The Mill River Redemption

by Darcie Chan

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Lawson.”

  “Oh, please call me Phil. ‘Mister’ is too fancy for this office.” He grinned as he sat down and invited her to do the same. “I understand you’re here with some questions about a certain property?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “I’m the listing agent for a residential property along Gleason Road. To get right to the point, I’m wondering if the city might be interested in purchasing the property, rezoning it, and using it to expand the landfill?”

  “Hmm.” Phil opened a storage closet and removed a large, rolled-up piece of paper. “I’ve got a map of the city here,” he said as he unrolled it on top of his desk. “Can you show me exactly where the property is?”

  Josie looked at the map and pointed to the location of the sorry little house.

  “It’s pretty small,” he said, shaking his head. “Probably too small to use for any significant expansion. It might work for a transfer station, though.”

  “Transfer station?”

  “Yep. The landfill opened officially back in 1970,” Phil said. “It’s almost full now, and folks are starting to think about what we’re going to do with all the garbage once the landfill is closed in a few years.”

  “What will you do?” Josie asked.

  Phil shrugged. “Trash’ll have to be shipped out to other places. And, we’ll need a transfer facility where waste and recyclables can be sorted and loaded onto trucks and sent out. The city’s already planning to construct one at the landfill once it’s closed, but state regulations prevent anything from being built on top of the actual garbage, even after it’s covered and sealed. It’ll shift and settle over the years, so it’ll be too unstable to support buildings or roads. Our problem is that most of the property is already filled up with garbage, so there’s not enough land left to build on. This parcel might solve our problem. What’s the asking price?”

  “Thirty thousand,” Josie replied. “There is a residence on the property, but it’s in poor shape. The asking price pretty much reflects only the fair market value of the lot.”

  “Hmm.” Phil paused for a moment. “That seems a bit high, especially if the property’s not good for much,” Phil said. “I think twenty thousand would be reasonable, and I expect the board would approve that amount without a problem.”

  “Board?” Josie asked.

  “The Board of Aldermen,” Phil explained. “The board runs the city and has to authorize all expenditures and transactions.”

  “Ah. I thought that as mayor, you’d have the authority to make a decision like this.”

  “I wish I did,” Phil said with a chuckle. “It’d sure make my life easier.”

  Josie thought about the twenty-thousand-dollar offer. It was an offer, yes, but it was definitely on the low side. She owed it to her client to try for more.

  “I don’t know that my client would go that low,” she told Phil. “Seeing as how the property would be very useful to the city, what would you say to splitting the difference at twenty-five thousand?”

  Phil squinted at her and scrunched up his mouth. “All right, here’s what I’ll do,” he said. “I’ll ask the board to authorize an offer for the property in the amount of twenty-five thousand. I can’t guarantee they’ll agree to that amount, but I’ll ask for it. If the board approves the purchase and appropriates the funding, and your client agrees to the offer, we’ll have the city attorney draw up a formal contract to purchase. There’s a board meeting this coming Monday, so I’ll ask the clerk to get it on the agenda.”

  “You mean, a decision could be made within a week?” Josie asked.

  “Yep,” Phil said. “We can do things pretty quickly and informally around here.”

  “That’s amazing,” Josie said. “I grew up in New York, in the Bronx, and let me tell you, I’ve waited longer in the line at the post office than it took to meet with you today.”

  Phil laughed and smiled good-naturedly. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ll be sure and give you a call after the board meets—you said you’re with Circle Realty?”

  “Yes, and I’m in the office most mornings,” Josie said as she extended a stiff, new business card to Phil. “Feel free to call me before then if there’s anything else I can do to help the process along. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Phil. Maybe we’ll have other chances to work together in the future.”

  “This is a small community,” Phil said. “I’m sure our paths will cross again.”

  Josie was quivering with excitement as she drove back to the office. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that she would leave city hall with such potential for an offer on her listing. Don’t get your hopes up, she kept telling herself. And by no means would she say anything to Ned unless and until the board extended a firm offer.

  When she arrived home for the day, she parked in her driveway and hurried next door to The Bookstop. The front door was locked and Ivy’s AT LUNCH sign was in the window, so she went back around and through the side door.

  “Hello?” she called. She could hear Ivy’s low voice and Emily’s squeaky one coming from the kitchen.

  “We’re in here,” Ivy replied. Josie entered the kitchen to find her aunt and her daughter having lunch.

  “Hi, Mommy,” Emily said from her seat at the table. “I really like chicken salad.” She had half a sandwich in one of her little hands, and she was swinging her feet merrily as she chewed.

  Just the sight of her younger daughter made her feel better. She was still nervous anytime the girls weren’t with her, even though she trusted Ivy completely to care for them.

  “You do? Well, that sounds like a yummy lunch. If Aunt Ivy made it, I’m sure it’s good.”

  “Actually, I didn’t make it,” Ivy said. “I got it from Ruth’s. I don’t bother trying to make anything she sells there, ’cause there’s no way my version will be as good as hers.” With an exaggerated pout, Ivy picked up her own sandwich. “Josie, there’s plenty. Come make yourself something to eat.”

  “That’s okay,” Josie said. “I’m not really hungry.”

  Ivy turned around to look at her. “You ate already?”

  “No, I’ve just not got much of an appetite right now.”

  “Are you sick?”

  At Ivy’s question, Emily perked up in her chair. “Mommy, are you going to throw up?”

  “No, Mommy’s not sick,” Josie answered, and then she looked at Ivy. “I’m going to get a cup of tea, and I’ll eat something in a little while.”

  Ivy eyed her suspiciously. “Something’s going on,” she said. “It was that Ned again, wasn’t it? Got your dander up, did he? What’d he do this time?”

  Josie smiled. “No, it’s not Ned.” She took a glass from the cupboard. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ivy waiting for an explanation, but she didn’t offer anything more. The quiet in the room expanded until it was punctured by Ivy’s exasperated sigh.

  “Fess up, girlie,” she said with her mouth full. “I’ve only got a few more minutes until I’ve got to be back out front.”

  Josie filled her glass at the faucet and turned around to face her aunt. “I may have a buyer for the house.”

  Ivy’s mouth fell open for a second before she spoke. “Really? Who? Wait, I’ve got to unlock the front door and flip the sign. Come out there with me and tell me all about it. Emily, honey, let me grab your plate and cup and you come, too.” Ivy was a blur as she picked up Emily’s lunch and rushed them out into the front room.

  Josie settled Emily onto one of the beanbags as Ivy reopened the little bookstore. “Now start talking before we get a customer in here,” her aunt said once she had seated herself at her desk. Josie proceeded to tell Ivy of the city’s interest in the listing and the upcoming meeting of the Board of Aldermen.

  “Mommy, did you sell a house?” Emily asked.

  “Not yet, but she will,” Ivy said. “And then, you’ll get to blindside that idiot Ned with the good news.” Ivy grinned. “What I wouldn’t g
ive to be there and see his face when you tell him.”

  “Aunt Ivy, what does ‘blindside’ mean?”

  “It means to surprise somebody with something really big.”

  “I’m afraid to let myself think about it or get my hopes up,” Josie admitted. “And I’m not sure how I’m going to get through the next week. I’m already a nervous wreck.”

  “Try not to dwell on it,” Ivy said. “The time’ll pass faster than you think.”

  “And if the board says yes, it won’t just be a matter of telling Ned. He’s my broker, so he’ll have to sign off on it before things can be finalized.”

  “Oh, he’ll approve it,” Ivy said. “He might be as dense as a cabbage, but even he wouldn’t refuse an offer on that place, if you get it.”

  Despite her anxious mood, Josie felt her mouth twitch up into a smile. Her aunt was usually right about things, and she had a week to wait until she would know whether Ivy’s latest prediction would come true.

  CHAPTER 13

  LATE ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, ALEX WAS UP IN HIS ROOM wishing there was Wi-Fi when he saw his aunt Emily outside. He crept closer to the window. Emily had her dog on a leash beside her, and they were heading toward his house. He jumped up and quietly made his way downstairs. His mother was still snoring on the sofa, and he tiptoed past her to open the front door just as Emily was coming up onto the stoop.

  “Um, hi, Aunt Emily,” he whispered, sticking his face out the partially opened door. Before his grandmother’s wake, he had never met his aunt in person. It was a little strange, talking to someone he knew mostly from the many pictures of her that had been displayed in his grandmother’s house.

  “Hey, Alex,” Emily said with a smile. “Wow, it’s great to finally talk to you.”

  She grinned, and he smiled in return. He could still hear his mother’s snoring, so he came out of the house and closed the door quietly behind him.

  “You have a dog?” he asked. “Can I pet him?”

  “Sure,” she replied, “just let him smell your hand first. I guess you didn’t see him that day we moved in. His name’s Gus, and he loves kids. Actually, he likes pretty much everyone.”

  Alex extended his hand to Gus’s nose. The dog sniffed it and wagged his tail. Alex gently stroked Gus’s head and, as he grew more comfortable, began rubbing his floppy, velvety ears. “I wish we could get a dog. Lots of my friends in the city have them, but Mom hates them. She says they’re dirty and smell bad.”

  Emily sighed. “Well, dogs don’t smell if they get regular baths and live inside most of the time. But I can’t imagine your mom having one. She never did like pets much, and they do take some work.”

  “Did you come over to see her? Because she’s not feeling good today. She’s been sleeping on the couch all afternoon.”

  “Oh,” Emily said. “Well, we were supposed to … I don’t know how much she told you about what’s going on, but we were supposed to make lists of what’s in our houses and compare them today.”

  “Alex?” a voice screeched from inside the house. “Alex, where are you? Is someone here?” Alex cringed as the door swung open and Rose, wearing huge, dark sunglasses, appeared behind it. Her blonde hair was disheveled, and the red lipstick she wore was smudged all over her mouth.

  “Sorry, Mom,” Alex said, jerking his hand away from Gus. “I came out here to tell Aunt Emily you were sick. I didn’t want to wake you up.”

  “I’m up,” Rose said. “Alex, did you touch that dog? You know dogs are filthy. Come in here and wash your hands right now.” She held open the screen door. As soon as he’d darted inside, his mother stepped out onto the stoop and closed the front door.

  He knew he should do as his mother had instructed, but instead of heading for the nearest sink, he stood against the wall beside the door, where he could overhear the conversation.

  “Why are you here?” his mother asked.

  “It’s been a week. We were supposed to meet up today, after we looked through the kitchen stuff again and you listed out the titles of all the books in your house. I got tired of waiting for you to come over.”

  “That was today? Well, we’re not done, not with the books, at least. I don’t even know how much Alex has gotten done.”

  “What do you mean, ‘how much Alex has gotten done’?”

  “He’s doing the book inventory. He’s even making a spreadsheet of all the titles,” Rose continued. “He offered, and I thought it would be a good project for him. He spends so much time reading as it is, and Lord knows there’s nothing else for him to do around here.”

  “This is important, Rose,” his aunt said. “Alex is what, nine? You put a nine-year-old in charge of this project?”

  “My son is brilliant. He’s in accelerated classes, and he has an incredible gift of being able to remember everything he reads in perfect detail. He is quite capable of making a simple list of the books in this house.”

  Alex smiled to himself, pleased at his mother’s praise and words of confidence.

  “He’s still only nine,” Emily said. “And, this is something you should be doing. Alex has no way of knowing which book, if any, Mom might have chosen as a clue, and Mom wanted us to be the ones to figure it out.”

  “You know, right now, I don’t give a rat’s ass what Mom wanted. Alex is perfectly capable of helping me, and it won’t kill you to wait a few more days. Hell, we have until the end of August.”

  “Oh, so now you’re in no rush to finish up Mom’s business? I don’t get it. A few days ago, all you wanted was to get out of here.”

  “I still want that,” Rose said. “But it’s clear now that it won’t happen as quickly as either of us would like.”

  Alex chanced a look out the window beside the front door just in time to see his aunt reach out and pull his mother close.

  “What are you doing?” Rose yelled, quickly breaking Emily’s grasp. “Get the hell away from me.”

  “Well, that explains it,” Emily said. “You reek of booze and cheap mouthwash, just like you always did. Mom believed you when you told her you’d given up drinking, but I can’t say I’m surprised. After all this time and everything that happened—”

  “I’m not drinking excessively. I have a drink every once in a while. It’s no big deal,” Rose said.

  “That’s bullshit, Rose, and it is a big deal. You’re up here by yourself, with important stuff to do and a kid you’re responsible for. And you’re hungover, passed out, whatever, on the sofa all afternoon? Nothing has changed with you, that’s for sure.”

  “Nothing has changed, you got that right. I don’t need any lectures from you. Alex is fine. I’m fine. We’ll finish the goddamned list when we’re good and ready, and until then, you and your filthy dog just stay the hell away from here.” Alex heard the squeak of the screen door as his mother prepared to come back inside.

  He turned and quickly walked away, but not before he heard his aunt’s parting shot.

  “You’re not fine, Rose. You’re an ugly drunk and a poor excuse for a mother.”

  AS SHE APPROACHED THE BOOKSTOP, DAISY DELAINE SAW IVY SITTING with Emily in the front porch swing. The little gray dog at her side pricked up his ears and yipped.

  “Good idea, Smudgie! Before we go see Miss Rose, we’ll go visit with Miss Emily first. I haven’t apologized to her yet. Yoohoo,” Daisy called. Emily and Ivy stopped talking and looked at her.

  “Well, hi, Daisy-lady,” Ivy said as Emily wiped at her eyes. “Haven’t seen you in a few days. You doing all right?”

  “Yes,” Daisy said as she and Smudgie walked toward the porch. “I’ve been pretty busy with my garden recently. Lots of my herbs are ready for picking and drying now, so that’s what I’ve been doing. That way, I’ll have plenty to use for my potions the rest of the year. Except today was so nice, I thought I’d take Smudgie for a long walk.”

  “You’re right, today was just perfect,” Ivy said as she lifted a bare foot to wiggle her toes in the summer breeze.


  Daisy nodded and looked at Emily. “Miss Emily, I’ve been meaning to come see you to apologize again for the accident at your mom’s house. You know, with the ashes.” Daisy bowed her head and spoke more quietly. “I still feel so bad about that. I tried to apologize to Miss Rose again, too, but she wasn’t too happy to see me.”

  “What?” Emily said, sitting up straighter. “You went to see Rose?”

  “Um-hmm, last week,” Daisy said. “I even made a special batch of forgiveness potion for her. She was still pretty angry, though. Miss Emily, do you think you could help me think of a way to get Miss Rose to forgive me?

  “Daisy, you best stay away from Rose right now,” Ivy said from the porch swing. “She’s got some problems of her own to deal with, and she needs some space. Maybe later in the summer you could talk to her, but now’s not a good time.”

  “Ivy’s right,” Emily said. “Look, Daisy, what happened was an accident. There’s nothing to forgive. Plus, Rose hates dogs, so going over there with that cute little fella is a really bad idea.”

  “Oh,” Daisy said. “I guess I’ll wait, then, as long as Miss Rose will be here for a while.” She looked up for reassurance and was surprised to see Ivy scowling and Emily’s mouth pressed into a hard, thin line.

  “She will be,” Emily said. “I’m sure of it.”

  ———

  IN THE KITCHEN OF HER LITTLE HOUSE NEXT TO ST. JOHN’S, CLAUDIA was working on dinner. Kyle was coming over after he dropped Rowen off at a friend’s house, and she was looking forward to a nice, private evening together.

  She had a pan of chicken tenders sizzling on the stove. Thanks to an herb marinade and cooking spray, the recipe was low in fat but still very tasty. She’d already made a tossed salad and a fresh fruit salad, and both were chilling in the refrigerator. In another pot on the stove was a colorful mixture of green and wax beans, which she would season with sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, and a dash of garlic powder. For dessert, she’d picked up an angel food cake, some fresh strawberries, and some light Cool Whip to make a healthier version of strawberry shortcake.