“Don’t worry,” said Alice as she gently helped the girl to her feet. “Be careful of the wet floor, I’m sure it’s slippery.” She moved the girl out of harm’s way. “I’m a nurse and I can take care of that cut for—”
“That’s right,” Jane assured her. “I’m Alice’s sister Jane, and speaking from experience, there’s no one better than Alice to bandage a cut.”
Laura turned her head toward the sound of Jane’s voice. “I—I’m sorry if I made a mess,” she muttered. “I ran into something, I think a table maybe. I’d just come downstairs. I was trying to pick it up and—”
“Hey, no problem,” said Jane. “I never really liked that vase anyway.”
“That’s true enough,” said Louise with a frown since it had been her vase. “I’m Louise, dear. Don’t worry, Jane and I will have it cleaned up before you know it.”
“Come on,” Alice urged Laura. “Let’s go to the bathroom and wash out your cut. I don’t think you need stitches, but I want to be sure.”
As Alice attended to the cut, which did not need stitches, she said, “It must be hard getting used to not having your sight.”
Laura sighed loudly, but said nothing.
Alice continued to talk as she cleaned the wound. “When someone loses the ability to do something they once loved, it seems they must go through a period of grieving.”
“Grieving?”
“Yes, as if someone you loved had died. You have to work through the stages. For instance, you might’ve felt some denial at first.”
Laura nodded.
“You tell yourself that it’s not really happening.”
“Yeah.”
“And then you feel guilt.” Alice began to wrap Laura’s hand in gauze.
“Like it was my fault that I lost my vision?”
“That’s right.”
“Yeah, well, I guess I felt that too. Like if I’d been more careful with my insulin and stuff, things might’ve gone differently. But it’s still not fair. I mean other kids don’t have to put up with this kind of crud!”
“And then you get angry—”
“That’s right!” snapped Laura. “And that’s how I feel right now.” She held up her bandaged hand. “Like this! This never would’ve happened before. It’s just so stupid and senseless! I don’t see why God allows stuff like this to happen to anyone.”
“That’s a natural reaction,” said Alice as she finished with the last bit of tape.
“Really?” Laura seemed somewhat soothed.
“Yes.” Alice snapped the first-aid box closed. “But you just don’t want to stay in that angry stage for too long, Laura. You want to move on.”
“What if I can’t?”
Alice pushed a strand of hair from Laura’s eyes. “You must ask God to help you.”
Laura stood up, looking unconvinced. She thanked Alice for her help and fumbled to find the door.
“Let me get that,” said Alice.
Just as they emerged from the bathroom, Mr. and Mrs. Winston were entering the inn.
“Oh no!” exclaimed Mrs. Winston when she saw the white bandage. “What happened to your hand, Laura?”
After Alice quickly explained, Laura asked her mother to help take her back to their room.
“I thought you were going to take a nap, Laura,” said Mr. Winston as the three of them went upstairs. “If you had wanted to walk around, you should’ve come with us.”
“Oh, don’t pick on her,” said Mrs. Winston. “It’s plain to see she changed her mind. Does it hurt much, honey?”
“No, it’s fine,” said Laura in an irritated tone. “I wish you wouldn’t freak every time something happens, Mom.”
Alice paused in the parlor to say a silent prayer for the Winstons before she headed back into the kitchen to help Jane with dinner. Suddenly, she suspected this week was not going to be easy for anyone at Grace Chapel Inn.
Chapter Four
Alice dropped the last pieces of pared potato into a pot of water and then rinsed off the peeler. “Anything else?” she asked her sister.
“No, that should do it.” Jane grinned. “It’s so nice that you don’t mind doing things like peeling potatoes or chopping vegetables. It’s very helpful to have a good prep cook.”
Alice laughed. “Is that what I am?”
“Sure. If you ever get tired of nursing and still need a job, I’ll be happy to give you a good recommendation. Good prep cooks can be hard to come by.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Have you seen anything of Mark’s young friend this afternoon?” asked Jane as she measured the seasoning mix that she had made for her special roast chicken. Jane’s roast chicken was so tender and flavorful that Alice and Louise looked forward to the occasions when Jane served this homey dish.
“I don’t think he’s come downstairs at all,” said Alice as she put the lid on the seasoning and returned it to the spice cupboard. “I was hoping that he would. I wanted to talk to him some more. He seems so somber. I thought that I might interest him in reading something. Perhaps that book about hiking the Appalachian Trail that Mr. Stefan left for our library. Adam looks as if he might like the outdoors and he certainly could use some laughs. I remember Mr. Stefan saying that it was a very funny book. I must admit that I felt bad when I saw how disturbed Adam was by our not having televisions for the guests.”
Jane chuckled. “Well, to the younger generation, it is fairly disturbing.” She glanced up at her small black-and-white TV, which was tucked into the cabinet. “Sometimes I think I might get a little loopy if I couldn’t catch up on the latest news.”
“But you hardly ever turn it on,” observed Alice.
“Yes, but I know that I can, and that makes all the difference.”
“Perhaps we should have another TV somewhere in the inn, one that doesn’t actually work. Then maybe our young guests would feel reassured just to see it.”
“Ha,” said Jane. “You could be onto something.”
“Hello,” said Louise as she joined them. “Oh, good, roast chicken.”
Jane smiled as she basted the golden meat and a delicious aroma filled the kitchen. “It’s not fancy, but it’s good.”
“Alice,” said Louise in a lowered voice, “I thought you should know that your young man is wandering about the inn.”
Alice felt her eyebrows lifting. “My young man?”
“Oh, you know what I mean.” Louise frowned. “I realize that he is a guest, but he looks rather, well, unkempt.”
Jane laughed. “That’s just the way kids dress, Louie.”
“Have you seen him?” demanded Louise.
“Well, no …”
Alice cleared her throat. “Louise is right, Jane. Adam carries the sloppy look to an extreme.”
“Yes,” agreed Louise. “I think you should go and check on him, Alice.”
“Check on him?” Even though Alice agreed with Louise about Adam’s appearance, she did not care for the insinuation. “Why exactly do you think I should check on him, Louise?”
“Maybe she’s afraid he’s going to steal the family silver,” teased Jane as she adjusted the low flame under the covered pot holding the potatoes.
“No,” said Louise. “I don’t think he is a thief, but as I said, there is something about him, Alice. Something doesn’t feel right to me. It occurs to me that we have allowed him into our house without knowing a single thing about him. Goodness, it could turn out that he is not even associated with Mark Graves. You told me that you had mentioned Mark’s name to him when he arrived. Adam could have just picked up on what you were assuming.”
“Oh, I don’t think …”
“But you don’t know either,” finished Louise. “And I, for one, would appreciate it if someone kept an eye on him. At least until Mark arrives.”
“Oh, Louise,” said Jane. “Surely, you don’t expect Alice to keep him under surveillance. Seriously, what do you think he’s going to do?”
“I
don’t know. All I know is that he makes me uncomfortable in my own home.”
“All right,” said Alice. “Don’t worry about it anymore, Louise. I shall go and keep our young man company.” Alice left the kitchen, feeling glad to get away from Louise’s suspicions. The truth was, however, that Alice found Adam to be unsettling, and she was very eager to learn what his connection could possibly be to Mark. Despite herself, she had considered the possibility that Jane had suggested. What if Adam was indeed Mark’s son? It was possible, but she sincerely hoped that it was not true.
Alice discovered Adam in the library. Handy, she thought, since she wanted to recommend some books. “Hello, Adam,” she said as she entered the room.
He quickly replaced a small bronze statue that a parishioner had given her father many years ago and turned around without saying anything.
“I thought I could suggest some books for you,” she said, ignoring the young man’s lack of manners.
He shrugged and looked away.
“I thought that you might be bored without television and I recalled a book—”
“I’m not interested in reading,” he said quickly. “I did enough of that in school.”
“So you’re not in school now?” she asked.
He just shook his head and moved over to where her father’s old chess set was sitting on a side table.
“I assume that you must be out of high school,” she continued as she fluffed a sofa cushion.
“Yeah,” he said as he picked up the black king and examined it more closely.
“Do you play chess?” she asked.
He just shrugged again. “A little.”
“I enjoy playing chess,” she told him. “Would you like to—”
“Look, lady …” He set the chess piece back in its place and turned to her. “I don’t expect you to entertain me or anything. I’m mostly just killing time until Mark gets here. I might not even stay, you know. I just have some business to take care of with him. So, don’t worry about me, okay? I can take care of myself.” Then, before she could respond, he walked out of the room.
She followed him out to the foyer, wishing for something kind and gracious to say to him in response to his rudeness, but all she could think was that this young man needed a course in manners and etiquette. If he was any relation to Mark Graves, she would be very surprised. In fact, she was beginning to understand Louise’s concern. What if this young man was a complete stranger and he had simply taken advantage of her assumption that he was a friend of Mark’s?
She decided to ask him now about the specifics of his relationship with Mark, but it was too late. He was already out the front door. She looked out the window in time to see him getting into the dilapidated old Nissan that was parked on the street in front of the inn. With a squeal of tires, he took off.
“Oh my!” she said aloud.
“You see,” said Louise as she came out of the living room and joined Alice. “Something is not right with that young man.”
“I’ll admit that his manners could use improving,” said Alice, “but I think it’s unfair to judge him. I’m sure that Mark will make things clear when he arrives tomorrow.”
“Well,” said Louise. “I just hope he doesn’t kill us in the middle of the night.”
“Louise!” said Alice.
“I’m not serious, sister,” said Louise with a twinkle in her blue eyes. “On the other hand, I may ask Jane to hide the family silver.”
Alice just shook her head; it was too late to respond since the Winstons were just coming down the stairs.
“We’re off to dinner,” said Mrs. Winston. “We have reservations at that nice-looking restaurant downtown.”
“Oh, you must mean Zachary’s.”
“Yes, that’s it.”
“Have a lovely evening,” said Louise.
Alice noticed that Laura had on a pair of hot pink sunglasses that matched her sweater top. “How’s your hand, Laura?”
Laura held up the bandaged hand and shrugged. “It throbs a little, but I guess it’s okay.”
“Maybe you should let me check it when you get back from dinner,” suggested Alice. “We wouldn’t want any infection to set in.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Mrs. Winston.
“Enjoy your dinner,” said Alice as she closed the front door behind them.
“Poor child,” said Louise. “Her blindness must be so hard on her.”
Alice nodded. “I’m really praying for a breakthrough for her.”
“I had better go help Jane,” said Louise. “I’m going to take some dinner up to the Langleys since he is still laid up with his back.”
“That’s nice of Jane to offer them dinner,” said Alice. “Let me help you with it.”
It was not long before the Langleys were all set, and it turned out that Mr. Langley absolutely adored roast chicken. “Guess it’s not so bad being laid up,” he said as Alice arranged the tray on his bed for him.
“Well, you certainly picked the right place to recover,” said Louise as she handed him a cloth napkin. “Between my sister the gourmet cook and my sister the registered nurse, you could hardly be in better hands.”
“Bless all three of you,” said Mrs. Langley as she sat down at the small table on which Louise had set her tray. “This looks delicious.”
By the time they got downstairs, Jane had the kitchen table set and ready for dinner. “I was about to ring the dinner bell,” she said as they came and sat down.
“Well, the guests are all taken care of,” said Louise after a short blessing had been said. “So, I guess we can just relax for a while.”
“All the guests?” asked Jane as she passed the mashed potatoes to Alice. “What is our young man doing for dinner tonight?”
“I have no idea,” said Alice. “When he arrived, I told him that he and Mark were invited to dinner, but he didn’t indicate if he’d join us.”
“Well, he certainly took off in a huff,” said Louise. “I’m sure that half of Acorn Hill heard his tires squealing down the street.”
Jane laughed. “That’s what that noise was?”
“He’s not a very thoughtful young man,” said Louise as she buttered her roll. “I will be very interested to hear what his relationship is to Mark Graves. If you ask me, those two are as different as night and day. I am almost positive that they are of no relation whatsoever.”
“He seems troubled,” said Alice as she took a portion of cooked carrots with butter and dill sauce.
“Humph,” said Louise. “At least he has his sight.”
“There’s an idea,” said Alice suddenly. “Maybe I should introduce Adam to Laura and see if—”
“No, Alice!” said Louise vehemently.
“Why not?” asked Jane.
“Really,” said Louise, “it would be wrong to introduce that young girl to the influence of that surly, not to mention unkempt, young man. I won’t hear of it. We have a responsibility to our guests, Alice. We cannot simply hand Laura over to Adam because we assume that he is an acquaintance of Mark’s.”
Alice frowned. Louise sometimes took her role as the eldest a bit too seriously. “But, Louise,” Alice said. “It might be good for both of them.”
“I think it’s a bad idea,” Louise insisted, “a very bad idea. For one thing, consider Laura’s parents … how would they feel if we exposed their daughter to a questionable young man like that?”
“How do we know he’s questionable?” asked Alice.
“I know that we shouldn’t judge people on appearances, but just look at him and you must admit that all is not right,” said Louise. “Then there is the way he talks to you. Good grief, he won’t look anyone directly in the eye.”
“Louise may be right,” said Jane. “I hate to judge him, but until Mark gets here, we really don’t know much about him. It might be a mistake to encourage a friendship with Laura. Think about it, Alice. She is very vulnerable right now, and it’s clear that she has her own issues
to deal with. We don’t want to create any unnecessary problems for her or her parents.”
Alice nodded. “I suppose you could be right.”
“She is right,” said Louise. “It just would not be prudent.”
Jane suddenly pointed her fork at Alice. “I’m just dying to know what Adam has to do with Mark. Does Mark have a cell phone or some way that we could reach him, Alice? Do you think he’s checking his e-mail?”
Alice shrugged. “He has a cell phone, but I don’t have the number. I use his work or his home number. I don’t know how often he checks his e-mail.”
“Well,” said Louise, “I think I would sleep better tonight if I knew that Adam really is a trustworthy young man.”
“Oh, Louise.” Alice was feeling unusually exasperated tonight. “Do you honestly think Mark would send some criminal to stay in our inn?”
“Not at all,” said Louise. “I am only concerned that Adam may have nothing to do with Mark at all.”
Jane laughed. “Yes, perhaps he’s an impostor. Maybe he got rid of the real Adam Peterson and has taken his identity.”
“I’m not joking,” said Louise. “Until we know for sure who this young man is, we should exercise caution.”
“Oh.” Alice could think of no other response to that. The more she considered it, the more she wondered if her sisters’ scenarios could have merit. But, she thought, even if Adam isn’t who he says he is, what can I do about it now?
Chapter Five
After the Winstons had returned from dinner, Alice examined Laura’s wound and put on another sterile bandage. Then she decided to retire to her room to work on her quilt. She tinkered at it for a couple of hours, but the results seemed paltry compared to the efforts. After sewing the downside of the fabric up and having to pick apart the seam, she decided to set the project aside.
She put on her cozy blue pajamas, then made herself comfortable in her easy chair. She had recently purchased a new paperback book from Nine Lives Bookstore. It was a newly released mystery from one of her favorite writers, but after just a few pages, she found herself, once again, distracted and unable to focus. She finally closed the book and sighed.
Was this strange uneasiness due to Mark’s impending visit to the inn? Goodness, it had not been that long since she had last seen him, and they had kept in touch in the meantime. Why should she feel so unsettled now? Perhaps she was just worried about the young man, whom both her sisters seemed to dislike. To be honest, Alice was not fond of Adam herself. If he was a friend of Mark’s, should she try to think of him as a friend of hers? She picked up her book again, telling herself to just let these things go for the night, but she could not.
Memories from Acorn Hill Page 3