The House on Sandstone

by KG MacGregor

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  In the short while she'd been seeing Carly, Justine realized how much she missed the companionship of her women friends. And if she were honest with herself, she missed that other kind of companionship, too. But that didn't really matter. It wasn't like she and Carly were headed for that kind of relationship. What they'd done was just…physical.

  Pre-programmed for the desired distance, the treadmill began to slow automatically.

  Wow, those four miles sure went fast! Now, she'd do the weights and some cool-down stretches. And then a quiet night at home was just what she needed. She'd build a fire, get a book, and go to bed early. No more worrying.

  Thank you, Carly Griffin.

  **********

  "I'll get the dishes tonight, Mama. Go on in and read your paper."

  The Griffins were probably the only family on Stony Ridge Road that got the New York Times every day. Nadine loved the crossword puzzle, but the main reason they subscribed was for the international news coverage. Their interest in world events had grown dramatically when Carly started working abroad. Not only were they interested in keeping up with happenings where she lived, they also followed news from all the places they'd visited with their daughter. Almost every year, the Griffins turned the furniture store over to Perry for two weeks and traveled abroad. Outside of Carly, they had probably visited more places in the world than anyone else in Leland, Kentucky.

  "What are you going to do tonight, Daddy?"

  "I don't know…see what's on TV, I guess."

  "Don't let him fool you, honey. He knows what's on TV every night on every single channel. It's like living with a TV Guide." Nadine didn't share her husband's interest in the tube, but didn't begrudge it either. It's what gave them each their private time.

  "Could I talk you into taking a little walk with me after I get the kitchen cleaned up?"

  Carly needed to talk with her father about a couple of things that had been on her mind.

  "Are you going to give me one of those fancy cigarettes?"

  "Lloyd Griffin! You'd better not let me catch you smoking one of those nasty things.

  You'll be sleeping on the couch." She meant it.

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  Lloyd chuckled. He'd given up smoking almost twenty years ago, but he still rejoiced in tormenting his wife with the possibility of taking it up again.

  "I'm sorry, Daddy, but there's your answer. You may not have one of my fancy cigarettes.

  But maybe we'll have a brandy together when we get back."

  Nadine snorted and turned toward her daughter with a menacing look. "It's taken me forty-six years to get him just the way I like him, and you come in and ruin all my hard work. I'm warning you–if he gets a taste for brandy and cigarettes, he's going with you to Madrid."

  That got a laugh from both Carly and her father. In the time they'd been joking in the kitchen, she'd gotten the dishes stowed in the dishwasher and the counters and table wiped down. Only minutes after that, father and daughter stepped out into the chilly December night, where Carly reached at once for her Dunhill Lights and lighter.

  "You're going to have to give up that habit one of these days real soon, Carly. You know it isn't good for you."

  "I know. I only have about five or six a day, though."

  "My doctor said that even one was bad for me, and that my lungs wouldn't heal until I quit smoking completely."

  The woman sighed, not wanting to get into a debate like this with her dad. She had other things on her mind.

  "Have you and Mama set a timetable for having Perry take over the store?"

  "Well, we haven't exactly picked a date to walk out the door, but I'd guess it's going to be in another year or so."

  "Why not now? You and Mama are both sixty-eight, and I'm worried about her heart.

  Aren't you?"

  "Of course I am. But she says she's fine to work, and I don't want to tell her what to do…as if I could," he chuckled. "You know, I always hoped we could pass the store on to you, Carly."

  "Oh, no you don't. Perry's been working there for thirty-one years. He knows the business through and through. And he likes it."

  "I thought you liked it too. You've always worked down there when you come home, and you act like you're on vacation. Why would you do that if you didn't like it?"

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  "Because I like being with you and Mama when I'm home, and that's where you are. And I like riding with Perry. It gives us a chance to talk and catch up with each other. Besides, if I didn't come down to the store, what else would I do by myself all day?"

  Lloyd shrugged, tugging up the collar of his barn jacket. "I know, sweetheart. I'm just trying to figure out what it would take to get you to come back to Leland. But I know you have a job you like, and–"

  "Actually, that's not really true anymore, Daddy." Carly took a deep drag and stubbed out her cigarette on the pavement, pocketing the butt for when she reached the trashcan at the park. "To tell you the truth, I've gotten kind of tired of moving around so much. I guess the novelty's worn off. It's not an adventure anymore; it's…it's hard. I get more homesick now, and all the people I used to like working with are either back in Louisville at corporate or they went to work for somebody else. All the new guys are right out of college…kids. Sometimes, I feel more like a babysitter than a supervisor."

  "Sounds like you need a change, Carly. You sure you don't want to run a furniture store. I can get you a real good deal on one."

  The blonde woman laughed at her dad's persistence. "I'm really sorry, Daddy. It's just not something I want to do. But Perry does, and that's what we were talking about, not me."

  "Your cousin's ready whenever we are. He says he's saved a lot of money and he's talked to the bank, so I don't think he's going to have any problem when the time comes."

  "But that's my point, Daddy. I just wish you and Mama would quit putting this off. It's time for ya'll to let go of all that responsibility, especially with Mama's heart thing."

  "What would we do all day?"

  "Heck, you could go fishing. You could take up golf or something." Her dad made a face at the mention of what he thought was a silly game. "Or you could buy a Winnebago and see the country."

  "Can you seriously see your mother and me driving around the country, cooped up together in a box on wheels all day and all night?"

  Carly thought seriously about it for a second, knowing her parents' need for private time.

  Maybe if they each had their own, or if they took turns…. "Okay, no. But maybe you could work part-time for Perry. Or you could volunteer. You could start a vegetable garden. There are dozens of things you can do to stay busy."

  Lloyd turned over the possibilities in his head. "If you don't want the store, Carly, how come you're so interested in us giving it up?"

  The daughter's eyes clouded with tears. "Because I'm worried about Mama. I know what she says about feeling all right, but I can see a change. You're with her all the time and 89

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  you can't see the difference like I can. You guys were just in Jerusalem last May, and I can't believe how much she's gone down since then."

  "What do you mean? What is it you see?"

  "Daddy, she looks so tired. She's moving slower now, and…."

  "Well, honey, you just said it yourself. We're not young anymore. That stuff happens to people when they get older. I don't get around as well as I used to, and if I have to move something heavy, it wears me out."

  "Then don't do it anymore!" It was that simple, as far as Carly was concerned. What worried her most, though, wasn't that her mom had slowed a step. It was her overall demeanor. "Mama doesn't seem…very happy this time. I think she's worried, and I think she needs something to take the pressure off. But she's not going to give it up unless you do."

  Lloyd scuffed his feet on the pavement, angry that he
hadn't seen for himself his wife's decline. If what Carly was saying was really true–and he couldn't deny that Nadine had been spending more time by herself, a sure sign that she was worried about something–

  then maybe it was time to let Perry take the reins. "And you're sure you don't have any interest in running a furniture store?"

  "Not even a little bit."

  Her father sighed heavily. "Okay, I'll talk to her. If she's ready, we'll call it quits."

  Carly's heart swelled with love and admiration for her father. Lloyd Griffin was lots of wonderful things, but right this minute, he was the man who loved her mother more than anything else in the world, and that made him Carly's hero. She slipped her hand into his calloused one and squeezed hard. "Thanks, Daddy."

  They had finally reached the park, and she tossed the Dunhill butt in the trash. She'd have another on the way back, knowing that would trigger another scolding.

  "So is anything else on your mind?"

  "Nothing as important as that."

  "So what's up with you and Justine Hall?"

  Carly was stunned that her father would bring up the subject of Justine. "Nothing, really.

  It's nice to see her again."

  "She's a nice lady." Lloyd and Nadine knew about their daughter's orientation, but she'd never talked much about the women in her life. It was probably hard for her to even have a girlfriend, what with her moving around so much. But he'd been interested in the fact 90

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  that Carly was spending time this visit with Justine, especially after she'd stayed out all night last week. "You remember Horace Ingle?"

  "The school bus driver?"

  "That's him, but he hasn't driven a bus for…twenty years or more."

  "What about him?"

  "Just that I always think of him when I think of Justine. Horace was a friend of her daddy's, Dr. Hall. Not like a social friend or anything, but Horace taught Gordon how to turn wood, and those two men got so they'd spend their nearly all their Saturdays together in Horace's workshop. Anyway, when Gordon got killed, Horace came to the funeral home. Justine was the only one in her family who talked to him. Everybody else acted like he wasn't good enough to be there, but she hugged old Horace and cried with him…took out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes. I tell you, it dang near made me cry to see it."

  Carly relished the story of her friend, the one who didn't seem to mind having a friend who lived past Stony Ridge.

  "And then there was that time Perry and me took two or three rooms full of furniture over to that big house of hers. When we got done bringing it all in, she asked us to move it around a little for her, but then she called us into the kitchen and gave us both a big old piece of cake that she'd made. I mean, we just sat there at her kitchen table like old friends, talking and laughing about stuff. I tell you, there aren't many people in town who'd treat workmen like that."

  "Justine's always been nice to people."

  "Well, I think the thing about Perry and me was because she knew I was your daddy. But that thing with Horace…it was real touching."

  Yeah, it sure was.

  "So…did your mama tell you about Justine getting involved with that woman?"

  "Yes, and so did Justine." Carly knew where her father was headed with this. "It wasn't like everybody said, though. People turned it into a big scandal because they like to gossip."

  "But is she…you know?"

  "Are you asking me if she's like me, Daddy?"

  "Well…yeah."

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  "It's kind of hard to say. Things are pretty complicated for her. She's got a couple of teenagers that got the Dickens teased out of them at school on account of that thing with that doctor's wife. She doesn't want anything like that to happen again."

  "That's a shame. She's too nice a woman to be by herself."

  Carly couldn't agree more. "We're going to the movies on Sunday. But I don't think we'll be more than just friends, Daddy. I know you like Leland, but it can be a pretty small minded place, and Justine has to live here. I don't care what people think about me, but I don't want to cause her any trouble."

  That was too bad, Lloyd thought. He rather liked the idea of his daughter finding somebody as nice as Justine Hall. Anything that would keep her coming back home to Leland was all right with him.

  Chapter 9

  "Uh-oh, this is that crazy lady's house," Perry groaned as he pulled in front of white-columned home on Main Street.

  "She's not crazy. She's just mean. I have that on her daughter's authority," Carly offered.

  She was pleased to see the blue Acura in the driveway.

  "You mean Justine or Mary Beth?"

  "Justine. I think Mary Beth's the favored daughter. Justine has fallen from grace."

  "On account of kissing that woman?"

  God, did "all over town" literally mean all over town? "Nah, I think it was more that Justine was her father's favorite."

  "Well, she's my favorite too. I don't care what she did. She's always been nice to me. I tell you, I took a bedroom suit out to Mary Beth and Bucky's once, and I thought that woman was gonna tear me a new one for bringing the wrong footboard. I mean, I apologized and told her I'd go back to the store and get it right then, but she still let me have it."

  "Sounds like she takes after her mother."

  "Well, then I ain't looking forward to this one bit."

  Carly chuckled. "Justine said she'd meet us here. If we have to put up with her mom, at least one person will be nice to us."

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  Perry pulled the truck into the drive and they both got out.

  "Go on and ring the doorbell. I'll bring it up on the dolly."

  Carly headed to the front door. She'd never been to this house before, not even when she and Justine were friends in high school. From what she knew now about the Halls–

  Marian and Mary Beth, anyway–she suspected that kids from Stony Ridge wouldn't have been made to feel very welcome here.

  Before she could ring the bell, the door was opened by Justine, whose smile lit up the whole house.

  "Hi, Carly."

  "Hi, yourself." The blonde woman couldn't help but appreciate the redhead's casual look.

  She had on those jeans she'd worn the night they'd eaten pizza at Justine's house, but this time, she wore a royal blue sweater that made her eyes shine like stars. "We brought your electric chair," she whispered.

  "Good. Now did your mother say if she spilled something liquid and then pressed a button…?"

  "You're evil."

  Justine dropped her jaw and laid a hand across her chest feigning innocence. "Moi?"

  Perry joined them on the wide concrete porch with the recliner. "Have you decided where you want this?"

  "Don't bring that ugly chair in here!" Mrs. Hall yelled from beyond the entry.

  "Can you put it up on the roof?" Justine whispered.

  Carly and Perry both had to turn away to conceal their laughter.

  "Mom, I told you, this chair is exactly what you need. It takes all the work out of standing up and it helps you sit without landing so hard."

  "But it doesn't go with anything."

  "It's leather, Mom. It goes with everything. We can put it in the family room in front of the TV. The only other thing in there is the couch, and it's got brown in it, just like the chair."

  "I don't need that. I'm not some…old woman."

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  "I know, but that's not why you need it. See, this is gonna make your legs and hips feel stronger, and people at the club are gonna say, ‘Look at that Marian Hall. Where does she get all that energy?' Isn't that what you want, Mom?" Justine shot a look back at Carly and Perry and rolled her eyes, causing both of them to have to turn their heads again to hide their giggles.

  Marian shuffled into the foyer to get her first look at her new chair. She was se
cretly thrilled at the prospect of not having to struggle anymore to sit or stand. They'd ruined her hip with that replacement, she was convinced. Never mind that she'd broken the joint cleanly when she'd twisted getting out of her old recliner.

  "Well, you might as well go ahead and have them put it in there. I'll probably have to pay for it anyway now that they've brought it out here. I don't know why you do business with Griffins."

  Carly bristled. If Marian Hall said one word about her mom or dad, she wasn't going to be responsible for her actions.

  "We do business with Griffins because they're honest and decent people, and they have the best selection of furniture in Leland." Justine motioned Perry and Carly down the hall to the family room, mouthing a silent apology for her mother's nonsense. "Mom, do you remember me talking about running into a friend of mine from high school, Carly Griffin?"

  "Is she one of those Griffins?"

  "Yes, she is. And this is Carly right here." The redhead motioned for her friend to step forward.

  "Hello, Mrs. Hall. You have a lovely home."

  Marian already knew that. "Are you a…why, I didn't realize you were a woman! I thought you were both men." She turned to look at Perry. "He's a man. He's got a beard."

  "Mom! Of course, she's a woman." Justine was embarrassed beyond measure at her mother's spitefulness, especially when she saw her friend's reddening face.

  "So where do you want this?" the blonde asked, all business now.

  "Put it in that corner by the lamp. There's a plug over there." Justine led the way, still mortified by her mother's rudeness.

  Perry and Carly lifted the chair off the dolly and positioned it by the lamp, careful not to scuff the floor. Perry explained how the controls worked and Marian tried it out, delighted to have her very own automatic recliner. She would be the envy of her friends.