Lydia laughed. "He got even more interesting when Polly showed up."
"We all did," Andy agreed.
Beryl glared at her friends. "Not me. I've always been utterly fascinating. Just ask me."
Polly shook her head. "You all are crazy girls. Now I need to return to an earlier conversation. Do you really think I could pull off a little recital celebration event at my house in a week and a half?"
"Why not?" Lydia asked. "Who would you invite?"
"All of you," Polly said and then stared off into space as she ticked names off on her hand. "Bill and Marie. Dick and Betty. We could invite the Greenes. And Sylvie and Eliseo, of course. I should invite Andrea and Kirk, and Jeff and Adam would love to see the new piano. But if we do it on a Saturday, Jeff might be busy with a wedding. Then, Jeanie Dykstra and her husband and any piano students she thinks would be ready to play. Who else?"
"Joss and Nate Mikkels?" Andy asked. "Sal and Mark? What about Rebecca's friends? Oh, Stephanie and Kayla, and probably Skylar."
"Yeah, Camille would love it, too. So would Elise." Polly laughed. "Of course, Agnes Hill. And I should invite Simon Gardner. He would adore this."
"And his new girlfriend," Beryl said.
"No," Polly said. "They aren't dating any longer."
"That's too bad. I thought it was sweet that he had someone," Lydia said.
Beryl sat forward. "There you go again. Trying to make hookups happen. Life isn't that easy, lady. Let things go as they will. You can’t make people happy just because you want them to be."
"Whatever." Lydia rolled her eyes. "It's still too bad."
"I'm up to twenty-five plus you guys and Len's friends. Oh, and my big family. That's nearly forty people in my living room."
"It's a big living room," Lydia said. "And people won't be in there long. Surely you don’t intend to have a two hour recital. We can eat outside if it's a nice day or set up tables in the foyer. I'll help with the food. Would you do a big meal or just appetizers?"
Polly laughed. "I just started thinking about this. I have no idea. I need to ask Henry …" she sighed. "There are so many things we need to talk about." She leaned forward and the other three leaned in. "The Andersons are selling the newspaper and the building. Jeff is thinking of buying the building, but he talked to me about buying the newspaper. How crazy is that?"
Beryl looked around at her friends. "Crazier than buying an old schoolhouse? Crazier than buying the Bell House? Crazier than trying not once, but twice, to build a bed and breakfast? Crazier than restoring an old rundown hotel? Girl, you have crazy on the run. Chase it before it gets too far out in front of you."
"That's funny," Polly said. "I picture a little cartoon character running down Washington Street, its arms and legs flailing wildly as it turns to see if I'm keeping up. This is different than anything else. The bed and breakfast, the hotel, Sycamore House, and even the bakery are all hospitality businesses. Those things make sense to me. I provide a service and people either use it or they don't. Running a newspaper in this day and age is like asking for boiling oil to be poured over my head. I don't want the responsibility. I'm okay if people disagree, but watching them turn ugly on each other isn't something I want to be part of."
"Do something different with it, then," Andy said. "Turn it into a celebration of Bellingwood. You don't have to put a paper out every week. But for heaven’s sake, make sure that whoever you put in charge of that thing can write a decent sentence."
Beryl laughed. "Yeah. Toward the end of the last Bellingwood newspaper, I'm pretty sure dear Annabelle forgot how to edit, much less proofread. I shouldn't have done it, but in one small article, I counted ten misspelled words and seven serious grammatical errors. Just plain lazy."
"She wanted out," Lydia said. "I think she quit caring. But Andy is right. If you focused on the growth in Bellingwood, you'd win a lot of hearts. Maybe each issue could spotlight a business that has been around for a long time and another that is just beginning. You could do a restaurant section, and tell stories about what great things the kids are doing at the elementary school." She opened her mouth and sucked in a breath. "And history. Wouldn't Greg Parker love to have a column where he could tell some of his stories? And a library corner. Joss and Andy could highlight new books and events."
Polly slid her a glance. "You should run this, not me."
"Nope. I don't have time, but I'll brainstorm ideas with you all day long. Bellingwood needs its own paper, even if it only comes out once a month. What do you think?"
"I have no idea," Polly said. "Henry and I will talk. Jeff is excited and wants me to do it."
"He’d buy the building?"
She nodded.
"It would be nice if that copy shop opened again, too. We used to be able to make copies and girls ordered wedding invitations. Everything like that. When Annabelle got tired, she just quit doing any of it," Andy said. "Would you consider bringing that back?"
Polly put out her hands and whimpered. "I don't know. I have no experience. If I can't find someone who does, this is all useless conversation."
Andy put her hand up again and they all stopped as the server brought their meals. Lydia looked at Polly's sandwich and then back at her salad. "It's a good thing I like salad."
"Why don't you ever get what you want?" Beryl asked.
"Because I'd never stop eating. Why can't I be young and thin like Polly, here." Lydia chuckled. "I was never thin. Young happened for me once, but never thin. Always the roly-poly girl. Never the tall svelte beauty."
Beryl slapped at Lydia's hand. "You stop it. Stop it, right now. You are perfect. I hate it when you say bad things about yourself. It's like you're telling the rest of us that what we believe about you is a lie. We believe you are beautiful and smart and strong and just about the best friend a woman could have in this life."
Lydia sat back, her eyes glistening with tears. "I'm sorry."
"I didn't mean to make you cry, but it hurts my soul to hear you talk about yourself as if there is something wrong with you. Does your husband say those bad things about you?"
"No."
"Do your kids think that you aren't the most perfectly beautiful woman in the world?"
"I don't know," Lydia said with a shrug.
"Yes, you do," Andy said. "You do know what they think of you. They tell you all the time how perfect you are."
"You are a gorgeous woman," Polly said quietly. "But that is the least of who you are. I can't imagine what my life would be without you in it. You're strong and you are the most generous person I’ve ever known. You're loving and kind and smart and witty." She pushed her Italian sub sandwich over in front of Lydia. "If you want to eat my sandwich, I'll trade with you."
Lydia laughed. "I walked into that one. You completely sideswiped me. I wasn't looking for that attention. You know that, right?"
"Of course we do," Beryl said. "But you have got to stop seeing yourself as anything but perfect. And if you want to eat a stupid sandwich sometimes, do it."
Lydia pushed Polly's sandwich back in front of her. "I'm fine. Thank you. Aaron gets mad when I say these things, too. You'd think I’d have learned by now. But look who I'm surrounded by. Tiny Andy, skinny Beryl and trim and gorgeous Polly."
"Since when do you judge people based on what they look like?" Beryl asked. "Are you looking at every person in this restaurant and deciding if they're worth your time because of how they look?"
Lydia shook her head. "You're right. How do I get out of being in trouble?"
"Buy us all dessert." Andy ducked her head as she giggled. "Lava cake maybe. With ice cream."
"Fine. Dessert is on me. I didn't mean to upset you," Lydia said. "Sometimes I let my insecurities out and they get me in trouble. I'll shove them back into their little cubbies and tell them they aren't allowed to show up again. At least that way I don't have to sit here and be embarrassed when you all try to bolster my ego by telling me nice things."
"We meant them all," Poll
y said. She put her arm around Lydia's shoulder. "Every single one."
"Stop it. I don't want to cry. I keep trying to lighten this up and you three keep making it difficult." Lydia poked her fork in her salad. "And I do like salad."
CHAPTER EIGHT
As Polly pulled into the driveway of the new Bellingwood Bed and Breakfast Thursday morning, she smiled. This place was beautiful. The outside of the home was painted smoky blue with burgundy and ivory accents. The brick porch with ivory pillars, multiple pitches on the roof, and stylish balconies on the second floor were like nothing else in Bellingwood.
A half-circle drive in front of steps leading to the wraparound porch had been beautifully landscaped by Judy Greene. The woman had planted large annuals around small bushes that needed time to grow, so at least the porch front didn't look naked.
The drive on the left side of the house went around back to a nice parking area for guests and then to a garage with an upstairs apartment where Judy and Reuben Greene lived. They'd been slowly moving furniture out here from their apartment over Greene Space in town. Over the Labor Day weekend, a crew of friends moved the rest of their things and now they were settling into their new home.
Judy intended to redecorate the apartment in town so their kids would have a place to stay when they came to visit. She'd talked about renting it, but since Reuben's gallery was downstairs, decided not to risk having anyone else be responsible for the building.
When Polly drove in, she saw Judy on the porch with Loretta Nesbitt, the decorator who had been working so hard on the house this summer. Four groupings of two and three wicker chairs and small tables were placed where guests could look out over the gorgeous lawn that Judy and Eliseo had resurrected after the fire, demolition, and reconstruction was finished. She couldn't believe it already looked so beautiful. It hadn't even been a year since Cassidy's mother and her boyfriend burned the original home down.
It had been difficult for Polly to come out here while the bed and breakfast was being rebuilt. She'd never gotten on board with the original house, though she loved the idea of it. Then it had come down, and soon after, Polly discovered that her boys, Caleb and JaRon, had a sister named Cassidy. As soon as they found her, the little girl became part of their home, and now, she and Henry were in the process of adopting all three. Polly's life had been consumed by Cassidy and all that the girl needed to learn before she entered kindergarten. By no means was the task complete, but Cassidy was better prepared to be on her own in a group of people now than the day she came into the Sturtz household, refusing to speak.
"Good morning, Polly," Judy said, standing up. "We were just talking about our favorite flowers. You do know what we're missing out here, don't you?"
Polly shook her head.
"Lilacs. I want to fill the back yard along the creek with lilac bushes. While they'd be lovely out front, enough sunshine won't get through those trees for them."
Polly turned to look back toward the road. Large walnut trees had been planted years ago and offered great shade to the front yard. She nodded. "I would love to plant some of those at the Bell House, too, but not until Henry builds the garage. How are you, Loretta?"
The other woman shook Polly's hand. "I'm great. It's hard to believe we're coming to the end of this project. It's been so much fun."
"I'm grateful it was you and not me," Polly said. "I couldn't have decorated this many rooms to save my life."
When the community had come on board with rebuilding the bed and breakfast, it took the financial pressure off everyone. Jeff already had guests scheduled as soon as it was open. He planned to do an open house reception later in the year, but with so much interest, he wanted to bring guests in slowly, giving Judy and Reuben enough time to get their feet under them.
"Shall we go inside?" Judy asked, stepping between Loretta and Polly. She opened the double doors into the foyer. Hard wood floors, wood trim around every door, beautiful wood crown molding, and wood paneling up to the chair rail all gave the house a sense of warmth. This was Henry's signature and Polly was grateful for its beauty.
To the left was a library. He'd built shelves along the walls and Loretta had started with a deep green and blue oriental rug. A leather topped desk sat in the middle of the room with soft wing chairs placed near the bookshelves. They hadn't finished filling the shelves yet. That would come in time.
According to the original plans, the dining room was directly to the right, but they'd expanded the foyer into a small reception and check-in area for guests. Behind that was the first bedroom, the only one on the main floor. Henry's crew had designed it specifically for handicap accessibility, changing the steps on the porch along that side to a ramp.
The back of the house looked out over Judy's gardens and the creek. Many of the big trees that had originally been here were gone because of the fire, and the fact that this building was much larger than the original home. An open kitchen on the right, a large dining room in the middle and a beautiful screened porch to the left offered many social opportunities. There was a fireplace in the dining room and even one on the outside wall of the screened porch.
Judy had filled every corner with vases of flowers from her gardens. The kitchen was decorated in grays and whites. It was nothing that Polly would have chosen for herself, but in this venue, it was gorgeous.
Steps led upstairs from the foyer and it was here where Loretta had done her most beautiful work. She'd invested a great deal of time in the four bedrooms. The two on the front each had a small deck or balcony. Given Judy's love of botany, Loretta had decorated each room with different florals, and wall colors ran the gamut from blue to green, gold to red. The large suite that took up the left side of the house was done in a simple ecru.
That suite had every amenity. Polly and Judy had been concerned that it would be the last to be rented, but no matter that it cost nearly twice as much, it was the room that received the most interest. The bathroom was immense, with its jacuzzi tub and windows that, with curtains open, looked out on the back yard. A shower, a bidet, and sinks were on either side of the room. A small sitting room had been decorated with more bookshelves. Polly was going to be busy collecting used books for all these shelves.
The other three bedrooms were beautifully decorated, and though each had a bathroom, none were as extravagant as the first.
Loretta had described the rooms as they walked through the place, but Polly soon tuned her out, letting Judy keep up the conversation. The woman had done a gorgeous job, but Polly wanted to bring a few of Beryl's pieces out to hang on the walls. There would be time enough for that.
They went back downstairs and around to the steps leading to the basement level. The house plans hadn't originally called for a basement, but in Iowa, storms and tornadoes made it almost a requirement. Henry wouldn't build a house without one and he'd taken extra steps to make this level fun.
The main section of the basement had a small kitchenette on one end and a pool table on the other. There was a fireplace surrounded by plaid sofas and chairs. Warm, plaid quilts and blankets were layered on the backs of the sofas and more were stacked in a large wooden chest. Tables and chairs had been set up in the middle of the room. Two rooms off to the right held their own entertainment. One was a small theater with comfortable recliners and a large screen television. The other was set up with a conference table and projection equipment.
"Are you ready to start hosting guests?" Polly asked Judy when they got back up to the dining room.
Judy shook her head. "It's so much more than I expected. I'm glad we're starting slow. I'm already talking to Jeff about having to hire some help keeping it clean. I can do a lot, but this place is immense and if we're busy, it will take more than just me to manage it." She laughed. "Even if I lived here with my family, I'd need help."
"I get that," Polly said.
"You need to hire someone at your house," Judy said. "I don't know how you do it."
"I don't."
Loretta t
apped Judy's arm. "I have a friend in Boone who cleans houses. I don't know that she'd work out for you here at the bed and breakfast, but I could ask if she has any openings."
"Have you seen my house?" Polly asked. "It isn't for the faint of heart."
"If you've been cleaning it by yourself, it can be done. She just lost a big client." Loretta shook her head. "They moved out of town, she didn't lose them. I know she'd like to find someone to take their slot. How often are you thinking you need someone?"
Polly blew out a breath. "I hadn't thought that far ahead. I need quite a bit of help. The girl who has been helping me keep my head on straight is student teaching this fall and she's going to be busy next spring." Polly almost told Judy and Loretta that Cat was pregnant, but they weren't yet telling anyone. She had to keep her wits about her. "It would be basic cleaning and straightening, laundry, and then help when we prepare for events."
"They have a lot of those," Judy said. "Every time I turn around, Polly and Henry have a party or a recital." She grinned. "I told Reuben and he thought that would be a lovely evening. We'll be there."
"Wonderful." Polly turned back to Loretta. "I had a grand piano restored and we're planning to have a small recital. The people who worked on it are talented musicians and I'd like to give them an opportunity to show off."
"And just like that," Judy said, "she's having another party. It's amazing."
Polly snapped her head back to Loretta. "I didn't think about putting a piano out here. We should do that. Where would it go?"
"You could put it in the basement."
"Sure. We could put a digital piano down there, but wouldn't it be nice to have a baby grand piano in the dining room?"
"I suppose." The woman sounded hesitant and Polly realized she'd pushed too far.
"That's okay. Random thought flitting through my mind. Don't think about it. You’ve done an exceptional job, Loretta. I'm so grateful that you took this on." The piano could wait until later.
"It's been a joy. Once I finally realized what you were looking for and saw the beautiful work your husband did on the inside, everything made sense. I'm thrilled to put this into my portfolio and think guests will love staying here. I told my husband this would be a wonderful location to have our next family reunion. We aren't a large group. My daughter, Isabel, would love spending time with Judy in the gardens and my other daughter would love the opportunity to take her kids on trail rides. It's wonderful that you have those stables just down the way."
The Sounds of Home Page 8