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FRUGAL REVAMPING
Sometimes we don’t need to redecorate as much as revamp our spaces. A stop at a garage/yard sale or secondhand shop can lead to fast and cheap ways to organize and freshen up spaces. Furniture that helps organize, like bookshelves and standing cabinets, can be gained for good prices but get sold quickly, and won’t be there the next time—so grab them fast or leave a deposit. Lamps are often available, but while the shape or size may be exactly right, the color may be off. If it’s coming at a great price, why not—paint it, add a new shade, revamp the old shade, or cover the base in decoupage or mosaic to match the rest of the room’s décor? Another great buy to look for are baskets of all shapes and sizes. Like lamps, they can go pretty cheap and are easy to update or change for color. Best of all, they’re terrific for keeping things organized in a room. Wondering what to spend in these sale venues? A secondhand store will run higher than an outdoor sale to accommodate the cost of overhead, but you’re still likely to get a great deal. For items that are used but in good condition, expect the price to run about twenty-five percent of retail. If the item is brand new and still in the box, the asking price might be as high as fifty percent of the original cost. However, never be afraid to haggle. No one gets thrown out just by asking, “Can you do a little better on this price?” And for a better way to gain the lower sale price, hold the money so it’s visible while asking. There’s something about seeing ready cash that will often persuade a seller to take the money and smile.
* * *
MR. JOLLY’S RAMSHACKLE shop looked like it once was at least three separate small buildings. Currently, however, it was an interconnected warren of all things Americana, unique but not precious antique, and just plain interesting. Kate loved that she could walk in, tell Mr. Jolly exactly what she needed, and be finished with the task. Whereas, Meg and all the kids were the opposite, and enjoyed prowling through the intriguing spaces to see all the fabulous finds they never knew they needed.
When the women pulled into a parking space in front of the building, they were surprised to see a bright red Miata already filling one of the spots.
“Valerie James uses Mr. Jolly to acquire decorating items for her interior design clients?” Meg’s eyes were wide. “I wouldn’t think with her superior taste that she would never darken the door.”
“I have a hard time believing it too,” Kate said. “But the evidence is right there. I guess interior designers use all kinds of outlets to get what they need.”
“Oh, I can’t wait for her to see us,” Meg said, climbing out of the passenger side of the van. “The explanation she gives should be a lulu.”
“I just hope she doesn’t say anything that might offend Mr. Jolly,” Kate whispered as she joined her friend on the walk.
“Good point,” Meg said. “Feel free to jump in with a quick change of topic if the conversation starts going south.”
Inside, a trio of bells over the door announced their entry. Their eyes needed to adjust to the dimness, but they were seeing clearly when Valerie James sashayed up what was the widest of the aisles in the place, carrying a large box with what looked like a rusty rooster weather vane angled to fit as best it could in the cardboard. As usual, she looked more like she was dressed for a day in New York than a weekday in Vermont. Her red silk blouse alone probably cost as much as Kate spent on her wardrobe all year, and her thick brunette hair always looked like she’d stepped out of a salon.
No simply dressing for function for our Valerie James.
“I’ll add this to your monthly bill, Miz James,” Mr. Jolly said. He pulled a pencil from behind his ear and made a note on the notepad in his hand. Then he saw the organizers. “Hi, ladies. Be with you in a minute.”
“Take your time, Mr. Jolly,” Meg said while giving Valerie the “I caught you” grin Kate had seen her use many times on her boys.
“Hi, Valerie, how are you today?” Kate said, offering a friendly smile. While she was no fan of the interior designer either, she didn’t want to risk alienating the mother of her best babysitter.
“Oh, well, I...” Valerie stammered. Then her face turned red and she stood straighter. “Hello.” She turned back to the elderly picker. “Thanks so much for finding this for me, Mr. Jolly.”
“You’re welcome as always, Miz James.”
That made her face darken further, but Valerie didn’t say a word, just pushed her way out of the door as the bells tinkled dizzily in the wake of her speed.
Meg covered a laugh with fake coughing.
“Behave,” Kate whispered.
Mr. Jolly stepped forward. He wore the same a quilted gray coat he always seemed to have on—one he’d likely worn for several decades—that matched the wispy gray hair falling forward onto his forehead and brushed the top of his collar. His long thin hands didn’t show the kind of arthritis evidence she’d noticed in so many older people lately, and Kate wondered if his constant search for treasure was his way of staying young. Still, she understood exactly why Meg had teased that he was nearly two-hundred years old. The skin over his cheekbones was tight and grew a little more translucent each time she saw him.
“Mr. Jolly, we’re kind of on a scavenger hunt today,” Meg spoke up and gave him a winning smile. “We know we need a small work desk, and Kate can give you all the information on that. But if you don’t mind, I’d really like to prowl around the shop a bit and see what new and wonderful stuff you have that we might not even realize yet that we need.”
“Wander to your heart’s content,” he said, sweeping his arm back as if inviting her to a world premier. “If you have any questions or need any help with anything, just give a shout.”
“I’ll do exactly that,” Meg said. “Thank you.” Then she disappeared into the next room.
Kate watched her friend go and chuckled. “We may never see her again, Mr. Jolly. I think she would move in here if she could.”
“She’d be most welcome,” he said, smiling. He flipped a page in his notepad and said, “How are you today, Miz McKenzie? And how are those two special little girls?”
“Those two special girls are going to be irritated if they find out I came to see you without them. But we came straight from the job site so, hopefully, they’ll never know.”
“Well, you bring them by anytime. I love seeing children. Makes a grand day even grander.”
Kate knew Mr. Jolly was widowed, but she’d never heard about any children. Something she needed to remember to ask Meg.
Small talk out of the way, she pulled out her own notepad with the dimensions marked for the relative size desk she was looking to put under the window of the shed. “The door isn’t wide either, so the more compact the better. But we do want it big enough to be useful. It can be anything within this size range, Mr. Jolly.” The storekeeper jotted down the dimensions Kate gave him onto his own pad. She continued with a little more explanation, “We’re not picky about the type of material, other than the fact we want it pretty and functional. We can paint it if the color isn’t right, so don’t worry about that being a factor. It will be holding a laptop and needs a little extra space on top for a pencil and pad. Maybe a drinking glass or water bottle, too.”
“I probably have a couple of options back here that I can get cleaned up for you to look at. Do you want to walk with me now? Or come back when they’re prettied up and I’ll have everything set out in one spot?”
At that moment, the bells on the front door did their tinkling dance and what appeared to be a family of four came inside, just as Meg came back to the front triumphantly carrying two small shelves bookended together under one arm, and using her other hand to hold the rims together on a couple of orange and green baskets.
“Don’t you think these will work perfectly?” she asked.
“Not crazy about the basket colors, but rattan is easy to paint,” Kate said.
The new arrivals shuffled themselves to find adequate space to stand together while waiting. All of this helped Kate give her answer without sounding like she was worried about stepping into the controlled chaos of the rest of the store.
“Mr. Jolly, it looks like you have more people here to help. If you could place a hold on what you have available in the store, we’ll stop by in the morning and make our choice. Then we can load it up and take it directly to the job site with us. That way you can help this nice family.”
Meg caught Kate’s eye and nodded, then said to Mr. Jolly, “Go ahead and add these items to our bill, too, if that’s alright. We’ll take care of everything tomorrow.”
“Very good, thank you, ladies,” Mr. Jolly said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
The nicely trimmed small pine shelves were a good choice to use for the walls of the small shed, and Meg said she planned to apply lemon oil. “That way they’ll be at their best in time for displaying whatever Liz wants to in the office. These will hold framed awards or cute animal knick-knacks. Lots of options.”
“Thanks for doing the polishing,” Kate said. “I have a can of white spray paint to up-cycle the baskets. What do you think?”
“Personally, I’d like them to add a splash of color to the space, but like you, I’m not that partial to the orange and green combo.”
“At least we don’t have to plan dinner tonight,” Kate said. “We still have everything in the refrigerator that we didn’t grill last night.”
“I’ll get our grill started when I get home, too,” Meg said. “Just bring your stuff over when you’re ready to cook it.”
“Will do.”
They were arriving later than the previous day, and Kate saw her daughters swinging around the basketball goal as the van turned into the cul-de-sac.
“I remember doing that when I was a kid,” Meg said. “Now women our age pay for pole dancing lessons to get the same kind of exercise we used to get for free.”
“Yeah,” Kate replied, laughing. “But please don’t say anything like that to Suzanne. I swear she’s eight going on thirty. She doesn’t need any new ideas that she thinks will make her look grown up.”
“Deal.”
Kate dropped Meg at the curb in front of the Berman home, then pulled the van into the driveway of the McKenzies’ blue Victorian house. As she climbed out, she noticed the cat was sitting sentry in the front window. The girls discarded their play and ran to give her hugs hello.
“Is your daddy in the backyard?” she asked.
“Yes,” Sam said. “He went back to building the deck when we got home. I think he wants to be more done than he is.”
Like maybe because he said yesterday that he’d be finished by tomorrow, Kate thought, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from chuckling.
“And he asked us if we wanted to help him stain it,” Suze said, wrinkling her nose. “Why would we want to stain the deck and ruin it when it’s brand new?”
“This isn’t a stain like when you get a big splotch on your clothes, honey. It’s a way to protect the wood like paint does. But stain has a different, thinner consistency, so the wood grain shows through. It’s a pretty way to finish off a deck.”
“Oh.” Suze still frowned. “Maybe I’ll think about it.”
“It would be nice to help your dad.”
“Yeah,” Suze said, but she didn’t say anything else. Instead, she and Sam ran through the garage and into the house. Kate took the opportunity to walk around to the gate and enter through the back instead, to check Keith’s progress with the new backyard project.
The deck looked close to half-done, but some of the trim work would have to be added last and made things probably stand closer to one-third finished.
“This is looking good, sailor. But you need to put a shirt on before my husband gets home,” she teased. “He’ll get suspicious otherwise.”
Keith’s grin stretched wide, but she could tell by the way he moved he was tired. Though he’d retired from playing goalie in the NHL after the surgery on his knee, and for all intents and purposes he was probably ninety-percent recovered, he still limped when he overdid things in a short timeframe. He grabbed the t-shirt hanging on one of the posts and wiped sweat from his face. His kiss was still a little salty though.
“You look like you’ve had a good day,” he said, holding Kate’s hand as she stepped over the outside frame and into the middle region. “Things get settled down?”
“Yes, despite all the setbacks after last night, I think we’re on track to make everyone happy.” She tapped the cedar frame with her knuckles. “Knock wood.”
“After yesterday, I think anything is an improvement.”
“You have that right.” Kate looked at her watch and tried to give Keith a graceful way of stopping work when it meant he wouldn’t make the DIY goal he’d spoken about so brashly yesterday. “Meg’s firing up their grill now, and I’m going to take our food over. Why don’t you run up and shower so you’ll be able to eat with us before heading to your radio show? I spoke to the girls and Suze told me about the staining discussion. Maybe if you can lengthen this job out a bit longer than you planned I can join in for a staining session on Friday.”
Keith pulled open the door and stepped back so she could enter first. He said, “I hadn’t thought about that. You think you’ll be finished by Friday?”
“Yeah, I really think so. They’re doing all the painting now at the new site we’ve chosen. Meg and I have Mr. Jolly working on finding us a desk to use and the farm has some great rustic items we’re repurposing for the shoot. We might have to go in for a couple of hours Friday morning, just to double check everything is ready for the photographer on Monday, but it won’t be more than that. I can definitely help stain Friday afternoon if you don’t mind waiting for me.”
“Of course we’ll wait on you,” Keith said, pulling the t-shirt over his head and washing his hands in the kitchen sink. “Be great to do a family project like that. I’ll just kick back a little tomorrow so I can finish up Thursday instead.”
Kate smiled. “Great plan.”
He stepped into the utility room and returned with one hand carrying a pair of khakis on a hanger and his other holding something out for her to take. “I threw a load of clothes in today, so I’d have pants for tonight. There was room in the washer, and I added the pair you wore yesterday. I found these in one of the pockets. The torn fragment looked like trash, but I wanted to check before I threw it away.” He held out the silver pen and piece from the feed bag she’d found in the barn.
“Oh, right, I need to give this pen back to Liz.”
Keith disappeared out of the room, and she heard him run up the stairs, smiling at how men never really grew up. “But it’s great when they do your laundry because they need to do their own,” she said to herself.
She started to throw away the piece of trash but took a closer look when she saw blue ink and thought there was writing. On closer inspection, however, she realized the ink was just marks made when someone apparently used the point of a pen to punch a hole in the bag to start the tear. Turning the silver pen over in her hand, she tested the ink on the fragment and the blues matched. She wondered why Bren would have used that pen to open the bag. And why she left it behind.
Surely she knew where the tools were in the barn, Kate thought. But maybe Liz had moved things since Bren interned there.
“Oh, well.” She tossed it into her purse. “It’s a nice pen, even if it was used to attempt a crime. I’ll ask Liz if I should give it to the police, or if she can get it back to Bren’s family.”