Andie unpacked the box from Mary and then went to visit her mother at Tall Pines. Andie liked that the assisted living facility was more like a big old house than an institution. It was in a big brick building that resembled a mansion. The grounds were always perfectly manicured and the staff always cheerful, and it always smelled clean and fresh inside. Addie had flourished here and was well cared for, making it worth the hefty monthly expense.
Rita Duvalle, the woman she’d bought the antiques store from and who was now a resident at Tall Pines, was gliding down the hallway in her wheelchair as Andie walked in.
“Hey, Andie. They’re in the art room this morning. I was just heading there.” Rita wheeled alongside Andie. “So, how’s the antiques shop going? I hear you’re bringing it back to life.”
“It’s been a lot of fun cataloging the inventory. You had some great stuff.” Andie had bought all the old inventory that Rita had left in the shop when she closed, which was convenient since she didn’t have to spend time looking for items to stock the store. She’d had fun rearranging and re-pricing, and as it turned out, a steady stream of customers wanting to sell items kept new inventory coming in.
“Heard you spruced up the outside and that you’ve been offering fair prices.” Rita glanced up at her. “In some cases more than fair.”
Andie shrugged. “I don’t have a lot of operating expenses, so I can pay more than some others, I suppose.”
The truth was she had been paying a lot more than any other antiques dealer would for some of the items. So what if she only made her money back and a dollar or two of profit? Some of the elderly folks who had brought stuff to her didn’t have much, and it felt good to see their surprised smiles when she handed them more cash than they’d anticipated. Damien Carruthers had been ripping them off for ages, so she was just trying to make things even. But she didn’t want word to get out that she had a soft touch. She did need to make a profit on some stuff or she’d go out of business.
The art room was crowded, but Addie was easy to recognize with her colorful smock and cheery attitude. Her face lit up when she saw Andie. She didn’t always recognize her and sometimes thought she was her late sister, Andie’s aunt Bridgett, but at least she was always happy to see her.
“How do you like my landscape?” Addie pointed to the canvas in front of her where there was a swatch of pale blue at the top, a line of green in the middle, and dots of brown on the bottom.
“It’s lovely.”
“It’s impressionist,” Addie said with authority.
Andie bit back a laugh and kissed her mother on top of the head. “Very nice. You’re a regular Monet.”
“Did you say money? I don’t think I’ll get any money for it.” Addie stood back and cocked her head to assess the painting. “This is one of my better ones, and it’s not for sale.”
“Speaking of selling, I wanted to thank you again for giving me a fair price on my mother’s figurines.” Mae Pendergast beamed up at Andie. She’d sold several delicate Dresden figurines to Andie for many times what she’d been quoted by Damien Carruthers.
“My pleasure,” Andie said.
“Andie knows her antiques!” Addie cut in. Apparently this was one of the days when she remembered exactly who Andie was.
“Maybe you should think about selling some of your things, Sadie.” Mae turned to a white-haired woman sitting at one of the easels. Andie hadn’t noticed Sadie Thompson there. Unfortunately Sadie’s daughter, Emily Wilder, was standing beside her. “I know you have generations of antiques stuffed into that old house.”
Sadie looked uncertain. “I don’t know. Emily tried to sell some, but she said that man tried to rip us off. Isn’t that right, Em?”
Sadie glanced at her daughter, who didn’t appear to be keen on selling anything if the way her lips were pursed was any indication.
Rita waved a hand. “That was Damien Carruthers. He’s a bad apple. Andie here will treat you right, isn’t that so?” Rita looked up at Andie.
Well now, this was awkward. Andie had gotten off on the wrong foot with Emily when she’d discovered Andie in Sadie’s room. Andie had been asking about Sadie’s house purely from a historical perspective because it was the oldest in town. Emily must have assumed Andie was trying to get her to sell some of her belongings and probably figured she’d be just as unethical as Damien.
“I don’t think we need to sell anything right now.” Emily looked at Andie with suspicious green eyes.
“Yes, we do. You said the other day we might not be able to pay for my stay here much longer,” Sadie blurted out.
“Mother! Where did you hear that?”
“I heard you talking to your brother on the phone. You were trying to figure out where I was going to go. But I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to stay here.”
Emily’s cheeks burned, and Andie felt a pang of sympathy. Tall Pines was expensive, and she and Jane had been in a similar position before they’d spruced up Tides and taken steps to get more business.
Sadie addressed Rita. “You say this girl will give us a fair price.” She narrowed her eyes and studied Andie. “You look familiar.”
“That’s my daughter, Sadie,” Addie said. “Looks like me, don’t you think?”
“Oh! Of course. Well, if that’s Addie’s girl, she’s good people,” Sadie said.
Really? Sadie and Addie, who had been best friends in younger days, had had a feud going for the last several decades. One of the benefits of memory loss was sometimes you forgot old grudges. Sadie must have forgotten or she never would have vouched for Andie.
“I don’t think we need to discuss this right now, Mom.” Emily tried to return her mother’s attention to the painting, but Sadie was having none of it.
“Now, Emily, I want you to take Andie to the house and show her some of the antiques. See what she says, at least. If that’s what I have to do to stay here then that’s what I’m going to do. We can trust Andie. I can tell just by looking at her.” Sadie looked up at Emily, her chin thrust out in determination. “Now you promise me.”
Emily shuffled her feet and glanced around the room. Everyone was now listening, and Andie felt bad for the woman. Emily’s gaze came to rest on her mother again, and she took a breath.
“Yes, Mother, I promise.” Emily said the words, but the look on her face said that she didn’t have the same confidence in Andie that her mother did.