After walking out, I gave Aaron a quick call, telling him what I was doing. He and Tim would meet Maggie and me for dinner at a newly opened neighborhood restaurant, Arthur’s on Lake. It was located right off Bloomington Avenue and Lake Street.
Maggie lived close by, so it didn’t take me long to pick her up. I parked out front and beeped my horn. She came out in a matter of a few minutes.
“I’m so excited,” Maggie said, jumping into the car. “Your dress, and mine. This is going to be such a beautiful wedding. I like that it’s small.”
“It’ll be intimate,” I said.
“I heard that your best man split with his girlfriend,” Maggie said, her face flushed when I nodded.
“Yep.”
“I thought so.”
“Peggy’s dead in the water. I think it’s a good thing. We’re meeting the guys for dinner at Arthur’s. We need to discuss the wedding,” I said.
“Good idea.”
The rush hour traffic was thick, making it hard to change lanes and exit where we needed to. Eventually, I exited onto Lyndale and drove through the neighboring side streets to get to Debbie’s shop.
Debbie greeted us at the door and brought us to the sewing room in the back where our dresses hung. My mouth dropped open as I pictured my mother wearing the dress, and my dad’s heart filling with love when he saw her coming down the aisle. I thought of Aaron and how he’d do the same when he saw me in that dress.
“Let’s start with the bride,” Debbie stated. “It’s turned out beautiful, hasn’t it?”
“Yes.” I could barely speak as I went into the dressing room and removed my clothes, then let Debbie help me draw the dress over my arms and down my torso, zipping it up the back. It fit slightly snug, so I told myself no more chocolate until after the ceremony. Guess I should get out and do some more running.
“This is perfect.” I held my breath as Debbie attached the lace-flowered train, which had pearl beads sewn into the design. As I stared at myself in the mirror, I wondered if my mother was watching? Debbie helped me undress, then assisted Maggie.
As I sat waiting for Maggie to step out of the cubicle, I thought about the upcoming evening. I usually didn’t believe in blind dates, but this dinner with Tim and Maggie began to sound wonderful. Their names, Maggie and Tim, sounded good together. I wondered if Aaron had this in mind when he suggested that we have dinner? Probably not, I decided, because men didn’t think of blind dates or how names sounded together. I looked up as Maggie stepped out of the dressing room.
“That color is perfect on you,” I gushed. My eyes opened wide as she turned sideways. “Oh yes, Tim will take notice. I promise.”
“The bust is a little tight,” Maggie said. “Don’t know what to do about that.”
“Give some to me,” I giggled.
“Hold on a minute. I’ll fix it.” Debbie held pins in one hand, with a couple poking out from between her lips.
When the nips and tucks were orchestrated and the dresses bagged, I paid the bill. We arranged the dresses carefully in the back of the car and jumped inside. I sent Aaron another message stating that we were on our way to meet them.
The traffic was even worse than before and entering the interstate wasn’t easy, nor was exiting onto Bloomington Avenue. An abundance of stoplights and turning cars brought the flow of traffic to almost a standstill. Finally we made it, and I parked across the street from the restaurant, right behind Tim’s Chevy. We climbed out, walked up the street, and entered Arthur’s.
Tim and Aaron stood to the side in the entry, waiting for us.
“You’re glowing,” Aaron whispered in my ear, when he kissed me.
“I know. I can feel it.” All I could think about was being alone with him.
The hostess came over with the menus, and asked, “Ready?”
“You betcha,” Tim responded.
We wound through cloth-covered, candlelit tables until eventually the hostess seated us at a corner table near a window. The lights from Lake Street added romance to the air, sparkling like diamonds.
“I wish there was a veranda at Grandma and Grandpa’s.” I sighed, thinking of my wedding.
“That would be nice.” Maggie and Tim stared at each other, and I realized for certain that they’d make a great couple.
The men ordered the wine before we began talking about the wedding. The evening slipped by gracefully and quickly. Too soon we were paying our bill and heading out to the cars. Maggie climbed in with Tim, and Aaron drove my car.
“I forgot to check my messages. Mind if I do?” I placed my head on Aaron’s shoulder.
“Go ahead.” He waited to drive away until after Tim drove out.
I retrieved my cell phone from my bag, pressed the voice message button and opened it. The voice said:
Miss Anderson,
We need to speak privately and on a secure phone. It’s very important. Have your attorney contact me at this number. We’ll set up a date when we can meet and I can inspect the package. From now on, they’ll be referred to as ‘package’.
Dolley embroidered many samplers in her day. They were like a family history. If I’m correct, then I believe that we have a similar one and it is in storage. I will send an image from a printed copy, which is also sold in the gift shop.
I look forward to hearing from your attorney.
Don Strowbridge.
My heart pounded. “Did you hear that?” I looked at Aaron.
“Open up the picture.”
I fumbled with the buttons as I opened the image.
It was identical to Grandma’s sampler, except the fourth square motif was a tombstone.
Chapter Eighteen
“A tombstone? I don’t believe it,” I gasped. “I’m going to make drawings of each of them. It’ll make more sense.”
“What about the other three corners?” Aaron asked.
“Marigolds.” I thought a moment. “Hamilton’s had the rose in the upper left. Grandma’s in the upper right has the flag. This one, the bottom right has the tombstone.”
“Go figure.” I yawned. “Then we have the cufflinks. How do they fit into the picture? The gadroon? What about that imprint? Polly? Why a bird’s name?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” He started the car. “August won’t be happy to relinquish them.” Aaron gave me a concerned look as we waited for a light to turn green. “But the cufflinks should be donated, if they’re found to be authentic.” He started driving. “I wonder if the Putnam family has knowledge of them?”
“Grandpa is the Putnam family. They were passed down to him.” I drew in a deep breath.
“After all these years, their secret is out. The Putnam letter, plus the true ownership of the cufflinks.” Aaron kept his eyes on the road. “We’ll have to have our attorney, Mr. Nye, do the legal paperwork for turning it over to the museum. They really do belong to your grandpa, since he’s the rightful heir.”
“Let’s wait until tomorrow.” I coyly looked at him.
“Sounds good to me.”
The following morning, I met my grandparents in the kitchen as they were having breakfast.
“Morning.” I gave them each a kiss on the cheek. “We had a great time. The dresses are hung in my closet.” I dropped a slice of bread into the toaster and began pouring a glass of orange juice.
“How’d they fit?” Grandma asked.
“Like a glove. Maggie’s beautiful.”
“How was dinner?” Grandma asked.
“We had a great time. I think Maggie and Tim hit it off.” My thoughts went to how I noticed their nonchalant touching, plus all those glances over the glasses at each other. “Maggie smiled a lot.”
“What about Tim?” Grandma asked.
“He seemed just as happy.”
“I can see you have something else on your mind, Olivia.” Grandpa stood beside Grandma. “I’d like to hear what it is.”
“Don Strowbridge from Montpelier sent a request for us to contact our
attorney about the cufflinks. He wants to see them and also has a few questions.” My eyes strayed from one to the other. Grandma looked satisfied. “Also, the two letters I read the night before last were signed in Dolley’s name. How could your cousin not tell you about them, or your mother?” I leaned into the counter. “Is there anything else about either lineage that you’re not telling me? Now’s the time.”
“Should we say something or not, August?” Grandma glanced up at him.
“What do you mean? Should we or shouldn’t we? There’s no question here!” I banged my fist on the counter.
“Well, all right. There is a letter. The original from Dolley where she asked him to—”
“I thought it was from the Putnams, thanking her for the gift.” I held my hand up like a stop sign. “You mean to tell me that you’ve been hanging on to this letter the whole time and never told me about it? Did my mother know about it too?”
“We haven’t told anyone. She didn’t know. It’s been our secret because of the value of it, and it’s proved ownership.” Grandma hung her head. “Forgive me, Olivia. We’re really sorry.”
“Why am I always the last person to find out?” I shook my head. “So—where is this letter of ownership from Dolley?” I stared at Grandpa and then Grandma. “Where?”
“Calm down, for heaven’s sake, Olivia.” Grandpa looked away for a moment. “It’s sealed in an envelope in the safety deposit box with the cufflinks. No one else knows about it. Or should I say no one did except Grandma—now you.”
“Your mother was a snoop. That’s why the letter went into the bank. The cufflinks should’ve been too. We know that now.” Grandma reached for Grandpa’s hand. “It will be hard to give the cufflinks up, but they should be donated to the Montpelier museum. It’s the rightful place, honey.” She squeezed Grandpa’s hand. “Right?”
“Aaron wanted to wear them for the wedding.” Grandpa looked me square in the eye. “What’s your take on that?”
“I believe that he should. I’d like him to. Maybe we could have the meeting with Don Strowbridge after the wedding?”
“We’ll call Mr. Nye right away, and he’ll take it from there.”
“Sounds good.” I bit into my cold toast. “We’ll leave it all in the bank.”
I finished my breakfast, grabbed my bag, and headed out the door.
Once parked out back, I entered the store and headed straight to Dolley. “Would you please tell me what one earth you were thinking when you embroidered the samplers? Why are the corners different? Why bouncing strawberries, and the number thirteen? I’m totally puzzled.” I held the doll and stared into the tiny eyes. “I wish that you could speak and tell me your secrets.” I set the doll into position as the door opened, and Dorrie entered.
She hung the pictures and set the Penny dolls back on the shelves. I busied myself by arranging the dollhouse displays and reordering the inventory that needed replacing. Grandpa found someone to come in and make a bid for securely locking the trapdoor. Hopefully it would be completed by the end of next week.
It was great having Dorrie back to work. She looked after customers, which left me time to take care of other matters.
By the end of the week, it had been settled about the cufflinks. Since Grandpa’s cufflinks initially belonged to Dolley, Aaron would wear them for the wedding. An official from Montpelier and one of their security guards would also attend the ceremony. Afterwards, the Montpelier representatives would take the cufflinks to the estate. Mr. Nye recommended that we pay for a police officer to also attend. I knew these cufflinks were valuable, but all of these security precautions made me nervous. Very nervous. I started biting my nails and chewing on my hair. That nervous.
The next few days flew past and my thoughts were completely on my wedding. Even as I set out the tiny rosebushes in the dollhouse gardens and lined them with appropriate trees, I thought about my wedding. The horses and carriages added a nice touch to the scenery.
Finally Friday rolled around with the grand birthday celebration for the First Ladies born in December, beginning with Lady Bird Johnson. Several new customers happened in at the same time. Dorrie managed with the two interested in the recent Bush First Ladies.
“How did Barbara Bush break her wrist?” one of the women asked.
“Sliding with her grandchildren.”
“Was Laura Bush really a librarian?”
“Of course? Both were interested in literacy.”
An older woman was concerned about Edith Wilson, the Suffragist movement, and how the White House managed with the President so ill during the war. First Lady Wilson took care of correspondence, and kept the President abreast of all things, I told her.
The day sped by quickly and easily. I was exhausted at the close of the day, but tonight was my bachelorette party.
“See you later,” I said to Dorrie. “The burgers are on me tonight. You’ve been a huge help today. I sincerely thank you.”
“Glad to help. See you later.”
I watched Dorrie go out the back door as I closed up the store for the night. The bachelorette party was set to start in an hour. We three girls—Maggie, Dorrie, and I—decided to wear matching shirts, which read: Bring It On! Why on earth we chose that saying was beyond me, but Dorrie wanted them to read: The BUST sisters. I drew the line on that one.
I had just enough time to shower and get over to Margie’s Bar.
Though I parked in the back alley parking lot, I got out of the car and walked around to the front entrance. Country music blared from the jukebox, and the bar was lined with people enjoying Friday night happy hour. Bottles and glasses cluttered the bar as well as the booths I passed by. Dorrie and Maggie were seated in a back booth; I crawled in beside Maggie.
“Sorry for running late. I feel like I’m going around in circles.” I looked up and caught the waitress’ eye. She came right over and we ordered a pitcher of beer.
“Are you and Tim getting together later?” I nudged Maggie. “Or aren’t you telling?” Maggie’s dark hair looked silky, and she’d brought one side back behind her ear. Her brown eyes and thick lashes looked more sensual than normal. I decided that she’d applied extra makeup to get that effect. Her bright red lipstick with silver undertones added to the bedtime mood. I figured Tim didn’t stand a chance against this girl. Tonight was the night.
“We thought we’d play it by ear.” She gave me a coy look. I knew what she was thinking. His place.
“Brad is picking me up.” Dorrie looked the other way before looking back at me. “We’re going to cruise the town.”
“Cruise around?” I raised a brow. “Brad? As in the chauffeur.” I glanced at Maggie. “And, you two are married, but didn’t tell us.”
“You’ve always been secretive. Where did you meet him and how do you know him? And who in Sam Hill is he?” Maggie asked. “It’s girls’ night out. Time to spill the beans. Did you elope? How long did you know him? Who is he, anyway?”
“He made me promise to keep it secret, because of how it might affect Liv.” Dorrie glanced at me.
”I’m okay with it. I’m sure his grandparents didn’t mean to crash into my parents and kill them, but let’s not talk about the accident nor my parents. I want to hear about where you married and why there’s no ring on your finger?”
“We married a couple months ago. We went to the JP. The Justice of the Peace. He’s a student who chauffeurs for a job. That’s about it,” Dorrie said.
The waitress brought over the beer, and poured our glasses full before leaving.
“Where are you going on your honeymoon?” Dorrie took a sip and stared at me. “You’ve never said.”
“We’re not through asking you questions. Where will you go on your honeymoon?” I wondered if she purposely changed the subject? “What is Brad like? Quiet? Shy? He looks like he was a wrestler in high school.”
“He was a wrestler. I suppose his muscles gave him away. He can get quiet and can be stubborn and ornery at times, th
en sweet. Mostly he’s easy to get along with, but money is always a problem. I can’t wait for him to graduate, then get a job so we can have kids.”
“His degree is in?”
“He hasn’t made up his mind. It’s either criminal justice or education, but school loans keep stacking up. We’re in the hole so deep already. Don’t know where the money’s going to come from to pay it all back. For both of our loans, we owe almost a hundred thousand.” She glanced over to Maggie. “It’s her turn now to tell us where she’s going on her honeymoon.”
“Yeah. Where is Aaron skirting you off to?” Maggie giggled. “No pun intended!”
“He’s never said. I’ve asked, but he won’t tell me. It’s a secret.” My phone chirped, and I took it out and read the message. R u hav fn. “He wants to know if we’re having fun.” I sent back one which read, Y. “I told him, ‘yes’.”
“Ask him about the honeymoon,” Dorrie pressed. “I want to know.”
“We’ll find out soon enough.” I glanced toward the bar and the waitress came over. “We’d all three like Juicy Lucy burgers, right?”
“With fries?”
“Of course!” we said in unison.
“And another pitcher?”
“Yep.”
“Aaron will be as handsome as can be wearing his tux,” Maggie said. “Will he wear the cufflinks?”
“It’s up to him,” I said. I didn’t want anyone to know for sure because of their value. Glancing at the door, a man and a woman who seemed familiar were entering, but I couldn’t place them. “You see those two over there?” I asked, and nodded toward them. “The woman is short and wearing glasses, the man is taller. Why are they so familiar looking?”
“I have no idea.” Maggie shrugged. “Maybe they’re former customers?”
“I think I’d remember.” I chewed on the tip of a clump of my red hair. I glanced over at them again, but they’d moved to another section.
“Here comes the food.” Dorrie immediately reached into the French fry basket and began munching. “Really good.” She squirted ketchup on the side of her basket and onto the burger.
The Blood Spangled Banner: A First Ladies Mystery Page 17