Previously Loved Treasures (Serendipity #2)(46)
“I don’t need money. I’m happy with what I’ve got.” He gave his mouth a sad little twist and shrugged. “Dollars, dimes, drachmas—the world still doesn’t realize they can’t buy happiness.”
With a look of puzzlement, Caroline asked, “Then why the store? Why not retire and take life easy?”
“This store is not for me, it’s for people who need things. People like you and your grandma.”
Caroline found fuzzy reasoning in such an answer, and were she not in such a hurry she would have stayed to pursue it further but time was of the essence. By four o’clock the residents would return, and everything had to be in place by then. Not that she wouldn’t trust them to keep her secret, but not knowing was far better. Not knowing meant there was no chance of a slip-up.
In addition to the box of children’s clothes, Peter gave Caroline a previously loved suitcase filled with jeans, tee-shirts, and sweaters that would fit her or Rowena. “It’s been to Paris, France three times,” he said as he carried it to her car.
Before she could pull away from the curb, he again asked if she’d hung the picture.
She’d said yes last time, but he’d obviously seen through the lie.
“Actually I haven’t done it yet,” Caroline confessed. “I planned to, but now that I have a guest staying in my room I doubt I’ll be able to work at the desk.”
“Not work at the desk?” Peter replied. “A desk with so many stories waiting to be written?” He lowered his head and gave a sorrowful shake. “Sad.”
Caroline felt a sense of shame creeping over her. How could she? This strange little man had given her so much and asked so little. Peter wasn’t just a shopkeeper; he was a friend.
“You’re right,” she said. “I know that’s something I should do.” Caroline smiled at Peter and it was a genuine smile, a smile that promised fulfillment. “Tomorrow I’ll move the desk to my loft and hang the picture.”
As Caroline pulled away she caught one last glimpse of Peter standing at the curb and waving goodbye.
~
When the residents sat down to dinner that night, there was a newcomer in their midst. A woman dressed in a business suit Caroline had once worn for work. A woman with short dark hair and a well-dressed daughter sitting beside her. If anyone came looking for the ragged blond from the Laundromat, they could honestly say they’d never seen such a person.
When she introduced Rose Smith, Caroline gave a slight smile. “Rosie and I go way back. Why, we’ve known each other since God knows when.”
Rose Smith smiled and nodded.
Harriet was the only one to mention the large purple bruise on Rowena’s cheek. “What happened to your face?”
Rowena, who was now Rose, gave a shallow little laugh. “It happened on the way down here,” she said, then explained how on the bus her suitcase had tumbled from the rack and hit the side of her cheek.
Before there could be any more questions, Caroline jumped in. “Rose is going to be staying with us for a while. She’s promised to help me with the cooking.”
Louie was the first to speak. “Well, now, that’s certainly good news.”
“I can’t say I’m a great cook,” Rose replied demurely. “But I do make really good biscuits and gravy.”
Everyone smiled; even Sara.
Chicken n’ Dumplings
On Thursday morning when the residents came to breakfast, they were greeted with a cheese omelet so fluffy it looked like it might float away. Alongside the omelet sat a stack of ham slices browned to perfection and a pile of juicy fat sausages.
Louie reached across the table and carved off a sizeable chunk of omelet.
“You mind leaving some for somebody else?” Harriet said.
Rose, just coming from the kitchen, set a basket of biscuits on the table. “Don’t worry,” she said, laughing, “there’s plenty more.”
Before Louie had swallowed that first bite, he garbled, “Delicious!”
For probably the first and only time Doctor Payne agreed with Louie, and Louie, with his mouth full, didn’t have a wisecrack comeback.
Breakfast lasted a good half-hour longer than usual, and when the residents finally left the table they all agreed today lunch would be unnecessary.
“Why, I’m so full I couldn’t swallow another bite,” Laricka said.
Doctor Payne, who had begun to read medical journals as well as the dentistry magazines, added, “Overeating is bad for your heart, and given the way we’ve all overindulged this morning skipping lunch is a well-advised option.”
Although Louie had misgivings about such a drastic move, he went along with the others. Somewhere about two o’clock his stomach started rumbling, and he regretted the decision. It was another four hours until supper. He snapped on the radio and tried listening to a Braves baseball game, but in the bottom of the third inning he started thinking about the stadium hot dogs smothered in mustard and lost track of the score.
His stomach grumbled again, and he thought back to breakfast. He could picture the platter sitting on the table at the end of the meal. There were several slices of ham left on the plate and three biscuits in the basket. What harm could there be in grabbing a few slices of leftover ham and a cold biscuit? Shortly after his stomach rumbled a third warning, Louie slipped quietly into the kitchen.