EIGHTEEN

 

“These are amazing.” Betts continued to go through the tubs of clothes. “Every single piece is designer label,” she gushed and separated them into piles. “I’ve seen some of them in the magazines down at the Safeway.”

“You can have all the ones you want.” I knew I’d never wear them again after I’d spent the last week in jeans and tee shirts.

“No,” Abby bent her head over the laptop she’d brought. “We are going to put them on Ebay. Just like that Girl Boss show on Netflix.” She wiggled her eyes.

“How do you know all this stuff?” I questioned her.

“Not many people come into the library. I’ve got plenty of time on my hands to learn marketing and watch Netflix. These clothes will bring in a lot of money for the fundraiser.” She clicked away. “Hashtag designer clothes, hashtag hardly worn.”

Abby got up from the chair and grabbed a couple pieces of clothes out of the pile, taking a photo of them with her cell phone.

“After these are washed and ready to ship, I’ll put make Ebay store live.” She bounced on her toes and threw the clothes back down.

“That’s hand wash cycle.” Betts jerked one of the tops from the top of the pile. “Abby, if you’re going to take photos, put the clothes back in the right pile.”

Abby walked away mocking Betts.

“When everyone is finished doing what they’re doing, I’ve got the puzzle moved and the coffee ready for book club. We need to get started because Mae and I have a lot to get done tonight at the campground since it’s been shut down all day.” Dottie looked over at me. A smile curled up one corner of her mouth when our eyes met.

I could tell she was assessing me to see if I was alright.

“I’m ready. Though I didn’t read the book.” I was ready for some coffee and ready to get out of my own head.

“I wasn’t going to bring it up, but my crystal ball told me about you finding a body in your clothes.” Queenie tapped the fake electricity ball. “Mmmhhhh.” She looked down into it.

“Shut up. You’ve got that scanner going.” Abby walked over to the table, holding her book club book. “But you can tell us all about it.”

“According to the girls from church,” Betts chirped over the sound of the beeps coming from the washing machine where she was pushing buttons to start one pile of my clothes.

“You don’t need to tell us what you heard when we get to hear it from the horse’s mouth,” Queenie adjusted her yellow leggings after she stood up and walked over to the table where book club was set up.

“There’s not much to tell. I had gone to see Ava Cox and her son. She said that Grady disappeared the day Paul had escaped, which makes me think he somehow helped Paul break out.” I put my book on the table and rested my hand on it.

“None of that matters now,” Dottie confirmed. “Grady came to meet Paul at the campground and killed him. Rightfully, justified.”

“I’m not sure if anyone being murdered is justified.” Betts’s brows furrowed. “Love they neighbor.”

“Love they neighbor when they neighbor puts you in the poor house?” Dottie grimaced. “I think not.”

“I’ll teach someone with my new moves in my strike class if they try to take advantage of me.” Queenie did some sort of side-kick before she sat down. “I’m teaching strike again tonight. You need to come,” she directed her words to Dottie.

“I’ll think about it. I did like it this morning.” Dottie didn’t commit. I smiled. “Now, the heroine in our book didn’t love they neighbor at all.”

I sat there as the four of them chimed in about the romance in the book that I didn’t read about. I’d decided against any romance in my life and that meant books too. The coffee and company was good. When I looked and listened to them talk about the book, I couldn’t help but think that in just a few days how I’d made new friends when in my life a few months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to pick up a phone and call anyone that I’d call friend.

Those women competed on who had the best clothes, best face lift, hairdresser and so on. These ladies might have lively discussions, but they truly cared for each other and they let me, of all people, in their circle of friendship.

“We got us a live one!” Abby jumped up with her phone in her hand.

“What is she yammerin’ on about?” Dottie jerked up straight in her chair.

“We’ve got our first bid in our Ebay store.” Abby hurried over to the laptop and opened it. She clicked away on the keyboard. “Oh my.” She looked up at me. “You’re gonna have all the money you need to get Happy Trails up and running.”

“Isn’t it great?” Betts reached over the table and squeezed my hand. “Everything is coming together like it’s supposed to.”

“What are you talking about? Supposed to?” Queenie snapped.

“Paul’s killer has been brought to justice. You and Normal can put all of this behind us.” She beamed at me. “You are making good on your promise to give back to Normal. Opening the Happy Trails to what it used to be, is exactly what we need to move forward.”

The ladies rushed over to the computer to see what Abby was gushing about.

My stomach dropped. There was no way I could tell them that when it was all said and done, I was going to move on. Because I knew if we all took a good hard look at the situation, no matter how much I gave, me living here was just a constant reminder of what Paul had done to them.

The book club meeting was cut short with all the hubbub about the clothes and Ebay.

“I’m telling you, it’s all the hashtags and social media I’m doing.” Abby took the credit and she should’ve of. “I can’t wait to see what happens with the fundraiser. I put an ad out in the surrounding towns newspapers. An ad in RV Living, Camping Life, and the National Park Magazines.”

“Where on earth did you get the budget for that?” I questioned, thinking how much money I was going to have to pay her back and the time it’d take.

“They owed me. I give out free stuff for them all the time at the library.” Abby waved away the concern I had. “It’s me giving to you for giving to Normal.”

The ladies had a field day with the clothes. It was funny to watch because they just couldn’t believe how much in demand used fancy clothing was on the Ebay.

“I’m going to get out of here while we still have some daylight.” There were some finishing touches that the campground needed before tomorrow’s big fundraiser. “I hope the police have cleared the crime scene.”

“Surely they have.” Dottie quipped. “There wasn’t much to do but take out the body.”

“They did give you the bins.” Abby shrugged.

“It just seemed all too easy.” I gnawed on my lip and looked at my new friends. “I mean, he locked himself in my storage shed and killed himself?”

“Honey, you never know the mind of people,” Dottie stood up. “Let’s get back so we can put the finishing touches on the campground before tomorrow.”

We said our goodbyes and made sure they had their duties all laid out so when they got to the campground, they could go ahead and start working.

Dottie and I got into her pickup truck and while she paid attention to the road, I gave Jr. a call.

“I guess you heard,” his voice was somber on the other end of the phone.

“I’m sorry. I found him.” It wasn’t something I probably should’ve told the young man, but he seemed so much older than he really was. “How is your mom?”

“She’s between grieving and relieved. It’s the strangest thing,” he said. “She’s glad she doesn’t have to stay up at night wondering where he is now that she knows. But she’s trying to wrap her head around what he’d done and why, leaving us here alone.”

“How are you?” I asked.

“Dying to get out of this house. I don’t like seeing her this way.” His sadness came through the phone.

“If you do need to get away, I’d love for you to take a look at my video games at the campground in the recreation building. I probably should’ve had all this worked out, but I’m new to all this business stuff.” It was new territory for me and I was kinda liking it.

“That’d be great. I need the drive and to get my mind off things.” He sounded a little better, but I knew deep down he was grief stricken. “My mom went to the scene. Did you see her?”

“No. I let the police do their work and left. I feel so responsible.” I gulped.

“If you feel responsible over my dad, don’t. He was a grown man and he did that to himself.” His words somehow touched my soul. “You’re doing everything you can with what you’ve got to make everything right in the world. Remember that, Mae West.”

Who knew that the best advice during this entire situation would come from a teenage boy?

“I’ll be over later,” was the last thing Jr. said before hanging up.

“I can’t get over how different Happy Trails already looks,” Dottie brought me out of my own thoughts. “The sign turned out real nice.”

She drove the truck underneath the newly painted and hung sign that read HAPPY TRAILS CAMPGROUND at the entrance of the park.

“That’s fantastic.” I turned around and looked out the back window to get another look at from behind. “Thank you for staying,” I read the back.

“Henry and Ty Randal really worked hard on it over the past couple of days.” She pinched a smile. “They wanted to surprise you.”

“That they have.” I turned back around. It wasn’t until I took a long look around the campground until I grasped all the work we really had done.

The mowing, weed eating around all the buildings as well as picking up all the trash really did clean it up. Then the freshly laid sod and the new fountain in the middle of the lake added that campground feeling. The lawn chairs scattered around the water was inviting. Henry was repairing the old dock and Ty was putting in a few of the pedal boats that’d been sitting next to his camper.

He looked up and caught me staring at him. Technically, I wasn’t staring so much at him as the muscles on his shirtless back. The big grin on his face made me think he knew I was staring at him.

I glared back. Only to throw him off.

The office sign had also been hung and the windows to the office looked spic and span.

“Who on earth did all this?” I asked.

“Everyone who lives here chipped in. I sent them all messages that we needed to help out too.” Dottie ceased to amaze me.

By the end of the afternoon, everything on my end was completed. The only thing we had to do in the morning was to get the desserts from the church women, the camp fires going with all the homemade camp food, the kid’s games all set up, and drinks for the Tiki bar, all of which wasn’t on my list of to-dos.

“You’ve got everything you need?” I asked Jr. after he showed up and I took him to the recreation center.

“I’ve got all my tools here.” There was a red ring around his eyes from where it looked like he’d been crying. “Thanks for getting me out of the house. Mom was crying over moving, then she was crying because we’re moving to this apartment in town where I’m going to have to sleep on the couch. Not to mention that I’m not going to the college I want.”

“She’s bringing up all the things that she’s felt and feeling. I understand.” I patted his shoulder. “You just need to give her time.”

“Yeah. That’s what the grief counselor told me.” He shrugged. “I have a customer at the BBQ Joint that has been giving me free therapy for food once a week. It’s been helpful.”

“That’s so great.” I twisted back and forth. “As you can see, I don’t have all the stuff set up yet. Those signs will be hung tomorrow.  I will clean up the popcorn machine too. If you want to use that Bourbon barrel for anything, go ahead. If you aren’t doing anything tomorrow, I’d love for you to come and be in charge of the kids who are coming. I’ll pay you.”

“Mae,” He put his hands together. “Thank you. That’s great. We need to money. That’s actually why I’m late. I picked up a late shift this afternoon at the diner. Mom got a part time job at a law firm.”

“That’s great!” I was glad things weren’t looking so bleak. “If we do well tomorrow with sign ups, I wanted to know if you’d be interested in coming to work here this summer for children’s summer camp?” It was what his mother and I had discussed, but I was sincere.

“Done. I can work at the BBQ Joint and here. It’ll be great. Thank you.” He bowed.

“You are very welcome.” The sun had long gone down and the dark had blanketed the campground. “I’m beat. Just lock the door behind you when you leave tonight.”

“Will do.” He nodded. “And thanks again.”

“No problem.” I stepped outside and the quiet hit my chest like a ton of bricks.

The lightening bugs and the moon helped lead the way back to my camper, but the dark was something eerie.

“Mae?” the voice came from the darkness, making me jump around.

“Ty,” I gasped and held my hand to my chest. “You scared me.”

“Well, with everything going on, I could see why you’d be a bit jumpy.” He laughed.

“Yeah.” I swallowed back my heart that had jumped up into my throat from being scared half to death. “I’m just not used to all of this.” I glanced up and looked into the sky.

“You’re the city girl that’s always been in the city. I’m a country boy who moved to the city for a chef job.” He took a seat right on the ground. “Sit.”

“There?” I questioned.

“Mae West, the ground is the best place to be to look up.” He patted the ground before he laid back with his hands clasped behind his head, resting them on the ground. “The stars are still over a city.”

I plopped down next to him and laid down, in the same position. The entire dark sky was filled with twinkling stars.

“In the city, the building lights never really let the skyline get completely dark like it is here. When you see if for the first time, there’s nothing like it.” I could feel his staring at me.

“Can you believe that there’s so many galaxies up there?” I asked in a whisper.

“Why are you talking so soft?” he asked and propped himself up on the elbow, staring at me.

“I don’t know. It’s like church or something. Being respectful for the beauty or something.” I was glad it was dark, because I blushed from his smile. “I know it sounds stupid.”

“Mae West, you are far from stupid. That’s what scares me.” He tugged something out of his pocket. “Three months rent.”

“You didn’t have to pay tonight,” I said.

“Just because we are having a moment, doesn’t mean you can go soft on me.” He stuck the money on my stomach and laid back down. “Are you going back to the city once the campground is back on it’s feet?”

He was smarter than I thought.

“Are you going to go back to wherever you came from once your dad gets on his feet?” I asked.

“Awe, see.” He snapped a finger at me. “You are smart.”

“Mmmhmmmm.” I chuckled.

“I love the city and I love cooking. When I decided to leave Normal and my dad, plus those little squirts, it was the hardest decision of my life.”

“Where did you go?” I asked.

“San Francisco. So many young people there. I had a farm to table gig going.” his voice harmonized with the sound of the grasshoppers. “Say, have you ever caught lightening bugs?”

“No.” I started to laugh. “Is that a thing?”

“Yeah. Thank you for doing the sign.” He jumped to his feet. “Let’s grab a couple of jars. I’ll show you.”

He reached down for me to take his hands to be pulled up. When our fingers touched, my heart did a flip flop. We quickly let go when I got to my feet.

“I have some jars in the camper left over from the previous owners.” I tilted my head towards my RV. “It’s closer too.”

“And we don’t have to tell my brothers what we are doing or they’d want to join us.” There he went again with that smile.

“What do we need?” I asked to keep the conversation going and not have that odd silence, even though I’d caught lightening bugs many times as a child.

“First we will put some grass in the bottom of the jar. Then we try to catch them as they light up.” he made it sound so easy.

“Like in our hands?” I asked.

“Yes. It’s not like they are fast.” He laughed again at me.

I opened the door to the camper and it was just stinky.

“Oh gosh.” I fanned my hand in front of me. “What is that smell?”

“Musty. You really need to clean out this thing if you’re going to live in it.” He stepped in behind me. “You’re going to need new bedding, new curtains, and a good cleaning.” He opened the window over the kitchen sink to let air in. “And clean out the window sills. I have a good cleaning solution for it, for you.”

The knock at the door made us look at each other. When I opened it, I was shocked to see Detective Hank Sharp standing there.

“I thought I’d bring this by as sort of a peace offering since I razzed you so much about the investigation.” He held a box with a bow on top. “It’s a coffee maker. I figured if I stopped by, you can make a pot instead of that Keurig thing.”

“Oh.” I was in bit of a pickle, wondering if I let him in or tell him I was about to catch lightening bugs with Ty Randal.

“I’ll get you that cleaning solution tomorrow.” Ty made the decision for me. “Hank.” He nodded as Hank stepped out of the way, making room for Ty to leave the RV.

“Okay.” I wasn’t sure what to say. “What about the jar?”

“I’ve got to get my brother’s in bed. I didn’t even notice the time.” I heard him call in the dark, but couldn’t see him.

“So, want to break it in?” Hank asked. “I also brought decaf and regular.” He also had a bag in his hands.

“It’s been a long day.” I sighed. “Tomorrow is going to be longer.”

“Fine.” He handed me the box and bag. “Did I disturb anything between you and Ty Randal?”

“Nope.” I shook my head.

“Around here, we don’t really call before we come by. We just kinda show up and I’m sorry if I caught you off guard.” It was nice to see Hank’s softer side. “I also wanted to make sure you were okay. Now that this is all behind you, you can move on with your life.”

“Yeah. My life.” I laughed. “I don’t even know what that looks like myself.”