Bellingwood Book 10 Vignettes (Bellingwood Vignettes 2)

by Muir, Diane Greenwood

  Book Ten Vignettes

  DIANE GREENWOOD MUIR

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

  Cover Design Photography: Maxim M. Muir

  Copyright © 2015 Diane Greenwood Muir

  All rights reserved.

  CONTENTS

  CONTENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  Vignette #1 All That Glitters

  Vignette #2 Celebrate Good Times

  Vignette #3 What's a Guy to Do?

  Vignette #4 Good Morning Sunshine

  Vignette #5 I Don't Understand a Single Word

  THANK YOU FOR READING!

  INTRODUCTION

  These vignettes originally came about as a way to keep readers engaged while I was writing the next book. Talk about ravenous readers! Each short, short, short story has been published on either the website (nammynools.com) or in the email newsletter that comes out on the twenty-fifth of the month.

  I realized how much fun it was to expose little bits of the background stories that happen in Bellingwood. Because I write from Polly's perspective, unless she is directly involved in the action or with a character, we don't see everything. These characters have developed enough that they enjoy telling their own stories, so it's time to make that happen.

  I have compiled the vignettes relating to Book 10 – The River Rolls On - into one collection. These four short stories feature different characters from Bellingwood and in one, even the cat – Luke and Leia – get to tell about their lives in Sycamore House.

  Vignette #1

  All That Glitters

  Jeff strode into the kitchen at Sycamore House and set his mug on the counter loud enough to get Sylvie's attention.

  "Yo, kitchen wench," he said. "What kinda coffee ya got for me this morning?"

  "Yo, strumpet," she retorted. "Same as every morning. You know where it is."

  "Where's Rachel?" he asked "Don't you two have a lunch to cater or something?" Jeff poured coffee from the urn on the counter and went on through the kitchen to the table by the back window.

  "No, it was a continental brunch thing at the library. She's taking care of it. I'm working on the cake for the wedding."

  Jeff pulled a plate of scones closer and spun it around a couple of times, looking for just the right choice. Before he could select one, Sylvie slid napkins across the table at him.

  "Can you sit for a minute?" He gestured to a chair across from him.

  She shrugged and sat down. Before he started speaking, she jumped up again.

  "What?" he asked. "Don't you ever sit still?"

  "I need coffee." Sylvie took her mug up from the prep table, refilled it, and came back to join him. "So what's up?"

  "Not much. I'm tired of my office."

  "Don't lie to me, mister man. You never drop in for coffee unless you need to talk."

  Jeff sipped his coffee, looking at her over the rim. "You're much too observant."

  "It's a mom thing. Is it work? A boy?" She winked at him. "Heaven forbid, is it a girl?"

  He chuckled. "It's really nothing..." He paused. "It's kind of work. Do you ever wonder if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing?"

  Sylvie set her jaw and then put her hand out to touch his forearm. "You can't be serious. You aren't leaving us, are you?"

  "No," he slowly shook his head. "No. Like I said, it's nothing."

  "Don't you nothing me, Jeff Lindsay. I won't put up with that. You started something. You've put the fear of God in me and you will darn well finish telling me what going on in the hot little head of yours."

  "I love my job. I really do," he said. "And sometimes I think that it's just ridiculous how much fun I have here. I like everyone I work with and you know as well as I do that working for Polly is easy. She lets us do our own thing."

  "And she appreciates everything you do," Sylvie interjected.

  "Absolutely," he said. "She's free with the compliments. But is it strange that I like working in small town Iowa? Am I staying here because it's safe and I don't have to fight through challenges to grab big goals?"

  "Do you want to run a big hotel in the middle of Manhattan?" Sylvie asked.

  Jeff looked up at her in shock. "What? No!"

  "Chicago? Kansas City? Dallas? Do you want to live in a large city?"

  He shrugged and grimaced. "It would be a lot easier to find someone to be with."

  "That's crap and you know it. The reason you haven't found someone is because you've spent too much time working. But, you should also know that if Polly thought you weren't happy because you were lonely, she'd..."

  "She'd probably find a string of nice young men for me to date," he said, rolling his eyes.

  "Either that or she'd tell you to leave if that's what you needed to do." Sylvie scowled at him. "Is that what this is about? Finding the love of your life?"

  He gave her a shocked look again. "No!"

  "Then what? Why are you questioning this?"

  "I hate to admit it, but..."

  "But what?" Sylvie tapped an invisible watch on her wrist. "You're wasting time big boy. Out with it."

  Jeff laughed at her. "You're a tough woman."

  "Yes I am. You're babbling about how perfect your job is and how easy it is to work for your boss and how much you like this place and in the middle of that, you're trying to make something terrible out of it. Now why would you be that foolish?"

  "Because it's too easy."

  "Uh huh. Go ahead. Explain that to me."

  "I got an email from a classmate this morning. She just lost her job managing a restaurant for some big time chef down in Houston. She worked hard for that and clawed her way to the top." He pursed his lips. "I feel guilty. I didn't do any clawing."

  Sylvie laughed and snorted through her nose.

  "Stop laughing at me," he said.

  "I can't help it. You're an idiot."

  "I know." He drew the words out. "But nothing this good ever happened to me before. What am I supposed to think?"

  "I would never have pegged you for one of those dopes who looks for grey clouds in every silver lining."

  Jeff grinned. "I'm usually not, but this email shook me up. Everyone knew that Kimmy was going to be a success. She knew it. There were days I wanted to vomit while I listened to her sketch out her plans for the future. Nothing would stop her. And now ... she's been stopped."

  "Do you think she'll find another job?"

  "Probably."

  "Do you think she was happy?"

  He sighed. "That's the thing. I doubt it. But then I don't know if she even understands the meaning of the word. She was always so driven. When the rest of us went out for drinks, she wouldn't go. She said we were wasting time that could be put to better use. That girl worked all the time and when she wasn't working, she was ... well ... working."

  "I can't imagine what kind of life she'd lived up to that point to make her behave that way," Sylvie said quietly. "You aren't that person."

  "No I'm not,"
he declared.

  "And you don't want to live her life, do you?"

  "Only a little bit. Sometimes things are a little slow around here for me." He grinned at her.

  "Well, give yourself another year or two. With Polly opening new businesses in town, I think you'll find yourself plenty busy."

  "It's so strange. I always saw myself running one place - a big hotel. I'd take care of all of the needs of the guests and make sure that everything they encountered was smooth. Around here, I never know what I'm going to deal with next. Some days I'm helping guests at the hotel, and then in the middle of that, I have a Chamber of Commerce meeting to discuss a Crazy Dayz event downtown. Then, I'm managing a kids club on Monday afternoons or soothing bridezillas and their mothers." He took a breath. "And now I'm adding a bakery and coffee shop to the mix."

  "And you hate it?" Sylvie teased him.

  "Stop it. You're right. It's more than I ever could have imagined. I use information I never knew I had."

  Sylvie stood up and stepped back from the table. "So now what are you going to do?"

  He glanced back and forth. "I don't know?"

  "You're going back to work. You aren't going to complain about it any longer. You're going to be thankful you have what you have and you're going to leave me alone so I can build this stupid cake. Will you please ask Henry to hurry so I have a full-blown bakery?"

  "Yes ma'am," Jeff said, mocking in his chagrin. "I'll be good."

  "You're right, you will. And the next time you hear about one of your classmates failing in their high-powered job, remember that any one of them could have come to Bellingwood instead of you. You are a lucky man."

  "Okay," he said. Jeff rinsed his mug out in the sink. "You really are tough."

  Sylvie hugged him. "That's from being a mom. If you'd really needed a sympathetic ear, I'd have found it within myself to give that to you."

  "Good to know," he said. "When I'm feeling sad about my love life, will you commiserate with me?"

  "Nope, I'll kick your butt. Commiseration implies that I'm feeling sad about mine. I don't need that right now. If you want it, fine, but leave me out of it."

  "We don't get to talk about your love life?" Jeff asked.

  "No you don't. Now go back to work. This cake isn't making itself."

  Vignette #2

  Celebrate Good Times

  "When are you going to invite Rebecca for a sleepover?" Stephanie asked her sister.

  Even though Kayla tried to hide it, her quick glance around the living room broke Stephanie's heart.

  "I don't know," Kayla said. "We play over there all the time and she has a big bed for us to sleep in."

  Stephanie sat forward on the old sofa. She'd bought a slip cover for it, but the sofa still sagged and drooped. "I'm sorry we have to live in an old trailer," she said.

  "It's okay. When I'm older, I'll get a job and maybe between the two of us we can afford to live in a nice house."

  "Things are getting better, you know," Stephanie said. "Last week I put some money into a savings account for the first time."

  Kayla nodded. "That's good, right?"

  "That's great. I'm going to save enough so that maybe we can move into an apartment in a few months."

  "This is really okay." Kayla stood up and reached over to take Stephanie's dinner plate. "At least we have a roof over our heads, right?"

  That was one of their father's favorite things to say - usually when he was yelling at their mother, telling her how lucky she was to have a roof over her head. But they didn't have to worry about him any longer. His murder trial wasn't supposed to happen until later this year, but when Stephanie had described the torment her family lived through at his hand, the judge had denied any possibility of bail. He was in jail for the rest of his life as far as she was concerned.

  Stephanie picked up an embroidered pillow. It was one item she had wanted to take from their house. Her mother had cried herself to sleep many evenings with her face buried in that pillow so that horrible man wouldn't hear her. The flowers were faded and it seemed to fit the dingy look of the room, but Stephanie smiled at the memory of her mother. The woman sacrificed everything so Kayla and Stephanie could escape.

  She heard water turn on in the kitchen. It was Kayla's turn to do the dishes. Even if they didn't have nice things, Stephanie insisted that they keep the place as clean as possible. Thank goodness for garage sales. She'd been able to pick up some mismatched dishes last summer for less than a dollar and when she stumbled on an old vacuum, she'd grabbed it. They were still buying clothes for Kayla at Goodwill. One day she wanted to walk into a real store with her sister and tell her that she could get a brand new wardrobe - clothes that no one had ever worn before. They might not be able to do it ever again after that, but just once she wanted to give her little sister something special.

  Kayla never complained. Even now, when she didn't feel as if she could invite her friend over, she refused to complain.

  "Do you have a lot of homework tonight?" Stephanie asked.

  Kayla stood in the doorway, a plate in one hand and a towel in the other. "There are only a couple of weeks left in school. Everything she gives us we can do during the day."

  "So that's a no?"

  "That's a no," Kayla said, stepping back into the kitchen.

  "So what do you want to do tonight?" Stephanie rearranged the pillows on the sofa and moved the two TV trays off to the side.

  "I dunno, watch television?"

  "Why don't we go for a ride? Maybe we should go down to Boone and get ice cream or something. I don't feel like sitting here all night."

  Kayla popped her head back out. "Really? Ice Cream? I thought you were on a diet."

  "It's just a reason for us to get out of here. Do you want to?"

  "I'm almost done." Kayla came out of the kitchen. "Let's drive up town first. Sometimes the General Store is open in the evening. They have ice cream there, too."

  "Let's go." Stephanie picked her car keys up from the ledge by the front door and pushed the door open, holding it while Kayla stepped out.

  Once they were in the car, Kayla asked, "What made you decide to do this? We never go out."

  "That mostly because you always have homework. And besides, I'm proud of you."

  "Why?" Kayla buckled her seatbelt and looked up at her sister. "What did I do?"

  "You're a good kid. I'm a pretty lucky sister."

  "We haven't even gotten my report card yet," Kayla said.

  "Your progress report was really good this quarter. Don't you think you're going to get B's and A's?"

  "Probably. Math got better since I've been going to Polly's in the afternoon. She always checks our work if we want her to."

  "She told me about that. I think that's great. So tonight we'll find a treat to say congratulations. And I also think you're pretty wonderful."

  "You're pretty wonderful, too," Kayla said. "But I still don't understand."

  Stephanie stopped at a stop sign and waited for traffic to go past on the highway. She put her hand on Kayla's knee. "I know this last year hasn't been easy, but I also want you to know that I see that you don't complain. We're going to live in a better place one of these days and we'll have decent furniture and you won't be ashamed to invite your friends over."

  "I'm not ashamed." Kayla's voice dropped and she hung her head.

  "It's okay. I know you are. If I had any friends, I probably wouldn't invite them over either. It's going to get better, though. I promise."

  She turned north on Elm and a block later, west on Washington. There were plenty of people on the main street this evening. Restaurants were busy and people were going in and out of the Alehouse.

  "Look," Kayla said. "The General Store is open. Can we go in?"

  "That sounds fun. I'll find a parking place." Stephanie smiled at her sister's big eyes as they circled the block. The girl was trying to take in all of the activity happening around her. They needed to get out of the trailer more of
ten. She parked across the street from the library. The building was dark this evening, closed on Monday nights now.

  "I'm glad it closed," she said quietly.

  "No, it's open," Kayla said. "I saw people in there and all the lights are on."

  "No, I meant the library. If they hadn't closed it on Monday nights we'd never have found Polly."

  "Oh, I see. Well I found Rebecca."

  "You sure did." Stephanie reached down and took her sister's hand. "Wanna skip?"

  "Skip?"

  "You've never skipped? You do it like this." Stephanie started out, pulling her sister along. There was no traffic and she stopped in the middle of the street. "Try it."

  "That's silly."

  "Tonight I feel like being silly. Come on. Try it."

  Kayla stumbled the first time and then she tried again and skipped. She giggled. "That's fun!"

  "Come on. Let's skip to the General Store."

  "We'll look funny."

  "Yes we will, but who cares?" Stephanie said.

  "Can I have two scoops of ice cream?"

  "You can have whatever you want." Stephanie felt tears in her eyes. In that single moment, it finally hit her that life was just beginning for her and for Kayla. They were safe and they had each other.

  They skipped across the street and she hopped up onto the sidewalk, then waited while Kayla hopped up too. When Stephanie pushed the door open to the General Store, they were greeted by a buzz of activity. Two seats were open at the ice cream bar and she pulled her sister along with her.

  "What can I get for you girls tonight?" an older man asked.

  Kayla pointed at the sign for the flavor of the day. She looked at her sister. "Can I have a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of chocolate chip?"

  "We'll have two of those ... in waffle cones," Stephanie announced. "We're celebrating."

  "What'cha celebrating?" he asked.

  "Bellingwood," she said. "We're glad we're here."

  "Then I'm glad you're here too."