Laura's Big Win (24 page)

“Sounds like you were beaten up on
pretty bad, and abandoned by the very people who should have been
helping you. I’m not sure what I can do to help, but I do know some
people here and there and I can make some calls. Now, here’s what
you do. Here’s my business card with my direct number on it. Monday
morning you call me, say 9 AM; I assume you have no transportation,
so I’ll have someone pick you up and bring you out to my office at
Windmere. See the big guy over there, and the smaller guy next to
him?”

“Hard to miss the big one. Friends of
yours?”

“Yes, they are; the big guy was one of
the people who picked me out of here a few months back. Anyway, one
of those two will be driving you, just so you know. We’ll talk
things over and see where things can go from there. Okay
now?”

“Yes, thank you; I’m sorry, I guess I
was just feeling sorry for myself. I know things haven’t really
changed much, but somehow I feel better now. Are you sure this is
okay, for me to call you? I’ve heard people talk about that place,
how exclusive and fancy it is and all that stuff; I don’t want to
get you in trouble or anything.”

“Nope, no trouble. See the guy over
there dipping soft drinks out of the ice for the little kids? He’s
the CEO of Windmere. Can’t get closer to the big dogs than that.
Come on; I’ll introduce you, and don’t tell me no. He may be the
person to get you out of all this.”

And so it went, Laura with Leslie in
tow, intent on repaying what was done for her by doing unto
others.

All the little asides were played out
with minimal notice, Franz and Bernice, Dennis and Angie, Laura and
Leslie, but there was one thing left to be done this day, other
than the inevitable clean-up and trip home. Laura noticed a man
wearing some sort of what looked like a delivery driver uniform
talking first to Roger, then to Dennis, and finally turning and
walking out the gate as though he were leaving. Dennis strolled
over the heavy gate he had closed several hours before and dragged
it open about one lane width, just in time for the refrigerated
truck to drive through. Stopped in a convenient location, the
driver popped back out of the cab, clipboard in hand, strolled to
the back of the truck and said “What’ll it be? Anything that’s on
my truck, courtesy of Sievers & Sons Distributing.”

There was not a kid in the parking lot
who didn’t know what that truck was, or an adult for that matter.
Deluxe ice cream. It may not have been Christmas, but surely this
was Santa himself, just a lot thinner. Laura couldn’t wait to get
to Roger: “Is this your idea of the dessert you promised me
earlier? You are one big thinker, but what is this going to set me
back? Eye watering or mind bending?”

“Neither. I called up the owner and
sort of negotiated with him a bit.”

“Negotiated? How?”

“I sort of told him we were getting
free soda pop, and if there was any publicity to be had, those boys
would suck it all up. He took the bait okay. The driver said his
boss called him at home and told him if he wanted to make the
biggest one stop sale he’d ever make in his life he needed to get
his truck at the plant and bring it here. All he has to do is keep
track of what he hands out, and his boss pays him the commission on
the sale like he was doing it door to door. Old man Sievers refused
to be one upped by the bottling boys, and here we are. What I want
to know is: who in hell thought up all this? Wait a minute! That
would be you, wouldn’t it? If you can do for Windmere anything at
all like you did here today, we are all going to be very happy
people. Nah, I won’t hold you to that, but you are one miracle
worker. Anything else I don’t know about up your
sleeve?”

“Roger, there is just one little thing
about this girl who’s coming to see me Monday in the
office…..:”

“No, I don’t want to know anything
about it. She isn’t a convicted felon or something like that is
she?”

“No, just someone a lot like
me.”

The stampede to the ice cream truck
capped off a long, truly great day. It was true that it was only
one meal, although there were a lot of leftovers carried off, and
the shelter had a goodly supply of ice cream in storage, but the
effect it had on people lasted a long time. Not everyone benefited
long term, but some did like Leslie Friend, and eventually Angie
Costello, and Bernice from the hardware store. There was never any
intention to gain publicity, but word got out anyway, and the word
was good. The ride back to Windmere was punctuated with occasional
snorts and clouds of black smoke from old Blue, but the path was
illuminated with the glow of having done a good deed. On Monday,
Leslie Friend would pull her feet out of the mire of rejection and
start up the ladder. Roger e-mailed Ryan several pages of details,
along with some pictures he had taken of the event with his digital
camera, especially the happy faces of children, and Laura with her
arms around Leslie. Roger couldn’t explain that photo except to say
“I think her do-gooder gene is acting up again. Brace
yourself.”

Chapter 14 – Next
Level

Most of Sunday was spent with the kids,
reading to them, playing games, talking about what they had done
for others on Saturday. Alice returned from her week of vacation
mid-afternoon and the two of them enjoyed a little wine as a coming
home toast while Laura filled her in on the activities of the
weekend.

“You, lady, are something to behold. I
go away for a week and when I get back, you’re running the place
like a pro. That was great thinking, the kind this organization
needs.”

“Maybe less good thinking than a sense
I owed those people something for being there when I needed them.
Anyway, it all worked out. Ever had a ride behind ol’ blue on a hay
trailer? We should have taped it for a session on what not to do on
your weekend. It was a blast.”

“No, can’t say that I have; something
to look forward to. Anyway, who’s car is parked over at the
carriage house? Not one I recognize.”

“Oh God, Alice, I almost forgot to tell
you. The boys are feeling their testosterone these days. Remember
the supervisor at the shelter the night you were there, nice
looking, somewhat small statured woman? She latched on to Dennis
yesterday at the cook-out; I don’t think he was running very hard
anyway. Franz apparently has a girlfriend in there as well, and I’m
sure he has known her for a while; they seemed to really know each
other when the girls got here. Somehow, I think this is all about
watching football, beer, and pizza, some of one and lots of the
other. It was so funny watching Angie and Dennis; he was tiptoeing
around her as though she was fragile, protective, all that. I guess
I never thought much about his lifestyle.”

“I think Dennis and Franz deserve
better than what they have been getting from life. Not that
Windmere hasn’t been good to them; it has, but it can’t replace
human interaction, if you know what I mean. A little action
couldn’t hurt them.”

“Alice Hamilton, I’m shocked. Well,
maybe not very shocked. Actually, I think you’re right. Since we’re
being basic here, I learned some things about the white house over
the past few days, like who built it and so on, but how much more
do you know? Guess I’m more than a little curious, and I’ll admit
it’s because Ryan figures in there pretty big. Talk to
me…..please?”

“I can’t add much. Back almost three
years ago now when they were still living in it, they had parties
in there now and then, just for the fun of it I guess. It’s a
beautiful house, and Mary did a wonderful job of bringing things
together you would never think go together. It has five bedrooms, I
think, and at least as many bathrooms. The first floor is an arc,
so each room is open to the rooms next to it but you can’t see the
one beyond. Makes the whole place seem larger than it is, and it’s
already large enough. Anyway, Mary died in her bed in the house,
with him holding her hand. It was nearly as hard on the rest of us
as it was on him, and we were scared to death he couldn’t weather
it, they were so much like one person. The original owners of all
this managed to have a private cemetery permitted when the big
house was built; I guess they could afford the paperwork; it’s in
the trees out behind the white house. Ryan and Mary discovered it
all overgrown and neglected when they were laying out the house,
and had it cleaned up out of respect. That’s where she was laid to
rest. After that, the house was ordered closed up, and no one was
to go there, ever. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but the guys
maintain it when they have a chance, so it hasn’t really
deteriorated; mostly needs a major dusting I would guess. I don’t
know what will ever happen to it; to tell the truth, I think Ryan
is still mourning for her, so your guess is as good as mine, but I
also believe if anyone can bring him out of it, you can; it will
just take a lot a patience.”

“Strange, but I heard almost that exact
same speech from Judge Harry the other day: ‘Be patient.’ I know
Ryan likes me, and the kids, but something is holding him back and
I just do not know what it is. Maybe you two are right after all;
patience. But, new subject, now that you mentioned dusting…..” and
Laura told Alice the story about Leslie, the whole unvarnished
story. Alice listened thoughtfully, considered the situation, and
after a minute or two responded.

“You can’t kill the bastard, even Judge
Harry can’t do that, at least I don’t think so. If this girl is
willing to pull herself up, I do have an opening in the
housekeeping staff. Susan’s husband is transferring, so I’m losing
her by the end of next week. We could start this girl say Tuesday
so she can learn the routine from a really good worker. If she’s
half the person you say she is, we’ll lose her in a couple of
years, but you can deal with that.”

“Me, deal with that?”

“Yes, you. I foresee you will be
mistress of the manor at that point in time, and staffing is one of
the jobs. So there!”

“And you’re just going to waltz out of
here one of these days?”

“No, not exactly. I’ll be in large
motor home, with my belongings, and Vincent…Vinny.”

“That’s it, Alice. You’ve been holding
out on me; start talking.”

“Ah, well, I didn’t exactly mean to say
anything about that just yet, but I guess now is as good a time as
any. You know this past week I went back for a high school reunion,
homecoming, whatever they call it these days. I have no idea why I
did that; first time in years. The crazy thing is, I got the class
newsletter that comes in now and then from back east, but to tell
the truth, I didn’t take time to read it and just pitched it, at
least I thought I did. Then I saw it again on the coffee table,
even though I’m sure I threw it out. Anyway, I opened it that time
and read that my old high school was going to be demolished and my
class wanted to do something in remembrance. So, we were to meet at
the reunion and think of something. I decided it was just not worth
the bother, and I know damned good and well I threw that letter
into the trash that time. Next day I found it laying on the floor
in the living room. Needless to say, I don’t believe in things like
that, but it was getting to me, and I decided to take another look.
It was almost like the prompt I needed to get out of my rut and
start living again, so I did, and the rest is history. I went. None
of us have aged of course, even though we hardly recognized each
other. It was the craziest thing but there was a fellow I went out
with a time or two in high school, nothing real serious, and we
went our different ways after graduation. I recognized him as
though we had never been apart; Vinny Lupinacci, Vincent. Character
extraordinary. Anyway, Vinny and I hit it off real well; his wife
passed a couple of years ago, so we’re sort of in the same boat.
He’s been very successful, but retired to, as he says, ‘do some
living before I die’.”

“And I assume that ‘do some living’ now
includes you?”

“Patience child; I’m getting to that.
Anyway, we sort of danced the night away, had a really good time,
and I agreed to come see the pictures of his grandkids if he would
look at pictures of my grandkids.”

“So, you were lured to his hotel room,
is that your story?”

“Not exactly. Vinny has a motor home, a
really big motor home, and had a rental car for local use. So, we
went to his motor home and looked at pictures…..and things. Did you
know you can get a motor home so big it comes with a built in wine
cooler, and a king sized bed?”

“You’re changing the
subject.”

“No, I’m just sort
of…..maybe…..delaying?”

“You were in the motor home with the
wine cooler, and the king sized bed. Alice, are those two things
somehow related? Were you a bad girl?”

“No, I wouldn’t say bad exactly. Vinny
and I are both consenting adults, and there was nothing bad about
it; in fact, it was great. He’s a great guy, in great shape, and to
tell the truth, it all just seemed so natural. He makes those ED
drugs advertised on TV look like tranquilizers. I don’t know if he
really will call or not, but I hope so. If he doesn’t, well, I had
one hell of a good time anyway, so there. If he does, and he really
does ask me to go along, I’ll go. I’m not going to get any younger;
no sense blowing an opportunity like this, if it comes
along.”