With her pace nearing a jog, Ellie made her way back to the bookstore. It was nearing opening time and she knew her grandmother would be counting the till in anticipation of greeting customers. She had to find out who Stella was before Will went to bring in Dave and she knew her grandmother was the perfect woman to help her find Stella.
“Ma’May?” Ellie called as she entered the shop. “Ma’May, are you in here?”
“Right here,” her grandmother said as she popped up from behind a bookshelf. “What is it dear, you look flushed.”
“I spoke with Lars Conrad,” Ellie said as she took a few sharp breaths. She told herself she needed to not just walk, but jog with Beau more often because she was getting dangerously close to being officially out of shape. “He didn’t mean to say it, but it slipped out. I think the birth mom for Dave and Abbie’s adoption is a woman named Stella. Do you know any pregnant women by that name?”
Ma’May scratched her head and thought on Ellie’s question. Ellie could barely hold back her impatience and shifted her weight from one foot to the other while her grandmother thought on it. She was about to lose her cool completely when Ma’May finally said something.
“Stella Chadwick, maybe?” Ma’May said. “You know, I haven’t seen her around in a bit. Her mother is in here once a month and Stella used to come in with her, but not the last, oh, six months or so?”
“The Chadwicks?” Ellie asked. “As in Marge and Tom? Over on Hester Street?” Ellie knew the Chadwicks, though not closely. Their older son had been a couple years behind Ellie in school and she knew them more in passing than anything.
“That’s them,” Ma’May confirmed. Ellie was about to bolt right back out the door when her grandmother stopped her. “Wait,” she added. “Now that I think of it, I think I heard rumors a few months ago that they kicked Stella out of the house.”
“Where is she now, then?” Ellie asked.
“I think she’s out at Green Pines, actually,” Ma’May said as she thought on it. “Yes, if I recall correctly, she’s living there with some boy.”
Ellie knew the place Ma’May was speaking of. Green Pines was the trailer park that was a couple miles outside of Dundurn. It wasn’t the worst trailer park Ellie had ever seen, but it was far from the best. It was also well outside walking distance.
“Can I borrow your car?” Ellie asked. “And I’m going to take a couple books out of inventory.”
“Sure, dear,” Ma’May said. “Whatever helps.”
Ellie thanked her with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. She had no clue where she’d be without such a supportive grandmother and tried to make sure Ma’May was reminded of that every single day.
Ellie left the store as quickly as she could, but it took her half an hour to grab two books on pregnancy and to run upstairs to whip up a few veggie wraps to bring with her. They were full of spinach, kale, carrot shavings, and a homemade teriyaki sauce Ellie loved. With vitamins and iron to spare, they were exactly what an expectant woman would need.
She knew exactly the way to Green Pines. It was where one of her good friends from high school had lived for a few years when her father had fallen on hard times and her mother was off work on disability. It wasn’t far out of town, but she pushed the accelerator down with her foot all the same. Time was running short.
She pulled into the trailer park just before ten and from the dirt patch that made up the parking lot, Ellie had to thank her lucky stars they were in a bit of a drought. A bit of rain on that patch of dirt would have left her having a hard time keeping herself clean as she tried to carry the plate of wraps and the two books with her.
That, and Beau would be an awful mess.
She’d decided to bring him along with her. He had a knack for keeping people calm and she realized that he was good for giving them something to focus on while she questioned them. With a few licks and a wag of his tail, she was sure Stella Chadwick would be open to chatting with her. That was, if she could find her.
It wasn’t until she led Beau into the park that she realized she had no idea which out of the two dozen trailers belonged to Stella. They were all pretty much the same. All were white sided rectangles and most had a few simple decorations in their yards and an awning over the door. There was nothing to tell her which one might belong to a young couple.
Ellie was about to start knocking on doors at random when she saw someone exit one of the trailers not far from where she was standing. A young woman, barely eighteen if Ellie could guess, with a big, round, pregnant belly.
“C’mon boy,” Ellie commanded Beau as she began to trot toward the young woman. From the look of shock on her eyes, Ellie knew she’d jumped in head first at the wrong time and she instantly slowed her pace some as she called out, “Hi, Stella?”
“Um, yes,” the young woman said as she placed a protective hand on her belly. “And you are?”
“Sorry,” Ellie said with a friendly laugh. “My name is Ellie, Ellie Reid, I help run May’s Books in town. Do you know it?”
“Yeah,” Stella said, her voice soft and timid. “What can I do for you?”
“Actually, I was hoping to give you something,” Ellie said, and realized she must sound a little nuts. As a possible way to bridge the growing divide, she loosened her grip on Beau’s lead and the golden mutt pranced forward and began to beg for pets.
“You’re giving me a dog?” Stella asked. Her obvious confusion was stamped on her face.
Ellie laughed. “Oh, no,” she said. “Beau’s mine for keeps. He’s just friendly. No, my grandmother mentioned she hadn’t seen you in the shop in a few months and wanted me to run over a couple books for you, if that’s okay.”
Thankfully Stella’s face relaxed some at that. “That’s sweet of her, and you,” she said.
“I also brought some food if you want it,” Ellie told her. “Just some wraps, thought maybe we could share a snack together. Do you have some time?”
Stella thought on it for a second and then said, “Sure, why not. Do you want to come inside?”
Ellie nodded and then led Beau up the short metal steps into the trailer.
The setup wasn’t much to be admired. It was just a standard trailer with a few dings in the vinyl walls, a musty smell in the air, and dim lighting. It was a far cry from the affluent houses that lined Hester Street where the rest of the Chadwick family lived.
“I am sorry to drop in on you like this,” Ellie said. “I didn’t realize you were so heavily pregnant.”
“Eight months,” Stella confirmed as she slowly lowered herself down into the bench beside the table. “Only a few more weeks to go.” A look of stress washed over her face and she made no effort to hide it.
“It’ll be okay,” Ellie said as she patted her hand. “You’ll do fine.”
“It won’t be fine,” Stella said and her voice hitched mid-sentence. “Ken has been good to me. He sends money when he can from the oil fields in North Dakota, but he probably won’t be back in time for the birth. He might never even get to meet his daughter.”
“Are you...” Ellie paused, thinking of the best way to ask the question politely. “Are you planning on giving your baby up for adoption?”
“Yes,” Stella told her. “Though I prefer to say placing her for adoption. Now I don’t know what will happen though. With her adoptive mother passing away, things are all up in the air.”
“Abbie Ainsley?” Ellie confirmed.
“Yeah,” she said. “I heard it happened at your shop. Do you know what happened?”
“No,” Ellie told her. “Not really, at least. The cops think she was poisoned, but beyond that I don’t know. I hate to say this, but people think Dave did it.”
Stella was shocked by that. “No way!” she hissed. “Dave loved Abbie more than anyone I’ve ever known. There was no way he would do anything to her and he wouldn’t do anything to risk losing Paige.”
The name Ellie had been searching for. She was so close to finding out who the elusive Paige was. “Paige?” Ellie asked. She had to try not to come off as too interested so as not to arise Stella’s suspicions.
“My daughter,” Stella told her. “We came up with the name together. Turns out it was Dave’s favorite aunt’s name and it’s my great-grandmother’s name. We thought it was fitting.” Stella’s face scrunched up and her eyes went red.
“Oh honey, it’s okay,” Ellie tried to comfort her.
“How can it possibly be okay?” Stella asked. She was near tears now. “I found the perfect parents for Paige. I knew they would love her and take better care of her than I ever could. And we made a promise that once Ken and I are old enough and ready to have a baby of our own to raise, that the kids would be friends and know they had a sister or brother in each other. Now what am I going to do?”
“What if Dave still wants to go through with the adoption?” Ellie asked. “Would you consider it?”
“In a heartbeat,” Stella confirmed. “He’s been so good, both of them have. They visit me a few times a week. It’s tough being alone while Ken is gone for months at a time, but there’s no work for him here. They buy my groceries, they keep me company, and they even invited me to stay there with them a while ago. My stupid pride kept telling me no, but now I wish I’d said yes.”
“Tell Dave that,” Ellie said. “Before you make any rash decisions, talk to him. You guys will work something out, I’m sure of it.”
“Thanks,” Stella said as she wiped away a tear. “I will. Even on his own, I know he’ll do better for her than we can right now. I’m only eighteen. I want to finish high school and go to college. I’m going to prove to her that I won’t be stuck in a trailer forever, you know.”
“There’s no shame in living here,” Ellie assured her. “But trust your heart. If it’s the right thing to do, you’ll know it.”
Stella looked like she would cry all over again, but not out of fear like before. Beau rested his chin on the pregnant woman’s knee and Ellie was surprised to see she looked a little relieved.
“If you need anything at all,” Ellie went on, “you tell me, okay? I’m happy to help out while Dave is dealing with everything else.”
“I might take you up on that,” Stella said with a weak laugh. “Thanks for everything. The books, the food, a shoulder to cry on, and a visit from this guy,” she said as she tousled Beau’s fur. “I just hope that Dave can prove his innocence.”
Ellie didn’t tell Stella as much, but she knew she was going to help him out with that. She had an hour until her deadline with Will and even if she had to race Ma’May’s car to the police station in town, she was going to make sure she got there before noon.