CHAPTER 10
Lyle showed up promptly at 8:00 a.m., as he had promised.
Bertram had already been there for over an hour and was almost done the small section above the porch roof. Jeanine had left a supply of lemonade in her icebox for him, and had a lunch prepared.
When Lyle pulled in, he honked his horn and then scowled up at Bertram. Jeanine came out the front door, and hollered goodbye to Bertram.
He smiled and winked. Then he turned and continued painting.
After spending an hour that morning with Shelley and her pup, Bertram was now anxious to get the house finished. Most of the front had gone quickly, but things slowed down when he got to all the spindles of the railing around the front porch.
The heat was brutal. Bertram took advantage of the river and made frequent trips to cool off. He finally finished the last section of railing by 3:00 that afternoon. Now for the fun part - putting up the surprise molding and hanging a few flower pots that his mother had helped him arrange.
He wanted to be cleaned up and relaxing on Jeanine's porch swing when she finally pulled into the front yard later that afternoon.
As Lyle pulled out of Jeanine's front yard, she held her hands up to her head, trying to keep her hair from becoming a tangled mess – to no avail. Lyle insisted on driving with the top down. She gave him an annoyed look and sighed heavily, as his foot held the pedal to the floor.
He had barely greeted her when she got in the car, and now he sat in the driver's seat, oblivious to her presence. He had one hand on the steering wheel and the other casually holding his hat down in the wind.
"Lyle," she said.
He didn't answer.
"LYLE," she hollered.
He jumped. "Huh? What?" he asked.
"You just seem rather preoccupied this morning. How was your trip to Joplin? Did everything go all right?" she asked.
"Oh. J-Joplin," he stammered. "Y-yes, it went fine."
"Well, I'm glad for the ride this morning," she continued. "I wanted to talk to you." She was speaking rather loudly as the engine rumbled and threatened to drown her voice out. "Could we put the top up? I can hardly hear myself."
"I like the wind in my hair," he answered. To emphasize the point, he pushed down a little harder on the accelerator and sped up.
Jeanine sighed. "Well, I was hoping to talk to you and . . ." Her voice trailed off as she realized that he wasn't listening. While she had wanted to talk to him about their future and his intentions, she was partly relieved, too. She knew that she wanted to break things off with him, and he would probably fight it. He could be very persuasive when he wanted to be, and also quite demanding.
It was a long drive to Springfield, and Jeanine had plenty of time to think and daydream. Lyle made no attempt at conversation, so she soon gave up and gave in to the daydreams about Bertram. Surprisingly, the ride passed by rather quickly.
Before she knew it, they were pulling into Springfield. Lyle followed the signs to the town commons where the Carnival was being held. He pulled into an old field to park his car. Jeanine waited for him to come around and open her door. He did not. When she realized that he was walking away without her, she opened her door and stepped out of the car . . . and right into a mud puddle. She was furious.
"Lyle," she called to him. "Thanks a lot."
"What?" he asked as he turned around and faced her. Seeing her stand there in the middle of the mud puddle, he grimaced. "Look at that," he grumbled. "You got your dress all muddy."
"No kidding," she answered sarcastically. "What's gotten into you? You haven't said three words to me all morning and now you're walking away without me."
"I'm just thinking is all," he said. "I'm sorry, Jeanine." He came back to her and helped her out of the mud puddle. "I guess I'm just a bit distracted."
He held his arm out to her and she linked her hand around his elbow. They started walking toward the entrance to the carnival. As they walked along, Jeanine saw a sign in the window of the general store. It said "Books for Sale."
"Lyle," she said. "Before we go into the carnival, would you mind going in the general store with me? I'd love to see what they have for books."
"Books? Books. Seriously?" he asked. "What do you want to read for?"
"Because I enjoy it," she replied. She didn't wait for an answer. She just started walking toward the general store. As she started up the steps, she heard someone calling to Lyle. Turning, she saw a tall man approaching him. Lyle stopped and waited for him.
Jeanine realized that Lyle had no intention of introducing her, so she continued on into the store. A little bell rang as she entered the door. The light inside was dim and she had to wait a moment for her eyes to adjust.
An older gentleman wearing small spectacles greeted her. "Well, good morning, Miss," he said. "What can I do for you, today?"
Jeanine smiled. "I'd just like to see what you have for books. I saw your sign in the window."
"Ahh," he said, nodding. "An educated woman. I like that."
Jeanine let out a laugh. "Not all men do," she replied.
He chuckled. "That is true, I suppose." Then, he walked out into the aisle and motioned. "Follow me, Miss. The books are right back here." He pointed to a dusty table in the back corner. "They are mostly older books - nothing new here, I'm afraid."
Jeanine thanked him and approached the table with reverence. Like Bertram, she had a thirst for adventure and knowledge. There was a stack of books piled one on top of the other on the edge of the table. Jeanine slowly flipped them one by one to see the title.
She picked up the third book and looked at it with interest, then flipped through the pages. It was The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. She remembered her teacher talking about it in school. Smiling, she set it aside then continued to flip through the rest of the stack. Three more books down . . . she gasped. Picking up the old book, she hugged it to her chest. Frankenstein . . . by Mary Shelley. Jeanine couldn't believe her luck.
Taking the two books back to the register where the old man was waiting, she couldn't contain her excitement.
"Looks like you found something worth reading," he said with a grin.
"Oh, yes," she exclaimed. ""Why, I don't even want to go the carnival. I can't wait to get home with these."
He laughed. As he rang up the books, he asked her, "Can I get you anything else?"
Jeanine looked around at the items on the counter. "You know what?" she asked. "How 'bout a few of these licorice candies. I have a friend who is going to love these books, and he has a bit of a sweet tooth, too."
"Is it that feller you drove up with in the fancy yellow car?" the man asked.
"Lyle?" she asked. "Oh, no. He wouldn't know a book if it fell on his toe. No, these are for my friend, Bertram. He lives back in Primrose Junction. His birthday is next month, but I really don't think I'll be able to wait that long." Jeanine paid the man and picked up her package. She practically skipped out the door to go meet Lyle out front.
When Jeanine walked out of the store, Lyle was still talking to that tall gentleman; however, a young woman had joined them. She was standing between them and smiling up at Lyle. She had blond curls and big blue eyes and was batting them at Lyle, shamelessly.
Jeanine approached the trio. "Ahem," she coughed, when none of them acknowledged her presence.
Lyle looked over. "Oh, Jeanine, there you are," he said. "I'd like you to meet Mr. James Cramer and his daughter, Millie. Mr. Cramer is a business associate of Father's."
"How do you do," Jeanine said with a small curtsey.
Mr. Cramer took her hand and gently held it to his lips. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Jeanine."
Millie managed a curt nod, then she glanced back up at Lyle with a snarky smirk. Lyle didn't seem to notice.
"Well, uh," said Lyle awkwardly. "Shall we continue on to the carnival?"
Millie grabbed Lyle's arm quickly and turned him toward the carnival entrance. Jeanine stood watching him walk away with her. Mr. Cramer noticed as well, and gallantly held his arm out to her. "Shall we?" he asked, kindly.
"Thank you," Jeanine said with a grateful smile. Linking her arm in his, they walked behind Lyle and Millie.
As Jeanine walked down the street, she couldn't help but notice that she really wasn't all that upset about the way Millie was clinging to Lyle. She looked down at the small package she held in her arm and hugged it to her chest. Smiling, she tried to imagine Bertram's surprise when she gave the books to him.