The Daughters of Julian Dane

by Lucile McCluskey

  The woman was almost in tears, and Addie felt sorry for her. Mrs. Simmons was sitting calmly in the back seat. Apparently, she had forgotten all about her husband, Harry. She had to help Miss Simmons if she could. Her mother would want her to. “Is that her medicine?” Addie asked looking at the plastic grocery bag with what appeared to be medicine bottles in it, in Jo Ann’s hand.

  “Huh? Oh, I forgot I was carrying this. It’s all I could find. Seems she is to take one liquid before meals and another after meals, and there’s one to be added at bedtime.”

  “Would it help if I took her with me, fed her some lunch and let her take a nap while you’re gone? I live at Stonegate. You know where that is?”

  “Oh, you are a god send. If you would do that, I’d be ever so grateful. I’ll get her clothes and put them in my car and lock up the house. There’s nothing I can do for it right now. I’ll get to the shopping center and to Stonegate to pick her up just as quickly as I can. I’ll have to take her to Nashville with me, although what I’ll do with her, I have no idea. I’m just hoping my boss can pull some strings to get her placed somewhere they can care for her. I work in the home health business. But I’ll worry about that later. I’m so grateful to you,” she said as she handed Addie the plastic bag. “It tells on the bottles which one is before meals and which one is after.”

  Miss Mattie met Addie at the door of the summer kitchen, as she was helping Mrs. Simmons out of the car. The woman had sat quietly in the back seat all the way to Stonegate for which Addie was thankful. She was wearing a bathrobe over a gown, and had on house shoes. Mattie looked surprised. Should she explain the woman’s presence in front of her? No. She thought not. So she said, “Miss Mattie, we’re going to have this lady as our guest for a couple of hours. She hasn’t had breakfast, and after we feed her, she’s going to take a nap, I hope.”

  “Does she eat anything in particular?”

  “Oh. I don’t know. I forgot to ask. Can we try some soft scrambled eggs with some of your good rolls and milk?”

  “With some melted cheese, and whipped butter, and maybe some peach jam,” Mattie added. “And her name?”

  “Mrs. Simmons, Beth Simmons.”

  “I’ll get right at it. Want to sit her at the breakfast table or the small table I’ve put in the kitchen?”

  “The kitchen will do,” Addie answered as she walked Mrs. Simmons through the kitchen door. She saw that Miss Mattie had indeed replaced the pedestal table with a small round table that would seat six at the most, and she was glad. She hoped she never saw that pedestal thing again. Miss Mattie must have understood.

  And she had to call Deena to let her know that she would be taking Mr. Harris also, and moving both men into Stonegate just as soon as she could arrange it.

  As soon as they had the quiet Mrs. Simmons seated at the table, Mattie said, “Della and Wylene just left a few minutes ago with the loads of furniture for the South Street house. It took two trucks. Bud had two men helping him, Mr. Mitchell and a fellow named Wesley, who had a truck. Then Della has to get to her doctor’s appointment. I really like that Bud and Wylene, and I appreciated Della letting me help her choose the furniture and furnishings for the little house. We had fun doing it.”

  “Thank you for helping her, Miss Mattie. Wylene is a friend of mine from school. I like her and her Bud too. They’re real nice people.” Addie was reading the labels on all three bottles of Mrs. Simmons’ medicine. She separated the one that said a teaspoon before meals.

  The woman seemed sleepy, and she hadn’t said a word since Addie put her in the car. Right now, she was just looking all around with half closed eyes. She couldn’t let her fall asleep until she had taken her medicine and eaten something. She obediently took the medicine Addie handed her in a teaspoon. And Miss Mattie was soon placing a plate in front of her. Golden eggs oozed with melted cheese, and Mattie had buttered a delicious smelling roll and spooned some peach jam on the plate. Then she sat half a glass of cold, sweet milk beside the plate.

  The aroma of the roll reminded Addie that it was well after lunchtime and she was very hungry. Miss Mattie seemed to sense it, for she said, “And I’ll have you some lunch ready in a couple of minutes.”

  “Thank you, Miss Mattie. I sure appreciate you.”

  “You’re welcome, my dear. And I just want you to know how much you’ve livened up my life, and this big old place. I never know what to expect from you next.” And she laughed.

  “Well, by tomorrow at this time I expect to have three men in the hospital room and Deena and her mother in the adjoining bedroom, and William on the fourth floor.”

  “Like I said,” she uttered, “but, Addie, those two bedrooms on the fourth floor are filled with extra furniture and stuff. The room will have to be cleaned out.”

  “I know. I’ve seen them. I’m hoping Mooney will help me some. And I’ll have to go grocery shopping for William as soon as Mrs. Simmons niece comes for her.”

  “I’m looking forward to meeting this William,” Miss Mattie said, as Addie reminded herself she had to call Mooney, and they had to go see Miss Judy’s truck. So much to do, she thought, and felt a bit concerned about involving herself with the two Simmons women. Well, surely it wouldn’t be to long before Jo Ann arrived. She was pleased to see that Mrs. Simmons was feeding herself so well. The woman had been hungry. She seemed to enjoy every bite.

  Miss Mattie had placed a big, thick sandwich of meats and cheeses in front of her with a tall glass of cold milk. She was eating hurriedly as Miss Mattie brought Mrs. Simmons another hot buttered roll. The woman had finished her meal before Addie was half through her sandwich, so she poured her tablespoon of medicine she was to take after meals. But this time she had to do a bit of coaxing before the woman would take it. She was sitting there more asleep than awake.

  Addie hated leaving her own good food, but she had to get her to the elevator and up to the hospital room before she fell asleep on her. Once there, she made no objections when Addie helped her into the hospital bed and between the crisp white sheets. “You take a nice nap now, and when you wake up, your niece, Jo Ann, will be here to take you with her.”

  “Is Harry with Jo Ann?” she mumbled.

  Not knowing quite what to answer, she said, “Probably so,” as she covered her with a sheet and a light blanket.

  “Did Ellie Mae feed him his lunch?” she asked as she began to drift off into sleep.

  Addie ran her hand over Mrs. Simmons’ arm and back, but the woman was already asleep. She pulled up the sides of the bed. At least she couldn’t get out of bed. Still, she’d check on her often. She had no idea how long a nap she might take.

  She returned to finish her own lunch. Miss Mattie had cleared the table of Mrs. Simmon’s dishes and was setting a large pan of rolls to rise. She had just seated herself at the table when she heard a loud snore. It startled her so that she jumped. Miss Mattie chuckled at her response. “See that little white box on my desk there? That’s a monitor. You’ll hear every sound made in the hospital room.”

  “You’re kidding me!” Addie exclaimed. “What will they think of next? Mama will have to have one of those for the baby’s room,” she said biting into her sandwich.

  “There’s one in the library and one in Miss Willy’s room.”

  “Now, I won’t have to be running back and forth to check on her. Her niece should be here before too long. Miss Mattie, how often do you make rolls? We always have them. I’m glad. I love them.”

  “I won’t let us run out. They’re my specialty. Someday, I hope to have a dinner club, and I expect these rolls to make me, or my dinner club famous.”

  “What’s a dinner club?” Addie asked as she enjoyed her sandwich and cold milk.

  “Oh, it’s just a real nice restaurant where only members and their guests can come.”

  “That sounds nice. Why don’t we have one in Riverbend?”

  “I’ll be honest with you, Addie. I’ve thought of opening one here since I have to do some
thing else, now that Miss Willy is gone, and I’ll have to be leaving Stonegate. But there just isn’t a suitable place for one. I have some money – enough to open one since Miss Willy’s legacy. And I’m sure there is sufficient people in and around Riverbend who would enjoy one. You know, we don’t really have a nice restaurant here. The Log House is the closest thing we have to one, but some people don’t like standing in line at a buffet and waiting on themselves. But to purchase land and build, would take all of my cash and then some. I’d really need a place to rent or to buy with a nice down payment.”

  “Ask her how much space she needs?” The voice in Addie’s mind said.

  “Grandpa!” Addie exclaimed silently, “I wish you’d stop startling me. Couldn’t you show yourself before you start talking?”

  “Sorry. I’ll try to remember. But ask her.”

  “All right, but why?”

  “Just ask her.”

  Addie sighed heavily, wiped her mouth with her napkin and said, “Miss Mattie, how much space would you need for a dinner club?”

  “Oh, for the dining room, a place about the size of the dining room and the living room here, and a nice big kitchen like this one, and a place for a bar about the size of the library.”

  “Ask her had she thought of Stonegate? Sounds like it would fit the bill.”

  “Grandpa! We can’t do that, or a daycare center either. Remember? Mr. Cutler plans to sell Stonegate.”

  “Young Addie, you own Stonegate. And if you make it pay for itself, it doesn’t have to be sold. Don’t you see that?”

  “Yeah. You’re right, Grandpa. I’ve thought something along those lines when you suggested the daycare center.” Then, she looked at Miss Mattie seriously. “Do you think Stonegate would be suitable? The size seems to fit, and you said yourself that you could cook for an army in that kitchen.”

  Mattie laughed. “Addie, have you been reading my mind?”

  “You mean you’ve thought of the idea?”

  “Oh, my Dear, of course I have, time and time again. Stonegate would be perfect, but Mr. Cutler has other plans for the mansion.”

  “Yeah! A golf and country club,” grandpa said.

  “I know he said I couldn’t keep it because of the high cost of upkeep, but if you rented part of it for a dinner club, that ought to cover a large part of the upkeep, shouldn’t it? Of course, I don’t have any idea of how much the upkeep is or how much you would want to pay in rent, but surely ...”

  “Oh, Addie,” Miss Mattie interrupted, “you don’t know what a dream come true that would be. Why, people would join the dinner club just because it was at Stonegate. But I know Cutler is already trying to get together a group of investors to make it into a golf and country club.”

  “Stonegate is yours, young Addie. Remember that.”

  “Stonegate is mine, Miss Mattie, not Mr. Cutler’s. You keep reminding me of that.”

  “Bully,” grandpa said. “Now you can take the day-care center and the dinner club to that attorney, and see what he says.”

  “If you say so, Grandpa. You’re the one who thinks you can put this town back on its feet.”

  Miss Mattie was so excited her hazel eyes sparkled. “Oh, do you really think I have a chance of having a dinner club here at Stonegate?”

  “Tell her to get you some figures and facts together that you can take to the attorney, like how much space she’ll need, how much rent she’ll pay, what changes would have to be made.”

  Addie related all this to her, and she looked a little surprised. “I, uh, well, of course, I will,” she stammered. “I’ll get started on it right away. And thank you, Addie. Oh, here comes the truck again.”

  Addie jumped up to run out to meet it. Only Wylene was in it, and she noticed immediately, that the fender on the driver’s side, and the front bumper were battered in. Then she saw the angry look on Wylene’s face, as she stepped out of the cab of Bud’s truck.

  “Some crazy woman tried to turn into Stone Drive at the same time I did, and I had the right of way,” Wylene explained in answer to Addie’s inquiring look. “I bumped her real good. I couldn’t help it. Her car went down the embankment to River Road. Another car coming down River Road slammed on its brakes, but the man still hit her in the driver’s side. He couldn’t help it either. She’s lucky. It wasn’t as hard as he might have hit her, but he still hit her. He took her to the clinic after the police got there. Fortunately, they were coming from the shopping center and saw it happen.”

  “Oh, Wylene, I’m so sorry.”

  “Bud’s going to kill me, but it would have happened if he’d been driving. Still, I’ll never get him to believe me. That Miss Simmons admitted it was her fault. Said she was in too big of a hurry.”

  “Simmons!” Addie exclaimed. “Simmons,” she repeated almost in a whimper. “This can’t be,” she added.

  “What?” demanded Wylene. “What, Addie?”

  “Oh, Wylene, you’re never going to believe this. I’m stuck with her aunt upstairs taking a nap. Is she hurt bad?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Will she have to stay at the clinic? Oh, that’s stupid. You don’t know that. But what am I going to do?”

  “Why do you have her aunt? Is she ill or something?”

  “Not physically ill, but not playing with a full deck.” Then she told Wylene and Miss Mattie how she came to have Beth Simmons.

  “Girl friend, I’m so sorry. Maybe she isn’t hurt all that bad, but I wouldn’t count on it,” Wylene said.

  “I’ve got to go see about her,” Addie said, then she thought of William. Maybe he could help her. She’d see after Wylene left. “Have you heard anything of William’s stepfather?”

  Yeah. He doesn’t know where William and Ozzie are, but for a fiver somebody told him who took them away, and he’s been looking for your car. But Bud told him he’d break both his legs if he so much as spoke to you. Bud sort of likes you – said you’re okay.”

  “Tell Bud thanks, and I’ll pay to have his truck fixed,” she moaned.

  “Oh, no. Miss Simmons’ insurance will pay. Her car was being hauled off when I left.”

  Mattie had stepped back into the summer kitchen where Addie and Wylene still stood. “Dear, your guest is awake and calling for ‘Ellie Mae’. That’s the person you were telling us about, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. I’ll go to her. At least she can’t get out of the bed.” She headed inside with Wylene following her.

  “I have a list of things your mother still needs for the house. She asked me to give it to Miss Mattie,” Wylene said.

  Mattie looked at the list, and asked Wylene if she’d like to help her get the things together while they listened to Miss Simmons on the monitor complaining about not being able to get out of the bed. And Addie was rushing to the elevator.

  She took time to stop at the phone on the hall table just outside the hospital room door. She hurriedly dialed the Clinic’s emergency room where she was told that yes, a Miss Simmons had been admitted, and no, she could not speak to her. Insistently, she explained to the person why she needed so desperately to talk to Miss Simmons. Finally, the woman, reluctantly, put Jo Ann on the phone. Then Addie wished she hadn’t. It was obvious that Jo Ann was in a lot of pain, and she was afraid she’d be there for some time. She apologized for Addie’s inconvenience, and Addie told her to call when she was ready to leave the Clinic, or if she had to stay. What else could she do? She wondered.

  Irritated at the way the day was going, and the problems she still had to take care of, and the ones she didn’t know how to take care of, she entered the hospital room. She spoke to Mrs. Simmons, tried to soothe her down, then went to the wall of heavy draperies to let some light into the gloomy room. She returned to the woman, patted her on the shoulder as she sat up in the bed. “I’ll help you out of the bed in just a moment. I have to make a short phone call from right out there in the hall. I’ll be right back.”

  She rushed out of the room with Mrs. Sim
mons complaining. It took a few moments for William to answer the phone after she pushed the button that said ‘Gate C’. “William, I need your help,” she said, then told him about the two Simmons women. “I need you to look after Mrs. Simmons while I go to the Clinic to pick up her niece, whenever that might be.”

  “Does she get violent?”

  “Oh, no. At least, not that I know of.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” he said.

  “I’m going to see if Wylene will stay with her long enough for me to get you and Ozzie up here. Just bring your things. I’ll get the rest later, I hope.”

  When Addie went back into the room to let down the sides of the bed, the woman was demanding all kinds of answers to questions about Harry, Ellie Mae, and Jo Ann. Since Addie had no answers, she tried to placate her the best she could, all the time wondering if she did get violent? She was small and frail, surely she could manage her.

  She took Mrs. Simmons to the bathroom hoping that she knew what to do in there, and was thankful that she did. Then she led her to a chair where she could see out the French doors, and she explained to her that Jo Ann had gone to the shopping center to buy some things for her, since she kept asking for her.

  Miss Mattie came in with a tray. “I thought she might like something cool to drink and a snack.”

  Miss Mattie, I’m so grateful to you. And she pulled up another chair, sat down and placed the tray on her own lap. There was a bowl of fresh fruit cut into bite size pieces, a warm buttered roll, and a glass of cold milk. But the woman surprised Addie by reaching for the tray and managing it on her own.

  “Wylene and I are filling the list of things that Della needs, things I had told her there was plenty of here in the mansion. So I’ll get back downstairs if you don’t need me.”

  “I don’t know how to thank you,” Addie said.

  “You already have, child. You’ve given me hope of having my dream come true if you really meant for me to think about Stonegate for my dinner club?”