Chapter 3

Saturday, June 13,1987

The one thing Trixie missed was running. She was glad she was able to bike to work most days but her legs ached to be pushed. By the time dinner was done and cleaned up she usually was too tired to go. On Saturday morning she decided she was going to go running even if it was pouring rain.

Saturday morning was overcast and the weather report called for rain later in the day. Trixie started out early, hoping to get her run in before the skies opened up. Already the temperatures were pushing into the mid-seventies. If it didn’t rain, it would be hot and sticky before noon. Dressed in shorts and a running bra, Trixie took off down Glen Road toward Mr. Lytell’s. Her plan was to run all the way to the Glen Road Inn.

After stretching on the terrace she took off. She inhaled the fresh morning air and started off on her run. The sun was just coming up and Trixie loved listening to the silence of the morning. It was only broken by birds twittering the arrival of a new day and the pounding of her feet on the road.

For the first few minutes Trixie concentrated on her running, the cadence of her feet setting the rhythm. Soon she was at the pace she wanted to maintain and allowed her mind to wander to other things. She thought about the last week. She was surprised how much she enjoyed her job. There were so many interesting book titles. It would have been easy to stop and read the first few pages of a lot of them. She had quickly realized that if she did that she would never get the task accomplished within her time frame. As a concession, she started to make a list of books that interested her. For once she understood why Brian enjoyed reading for pleasure. She made a decision to read a book for at least a half an hour every day.

Her mind then wandered to Jim. It was great to have him home for the next month or so. On the days that he didn’t go into the city he would usually meet her on his bike either going to or returning from the library. They usually saw each other every day. Sometimes it was just a walk up the driveway when she arrived home, another day they went out riding. They were continuing to work on growing their relationship. The most important thing was that they also did things with other people.

They both had realized that spending all of their spare time with each other was not healthy for their relationship. Trixie had even made plans to meet up with Ruthie Kettner. They were planning to take a karate class later in the summer.

Trixie smiled as she thought how much stronger her relationships were with the Bob-Whites as a result of expanding her friendships with other people. By having a variety of friends with a variety of interests, her friendships with the B.W.G.’s were even stronger.

As she ran past Lytell’s store, her mind jumped to the mystery she had conjured up about him. She had just about memorized the articles she had printed off earlier in the week. There wasn’t enough information to do anything, but there was enough to know that something had happened. She’d have to do some more research next week.

It would be a busy week. There was a municipal band concert on the town hall lawn on Tuesday night. Jim had asked if she’d like to go to dinner and then the concert. The rest of the B.W.G.’s were planning to attend the concert as well. Since Jim had class that day he was going to meet her at the library when he got back into town. Hopefully, she would be able to do a little more research while she waited for him.

She tried to catalogue in her brain what she did know. Mr. Lytell had moved to Sleepside in 1968 from Brisbane, California. He had been working for a company that owned several A&P supermarkets and the company had hoped to build one in Sleepyside. Announcements were made that the groundbreaking ceremony would be held but it never occurred. Her father had cautioned her about bringing up old hurts. Mr. Lytell had remained in Sleepyside but ran a country store. What happened to the company that was supposed to build the A&P? And why did Mr. Lytell stay in Sleepyside?

She reached the Glen Road Inn. It was a beautiful old building that looked like a mansion rather than an inn. There was a large verandah that wrapped around the building with white rockers and Adirondack chairs placed in groupings. The inn was decorated with antiques and each room was unique. There were fifteen rooms and from April to November it was usually booked several weeks in advanced. Besides the elegant rooms, there was an excellent restaurant that rivaled some of the best in New York City.

Despite the grandeur of the inn, Trixie shuddered as she usually did when she ran by it. She would always remember how Dan and Hallie had been tied up in one of the rooms while Jim’s cousin Juliana married Hans. The feeling would leave her almost as fast as it came. Dan and Hallie had made the best of a bad situation. There was something about their relationship that made her sure that they were meant for each other just as much as she and Jim were. They would have their ups and downs but in the end she knew they would end up together.

As she turned around to head back home, she felt the first drop of rain. Trixie looked up at the sky. The clouds had changed and the sky had darkened. The wind had started to pick up and despite the sheen of sweat on her skin, she shivered in cold. There was no point in slowing down and wondering what to do. Trixie picked up her pace and kept running. She was almost to Mr. Lytell’s store when the skies opened up and the rains came down. When lightning struck, she couldn’t even begin to count how close it was. She quickly made the decision to duck into the store.

As the bell on the door rang, Mr. Lytell came out from the back room. He took one look at Trixie and grumpily said, “Good morning, Miss Belden. I hope you don’t plan on dripping water all over the store.”

Trixie was just about to head back out into the rain. The man hated her. She just knew it. She could do nothing right in his eyes. She started to head out again when there was a flash and crack that was almost simultaneous.

“I won’t, Mr. Lytell,” she said through gritted teeth, bending down to get the quarter she kept in the small compartment she tied to her shoe to hold a little change for just this purpose. “I just stopped in to make a phone call.” Fortunately, for her, the pay phone was located in the front of the store. She started to call home and realized that by now everyone was gone. Without hesitation she dialed Manor House.

The phone rang once before it was picked up. “Manor House, this is Margery Trask,” the efficient voice on the other end of the phone said.

“Hi, Miss Trask, this is Trixie. Is Jim around?”

“I know he’s up. He said something about going out to exercise Jupiter but I don’t know if he went, due to the rain. May I have him call you back?” Miss Trask asked.

Trixie began moving from foot to foot trying to keep warm. Her shorts and sport bra were soaking wet. “I’m at Lytell’s Store. If you don’t mind, I’ll just hang on.”

There was a pause on the phone and Trixie could hear mumblings in the background. Finally, someone returned to the phone.

“What’s up, Shamus?” It was Jim.

“I have a huge favor to ask you,” Trixie started. “I went out running and got caught in this thunderstorm. I’m holed up at Lytell’s. Could you come and pick me up?”

“Not a problem. I’ll be there in less than five minutes,” Jim replied.

Before he hung up, Trixie said. “And could you bring a sweatshirt for me? I got drenched before I made it inside.” She lowered her voice as she said, “And Mr. Lytell is shooting daggers at me for dripping water all over his floor.”

Jim chuckled. “I can just imagine.”

They hung up and Trixie stood next to the phone, trying not to drip water any more than she already had. For several minutes she stood there, not sure what to do. She was startled when a towel was thrust into her face and she realized Mr. Lytell had handed it to her.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, not wanting to incur his wrath.

“Well, I can’t have you dripping water all over the store now, can I?” he replied.

Trixie dried her hair and tried to soak up as much water as she could. Then she draped the towel over her shoulders. Trixie looked up at Mr. Lytell and was surprised to see concern in the man’s eyes. She then remembered how he had subtly supported her during the Todd Roberts incident.

Taking her lead from Mr. Lytell’s kindness, she decided to try to strike up a casual conversation. “I suppose we shouldn’t complain too much about the rain. It’s been pretty dry for the last few weeks. I know Moms will be glad we don’t have to water the garden for a few days.”

There was a pause and Trixie was afraid he would say something contrary. She was surprised when he said, “I think you’re right. I hate it when it gets so dry you have to worry about any little spark starting the game preserve on fire.”

There was silence for a few minutes. It wasn’t totally uncomfortable but neither one was at ease either. Trixie looked around the store, trying to think of something to say. She walked over to the register and looked at it. It must have been at least thirty years old.

“Have you ever thought of replacing the register with one of those electronic ones that tells you how much change you have to give back?” Trixie asked. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she gasped and put her hand over her mouth. That had sounded rather rude.

Mr. Lytell appeared to start to say something snappish and then suddenly changed his mind. “Well, I suppose I could, but this register was here when I bought this store. It’s antique and I kind of think it gives the store ambience. While I try to keep my prices down, I can’t really compete with the big supermarkets for price. People come here for the service and the atmosphere. I just wish I hadn’t taken the soda fountain out when I first took over the store.”

Trixie recognized the opportunity to learn a little more about Mr. Lytell. She decided to not let on what she knew and innocently asked, “How long have you owned the store? I guess I never thought of it, but I always assumed this had been your parents or something and you took it over for them.”

A sadness washed over Mr. Lytell’s face that quickly faded. “No, I bought this store about nineteen years ago,” he said. After a pause he continued, “In fact in December it will be nineteen years that I’ve owned it. It was in a lot of disrepair when I bought it. I think most people would stop by because they felt sorry for Mr. Persham.”

Trixie’s eyes lit up. She remembered her dad talking about Mr. Persham. “Wasn’t he a high school math teacher at one time?”

Mr. Lytell nodded. “Yes, he was a favorite teacher. He took an early retirement, when his parents passed away, to take over the store. It always amazed me that someone who taught math had no business sense. When I bought it from him, he had used up almost all of his retirement and inheritance to keep the store running.”

Trixie couldn’t believe how forthright he was so she decided to ask some more questions. “So what prompted you to take over the store if it was in such bad shape?”

He paused for a few minutes trying to decide how to answer the question. “Well, I’d moved to New York from California with a company. I got disillusioned. When I saw the store up for sale, I figured I didn’t have much to lose. It was the best thing I ever did.” He went over to the cooler and took out a bottle of strawberry pop. “Here,” he said handing it to her.

“Thanks, but I used my last quarter on my phone call,” Trixie said.

“It’s on me,” he said. “You’re about the only person who likes the stuff. It’s been here for some time, so it might be spoiled.”

She graciously took the bottle, realizing what Mr. Lytell had just revealed.

The door to the store opened and the bells above it jingled, announcing someone’s arrival. Trixie looked up to see Jim walking through the door.

“Hi,” he said as he approached the register. “Sorry I’m late. Regan wanted to talk to me about something.”

“We were just having a nice conversation,” Trixie said.

Before he could catch himself, surprise and shock crossed Jim’s face. All he could think to say was a weak, “Oh.”

“Yes, we were,” confirmed Mr. Lytell.

Trixie emptied her pop bottle, then said, “Well, I suppose we’d better get going. Thanks for the pop. It was a pleasure talking to you.” She placed the empty pop bottle into a crate next to the register, grabbed Jim’s hand and headed out the door. They made a mad dash to his car trying to stay dry in the downpour that hadn’t let up.

When they got in the car, Jim handed her a towel and used another one to dry off. He noticed how revealing her sports bra was when it was wet and quickly handed her a sweatshirt he had brought along.

“What happened between you and Mr. Lytell? I don’t ever remember him being so friendly with you,” Jim asked. He backed the car out of the small parking lot and headed back down Glen Road.

Trixie hesitated, not wanting to go into the Todd Roberts incident. Finally she said, “Well, I’m not sure. One minute I thought he was going to shoot daggers at me for dripping water in his store and the next thing I know he’s offering me a bottle of strawberry pop. I don’t care what brought it on, I just hope it continues.”

The two sat in comfortable silence until Jim pulled into Crabapple Farm.

“What are your plans for the day?” Jim asked then he raced around the front of the car to open up her door before she did.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she admonished. “I’m already soaked to the skin but you are pretty dry.”

“I know I don’t have to but I want to,” he replied. He shut the car door and headed toward the house with her. “You haven’t answered my question.”

The two raced to the kitchen door, trying to dodge the raindrops as they went. By the time they were inside they were both soaking wet again. Trixie went into the downstairs linen closet to get some towels. When she returned, she answered Jim’s question.

“Well, I’ve got to do my chores that I put off this morning and Hallie and I talked about doing something. I’ve been so busy with work I’ve hardly had time to spend with her,” Trixie finally replied.

“Will you have time later tonight for a date?” Jim asked. “I thought you might like to go to a movie or something.”

“I’d love to do something tonight. I wonder what everyone else is doing. With everyone working this summer we haven’t done very much as a group,” Trixie said.

“I could check with everyone and see if they all wanted to go to the Cameo to see a movie,” Jim suggested.

“Movies aren’t bad but you really don’t get to visit unless you want to get kicked out of the theater before the movie ends,” Trixie replied. “Why don’t we go bowling? It could be fun.”

Jim agreed. He left Trixie to finish her chores and told her he would call her later with details for the evening.

It was a boisterous group of young adults who headed into the bowling alley that Saturday night. The rains had finally let up early enough in the afternoon so that several of the Bob-Whites were able to exercise the horses, keeping Regan on everyone’s good side.

After they had all rented their shoes and been assigned the lanes, Diana piped up.

“I wonder who designed these lovely shoes. I mean really, red, white, and blue? The bicentennial was eleven years ago,” Diana complained good-naturedly.

“I don’t know,” Dan said. “I think they have moxie, almost as much moxie as a pink fun fur party hat.”

While all of the bantering was going on, Trixie was rather subdued. She went through the motions of getting her shoes on and picking out a ball but her mind was elsewhere.

She jumped when someone put his arm around her. “What’s bothering you, Trixie? Something happen between you and Hallie this afternoon?” Jim asked.

She tried to shake off her thoughts and get into the bowling. “Not really, I just realized that this bowling alley is located in the same spot as the A&P was supposed to be built that Mr. Lytellwas in charge of nineteen years ago. It just got me thinking. Part of the reason the grocery store wasn’t built was because this was supposed to be sacred Indian land.” She glanced over her shoulder and noticed the manager of the bowling alley seemed to be listening to her conversation.

“I thought you were going to quit worrying about that?” Jim asked. He tried not to sound judgmental, just matter of fact. Trixie heard what Jim had meant and didn’t take offense.

Trixie instinctively lowered her voice, not wanting anyone to overhear her. “I was going to, but after my conversation with Mr. Lytell this morning, and having read through what little research I’ve done, something just doesn’t sound right. I promise I’m going to be discreet. Whatever I find out I’ll share with Mr. Lytell and he can decide what to do with it,” Trixie said. She looked over at the door that just opened and gasped in surprise. “Isn’t that Fred Murphy?” she asked.

Jim looked in the same direction that she was. “Who’s Fred Murphy?” he asked.

“I think that guy over there.” She pointed him out. “From what I’ve gathered, he’s served on the city zoning commission for over twenty years, but more importantly he owns the bowling alley.”

“So what’s the big deal?” Jim asked. “It’s only natural that if he owns the place he’d be checking in on it.”

“Well, that’s true, but think about this, Fred Murphy is on the zoning commission. Mr. Lytell applies for a permit to build a grocery store on this property. Someone claims that the property is sacred Indian ground and the project is stopped. Less than two years later the property is developed into a bowling alley by none other than Fred Murphy. Something doesn’t add up.”

“You are right, Trix,” Jim said. “Something does seem fishy.”

“Thanks,” she said quietly.

“For what?” he asked.

“For agreeing with me,” she replied. “I was beginning to think I was grasping at straws just to come up with a mystery.”

Jim squeezed Trixie’s shoulder one more time and then placed a kiss on her head. “Experience has taught me to not question when you’re hot on the trail of a mystery.”

“Hey,” Mart called over to the two. “Are you going to play kissy face or join us?”

Trixie stuck her tongue out at her brother and said, “We’re ready to bowl and you’d better watch out. I’m going to take you all down.”

The group of friends had a great time bowling. No one was a particularly great bowler. They switched up the teams after each game. One game they decided that each frame had to be bowled a different way. The first frame they had to bowl with their non-dominant hand. Another frame they had to bowl with their eyes shut. There was a frame that they had to sing a verse of Yankee Doodle before the ball hit the pins. They all had fun and yet made sure that they weren’t disrespectful to those bowling around them or to the alleys themselves.

Trixie tried her hardest to concentrate on bowling and the fun they were having. For the most part she did, but she couldn’t help but follow Fred Murphy’s movements throughout the evening.

After several hours of bowling, the group decided to head over to Wimpy’s for a late night snack. For most of the group that consisted of malts and fries. Mart, however, had to have a Wimpy’s special burger to go along with his fries and malt. They ate and joked around for about an hour, talking with friends from town who had also stopped in for a snack before heading home for the night.

While it would have made more sense to an efficiency expert for all of the Beldens to ride home in one car and the rest go in the other, the romantic set won out. Brian, Honey, Mart and Diana went in one vehicle, while the rest followed in another.

Jim pulled into the driveway of Crabapple Farm and parked the car. He grabbed Trixie’s hand and led her a little ways into the apple orchard to give Hallie and Dan some privacy.

When they were somewhat out of sight, Jim pulled her into his arms and placed a kiss on her lips. Trixie deepened the kiss for a few minutes before pulling away. She did remain within his embrace.

“I had a great time tonight,” she said. “We always manage to have fun no matter what we do.”

“That’s the way it should be. When you’re with good friends just about anything you do should be fun,” Jim replied. “I always enjoy myself when I’m with you.”

They spent a few more minutes kissing and embracing. They had made great progress in defining their relationship but they still weren’t totally secure in it. They knew they would need to keep working on it. Trixie discovered she liked working on this part of their relationship. After several minutes they heard the quiet call of a bob-white.

“I guess that’s Dan’s way of telling us the coast is clear,” Trixie said. She turned to head back to the house but made sure she remained within Jim’s embrace.

Hallie and Dan were standing on the terrace when they returned. Each couple exchanged one last kiss before departing for the evening.

As Trixie and Hallie headed into the house, Trixie asked, “Hey, Hallie, you want to have a sleepover tonight?”

“Sure,” Hallie replied grinning from ear to ear. There had been a time not too long ago when Trixie would never have extended that invitation. It would be a late night giggle fest and neither girl could wait.

 

 

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