Page 22 of Grounded
“I’m out,” Annie said, rolling her eyes. “Even if I were interested, the odds are terrible for meeting someone here in Somerville. Everyone is married.”
“Odds, schmodds!” cried Evelyn. “It’s not quantity. It is quality, and we’ve got quality here.” Evelyn waved her hands as if to take in the entire county. Annie giggled, and Beulah realized it was the first time she’d heard her granddaughter laugh since she came home.
“Either way, here you are, and we are glad for it.” Evelyn squeezed Annie’s hand and smiled.
Right after Evelyn left, Beulah answered the phone while Annie wiped off the long farmhouse table.
“Hello, Bill,” she said, wondering why the local diner owner was calling during breakfast, his busiest time of the day.
“Beulah, there’s a woman here looking for a furnished place to rent for a couple of months. I knew the Millers moved out of your stone house awhile back. You interested?”
“Well, I might be. Is she from around here?”
“From up North. Says she’s looking for a place to write a book and needs privacy. Offering cash up front for a couple of months. Want me to send her out?”
Beulah thought about the stone house, which had been sitting empty since March. It didn’t do for a house to be without dwellers. Even checking on it regularly wasn’t the same; and she could use the extra money to paint this house.
“I’ll talk to her. Tell her to come to the back door.”
Beulah hung up and stood for a moment, her hands on her hips.
“Who was that?” Annie asked.
“Bill said a woman’s at the diner looking to rent a place. She’s coming out so I can talk to her.”
“How much do you normally charge?”
“Well, the Millers paid six hundred dollars a month, but they left furniture when they built their new house. Now I’ve got a furnished house and it seems like that ought to be worth a bit more.”
Minutes later, a silver Focus pulled into the driveway. They watched from the kitchen window as a slightly plump woman got out of the car and pulled a green cardigan tightly around her, crossing her arms over it. She pushed her glasses back on her nose with one finger and studied the ground carefully for the stepping stones.You would think she was walking through a minefield,Beulah thought, even though they were level with the ground and offered no danger if she missed one. As she made her way to the house, red hair in flyaway frizz whipped around in the spring wind.
“Come in. I’m Beulah Campbell,” she said, opening the back screen door.
“Stella Hawkins,” the woman said, pulling her cardigan even tighter.
“This is my granddaughter, Annie Taylor,” Beulah said, and then led them to the kitchen. “Would you like some iced tea, Ms. Hawkins?”
“No. The man at the diner said you have a place in the country that might be furnished.”
Beulah pointed to a seat at the table and sat down herself but Stella Hawkins remained standing.
“I have a small stone house on back of my farm. There are two bedrooms upstairs, two rooms downstairs and a kitchen and bath built onto the first floor. It’s very old, built around seventeen ninety. There’s a small yard, fenced to keep the cows out. It’s furnished, but it’s nothing fancy.”
“Is it private?”
Out of the corner of her eye Beulah could see Annie grin, but she purposely did not look at her.
“Very. There’s only one other farm back that way and no houses.”
Stella nodded. “I have … two thousand in cash. I don’t know how long I’ll need it. Maybe two or three months,” she said, her eyes blinking a nervous rhythm behind the glasses. “Are utilities included?”
Beulah retrieved the key from a nail next to the wall phone. “Why don’t you look at it first before you decide. Here’s the key. It’s probably unlocked, but in case you take it, this is the key you can use. And yes, utilities are included.”
“I need privacy,” she said, taking the key.
“Bill said you were working on a book?” Annie said.
“Oh, yeah … well, I’d rather not talk about it if you don’t mind.” The woman’s pale cheeks reddened. Beulah wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or frustration.
