Previously Loved Treasures (Serendipity #2)(79)

By then Calvin had replaced the window and finished the repairs. As it turned out, he was a volunteer fireman and also the owner of a building supply company. The day after Caroline moved back to the house, he began showing up every afternoon with building materials: stacks of lumber, sheets of drywall, sandpaper, nails, plaster, and tools Caroline had never before seen. He’d work for several hours, and at the end of the day he’d sit down to dinner with the residents. It was less than a week before he’d taken ownership of the chair Max once sat in.

Long after the kitchen was finished Calvin continued to stop by every evening, claiming he had to fix a washer in a faucet, straighten a cabinet handle, or touch up some tiny bit of paint in the far corner of the wall.

After almost three weeks, he began running out of things to be fixed and that’s when he finally asked Caroline if she’d like to take a walk after dinner. She smiled and nodded.

That night after they settled at the table, he said, “Lucky for me I was on call that night.”

“Lucky for me too,” Caroline answered.

~

Since the bonds had matured years earlier they netted a hefty amount more than the face value, which was one million dollars. Having that much money seemed overwhelming to Caroline. Like the presence of Peter Pennington, it was something too good to be true, something that could disappear as quickly as it came. The money sat in the bank for several months before she felt comfortable enough to start spending some of it. When she finally did, the first thing she bought was a new washer and dryer.

Two months later she hired a lawyer, and Rose, who they now called Rowena, got a divorce. It hardly mattered, because by then Joe Mallory was serving ten years in a Georgia penitentiary for attempted murder. When he got out the only thing that would be waiting for him would be the warrant officer from Illinois with a handful of other charges.

~

In the fall of that year, Sara started kindergarten and Caroline put an addition on the house: a spacious two-bedroom apartment.

“It’s yours for as long as you want it,” she told Rowena.

Rowena smiled and said she couldn’t imagine ever leaving. She insisted that in exchange she would take over all of the cooking duties and management of the house. It was an arrangement that pleased the residents no end.

~

With plenty of time on her hands you might think Caroline finished her novel, but you’d be wrong. For months a thought had been bouncing around inside her head, and in time it became something she could no longer ignore. In February she withdrew thirty-eight thousand dollars from the bank and bought the small building on the corner of Spencer and Main.

After weeks of clearing away the layers of dust and stocking the shelves, she announced the grand opening of Previously Loved Treasures.

Once again the windows sparkled, and the shelves were stacked with things people needed. After a few short weeks the residents of Rose Hill came to know Previously Loved Treasures as a thrift shop where everything was affordable, even if a person was without a penny in their pocket. Although Caroline was by no means gifted with Peter’s foresight, it was said that she could look into a person’s eyes and see their need.

~

That Christmas Eve Caroline kept the store open until after ten. People with nothing more than a bit of loose change in their pocket came in search of toys for their children. They’d hoped for a doll, a picture book, or miniature fire truck, but they left with bicycles, wagons, fancy doll carriages, and playhouse furniture. Many of the toys still had a price sticker from one of the large department stores.

Sally Mae Wells, a woman who was dirt poor and had four kids to care for, pointed to the shiny blue two-wheeler. “You sure this is used? It looks brand new.”

“Not used,” Caroline corrected. “Previously loved.” That wasn’t a lie. Caroline had loved every one of the toys she’d bought, and she loved the thought of giving countless children a Christmas such as she’d never had.

“Looks brand new,” Sally Mae repeated. She handed Caroline the fifteen cents and said, “I’ll take it.”

That night when Caroline finally left the store the night was crisp and clear, the moon brighter than she could remember. She crossed the street, walked to where her car was parked, then turned and looked back. The moonlight made the gold lettering seem somehow brighter than ever before. Previously Loved Treasures. Caroline looked at the sign then squinted, and just as she had so many times before she could see the tiny 2 tacked onto the last S.

No one had ever noticed the 2, which was as it should be. It was a secret. A secret she shared with Grandma Ida and Peter Pennington.