Page 8 of All I Need

She snickers and shakes her head good naturedly. “That boy never stops eating.” She squeezes my shoulder, her warm scent enveloping me as she turns us and without another look at the men who brought me to her doorstep, pulls me into her home.

“Grayson said you might not be staying long?” Miss Polly asks as she sets a bowl of steaming hot chicken and dumplings before me. Right after she pulled me into the house, she gave me a tour of the old Victorian home her granddad built in the 30’s and showed me where I would be staying the night. I had no intention of spending the night in this sleepy town, but one look at the antique bed with the beautiful quilt that looked homemade and I swiftly changed my mind.

Stepping foot into her home, a solace I’ve never known before immediately blanketed around me. It brought with it a sense of security that even if I had anywhere else to go, I don’t think I would leave.

She sets down another bowl to my right and slides into the seat, laying a napkin on her lap before reaching over and grabbing my hand.

Bowing her head, she says a blessing over our meal with an ease that tells me she’s done it thousands of times before then releases my hand and lifts her spoon to her mouth.

I stare at my food wondering if there’s ever been a single person in my life who has welcomed me so seamlessly.

“Eat up, Ellie. Something tells me you haven’t had a good home cooked meal in a while.”

She’s not wrong. I enjoy cooking but Gary always wanted to go out to eat, always needed to be seen or around others. There always seemed to be some benefit dinner or party he said he had to be present at. Looking back now, I realize how much I detested the lifestyle I was living by being Gary’s fiancée. At first it was fun, always dressing up and eating fancy food. But then it became just another event. Just another party. One more way for him to parade me around as the arm candy he wanted me to be.

He was the face of his father’s company and after I had been all but abandoned by everyone who had claimed to love me, I followed him around like a little puppy. He wanted a wife who would be there for him at a moment’s notice so I made sure to be that for him, even before we were married. He made enough money that I didn’t need to work, though I enjoyed having something for myself. And, I liked to keep busy so I took a job at a friend’s little boutique. It’s small and local and I love it. It drove him crazy that his fiancée was working retail, which should have been a major red flag.

But I’d been wounded deeply and I ignored the signs that he was a jackhole.

Miss Polly gently slides my bowl closer to me and I raise my eyes to look at her. Light blue gazes back at me, her eyes soft when she notices the few tears that slipped down over my cheeks.

“Eat. Sleep. In the morning, you can tell me all about whoever took that sparkle out of your eyes. He doesn’t deserve those tears.”

I wipe away the wetness from my cheeks with the napkin on my lap and smile. “This looks delicious. Thank you,” I tell her before taking a bite of the creamy comfort food. Sighing with contentment, I dig in, not realizing how hungry I am.

Before I know it, Miss Polly’s carrying over a pan and ladles up a few more spoons full into my bowl. She places it back on the stove then sets a plate of warm apple crisp topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream next to me and one for her. She winks at me and says, “Dessert doesn’t cure everything but it’s a good Band-Aid until then.”

I rush through my second bowl of food to get to dessert. After demolishing it as well, I lean back, stuffed full, and not just of the food that Miss Polly fed me.

“Thank you, Miss Polly. That was delicious. You’re right, I don’t remember the last time I had a good home cooked meal.”

“You’re welcome at this table any time, honey.”

She doesn’t fight me when I tell her I’d like to help her clean-up, which makes me smile.

“Before you go to bed, you need to see the backyard,” she tells me as she dries the last bowl and places it in the cupboard.

“Oh?”

“Yes. It’s like dessert. It might not cure everything but will aid in the healing process.”

She pats me on the arm as I gaze out the kitchen window into the slowly darkening summer night. “You know where to find me should you need anything but this old woman needs her beauty rest. You’ll join me for Sunday services?” Her question is anything but. My guess is nobody says no to Miss Polly.

“Sure,” I promise her. “I’m going to get my bag from the car.”

“Lock up when you get back inside, you just need to turn the knob. Feel free to use the dressers,” she says by way of letting me know I’m welcome to stay for a while. I don’t have any intention of staying any longer than necessary, but her offer makes me feel good, nonetheless.

She shuffles out of the kitchen and down a short hallway off the main living area. The door to her bedroom clicks closed quietly behind her and I grab the key fob from my purse before making my way out the front door to the car. For a brief second, I consider just climbing in and driving away but the desire to stay is far greater than the desire to run.

Instead, I tap the button on the fob to pop the trunk. Five minutes later, my bags are hauled up to my new room, or at least the place I’ll be sleeping tonight.

Thinking over the words Polly said about her backyard, and considering that it’s only eight o’clock in the evening, I venture back downstairs and out the backdoor.

I gasp as soon as I step out of the door and onto the patio. If I thought there was a lot of time spent on the front landscaping, it was nothing compared to what is laid out before me. Large evergreen trees line the expansive property on either side of the yard with what looks to be almost a privacy fence. Off to the right of the patio is a rock garden with a trickling fountain. There’s a brick patio with a table and chairs set up on the other side. Slowly moving one foot in front of the other, I step down onto the grass and walk around, bending over to smell the flowers. Wrapping my arms around my waist, I tip my head back and take in a deep breath.

It might not cure everything, but it will aid in the healing process.

I can’t help but think that there’s more truth to those words than she’s letting on.

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