The Daughters of Julian Dane Page 2

  “I know,” Addie said. “It’s the two days at Disney World that makes it cost so much. And, Mama, it would be more than the cost of the trip. If you haven’t noticed, I don’t think I can make it much longer without some new clothes. My shirt sleeves, and pants legs are all cutting high water, as daddy would say.”

  Della put her arms around her daughter. “Oh, honey, I’ve noticed. I realize that you are in need of everything, and I’m so sorry. Ben knows it too. Now that you’re sixteen, we both feel that we should try to keep you dressed a little better. Ben says you’re a young lady now, and we are going to get you new clothes just as soon as some money comes in. It’s not that we didn’t prepare for your needs, but the heating bills this winter have been so much higher than we had figured. Then there was a raise in property taxes we hadn’t counted on...”

  “Mama, it’s all right. I’m not complaining. But this trip doesn’t really matter. The clothes do. I could spend my Christmas…”

  “No, honey. Your clothes are our responsibility,” Della said.

  Addie sighed heavily. “I just wish I could earn some money.”

  Neither of them had heard the kitchen door open at the other end of the room. “Well,” Ben Martin said, as he stood in the doorway. “I just might be able to grant a princess her wish.”

  “Ben!” Della exclaimed in unison with Addie’s, “Daddy!”

  Ben shut the door and greeted his wife with a warm embrace and a passionate kiss that was well received and returned. Addie smiled at their display of love as she joined in the hugging and received an affectionate kiss from Ben.

  “Princess, if you really want to earn some money, I have a rental house lined up on South Street that has to be cleaned up right away. You could do that for me while I do some repairs on it. Oh, and I have a very nice looking young man out in my truck who’s going to help me.”

  “Oh, Daddy!” Addie said in mock exasperation, but she wondered who?

  “Don’t, ‘oh Daddy’ me, young lady,” Ben said with a twinkle of his deep brown eyes. “I’ve seen the way you look at some of the older boys at church, and you wouldn’t be normal if you didn’t,” he hastily added. “And we certainly want you to be normal,” he said swatting her on her bottom, his arm still around Della.

  The smile on Addie’s face suddenly disappeared, unnoticed by Ben and Della, as Ben said to his wife, “And you won’t believe what I’ve got for you, my love.” Addie turned and stepped to the door.

  ‘‘What?” Della squealed with less enthusiasm than she usually did at Ben’s little surprises.

  “A brand new dryer!”

  “Ben! You didn’t!”

  “No! No! No! I didn’t buy it. Mr. Johnson gave it to me.”

  “Mama! It’s him!” Addie exclaimed as she stared through the sheers that covered the kitchen door window. “It’s him! Donnie Whitefield!” Then her daddy’ words sank in. “A new dryer! Daddy, why would Mr. Johnson give you a new dryer?”

  Della wanted to know the same thing.

  “Because he likes my looks?” Ben asked, giving Della a hard, playful squeeze.

  “Ben!”

  “Daddy!”

  “Okay! Let me explain. Now, it’s slightly damaged. It has a bad dent on one side where the deliverymen dropped it. But I don’t think anything mechanical is wrong with it, and I can straighten out the dent some. Besides, even if there is something else broken on it, I’d rather pay to fix a new dryer, than to spend more money on that worn out one of ours.”

  “That makes sense,” Della said excitedly.

  “Mr. Johnson got his money out of the freight company’s insurance, and he asked me to haul it off with a lot of other junk. So actually, he’s paying me to take it.”

  They all three laughed at that. “Della gave Ben an extra big hug, asking, “What would I do without you?”

  Addie couldn’t decide which was the more exciting – the new dryer or the boy out there in her daddy’s truck. She gave her daddy a tight hug, saying, “I love you, Daddy. How much will I earn cleaning that house? And did you mean that Donnie Whitefield will be helping you at that house?” she asked with a big smile.

  “If you do a good job – enough for a new school outfit, and yes, Donnie will be helping me at the house.”

  “You noticed,” Addie said.

  “Yep, I noticed. You just keep growing and growing,” he said. “Now put on your jacket and come on outside. You might be of some help to us with the dryer. Just don’t get in the way,” he added, winking at her.

  “Daddy!” Addie exclaimed as both her parents chuckled while watching her put on her jacket and tying her hair back with her scarf.

  “Donnie is Mel Johnson’s nephew. Did you know that?” Ben asked Della. “He seems a little down in the mouth – like maybe somebody’s given him a raw deal. Or it could just be living with the Johnsons. Nate’s okay, but the things I’ve heard about that wife of his – I wouldn’t want to live with her.”

  “No, I didn’t know,” Della answered. “And of course, I don’t know Mel Johnson personally.”

  “Mama, you’ve got to meet Donnie,” Addie begged.

  “Well, of course. Invite him in for cookies and milk when you’re finished.”

  “Thanks, Mama,” Addie said as she followed her daddy out the door.

  “You stay in. I don’t want you in this wind,” Ben called to Della just before Addie closed the door.

  Addie couldn’t believe her luck. Donnie Whitefield was right here in her own driveway. Wouldn’t Evelyn Ann have a fit if she knew? “Hi,” she said, trying not to sound as excited as she felt as she approached the boy getting out of the cab of the truck. “I’m Addie. I’ve seen you around school.”

  “Hi, Donnie Whitefield,” he answered solemnly with a short glance in her direction, then was silent.

  “Okay,” Ben said, “let’s see how’s the best way to go about this?”

  Addie wanted to say something more to Donnie, but she couldn’t think what, and he certainly didn’t seem in a talkative mood, or was that his usual mood? She hoped her daddy would tell her something to do, so she wouldn’t just stand there like a knot on a log, as he would put it.

  Some thirty minutes later, the old dryer was loaded onto the pick-up truck to be disposed of, and the new dryer was sitting just outside the door of the utility room that Ben had built on the end of the screened in back porch. The small room held their water heater, a small chest type freezer, and their washer and dryer.

  Addie had served as guide for the loading and unloading, knowing all the time that she wasn’t needed. She hoped it wasn’t obvious to Donnie. He had said very little other than yes, sir and no, sir when Ben gave instructions. He hadn’t paid one bit of attention to her, and she was feeling very disappointed.

  Della appeared in the kitchen doorway all wrapped up against the wind. “What do you think?” Ben asked her.

  “It’s beautiful!” she answered. “Bent side and all. I just hope nothing else is wrong with it.”

  “I’ll check it out after supper, before I put it in the laundry room. Del, this is Donnie Whitefield. He’s going to be living with the Johnsons for a while.”

  “I’m glad to know you, Mrs. Martin,” the boy said without smiling, as he offered her his hand.

  Della took his big hand in hers. “I’m glad to know you too, Donnie. You come in now and have some cookies and milk with Addie. Or I could make hot chocolate to warm you up a bit. This wind is pretty raw.”

  “Thank you, ma’am, but I have to get back to the store before my uncle leaves for the day, or I won’t have a way to their house. My bike’s not at the store.”

  “Another time then,” Della said, noticing that he didn’t say ‘home’ but ‘their house’. Ben was right. Somebody or something had taken the spirit out of this boy. He reminded her of a whipped puppy, and Della felt a warm sympathy for him. She knew what it was like to have the rug yanked out from under you. “We sure do appreciate your help, Donnie, and I hop
e we’ll be seeing you again.” From the look of admiration on Addie’s face, Della hoped they really would be seeing more of this boy. It was time Addie had boyfriends. But the Johnsons are Forrest Lane people.

  “You’re welcome, ma’am, and thank you.” He gave a slight nod of his head to Addie. “Bye. I’ll see you tomorrow after school,” he said to her, as he climbed into the truck.

  Addie watched from the kitchen window as the truck backed out of the parking area and around to the side of the house. “He sure is quiet,” she said with disappointment, “but, ooohh, he’s such a dream. Don’t you think so, Mama?”

  “Yes, honey. He is a very good looking young man. He looks like he’s been working out. You don’t get a build like that watching TV.”

  “He’s sure got muscles all right,” Addie said dreamily.

  “I believe you really like that young man,” Della said smiling real big.

  “Yes, I do, Mama. He’s so different from the other boys at school. He seems so much more mature for his age, but he seems so unhappy. I can’t help but wonder why? I don’t think he’s made many friends at school yet, and he doesn’t waste his time. He spends his free period in the library studying. I pass it on my way to science class.”

  “Well, he’s certainly clean and neat, and has good manners,” Della said, “but I’d say he is a very unhappy young man.”

  “Yeah,” Addie agreed thinking that her mother was looking rather unhappy at the time. “Mama, I know you’re brooding about my not getting to go on the Spring retreat, and I don’t want you to. I told you it doesn’t matter.”

  “Oh, honey, I know you say it doesn’t matter, but it matters to me, and it will matter to Ben. I’m so sorry that money is so tight right now. I just wish there was some way ...”

  Addie put her arms around her mother. “Mama, we are going to forget all about that trip. Right now I’ve got to get some cleaning supplies together while you go take off your coat. Daddy said Donnie could ride his bike to our house after school tomorrow, and he’ll pick us up in the truck to take us to the house on South Street. Donnie is going to use daddy’s truck to haul off trash while daddy fixes some plumbing and the roof.”

  Addie saw the look of concern come over her mother’s face and wished she hadn’t mentioned the roof. Della knew that, on occasion, Ben had to do some work on roofs, but she would just as soon not know about it. Her daddy had fallen off their roof the year she started to school and had injured his back so badly that he couldn’t work for more than a year. There was no insurance. It had taken them more than three years to pay all the bills. Her daddy still had to be careful about the jobs he accepted because of his back.

  “You can take that old pair of rubber gloves under the sink, but not my good ones,” Della said.

  Suddenly, Addie was no longer hearing her mother’s words. The sad, worried look on Donnie Whitefield’s face appeared in the window of her mind. And through a gray, foggy mist, a man appeared, bundled up completely against the weather. Only his face showed. It wore the same sad, worried look, as he gazed down into deep, dark, churning waters below an iron railing, at which he stood.

  It was one of those familiar, flash pictures that Addie had long ago accepted as belonging to another memory – not her own – a memory that belonged to another person in another time. A memory she had shared for as far back as she could remember.

  Normal, her daddy had said. What would he think of her if he knew? And Donnie Whitefield? How could she ever hope to get to know him or any boy without her inner most secret being discovered? Then what would they think of her. Would they think her crazy? Sometimes, she wondered if she was?

  Chapter Two

  The Reverend Morris Kirkland breathed deeply of the crisp March air as he drove with the windows down, hoping it would ease the ache in his groin. He knew it wouldn’t, just as he knew a short while ago, that his impromptu visit to the Martin home had aroused Della from a nap on the sofa when he saw the multi-colored, knitted couch-throw just thrown to the side. And the heavy lids of those violet blue eyes, the slightly disheveled, honey blond hair that lay about her shoulders, that creamy complexion void of makeup, and those full naked lips that tormented him so, told him that he had. And the sight of her fresh from sleep had caused an arousal in him that would have been embarrassing had it not been for his self control and the long, double breasted suit coat. Never had he wanted her quite so much. But then, it seemed that each time he saw her, he burned with desire for her more than the previous time.

  How much longer would he be able to keep himself in check? He wondered. He must never go to her home again, must stop contriving to be alone with her. And he had known she would be alone when, as he sat eating a late lunch at the City Cafe, he had watched Ben’s truck pull into the alley behind Johnson’s Furniture Store. It was too risky. It was too sinful! Wanting any woman as much as he wanted Della Martin, outside of marriage, was a sin, but for it to be another man’s wife! “Oh, Dear God! Forgive me!” he begged for at least the one- hundredth time. “And if I can’t put this behind me, if I can’t rid myself of it, then, God, remove me from this temptation!” He added for the first time, slapping the steering wheel hard with the palms of both hands.

  He had to get his mind off Della, had to think of something else. Miss Willy. Yes, he needed to plan just how he was going to maneuver Wilhelmina Stone into writing a nice fat check for new choir robes. He shook his head slowly. Wasn’t this another sinful area of his life? He knew that he didn’t always steer clear of sharing bits of gossip that he was sure would interest and entertain the woman, all for the sake of money. He served as her liaison with the people of the town just as Kyle Etheridge had done before him, and as some other minister had done before Kyle – all for the sake of her contribution to the church treasury.

  “The juicier the news, the fatter the check,” Kyle had said to him. “Believe me, you’ll need it to meet the budget.”

  In the four years since, he had found that Kyle had spoken the truth. So far the budget had been met each year with the help of Miss Willy’s generosity. The sanctuary isles, the pulpit and choir loft re-carpeted, a new organ purchased, and a new nursery and its furnishings almost paid for was proof that he had done well, but at what cost to his feeling of guilt and remorse. And now, somehow, he must broach the subject of choir robes again. She had completely ignored his first mention of the matter two weeks ago.

  He busied himself planning his strategy as he drove along River Road until he reached the turn onto Stone Drive. It was a steady uphill climb on Stone Drive for about fifteen hundred feet until the two massive iron gates, mounted into tall, round stone pillars, each topped with a large round ball and almost entirely covered with ivy, came into view. The gates were electronically controlled by old Anson Wheeler who lived in the small, gray stone gatehouse just inside the grounds of Stonegate, and to the left. The gates began to slowly swing back on their metal tracks in the concrete driveway, as his car approached.

  The stooped, old man, in a heavy, faded tan sweater and baggy, brown pants, appeared on the small porch, as he moved through the opening gates. “Afternoon, Reverend,” he called in a high shrill voice, and with a wave of his bony hand. “Heard you a’coming.”

  “How are you today, Anson?”

  “Tolerable, just tolerable,” he answered, as he always did, when the weather made him anxious to return to the warmth of the open fire he kept going almost year round in the main room of the cottage. He bent slowly and picked up two logs from the neatly stacked pile on the right side of the porch. He didn’t want to waste a trip outside, Morris thought.

  The huge, gray stone mansion that was Stonegate came into view as his car wound its way up the tree lined circular drive. Although simple in design, it was an imposing four-story structure. It had been built when Hiram Stone, vice-president of Eli Gates’ bank, married his only daughter and heir, Victoria Gates.

  And as Miss Leila Webber, an aging, self-imposed keeper of the town’s �
��skeletons-in-the-closets’, and an extension member of his congregation, due to her ninety-six years, tells it, it was a marriage arranged by Eli Gates himself. Although, Hiram Stone had asked for Miss Victoria’s hand in marriage on her eighteenth birthday, when he was but a clerk in her grandfather’s bank, he had been turned down by the lady.

  But after his stroke, Eli Gates had demanded that Victoria come home from her long sojourn in Europe, marry and settle down, or be cut off from all finances, and excluded from his will. When her mother died some eight years before, she had left home with some of her mother’s cousins, for Europe and other parts of the world unknown to Eli. Then, to hear Miss Leila tell it, Eli almost had a fatal stroke when Victoria cabled back, ‘Send out the invitations’.

  The timing apparently had been just right for Victoria, as Wilhelmina, the only child of that marriage, was born a full term baby only seven months after the lavish wedding, staged by Eli, ten days after Victoria’s return.

  Then feeling his only child to be irresponsible, with absolutely no concept of the value of money – where it came from, or where it should go – Eli had placed the balance of the Gates fortune into the trusted, and very capable hands of Hiram Stone until Wilhelmina should become twenty-one.

  But why Wilhelmina had never married, neither Miss Leila nor anyone else seemed to know. Neither did they know, or would tell, why she had suddenly stopped emerging from the walls of Stonegate about fifty years ago.

  Morris had learned from Miss Willy, herself, that her relationship with Hiram Stone had been a stormy one, just as her mother, Victoria’s, had been with her father, Eli. He realized that such an experience could prevent a young woman from developing a meaningful relationship with other men, still, to spend one’s life in this gray stone prison? Why? He pondered. Only once had he mustered the nerve to bring up the subject in conversation with Miss Willy, and he had received a very curt reply.

  “How many marriages do you know that are happy, Reverend? And why should I leave Stonegate? The whole world is more than willing to come here,” she had retorted.