“I have to take the trash out, Mason. And I need to check the snowblower. I think I’ll walk to the gas station for gas. You have things under control here, right?”
“Yes, sir, I do. The pie is coming along nicely. The stew is simmering. I’m going to do some laundry. Do whatever you have to do.”
“The boys need their vitamins. They’re on the windowsill.”
“I took care of that, sir.”
“The pee pads need to be washed in Clorox.”
“I’ve taken care of that, sir. The boys’ laundry is washing now.”
“You’re right, Mason, you do have it under control.”
Hank grabbed his jacket and entered the garage through the kitchen. He checked the snowblower. He had an identical one at home in New York, so he knew how to work it. Alice was right, though, it was bone dry, as was the gas container. He made fast work of bundling the paper products and separating the glass and plastic bottles. Then he dragged the heavy trash cans through the snow and out to the curb. How the hell did Alice do all this? He was huffing and puffing when he made his seventh trip down the driveway.
Should he start to shovel the driveway, or should he slog his way to the gas station for gas? He looked around for the shovel but didn’t see one. He snorted as he grabbed the gas can and started down the driveway. He stopped in his tracks when he heard Churchill bark. He strained to see through the snow. Is that Mandy on the front porch of the Carpenter house? What the hell is she doing now?
“Hey, what are you doing?” he yelled.
“Decorating. Why do you care what I’m doing?” Amy shouted back.
Hank sucked in his breath and got a mouthful of snow. He didn’t mean to say the words, they just popped out of his mouth. “Do you need any help?”
Amy strained to see through the swirling snow. She could use some help. “Yeah,” she said before she could change her mind. Maybe she could get to the bottom of whatever it was that was bothering Hank.
He was on the porch a minute later, the orange gas can in his hand. “I was going for gas for the snowblower. I can do your driveway if you like. What are you doing?”
“I’m decorating Mr. Carpenter’s front porch. I found all of our old decorations in the garage. Mom bought all of these reindeer one year and the sleigh. Don’t you remember?”
“Yeah, yeah, I do remember. Your family won the prize that year for the best-decorated house. Why aren’t you putting them up on your own front porch?”
Good question. “I’m not sure why. I just wanted to do something for Mr. Carpenter. He was always so big on Christmas even though he and his wife never had children. Remember how he used to say because he was a teacher all us kids were his children? Maybe it’s a send-off of sorts.
“I came back home because I was trying…I wanted…I guess I was trying to recapture that last Christmas that I never had. You can’t go home again, Hank,” she said sadly. “I wish so much that I had come back sooner. I wish I had told Mr. Carpenter how much he meant to me growing up. I wish so many things. I guess I’m trying to make up for that. Is it right? Is it wrong? I don’t know, and I don’t care. I just need to do this. For me and for Mr. Carpenter.”
Hank stared at the young woman standing across from him, tears in her eyes. “It makes sense to me,” he said. “You’re the one who paid for the funeral, aren’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“I went to the Mastersons’ to leave my donation. She told me an anonymous donor called Mr. Dial and paid for it. Tell me right now, who is Amy Lee? What were you doing with someone else’s credit card? I didn’t know how to deal with it.”
Amy slid down on her haunches, her back against the front door. “Is that what your attitude was all about? Why didn’t you just ask me?”
“Well, I didn’t…All kinds of crazy thoughts were going through my mind. I was devastated when my thoughts…We were hitting it off so well. It was like a dream came true, then suddenly there was a glitch. I’ve been trying to deal with Alice and all that mess. So, who is Amy Lee? The name sounds familiar to me.”
“Me. I’m Amy Lee. Flo and the studio wanted me to change my name. Flo wanted to wipe this place, my early years away. And yet she stayed in touch with the people here. She made sure the house was taken care of, cleaned and aired several times a year. It just never made any sense to me.”
“Studio? What’s that mean?”
“I’m a movie star. I work in Hollywood. I make pictures. Even got nominated for an Academy Award twice, but I didn’t win.”
“You’re a movie star! Well, damn! I guess that’s why the name sounded familiar. I haven’t been to the movies in years and years. Are you good?”
Amy laughed. “I get by. I came back here thinking I wasn’t going to go back to Hollywood. I had thoughts of retiring after I finish out my contract. I might be able to buy it out, at least that’s what my agent said. I never understood how I could be good at something I didn’t like doing. I still don’t understand it. I’ve had enough. I’m not sure I want to stay in Apple Valley, though. I was hoping to find some answers here. I know now the answers are inside me. This place is just a memory, but I’m smart enough to know I have to lay it to rest before I can go on. My big regret is it’s taken me so long.”
Hank inched closer to Amy. “I don’t know what to say. I feel stupid for jumping to conclusions. I’m sorry, Mandy. Or should I call you Amy?”
“My name is Mandy. I hated it that they took away my name. First my parents, Apple Valley, then my name. I was just a kid back then, and while I tried to deal with it, I guess I didn’t do such a good job of it. What were you saying about your sister-in-law?”
Hank explained the situation. Amy burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. “I’m on her side. Boy, did that take guts. She must really trust you, though, to leave her kids with you.”
“Well, I didn’t do so good. Those kids hated me on sight. Churchill hated me and ran to you. I had to hire a nanny. A guy!” Hank said, his eyes almost bugging out of his head. “He had things under control in ten minutes. He cooks, does laundry. Hey, the guy is IT.” Then he told her about Ben’s e-mail. “So for my Christmas present to the family, I hired Mason for six months to help Alice. Ben will be back home by that time to pick up the slack.”
“That’s so wonderful, Hank! When are you going to tell Alice?”
“I can’t tell her anything because I don’t know where she is. She said she was going to a hotel to pamper herself.”
“No, no, that’s not what she’s doing if their financial situation is so precarious. She’s probably staying with a friend and talking it all to death. She was overwhelmed, that’s the bottom line. I give her another day, and she’ll be back. She’s a mother, she won’t abandon her kids. Trust me.”
“You think?”
“I do, Hank. It’s not easy being a single mom, and that’s what she is with Ben away. It all falls on her. She’s just one person, and there are just twenty-four hours in a day. She’s frazzled. What you’re planning on doing is a wonderful thing. I just wish there was a way to tell her to ease her misery.”
Hank nodded. “So we’re friends again, right?”
“Of course. If you help me get the sleigh over here, I can finish up while you go for the gas. Are we still going to the wake this evening?”
“Absolutely, but we might have to walk.”
“I have boots, so it won’t be a problem. Okay, let’s go get that sleigh.”
Hank