Secrets and Revelations (Bellingwood #4) (19 page)

Jason was on fire this morning
, and she and Eliseo worked in silence as the boy ran around, making sure they had what they needed. When the animals were finally turned out to the pasture, she called Obiwan and they went back up to the house. She waved at Jeff in his office and ducked into the kitchen, hearing Sylvie clanging and banging away.

"Is everything ready for the party tonight?" Polly asked.

"Good morning! I think so. Doug, Billy and Rachel invited a few of their friends and they'll have games set up in the computer room. We'll serve dinner in the classroom and Jason can open presents in the lounge with us before he wanders away. I told him he could stay here tonight at Doug's, so that will be as exciting for him as anything."

"Did you get him a phone?" Polly asked. "He's absolutely sure that he's not getting one."

"I know," Sylvie said proudly. "I hid it here." She pulled a box out from behind food in the pantry. "He's gone through everything at the apartment and I'm sure he found the battery I wrapped up. I hope he's frustrated."

"Oh, he is. It's pretty cute."

"So, was that Henry's truck I saw pull away when I got here this morning?" Sylvie winked at her friend.

Polly rolled her eyes. "Yes. It probably was. I'm meeting with Ruth Ann Marshall for lunch and was so upset last night I asked him to stay. Nothing happened until this morning."

"Oh? Like what?" Sylvie's eyes sparkled.

"Oh. Not like that. We had another stupid fight. He wanted to talk about our relationship."

"This morning? Before you go meet this woman?"

"Yeah. And you don't know the worst of it." Polly pulled up a stool and sat down. "Sylvie, I think she's my mother. Last night Henry found a file of hospital bills and it's my birth
date and she's the patient."

Sylvie's sparkling eyes gave way to sorrow immediately and she ran to hug Polly. "I'm so sorry! You have to have read something wrong."

"I don't think I did. That's when I melted down last night. Henry was great through all of that and then this morning, it's like he turned stupid on me. He couldn't just back off and let me deal with one emotional thing at a time, he had to keep pushing and then he got pissy when I begged him to stop it. So, I yelled at him and stormed out and went to the barn. I'm a terrible girlfriend, aren't I?"

"I don't think so. Sometimes men can be so dense. They compartmentalize the stupidest things. For us, everything flows together. All of our emotions are one big mess inside. For them, they deal with one, file it away and deal with the next.
He knew you would be dealing with Ruth Ann at lunch time, so it made sense that you should be able to deal with what he had on his mind this morning."

"You'd think he would have learned by now.
Gawd, Sylvie. Last night he was caring and wonderful. I would live forever with that man. He was so cute when he woke up this morning. All rumpled and sexy. And then he got some coffee in him and somewhere between hugging me and telling me I smelled good and sitting down at the table, he got really stupid."

"Do you think you scared it out of him?"

"I don't know. I told him that I'd get someone else to drive to Ames with me. I don't know whether to follow through on that or go make up with him and drag him down there. He's been through everything else with me. I know he loves me and wants to support me, but damn I don't want him around right now. He annoys me."

"I can't believe he left, then." Sylvie giggled.

"Oh, I'm sure I made him angry enough to run away. We'll see what he does with it."

"If you need someone to go with you for lunch, I can make time. Just let me know."

"Thanks, I'll figure it out," Polly said. "Come on, Obiwan. Back upstairs for breakfast."

The two of them went up the back steps and she pulled her jeans off and dropped them in a pile, then tossed her cap on top. Obiwan and the cats all followed her to the kitchen and waited not so patiently as she filled their food dishes.

"I may have really screwed up, guys." she said. "I don't want to go to this meeting alone, but I will if I have to, I guess. Why is it that he can be so wonderful and so stupid all at the same time?"

None of them were paying any attention as she went back into the bathroom and took a shower.
She stood in front of her closet trying to find the perfect thing to wear and finally settled on a pair of blue dress slacks and a loose sleeveless blouse. It was only seven forty-five and so she decided she might as well straighten up a bit in the dining room and kitchen. Jeff had told her the judges for the quilt show would be on site today and she shouldn't be surprised if she found strange people wandering around the building. She didn't feel like being social with people she didn't know, so cleaning for a while until he got them busy on their tasks was great.

Henry hadn't eaten any of the toast. It was all still sitting on the plate. He had gathered the two pieces she'd flung and stacked everything together. She picked up the plate to take things into the kitchen and saw a piece of paper there.

"I have no confidence that you will find this note, but if you do, I'm sorry. If you'll forgive me for being a stupid man, I still would like to take you to Ames for lunch. I don't think you should have to do this by yourself. I'll call you after a bit. If you don't want me to go, just don't answer and I'll see you tonight at Jason's party. I love you. H."

She sat down at the table and read the note again, then pulled her phone out of her back pocket and dialed.

"Polly? I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too.
I shouldn't have stormed out, but if I'd stayed I would have said stupid things to you and made it worse."

"I shouldn't have said anything at all. I just started thinking and couldn't shut up. I don't know why your emotional crises make me turn into an idiot, but they do. Does this call mean you forgive me?"

"I do. Absolutely."

"The only reason I left so quickly was because Roy texted me and asked if I would have breakfast with him at eight. I'm on my way to the diner now."

"That's alright. If you had left because you were angry with me, I would have understood."

"I was angry, but I knew I'd screwed up as soon as you left the apartment. So we're good?"

"We're great. I love you, Henry."

"I love you too. I'll be over when we're done with breakfast. Will you be in your office?"

"I'll be around somewhere. See you later."

She hung up and smiled. That was one less thing she needed to worry about today. Then she remembered that she needed to get Jason's gifts wrapped for the party. It might be better to do that now, just in case the day got out of control. She texted Jeff to tell him where she was and what she was doing, then she cleared the dining room table, wiped it down and went into her bedroom to dig out wrapping paper and the hat and boots she'd purchased.
Jeff had said he was buying Jason a belt with a Percheron belt buckle and she knew that Henry was doing something special for the boy as well. If there was going to be a game night and an overnight with Doug and Billy, the boy would be in seventh heaven.

She looked at the box filled with shirts and decided she might as well distribute those this evening, too. She could hardly wait
.

Polly shuddered as
Henry pulled into a parking spot at Hickory Park in Ames. He must have noticed, because he said, "Are you sure about this? We can still drive away. You owe her nothing."

"If she's my mother, I owe her my life," Polly said. "But yes, I'm sure." She turned in the car seat toward him and said, "Thank you again for coming with me. This is a big deal and means a lot to me."

He took her hand from her knee, "Of course I'm here. I'd be miserable sitting in Bellingwood waiting for you to call and tell me what had happened. As it is, I'm so nervous for you I can barely breathe."

"Lydia and Andy stopped by this morning. Sylvie must have called them. They
all wanted to come down with me. Lydia tried to talk me into letting them eat lunch here so they could watch." Polly giggled. "I told her not this time. The last time they did that, they intimidated Joey and made his meal miserable."

When her ex-boyfriend, Joey Delancy had come to Bellingwood last fall, her new friends had not been happy to see him arrive without notice. They made plans to eat at the same restaurant in Boone where Polly was taking him for dinner so they could check him out. With Lydia's husband, the Sheriff, seated at a table where he could keep an eye on the pair, Joey could only think to finish the meal and get out. He'd ended up kidnapping Polly and taking her to Boston, but she'd learned lessons about friendship and trusting people.

However, while she was pretty sure Ruth Ann Marshall wasn’t a physical threat, she just wasn't sure if her emotions would be able to take whatever news the woman had to deliver. Henry's presence would help mitigate the stress of it.

"How are you supposed to recognize her?" he asked.

"She wrote that she would tell the host station she was waiting for me and that she would be in a red sweater and khaki skirt. I think I'll recognize her from the pictures on her website, though."

"Are you ready for this?"

Polly inhaled deeply and then let it out slowly. "I'm ready. Let's do this."

She jumped out of the truck and met Henry as he crossed to her side. Taking his hand, they walked in the front door and were greeted by two young men.

Henry spoke up, "We're here to meet Ruth Ann Marshall. She said she would leave her name with you."

"Sure," one of them said. "She's back here. I'll take you. Have you ever eaten with us before?"

Polly and Henry glanced at each other and grinned, "A couple of times," he said.

"Then you know that our ice cream is as much of a treat as our barbecue. We hope you enjoy your meal and save room for dessert.
Here you go." He gestured at a table and the woman who was seated there stood up.

Henry looked sideways at Polly and then back at the woman. He squeezed her hand as the woman said, "Polly Giller?"

"Yes, I'm Polly and this is Henry Sturtz."

"I'm Ruth Ann Marshall. It's nice to meet you both. Please. Sit down." She pointed at the chairs across the table from her and returned to her seat.
"I haven't ordered anything yet, but I'm sure they'll be right back. They seem to work very quickly here."

As soon as it was out of her mouth, a waiter was standing in front of them asking for their drink orders.

The waiter moved off and Ruth Ann said, "I'm so glad you agreed to see me today. I don't often get back to Iowa."

Polly just nodded. She had no idea what to say.

"How do you two know each other?" Ruth Ann asked.

Polly looked at Henry and smiled. "He came to work for me when I began to renovate Sycamore House. Our friendship developed from there."

This time it was Ruth Ann who nodded knowingly. "I see. If you're here, Mr. Sturtz, you probably know Polly very intimately."

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

"I mean that she has let you in on her little family secret."

"I don't know what you mean," he said.

Ruth Ann peered at Polly over her glasses. "You didn't tell him?"

"Tell him what?" Polly asked. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You want me to believe your father didn't tell you about me?"

"I'm here to get some answers. No, he didn't tell me about you or I wouldn't have been so curious about
you."

"Oh," she said, nodding again. "I didn't mean to imply anything," Ruth Ann said, speaking to Henry.

The waiter interrupted them with drinks and took their meal orders. Polly ordered, but her stomach was in knots. One more meal at this restaurant that she wasn't going to enjoy on-site. The thought occurred to her that she should just go ahead and order it as takeout, but then she thought that would be rude. As soon as that flitted through her head, she wondered if Jeff might call with an emergency and she could just escape. She reached around and patted her back pocket, ensuring the phone was there. It was and it was silent.

"I don't know how to approach this with you, but why are you here?" Polly asked.

"When I found out that both of your parents were gone, I thought you might want to talk to someone who had known all of you when you were a child. I was surprised you hadn’t reached out to me."

"But, they've been gone for quite a while now."

"I know that. I was astounded when I discovered they had both died. I was very surprised that your father didn't contact me when your mother passed away. That would have been the right thing to do. Several people from Story City were in a seminar I held in Chicago last spring and when I asked about your father, they told me he had also died. It should have been you who told me about this."

"I didn't know you existed," Polly said.
             

"That makes no sense to me," the woman protested. "Did your parents erase me from their lives? But I was so important to them. You can’t be telling me the truth."

"I’m not lying to you." For some reason Polly felt no compunction to protect this woman's feelings. She was becoming more and more irritated with her attitude by the minute. "The first time I ever saw a picture of you with them was in the scrapbook you mailed to me."

Ruth Ann pursed her lips and scowled. "I knew they believed I crossed a line with them, but I can't believe they went that far."

"Will you tell me who you are and why you are in those pictures? And will you please tell me why my father never said a word about you to me?" Polly asked.

The waiter returned with their meals and as he set them in front of each person, Ruth Ann said to him, "We will be fine for now. Please do not interrupt us again."

His startled look echoed those on Henry and Polly's faces, but he nodded and backed away. "If you need anything," he said to Polly, "just wave at me and I'll return." She nodded back at him and looked at the meal in front of her. Finally she pushed it back a bit and out of her way. Henry placed his hand on her knee.

"Who are you, Ruth Ann Marshall, and why does my father have a file folder of hospital bills from my birthdate with your name on them?"

"I'm your mother, child," the woman said. "But it isn't as easy as it sounds."

"Oh, this doesn't sound easy," Polly retorted. "But do me a favor. No more talk around the subject. Tell me what I want to know."

"My, you are as forward as I am. I think I might like you. It isn’t every day a person gets to meet the fruit of her loins and discover that she is exactly like you."

Polly put her hand out and stopped the woman from putting a bite of meat into her mouth. "If you want forward, I will give you forward. You are taunting and teasing me at this point and it is rude. Tell me who you are and why you were in my parent's lives. Then tell me why you left. I'm not kidding. I don't want any more run around from you."

The woman looked at Henry. "Is she always like this? How do you live with it?"

He shrugged, "She can be worse and you, ma'am, are setting my teeth on edge. Please don't push this any further than you need to."

She put her fork down. "Okay then. Here's the truth. Your mother and I met while we were taking a class at Iowa State. She had just met your father and they were in love. We became fast friends and did everything together. While your father was working on the farm, she and I flitted around attending concerts and art shows. After they were married, we traveled all over the Midwest, enjoying ourselves. There wasn't anything we couldn't find to entertain ourselves. We went to plays and concerts in Ames and Des Moines. Every once in a while we'd go up to Minneapolis or over to Chicago.

“I lived with them, offering my friendship to her as she learned how to be a wife of a farmer. I was the person who kept her sane when your father was too busy in the fields.

"Then, she discovered that she was unable to bear children. They were devastated and I offered to help. All she wanted was one child. She didn't care if it was a girl or a boy, she just wanted a child who could make them into a family. Doctors had been successfully implanting sperm into women for a few years and your father was willing to do anything for her happiness, so we traveled to the University of Iowa and on the first try, his sperm inside me created you. I wasn't interested in raising a child. I never have been, but the experience of being pregnant and then giving birth to you so that my very best friend in the world could have what she desired more than anything was extraordinary."

"Why didn't they use her eggs?"

"Oh, Polly. This was 1979. They hadn't gotten that far with the technology. They were just happy to be able to impregnate a woman without sexual intercourse. It changed the lives of millions of women around the country. But implanting an embryo wouldn't come until several years later. This was all we knew to do."

"So you're my mother."

"Yes I am and I think that is important. It is what draws the two of us together. I’m surprised you didn’t feel the hole in your heart because I was no longer around. But Barbara was my friend. I would have done anything for her, and I gave birth so she could be your mommy."

"Why wouldn't Dad have told me this?" Polly asked.

"I don't know," she responded. "We talked about it for hours. All of us assumed I would be in your life as much as I had been in their lives. I don't think any of us ever considered that we wouldn't always be friends. That first year with you was nearly perfect. You were a wonderful baby. In fact, if I'd had you all to myself, you might have changed my mind about being a mother. You smiled all the time. Whenever any of us walked into your room, you reached your chubby little arms up out of the crib wanting to be held. If you fussed because your diaper needed changing, you turned into a giggling bubble as soon as the dirty diaper came off.

"The first words out of your mouth were Ru-Ru because your par
ents were always talking to me. When you learned to crawl, you went to any of us. No one was more special to you than the other. You were generous with your love and smiles and you didn't discriminate.

"Your mother was extremely generous with me as well. She knew that I wasn't comfortable with children and never pressed me to hold you. When I could handle being around you, she let me. When I had enough of you, she made that work too. That woman had no nastiness or selfishness inside her at all."

Ruth Ann reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope. "These are some pictures I didn't send to you. I found them packed away in a carton."

Polly took the envelope. These pictures were taken by her mother and were simply pictures of Polly and the woman sitting across from her. Ruth Ann holding her in the rocking chair, Ruth Ann leaning back in the recliner, asleep with a smiling baby sound asleep on her chest. There was a picture of Ruth Ann sprawled out on the floor of the living room with toys everywhere, pushing a small train toward a giggling baby." She flipped through them and then pushed them back toward the woman.

"I don't understand why they didn't tell me."

"There were a lot of bad stories about surrogacy in the news in those days and they wanted to let you grow up naturally without the stigma of something different held over your head. We discussed that,
along with everything else. As long as you didn’t need to know, you would always think of Barbara as your mother and I would be a favorite aunt."

"Did my Uncle Clyde know?"