Pages of the Past (Bellingwood Book 9) (5 page)

"Do you want an open window to the bakery?" she asked Sylvie. "Because how cool would that be? Customers could watch bread come out of the ovens and see you decorating cakes."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No. I'm not kidding. It would be awesome."

"I don't want them watching me. That would be really intimidating."

Polly was confused. "But people can stand at the counter at Sycamore House and watch you cook."

"We'll talk about this later. If you can give me a good reason why I should show all of Bellingwood how much flour and sugar I pour down my front, maybe I'll let you talk me into that."

"Have you looked online at ovens and mixers and refrigerators and coolers?" Polly asked.

"Not yet," Sylvie gave a little laugh. "We only started talking about this last night. Just because you're making plans doesn't mean I have everything put in place four hours later."

Polly rolled her eyes.

"Are you really going to do the bakery?" Sal asked. "I thought last night we were talking about it happening in the future... maybe. That Sylvie would bake things at Sycamore House until we got bigger."

"If this is going to happen, why shouldn't the whole thing happen at once?"

"Because it's a big investment."

"We'd take on the bakery investment and rent this space from you."

Sal nodded and then shook her head. "That's crazy."

"That's kind of what Jeff said. But I think it can work. If anyone can make it happen, it's Sylvie."

Sylvie took Sal's arm and dramatically wobbled back and forth. "I'm feeling pressure here."

"She's frightening when she starts dreaming, isn't she."

Polly waved them off and wandered back into the front room. "What's this door here?" she asked.

"That leads up to the apartments," Sal said. "Do you want to see them?"

"Do you want me to fix them up?" It was almost as if Polly were daring her to respond.

"Yes? No?" Sal turned to Henry in desperation. "Do I want her to see them?"

"Why don't we focus on this level," he said. "We'll clear out the junk and look at the floor, then take measurements and think about where you want walls. I'll bring Jerry in to look at the electricity and we need to find out where water comes in to the building. There is plenty of foundational work ahead of us before we let Polly loose. But now that she's seen the place, her mind won't turn off until she's created the perfect coffee shop and bakery. Isn't that right, honey?"

"What?" Polly asked. She looked over her shoulder at them.

"What are you thinking about?"

"A little stage."

"A stage?"

"For performers. You know, singer-songwriters, poets, jazz combos."

"Like I told you," Henry said. "Her brain isn't going to leave this alone for a long time now. We've created a monster."

Sal looked over at Polly, "Do you really think this could work?"

"Why not? Once we get it in place, the only thing you have to do is keep the quality high, the place clean and prices reasonable. As long as your customers can count on you being consistent, they'll keep coming back and they'll tell their friends."

"And you think Bellingwood can handle it?"

"I don't know what the population numbers are doing right now, but Bellingwood isn't a back water community, going stale and lifeless. Things are happening here. The boys at the winery are doing well and Sycamore Inn is getting busier. You aren't the only person who is buying empty space. That new boutique that opened up next to the general store is bringing in customers and the screen printing shop by the bank is opening sometime next month."

"They're talking about repaving Washington Street this summer," Henry said, walking across the floor. "The downtown is going to look really nice. Now's the time to start."

"No time like the present, then," Sal said. "You must think I'm the most foolish person you've ever met."

"Why's that?" Polly asked.

"All I wanted was a place to serve me some really good coffee. No one else was going to build it, so I had to."

"Jeff and I talked about it last year and we just couldn't make a decision. We weren't ready to expand beyond Sycamore House, so buying a building downtown didn't make sense. But we also knew that we weren't a good location for a coffee shop. There's no drop-in traffic over there."

"Did I steal your idea?" Sal asked her. "Because I can back off. I haven't signed the papers yet."

"No, I love that someone else is doing it. That lets me off the hook."

"Except for the bakery," Henry said, nodding at Sylvie.

"That's going to be the most amazing part." Polly rubbed her hands together. "Sylvie are you ready to do this? You're going to have to start training more people, you know."

Sylvie gave a little shudder. "This is so much more than I'd ever expected when I told you I was going back to college. I'm in charge and it scares the life out of me."

"Are you going to train my baristas and manage the coffee shop too?" Sal asked with a grin.

"Not on your crazy, coffee-loving life. That's all on you."

Sal turned to Polly. "Will you do it?"

"Nope. You're going to have to get involved."

"I'm spending money. Isn't that enough?" This time she turned to Henry for support.

He backed away. "Don't look at me. I'll take your money, but I'm not getting involved with the business of this place."

"Fine then. I'm going to go flirt with your manager."

"Jeff? Good luck with that."

"He loves me."

"Like I said. Good luck with that."

CHAPTER FIVE

Not wanting the kids to walk home in the bitter cold, Polly drove to the school. She watched for them to come out and as Rebecca pulled her scarf around her head, Andrew looked up and saw Polly's truck. They were with a girl whom Polly had seen a few times before. That had to be Rebecca's friend, Kayla. She followed her friends to Polly's truck and Andrew jumped in the front seat.

"I called shotgun," he said. "Don't make me sit in back with the girls, okay?"

The two girls clambered into the back seat and Polly waited for them to all belt in. "Are we ready?" she asked.

"Thanks for getting us, Polly," Rebecca said. "This is Kayla."

Polly turned in her seat and put her hand out. The girl took it in her left hand and looked at Polly in confusion. "Hi," she said.

"I'm glad to meet you, Kayla. How was school today?"

Kayla simply said, "Fine."

Andrew, on the other hand, was wound up. "It was fine, except for that stupid Perry. He got us all in trouble again. Mrs. Hastings told him four times to sit down and quit playing, but he wouldn't. Then he got some of the other boys all riled up and when we went out of the room for lunch, he started a fight."

"Were you in the fight?" Polly asked.

"No!" Andrew was shocked at her question. "But Mrs. Hastings said we were all talking too much today and he really made her mad, so we had to write letters to the principal telling her that we were sorry for misbehaving in the hallway and making too much noise."

"You had to write a letter?" That didn't sound like horrible punishment to Polly, but maybe the kids saw it differently.

"That's the time when I get to read my book," Andrew complained.

"And I get to draw," Rebecca chimed in. "If we get our work done, we get fifteen minutes to do whatever we want at our desk as long as we're quiet."

"I see. And you had your work done?"

"The stuff that we were supposed to hand in today."

"Do you have homework tonight?"

Andrew's sigh was loud and dramatic. "So much! She must have been really mad. We have math and social studies and science and then we're supposed to write a poem."

"That's all due tomorrow?" Polly asked.

Rebecca swatted her hand at Andrew. "No, it's not all due tomorrow. The math is due tomorrow and so is the poem."

"It's a lot of homework," he said. And just like that, his focus shifted. "Is Han there today?"

Polly took a breath so that she could shift with him. "No, he's with Henry. Would you two like to introduce Kayla to Obiwan, though, and take him on a quick walk? He's going to need it."

Andrew nodded at Polly and then turned to say to Kayla, "Han is the brother to my dog. Her name is Padme. You know, from Star Wars? Do you know Star Wars?"

She shook her head.

"You haven't ever seen Star Wars? I've watched it a thousand times!" he said. "Polly, can we watch Star Wars?"

"You know the deal. Homework and then play."

"But we have so much homework! We'll never get to play."

She scowled at him and he sat back in his seat. "Here's the deal," Polly said. "I'll make brownies while you work at the table on your homework. We'll see who finishes first."

"But we have so much," Andrew whined.

"Really? You're whining?"

He grimaced and slumped lower in his seat, then sat up again. "Can we take Kayla down to see the animals?"

Polly's laughter rang through the cab of the truck. "Andrew Donovan, you're wonderful. You'll try anything, won't you? Homework first, then you can decide whether you want to watch Star Wars or go down to the barn."

"Okay," he said sheepishly as Polly pulled into the garage.

"Take your books upstairs and bring Obiwan back down," she said. "Don't stay out too long with him. It's cold."

She waited at the door while the three kids got out of the truck with their backpacks. As they passed in front of her, she put her hand on Kayla's shoulder. The girl flinched at Polly's touch and ducked enough to avoid it. She kept her eyes focused on Rebecca's back and followed her up the steps into the apartment.

Polly grabbed Andrew before he could go up with them.

"What? I'm sorry. I was just excited," he said.

"No, that's not it. You're fine. Do you know Kayla very well?"

He shrugged. "I suppose."

"Does she have very many friends?"

"No. She isn't popular. They call her Trayla Kayla because she lives in the trailer park. They call her other things too but those are really mean."

"Have you ever met her family?"

"She doesn't have parents. She only has a sister. The kids say mean things to her about that, too."

"Okay, thanks. And thanks for being nice to her."

"She's just another kid like me."

"There is no other kid like you," Polly said and pulled him into a hug. "I think you're wonderful."

Andrew grunted and waited limply for her to release him.

"You don't like hugs much, do you?"

"You do it a lot," he said matter-of-factly and headed for the doorway to her apartment.

"I guess I do," Polly retorted and went into the kitchen.

"Thanks for picking up the kids," Sylvie said.

"Rebecca brought a friend home - a Kayla Armstrong. Do you know her?"

Sylvie thought for a moment and said, "I've seen her. She's a little chubby and lives with her older sister?"

"Yeah. I just tried to touch her and she flinched. Do you think there's a problem?"

Sylvie took Polly's hand and led her back to the table. "No, it isn't with the sister. Rumor has it they escaped from an abusive home, that when the sister turned eighteen, she took Kayla and ran because the dad was starting to... you know."

"But the flinching? I'm a woman."

"I heard that he beat them all up too."

"Where do you hear this stuff?" Polly asked. "Do the parents live near here?"

"No," Sylvie's spoke quietly and Polly had to lean in to hear her. "Who knows how much of it is true, but you know how kids talk and sometimes things get out from teachers and other parents."

"It seems to me like those are the people who'd want to keep her safe and not gossip."

"I know. Half of what I told you might not be true."

"Poor thing. Well, it looks as if I've trained Rebecca in the rescue and keeping of people. She's the one who asked to bring Kayla home." Polly saw the three kids running and romping with Obiwan through the back window. "Since they closed the library on Mondays, Joss and I thought about opening the classroom and computer room here for kids to do their homework."

"Who's going to watch them?" Sylvie asked.

"We haven't gotten that far. What do you think, though? Would you consider making snacks if we start this?"

"I'm going to really need that bakery, aren't I?"

"Isn't it just the best idea?"

"You don't do things in a small way, do you?"

"Not if I can help it. Why wouldn't we go for it? I know that I won't have to be involved in the actual work, but if you think it's doable, then why not?"

"It's going to be hard work and early hours. I'm not sure if I'm ready to be working early mornings and then late evenings on the weekends."

"Then you'll have to hire and train good people."

"But until we get busy, it's just going to be me."

"We'll figure it out. And speaking of baking, I told the kids I'd make brownies while they worked on their homework. What are you working on in here this afternoon?"

Sylvie gave Polly a grin and dropped her head. "I'm actually catering a dinner out at Secret Woods tonight and a breakfast meeting in the morning for them."

"What's going on?"

"It's some leadership retreat thingie. I have no idea. They're staying at the Inn. Didn't you know about it?"

"No, but that's not surprising."

"Jeff's been in and out all day. They checked in last night, had breakfast at the Diner this morning and Davey's catered lunch. I'm doing dinner and breakfast tomorrow."

"Do you need anything from me?"

"Nope, it's not a large group, so Rachel and I have it."

"You're amazing," Polly said. "How late do you need Andrew to stay here?"

"Eliseo said he'd take the boys home after Jason's done. They're old enough to be on their own now. At least that's what I've been told by my eldest over and over."

"Okay, well let me know."  Polly went up the steps to her apartment and found the three kids sitting at the table in the dining room. Rebecca and Kayla each had a glass of water beside them and Andrew had poured himself a glass of milk.

"Is it okay we got something to drink?" he asked.

"Of course it is. Thanks for asking, though. Do you need anything else?"

"Just those brownies," he said. "Any time now."

Polly ruffled his hair as she walked past the table. "You'll notice that these two are very comfortable here, Kayla. If there's anything you need - anything at all, be sure to speak up."

She nodded and went back to the work in front of her, whispering to Rebecca about one of the problems.

"It's okay," Rebecca said quietly. "Polly doesn't care if we talk about our work together. Sometimes she even helps us if we have trouble. Don't you."

"If I can figure it out, I do." Polly pulled out the cocoa and other ingredients. "Do you all like nuts in your brownies?"

"I'm allergic," Kayla said.

"Then brownies with no nuts. Smooth brownies, we'll call them. How about frosting?"

"I love frosting." This brought the first smile Polly had seen to Kayla's face.

"Smooth brownies with chocolate chips and chocolate frosting. How about that?"

"They won't be smooth," Andrew said.

"Smart-aleck. So, chunky brownies with chocolate chips and chocolate frosting."

The kids were still working through math problems when Polly put the brownies into the oven. She cleaned up the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door to look for supper ideas. There was some left over pork loin in a container, but not enough for a whole meal. She opened the freezer. There was nothing in there that could be defrosted in time for dinner.

She texted Henry. "
I'm a failure as a mom and have no idea what to cook for supper."

"We need to buy a crock pot and try to plan better in the mornings."

"You know I'll never remember to do that."

"I might."             

"Uh huh. I'm tired of pizza and sandwiches. What if we take the girls to Davey's tonight?"

"That's always fine with me. I'll be home about five thirty or six. Okay?"

"Great."

Polly leaned over the peninsula and asked, "What time will your sister be here to pick you up tonight, Kayla?"

"She gets off work at five thirty on Mondays. Is that okay?"

"You bet. I was just checking. How are you guys doing?"

"I'm working on my poem," Andrew announced.

"You finished your math?"

"Yeah. It was no big deal."

How about you girls?" Polly asked. She walked around the peninsula to stand between the two girls and put her hand on Rebecca's shoulder, carefully avoiding Kayla. Bending over to see what they were working on, she said, "You're almost done, too. Right?"

"We only have to do the even numbered problems."

"Do you ever do the odd numbered ones too?"

That stumped Kayla. "Why would we do that?" she asked.

"For practice. To make sure you know what you're doing."

"No," Rebecca announced and firmly set her pencil down on top of her paper. "I'm done. I don't want to do any more."

"Are they right?" Polly asked.

"Isn't that why the teacher grades them, to see if they're right?" Kayla asked.

"Rebecca?" Polly asked again.