetime for you to show up and I'm not about to let you go. I will do anything to convince you to return with me. Do you want me to buy you out of your little school? I'll do that. Do you want me to find a building in Boston for you to renovate? I'll do that. But," and his voice took on a sinister tone, "you are returning to Boston with me. You are going to be my wife and you are going to be the mother of my children."
"Joey, I have no idea what makes you think any of that is true," she started.
He interrupted, "Because I say that it is true. For god's sake, Polly. I don't know why you can't get on board with this. No one has ever said no to me before and I'm not about to let it happen now. I love your spirit. It is going to be a wonderful thing in our children, but you have to get over this crazy notion that you are going to live without me. I won't have it!" He pulled his napkin out of his lap and flung it on the table.
"Look,” he said loudly. “You have made me lose my appetite. This was a perfectly decent dinner and your continual insistence that you and I aren't going to be together is infuriating me. I'm tired of listening to you say these things."
"Now who's embarrassing who?" she calmly asked. "Sit and calm down, you fool."
"How do you think you can get away with talking to me like this?"
"What?" she asked flatly. "Are you planning to beat me up?"
He wilted. "Polly, I would never lay a hand on you. You know that. And those times with those guys. I was so jealous that they got to spend time with you when I didn't or that they were touching you when I wasn't. It didn't seem fair."
Polly decided to try one last push, just for the fun of it. "So, you have to be with me all the time in order for you to be normal, is that what you're saying?"
He thought about it for a moment. "Well, truthfully, Polly, that is when I feel the most normal. As long as it is only you and me and there is no one else around to take your attention, things are fine. Anything else isn't right. Don't you feel the same way about me?"
All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood) Page 17