| |
WENDY OPENED THE DOOR with a look of surprise on her face as Arden, Paige and Savannah presented three platters of food.
“Oh hello,” Wendy said, reluctantly stepping back to allow the other three women to enter.
The sound of heavy feet stomping down the stairs caught their attention and they looked up just as Emma came into view on the staircase landing. With a suitcase in each hand, she squared her shoulders and slowly descended the staircase. She smiled sadly at the women, saying nothing as she passed by.
Emma’s stricken expression tugged at Arden’s heartstrings. “Emma,” she said with a concerned look, “where are you going?”
Emma paused in the doorway for a moment. She opened her mouth to say something, but then decided against it and simply shook her head.
Wendy hurriedly ushered the older woman out the door. “Goodbye, Emma, and thank you for being so understanding.”
Emma’s chin lifted slightly. She nodded quietly before walking down the porch stairs with her head held high.
Savannah tipped her head to the side, regarding Wendy with an amused smile as the other woman closed the door. “I hope we didn’t come at a bad time.”
Politeness forced Wendy into immediate denial. “No, of course not. I’m happy to see you.”
A piece of paper lay on the dark wooden console table near the door. Arden glanced down surprised to see what appeared to be a job announcement for a housekeeper. Wendy certainly didn’t let grass grow under her feet. She would have thought Wendy would have waited until Bruce was cremated at least before asking Emma to leave. She exchanged a look with Paige and Savannah before asking with forced innocence, “Is Emma going on vacation?”
There was a moment’s pause, and then Wendy said, “No, since Grandpa is no longer with us, I just felt that there really isn’t any point for Emma to stay on.”
“Where is she going to go?” Savannah asked. “I don’t think she has any family to speak of.”
Clearly unconcerned by such matters, Wendy simply shrugged. “I’m sure she’ll find someplace.”
“Oh.” Worry for the older woman spurred Arden towards the door. “You know, I’ve been thinking about hiring some help, perhaps Emma—”
“I would suggest hiring someone else,” Wendy said, her hand still firmly on the doorknob. “Don’t get me wrong. Emma is a very nice woman but I’ve noticed she’s been having some trouble climbing ladders lately. She hasn’t dusted the chandeliers in quite some time. Her eyesight’s not as good as it used to be either and she’s been missing spots on the windows too. She and I had a long talk and we both agreed it was time for her to retire. Honestly, I think she’ll be much happier now.”
An uncomfortable silence descended in the room then and was only broken when Wendy extended her hand to towards the back of the house. “I was just about to have lunch. Would you like to join me?”
“Oh, that would be lovely,” Savannah said. “Thank you.”
Arden glanced out the window next to the door just as Emma climbed into an old beat up sedan and drove away. Reluctantly, she turned and followed Wendy down a dark hallway and into a narrow utilitarian kitchen.
Wendy quickly ushered them onto the patio at the back of the house while she put away the dishes of food they had brought.
While Wendy mysteriously busied herself in the kitchen, turning on and off the faucet, opening and shutting doors, and rattling dishes against one another, Arden, Paige and Savannah moved to a pretty cast iron table, painted robin’s egg blue, sitting at the end of the patio.
“Thank you so much for thinking of me,” Wendy called out through the open window above the sink. “That was very kind of you.”
“I’m sorry it’s taken so long,” Paige said as Wendy disappeared from view.
Wendy poked her head out of the door long enough to say, “I do hope you’ll be able to make it to the service tomorrow.”
Paige looked up at her in surprise as she dusted off her chair and sat down. “So, there will be a service? I thought . . .” She trailed off as Wendy stepped back into the kitchen.
Wendy’s face appeared at the window again. “I decided that it wouldn’t be proper not to have some kind of sendoff,” she said over the sound of running water.
“Does that mean you’re not cremating your grandfather?”
There was silence.
“Perhaps she didn’t hear,” Arden said.
Just then, Wendy stepped outside. “No, I heard,” she said wrapping an apron around her waist. “We’re still going through with the cremation. That’s what my grandfather wanted, but I didn’t see any reason not to give everyone a chance to say their goodbyes.” She turned and disappeared back into the kitchen.
Arden smoothed out her dress and sat down next to Savannah. “What time will the service be?” she asked raising her voice.
“Two,” came the far away response.
“That buys us a little more time,” Paige whispered.
“Not by much,” Savannah replied darkly. “I think we need to talk to Emma.”
“Wendy didn’t waste much time in getting rid of her,” Paige said. “Poor Emma. I hope she has someplace to go.”
Arden frowned as Wendy moved back and forth in front of the window. “Can we help?” she asked rising from her seat.
Wendy poked her head at the door. “I wouldn’t hear of it. Sit please.” She waved her hands in a downward motion only stopping when Arden sat down.
“We certainly don’t mean for you to trouble yourself, Wendy,” Savannah called out.
“No trouble,” came the reply. “Won’t take me more than a minute.”
Paige craned her neck to get a better look inside the house. “If you just want to pop my casserole into the microwave, we could have that for lunch.”
A smiling Wendy appeared at the door again. “Oh, I thought I would save that for dinner. Duncan’s taking me to a concert tonight and now I’ll have dinner ready for us when we get back. I’ve heard him rave about your tuna casserole.”
Savannah dropped her voice to a whisper when Wendy disappeared from view again. “When did you serve Duncan tuna casserole?” she asked Paige.
Paige lifted her hands in a shrug. “Maybe at one of the potlucks we had last year. I don’t remember.” She removed the light pink sweater she was wearing and laid it on the back of her chair before making a face. “It’s so hot out here.”
Nodding, Arden lifted her hair off the back of her neck as the hot sun beat down on them and blew out her breath.
With nothing else to do but wait, they leaned against the hard iron backs of their chairs and looked around. The yard, by and large, wasn’t much different from any of the other yards on the street. Tall box hedges enclosed the backyard on either side, leading to a slightly smaller hedge at the back.
The only difference that Arden could spot was that Wendy’s back hedge was even more overgrown than Arden’s and the wrought iron gate at the back was covered by some type board completely cutting off the view of the ocean. Her gaze swept from the gate to the vegetable garden in the center of the yard flanked on either side by a couple of white and pink crepe myrtles and a . . .
Arden frowned. Tilting her head to the side, she squinted her eyes, not quite sure if she was seeing what she was seeing. She pointed to the potted pink bush sitting near the dirt patch. “I think that’s my oleander bush.”
Before Savannah and Paige could respond, Wendy appeared at their side with a serving tray containing china in a pretty floral pattern and tall glasses filled with ice. Setting the tray on the table, she followed Arden’s pointing finger. “Why yes, that’s your oleander bush, or rather, it was your oleander bush. I hope you don’t mind, but since you didn’t want it anymore, I thought I would take it.”
“No, I don’t mind at all,” Arden said. “I’m just surprised to see it here.”
“Well, when Julie stopped by to inquire about my birdbath, she mentioned that you were getting rid of the oleander bush. I thought it would be a nice trade. She’s going to plant it in my garden sometime today.” Wendy disappeared back into the house returning a few seconds later with a platter of sandwiches cut into triangles and a pitcher of iced tea. “I hope you like mint cucumber sandwiches. I grew the cucumbers myself.”
“I’ve been thinking about adding a vegetable garden myself,” Paige said reaching for a cucumber sandwich.
Wendy poured each of them a glass of iced tea as they filled their plates with the sandwiches. “I just love fresh vegetables. I’ve been taking cooking classes on the weekends for a few months now. My teacher highly recommends having your very own vegetable garden.”
Feeling the effects of the scorching sun beating down on her, Arden reached for the ice tea glass and took a sip. “I’ve been thinking about taking cooking classes.”
“You should,” Wendy said as she set the pitcher down and took a seat between Arden and Paige. “I’ve learned a lot in just a few short months.”
Savannah laid a napkin in her lap. “I’m surprised you put the garden right between those two trees. It doesn’t seem like your garden would get enough sun.”
Wendy smiled as they began to eat. “You sound like Duncan.” She tucked her hair behind her ears, showing off a pair of beautiful diamond earrings. “He complains about the garden all the time. He wants to do something grand back here.” She laughed lightly. “I sometimes wonder if the only reason he is paying so much attention to me lately is because he wants my business.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, would you listen to me? Grandpa always said I was too negative. I can’t help it though. Whenever anyone’s being nice to me, I just automatically assume they have an ulterior motive.” She laughed again. “Can you believe that?”
Savannah laughed with her while Arden and Paige gave a half-hearted chuckle.
“I’m so glad you all stopped by,” Wendy said picking up her sandwich. “If I had known I was going to have company I would have made my grandmother’s ham salad. I remember watching her make it whenever her friends came over for a visit.”
“Oh no,” Savannah said, waving a hand towards the tea sandwiches. “This is absolutely delicious. I’m just sorry you went to so much trouble. We should be taking care of you right now.”
“Well, this is a rare treat.” Wendy nibbled on her sandwich, and then set it aside. “No one ever cared to visit me before my grandfather died.”
Arden felt a pang of sympathy at the loneliness in Wendy’s voice. It must have been hard living here, in some ways apart from everyone else.
Savannah delicately cleared her throat while Paige fussed with the neckline of her dress. “Yes, well,” Savannah said, “I apologize that we didn’t come sooner.”
Sensing their discomfort, Wendy rushed to reassure them. “Oh, please don’t think I’m blaming you. You were always kind enough to invite me to your parties, and for that, I’ve been very grateful. I’m just sorry I wasn’t ever able to reciprocate. My grandfather made things...difficult sometimes.” She paused reflectively and said somewhat defensively. “He wasn’t a bad man.”
“No, of course not,” Savannah said. “I rather liked Bruce.”
Wendy looked doubtful. “In small doses? He used to be great fun. It’s just as he got older, he became more set in his ways. He simply lost the inclination most people had not to be a jerk to their neighbors.”
Shocked into laughter, they nodded in agreement and soon, to Arden’s surprise, an easy companionship developed among the four women as the conversation moved to happy memories of Bruce. Now that Wendy was relaxed and laughing, Arden realized Wendy was actually quite charming and a part of her began to feel guilty for the suspicious thoughts she had been harboring against her. Perhaps she was judging the woman too quickly.
A lock of red hair fell into Wendy’s eyes and she whisked it away with a brush of her hand.
Arden gestured to her hair. “I have been meaning to tell you that I really like what you’ve done with your hair. It’s very pretty.”
A bright smile appeared on Wendy’s face. “Thank you. It was time for a change.”
Savannah waved her hand over her sandwich, swiping at an insect that got too close to her plate. “I’ve noticed that you’ve changed quite a bit since your grandfather died. Was he very particular about how you looked?”
A bead of perspiration appeared at Wendy’s temple. Chuckling, she used her napkin as a fan, stirring up the hot muggy air. “Goodness no. I don’t think he ever noticed what I wore or did. The only reason I didn’t dress up more often is because there was very little point. Like I said earlier, no one ever visited us and I had no hope of a social life with him around.”
“Duncan didn’t seem to mind the way you dressed,” Paige said with a grin. “We’ve noticed that you and he seem to have become...” She looked heavenward as she tried to come up with the correct description. “Closer, perhaps?”
Wendy looked thoughtful. “He asked me to marry him last night.”
Arden wondered if she looked as shocked as Savannah and Paige. “Congratulations!”
“I said he asked,” Wendy said in amusement, “I didn’t say I accepted. He reminds me a little too much of my ex-husband. But who knows, we might eventually get married. He is rather nice and I think this house could get lonely with just me here.”
Paige frowned. “You wouldn’t want to move into his house? He has a gourmet kitchen, a gorgeous master bath, a pool, a finished basement and seven hundred more square feet than this house.” In reaction to Arden and Savannah’s surprised look, she said, “It’s my business to know these things.”
Wendy’s brow furrowed as she traced her finger over the rim of her full glass. “Why should I uproot my life?”
Paige jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “It’s only next door.”
“I live here. If he wants me, he can move.” Wendy folded her arms across her chest. “I’ll never leave here. This is my home.”
Noticing Arden, Savannah and Paige’s almost empty glasses of tea, Wendy leaned forward to pick up the pitcher and as she did, the butterfly pendant that had once belonged to Gladys Oakley slipped out from underneath her dress and dangled from her neck, drawing their attention to the colorful stones.
Paige gasped, drawing Wendy’s attention to her and then down to the necklace. “Is there something wrong?” she asked as she refilled their glasses.
Show time, Arden thought, as she picked up her glass and took a drink. “That’s a pretty necklace,” she said. “It’s rather unusual looking. Where did you get it?”
Setting the pitcher down, Wendy looked down at her necklace as though she wasn’t sure what she was referring to. “It was my grandmother’s.”
“She gave it to you?” Paige asked.
“No, I found it in my grandfather’s room when I was cleaning it out the other morning.” Wendy caught the suspicious expressions on their face and frowned. “Why? What’s wrong?”
Savannah pushed aside her plate and folded her arms on the table. “Gladys Oakley had a necklace just like that I believe. Supposedly, Ivy Kent stole it.”
Wendy’s eyes widened a bit. “Really? Are you sure?” At their nods, she said, “How bizarre. I wonder how it ended up in my grandfather’s room.” She shrugged lightly. “Perhaps Ivy gave it to my grandfather before she left. They seemed to like one another.” She tipped her head forward as she reached behind her neck.
Paige’s hands fluttered above her head, swiping at an insect buzzing around. “Wouldn’t he have told Mrs. Oakley that Ivy had given him her necklace?”
Wendy made a face. “I doubt it. He and Gladys didn’t much care for one another. Not that I could blame him. Gladys was a bit of a snob.” She held up the necklace, stretching her arm towards Savannah who was sitting across from her. “I hope you don’t mind returning this to Gladys. Please apologize to her for me. I would do it myself but I’m not at all sure where she moved.”
Savannah picked up her purse with a nod and slipped the necklace inside. “Did Ivy often give women's jewelry to your grandfather?”
“No, but I can’t imagine how it got into my house otherwise,” Wendy said. “It had to have come from her.”
Silence descended on the table as a subtle tension began to build.
Searching for some neutral topic of conversation, Arden held up her glass and looked at the amber liquid. “What kind of tea is this?”
“It’s an herbal tea I made myself,” Wendy said, her voice hardening ever so slightly. “It’s an old recipe from my grandmother.” Her eyes glittered as she speared each of the ladies with a menacing glance. “I crushed up some leaves from a couple of those bushes out there and made tea from them.”
A feeling of horror came over Arden as her gaze zeroed in on the oleander bush and then on Wendy’s untouched glass of tea.
The same thing must have occurred to Paige who suddenly choked on her drink. Quickly putting her glass down, she covered her mouth and turned to the side with a cough.
Savannah slowly swallowed with a pained expression on her face. “You don’t say.”
Whatever good feeling Arden had for Wendy evaporated. “You gave us oleander tea?”
Wendy raised an eyebrow. “Oleander?” She laughed. “Don’t be stupid.” She held up her iced tea glass with a smile. “This is lavender mint tea.” A fake note of innocence crept into her voice. “You wouldn’t be dumb enough to think that I would deliberately try to poison someone, would you?” Her smile grew wider. “Oh, by the way, Savannah, I ran into your daughter-in-law today at church.” She held up the glass in a mock toast. “She sends you her best.”
