All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood) (47 page)

"You know," she said, "I'm not sure why
we're sitting down in here. I want to show you what I've been dreaming about
for the last six months. Come on, let's talk a walk around."

Jeff smiled and nodded, then followed her back out
into the main hallway.

"I was thinking before you walked in," she
said, "that we need some benches or something out here. It's pretty
barren." Polly pointed at a painting series on the wall in front of her. "That's
by my friend Beryl Watson. Isn't her stuff great?"

He nodded and didn't say anything, continuing to
smile.

Across the hall, they entered a room clearly still
under construction. "This is where Henry
Sturtz
,
my contractor and wood guru has been working. When he's finished with
everything else, he'll do this space. It will be split into four rooms, so we
can have classes and small gatherings, maybe some computer space and a lounge
area."

They walked around the corner and headed for the
kitchen. "This was my big dream. I have appliances in here no woman should
have unless she is serving hundreds of people every day." Polly giggled,
"That might be an exaggeration, but I had a great time putting it all
together. The open counter is from the days when school lunches were served.
It’s awfully convenient."

She pulled out her key and opened the door to the
auditorium. "This will be for large gatherings and events. Nearly anything
can happen in here." She pointed to the walls. "Within the next week
these will be fully baffled for sound and then we will also bring down the
ceiling a bit because of all the ductwork that needs to go in. It will be finished
before Christmas.

"Behind the stage are the bathrooms and storage. You
can get to it from the far hallway and from the kitchen."

"So, if you are in one of the classrooms, you
have to cut through the auditorium to get to the bathroom?" he asked.

"I suppose so," she responded. "There
weren't too many options."

"Alright," he said. "What's upstairs?"

"Let's go up! It's one of my favorite places."

They walked up the steps to the landing and looked out
over the main floor, then took the left stairway on up to the top level. On
their right was Polly's apartment with its extruding entryway. Polly pointed at
it and said, "That's my apartment. I'll show you that in a minute, but
over on this side are the three rooms I would like to keep filled. I am hoping to
make them longer term rentals, say, for an author who needs a month away from
their life, or an artist who needs something new to look at. We're still
working on the interiors, but they are pretty much finished."

She opened the door to the smallest of the three at
the front of the building. It was one immense room. Light streaming in from the
tall windows illuminated the patterns in the flooring and the knots and burls
of the wood in the bookcases and trim around the room. A small sink was tucked
into a corner behind a closet
buildout
and there
was a large king-sized bed in the room, but otherwise it was empty.

"The other two rooms are similar to this
one," Polly said as they left and moved to the center room. They glanced
inside, and then went to the last room.

"No bathrooms?" he asked.

"Well, there wasn't a good way to incorporate
those into the room plans, so we converted the old boys and girls bathrooms up
here," and she pointed to the end of the hall, "into two spa
bathrooms, figuring we were going to have no more than three guests at a time,
so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Alright, last stop on the tour is my private
apartment," Polly unlocked the door to her entryway and led him inside. She
had just finished outfitting the kitchen and had moved the eight-foot table and
chairs up to the dining area. It was still a bit sparse. One day she would move
the items in from her father’s home
which
were in a
storage unit in Story City, but she had done well with the space and was
pleased to finally be settled.

"This is quite nice," Jeff said. "You
have a good eye."

"I read a lot," she responded. "Read
and look at a lot of pictures. It might take a while, but I finally decide what
it is I like and then I figure out how to make it happen."

They walked back to the main hall and she pulled the
door shut.

"That's the inside, for the most part. We have a
lot of outside work yet to do, but I won't start that until spring."

Polly stopped before they headed back down the steps. "Tell
me why you are interested in leaving Columbus, Ohio for a little town in the
middle of Iowa?" she asked.

He began walking down,
then
stopped on a step, "I wanted to do something different with my life. I
could get into a hotel chain and make my way up, or manage restaurants or even
get into corporate work, but this looked intriguing to me. Your offer is a good
one, enough so that it shouldn't be ignored." He started back down again,
then, turned around.

"How cosmopolitan is this little town?"

Polly laughed out loud.
"Bellingwood?
It wants to be bigger than it is, but there are still
too many of the older generation who like things the way they are. We're close
enough to Ames and Des Moines to have a pastiche of cosmopolitan life, but it
doesn't happen ... not really. I suspect if we make a name for ourselves, we'll
draw from around Iowa and maybe into the states surrounding us, but as much as
I'd like to think we would bring people in from the coasts, I'd be fooling
myself.

"The people are ... genuine," she said. They
continued down the steps. "Some of them are extraordinary and most have
education beyond high school. They are genuinely interested in you and many
will accept you as you are. I've been surprised at how easy their acceptance of
me has been. Things were a little weird when I moved in, but they’ve opened up
and let me be who I am."

"Here," she said as the hit the main floor,
"do you want some coffee?"

"Coffee would be fine," he replied.

"Go on back in and I'll get it." She poured
out two cups of coffee and went back to the conference room.

"What would you want me to do,
specifically?" he asked.

"Everything and anything."
Polly replied. "I'll take care of management and
financial decisions and I want to know everything you are doing and planning,
and I would want to be notified of any major decisions, but what I'm looking
for is someone to handle this entire place, from making sure we have the guest
rooms full to keeping guests happy and content; from scheduling and organizing
parties in the auditorium, to any classes we have going on, from helping me
with decorating, to landscaping. I'd want you to be practically a partner with
me in this endeavor."

"What about hiring decisions, cleaning and lawn
work and all of the
nitty
gritty details," he continued.

The two of them continued to discuss the job and what
Polly envisioned for Sycamore House and before he left, she realized he was
probably the right person for the job, but knew she needed to be able to think
about it a little more.

"When are you planning to head back to
Columbus?" she asked and stood up. The two of them walked out into the
hallway again.

"I have a flight scheduled for tomorrow
afternoon. I thought I'd spend the evening and tomorrow morning looking around
the area since I've never been to Iowa."

"Where are you staying?"

"I'm at a hotel in Ames and I haven't checked in
yet, so that's my next stop! Thank goodness for GPS in the cars these days,
right?" He laughed a little uncertainly. "Oh hell," then he
laughed again. "Well, that language was probably inappropriate for the
first time I meet you. Anyway, Iowa can't be that big and scary. Can it?"

"That’s funny. I returned six months ago from
living in Boston for fourteen years. Iowa really isn't that scary. Enjoy your
evening and I'll be in touch. Is there anything else you'd like to ask me?"

He looked her in the eyes and said, "Is there any
reason you wouldn't offer me the job right now?"

Polly was taken aback. She swallowed, blinked and
looked back at him. "Honestly, no. It just scares me to make that kind of
decision in a hurry."

"Then, offer me the job. I'll accept it and you
can take me out to dinner somewhere in Ames to celebrate. I'll fly back to
Columbus, pack a few bags and come back by the end of the week and help you get
ready for a terrific Christmas season. We can have a huge party here. I'll do
all the work. You can introduce Sycamore House ... and me ... to the area and
then I'll find a place and move out here after the first of the year. Tell me
why that couldn't work?"

"Wow." Polly said. "Let me do it this
way. You go away. I need to think
… "

He interrupted and said, "What do you need to
think about? I'd love this job and you will love me. I can promise you'll love
the way I do the job, at least."

"I need to think. I don't rush into decisions
like this."

"If you had found anyone else, this job would
already be filled and you wouldn't have paid for me to fly out here. You need
me, Miss, I mean, Polly Giller."

Polly looked around,
then
said the first thing that came into her head. "We need benches in this
hallway. I need to sit down and put my head in my hands for a few minutes."

"No you don't. You're fine. And this is going to
be great." He threw his arms open wide. "This is already great and I
am going to make it grand! Sign me up, Polly. Let me do this job."

Polly laughed a little hysterically.
"Alright.
You're
on. I had plans for tonight, but I can cancel them. I need to do a quick run
with Obiwan here, then go upstairs and change. The contract is in that folder
on the conference table and we'll sign it over dinner. If you want, you can
make the computer in the far office yours. Feel free to wander around and dig
into anything you'd like to see." By this point, she was practically
hyperventilating, so she slowed down and took a breath.

Jeff smiled at her and nodded again, turned around and
walked into the office. She took the leash hanging on the newel post and
attached it to Obiwan's collar and opened the front door, walking outside into
the mild December weather. "Alright, bud, mama needs a walk. Let's go."

She hadn't gotten around the side of the building when
her phone rang. It was Lydia. "How did the interview go? I figure you
wouldn't answer if you were still in the middle of it."

"Oh, Lydia!"
Polly laughed. "He hired himself!"

"He what?"
Polly heard Lydia laughing on the other end.

"Yep.
Apparently, I'm taking him to dinner in Ames to
celebrate. He's flying home tomorrow, then back by the end of the week to help
me get holiday festivities ready." Polly sighed. "Lydia, I didn't
even know I was having holiday festivities. I haven't given any thought to
Christmas decorations!"

"It sounds like you just hired a character in
this one, Polly!" Lydia said.

"Yes I have and I think he's going to be as much
of a surprise to Bellingwood as I was, but there's no reason it can't all work
out, right?" Polly heard her voice escalate as panic began to set in.

"Right, dear. You’re a smart girl and you’ve
probably made a really good decision. Calm down and enjoy it,” Lydia said to
assure her friend. “I was only checking on you and I knew you wouldn't call me
to tell me about it. So, when do we get to meet him?"

"Oh, I can't wait for that. Let's plan something
this weekend when he's in town. Wait!" Polly said, "Where is he going
to stay?"

"Why don't you ask him that," Lydia
responded. "I'll bet he's got some ideas."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later. I'm going to walk
this dog and think through my decision before I sign anything!" Polly hung
up and picked up the pace. "Come on, dog. I need to put a little distance
between me and Sycamore House right now. I need to think.
Rushing
me into a decision.
Bah. This
one's going to be trouble, I can tell right now!"

They followed the tree line by the creek while Polly
processed on what had happened. He was right. She needed him if she wanted to
make Sycamore House bigger than a little mom and pop place on the side of the
road. He was coming in pretty inexpensively and if he could pull off what he
thought he could, his salary would be well worth it. She needed to man up and
make this work. She'd sign the contract, get him in position and let him have
at it.

It still freaked her out to have had to make a
decision like this so quickly. Polly kicked a small rock in front of her and as
it skittered out of the way, Obiwan lurched after it. She followed and thought
about her Dad. He'd been fearless when it came to making business decisions. He
never seemed to second-guess himself or worry about things, but she wished he
were here to encourage her and tell her she was doing the right thing now.