Waiting for a View

by Debby Mayne

  “That’s fine.”

  Brad turned sideways and edged past them. “Excuse me, ladies, but I need to run. Have a great evening.”

  “G’night.” Naomi nudged Sherry toward the door. “C’mon, let’s get going. I don’t want to stay out all night.”

  Since Sherry arrived on foot, she rode to her house with Naomi, who chattered nonstop until she pulled into the driveway behind Sherry’s car. “Have you started packing yet?”

  “I pulled some stuff down from the attic, but I haven’t started putting things into boxes yet.” Sherry shrugged. “I haven’t even signed the lease.”

  “You can do that tomorrow. Mind if I see what you have?”

  “The house is a bit of a mess. I—” Sherry paused and nodded. “Okay.”

  “Let me take a look at what you have, and maybe I can help you devise a plan of action.”

  Naomi glanced around as they went inside. She pointed to a box on the coffee table. “What’s that?”

  “A box of pictures I found in the attic. Some of them are stuck together, but most of them are in pretty good shape.”

  “I’d love to see them.” Naomi lifted one from the box and smiled. “Do you mind if I take a look through them?”

  “Would you like to sit in the living room?”

  “Nope. Let’s go to the kitchen where the lighting is decent, and we have room to spread out on the table.”

  As soon as Sherry put the box on the kitchen table, Naomi opened it to expose a massive number of pictures. Sherry spotted the image of her parents looking up at her in the one on top, so she pulled it from the box.

  “They were a handsome couple back then, weren’t they?” Naomi glanced over her shoulder. “That was before your dad . . . before he took to the bottle.”

  Sherry never knew her dad before he “took to the bottle.” She studied the picture and couldn’t help but notice the look of contentment and joy on her mother’s face.

  “Mom sure does look happy here.”

  “Oh, trust me, she was very happy. I’ll never forget how the two of them were when they first started courting. Your father did everything he could to woo her, and she pretended not to notice for a while. But he was so charming and good to her, she couldn’t resist any longer. You would have thought he’d died and gone to heaven when she finally agreed to marry him.” Naomi sighed. “And then you came along. Your parents couldn’t have been any prouder.”

  Sherry didn’t remember her parents that way. All her life she’d been the one who had to encourage her parents and maintain some semblance of a happy family, while in fact, it was obvious that both of her parents were miserable.

  “Then the factory shut down, and your dad lost his job, creating rough times here in Bloomfield. So many of our best citizens were forced to take jobs elsewhere.” She offered a look of sympathy. “Your dad tried his best, but he had to compete with everyone else looking for factory work.”

  Sherry pulled out the next picture and looked it over. “Why did my parents stay in town?”

  “Your maternal grandparents needed help, so not only did your mother have to find a job, she had to take care of them. Fortunately your mother had some banking experience that helped her find a job. But when your dad wasn’t able to find the kind of work he knew how to do, his pride got the best of him, and he started drinking. It didn’t happen overnight, but it didn’t take long for him to become addicted either.”

  Sherry realized she must have been quite young when this happened, so she didn’t remember any of the details. She’d picked up bits and pieces from things some of the older people in town had said, but Naomi had given her the most detail she’d ever heard.

  “I don’t think your folks would expect you to hold onto this house just because it belonged to them.” Naomi gently placed her hand on Sherry’s shoulder. “My whole point in telling you all this is to let you know that none of what happened was your fault. I’m concerned that you’re holding onto something here because you think you owe your parents. You don’t. In fact, you owe it to yourself to move forward with your life.” A soft, warm smile spread across her lips. “I knew them well, and I’m sure they would want that for you.”

  Naomi’s uncharacteristic seriousness struck a chord deep inside Sherry. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t form.

  “You know I’ve been on your side all your life. Your mother and I were very good friends, until shame made her turn her back on me. But I saw what was happening to you, so I didn’t want to let you suffer alone. Although I’m sure it hurt your mother’s pride, she blessed me by allowing me to be so involved in your life.”

  A distant memory popped into Sherry’s mind. “Did you have anything to do with my birthday parties and all those presents under the Christmas tree every year?”

  Naomi maintained a sweet, motherly smile but didn’t answer Sherry’s question. “Why don’t you let go of this painful part of your past and move on?”

  Tears stung the back of Sherry’s eyes, but she didn’t allow them to surface. She nodded. “I already told you I’m signing the lease.”

  “You know that’s not all I’m talking about. Think about what you’re missing out by turning your back on Brad. He’s a good man.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Don’t think too hard or too long, or you’ll make yourself crazy, not to mention what you’re doing to Brad.” Naomi squeezed Sherry’s shoulder. “Sometimes you just have to run with your feelings.”

  “I don’t want a relationship with anyone based on pity.”

  “Oh, trust me, Brad wouldn’t go to all this trouble out of pity. In spite of everyone else’s advice to walk away, he’s been waitin’ for you for a very long time.”

  Sherry knew Naomi cared about her so much she probably believed what she’d said. “I don’t know . . .”

  Naomi placed her hand on Sherry’s. “Honey, no one knows everything, but we have to be willing to step outside our circle of comfort, which I’m happy to see is what you’re starting to do. But you need to go a little further. Are there any guarantees that things will go well? Absolutely not.” She smiled reassuringly. “Terrifying, I know. But also invigorating to know we can make mistakes and still survive.”

  Sherry took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she thought about what Naomi had just said. “What if I make a mistake that can’t be fixed?”

  “There’s no mistake that can’t be fixed.”

  “I don’t want to risk my parents’ house. My home.”

  “No, sweetie, that’s where you’re wrong. True, this was your parents’ house, but your home is wherever the Lord leads you. Take a good look around.” Naomi gestured around the worn-out kitchen. “Wouldn’t it be nice to be free from having to take care of this place?”

  Sherry blinked. Naomi had a point.

  Naomi offered a warm, motherly smile as she took Sherry’s hand in hers. “God’s grace is huge, and I mean . . . what’s that word you young folks say . . . ginormous?”

  Sherry smiled and nodded. “Yes, that’s the word.”

  A more serious look came over Naomi. “Then trust the Lord and know that He will guide you.”

  With a sigh, Sherry lowered her head. After she prayed silently for the Lord to lead her, she looked back up at Naomi who hadn’t budged. “You are so right.”

  “I can see a nice little family moving in and really turning this house into a home. You’re at a different place in life, and you don’t need to be shackled by all this . . .” Her voice trailed off, but Sherry had a pretty good idea what she was thinking.

  “I already agreed to sell it, but who would want to buy it?”

  Naomi smiled. “We don’t know that yet, do we? Let’s just see who the Lord brings to look at it. I’ll help you freshen it up to make it more attrac
tive to lookers, and I just might have another idea.”

  “I thought you might.”

  “I’d planned to wait, but I just might pop with excitement. Would you like to hear my idea?”

  “Yes, of course,” Sherry replied.

  “The Maples family is looking for a place to rent, so why don’t you offer it to them?”

  “Do you think . . . would they . . . I mean . . .”

  Naomi chuckled. “They just might. Now all you have to do is ask ’em. Let’s get to work on this.”

  Sherry turned back to the box of pictures. “I got some other stuff down from the attic, and I have no idea what to do with it.”

  “Mind if I take a look?”

  “It’s in a huge pile in the guest room.” She offered an apologetic grin. “But I’m afraid it’s such a mess it’ll take a while.”

  Naomi scooted her chair back and stood. “Then let’s plan on going through it next time you have a day off.”

  Sherry swallowed hard and nodded. “That would be nice. Nan is working all day on Thursday.”

  “Then we’ll get started on Thursday.”

  EARLY TUESDAY AFTERNOON PAMELA practically floated into the shop. “Ready to fight City Hall?”

  Sherry laughed. “I doubt there’ll be much fighting.”

  Pamela waved her red-white-and-blue nails around. “You never know. My motto is Be prepared.”

  “Okay, let me put this box in the back room, and I’ll be right with you.” She turned to Nan. “I’ll be back in time for you to go to lunch.”

  “Take all the time you need.” Nan winked. “Go get ’em, tiger.”

  WHEN THEY GOT TO the sidewalk leading up to City Hall, Sherry saw a dozen or so other garden club members and realized Pamela had enlisted an army of people to join them. “Ready, everyone?”

  After some nodding and head-bobbing, Pamela stormed City Hall with her troops behind her. They walked right into the city council meeting.

  “Hi there, Pamela.” Mayor Woody Hansen smiled as he gestured toward the chairs in front of the head table. “I see you brought all your friends.”

  “These friends . . .” She glanced over her shoulder and turned back to face the mayor. “. . . are here to support our newly proposed playground.” She pulled a stack of papers from her bag and started handing them out to the council members. “I did some research, and statistics show—”

  The mayor leaned forward, still grinning. “Pamela, you can cut the sales pitch. We like the idea.”

  A baffled look flashed across Pamela’s face, but she quickly recovered. “I went to a lot of trouble to get this information, and I’d like you to listen.”

  A round of titters erupted, but it quickly ended as Pamela scowled. Mayor Hansen lifted his hand. “Okay then, let’s hear it.”

  Without missing a beat, Pamela pointed out some bulleted points on the handouts. “A playground will attract families with small children. As you all know, children are spending way too much time in front of the television, so having a playground . . .” She glanced up as though she’d just thought of something. “. . . or playgrounds strategically placed throughout the town, will get the kids out of the house and exercising. They’ll learn to—”

  Once again the mayor lifted his hand. “I hate to stop you now, Pamela, but we have other business to conduct. We’re sold.”

  Pamela turned and faced the two women directly behind her and gave a nod. All decked out in her finest floral suit, Victoria Masters approached the council table with the plans for the playground. For good measure Caroline Short walked up armed with a basket of fresh-from-the-oven pastries from the Pink Geranium in case they needed a little extra coaxing.

  The mayor chuckled as he extracted a muffin. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

  Pamela folded her arms. “It’s never a bad idea to sweeten the deal. And since you’ve already decided we can have our playground, what do you think about adding more? That land next door is in an excellent spot to place an inner-city playground.”

  “Inner-city, huh?” The mayor’s amused expression spread to the rest of the council. “We’re not exactly the big city, but I agree that a downtown playground would be nice.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about.” Pamela smiled. “So we can get right to work on that one after we finish the one by the Village.”

  The mayor leaned back, folding his arms, a playful grin on his lips. “That’s discussion for a later date. Your playground committee has done an excellent job.”

  Naomi stepped forward. “Of course we did. We had Sherry Butler leading the way.”

  Pamela looked slightly annoyed, but only for a moment. “I appointed Sherry because I knew she was capable. That’s what leaders do, right, Mayor?”

  “Right.” He looked around at the rest of the council members who all nodded their agreement. They knew Pamela well enough to give her what she needed.

  She thanked the committee before ushering her army back outside. “Now our work begins.”

  Brad nodded. “We’ll start tomorrow if everyone agrees.” He looked at Sherry. “And if that’s all right with our chairman.”

  Sherry nodded. “Yes, of course it’s all right.”

  Pamela made a shooing motion. “Everyone, get back to whatever you were doing.”

  Sherry stifled a laugh and started toward the shop. Pamela trotted alongside her all the way, chattering about how much work she’d done to get the city council on her side. “Got any cards I can send to thank the council members?”

  “Right this way.” Sherry led Pamela to the row with general interest cards and thank-you notes. “We have a pretty decent selection.”

  “Excellent!” Pamela waved Sherry off. “I don’t want to keep you from your work. Run along so I can see what you’ve got. I don’t like people looking over my shoulder.” She turned toward the cards and started rummaging through the assortment.

  It took Pamela all of ten minutes to select enough cards to send to every member of the council. “Would you like anything else?”

  Pamela planted a fist on her hip. “I thought it might be a good idea to start work on the playground today. I mean, why wait ’til tomorrow?”

  Sherry couldn’t help but smile. Pamela’s sense of urgency had driven many garden club members to the brink of insanity, but no one could argue about her ability to get things done. Sherry agreed to call everyone on the committee.

  To her surprise, everyone was available. Naomi said she’d leave as soon as she got her laundry out of the dryer. Brad told her he was in wait mode for another work project, so he’d be right over. The Gazette supported the project, so they gave Bailey the rest of the day off to help.

  “Don’t forget to call Gina and Jeremy,” Pamela reminded her as she dropped a stack of cards on the register counter. “They’re more likely to feel at home here in Bloomfield if we make them part of this.” She pointed toward the back room. “Mind if I go back there and address these cards while I wait for everyone?”

  Sherry wished Pamela would leave the committee to her, but she couldn’t say that. “Sure, that’s fine. There’s a table in the corner.” She called Gina who said they’d love to come.

  Brad arrived first. “How about we go to dinner after you get off work?”

  “Did Naomi tell you to ask me?”

  He hesitated before nodding. “Yes, but she convinced me that we really do need to talk. How about it?”

  Before she had a chance to answer, Gina and Jeremy arrived, sans Lacy. Jeremy grinned. “This town is perfect for us. There are so many grandmas we’ll never have to worry about finding a babysitter.”

  Pamela approached, smiling. “See? I told you.”

  “You sure did.” Jeremy put his arm around Gina and pulled her close. “Now all we have
to do is find a place to rent.”

  “So you got the job?” Pamela asked.

  “Yes, thanks to Brad for introducing us and to you, Pamela, for putting in a good word. I don’t know what you said to the foreman, but he only asked me three questions before offering me the job.”

  “Bloomfield folks are smart.” The look on Pamela’s face left little doubt that she felt pleased with herself.

  Naomi ran in late, her cheeks pink, and her hair going every which way. “I hope you didn’t start without me.”

  “Of course we didn’t.” Pamela rolled her eyes.

  Brad nodded. “I have the materials lined up, so all we need is manpower.”

  Jeremy stepped forward. “I can build anything if you have a blueprint.”

  “And I’ll get Andy to lasso up some of his retired buddies,” Pamela said. “Their wives will appreciate getting them out from underfoot. If Andy isn’t on duty at the fire department, I’m sure he won’t mind helping out.”

  “How long do you think it’ll take?” Naomi asked.

  Brad rubbed the back of his neck. “After we have the land graded, it shouldn’t take more than a week or so, with all the help it looks like we’ll have. The recycling center is getting us some rubber mulch for the playground area.”

  “The mayor called me after the meeting and said the city would sod the rest.” Pamela’s smile widened as she clapped her hands. “Looks like this will be done by the end of the month.”

  They discussed some of the details about when to start and what each person needed to do. Finally Pamela dismissed everyone but Gina and Jeremy. She wanted to give them a welcome packet filled with names and phone numbers of essential services.

  Brad had to get back to work, but on his way out, he leaned over and whispered, “See you tonight.”

  Naomi hung back until everyone left. “You did a good job with the committee.”

  Sherry shrugged. “I wish I could take credit for that, but I didn’t really do much.”

  “You did more than you think.” Naomi leaned against the counter and folded her arms. “I have some ideas about your house.”