Reflecting Love's Charms (Bellingwood Book 14) (14 page)

"My doctor says that I'm doing just fine with the weight I've gained, mother. I'm not worried."

"Of course you aren't. You're young and don't see things through hindsight like I do."

Sal smiled and closed her menu. "I've seen pictures of you while you were pregnant with me and just a few months after I was born. You never experienced much weight gain. How could you possibly know about this?"

Lila pursed her lips and glared at Sal. "I do have friends and they talk about the issues their daughters go through."

"I'm my own person and you do not need to compare me to the lazy slobs who belong to your friends," Sal said. She looked up when the waitress approached with their drinks. "The tea and all its special fixins' are for my mother."

After the girl was finished putting drinks down, she asked, "What may I get for you today?"

"First of all," Lila said. "I want you to make sure that I am the only one who sees the bill for today's meal. I will take care of it."

"Okay," the waitress agreed, her pen poised.

"I will have the pepper steak salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Be sure the dressing is on the side and in a real dish, not a plastic cup. I'd like the steak to be medium rare, not beat to death on the grill or griddle or whatever you cook it on and I can not abide onions. Whatever you do, make sure that there are none on my salad. Do you have all of that?"

"Yes ma'am. Dressing on the side, medium rare, no onions." Without waiting for a response, the waitress turned her body to face Polly. "And you?"

"I'll have the same, but with onions and the dressing directly on the salad," Polly said. "Thanks."

"And for you, Miss Kahane?"

"I feel like steak today, too," Sal said. "But I want a New York strip, medium rare, baked potato with butter and sour cream and whatever your vegetables are for today. Oh, and a cup of corn chowder. You can just bring it out with the meal."

"Anything else?"

Sal looked at her mother, who was doing her best not to look shocked, but she was too well-mannered to say anything.

"That should be fine," Sal said. "And thank you."

"Are you sure you'll be able to eat all of that?" Lila asked. "That's an immense meal."

"What I don't eat, I'll take home to the pups," Sal said.

"Salliane," Lila scolded.

"Mother," Sal retorted in the same tone of voice.

Lila turned her attention to Polly. "I'm looking forward to seeing your little Sycamore House. Sal says that you have quite a nice business going on here. That's wonderful, dear."

"I enjoy it," Polly said. "There is always something interesting happening in the building."

"And you've taken in two young children to care for?"

"Rebecca will be going into the eighth grade this fall and Heath will be a senior in high school," Polly replied. "They aren't so young, but they're mine and I love them."

"Tell me about this new house that you're renovating. It used to be a speakeasy? I attended a lecture several years ago on women who brought about Prohibition. It was fascinating information."

"The house was originally built as an upscale hotel, and I believe the owner thought he could make extra money by selling whiskey. They also had musical groups come in from the larger cities in the Midwest. We don't know anything for certain except that he was distilling whiskey over there."

"You certainly have your hands full. And you're happy with your husband?" Lila wrinkled her forehead. "Tell me why you didn't take his name. Is it purely for business reasons?"

"The business had much to do with it, but it was personal as well," Polly said. "I suppose some might call me an independent girl, but I've always been Polly Giller and since I wasn't expecting Henry to take my name, he didn't think it crucial that I take his."

Lila laughed a pert little laugh and dabbed at her lips with the napkin. "You girls and your newfangled ways. I just hope Sal decides to give the child a solid foundation before it's born."

Sal took a deep breath and looked up in relief as the waitress approached with a large tray. She neatly placed their plates in front of them and stepped back. "Is everything to your liking?" she asked, looking directly at Lila. She had taken extra time to make sure that each request of Lila's was correct as she put things on the table.

"This looks fine," Sal said and held up her glass. "Could I get some more, please?"

"I'll be right back with a pitcher."

Polly knew this meal could go one of two ways, so she quickly took a bite of her salad and when it was just as she expected it to be, looked up at Lila. "This was such a good choice. It's one of my favorite dishes here. I love the blend of flavors. How does yours taste?"

Sal shook her head and smiled at Polly as they waited for Mrs. Kahane to take a bite.

"It's very good, dear. Thank you for recommending it to me." She put her knife and fork down, wiped her hands on her napkin and turned to Sal. "How is yours?"

Sal hadn't done anything other than cut into the steak. "It looks perfect. I'm sure it's fine. Mother, you should hear what Polly's been up to this week. She found another body, you know."

"Other than the bones with the still?" Lila asked, turning her focus to Polly.

Polly kicked Sal under the table again and smiled. This was going to be a long afternoon.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Everything is good here. Let's take the dogs for a ride," Henry said. "It's a beautiful evening."

Jessie had picked Andrew and Rebecca up after she left work. They were going to have a pizza and watch movies until Sylvie collected her son. Heath and Polly had made a quick run to the store for extra junk food and soda pop for his party and all he needed to do was be downstairs to bring up pizza when it arrived. He was pretty excited about the evening.

"I don't feel comfortable leaving the kids all alone in the house."

Henry laughed at her. "We'll only be gone a couple of hours and there are so many adults downstairs that know us and care for our kids, we have nothing to worry about." He smiled. "And consider this another step in showing Heath that we trust him."

"But I don't want to set him up to fail," Polly protested.

"We've already talked to him about being responsible and keeping an eye on his friends so they're responsible, too. These are good kids and we'll be back long before the party's over. Then you can send me to our room and I'll go peacefully.

"Fine." Polly relented. It didn't sound like Henry was giving up easily. "But what about dinner?"

"We'll figure it out as we go," he said. "Come on."

They went out to the dining room where Heath was re-stacking cups and plates for the third time.

"Are you really okay with us being gone for a while?" Polly asked.

He shrugged. "It's fine. Not like anything's going to happen. We're just going to play games and eat.

"Okay," Polly said. "Have fun."

She patted her leg and Obiwan jumped up from where he'd been lying in the kitchen. "Come on, boy. We're going for a walk."

Han ran to the back stairway and waited, dancing in place until Polly and Henry got there. Henry snagged two of their longest leashes and herded the dogs into his truck's back seat, then held the door for Polly.

"This is almost like a date," she said with a smile.

"Consider it exactly that."

"Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see."

She buckled in and leaned back in the seat, scratching Obiwan's head as he reached forward to lick her face. "I know, I know. It's so exciting. You've been stuck at home all week long with nowhere fun to go. Now sit back where you belong."

"So Rebecca's going to be gone all night long?" Henry asked as he backed out and headed for the highway.

Polly grinned over at him. "All night. Gonna get me drunk so you can have your way with me?"

"Like I need to get you drunk for that."

"You could try it."

"I know you," Henry replied. "At first you're giddy and happy and horny and then? Then you're asleep."

"That's me. A useless happy drunk. Poor Henry."

She looked over at him when he made a familiar turn. "Are we going to the Bell House?"

"Patience, my dear." He put his hand on the console and waited for her to place hers within it. They interlinked their fingers and he gave her a gentle squeeze. "I know this has been a tough week." Then he chuckled. "And today you got to spend time with Sal and her mother."

Polly shook her head. "That woman is a trial to Sal. She's just one of those people who sees the world in a very different light. Her rules are so odd and yet she has no concept that people don't see things the way she does. It's funny to watch Sal, though."

"What do you mean?" Henry took his hand back as he turned into the driveway of their house.

"What's that?" Polly asked, pointing at the porch.

"Just a little surprise. Let's put the leashes on the dogs so they don't wander off. I keep thinking that even though there is so much to do in the house, we should focus on finishing fencing so we can bring them over more often."

Though the sun was still up, candles had been lit along the edge of the porch floor and a quilt had been tossed across the raw wood. Polly snapped the leash onto Obiwan's collar, while Henry did the same for Han and she jumped out of her side of the truck, then met Henry as he waited for her. The dogs rushed ahead, sniffing and stopping to check out every inch of the yard they could reach.

"How did you do this?" Polly asked.

"Here, hold Han for a minute."

She took the leash and stood, staring at the porch in awe. This was so sweet. Henry ducked into the side door of the house and came back with a large picnic basket, then taking Han's leash, he led them all to the porch. He dropped Han's leash over a post that had been placed in the ground next to the quilt and then took Obiwan's and did the same.

Polly sat down on the quilt and took the basket from him, then opened it. "Where did you come up with all of this?"

"I asked Mom to help. She and Molly prepared dinner, then Jessie and the kids brought it here and set things up. Did I surprise you?"

"This is amazing. You are always doing things like this for me. What's this?" Polly took out a pink rose.

"That's from Mom’s garden," Henry said. "I can't believe she already has some blooming. You know, I know she worried that I would never find the right woman to marry, but neither of us could have seen you coming."

"I’m not sure quite what to say to that."

"Don't you know that you changed all of our lives when you arrived in Bellingwood? I was on my way to being a second rate carpenter. I probably would have worked for other contractors for the rest of my life. Sturtz Construction would never have been a big deal. But then you showed up and not only am I running the business, but it's growing and I have more confidence in my work than ever before. And then, there's Mom and Dad. They're having the time of their lives with people they never thought they'd get to know. Mom has Jessie and Molly and you and Rebecca and then Heath and Hayden. Do you know that she and Molly go over to Ames every once in a while to have lunch with him? Just to make him feel like he's part of the family. And Dad is building things that he'd never thought he would get a chance to build. He says that he's doing better work now than ever before. And Polly, it's all because you showed up and fell in love with me."

"You're exaggerating," Polly said. "I believe these things were going to happen and I showed up just because the timing was right." She pulled out a package. "What are we eating tonight?"

"It's just sandwiches," Henry said in way of apology. "I didn't know how long it would be before we got here and since there's no microwave, I wasn't sure how I'd heat something up."

"This one is peanut butter and jelly," Polly said with a laugh.

"That's from Molly. But Mom did pack a cold bottle of wine and some glasses for us."

"Oh, so you
are
planning to get me drunk and have your way with me."

"Look up there," Henry said, pointing at the sky. "It's a falling star."

"I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight," Polly said and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she asked, "You wanna know what I wished for?"

"No," he said. "Don't tell me or it won't come true."

"It comes true all the time. I wished that we would continue to have as much fun as we do now."

Henry leaned across the basket and kissed her lips, causing Polly to drop the sandwich and put her arms around his neck, holding him close. He reached up, caressed her cheek with his hand, then brushed his thumb under her chin. "I love you, Polly."

She put the basket behind her and scooted close to him, then leaned against his shoulder, breathing deeply as he encompassed her in his arms. "I love you so much and I think you just made me fall in love with our porch."

Polly felt Henry's laugh resonate against her and allowed herself to relax into his arms as he rested his chin on top of her head.

~~~

Even after her protests about leaving the apartment, Polly had been reluctant to leave the Bell House. They'd returned to a house filled with noise and excitement; kids spread out everywhere. Some were gathered around the television playing video games, a group at the dining room table was playing Polly's old Sorry game and when she walked through to the living room, she laughed to see that they'd pushed the sofas back to play Twister.

Jason introduced her to a girl that he had told her about before, insisting they were just friends. He, Scar, Kent and the girl, Mel, had found a corner and were playing Scrabble. Funny thing was, Selena Morris was nowhere to be found.

She looked around for some of the girls she'd seen at other parties, but didn't recognize many. Heath assured them that the apartment would be cleaned up before everyone went home, but Polly wasn't worried. He was having a great time and whatever mess was left over was worth it.

Polly was certain she'd remember none of the people Heath introduced her too. For as much as she loved meeting people, she had the worst time remembering names. If she met them more than once, her odds were much better and she hoped that some of these kids would be around for a long time. Henry had recognized some of the family names, but agreed with Polly that he'd not remember any of the kids’ names tomorrow morning. There were just too many, too fast.

The dogs created quite a stir when they came bounding into the media room. They made their way from person to person, sniffing in greeting and allowing the kids to pet them and snuggle as they pleased.

Polly watched the activity for a few minutes, just to make sure things were going smoothly and adult intervention was unnecessary. She double checked the bedrooms and bathrooms, remembering a few parties she'd been to in high school. Back in her day, someone was always sneaking out to be alone with a boyfriend or girlfriend. The only thing she couldn't do was check the rest of Sycamore House. If kids had come to the party and then snuck to any one of the hideaways in the building, there wasn't much she could do. When she asked Heath if everyone was where they were supposed to be, without hesitation, he confirmed that to be true. She had to trust him.

By the time she got back to her bedroom, Henry and the cats were already settled in, him in his easy chair in front of the television and the cats sprawled out on top of the bed, as close as they could get to him without actually being on top of him. Henry had adapted quite easily to being a dog person and he didn't mind the cats, but they knew better than to climb all over him. He just put them on the floor over and over until they quit bothering him.

"How's it going out there?" he asked.

"They're having a good time. Did you see Jason with that girl, Mel?"

"I saw a girl playing a game with him and his buddies. What are you trying to tell me?"

"I don't know." Polly kicked her shoes off and then looked guiltily at Henry before picking them up and putting them where they belonged. That was one of the things she planned to demand when they moved into the Bell House. Her own room that she could mess up and never clean. She flopped across the bed, lying on her stomach and peered at the television to see what Henry was watching. "The news channel?"

"There's nothing else on."

"Reruns would be better than this. All they do is tell us what we're supposed to be angry about."

He switched the television off and stood up. "What would you rather do?"

Polly pursed her lips. "I'd rather do
that
, but there are way too many people in the house."

"We are kind of trapped in here." He flopped himself on top of her, scattering the cats.

"What?" Polly gasped.

"TV is boring, we can't mess around, I'm stuck in a room with you. What else should I be doing?"

She attempted to roll over, but Henry had dropped all of his weight on her torso, making it impossible for her to move. In fact, breathing was becoming a much sought after commodity.

"Can't breathe," she moaned.

Henry lifted himself up just enough for her lungs to work and Polly made another attempt to flip him off her, to no avail.

"What in the world are you doing?" she asked, laughing, now that she finally had enough air.

"I told you. Something."

"What do you mean something?"

"It's just something."