Wallpaper with Roses

by Jenny Andersen

  Homer’s gaze lost focus, taking on a glaze of memory. “It made me think. And then I saw her again the next week...she looked so lovely.”

  He’d been drooling over Sarah. The thought was enough to make Violet gag. She swallowed a rude comment.

  “She wore a lavender dress, and she looked like an angel. To make a long story short, we chatted for a bit after church.”

  Oh, thank goodness. He meant Hilda.

  “And I asked her to marry me. For the fifth time, I believe. She turned me down, of course. For the fifth time. That was dreadful. I had hoped...but for a moment, I could have sworn that she didn’t even know who I was. I’m afraid I regressed. I took my feelings out on Sarah. I am sorry now, of course.”

  The last few words were so soft Violet thought she might have imagined them. But poor Homer. Violet remembered the empathy she’d felt for him years ago. “I thought it must be something like that,” she murmured. “So sad that you could never put those days behind you. One must, you know. Put unpleasant and unavoidable things aside and get on with life, I mean.”

  He nodded without looking at her. “If Sarah wants her job back... And of course, calling in the IRS was an empty threat. She should not worry about that.”

  “As if Sarah would ever cheat on anything.”

  The furtive expression flickered across his face again. “No. I know Sarah would never cheat,” he said. “Not for any reason.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear that you recognize that,” Violet said. “I’ll tell her, but I doubt she’ll have time for you right now. Hilda—” She cleared a frog from her throat. “Hilda requires a lot of her time. Well, you saw her.”

  “Hilda. Oh, God, yes, I saw her.” His voice was hoarse. “I heard she’d been ill, so I came to call, and—” He buried his face in his hands. “I only thought she broke my heart years ago. This time she really did. I’m so sorry for every mean thought I’ve had over the years, and every mean word I ever said to Sarah. I’m so sorry.”

  Violet patted his shoulder. “I think your heart just grew three sizes, Mr. Grinch.”

  ****

  The next afternoon, Sarah sat in the library, which had become her office, and stared at the envelope. Not another bill. She eased it open. Yep. Another bill.

  “Sarah?” Her mother clumped into the room with her walker.

  Sarah leaped to her feet. “What is it, Mama?”

  “Beth’s on the phone. She wants you to go shopping with her this afternoon.” Her mother fished the cordless phone out of the walker basket and handed it to Sarah.

  “Oh, Mama, you didn’t have to bring it to me. You should just have called me.”

  “Shouting is ill-mannered,” Hilda replied primly. “Beth is waiting.”

  “Bad idea,” Sarah said. “No shopping. She sat back down and unfolded the single sheet of paper. “Oh, no.”

  “What’s that?” her mother asked.

  “Car insurance.” Sarah scrabbled in a desk drawer for the budget she’d drawn up last month. “Oh, God. I forgot about the car insurance. It’s due in less than a month.”

  “Well, pay it, dear. We do need to have the car, you know,” her mother said, and left.

  With what? When the dot-clunk of her mother’s progress down the hall had faded, Sarah opened the check register and stared at the balance. Not a snowball’s chance in hell. Not if they wanted to eat this month. And there was the small matter of the electric bill, which had soared with the extra people in the house.

  The cordless phone, which she had left lying on one of the big leather chairs by the fireplace, emitted a high, annoying tone. Sarah retrieved it and pushed the ‘end’ button.

  She’d forgotten Beth. Well, she wasn’t going shopping, that was for sure. But she ought to call back.

  The phone rang. Beth, probably, and probably justifiably irritated. She switched it back on. “Sorry, Beth,” she said.

  “I’m sorry. I must have the wrong number,” a strange male voice said. “I was trying to reach Gault Accounting Services.”

  Oh, my God. A client? “You have the right number. I’m the one who should apologize. The previous call got cut off and I thought—” Oh dear. Babbling. “This is Sarah Gault. How may I help you?” There. That sounded a little more professional.

  “This is Henry Wilson. I’m selling my drilling company and a prospective buyer wants an audit. I’d like to have someone look over my books and make sure there aren’t any errors before his accountants arrive. You’ve been recommended, so I called. Can you fit me in this week?”

  Oh, my God. A client. Sarah untangled her tongue enough to learn details, negotiate a fee, and accept. Just before the call ended, she thought to ask, “Who referred you to me, Mr. Wilson?

  The answer nearly made her drop the phone.

  “Homer Macklin.”

  ****

  That evening, Sarah sat on the porch, idly watching lightning bugs flicker around the lawn. What a day it had been. Many more like this and she’d be ready for the funny ward at Bellonna Gardens. Erase that. Shouldn’t even joke about it.

  Beth’s car jounced into the driveway and reminded her that after the Macklin-client shock, she’d forgotten all about Beth. The only question was why it had taken Beth so long to call her on it. Sarah pushed the swing into motion and waited for Beth’s reprimand.

  “The usual, Sarah?” Rob said from the front door. “Oh, hi, Beth. I didn’t know you were coming.”

  “Please,” Sarah told him. “A glass of wine, Beth?”

  “I thought you’d never offer,” Beth said as she came up the steps. “A big glass of wine and an apology, please.” When Rob had left to get the drinks, she turned back to Sarah. “So what does he mean, the usual? You do this every night? What haven’t you been telling me?”

  “Nothing. Rob comes over most nights to see his mother, that’s all.”

  “So where is Violet?”

  “She’s gone to bed.”

  “Leaving you to sit on the porch with Rob.” Beth’s voice held a world of implication. “You sure that’s all you do?”

  “Here you go.” Rob came out onto the porch with two glasses of wine and a beer, saving Sarah from having to answer.

  “Ever-dependable Rob. Thanks.” Beth took her glass. “So. You guys do this every night?”

  Rob’s mouth twitched in annoyance, but he said only, “Pretty much.” He eased down into a chair. “Decompression time. Life gets pretty hysterical around here sometimes.”

  “I expect it does. It was so hysterical this afternoon that you left me hanging on the phone, Sarah, and when I tried to call again, the line was busy.” Beth set her glass down with a thump. “So what was going on?”

  “What in the world are you all doing?” Violet’s voice floated out of the dark hall.

  Sarah started and spilled a bit of wine.

  Rob jumped up. “Mum. What are you doing up?” he said, and handed Sarah a handkerchief.

  “I couldn’t sleep and I heard voices. So I came down to see what was happening.” Violet opened the door and tiptoed out onto the porch.

  “Just sitting and talking. Can I get you a cup of tea?” Rob bent and kissed her cheek.

  Violet shook her head. “No. But thank you, dear.” She sat in the chair Rob pulled forward for her. “How nice. Your father and I always used to sit and talk over things like this in the evening. It’s a lovely way to tie up the loose ends of the day.”

  Sarah felt Beth’s gaze and refused to look at her for fear that Beth would read her mind. More and more it seemed as though she and Rob were a married couple. They had the moms instead of kids, but the responsibilities didn’t seem to be all that different, and if being with Rob was a tingly distraction, well, she tried to put that out of her mind.

  She glanced at Rob in spite of her resolve not to. This had become some kind of ritual for them, and maybe it was a little more comfortable than it should be.

  He grinned at her.

  “Well, I
still have a loose end,” Beth said. “The one where my best friend left me dangling on the phone today.”

  “I got a client,” Sarah said. The simple words couldn’t begin to convey her excitement, which hadn’t faded. Her first client!

  “What, you can’t have clients and friends at the same time? What are you going to do, take my number off speed dial when you get another one?”

  Sarah made a face at Beth.

  “That sounds like a perfect reason to go shopping,” Beth persisted.

  “It sounds to me like the perfect way to pay the car insurance,” Sarah replied.

  “Well, we should be drinking champagne, not hanging up on our friends.”

  “True. But it’s so exciting. You’ll never guess. You haven’t heard this, either, Rob. Listen.” Sarah recounted her conversation with Mr. Wilson. “So my question is, why, after the way he’s treated me, is Macklin sending me work? Is Wilson one of those more-trouble-than-he’s-worth people?”

  Beth shrugged. “Never heard of him.”

  “Maybe Macklin’s sorry he fired you,” Rob said.

  “Maybe the moon is made of green cheese,” Sarah retorted. “He’s spent years making my life miserable. Why would he change?”

  “He’s worried about your mother,” Violet said unexpectedly.

  Sarah stared at her. “Why?”

  “I imagine he just realized that she depends on your income.” Violet smiled gently.

  “That’s nothing new.”

  “Yes, I know. He should have realized that all along. He’s a very near-sighted man, you know.”

  Sarah shook her head. “I do know. I worked for the company for fifteen years. If it hadn’t been for his partners, he’d never have hired me. He never worries about the people who work for him. Why is he so worried about my mother?”

  “I can’t imagine there’s any reason not to tell you now. He’s had such a crush on your mother all his life,” Violet said.

  “My mother? Homer Macklin? I can’t believe it.”

  Beth stared at Violet, open-mouthed.

  Rob laughed. “That dried-up little stick?”

  Violet nodded. “Ever since kindergarten, really. Even sticks have feelings, you know. And actually, he was amazingly handsome in high school.”

  “I guess Mama was a real hot number. That’s how Daddy described her once,” Sarah murmured. “He said he’d cut out three other beaus when he was courting her.”

  Rob grinned. “Hard to imagine, isn’t it? Parents being that young. Hell, I’m not sure I can remember me being that young.” He winked at Sarah, and a spark she hadn’t felt in years zinged through her. Unless she imagined it, he remembered very well.

  “Your mother dumped Homer for your dad, and Homer’s never forgiven her,” Violet said. “Actually, she only went out with Homer once or twice. She didn’t like him much, I’m afraid, and wouldn’t have continued to see him in any case. But that was when your father moved to town, and Homer always blamed Eldon for the rift.”

  Sarah shook her head and tried to wrap her mind around her mother and Homer Macklin in high school. Dating. Ew. “Hard to imagine all that teen angst and Mama in the same sentence.”

  “Oh, there’s more,” Violet said, settling herself deeper in her chair.

  Sarah wasn’t sure she could take more.

  “Anyway, he felt that she had jilted him, and he didn’t take it well. He came here, to your grandparents’ house to confront her. But Eldon was here and the encounter was quite heated, I’m afraid. Eventually Eldon simply picked him up and tossed him down the steps.”

  Sarah gasped. “Daddy? He’d never do something like that.”

  “Oh, yes, Sarah. He did. And that was bad enough, but the thing that really upset Homer was that his humiliation was so public. You see, a bunch of us drove up just at that moment. We were to pick up Hilda and Eldon to go to the lake for a picnic. So almost the entire senior class witnessed Homer’s worst moment. He blamed Hilda, and he never forgave her.”

  Sarah shook her head. “But why would he be mean to me? This all happened before I was born.”

  “I think it’s because you remind him so much of her. You do look like her, you know, Sarah. I would guess it’s given him some feeling of revenge to treat you so badly.”

  “The sins of the mothers, huh?” Rob said.

  “But I scarcely look like a high-school student,” Sarah protested.”

  “We’re all looking older, dear,” Violet said. “I imagine he looks at you and sees your mother at whatever age. He renewed his suit after your father died, you know.”

  This just got worse and worse. “No, of course I didn’t know that. Mama never said a word about it.”

  “Well, your mama rejected him again, and he didn’t take it any better than the first time,” Violet confided.

  “Oh, that must be what Mama meant the other day when she said he’d proposed to her. I couldn’t imagine what she was talking about.”

  “No, no,” Violet said. “He proposed again after church. The day before he fired you.”

  Unbelievable. “So he fired me because he was mad at my mother? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “I’m sure he still cares for your mother. He was truly upset when he saw how she’s failing. And if he came to see what a hardship he had inflicted on her, I think he might have come to his senses.”

  Sarah studied Violet’s innocent expression. “Violet, what did you do?”

  Violet fiddled with the fringe on the belt of her bathrobe and didn’t meet her gaze. “Well...”

  “Mother.” Rob sounded unbelievably stern.

  “I just happened to run into him after church last week. We got to chatting before Friendship Hour.”

  “Like Homer Macklin had ever stayed to be friendly. I can just imagine the way you pounced on him,” Sarah said.

  “You meddled,” Rob accused his mother.

  “And just what might you have told him?” Sarah asked. “That we were on the brink of starvation? That the wolf was having pups on the porch?”

  “Now, Sarah. I just mentioned a few home truths about what an inconvenience his silly, useless revenge was. Not just to Hilda, but to the rest of us as well. And since he’d just seen the way Hilda is now...well, you know, I think he must have reconsidered his attitude.”

  Sarah pressed her hands to her temples. “Oh, Violet,” she said. “Not that I’m not grateful for whatever brought me the client, you understand, but it’s hard to imagine that all that teen angst lasted so long.”

  Rob laughed. “Mum, you never cease to amaze me. But Sarah, you know she’s probably right. Think about how often she’s nailed something when the rest of us didn’t have a clue.”

  Sarah turned to look at Violet. “My God. You’re right. She does it every time.”

  “I expect Homer’s sorry and just doesn’t know how to fix things.” Violet got to her feet. “He said if you’d like to come back to work, your job is waiting.” A huge yawn swallowed the rest of the sentence. “I believe I’ll go up to bed now. Don’t you children stay up too late.”

  Silence pooled on the porch after she left. Sarah listened to the footsteps down the hall, followed by the hum of the elevator. “Wow.”

  “Second that,” said Beth.

  “Makes sense, though. I was expecting a commendation for the Fleider account, not a firing. Good to know it wasn’t my fault.”

  “You coming back?”

  Sarah shook her head. “I have my hands full here. Anyway, I need some time to get used to the idea of Homer being human. Unbelievable. Wow. If he can change that much, Beth, maybe even your mother could.”

  “Don’t go there,” Beth warned. “Ever. I think I’ll head home now.”

  “I guess you shouldn’t have mentioned her mother,” Rob said when she’d gone.

  “Guess not.”

  “Did you ever get the Fleider business settled?”

  “No. I got fired that day. Macklin was so mad that I’d called Mrs.
F. And now that I think about it, he was leaning over me when I worked on that account.” She frowned and thought about it. “I might believe that he was siphoning money out of the Fleider account. Maybe. But why would he put money into it? What reason would he have?”

  “Beats me. This all reminds me that it’s time to go over my mother’s accounts. I’ve been letting that slip. First thing tomorrow.”

  Chapter 14

  Sarah sat at her desk staring at the computer screen. There was more money in the household checking account than she’d expected. That wasn’t exactly a drawback. Unacceptable from an accountant’s point of view, but not a drawback.

  She checked the deposit records. Four unauthorized, unexpected, unexplained credits. The amounts were all small, and they added up to exactly the amount of the discrepancy.

  A mistake at the bank or someone with a guilty conscience? A reformed Grinch, perhaps?

  Well, there were ways to find out. She gathered up the papers and headed to the kitchen to find Christine, who was putting a pork loin to marinate. Casey and Fred sat at her feet. “I was wondering where those two were. I should have known.”

  Christine laughed. “They love me when I cook.”

  “I’ve got to go to the bank. I’ll be back in about half an hour.”

  “No problem. Rob’s working across the street. If I need anything, all I have to do is yell.”

  What would they do without Rob, Sarah wondered while she walked to the bank. She hoped they never had to find out. Everything just seemed safer when he was around.

  Carl looked up from his desk when Sarah appeared in the doorway. “Sarah. Come in. What can I do for you this morning?”

  “There’s a problem with Mama’s account,” she said.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, but we’ll get it straightened out.” He tapped at the computer keyboard. “Let me just pull up the account here. Now. What’s the problem?”

  Sarah explained about the four unexplained deposits.

  “Hmph. And you don’t have any idea of the source?”

  “Nope. If it’s a bank mistake, we need to straighten it out before the money gets spent and I can’t give it back.”