All Roads Lead Home (Bellingwood) (8 page)

Polly knew she wouldn't remember all of their names,
but that soon became a non-issue.

Lydia stood up. "Alright everyone, it's time to
begin the game," she said.

"While you're here and awake, you all have to try
to find something interesting out about Polly. When you do, write it down on
the piece of paper
with
your name on it and then we'll take a picture of you
with your sign and Polly. The most interesting and unique story about Polly
will win the prize."

"What's the prize?" came
from a few of the women around the room.

"You're going to have to wait and see. We'll
announce it when everyone has had their picture taken." Lydia responded.

As the women went to the table and began shuffling
through the pile of papers there, Polly turned to Lydia. "Do you do this
for everyone who moves in?"

"Well, maybe
or maybe not
. Though there have been some
who don't get into the spirit of things." She patted Polly's arm. "You've
been a good sport about everything. Now get yourself a chocolate martini from
the bar and settle in. People are going to start asking you questions!"

"Wait," Polly said, "Is this going to
go on all night? Are all of these ladies spending the night here?"

"Well, a couple of them might have to leave so
they can get some sleep before church tomorrow, but they have Sunday
School
classes to teach. Did you meet Angela Boehm? She's
the Methodist pastor's wife and she's staying all night. She told him she might
make it to the 10:30 service or she might not. He chose to be fine with
it
." Lydia
laughed a
s she gave Polly a nudge toward
the bar.

"Coming right up!" said Andy, as she swirled
some chocolate sauce in the glass and poured a martini from a shaker. A squirt
of whipped cream, and a little more chocolate sauce topped it off before she
handed it to Polly.

Polly took a sip, "Whoa! What's in here?"
she asked.

"Oh, vodka and chocolate liqueur," Andy
replied. "Enjoy! And come back for another when you're done."

Polly found herself pulled to the couch and women
began asking questions about her family, her school, her last job and anything
else they could come up with.

She did her best to anchor names with people. Two
women sat down beside her. They'd already introduced themselves once, but she
looked at them quite pitifully and the older woman laughed. "You don't
remember any of our names, do you?" she said.

Polly looked down at the sheet of paper in the woman’s
lap. "Oh, sure I do. You're,
ummm
..
." she glanced down again.

The woman laughed and said, "Oh, now you're
cheating! Yes, I'm Linda Morse and this is my sister, Sarah Conyers. We're both
so glad you've bought the old school. It will be wonderful to have that old
place renovated. It's been such a depressing sight out there all by i
tself with boarded up windows. T
he city only got around to mowing the yard when it was
shaggy, so you never knew if it was going to look nice or not."

"You two are sisters?" Polly asked, ready to
let anyone talk if
it
meant she didn't have to for a while.

"We sure are," said the younger one, Sarah. "We've
lived here
forever
,
raised
our
kids
and had good lives
.
I think you're going to love it, even if we don't have wild old lady slumber
parties every week."

"How many kids do you have, Sarah?" asked
Polly.

"I've got two boys. My oldest boy is at Iowa
State and my youngest is a junior in high school. Both boys help their dad out
a lot on the farm. Ben, the oldest, plays football some in college. We love
going over to see the games. I was lucky today was an away game so I could come
out here, though," replied Sarah.

"How about you, Linda?"
Polly pushed.

"Oh, I've got five kids. I guess it never felt
like I had enough. I loved having them around as little kids, then I enjoyed
having them grow up some and now I've even got some grandbabies who like to
visit me," Linda said.

Then, Linda stopped. "
Wait
, this is
supposed to be us finding out about you. So, Sarah, do you have a question for
Polly?"

Sarah gave a wicked little smile. "Alright Polly,
here's one for you. Who is the first boy you ever French-kissed?"

Polly giggled a little.
"Really?"

Sarah said, "Yep, really. We want
to know something a little wicked about you."

Polly laughed. "Well, it had to be in the back seats
of the band bus. Which one was my first?" and she winked at the two ladies
who were sitting with her.

She went on, "No, I do remember. It was my
freshman year in high school and it was on a band bus. We were coming back
after an out of town football game. I have no idea where we'd been, but it was
dark and chilly, we had our blankets and were all snuggled in. There had been a
lot of chattering until finally everyone was worn out. I suspect there was more
going on in the seats behind me, but Darrin, the boy I wanted to be dating at
the time, was sitting with me. He started out by holding my hand and I
think
when he
took my hand under the
blanket,
everything in my stomach did
a flip flop.
We were talking
quietly because we didn't
want anyone to hear us. I doubt it was anything important, but all of a sudden,
he leaned over and kissed me. First it was a sweet kiss, and then all of a
sudden it got a little more passionate. We did a lot of kissing on that band
trip and on the rest of the trips that year. But, we broke up after the winter
dance. Y
e
ah. That's a sweet memory."

Polly turned to Linda, "Ok
ay
, it's your
turn, I guess."

Linda asked, "What's your favorite childhood
memory of your mother?"

Polly stopped for a moment and thought. "You know
my mom died when I was twelve, right?" Both women nodded and
then she giggled and
went on. "Oh, this will work right in with tonight's theme. I
rode the bus to school every day. Mom always had questions for me before I
walked out the door. Did I brush my teeth, did I wash my hands,
did
I
have my
school bag and one I could
never figure
out. She asked me every day if I had my panties on.

"Well, every day, when she went down the list, I
said yes, yes, yes, yes and trotted out to wait for the bus, but I think I must
have been showing my rebellious streak early, because one morning when I was in
first grade, I decided I wasn't going to do what she asked. I was going to lie
and tell her I'd done all of those things. I did have to take my bag with me,
because she would have noticed, but I didn't do anything else. I went skipping
out to the end of the lane to wait for the bus and all of a sudden I realized
how uncomfortable I was. What if my dress went up and the boys saw? I started
crying and crying. I could see the bus coming down the road and I knew I
couldn't get on it without my panties. I had to make a decision. Mom
would be
easier
to handle than the embarrassment
facing
me otherwise, so I ran back up the lane, sobbing. Mom
came out to meet me and waved off the bus. I fessed up to her and she smiled. We
went inside and I ran upstairs to my dresser to get some panties, then she came
up and I washed my hands and face and brushed my teeth.

"She didn't say much to me, just knelt down and
put her arms around me and told me she loved me and was proud of me for making
the right decision. Then she drove me to school and dropped me off. She never
said anything to me about it again and she never again asked me if I was
wearing panties. I don't think she ever quit asking me about washing my hands
and brushing my teeth, though."

Polly hadn't been paying much attention to her
surroundings with so many of the women stopping by to ask her questions and try
to get to know her. A
s Angela Boehm sat
down beside her, she heard Beryl cough and say, "Excuse me, excuse
me!"

Everyone stopped and looked up. “I thought you all
should see what
embarrassed
little
Dougie
Randall this
morning - well, yesterday morning, since it is already long after midnight.”
She stepped to one side as Andy and Lydia held up either end of Polly's bright
purple underwear with hot pink bows.

Polly leaped off the couc
h and ran at the women, who darted to the side. Andy
tossed the undies over Polly's head to Lydia who caught them and stuck them under
her shirt. "Are you going to come get them now, girlfriend?" she
taunted.

"But, they're dirty!" Polly cried.

"Oh, hell no they're not,"
said Beryl. "While you've been in here partying and drinking up all of
those ... how many has she had, Andy? Three ... martinis, we finished your
laundry for you. And if those are the fanciest panties you own, we're taking
you to Victoria's Secret next time we go to Des Moines."

Polly made a dive for Lydia, who backed into a cluster
of women standing in front of the bar. They gave her a little push back into
the center of the room and she faced off with Polly. All of a sudden
chants of "Fight! Fight! Fight!
" surrounded the two who were dancing around each
other.

Lydia pulled the panties out from under her shirt and
tossed them up in the air. Polly leaped for them and grabbed them.

"No fight today, ladies, back to your
party." Lydia said.

She walked to Polly with her hands up in surrender. As
she got closer, she said, "I'm sorry, Polly. I couldn't resist. I hope I
haven't embarrassed you too much."

Polly shook her head. "I don't know what to do
with you! You are like no one I've ever met!"

Beryl had walked up as she said
the
last,
"And it's a very good thing, too, Polly. She keeps us all on our toes!"

The rest of the night passed
quietly
. Polly
answered questions and suddenly felt as if she were at home. These women wanted
to be her friends and were having a good time, all because of Lydia Merritt. They
genuinely liked Lydia and Polly found she couldn't imagine living here without
knowing
this
wonderful lady. At one point, she sat back on the
couch and looked around. Women were laughing and eating, drinking and talking. No
one paid any attention to who was drinking alcohol, water or soda. It was a
wonderful party.

Polly
checked
her cell phone for the time
.
Two in the morning.
She
should be asleep. A few of the women said something to Lydia, who then turned
and announced to the room. "It's time to pick a winner. Who has the best
story about Polly?"

Each
story was
read out loud and Polly posed with the woman af
ter she read her story
so Lydia could snap a picture. Then it was time to vote. Polly
expected the women to yuck it up with the panty story she had told Linda Morse,
and it did come in second, but the largest round of applause went to the story
Adele Mansfield told about the first morning Mary had shown up to make
breakfast and ensure Polly got to school on time.

Polly listened as Adele read what she had written down:

"Mary had never had children of her own and both
of Polly's parents had always let her be part of Polly's childhood, so she felt
as if she knew the little girl well already. She worried, though, that Polly
would resent her in her mama's kitchen. She got everything together at her own
house so she wouldn't
make too much of a
mess and clutter up the counters. All she had to do was
reheat
the gravy and pour it over some biscuits. When she
set the table and everyone sat down, Polly sat down beside her. She reached out
with her little hand to hold Mary's while her daddy offered grace. When he said
"Amen," Polly squeezed the woman's hand and smiled up at her."

Polly looked over at Adele. "That's not
the story I told you," she said, with a quiver in
her voice.

"No it's not, honey. Your Mary was my sister's
best friend. She told me that story and I thought I'd share it with you today. She
loved your mama and she loved you and would be awfully proud of you, I think."

Polly stood up and walked over to hug Adele. "I'm
glad you're getting the prize. That's the best story of the night," she
said
, tears threatening
. "Will you promise to tell me more about Mary
and your sister someday?"

"I certainly will. Maybe you can come over for
lunch one of these days when you're not too busy." Adele responded.