Part 21 (1/2)
”I'm not in business to solve problems. I'm in business to sell things. But I'll tell ya what. Since there's nothing wrong with the mattress or the pump, I can't refund your purchase, but I can let you plug in the pump and blow up the thing here.”
”You want me to inflate an air mattress in your shop?”
”Yup.”
”And then take it back to the camp ... somehow.”
”Yup.”
”You're not going to charge me, are you? You know, since you're in business to sell things.”
”Nope, it's on the house. If you spring a leak and need to re-inflate though, that's a different story.”
”Naturally.” Nick looked at his wife. ”What do you think?”
”Oh, just do it,” Stella replied.
Twenty minutes later, the Smart car crept out of the Perkins parking lot, hazard lights flas.h.i.+ng, the inflated air mattress balanced on the roof. Stella, her right arm through the pa.s.senger-side window, held the front right corner, and Nick, his arm through the driver's-side window, held the left.
”Why couldn't we have gotten the moving truck?” Stella asked as they turned slowly onto Route 4.
”We can't fit another thing in that truck. Besides, I didn't want Grandpa Walton in there to change his mind about using the pump.”
”A gas station air compressor would have worked, wouldn't it?”
”Yeah, but the gas station is on the other side of town. Do you feel like driving another five miles with this thing on the roof?”
”Considering we're traveling at fifteen miles an hour, no thanks. I'd like to get back to camp before nightfall.”
Their trip having taken three times longer than usual, Nick and Stella arrived back at camp and pulled beside a familiar pickup truck.
Alma, her dark hair twisted into its usual plait, sat on the front porch between a large plastic cooler and a hibachi. She had traded the previous day's Country Living look and the morning's ”Mel's Diner” garb in favor of a Gap-inspired ensemble of beige chinos, a white T-s.h.i.+rt, and a lightweight denim jacket. As Nick and Stella stepped out onto the makes.h.i.+ft parking area, she rose from her Adirondack chair to greet them.
”You two won't soon die from boredom. Why didn't you tell me you needed to inflate that thing? We could have brought it back in my truck.”
Stella and Nick stared at each other, their mouths in the shape of large Os.
”Well, at least it isn't raining,” Alma laughed. ”Come on. I'll help you get that in the house, and then we can start our barbecue.”
Grabbing hold of the corners and side, the trio carried the unwieldy mattress indoors and returned to the front porch where, as the rays of the setting sun seemed to set the forest ablaze, Alma set about retrieving cold beers from the cooler. ”Got some steaks and potatoes to grill up, and I threw together a salad from what's left in my garden. Nothing fancy, but I'm sure you've heard about our New England frugality.”
”I have, but it doesn't seem accurate. You and everyone else have been very generous,” Stella said.
”Well, I admit to pinching my pennies 'til they bleed at times, but that's just plain practicality. It doesn't make us mean or stingy, but add it to the list of misconceptions. When you mention Vermont, everyone thinks of those rubes on that Bob Newhart show. I admit, there are some folks up here who look like that, but they're not dumb-not dumb by a long shot. And if another person asks me if I've met Ben or Jerry, I might just scream. Ben and Jerry's ice cream might have originated in Vermont, but it's not the ice cream Vermonters eat.”
”What is?”
”Everyone has their favorites, depending on which part of the state you live in, but for my money, Wilc.o.x is the best. They sell it in store freezer cases now, but if you head south to the Wilc.o.x Dairy Farm, you can have your cone in the middle of the cow fields. Doesn't get much better than that.”
”Makes me want to grab one right now.”
”Better hurry: they close after this weekend; most outdoor things do. Might seem like summer now, but once this pa.s.ses it'll get cold fast. Then town will be overrun with skiers and s...o...b..arders.”
Nick withdrew his pocketknife and set about opening the bottle caps. ”How long does this weather usually last?”
”If we're lucky, a couple of days, but typically five minutes,” Alma joked and raised her beer bottle. ”Welcome to Vermont.”
The three of them swigged back the ice-cold beer before settling into the trio of Adirondack chairs.
”So, what did you folks do today?” Alma asked, the tone of her voice making it seem like more than just a casual question.
”Oh, this, that, and the other,” Stella replied vaguely.
”Why do I get the feeling you've been out stirring up trouble?”
”Guess that depends on who you ask,” Nick answered.
”No, I'm pretty sure that's everyone you ask. Whole town's talking about you being some kind of undercover detectives.”
Stella laughed and wondered who might have started such a rumor. Middleton, perhaps? ”No, we're, um, we're definitely not detectives.”
”Then why are you so interested in this whole Weston business?”
”We just want it all cleared up so we can move into house and get on with our lives. And, as much as we admire and respect your police force-”
”I know. They're not as fast as in the city; nothing here is. But they do a good, thorough job.”
”We don't doubt it,” Nick stated. ”But when you're waiting to empty your moving truck, it's tough to sit back idly and watch.”
”So you swear you're not working for the police at all?”
”I swear.”
”So anything I tell you won't go back to Sheriff Mills?”
”We can't promise that. If you're pa.s.sing along a piece of information, fine. But if you're confessing to a crime ...”
”h.e.l.l no, the only crime I've ever been guilty of is lack of judgment.”
”Then go ahead. Your secret's safe with us.”
Alma took a swig of beer and then sighed. ”I guess there's no other way to say it than to just come out with it: I was seeing Allen Weston.”
”Romantically?”
Alma nodded.
”How come you haven't mentioned it before?” Stella asked.
”He and I had agreed to keep it quiet. I had been through a rotten time in my marriage, and Allen was seven years younger than I am. I didn't want people to know about our relations.h.i.+p in case it didn't work out.”