The Sounds of Home

by Greenwood Muir, Diane

"Thank you for the opportunity. We've taken hundreds of photographs while doing the restoration and Nan Stallings is building a website for us."

  "That girl is going to promote the heck out of Bellingwood businesses if it's the last thing she does," Polly said. "Congratulations on getting her on board. She’ll help you become busier than you think."

  "I look forward to it. This has been the most fun I've ever had."

  She shook her head. "Isn't it astounding what it takes for us to find our joy? Did you ever think you'd discover it in the guts of an old piano?"

  "No, I didn't," he replied. "Thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to hearing Elijah play a few recitals as he grows up. He's a great kid."

  "I'm proud of him. He's really taken advantage of the piano. I don't know what he wants to do with it in the future, but he's having fun right now. I'll be glad to have this available to him." She chuckled. "And this will speed up practice time at our house. Two instruments going at the same time. Who'd have ever thought?"

  "I'm happy that your kids are learning," Len said. "No matter how long they take lessons, just knowing how to play a piano will be good for them."

  "When will you come over and play for us?" Polly asked.

  "Me? I don't know."

  "You'd better start practicing. I'm going to ask again."

  "I know you will. You're a little scary. As soon as I know the exact time we plan to deliver the piano on Friday, I'll give you a call."

  "Thank you so much, Len. I can't wait."

  Before Polly got the phone back to the desk, it rang again. This time she checked to see who it was before answering.

  "Hello, Henry."

  "A newspaper? What’s going on over there?"

  "It's a long story. We'll talk about it tonight. I just wanted to see if you were still awake."

  "I'm wide awake. Are you serious?"

  "I had another conversation with Jeff. He says the Andersons are selling the building where the newspaper was located. He's thinking of buying it."

  Silence.

  "Henry, are you still there?"

  "What is going on with these people?" he asked. "This is the craziest build I've ever done. Up and down on the house, no plans about renovating the newspaper, and now she’s selling it."

  "They're actually dumping it," Polly said. "Jeff says it's a great deal. He got a call last night from his realtor."

  "He should grab it. There's not much work that needs to be done upstairs. He'd have a nice apartment. Or two."

  "Is one big enough for both him and Adam?"

  "They are nice sized apartments, but I suppose he could knock out a wall and blow it up. So, what's this about the newspaper?"

  "She's selling the whole kit and kaboodle. Wants nothing to do with any of it. Jeff doesn't want to own a business in town, so he asked if I’d like to get my hands on it. Then we'd look for an editor and lease the space from him."

  "Interesting. Is that something you want to do?"

  "What I want to do is talk to you about it, but not over the phone. I don't know what to think."

  "It would be good for you to be involved, that's for sure. At least that way you could be assured that your name was kept out of illicit news."

  "Illicit," she said with a giggle. "That's funny. Oh, and Len just called. They're delivering the grand piano on Friday."

  "So soon? Do they need help?"

  "He says they don't."

  "I'll be at the shop after lunch to talk to Dad. I'll stop in and see Len. That's exciting."

  "I thought so."

  "Hallooo."

  The sound of a familiar voice made Polly smile. "I hear Lydia coming. We'll talk later?"

  "Okay. I love you."

  "I love you, too." Polly put her phone back down and smiled at the three women standing in her door. Beryl was in back, peeking over Andy's shoulders.

  "Who do you love?" Lydia asked.

  "My husband. Very much. What are you three doing here?"

  "We just got back from a shopping excursion in Ames and since we hadn't stopped by to see you in your new digs, thought today would be a great opportunity. Are you too busy for us?"

  Beryl sat on the edge of Polly's desk. "Because if you're too busy, we can take a quick look around and then run away."

  "What were you shopping for in Ames?" Polly asked.

  "A little bit of this and a little bit of that," Beryl said. "Show her, girls."

  Andy and Lydia walked back out into the hallway and returned with four long, thin packages wrapped in brown kraft paper.

  Polly stood up. "What in the world?"

  "Happy new office," Lydia said. She handed one to Polly. "Open it. We didn't do fancy gift wrapping. No time for that."

  With the first tear away of paper, Polly felt tears threaten. "You guys. Beryl! What's going on here?"

  "These will fit perfectly in the space between your long windows," Andy said. "We measured the day after you mentioned you wanted to move back to Sycamore House. Well, Jeff measured for us. Beryl went to work, and Lydia and I made sure her paintings were framed."

  "Help me open these," Polly said, ripping the rest the paper off the painting she held. "Oh my," she breathed. "Oh my."

  The painting in her hands was of her four horses in the pasture. Beryl had made sure to paint their markings perfectly. Demi stood in the foreground, his head high and a front leg raised. Daisy stood off to the right behind him, her ears up as if she were listening for something. Nat and Nan were a bit behind them, looking toward the trees.

  The second painting was in the same location, though the trees were shifted further to the back of the painting. In it, Tom and Huck, the donkeys, were chasing something in the air. The third painting shifted the tree line even further and caught the edge of her red barn. Two small cats played in the foreground. The fourth painting was completely different.

  "I thought that one could go there, beside the door," Beryl said. "You have a perfect space on the end of the bookshelves."

  "I didn't know you painted like this," Polly said.

  "I don't, except for you. Do you like it?"

  "I love them all, but this is really different."

  "Good different?"

  "Perfect different." Beryl had painted a library and filled the shelves with books and cats. All six of the family’s cats were captured, along with Han and Obiwan on the floor, looking up to see who might jump down to play with them. It was whimsical, nothing like Beryl's other work. "I can't believe you did this for me."

  Beryl shrugged. "I had the idea when Rebecca and I were in Washington. We'd stopped at an art show and a popular local artist had a bunch of this type of work. His things were selling like hotcakes. I figured I'd give it a try. I don't think it's something I want to add to my portfolio, but it was a sweet moment."

  Polly threw her arms around the woman. "How do you have time to do these things?"

  "I've been thinking about your barnyard for a few years. I just didn't know how I wanted to capture it. Rebecca took photographs for me and we've been talking through the process."

  "She knew?"

  "And could hardly wait until I gave them to you. I think the secret was killing her."

  "Thank you." She looked at Lydia and Andy, who were beaming. "And thank you guys for everything. I didn't even think about hanging anything on these walls since they're so narrow. This is wonderful."

  Andy pointed at the last painting. "Did you see what else was on a couple of those shelves?"

  "What?" Polly peered at it. "R2D2 and C3PO? Are you kidding, Beryl?"

  "You might find a few other little surprises tucked into the shelves. I had fun."

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  "Save me!" Beryl squeaked as she dropped onto the sofa. She stuck her hand in between the cushions and pulled out an action figure. "Who is this?"

  Polly got closer and chuckled. "This is one of Cassidy's. That's Moana from the Disney movie."

  Beryl looked at Lydia. "I haven't seen
that one yet, right?"

  "I don't know," Lydia said, laughing. "Have you?"

  "You're my Disney hookup." Beryl handed the Moana figure to Polly. "Whenever she buys a new one for her grandbabies to watch I go over so we can preview it. Don't want them to see anything scary."

  Lydia scowled. "Scary? That's not why we watch the movies. It's because you don't even know they exist until I tell you what I bought. Cruella de Ville is scary. So is Ursula from Little Mermaid."

  "Those are my favorite characters," Beryl said, an evil grin crossing her face. "I want to dress like Cruella next Halloween. And find a hundred Dalmatian puppies so I look amazing."

  "That would scare me, not the children," Polly said. "My luck, they'd all be rescues and I'd be forced to give them a home."

  Andy chuckled. "That would be funny. Henry chasing a hundred puppies around the back yard."

  "You be quiet or I'll let them out the back gate and send them your way," Polly said.

  "I have no time for a hundred puppies."

  "None of us do," Beryl said. "I'm hungry. Let's eat."

  "Where? Sweet Beans?"

  "We eat there all the time. What about the BBQ place out on the highway? We've never been there as a group. I think it's time they discover who the real queens of Bellingwood are."

  "As opposed to the fake queens?" Polly asked.

  "Yes. Those chicks who put pictures of their food on social media so they can get upvotes."

  "You know about upvotes?"

  Beryl laughed. "Not really. I was reading an article the other day. I have no idea how to actually make it happen. But I do know that place is supposed to be all hip and stuff. Fancy drinks, saucy ribs, and sassy chicken. That's their shtick, you know."

  "You're a shtick," Andy said. "I don't want to work that hard at lunch."

  "Wiping barbecue sauce off your mouth is working too hard?" Beryl asked.

  "Trying to be cuter than the social media queens." Andy made fish lips and posed with her hand on her hip. "Take a picture, baby. Make me sexy."

  "You're already too hot for me," Beryl said, but she brushed her finger down Andy's lips. "Put those away or I'll start to get ideas about you. No barbecue? How about Mexican? That place is pretty good."

  "Aaron and I were there the other night," Lydia said. "I'm not ready for it again."

  "Okay, pizza. What about pizza?"

  Polly shrugged. "If we don't want pizza, they have great sandwiches and salads."

  "Pizzazz it is," Beryl said before anyone else could complain. "You have to ride in the back if you go up with us."

  "I can drive. Just give me five minutes to tell Kristen where I'm going and close my office."

  "You used to be able to walk out without having to explain yourself."

  "Beryl Watson, stop being a brat." Lydia swatted her friend. "You’ve been pushing buttons like crazy. Now, be the wonderful friend that you are and give Polly a hug."

  Polly laughed. "Wait, what? Another hug?"

  "You heard the lady," Beryl said. "Hug me again and tell me that you love me."

  "I love you." Polly pulled her into a hug. "And I'm so grateful for these paintings. Having a Beryl Watson hanging on the wall makes me one of the elite." She felt Beryl chuckling in her arms. "What?"

  "I just pictured me hanging on your wall, making snide comments all day while you worked. You'd have to lift me down every once in a while so I didn't pee down my leg, but otherwise, it might be entertaining."

  After the three left, Polly gathered up the wrapping paper and crushed it into the smallest ball she could make. How did she deserve such amazing friends? She tossed the ball toward the trash can and missed. Picking it up, Polly stood over the can and dropped it in. She set the three paintings of her barn and pasture in the spaces between her windows.

  "Kristen?" she asked, pressing the intercom button.

  "Yes, Polly."

  "I'm going to take off for lunch, but I'll be back."

  "No problem. Thanks."

  Polly dropped the Moana figure into her massive tote bag, picked it up and thought twice about carrying that thing around. She was just going to Pizzazz for lunch. All she needed was her phone and some cash. For that matter, she might as well walk. She closed the door to her office and headed through the main part of the building, waving at Kristen and Edna as she went past the office.

  The walk was only two and a half blocks and it felt good to be outside. By herself. With no animals or children begging for attention. She thought back to the number of times she walked with Obiwan, the two of them quietly enjoying their time together. Now that he had the back yard at the Bell House, he and Han had plenty of activity. Whenever she took the dogs on a walk through the cemetery, there was generally at least one child who wanted to go with her.

  "Why are you whining?" she muttered to herself. "You are living the very best life right now." Polly waited for traffic to go by on the highway, thinking that one day they were going to need to install a traffic light at this corner. Maybe not now, maybe not in five years, but someday. She waved at Denny Smith, who was waiting across the way to turn onto the highway. He motioned for her to cross before he made the turn and she picked up the pace. Four other cars waited behind him and she felt guilty for slowing things down.

  Working at Sycamore House again was wonderful. Polly loved that she could be in the middle of the action downtown with only a short walk. Not that her house was far away, but she felt free. The world was at her fingertips.

  She pushed the front door of Pizzazz open and grinned at Beryl, who was waving from their table next to the window. "I set the paintings on the floor where I want to hang them. Thank you again, ladies. Those are wonderful. I still can't believe you had time to slide them into your schedule, Beryl."

  "The summer has been relatively slow," Beryl said. "I moved things out of the way for the trip west with Rebecca and then I just didn't feel like rushing back to work. It was nice to make something for a friend rather than push to create items for sale."

  "Rebecca said that you made good contacts out west, though. Are you going to have to kick in to get work done for them?"

  Beryl nodded. "Never a dull moment. I've been sketching ideas even as I've been relaxing. I'm about ready to dig back in, especially now that fall is on its way. This is my most productive time of the year. I always try to plan more work than I can do. That way I push myself."

  "The woman would work all the time if she didn't have us as friends," Andy said.

  "Thank you," Polly repeated. "Just, thank you."

  "I love you, sweet girl."

  "Speaking of work, Andy, Len called this morning and they're delivering my piano on Friday."

  "I know," Andy said. "Isn't it exciting? I can't wait to see it in your house."

  Lydia patted Polly's arm. "You should have a celebration recital. Welcome the piano to its new home."

  "That would be fun. Maybe Len would play."

  Andy shrugged. "He would love that. So would Brandon and Roy."

  Brandon Fortney and Roy Eslick were the other two men who had helped Len rebuild her piano. She'd heard them both play and they were talented musicians.

  "This fall is already filling up with activities," Polly said. "The only weekend we have free is next week."

  "So do it then," Lydia said. "Who would you invite?"

  "I should contact Jeanie Dykstra and see if she'd play. I know Elijah has a few things memorized. She had a recital at the end of the school year for her students."

  "It doesn't need to last very long either," Beryl said. "All you want to do is christen the piano."

  "Not with a bottle of champagne."

  "That would be funny, but I think Len might kill you." Andy put her hand up to stop the conversation as the server stopped at their table. Fortunately, Polly knew the menu as well as anyone and came up with her order while the others placed theirs.

  "Will you and Len be around next weekend?" Polly asked.

  Andy nodded
. "Yes. We're heading to Spain the week after that." She chuckled as she poked Beryl. "Would you have ever imagined that I got to Europe before you? And so many times?"

  "Not in my wildest dreams," Beryl said. "Will you be going back for the holidays?"

  "Not this year. Ellen is coming to the states. She's talking about moving back. It's been an adventure and she loves her job, but I think she wants to be closer to her dad."

  "That's sweet," Lydia said. "Does she want to live in Iowa?"

  Andy laughed out loud. "Oh, good heavens, no. Not that close. After living in Barcelona, rural Iowa would be the death of her. I don't know where she'll land or what she'll end up doing, but I'd be surprised to find her nearby."

  "I wish she'd find someone," Lydia said, drawing everyone's attention.

  Beryl snapped, "Why? Why do you insist that every woman needs a man? Some of us are happiest without them."

  "It doesn't have to be a man," Lydia protested. "If it's a woman, that's fine. I don't know Ellen well enough to assume. I just want her to find someone that tells her she is loved."

  "That's why I have you girls," Beryl said. "You don't say it nearly enough to me, but it's all I need. And since sometimes I need to say the words more than I hear them, I'm grateful to have Miss Kitty and the Mayhem team around. They let me get away with saying the words over and over."

  "We all need to say them as often as we hear them," Lydia said. Turning to Andy, she continued, "Does she have anyone special in her life?"

  Andy shook her head. "Not that we know of. She's dated on and off, but nothing has stuck. Maybe that's why she's thinking about coming back to the states. Who knows? Maybe she'll have better luck with American men."

  "Dullards," Beryl muttered.

  Polly laughed. "I'll tell Henry that's what you think of him."

  "You girls are lucky. You found good ones, though I think they got the better part of the deal. I never looked twice at Henry Sturtz until you showed up, Miss Polly," Beryl said. "And Len Specek wasn't much to speak of until you started meeting him for lunch." She pushed Andy's elbow off the table. "He's much more interesting now. As for Aaron Merritt, he was just a dull deputy doing dull things in Boone. Then Lydia got her hands on him and suddenly he was the hottest ticket in the region."