A few days later, Josh arrived at Stratton House to measure the windows. As he was leaving, he asked Beth to dinner at his house. She said yes.
When they heard the pick-up truck pull into the driveway, Sam and Max bolted outside. The two little boys mobbed their father, each grabbing one of his legs, so he walked like a bow-legged cowboy to the passenger’s side to open Beth’s door.
When they saw the newcomer, they disappeared behind Josh.
“Now you’re shy,” he said. “Beth, you remember my oldest, Sam, and his smaller carbon-copy, Max. Guys, this is Beth. Do you remember her? We had spaghetti with her one night.”
Sam peeked out from behind his father’s leg. “Do you want to play hide and seek with us?”
Beth knelt to look Sam in the eye. “I would love to play hide and seek with the two of you. But beware: I’m very fast, and I’m very good at finding people.”
Max ventured out to look at their guest. “How fast?”
“Like a cheetah!” she said, smiling at the little boy.
Myrna stepped out onto the front porch. She was a compact woman in her early sixties with short gray-streaked wavy hair and tortoise-rimmed eyeglasses. She wore a flower-print apron over khaki pants and a white blouse. She looked at the four of them in the driveway and frowned. “For Pete’s sake, let her in the house. Lord, I swear. There’s too much testosterone around this place.”
Beth stood, and Josh gestured for her to go ahead. He and his sons followed her up onto the porch.
“Hi, I’m Beth Kozera,” she said, extending her hand.
Myrna frowned and wiped her hands on her apron. “Myrna Stevens. Nice to meet you. Come on inside. I just made a fresh pitcher of sweet tea.”
Beth stepped into the two-story farmhouse, and the tantalizing aroma of roast pork greeted her. She hoped she wouldn’t start salivating. And if she did, she hoped Josh and his family wouldn’t notice. Beth followed Myrna through a cramped – albeit cozy – living room, with an afghan-covered couch and two recliner chairs separated by end tables with reading lamps.
In the kitchen, the boys’ school artwork covered the cabinets. The smells of dinner enveloped her. Diced onions sizzled in a pot with thick chunks of bacon; Myrna tossed in green beans. On the counter sat a baked apple pie, its flaky crust a golden tan. Slices of red, luscious tomatoes waited next to small bowls of plump blackberries and raspberries. Beth looked up at Josh, unable to hide her want and hunger.
He smiled down at her. “Yes, ma’am. I told you my mother taught me how to cook.”
Myrna grinned. “Shoot. Nothing to it. Do you cook, Beth?”
“Uh… ”
“Beth has other skills,” Josh said.
“I guess you need them, running a place like Stratton House. I’m glad you could join us for dinner. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Thank you,” Beth answered. “I hope most of it was good.”
“It was. I sure hope this won’t be your only visit,” Myrna said.
Beth frowned. She looked at the older woman.
“I’ve never seen a man clean house the way Josh did when you accepted his invitation.”
“Okay, Mom. I think those are details Beth doesn’t need to know,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“I sure hope you’ll come back every week. Saves me a full day of house cleaning.”
Beth laughed. “May I?” she asked, gesturing toward the berries. Myrna nodded, and Beth popped a raspberry into her mouth. “Yum. These are so sweet. Did you buy them at the farmer’s market?”
Now Myrna looked at Beth. “No. I grew them in my garden.”
“There’s a small garden at Stratton House, but nothing like this. I’m just glad I have fresh tomatoes. I would love to have berries like these.”
Myrna brightened. “Would you like to see my garden?”
“Yes, please.”
“Son, keep an eye on these beans,” Myrna said, gesturing for Beth to follow her.
Sam and Max moaned. “That means we don’t get to eat forever,” Max whined, as the two women left through the back door.
Myrna showed Beth her large garden, surrounded by a six-foot fence to keep out deer. The neat tidy rows were scarce of weeds; the plants heavy with fruit. Walking between the rows, Beth leaned down and examined one of the bean plants, delighted with all of the pods.
“What’s growing in that garden at Stratton House?” Myrna asked.
Beth frowned. “Oh, I have a few tomato plants still bearing fruit. Honestly, I’m as skilled at gardening as I am cooking. Which is to say, not very.”
“Josh said you moved out here from Seattle. Don’t you have a garden there?”
“No. I usually go to the farmer’s market on Saturdays and buy produce. And I live close to Whole Foods.”
Myrna looked curiously at Beth.
“It’s a grocery store. Some of my friends call it Whole Paycheck because it’s pretty pricey.”
“How do you manage the kitchen at Stratton House if you don’t cook?”
“Guests hire their own caterers. The kitchen has commercial-grade appliances, although we don’t provide the food,” Beth told Myrna, walking towards her in the garden. “But I have an idea for a new event at Stratton House. I saw it done in Seattle once. Local chefs who want to showcase their talents use the kitchen for an evening and prepare a special dinner for guests. We sell tickets, and Stratton House takes a percentage of the gross, I don’t know, maybe ten percent. The rest of the money compensates the chef for his time and groceries.”
Myrna looked at Beth and nodded. “I like that idea. I know someone who might be interested.”
“Grandma, when are we gonna eat?” Max moaned.
The two women turned to see an audience of Josh, Sam and Max outside the garden fence, and laughed.
“I guess that serves as our dinner bell. Visiting time is over,” Myrna said.
Beth followed her out of the garden and back into the kitchen.
Josh held a chair out for Beth. Sam and Max sat next to her and asked question after question: “Where are you from? Do you have kids? Do you own Stratton House? Is it spooky at night there? Are there ghosts?”
Finally, Josh said, “Okay. I think that’s enough of an inquisition for tonight. Here, pass these to Beth,” he said, handing Sam a towel-lined basket of fresh corn biscuits. Beth smiled up at him. He smiled back.
When the table was complete with the green beans and onions, barbecued pork ribs, cold potato salad and biscuits, Myrna sat. Josh told Max to scoot over one chair, and sat next to Beth.
“We say grace,” Myrna said, taking Sam’s and Max’s hands in hers. Beth took Sam’s and Josh’s. His felt warm and firm. He squeezed her hand. All five looked down.
“Lord, we thank you for this bounty. We welcome Beth into our home and hearts. Plenty of room. And we pray, Lord, do we pray, that two little boys be on their best behavior tonight, and cause no more mischief than they already have today. In your name, Amen.”
“Amen,” Beth said. She released the two boys’ hands and looked up to see Josh wink at her.
“Beth, would you like green beans?”
“Yes, please.”
A half hour later, the plates were nearly empty. The two boys finished before the adults, so they placed their dirty plates into the sink, washed their hands and disappeared outside. After Myrna, Josh and Beth finished, Josh shooed Myrna out of the kitchen, telling her the cook shouldn’t have to be the bottle-washer too. Beth cleared the table while Josh rinsed dishes and carefully filled the dishwasher.
“Should we start this?” she asked, when the last plate was inside.
“No. Don’t bother. My mom always comes back and rearranges it. Just leave it. Let’s join Sam and Max outside.”
The kitchen had been hot with all the cooking. Outside, the sun was setting, and a cool breeze provided a welcome relief. Myrna sat breaking beans from the garden. Josh and Beth joined her, sitting together on a covered swing.
“How do you like Stratton House, Beth?” Myrna asked.
“It’s okay. I’m settling in, I think, trying to learn how to run the business.”
“You must feel cramped in our little kitchen tonight,” Myrna said.
“No. Your kitchen is way bigger than the one in my condominium. To be honest, I find Stratton House too big. I prefer a small house. Less to clean and heat. Isn’t that the saying – love grows best in small houses?”
“What did you do in Seattle?” Myrna asked.
“I’m a nurse practitioner. I worked for Carrie’s cardiologist. After I find a buyer for Stratton House, I plan on returning to Seattle and working for Dr. Lionel again.”
Josh said nothing.
Max ran up. “Beth, will you play hide-and-seek? You said you would.”
“Sure. I’ll cover my eyes and count to twenty. Will that give you enough time?”
“Better make it fifty,” Josh said.
“Okay. What’s base?” she asked.
“The water pump,” Sam offered, pointing at an antique water pump on a small concrete slab.
“One. Two, Three. Four,” she counted. She felt the swing get lighter, meaning Josh would also be one of her prey. “Five…” When she finished at fifty, she shouted, “Ready or not, here I come.”
Beth looked at Myrna. “Any suggestions?”
“They usually hide on the far side of the hay barn.”
Beth rose from the swing and walked away from the house and toward the barn. She was nearly there when Max burst away from the side of the building and dashed towards the water pump. Beth turned and ran as fast she could, just barely tagging him before he reached it.
“Gotcha!” she shouted, triumphant. “Okay. Confess. Where are the other two?”
“I’m not a squealer,” he said. “Besides, that wasn’t fair. You’re bigger than me.”
“I told you I was fast. Did you think I was exaggerating? I run marathons, for Pete’s sake. How do you think I can eat so much and not weigh a thousand pounds? I tagged you. Now you’re on my team. C’mon. Let’s go hunt down your dad and brother.”
“I ain’t on your team. That’s not how hide-and-seek works.”
“We’re playing by Seattle rules. Now c’mon. Confess! Where’s your brother?”
“Behind the hen house.”
“Okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna set up an ambush. You go around the right, and I’ll be waiting on the left. The minute he steps away from the hen house, he’ll be caught. And then, after we find your dad, we’ll make him it, and you and I will find a much better place to hide.”
They approached the small chicken coop, and parted, with Max skulking toward the right of the house. When neither boy emerged from behind it, Beth walked to the left to investigate, and found the boys in heated conversation.
“What do you mean, you’re on her team now? That ain’t how hide-and-seek works,” Sam demanded of his younger brother.
“I know! I told her that. She said those are Seattle rules,” Max said, shrugging.
“Ah, she’s fibbing. I never heard of no such thing as Seattle rules.”
Beth tapped him on the shoulder. “Sam, you’re out.”
“How can I be out? This dingus led you right to me!”
Beth laughed. “Boys, what can I say? I’m that good. Maybe we could call it a draw?”
She started to walk back to the porch where Myrna waited, but when she heard the boys arguing behind her, she stopped and waited. The sun had sunk to the horizon, and orange streaks across the sky were all that remained of the day. When she resumed walking, Sam’s warm hand appeared within her right, and Max’s in her left, and they returned to the back porch.
By the time they reached Myrna, lightning bugs hovered, illuminating the night’s blackness. Beth had seen the glowing insects only in Missouri.
“We don’t have fireflies in Seattle,” she said, sitting across from Myrna. “They’re still a novelty to me.”
A minute later, Sam approached her with his hands cupped.
“What do you have?” she asked, squatting by the little boy.
He opened his hands to show her a small bug. The little creature, sensing escape, flew into the air, flashing his tail light as he sailed away on the gentle evening breeze. He had barely gone when Max brought Beth another, just as eager to make his get-away. Beth laughed and hugged the boys close.
In the darkness, unseen, Josh watched.