A Wee in the Mountains

Passion in James County XIV: A Week In The Mountains

"Did you enjoy your moonlight canoe ride last night?" Gloria asked when Kay came out for breakfast the next morning.

Kay nodded and smiled. "It was marvelous, just like Frankie said it would be," she replied. She found it amazing that deceiving her friend seemed to get easier and easier every day. "I never knew there were so many stars in the sky. I swear there are more stars in the sky here than there are in the sky in Jamestown."

"I know," Gloria replied. "Sometimes I think so, too. I think, maybe, it's because the sky up here is clearer or something."

"I can't get over how lovely it was out on the lake last night," Kay continued, "It is really peaceful at night up here, isn't it?"

"Yes," Gloria said. "Sometimes, when the Northern Lights are out, it's nothing short of spectacular. It's better than the best fireworks show I've ever seen."

"That's what Frankie said last night," Kay replied. "He said if I thought the sky was nice last night, I should be up here to see the Aurora Borealis."

"I guess we'll have to make sure you're up here when the Northern Lights are out, then," Gloria said.

Kay noticed the house seemed very quiet. "Where is everybody?" she asked.

While she put a cup of coffee in front of her friend and sat down at the kitchen table, Gloria explained that Mike and Mel were out on the lake fishing and Sue had gone to a nearby country store to get a newspaper. Frankie, his mother said, was still in bed.

Kay sipped her coffee. "You and Mel are so lucky having this place," she said, "I wish Stu and I had a place like this."

Gloria Bobar got a thoughtful look on her face, then she smiled. "You know..." she said, "...the Williston place, near the upper end of the lake, is for sale. And from what I hear, they're anxious to get rid of it as soon as possible because Orville Williston has been ill. They don't have any children and, from what I've heard, it isn't likely they'll ever be able to come back up here. You and Stu might be able to get a good deal."

Kay was thrilled by the news her friend shared with her. Would Stu go along with buying a cabin? "I wonder..." she said. Then she had an idea and smiled. "You know, Gloria, I have some money in a trust fund I set up with the inheritance I got from my grandparents. Stu's business has done so well we never had to touch it. I could use some of that money to buy the cabin."

Gloria smiled and nodded. "I think it's worth a try. Stu really likes coming up here," she said, "You know how he loves going fishing and hunting with Mel. And Mel's a lot happier when he has friends around to hunt, fish, and play golf with. You really ought to think about it."

"I think I'll call Stu and see what he thinks about the idea," Kay said. Her heart was pounding and she felt a little giddy. If she and her husband had a cabin here on Mallard Lake, then she would be able to continue seeing Frankie, at least when both families were at the lake. "In fact, I think I'll call him right now. Do you mind if I use your phone?"

"My goodness!" Gloria said, smiling and shaking her head. "You are impetuous this morning, aren't you? Of course you can use the phone."

Kay got up, went into the den, and dialed her husband's work number.

"Hey, babe, how's it going?" Stu asked when he answered the phone.

"I'm really having a wonderful time," Kay told him, "Look, Stu, Gloria just told me something. It gave me an idea and I thought I'd call you and see what you thought about it."

"What's the idea?" her husband asked.

"Well..." Kay began. She told him about the cabin that was for sale, and suggested using money from her trust fund to buy it. "I mean, we haven't touched any of that money since we set up the trust fund," she said, winding down her argument, "and judging from the last statement we got from the bank, there should be more than enough money to pay cash for the cabin."

Stu was quiet for a while, then he said, "If I remember what the figures on that trust were, unless this place is outrageously expensive, you could buy that cabin and not make much of a dent in the trust." He paused again. "I think if you want to buy the place, maybe you should."

"It will really be nice to have our own place," Kay said. "You'll be able to hunt and fish with Mike whenever you want to, then."

"Ah...yeah, I guess I...I will," Stu said.

Kay was puzzled by her husband's hesitant tone. She expected him to be excited about the idea of having a cabin, but he didn't. "Maybe it's just that he's having more problems at work than he expected," she thought.

"Look, if you want to do this," Stu said, "Get me the name of the real estate agent who's handling the sale. I'll give them a call and see what I can work out for you."

"Would you mind terribly if I took care of it myself, Stu?" Kay asked, "I mean, I'm here and all, and I've got plenty of time." His comment upset her a little. Stu always acted as if he thought she wasn't capable of handling important things. She was surprised by the anger she felt. Throughout their marriage, Stu had always taken care of things that involved money. He was the one who suggested she set up the trust fund and handled all the details of doing that. Why, all of a sudden, was she feeling upset because he was still doing what he'd always done?

"If that's what you want to do," her husband replied, "Go ahead. It's your money, anyhow. Just don't let them push you around."

"I won't," Kay said, "If they get tough, I'll ask Mel to talk to them. The people who own the cabin are friends of theirs."

"Good idea," Stu said, "You need anything from me, give me a call. See you when you get home at the end of the week, babe."

"Thanks, Stu," Kay replied. She put the phone down, turned, and saw Gloria standing in the doorway.

"What did he say?" Gloria asked.

Kay smiled. "He said if I wanted to look into it, I should," she told her friend. She frowned and said, "He didn't sound as excited as I expected him to, though."

"Really?" Gloria replied. "I'd have thought he'd be overjoyed. Do you think something's wrong?"

Kay thought a minute, then shook her head. "He's probably been busy and is tired," she said. "I'm sure he's had a lot to do. Do you know what real estate agent is handling the sale of that cottage?"

"I'll call the Williston's and find out who they listed it with," Gloria said. "I haven't talked to them in a while, I'd like to see how Muriel's holding up with Orville being so sick. They really are sweet people."

Gloria called the Willistons and got the information about the real estate agent. She wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it to Kay while she continued her conversation with Mrs. Williston.

Kay asked Frankie if he'd drive her to the office of the real estate broker, whose office was located in a small town near the lake and he gladly said he would

"Are you really going to buy the Williston's place?" the young man asked as they walked out to the garage.

"I think I will, if the price is right," Kay replied.

Frankie held the car door open for Kay and she slipped in. "Man, that will be so neat if you do!" he said. He closed the door, walked around, and got in behind the wheel. "Then you'll be here a lot, won't you?"

Kay smiled at him, nodded, and laid her hand gently on his arm. "I certainly will, my darling," she replied.

After he backed out of the garage and started down the road behind the cabins, The young man glanced over at the woman sitting next to him and smiled. He thought she looked great. She was wearing an oversized loose-knit black sweater and long black loose jersey skirt. Red shoes, red earrings, and a string of large red beads draped around her neck added just the right amount of color to the outfit.

"You really look gorgeous today!" Frankie told his companion.

"Thank you, my darling," Kay replied. She felt herself blushing.

Frankie slid a tape into the car's tape player. Kay, who was expecting rock and roll, was surprised when the soft sounds of classical music filled the car. "Frankie, I'm surprised," she said.

"About what?" Frankie asked.

"About the music you picked. Don't you like rock and roll?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I like some of the early stuff, like Chuck Berry," he said. "But mostly I like country, and sometimes classical music, too. Especially when I'm with someone gorgeous."

Kay felt herself blushing. "Frankie, that's sweet," she said.

They talked about a number of things on the drive into town and Kay was once again surprised by how mature and thoughtful the young man was. He wasn't anything like she thought a boy his age would be like. He seemed older, somehow. She found that she enjoyed being with him even when they weren't having sex and, for some reason, that realization caused her even more confusion.

The real estate agent obviously thought Kay looked pretty good, too. The portly, balding man stared across his desk at her with ill-concealed lust in his eyes. So avid was his gaze that he was almost drooling. "I understand you are interested in purchasing the Williston cabin," he said to Kay. He ignored Frankie, who was sitting next to her.

"Yes, I am," Kay replied. She was very uncomfortable with the way the man was looking at her. "Provided the price is right."

"I think you'll find that the price the Williston's are asking is quite reasonable, considering what is included," the broker said, continuing to leer at Kay. "You do understand that they're offering the cabin completely furnished, along with their shares in the hunting and fishing association. Actually, it's almost a steal. I'm sure that if Mr. Williston wasn't ill, the price would be a lot higher."

Frankie saw the man staring at Kay's chest and felt like getting up and smacking him. "What an asshole!" he thought.

"Will you be able to show it to me today?" Kay asked the man curtly. She wanted to get her dealings with the real estate agent over with as soon as possible. The way he was looking at her made her very uncomfortable. "I'm in a position to pay cash and close the sale quickly."

The real estate agent cleared his throat, reddened a bit, and shook his head. "I...I'm sorry, as much as I'd like to help you, that's out of the question today, Mrs. Tobin," he said, "I...I have a morning full of appointments to show houses. And my associate is out sick today. Perhaps we could set up an appointment to see the house later in the week? I...I could pick you up and..."

"Mr. And Mrs. Williston know my folks," Frankie said, interrupting him. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if Mrs. Tobin looked at the cabin on her own. Why don't you give us the key and let us look at the place by ourselves?"

The man turned to Frankie and frowned, then he looked back at Kay and a warm smile reappeared on his face. "I...I don't see why we can't arrange that," he replied, "Maybe I...I should call the Williston's and check, though."

"Why don't you do that? We'll wait," Kay said curtly.

The real estate agent got approval from Willistons to give Kay the key and did so. After getting the key, Frankie and Kay left the office, headed for the cabin she was thinking about buying. When they drove away from the broker's office, both of them both burst out laughing.

"What an asshole that guy is!" Frankie said, "I wanted to smack him for looking at you the way he was. I think the only reason he wanted to put off showing you the place until later in the week was so he could get you alone."

Kay nodded and shook her head. "You may be right about his motives. You're certainly right about him being a creep, Frankie," she said, "And I think it's sweet that you wanted to defend my honor, but I don't think it wouldn't be worth the trouble it would cause if you hit him." She giggled.

Frankie drove back to the lake, past his parents' cabin, and up the road to a huge log home that overlooked the inlet end of the lake.

"My God, Frankie, this is place is gorgeous!" Kay exclaimed as the car rolled down the driveway and she got her first look at the cabin she was contemplating purchasing.

When the car stopped, they got out and Kay wandered around the house, looking at it, her heart pounding. The cabin was actually a two-story house with pale green clapboard siding and white trim. It looked like it was quite a bit bigger than the Bobar cabin, which was pretty good-sized. A few yards from the house, near the road, sat a three-car garage, also covered with clapboards and painted in the same colors as the house. The grounds looked well-tended and the driveway had been paved. A porch ran down one side of the house and across the front. Neat flower boxes filled with colorful flowers graced the railing around the porch.

Kay turned and looked at Frankie, who was smiling at her. "Frankie, it's beautiful!" she said. She felt a little overwhelmed to think that it could very soon be hers. She hadn't been inside yet, but she knew she wanted this place and wanted it very much. It was so lovely she had to have it.

"Come on," Frankie said. He started up the steps onto the porch. "If you think the outside is neat, you're really going to love the inside."

Filled with anticipation, Kay followed him.

112

140

Roi: A Week In The Mountains