Chương 51: Pumpkin Season (October-November) Part 7
"I know you're waiting and I know Fabian insists," Carol said, "but there's another reason. Get things on a regular schedule before planning your wedding. Believe me -- the last thing you need is to have your monthly visitor when you're a) wearing white and b) going on a honeymoon."
"Why would Fabian insist on waiting, anyway?" Felicia asked.
"Fabian was a bit of a playboy," Lisa explained. "I suspect that he's trying to distance himself and our relationship from that part of his life."
"It's a whole different way of looking at things," Carol said, "between love and recreation."
"Yes, that's what he says."
"Did you shop for a dress yet?" her mother asked. Lisa sighed.
"There's so much to think about," she said. Her mother handed her an apron and she put it on. Then she went over to the sink where Carol had been peeling potatoes. She took over and Carol went to the refrigerator.
"You have a lot of help," Maude assured her daughter, giving her a pat. "Have those surveyors come back?"
"Not that I know of." Lisa expertly flicked strips of peel from a large potato. "The Mowerys have been grazing the geese over both properties. The geese are fierce -- better than guard dogs."
"Vista at Orchard School my foot," Maude snorted.
"I've heard subdivisions are named for what they replace," Carol said, setting a cookie sheet and tube of crescent rolls in front of Felicia. Felicia put down her knitting and set to work rolling the rolls.
"Still," Carol continued, putting herself to work arranging a tray of raw vegetables, "that has to be the most arrogant name for a development I have ever heard. What is wrong with Uncle William?"
Maude shook her head and went back to mixing up corn pudding.
"I suspect this goes back to the first time your dad ran for mayor," she said.
"He ran against Uncle William?" Both Lisa and Carol gaped at her.
"I'm surprised you girls don't remember," she said. She used an eggbeater and whipped egg whites to stiff peaks. "It was a very bitter campaign. William was pro-development even then -- he had friends in the business who wanted to buy out places like Mom's and put in houses. He claimed that not building and bringing in new people would make everyone's taxes go up.
"Your dad pointed out that the reduction in taxes would be minuscule, and that the price was far too high. We would be losing a lot of land that we could never get back. We would lose a lot of the reason that tourists like to come here. There aren't enough tourists who come here and want to stay to make it a fair trade. And it wasn't just the farmettes, either. William wanted to re-do the entire downtown. And definitely get rid of the camp."
"Get rid of the camp?" Felicia had never heard any of this, either, and she was stunned. Maude nodded, taking the corn pudding over to one of the ovens. Carol opened the oven door for her and Maude placed the pudding inside.
"William believed the camp was a waste of land. The groups who use it are usually organizations like churches or scouts, and it brings money to the town, but William thought that a better use for the land would be as a resort. He's wanted the carnival land for years, but fortunately your family gifted that to the town many years ago, Felicia."
"Maude, why would William want to tear down the house he grew up in?" Felicia asked. She finished the rolls and picked her knitting back up again. Carol took the rolls and found oven space for them.
"We didn't grow up there, Felicia. We grew up on the Hornberger farm. The place Lisa has now is where our mother grew up. My grandparents lived there and ran the orchard. Mom was an only child and got the property when they passed away. She and Dad moved there after Paul took over the farm and Dad retired. William never got along with that side of the family, for some reason."
"So this is some kind of revenge?" Carol asked. She put the vegetables in the refrigerator and brought out a can of cranberry jelly and a container of cranberry sauce.
"The dishes for those are over there, Carol." Maude gestured. "And with William, who knows, but most likely. When Dad died, he tried everything to get Mom to go to a condo. You can just imagine what your grandmother said about that."
"So that's why," Lisa said, pulling out a kitchen chair and sitting heavily.
"Why what?" Felicia looked at her.
"I've had this feeling from the beginning that this was aimed at me. Not just "the person who lives on the property" -- me. I agreed to stay there and take care of Grandma. That's why. She asked me so she could tell Uncle William she had help and didn't need to move. So I got in his way then and have been in his way ever since."
"Honey, don't take this so personally," Maude said. Lisa's father, Harold, came in.
"Lisa, I hate to tell you this, but eventually you're going to have to let them survey," he said.
"Why?" Maude wanted to know. "There was a perfectly good survey done when the property was appraised. If William can't work with that, tough."
"Maude, he's just going to be a lot more difficult if we make things more difficult. Give him rope, dear."
"This is so hard." Tears filled Lisa's eyes. "I feel so helpless. Everybody keeps telling me to trust them, but all I see is Uncle William winning."
"He is not winning," her father assured her. "It's too early in the game for that. You're trusting all of the right people. I know you feel helpless and I know that's hard for you. Here's fatherly advice for you that will help your marriage, too. Loving is easy. Being loved is the hard part."
"Wow, Dad!" Carol was impressed. "That sounded like something Steve would say!" Her husband entered the room at that moment.
"It does sound familiar," Stephen smiled, heading to the refrigerator to retrieve a beer.
"I gather my fatherly wisdom where I may," Hal said.
"Good one -- fatherly wisdom from Father Stephen. I like it," Steve said, handing Hal a beer and then opening his own.
"As I recall," Hal continued, "that situation was very similar to what you're experiencing now, Lisa. I. know that trusting others is difficult for you. You've always found it easier to do things yourself than delegate. You do things for other people naturally -- you looked after your grandmother and the property admirably. I've heard from more people than you can imagine what a good friend you are. You know how to be a friend, Lisa, and you have taught others what you know. Now you need to learn to have friends and let them show you what they've learned. I'm not guaranteeing that things will work out perfectly, I'm telling you that no matter what happens, people who love you will make sure you're okay."
"Where did everybody go?" Fabian and Craig wandered into the kitchen.
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