Home for the Holidays (2 page)

The other girls ranted and raved over their dishes and Gloria was glad she had chosen the restaurant for the special occasion. 

After they finished a long, leisurely meal, they decided to stop at Enchanting Petals, a floral shop in Green Springs, on their way home.

Picking out flowers was one of the last items on Gloria’s to-do list.  She already had a mental image of what she wanted – a winter-themed ensemble. 

The girls crowded inside the small store.  Gloria scanned the various arrangements on display and easily decided on a bouquet of winter white roses with sprigs of cranberry and holly tucked in.  A layer of twigs formed the base of the bouquet.  A shimmering silver ribbon tied around the lower section held the arrangement together.

For the dinner tables, the girls decided on classy, yet simple and stumbled upon round pillar candles with sprigs of eucalyptus circling the outside.  A silky, cream-colored ribbon held the eucalyptus in place. 

After Gloria finished picking out the arrangements and scheduling the delivery, the girls headed back to the van.

The day had been a huge success and Gloria was thrilled she could mark one more chore off her wedding list. 

Ruth pulled into her drive and the girls hopped out of the van.  She made her way ‘round back, opened the van’s rear cargo door and reached for Gloria’s dress.  “Hang it up right away so it doesn’t wrinkle,” she said.

Gloria took the bag and scrunched her nose.  “I hope it’s not too late,” she fretted. 

Dot grabbed the shopping bag that held the shoes and slip.  “Don’t forget the other goodies.”

Gloria reached for the bag. “Thanks.” She had been forgetful lately.  There seemed to be so much to do and she was running out of time.  She had made a list and faithfully checked off things as she went along.  Despite that, she was still feeling overwhelmed.

In addition to the wedding, Gloria’s two sons and their families would be arriving soon and she would have a house full of people.  There were family get-togethers planned, rehearsal dinner, decorating Andrea’s beautiful home for the wedding.  The list went on and on.

On top off all that, Paul was retiring.  His last day as a sheriff at Montbay County Sheriff Department was next week and a large retirement party had been planned.  Gloria was nervous.  Paul was nervous.  Heck, even Gloria’s dog, Mally, was nervous.  At least she had been acting that way.

She placed her precious treasures in the trunk of the car before she made her rounds, hugging each of her dear friends and thanking them for making the day a memorable one. 

Gloria followed Lucy out of Ruth’s drive and headed home.  When she pulled into her own drive, she was surprised to see Paul’s truck parked next to the garage.  He had told her the day before they had switched shifts on him and asked him to work the next few days instead of the night shift.

Gloria parked Annabelle in front of the drive, climbed out of the driver’s seat and opened the trunk.  She grabbed the hook of the hangar, carefully balancing it in one hand as she reached for the shoes and the slip.

Gloria folded the clear, plastic cover in half and hoped Paul wouldn’t get even a glimpse of the dress she had picked out.

She climbed the porch steps and shifted her treasures as she reached for the doorknob. 

Paul pulled the door open as she reached for the knob.  He leaned forward in an attempt to take something from his bride-to-be’s overflowing arms.  “Let me help!”

Gloria handed him the shoes and slip but held firmly to the dress.  “No can do. I’ll keep this.”

She didn’t stop in the kitchen, but rather headed straight to the bedroom in the back.  She closed the bedroom door, stepped over to the closet and turned on the closet light as she peered at her dress. 

A smile lit her face as she turned the dress around.  She loved the dress even more than she remembered.  It was perfect!

The boutique clerk had included a deluxe padded hanger and Gloria slipped the ends under the shoulders.  She opened her closet door and hung the dress in the special spot she had cleared out in anticipation of the dress.

Gloria closed the door and made her way back into the kitchen.

Paul was sitting at the table, staring out the window.  Gloria could tell from the look on his face he was a million miles away.  She stepped over to the kitchen sink, squirted a glob of soap in her hands and turned the knobs on.  “I thought you had to work today.”

“Huh?” Paul turned with a blank expression covering his face. 

Gloria scrubbed her hands, turned the water off and reached for the hand towel to dry them. 

Gloria hung the towel on the oven handle before turning to give Paul her full attention.  Something was wrong…

“I thought you were at work,” she said.

Paul dropped his hands into his lap and clasped them together.  “Captain Davies called me into his office first thing this morning.”

Paul shifted in his chair and gazed at Gloria.  “It seems while cleaning out my locker, some items were found…”  His voice trailed off.

Gloria held her breath.  Whatever was coming next was not going to be good. 

“I’m under investigation for extortion.”

Chapter 2

“How…”  Gloria’s thoughts went in a million different directions.  “Extortion?  Like in blackmailing someone?”

Paul nodded.  “It seems someone tipped the captain off that I had bundles of cash stashed inside my locker.  When he investigated yesterday, they found a duffel bag loaded with money.”

He went on. “On top of the cash was an envelope and inside the envelope were two notes.  The first note was addressed to Mitzi Verona and the other to City Commissioner Cal Evergreen.”

Gloria’s eyes widened.  Cal Evergreen’s face and name was all over the local news recently.  He had been involved with a well-known “lady of the night,” Pandora Gillette.

Mitzi Verona was a local celebrity.  She came from a family of wealthy developers.  Her father had helped build many of the downtown Grand Rapids office buildings.  Mitzi’s sons had recently taken over the day-to-day operations of the business. 

There had been recent rumors of a division amongst the family members and Mitzi, the matriarch of the family, had been drawn into the family feud when an unknown source leaked to the press that some members of the family were involved in illegal online gambling.

“They think you were blackmailing these people and that’s where the piles of cash came from?”

Paul ran a ragged hand across his crew cut.  “I can’t go into detail other than to say someone is trying to hang me with this.”

Paul tilted his head and looked squarely into Gloria’s eyes.  “Can you believe it?  Less than two weeks from retiring and now, I’m under investigation.” 

He shook his head. “If they decide to press charges, not only will I lose all of my benefits and my pension, I could end up in prison.”

The color drained from Gloria’s face.  How could this be?  Why would someone do this to Paul? 

Gloria slid into the chair next to him, propped her elbows on the table and dropped her chin into her open palm.  She fixed her gaze on his solemn face.  “It’s obviously someone who has access to the locker room. Maybe it was a co-worker…a fellow officer.”

Paul’s shoulders sagged.  “We may have to postpone the wedding until I can get this sorted out.  I don’t want you saddled with a convicted criminal.”

Gloria’s mouth went dry.  She stiffened her back and stared at him in disbelief.  “You’re kidding.”

Paul slowly rose from the chair as he shook his head.  “No.  I’m sorry, but I need to get to the bottom of this and clear my name.”

Gloria stared at him, her mouth gaping open as he slid his arms into his jacket and made his way to the porch door. 

“There’s more to the story, Gloria, but I can’t tell you right now.  I think it’s best if we take a step back.” Paul stopped short of calling off the wedding, but Gloria knew that was what he meant. 

Paul opened the door.  “I need be alone.” He slowly closed the door behind him and shuffled to his truck.

Gloria, in a state of shock, walked over to the kitchen window and looked out.  She watched Paul back out of her drive and wondered if this would be the last time she would ever see him again.

***

Gloria stared out the window with hollow eyes.  It felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. Had she imagined Paul in her kitchen?  The whole thing seemed surreal.

Mally nudged Gloria’s hand and let out a low whine, pulling Gloria from her state of disbelief. She absentmindedly patted her head. “L-let’s go out for a walk.”  It was late afternoon and soon it would be dark, too dark to visit her favorite spot in the woods. 

Gloria grabbed her jacket, slipped it on and then opened the door.  While Mally galloped out into the back of the yard, Gloria made a pit stop inside the garage to grab a flashlight. 

Mally darted back and forth waiting for Gloria to catch up, unaware that Gloria’s world had crumbled around her.

What if Paul fabricated the story because he had a case of cold feet and he didn’t know how to tell Gloria he didn’t want to marry her after all?

Had he suddenly decided she was too much to handle? Sure, she had been in a few tight spots ever since they started dating, but he was well aware of her penchant for snooping around and getting into some real humdinger situations.  In fact, that was how they met.

Her heart froze at the last thought that popped into her head.  Had Paul met someone else?  She would be heartbroken!  Gloria would be the laughingstock of Belhaven, left at the altar.  She would have to leave town, move to Florida where her sister, Liz, lived.

Mally and Gloria reached the edge of the woods - “Gloria’s woods.”  While Mally darted off to inspect the creek, Gloria made her way over to her favorite resting spot, the old log tree not far from the creek. 

Tears welled up in her eyes when she reached the downed tree.  The tree had splintered in two, the pieces separated by a narrow gap…just like Gloria’s heart.  She eased onto one side of the splintered log and stared sightlessly at Mally.

A tear trickled down her cheek and splashed onto her hand.  Her world had shattered and she didn’t know what to do. 

Gloria’s children would be arriving soon.  She was supposed to walk down the aisle, to marry the man she loved.  Now, she would have to call the flower shop, call Andrea and Dot and let them know they wouldn’t need the mountains of food they had bought. 

Gloria’s three grandsons had been thrilled about being in Gram’s wedding.  How could she tell Ryan, Tyler and Ollie there would be no wedding? Not to mention her granddaughter, Ariel, who was to be Gloria’s flower girl.

A sob caught in the back of Gloria’s throat and the dam of tears spilled out as Gloria sobbed as she had the day they placed her husband, James, in the ground. 

She lowered her head into her hands and anguished cries rocked her body.  She bawled until her stomach pinched and her heart ached. 

Mally darted over and nudged her nose between Gloria’s hands in an attempt to comfort her.

Gloria wrapped her arms around Mally’s neck and placed her cheek against her fur. 

Finally, the flow of tears ended.  Gloria wiped the back of her hand across her wet face and struggled to her feet.  “It’s time to go home,” she said. “Alone.”

Shadows from the evening sky hovered over the tree line as the two of them wandered out of the woods and into the open field. 

A snowflake floated down and touched the tip of Gloria’s nose.  She stared up at the skies. Weather forecasters had predicted a long, snowy winter and in fact, they were supposed to get several inches of snow overnight. 

The skies opened up and heavy, wet snowflakes began to fall.  It was as if Gloria had stepped inside a snow globe.

She tugged at the edge of her coat and pulled the zipper a little higher.  She hadn’t bothered with a scarf or hat and by the time she reached the edge of the yard, her head was covered in a halo of white.

A coat of white covered Mally, too.  The two of them stopped at the bottom of the steps leading to the porch.  Mally shook her body, pelting Gloria and the steps with clumps of wet snow. 

Mally scampered up the steps and waited on the porch while Gloria stomped her feet on the rug and unlocked the kitchen door.

Puddles, Gloria’s cat, was sprawled out on the kitchen floor.  He opened one eye and peered at them. 

Mally trotted over to Puddles and greeted her pal with droplets of melted snow.  Puddles was not a fan of the water.  He scrambled upright and dashed out of the kitchen.

Despite her heavy heart, the exchange caused Gloria to grin. She pulled her cell phone from her jacket pocket and glanced at the screen.  Lucy had called.

Gloria pressed the button on the front of the screen, tapped in the access code and listened to the message.

“Hi Gloria.  It’s me.  Lucy.  I-uh.  Well.  I was watching the six o’clock news…”

Gloria squeezed her eyes shut.  She could tell by the tone in Lucy’s voice that somehow Paul’s investigation was on the evening news.  Which meant everyone knew…

Lucy was still talking.  “Yeah.  Uh.  Give me a call when you get this message.  Bye.”

Gloria had no intention of calling Lucy or anyone else for that matter.  At least not right now.  What had started out as a wonderful day had become a nightmare.

Paul was under investigation.  The wedding was off.  The whole Town of Belhaven probably watched the news.  The only thing they didn’t know was the wedding was off.

She shrugged out of her damp coat and hung it on the hook by the door.  She slipped off her boots and set them in the boot tray. 

It was dinnertime and Gloria wasn’t hungry.  She fed Mally and Puddles and then shut off the kitchen light.

The blinking light of the answering machine caught her eye.  She had messages and could only imagine all of her friends - and family had heard the news.

Her stomach churned at the thought of explaining the situation.  Tomorrow was another day.  She didn’t have the heart or willpower to talk to anyone tonight.

Gloria walked into the living room and switched on the lamp near her recliner.  She had recently rearranged her living room furniture in preparation for the onslaught of family that would soon descend on her.  It was the first time she had changed the furniture around since James’ death.  The new arrangement made the living room look even larger.