All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood) (57 page)

"Oh Polly, it was awful. It was like he couldn't
see any reason at all. All he could see was that he had been betrayed by his
son. It was almost as if he had wanted to leave when he was Bruce's age and
because the kid actually did it, the dad can't forgive him.

Lydia took a breath. "Wow, I never get that
angry. I'm usually the mediator in these situations. That man worked me up. I
couldn't find anything in him anywhere that would give his son a break. I kept
trying and trying to find a soft place and it just wasn't there." Lydia
rolled her shoulders and neck, and then slumped back in the seat. "I have
probably made it worse and that wasn't my intention. And then, I was mean to
his poor wife. How does she live with a jackass like that?

"And you know what he said before I walked away
from him? He told me I was a nosy old woman who probably had better things to
do than try to fix his life.
Old?
I am NOT old. I
might be nosy, but he was rude!"

Polly glanced at her friend, "Are you done?"

Lydia shook her head. "Oh, I'm done, alright. I
should never have started this morning."

"Well, Mrs. McKenzie knows about Hannah and the
kids. She talks to Bruce and emails back and forth with him. She knows her
husband can be a jerk and it seems like she loves him anyway. Crazy, I know,"
Polly laughed.

"I told her everything. She's going to talk to
their other son, Kevin, today. I think. Don't give up on this yet. I vote we
wait and see and pray for one of your Christmas miracles."

"Yeah, throw my words back at me,” Lydia snapped.
“I'm not feeling much like a Christmas miracle today. I feel more like Scrooge
and the Grinch all wrapped up in one shiny package. Now, where's my ice cream."

Polly laughed. "I love you, Lydia Merritt. You're
the most normal person I've met in my life."

They pulled into the drive-thru at Dairy Queen and
discovered that both of them loved nothing more than a simple twist cone. Chocolate
and vanilla ice cream could work wonders when savage beasts needed soothing.

Ready or not, the time was finally here. All the
insanity of the last few days and it was time for Polly to begin welcoming
people from Bellingwood to Sycamore House for the first time. She and Obiwan
had taken one final walk before the evening began and now she was standing in
front of him in her bra and slip attempting to pull her hair back into yet
another artful arrangement that would hold throughout the evening.

"I need more bobby pins," she said and
pulled drawers open to find where she had stowed her stash. "There are no
more bobby pins. Where are they, Obiwan?"

He laid his head on his paws and reached out to lick
her toes.
"Oh, alright.
I'll calm down.” She opened another drawer. “See? There
they are.
Right where I put them."
He thumped his tail on the floor.

Polly walked back into the bedroom and picked up her
new dress. Now, this was a beautiful dress. She'd found the dress in Des Moines
several weeks ago and knew she couldn't leave the store without it. It was
midnight blue and floor length with a sheer, floral patterned lace covering the
solid skirt and bodice. Tiny, little sequins sparkled throughout the lace,
flickering in the light. Though it was strapless, she had a short matching
velvet jacket with pearl buttons. Floral lace also covered the collar of the
jacket. She felt elegant when she had purchased it, and knew it was a must have
for her first Christmas at Sycamore House. Slipping it on, Polly stepped into
her pumps and said, "What do you think, Obiwan?"

He thumped his tail again. "Thank you. It means a
lot to me," Polly said. "I will be back later. If it gets too late,
I'll see if one of the boys will come up and take you outside again,
alright?" His happy tail seemed to signify his approval of the plan and
Polly headed out her front door.

She knew she was downstairs early, but wanted one last
look at the auditorium before it filled with people. Jeff and Lydia, even Henry
and Aaron had all assured her the town was buzzing about the party and they
would have a full house. Polly opened the main doors to the auditorium and took
a breath. The scent of pine was redolent throughout the entire building, but it
was beautiful among the cinnamon and vanilla scented candles which had been lit
in the room. It looked like a winter wonderland with the trees lit up. Now, if
only there was a bit of snow falling outside the windows, it would be perfect.

Smells from the kitchen filled the foyer and the
auditorium and she smiled at Hannah and Sylvie, who were setting food out on
the long counter. Tables along the walls of the foyer were filled with cups and
plates, and different types of drinks. Several high school girls were bustling
about, making sure everything was perfect.

Jeff came out of the office, looking resplendent in
his tuxedo. He had found a cummerbund to match the blue in her dress and was
grinning.

"What do you think, boss?" he asked.

"Oh Jeff.
This is amazing. I know what you showed me, but every
step has brought it that much closer to perfection. It's like a dream in here.”

"
Well,”
and he let out
a breath. “We're ready for action any time. As soon as I give the nod, the
music will start and we're off. Are you ready?"

"I am,” she said “It feels as if I've been ready
for this for a long time. It’s just the first in a long line of great things to
happen here. Thank you for making this real for me."

He smiled.
"My pleasure."
Then, he looked at his watch. "Okay, 7:20. Shall we begin?"

Polly nodded at him and made her way to the front
door. She saw car lights pull in the driveway and waited while they parked. Opening
the front door, she wasn't surprised to see Aaron opening the door behind
the driver’s seat for Andy, then come around and open
the other side up for Beryl and Lydia.

"How did I know you would be the first ones here
tonight?" Polly called out across the parking lot.

"We wanted to make sure you had everything you
needed!" Lydia said. "And besides, Aaron has some news."

"Good news?" Polly asked.

"Why don't we wait and see," Lydia said.
"Just wait and see, right, Polly?"

They came in the door and there were quick hugs all
around. Four young people stood ready to take coats and exchange them for tags
that Aaron stuffed down in his suit coat pocket.

"Where are Bruce and Hannah?" Aaron asked.

"Hannah's in the kitchen and I think Bruce is
upstairs with the kiddos. He was going to stay with them until they fell asleep
,
then Sylvie's
boys would head up and keep an eye on them," Polly responded.

"Lydia?" he said.

"Yes, I know. I'll make my way to the kitchen and
work my fingers to the bone while you talk to Hannah," she sighed. "I
tell you, a girl can't even go out to a party with her husband anymore."

Lydia and Andy went back to the kitchen and Beryl took
Polly aside. "Could I borrow two of your young people for a minute? I have
something out in Aaron's truck I want to bring in for you."

Jeff stepped up, "Sure, is it heavy?"

"Not heavy, just awkward, I suppose," Beryl
replied.

"Dave? Joe? Could you give Ms. Watson a
hand?" he called across the foyer. Two of the boys came over and went
outside with her.

Hannah walked up to Aaron and said, "Is something
wrong? Lydia told me you needed to talk to me."

"Let's go upstairs, so I can talk to both you and
your husband at the same time."

Her face fell and she looked at Polly, pleading for
help.

"Can I come with you, Aaron?" Polly asked.

"No, it's alright. Come on up with me, Hannah. Polly
should stay here and greet her guests."

Polly watched helplessly as the two of them mounted
the steps. Hannah was dragging her feet, and kept turning around to look at
Polly. But, as they hit the landing, more people arrived and Polly put her
happy Christmas face back on to greet her guests. Lydia joined her at the door
and made a few introductions for her, then guided people into the auditorium. She
came back and put her arm around Polly's waist, "It is good news, Polly.
Don't worry."

Polly let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, he scared me
so badly.
Alright.
I can wait to hear it from them, then."

Beryl came up the steps followed by the two young men
who were carrying a six foot by ten foot wrapped gift.

"Oh, Beryl!
What is this?" Polly asked.

"It's my gift to you," Beryl said.

"But, but. You shouldn't have gotten me anything."

"I didn't GET you anything. I painted you
something. Here boys, set it down over against this wall. Now, Polly
rip
the paper away and you'll see what I'm talking about."

Polly began pulling paper away and she must have been
going too slowly, because Beryl started ripping from the other end. When she
uncovered the painting, Polly's eyes filled with tears. "Oh Beryl,"
was all she could say and she crossed over to hug the woman.

Beryl had painted a beautiful sycamore tree, spreading
its branches across the canvas. The branches changed color across the piece,
from the new green of spring, to the full growth of summer, the leaves of fall
to the empty branches of winter. In the background of the painting, behind the
tree was a very light image of Sycamore House.

"No matter the season, Polly, Sycamore House
represents more than an old school building. It is filled with life, now.
Life that you brought to it, life
that you bring to Bellingwood.
”

"Thank you, Beryl. This fills my heart. I have no
words." Polly turned to Jeff, "Can you get this onto the stage, maybe
prop it up on some of those crates under the draping?"

"I'm on it," he said and beckoned to the two
boys to help him carry it in.

"Thank you, Beryl. I can't believe I own one of
your originals. It means the world to me."

"Good. Now I am going to find some food and drink
and start this party." She looked sideways at Polly. "I bet there's
no alcohol tonight, is there."

"Well, I didn't want Sycamore House’s first event
to be a drunken brawl."

Beryl laughed. "I'm only messing with you,"
and took off.

Polly continued to greet people at the door until
eight o’clock, when Jeff came to get her. Many of the people she had worked
with were there and she recognized friends from the party at Lydia's house. Lydia's
daughter and family came in from Dayton and Andy rushed over to introduce Polly
to her sons. The hall was filling up and Polly was having a great time. Henry
had snuck in past a group she was speaking with and winked as he went into the
auditorium.

Jeff said, "We'll leave the kids out here to
greet and take coats, but you need to get the evening started."

"Alright," she said. "Let's do this."

He escorted her to the podium. The music stopped and
within a few moments everyone ceased talking.

"Welcome to Sycamore House," Polly said into
the microphone. "We're glad you could join us to celebrate Christmas and
the beginning of new life for this building. My name is Polly Giller and I hope
that over the next year, we will find a lot of time to have fun together, both
here at Sycamore House and in town. I'm glad to be back in Iowa and can't wait
to get to know all of you better."

As she took a breath, scattered applause began around
the room until everyone was clapping. Jeff held his hand up and Polly went on.

"This evening, we're going to decorate these
trees around the room. Find a table, get comfortable and you will see that
there are cranberries and popcorn to be strung, paper to make snowflakes or
other decorations ... anything you'd like to do. But, each tree is a team
effort. We will give the trees away before the end of the evening. There are
signup cards on your tables if you'd like to enter your name to win a tree. It
will then be delivered to your house and set up by some of your very best
workers. They've promised to get them to you over the next couple of days.