Justin Thyme Ch. 12

"Oh, Sweetheart, your father was a wonderful man, and yes you would have liked him. Perfect? No, but none of us are. Do you remember him sitting with you on his lap reading you stories?"

"That's my favorite memory of him. I used to like to rub his head while he read because his hair was so short it felt bristly and funny. I know he did what was right by serving in the Corps, but sometimes I feel cheated, that I miss out on so much. But then on the other hand, hearing Dr. Meechum talking about Daddy, I'm so proud of him."

"Honey, you should be proud, and you have to pay the biggest price for him serving and defending our country. Not everybody will think he did the right thing, but he had no doubts. Not everybody will think we should have fought in that war, but he was a firm believer that the Iraqi's should be as free as we are. That's why he did what he did. I'm proud of what he did, too, although I miss him so much every day."

"I think about that sometimes when I think of Justin. What if we get married and something happens to him, if he was to go in the Marines or something and be killed. I don't think I could handle it."

"Honey, you can't let worries about what might happen get in the way of your happiness. The secret is to live your life to the fullest every day, and you take what comes. Sometimes it is hard, and you will have hard times, even if he doesn't get killed like your Daddy did. Other people have problems too; you just don't see theirs as clearly as your own. Live your life and make the most of every moment, because you don't know how many of them you have, and most of all, live with no regrets. I don't know who it was that said it, but a quote that I love and live by says 'It's not the number of breaths that you take that count. It is the number of things that take your breath that matter.' Don't let worries about what might happen keep you from enjoying to the full what can happen. I don't regret for a moment marrying your Daddy, and I cherish every memory I ever had with him."

"Thanks, Mom. Are you going to be OK with me being gone to school next year? I hate to go off and leave you all alone."

"I'll miss you, but I'll be fine. You won't be that far away, and you can come home on the weekends occasionally. Don't worry about me."

"But I will worry about you, Mom. You are the best mom I have!" Steph gave her mom a big grin and said, "Let's go do some serious shopping!"

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Grandpa climbed the ladder to the ground floor level and went to work trying to find a door latch and I went on up to the second floor level, where true to Grandpa's guess there was a hand crank winch set up. I don't know what else Sam Johnson hid in his cellar, but he was certainly prepared for it. What I couldn't figure out is why no one else knew about the hidden basement, or if they knew they didn't look for him down there when he went missing.

All I found were blank walls made up of vertical planks that were close set together. From the looks of them they were of tongue and groove construction, but I knew at least two of them had to be different. I looked for anything that could be out of the ordinary anywhere, but there were not even any light fixtures or anything on the walls. The light was a simple overhead pull chain light fixture, but it was too high to reach, so it obviously could not be the answer. Giving up I stepped back onto the ladder to return to Grandpa when I saw it. In the hatch in the floor for the ladder I saw a small section that looked like the end of a plank, but it had a small hand hold carved on the underside that was visible only from the correct angle underneath. When I grabbed the plank and pulled on it I heard a click over in the wall. I had the answer for all of the doors in the house from the hidden side.

Quickly I climbed down to show Grandpa the answer and opened his hidden door, which opened into the only closed off bay in the entire carriage house. Why one bay was separated from the others had puzzled us when we first looked at the property, but now made perfect sense. One would not want to use the secret door unless he could first secure the outside doors and prevent anyone seeing it opened.

Once we had the door opened I left Grandpa there to rest for a few minutes while I hurried back down the corridor and retrieved the flood light and extension cord, which I brought back to the carriage house to begin looking for the hidden latch on the outside. Leaving Grandpa outside I reentered the secret passage and swung the door closed. This door, as the others, was ingenious in its design, pivoting in the middle rather than being hinged, which allowed for opening and closing it without having to have a handle to betray its existence. One had only to lean on it very lightly to move it, and after all of these years it had not sagged or moved, but still swung smoothly and silently. When it closed only the slightest "click" of the latch could be heard.

So ingenious was its design however, even with the door open and the actual latch visible one could not discern the location of the actuator. With the door closed we hoped we could descry the outside latch. I called Grandpa on his cell phone so we could communicate our actions and I told him I was going to pull the latch. Carefully he watched and listened for any indication, but found none. I reclosed the door and tried again, and again, and again, and again, but all to no avail. Finally, we gave it up for the day, but left the door propped open, turned out the floodlight, locked the exterior door, and returned to the house. It had been a productive morning, and I was really surprised when I looked at my phone and saw it was nearly two-thirty in the afternoon! No wonder I was hungry!

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Tom and Susie Collins had been out tooling around town in the now complete Bug-Eye Sprite, gathering appreciative looks from car aficionados, and curious looks from those too young to remember when Austin-Healy built sports cars. Susie loved the feel of riding in the open air, something her mother loathed. Madge had gone to her garden club meeting, and Tom, who had not mentioned his meeting with Michael as of yet, craved the time with his daughter. He knew of course that she would be gone to college in the fall, but that did not have the permanence of marriage. Even though she would still be living in the area it was not going to be the same as having her in the house and seeing her every day.

As they cruised slowly up Mt. Lemmon, carefully obeying the low speed limit and watching out for tourists walking in the roadway, Susie looked over at her dad with a grin. "So, do I get to take this to school in the fall?"

Tom gave her a snort and shook his head. "You'd just use it to cruise around campus and pick up guys."

Susie laughed, delightedly. "Not with Mikey sitting in this seat! There wouldn't be room for 'guys' in this car anyway. It would have to be limited to 'guy' and it would be."

"You really think a lot of Michael, don't you?"

Susie looked thoughtfully at him as she said, "Daddy, I love him. I know you probably think I'm too young to know, but I do. We haven't even 'dated' as such, except the night he took me dancing after we met his parents, and he's going to Prom with me. It's hard to believe that will be our second 'date', but he's the one I want to marry, if he ever asks me."

Tom quickly steered the car back onto the road and watched where he was going, although he found suddenly the view was misting up. He nodded his understanding. "Susie, honey, you are young, but you are very mature for your age. Your mother and I think a lot of Michael, too. He shows a lot of character and class. I really think you would have to look long and far to find another of his kind. I'm not saying he's going to ask you, but if he did I wouldn't stand in your way."

Tears spilled from Susie's eyes as she leaned her head onto her dad's shoulder, as near to hugging him as she dared on this road, and she murmured, "Thanks, Daddy. I was afraid you would be upset with me for telling you how I feel about him."

"Look, Kitten, a pet name he had not called her since she was a little girl, do you think I don't know my own daughter? I saw the way you looked at him when you were still in the hospital! I was ready to kill him for putting you there, and then I saw you look at him that way and I wanted to kill him twice over! I have grown to really admire him since. After all, it took a lot of guts for him to meet with us to apologize. Not many have that kind of character. Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to hurry you along or get rid of you. I just wanted you to know I understand, and I want you to be happy."

"Thank you, Daddy. I love you, too, and Mikey will never get in the way of that."

"What do you say we get some fudge?" Tom pulled into the Mt. Lemmon General Store parking lot and stopped.

"I hoped you were going to say that! You can't drive up Mt Lemmon and not get some fudge!" Susie shivered as she got out of the car and hurried into the store. What had been a rather warm day for the beginning of May down in Tucson was much cooler at 9000 feet elevation. Tom laughed at her, but he didn't waste any time getting in doors either.

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"Hi, Mom, Dad," Michael said as he walked into the restaurant. "Sorry I'm late. I got tied up running a couple of errands this morning."

"I wish you would have gone to church with us this morning instead." Joanne wasn't really happy about his spotty church attendance, but recognized he was a grown up now and had to make his own decisions.

"I know, but I had to do this this morning. I didn't have any other time I could get it done. I stopped by the house and picked up my tux for Prom." He stopped when the hostess called their names and waited until they were seated. Taking a deep breath he said, "Zeni and Carole said to say 'Hi'."

"Zeni?" Jeff asked. "My sister, Zeni?" Michael nodded. "What were you doing there? A little early Christmas shopping for your mother perhaps?"

All Michael could do was grin at him before saying, "I had to stop in today to be certain she had time to get a ring made for me before Friday." Joanne's eyebrows went up immediately. "I met with Tom yesterday evening and asked his permission to marry Susie. Now look, I know you are thinking it is too soon, that we are to young, that she has college, and all of that, but it all came to me yesterday morning when I was up at Justin's house helping him install security stuff, and I saw the carriage house, and the old servant's quarters in the loft. I plan, if Susie will have me, to renovate that area into a couple of apartments, and Susie and I can live there, close to the others, but in our own place, and she can go to school. Justin doesn't see anything wrong with the idea; in fact it will be good for them. He just has to run it by his parents and Rosemary. I know Rosemary will be in favor and I believe the Thymes will, too."

"Also, something else I can't tell you about right now, but you might want to watch the news tomorrow night." He gave his parents a big grin, but would say no more, picking up his menu and studying it, although he already knew what he would order. The waitress gave him a bit of respite, stopping by to take their orders, but then his parents began popping questions. He talked freely about his feelings for Susie, and his plans regarding her, but would say nothing about the discovery at the house, telling them he was not at liberty to tell them anything. "Watch the news. I am not allowed to say anything more. After that I can talk, and no, I have not done anything wrong, nor am I in trouble. Neither is anyone else."

When the dishes were cleared away, and just before they stood to leave Jeff cleared his throat and said, "Well, Son, you know we love you, and you know we think a lot of Susie. I really think you have made a wise choice in a wife, although I'm concerned you might be rushing it a little. She loves you, we know that, and I know you love her. Don't push her if she hesitates. Give her the time to know for herself. For what it is worth, your mother and I have talked about you two, knowing this was coming, but hoping it would be a little later. You have our blessing as well for what it is worth."

"Thank you, Sir. That's all I really wanted." The three of them stood to leave, and Michael gathered his parents both into a hug. "Thanks for understanding. I love you two!"

They walked from the restaurant together and prepared to depart. Joanne stepped over to Michael's car and grasping him by the arms looked into his eyes. "My baby is growing up. You have picked a real gem. She is as unspoiled as she can be, and is a lovely girl. I will love her as my own daughter." Pulling his head down, she kissed him on the cheek before walking unsteadily back to her own car. Jeff gave him a nod and a wave, put his car into gear and backed out.

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Rosemary, Mom, and Grandma spent the time double-checking carpet fabric samples against the walls and each other. Rosemary took paint from unopened cans and painted small areas of walls so that those colors could be checked as well. Grandma was more than happy with the amount of work we had accomplished, and could see the place taking shape in her mind's eye.

"I'm going to take these samples back, then, and get the curtains and drapes ordered. We should be ready to hang everything by the Fourth of July if you keep going the way you have been, and if they make them as fast as they say they can."

It was the kitchen that took up most of their time. Mom had brought her laptop with her, and appliances were discussed and rejected. The biggest issue was going to be storage space enough for all of the girls, yet the ability to segregate their goods so there wouldn't be confusion. It was Rosemary who finally came up with the solution. "Why don't we just get a dorm sized refrigerator for each double room and one for each two singles? I know it won't look very pretty, but it seems to me style loses out to substance in this case. We can ask Justin to look into the electrical outlets and be sure they can handle it."

Commercial quality microwaves were chosen also, and Grandma sketched out a layout that seemed to work. It was fortunate indeed the kitchen had been built originally with entertaining large groups in mind, because there was ample room.

Grandma made her way up to my garret, although it was quite a climb for her, and approved of the way I had added a shower to the old clawfoot tub, although she wrinkled her nose in disdain at the plain white shower curtain I used. "This might work in a bachelor pad, but never in a girl's bath! It's a good thing Justin is going to be living up here alone!"

Before Grandpa and I made our way back into the house curtains, rods, drapes, and carpet had their final choices determined, and Grandma would order them the first part of the week. All of the appliances had been ordered online, and were scheduled for delivery in late July, two additional kitchen sinks had been laid out, as well as two more stoves. A plumber would be contracted to run the plumbing and gas lines, and to install the sinks. That was a real relief to me, as I didn't see how I would have time to work on that, nor did I really have the expertise.

Grandma and Mom discussed the possibilities for renovating the carriage house servant's quarters for Michael and another apartment or two, and Grandma really could see the possibilities. She also suggested the idea of setting one apartment aside for the use of visiting parents, whether we charged them for the use or not, echoing the suggestion I had made to Mom. I love it when great minds work alike!

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Mom rode over to Bill's with Rosemary and me, while Grandpa and Grandma followed in their car. I knew Mom had something on her mind that she didn't want to talk about in front of her parents.

"Justin, do you really think it is wise to have Michael move into the carriage house? One of the selling points to the place is there would be no males other than you. I'm a little concerned, especially since he is seeing Susie. I'm not sure what Tom and Madge would think about it."

I was in a tough spot for sure! How was I to reassure Mom without giving away Michael's plans? I had promised not to tell anyone what he had in mind, but somehow Mom had to be mollified.

"Michael isn't sure about it yet either. At the moment it is just an idea that has been broached. He wants to move back up here, but on the other side of Phoenix and away from people who know him as his father's son. You know Michael isn't a partier, nor is he interested in any girl but Susie. He isn't going to do anything with her here that he wouldn't do in Tucson because he tries to live his religious beliefs. I would say give it a week or so and let's see what happens. We can come to a decision at that time, but I really think we should go ahead and plan the renovations and offer them to parents if we don't decide to let Michael have one. By the way, he is willing to pay for the renovations from his share of the gold we found in lieu of rental for four years, so we would come out ahead on the finances."

We pulled into Bill's parking lot and parked. I looked over at Mom and said, "We can't make a decision until we talk with Dad about it anyway. I would suggest we table it until next week, and let us get Prom and everything else out of the way. I can't believe there are only three more weeks of school for us, then Senior Week and Graduation. It's really hard to believe it is happening so fast!"

Mom sighed. "Don't remind me. You kids are going to be gone and out of the house in no time. Look, I know you would like to have a friend move up there with you. I have an idea it might be a little lonely for you with no guys around. I remember the dorms and all of the drama that went on when I was in school. I really don't envy you living in a house with that many women!" She laughed and patted my shoulder. "Just don't make it your 'little harem' as your Dad called it." All I could do is shake my head at her as I got out of the car to see Grandpa waiting impatiently at the door.

With lunch over Mom rode back home with Grandpa and Grandma, but Rosemary and I decided to go back to the house and find the second floor door for certain, and to check out the other basement passageway to see where it led. Grandpa warned us again to be sure we didn't disturb anything in the main room, including the desk, but we had no plans to bother anything. We were only interested in where the passage led.

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Mary and Stephanie Winters returned home after spending the afternoon shopping footsore and weary, but pleased. It had been a fun afternoon with the two of them laughing and talking like old friends as they had not done in quite a while.

"Thanks, Mom. That was really fun! We haven't done something like that in a long time, and I've missed it."

"I know, honey. I've really missed it, too. I sure messed up with Paul, didn't I?"

"Now Mom! Don't start on that again! You were lonely and he caught you with your guard down." A little impish grin slipped across Stephanie's lips as she looked at her mom out of the corner of her eye. "I don't think Dr. Meechum would be anything like that. I noticed he seems to think you are OK."

"Stephanie Anne Winters! Don't you be starting on any of that!" She threw a playful swat at Stephanie, who dodged it laughing. "Besides, he's a doctor, and I have to work with him. I don't think it would be proper."

"Yeah, right. Like Dr's and nurses never get together. It's OK. I like him, and I think he would be good for you."

"What are you now, a yenta, a busybody? Or are you trying to play matchmaker?"