| |
BEATRICE LAUGHED. “AND you know everyone, short time in town or not.”
“Colleen is one of those I’d know, no matter what, I’m afraid.” Edgenora kept her voice low. “She seems like trouble to me, Beatrice. She is so pushy and she wants everything done her way. The times that she’s called into the church, she didn’t even want to leave messages—she wanted to be connected to Wyatt right away.”
Beatrice nodded. “I thought the same thing. Listening to her talk to Wyatt about plans, I wondered if her daughter cared about or even knew all the plans that her mother had for her wedding.”
“Exactly. She seemed like the kind of mother-of-the-bride who just takes the planning over completely. Actually, she seems like the kind of person who’d do that even if there wasn’t a wedding—she’s simply not good at group work,” said Edgenora. “I was just concerned from her entitled attitude that she was going to make some unreasonable demands of the church.”
“She already has,” said Beatrice wryly. “But don’t worry—Wyatt shot down all of her ideas in his very gentle way.”
Edgenora knit her brow. “Although she might say one thing and do another.”
Beatrice smiled. “You have a very astute reading of people. I thought exactly the same thing. I told Wyatt that it would be a good idea if he drew up a contract and said that it was a new required document for the church. That might make things more official . . . laying out exactly what the rules are.”
Edgenora took out a notepad from her voluminous purse. “An excellent suggestion. And I know a way to make it even more official—we have an attorney who’s also a member. He asked me recently if we’d like him to look over wording for permission forms for youth activities and so forth. I bet he wouldn’t mind if we asked him to glance over the form.”
“That would be perfect,” said Beatrice, beaming at her. “You’re a jewel.” She paused for a second and then said, “I know you hear a lot as a church admin assistant. Have you heard anything else regarding Colleen? Has anyone mentioned if she’s in a relationship of any kind?”
Edgenora lifted a brow. “I only know what Colleen herself demonstrated in the parking lot of the church. I was on my way home at the end of the day and saw her jogging up to a man and laying quite a kiss on him. I pretended that I didn’t see and hurried on my way,” she added with a sniff.
“And the man?” Beatrice asked, holding her breath.
Edgenora said slowly, “Well, ordinarily I wouldn’t want to mention it, but considering it’s you, Beatrice, I will. It was Gerald Carpenter.”
Beatrice nodded. “Thank you. I was just trying to confirm something that I’d heard. I knew that if anybody knew, it would probably be you.”
Edgenora said, “It was certainly the wrong place and the wrong time for such a display. And I have to say that Gerald Carpenter looked quite put out about it. He was very stern and jerked away from her quickly. He even looked as if he was brushing himself off after the contact with Colleen.”
Beatrice frowned. “So Colleen was already planning the ceremony before getting in touch with Wyatt?”
Edgenora gave her a wry look. “That’s correct. She was scouting out locations just like someone in the film industry. She called me twice about it. The first time, she called to let me know that she wanted to walk around the church campus. But it started raining, so she was only able to see the interior buildings that day. She had me unlock everything and took pictures and notes of the bride’s dressing room and the sanctuary. Then she called another time to say that she was going to be walking around outside the church, once the weather was good. It might have been that day that she saw Gerald in the parking lot.”
“What was Colleen’s reaction when Gerald pulled away from her?” asked Beatrice curiously.
Edgenora said, “It didn’t seem to bother her much because she burst out in these gales of laughter and told him to loosen up.” She made a face. “And she does seem like the kind of person who’s loosened up. I know that she’s not very particular about paying her bills on time. We have a deposit for reserving the church for a wedding, and it has gone unpaid. And it’s an important fee. We’ll have to run the air conditioning and the lights during the ceremony, engage the organist to play, and Wyatt will officiate. The custodian will need to clean afterwards. These are expenses that must be addressed.”
Beatrice said, “With any luck, she’ll send in a check soon. Perhaps it’s just slipped her mind with all the other planning she’s doing. I know Piper and I have been very absentminded and we’re only planning for a baby’s arrival, not a whole wedding.”
Edgenora glanced at her watch. It was a big watch and one that kept her on track all day long at the church. She’d also purchased for the church office a large clock with big numbers that she put directly in front of her desk. If there was one thing that Edgenora was good at, it was running on time. “I should leave within five minutes, I’m afraid. I’m meeting Savannah for a quick bite to eat and a movie.”
Beatrice quickly felt a slight guilty feeling when Edgenora mentioned Savannah. Life had been very busy lately between attending activities at the church and volunteering there and helping Piper get ready for the new baby. Savannah was one of her quilt guild friends that she’d been meaning to catch up with. Although she’d seen her at the baby shower, it wasn’t the kind of event where you could really talk with someone for a long period of uninterrupted time. “How is Savannah doing?”
Edgenora gave a fond smile. “She’s doing much better! You know how I was fussing that she wasn’t eating really well? She’s actually added a couple of healthy recipes to her cooking repertoire.”
Beatrice smiled. “So she’s stepping away from mac and cheese and canned soups?” Savannah’s sister, Georgia, had been the cook of the two sisters. But Georgia had married, and Savannah had fallen into bad habits when she was no longer cooking for them.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that she’s stepping away from them. No. Nor the Pop Tarts. But she’s added some easy healthy snacks and meals into her rotation,” said Edgenora with a smile.
Edgenora stood up and reached down to give Noo-noo a goodbye pat. “I’ll see you soon, Beatrice. Have Wyatt shoot over that form we talked about, and I’ll have the lawyer take a look.”
“Perfect. Will do,” said Beatrice.
Beatrice and Posy visited for a few minutes after Edgenora left and then Beatrice decided that it was time to set off for home. She put Noo-noo back on her leash, and they were on their way.
Len’s work truck was gone when she arrived, and Beatrice entered the house with some degree of trepidation. Had anything been done at all?
Walking in, she saw that progress had been made. Wyatt lifted his head and grinned at her. “Well, it’s not finished, but Len did manage to get some work done before he left again.”
“That’s great! At least we’re better off and further along than we were this morning.” Beatrice took Noo-noo’s leash off and the little dog walked around on a sniffing expedition.
“He says he’ll be able to come out tomorrow around lunch, too,” said Wyatt.
“Fingers crossed that’s actually the case,” said Beatrice.
“It will give me time to meet with Laura Carpenter, Gerald’s widow. She called and arranged for us to meet around ten tomorrow morning to go over arrangements for Gerald’s funeral. His children will be there, too,” said Wyatt.
Beatrice said thoughtfully, “I probably should run some food by, too.”
Wyatt snapped his fingers. “I’m glad you mentioned that. Meadow called and is planning on bringing food, too. She wanted to go over there with you since she didn’t know Laura as well as she knew Gerald.”
“Maybe we can get there before you come by to meet with the family regarding the arrangements,” said Beatrice. “Did Meadow say what she was bringing?” Beatrice knew that whatever it was, it would be good. Meadow was a master of home cooking and everything she made was delicious. Unfortunately, it was now evening, and Beatrice had no kitchen and no ideas of what to bring a grieving widow.
Wyatt said, “She was providing a fried chicken dinner with all the fixings, apparently. But she suggested that you pick up breakfast and then most of the day’s food would be provided for.”
Beatrice felt relieved. “That’s perfect, actually. I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull off even making a side dish for the meal with the kitchen the way it is. When I get up tomorrow, I can pick up muffins and doughnuts from June Bug’s.”
With everything on her mind, Beatrice’s sleep was unfortunately spotty. She gave up early in the morning and got up. First, she made a list of all the things that she could think of that she needed to do. That way, her mind wouldn’t be spinning with all the uncompleted tasks. Then she picked up her book to do a little reading. She and Wyatt were reading the same book and Beatrice found that she’d gotten behind while Wyatt had been overseeing the construction in the kitchen while reading. They’d chosen All the Light We Cannot See. Beatrice had been looking forward to a return to novel reading after she’d read a nonfiction selection that Wyatt had chosen over the last few books. She really needed to put the finishing touches on that diaper bag, but figured that she could work that in over the next couple of days.
Wyatt joined her in the living room at seven. “Everything all right?” he asked, rubbing his eyes as he adjusted to the light in the room.
“I just couldn’t sleep well and didn’t want to disturb you. Now that you’re up, I think I’ll get ready to head over to June Bug’s. Want me to pick up some breakfast for us, while I’m there?”
“That would be great. Otherwise, we’ll probably be eating more yogurt,” said Wyatt with a wry smile.
So Beatrice set off for the bakery while Wyatt took Noo-noo for a short walk and then fed her. It was early enough that Beatrice figured June Bug might still be in the process of baking, but when she walked into the shop, the little wide-eyed woman seemed to be already finished.
June Bug gave her a shy smile as Beatrice greeted her. The shop, as always, smelled delicious. She saw that there were already cakes out, too, as well as the morning pastries.
“How is Piper doing?” June Bug asked. Her expression always made her look a little anxious.
“She’s doing great! She and the baby both are, according to the doctor visit we had yesterday. Oh, and be sure to thank Katie for me again for her sweet gift for the baby. That stuffed cat is absolutely adorable with her little bow-tie and those big eyes. I know the baby is going to love her.”
June Bug smiled shyly at her. “She called her Tilly, but wanted the baby to name her however she wanted. Because Tilly was so special, she wanted her to be loved by another child.”
“That’s so sweet of her. How is Katie doing? We didn’t have time to catch up much at the baby shower,” said Beatrice.
June Bug proudly found a piece of paper that was in a small stack behind the counter and showed it to her.
“All As on her report card!” said Beatrice. “You must be so proud. I know you’ve been working hard with her.”
June Bug had told her all about helping Katie with her spelling words and math. When Katie had moved, she’d been a little behind her grade at the new school. Clearly now she’d caught up—and then some.
“She’s been working hard, too,” said June Bug with a happy twinkle in her eyes. “And now she has new friends and can play just as hard as she works.” She nodded to the small office. “She’s already getting ahead today on schoolwork. I bring her here with me in the mornings, of course . . . we both have to get up really early. She likes to do her reading now when it’s so quiet.”
“That’s wonderful to hear. Tell her that I said congratulations on the great report card. Although I know you’re a great example of hard work—it looks like you’ve already finished your baking for today,” said Beatrice.
June Bug nodded and showed Beatrice what she’d been working on. It wasn’t easy for Beatrice to choose. There were buttermilk biscuits, banana bread, quiches, scones, cinnamon buns, and muffins.
“You’re making it very hard on me today,” said Beatrice with a grin.
June Bug looked pleased.
Since Beatrice couldn’t really decide, she asked for two different plates with a variety of breads on them. That way, June Bug could choose.
A few minutes later, June Bug carefully put the plates into plastic bags for Beatrice to carry back home and gave her a cheerful goodbye as the bakery phone rang with an order
When Beatrice got back home, she held one of the bags up to show Wyatt. “We have a feast!”
He grinned at her. “That’s perfect. I didn’t really feel like cereal this morning since I’ve been eating cereal for supper some nights.”
“Well, we have lots to choose from. And I got a plate of goodies for Laura, too, of course. June Bug had so many pastries out that I had a tough time making up my mind.”
After they ate and drank some more coffee, Wyatt left to go to the office to get some things done before heading over to the Carpenter house. After he left, there was a loud knock at the door which set Noo-noo to barking excitedly. Beatrice smiled to herself. Meadow had clearly arrived.
Meadow bustled in. “Good morning! I had to see your kitchen disaster for myself. I was so distracted yesterday that it was the last thing on my mind.” She peered over and made a face. “You’ve been living like this for a while. How are the two of you surviving?”
Beatrice laughed. “Pretty well because we’ve been eating out or bringing food in. This morning we had a variety of baked goods from June Bug’s.”
Meadow snorted. “Then you’ve been eating better than we have. I’ve been so busy with the baby stuff that poor Ramsay acts as though I’ve been starving him. He’s pitiful! Keeps asking when I’ll go back to making my famous big breakfasts. He’s been eating grocery store bagels for the last couple of weeks because I just don’t have it in me to cook in the mornings.”
“What have you been doing for the baby?” asked Beatrice curiously.
“Whatever Ash tells me still needs to be done,” said Meadow. “Although sometimes he’s not the most reliable person to ask, so I’ve asked Piper.”
Beatrice made a face. “And I thought I was helping out. I didn’t realize there was so much to still be done. The way that Piper has talked about it, I thought they had everything in hand.”
Meadow gestured toward her car, and Beatrice grabbed the platter of food and stepped outside. Meadow said, “They do. I think they’re having to find things for me to do because otherwise I drive them crazy checking on Piper. They’ve had me help put a wallpaper border up, make a changing pad for the changing table, hang some open bins for storage on the walls. At this point, they’re probably wringing their hands trying to think of other things to keep me busy. It may have gotten to the point where Ash has me doing their yardwork.”
They got into the car, and Beatrice said dryly, “I’m sure if you were to ask Wyatt, there are any number of things that you could volunteer for at the church to kill time.”
Meadow started up the car. “By golly, you’re right. I wasn’t thinking about volunteering because it’s such a short period of time until the baby comes—and then I really will have lots to do. But the church probably has short-term volunteering opportunities?”
Beatrice clutched the platter as Meadow lurched out of the driveway and swung onto the road. “Let’s just say that any time you wanted to head over there and babysit in any nursery for a service or for a yoga class or any number of nurseries, you wouldn’t be turned down.”
“Good point,” said Meadow thoughtfully. “So I could volunteer in the infant nursery, for instance? I probably could stand to brush up on my baby skills. It’s been a long time since I last cared for a baby.”
Unfortunately, Meadow was now putting a lot more thought into volunteering in the church nursery than she was in driving the vehicle.
“Look out!” said Beatrice—pointing ahead at an old Lincoln, driving mostly in their lane, careening toward them.
Meadow swerved off the side of the road and came to a stop. They saw Miss Sissy shaking her arthritic fist at them as she drove off.
Meadow said faintly, “Oops.” And then, with more certainty, “Miss Sissy is a danger to the roadways. Someone should take her keys away from her.”
Beatrice took a deep breath and looked at Meadow through narrowed eyes. Perhaps someone should start thinking about taking the keys away from Meadow.
Meadow put the car in motion again, this time driving a bit more sedately and with more focus.
Fortunately, after the curve was Gerald’s house. It was a rambling brick home with ivy scaling the outside walls, and the home was located on top of a steep hill. The yard was carefully maintained with bushes clipped perfectly and a bed of roses on the side of the house.
Meadow said, “They must have some fantastic mountain views from the back.”
Beatrice said, “I’ve never actually been here. And, in fact, Wyatt mentioned earlier that it would be his first visit out to their house.”
“Really? I’d have thought he’d have been out here, considering all the church-related work he did with Gerald,” said Meadow as they got out of the car and started walking down the driveway to the front door.