Jeff which were just scheduling alerts and popped open the email from Doug Randall.
"Dear Miss Giller,
Mr. William Endicott and I would like to invite you to a one-month celebratory dinner Thursday evening at seven o'clock.
Please RSVP ASAP.
Yours sincerely,
Douglas P. Randall"
Polly laughed out loud, startling the sleeping dog.
Doug and Billy had moved in to the apartment over her new garage a month ago. Even though they had installed the wiring for it under the watchful eye of their boss, Jerry Allen, they had no idea it might be their new home until the last light fixture was installed. Polly had invited them up to check it out, then opened the refrigerator she and their mothers had filled with some of their favorite items. It wasn't until she pulled out the pie-shaped cookie she'd made and decorated to read, "Will you move in?" that they clued in to what she'd done.
Neither of them had imagined that this might be an opportunity for them to finally move out of their homes. All Polly knew was that the two young men whom she considered brothers and called her Jedi Knights, were living close enough that she got to spend time with them.
She promptly replied in the affirmative and opened the email from her friend, Sal Kahane. She skimmed it for anything important and saw that it was newsy information and Sal's regular moaning and groaning about being so far away from Mark Ogden, whom she'd met when visiting Polly in the spring. It was never going to work out between the two of them. Sal wouldn't move to Iowa and Mark wouldn't leave the state. Polly closed the email and peered at the last one. She didn't recognize this email address either, so clicked it open and read:
"Dear Polly Giller,
You have no idea who I am, but when you were a tiny, little girl, I was in your life nearly every day. Your mother and I were like sisters and you couldn’t have come into the world without me. I moved in with your family the year before you were born and stayed for quite some time.
I am a little hesitant to reach out to you. Our lives have taken very different courses and I left your family's home in disgrace. I didn't know that either your mother or your father had died and since you are all I have left of them, I would very much like to meet you.
Please agree to meet with me and I will come to Iowa. There are no strings attached. I expect nothing from you. In fact, I have some old photographs and a few precious memories of your mother that I would like to share with you.
Your Aunt,
Ruth Ann Marshall"
Polly slammed the lid down on her laptop and took a breath.
"Come on, Obiwan," she said. "It's time for you to take one last walk before we go to bed."
He heard the word "walk" and jumped off the couch. They went back through the bedroom and down the steps. Polly grabbed the leash off a hook and snapped it on his collar, then opened the door and went through the storage room to the garage. Once she got outside, she stopped, bent over, put her hands on her knees and took a breath.
"Sorry, guy. That was a little unexpected."
The storm had passed and the rain had ceased. She stood back up, trotted around the back of the house to the tree line along the creek and began to quietly jog with her dog. They headed for the highway, splashing through puddles, crossed it and picked up a path that followed the creek along the north side of town. Polly knew she would soon reach Henry's property and didn't quite know what she was thinking, but after stopping a couple of times for Obiwan, ended up in Henry's back yard. The kitchen light was on, so she and Obiwan jogged around to the front of the house. She stopped beside his porch and realized she was being overly emotional. There was every possibility the woman was lying. Polly couldn’t imagine why there would ever be a time her father wouldn’t tell her something as important as this.
The thought took her breath away again. There weren't enough people in her life that
"Dear Miss Giller,
Mr. William Endicott and I would like to invite you to a one-month celebratory dinner Thursday evening at seven o'clock.
Please RSVP ASAP.
Yours sincerely,
Douglas P. Randall"
Polly laughed out loud, startling the sleeping dog.
Doug and Billy had moved in to the apartment over her new garage a month ago. Even though they had installed the wiring for it under the watchful eye of their boss, Jerry Allen, they had no idea it might be their new home until the last light fixture was installed. Polly had invited them up to check it out, then opened the refrigerator she and their mothers had filled with some of their favorite items. It wasn't until she pulled out the pie-shaped cookie she'd made and decorated to read, "Will you move in?" that they clued in to what she'd done.
Neither of them had imagined that this might be an opportunity for them to finally move out of their homes. All Polly knew was that the two young men whom she considered brothers and called her Jedi Knights, were living close enough that she got to spend time with them.
She promptly replied in the affirmative and opened the email from her friend, Sal Kahane. She skimmed it for anything important and saw that it was newsy information and Sal's regular moaning and groaning about being so far away from Mark Ogden, whom she'd met when visiting Polly in the spring. It was never going to work out between the two of them. Sal wouldn't move to Iowa and Mark wouldn't leave the state. Polly closed the email and peered at the last one. She didn't recognize this email address either, so clicked it open and read:
"Dear Polly Giller,
You have no idea who I am, but when you were a tiny, little girl, I was in your life nearly every day. Your mother and I were like sisters and you couldn’t have come into the world without me. I moved in with your family the year before you were born and stayed for quite some time.
I am a little hesitant to reach out to you. Our lives have taken very different courses and I left your family's home in disgrace. I didn't know that either your mother or your father had died and since you are all I have left of them, I would very much like to meet you.
Please agree to meet with me and I will come to Iowa. There are no strings attached. I expect nothing from you. In fact, I have some old photographs and a few precious memories of your mother that I would like to share with you.
Your Aunt,
Ruth Ann Marshall"
Polly slammed the lid down on her laptop and took a breath.
"Come on, Obiwan," she said. "It's time for you to take one last walk before we go to bed."
He heard the word "walk" and jumped off the couch. They went back through the bedroom and down the steps. Polly grabbed the leash off a hook and snapped it on his collar, then opened the door and went through the storage room to the garage. Once she got outside, she stopped, bent over, put her hands on her knees and took a breath.
"Sorry, guy. That was a little unexpected."
The storm had passed and the rain had ceased. She stood back up, trotted around the back of the house to the tree line along the creek and began to quietly jog with her dog. They headed for the highway, splashing through puddles, crossed it and picked up a path that followed the creek along the north side of town. Polly knew she would soon reach Henry's property and didn't quite know what she was thinking, but after stopping a couple of times for Obiwan, ended up in Henry's back yard. The kitchen light was on, so she and Obiwan jogged around to the front of the house. She stopped beside his porch and realized she was being overly emotional. There was every possibility the woman was lying. Polly couldn’t imagine why there would ever be a time her father wouldn’t tell her something as important as this.
The thought took her breath away again. There weren't enough people in her life that
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