Broad Street Goddesses Read online

  Eight foot tall glass pocket doors led into the library with dark wood floor to ceiling shelves complete with a rolling ladder. Nothing but dust and some very impressive spider webs on the shelves. Paige closed her eyes imagining the room brimming with books and art. The adjacent dining room was an enormous space with floors reaching far enough for at least eighty people to dance. As her eyes adjusted, the deep carved crown moldings around the ceiling gleamed, gold even through the years of grime.

  Examining the kitchen, Paige stared out over the sprawling black and white tile floors and countertops. Pale pink enameled cabinets with black porcelain knobs barely clung to the walls. Over the farm sink a huge filthy window framed by raggedy café curtains looked out over the back yard. Appliances, rounded and chromed, a fabulous look in 1925, looked so decrepit she’d be afraid to turn them on. Turn anything on? Paige scrambled for her phone and made the call to Jakes girl, Betty. Mentioning Jake was magic. Until that point in the conversation nothing was going to happen until Monday. The sound of Betty’s angelic voice had Paige conjuring images of a petite beauty queen with a sugary nature. Paige instantly despised her. Betty assured her the power would be on before the close of business that day. Mystified, Paige shook her head in disbelief and smiled into the phone, matching the honey tone coming from the other end and thanked Betty. Imagining Jake was shallow enough to couple up with someone perfect and plastic like Betty made her feel better. Reminding herself once again that her “no men” policy was a solid choice for her peace of mind. Paige recognized the essence of smugness when she caught her own reflection in the dirty window.

  “Most unbecoming for a beautiful face.” A woman’s voice circled her head creating a buzz in her ears and shiver down her back. Paige looked around to see where the woman’s voice came from. Stillness hung thick in the air making it hard to breathe. She grabbed for the wall to steady herself and her eyes darted into every corner. She was alone in the mansion and she had a powerful hangover. Paige threw her shoulders back and looked up the stairs to the top.

  Powder fine dust caked onto her hand as she stepped up the grand sweep of stairs. Paige recoiled, listening to the moan of protesting stairs all the way to the mezzanine, a majestic area with at least a dozen doors that led into hallways on either side. The first bedroom was small in size and a ghastly gold color that once might have been cheerful yellow. Pulling back the tattered sheers on the window she watched the bustle on Broad Street wondering how long it would be until she fit into such a small world. She’d never really fit in anywhere, but the draw to belong in Nevada City had become a nagging issue she could not explain.

  The second bedroom overlooked the back yard and was larger than the first. With its faded bird house wallpaper the room felt tired and sad. Practically no light came in through the closed window shade. A quick tug to the wooden handle of the shade and the brittle fabric crackled and spun shards of crunchy linen above Paige’s head, which sounded like peals of laughter. From the window of the “blue room” she looked out onto the lawn and spotted an arbor or gazebo, it was hard to tell what lurked under the overgrowth of blackberry bushes. The feeling of someone standing behind her crept over her shoulders and she pulled herself away from the window.

  Abandoning the upstairs exploration, Paige’s descent down the stairs stopped short when she heard a faint voice. Standing very still she listened closely but heard nothing more. A quick chill of nerves prickled her skin. Paige dismissed the feeling and justified the voice as neighbors chatting in the yard. She laughed at herself. Her house in Oregon had been so quiet, she’d have to get used to having people closer to her now. She decided in that moment that she would not allow the noises and creaking of the massive old mansion to put her on edge.

  Following the rear staircase back down to the main floor behind the kitchen, Paige found a rather large bedroom and bathroom where mermaids flaunted silver and gold tails amongst the turquoise sea weed printed on pale mauve walls. Beautiful in its day, she wondered if there was a way to salvage it. A large claw footed tub just like in the internet photos was a pleasing find, followed by a gasp of horror at the rings and rings of filth inside of it. She closely examined the aged tub. The scent of lavender and pine filled the air, as Paige strained to hear something so slight it was almost undetectable, but it sounded like water running and singing. The imaginings of a desperately tired and hung-over woman were running amuck! It was in that moment that hunger pains and a headache hit her hard.

  No food at hand, Paige set out to explore her new city. Beyond the expansive sloping lawn, the sidewalk in front of her mansion was raised nearly three feet from the road with an aged metal guard rail, something she’d never seen. There were long-standing cement stairs with metal railings going down to the street level at the corners. She walked a block and then turned onto Broad Street. There spread out before her was a whole new world. The street itself was a vertical slope down through town and out the other side into a heavily treed are. From where she stood at the top of the hill people moved in rhythmic colorful patterns on both sides of the street. Cars crept slowly looking for a prized parking space. Each shop had its own design and retained the integrity of its history, with awnings, hand painted windows and colorful trims. When she considered it all together she was reminded of a Norman Rockwell scene. This is what she chose and this is where she would make a new beginning.

  Just as she thought of pinching herself, a man came up fast behind her playing a guitar and singing. With hair in dreads and clothes woven from knobby hemp, he nodded as he passed her on the street continuing to sing. Down past a sidewalk Café, the aroma of marijuana wafted through the air. Well, not quite a Norman Rockwell moment, but definitely interesting. Paige smiled out loud.

  CHAPTER 3

  There was knocking in her head. So strong, she thought it must be the results of a resilient two day hangover. Quickly, she stretched to get her Barings. More knocking, damn knocking, it was coming from the kitchen door. Pain radiated through her hips as she wiggled out of the sleeping bag on the hardwood floor, stood up, took two steps and realized that her legs were asleep. Squinting her eyes for clarity she waddled to keep her legs steady and made it to the kitchen door, grasping the glass knob for balance. She looked sideways against the bright light of morning to see the silhouette of a woman through the shabby curtains. Practically incoherent, Paige cracked the door, peeked through the slit against the brutal light. On her back porch was someone clearly not of this world. The woman wore a loose patchwork tunic over jeans. With a scarf in her hair, sandals on her feet and no makeup, a cake in one hand and a French press pot of coffee in the other. She was quick to smile and Paige had never seen anything more beautiful.

  “Are you an angel?” Paige croaked. Tasting the garlic from her pizza last night, she tried not to breathe on the poor unsuspecting bearer of salvation.

  “I’m Etta Jenkins, from next door. Welcome to our little corner.” Her smile seemed familiar.

  “Come in.” Paige stood aside, “What time is it?” She searched the room for a clock that wasn’t there.

  “Nine-thirty or so. I thought you’d be awake.”

  “Yeah, me too”, Paige looked back to Etta’s face… Jenkins… slowly her mind came to life and she was able to connect Jake’s smile to this woman. “You must be a relative of Jake Jenkins. I see the resemblance.”

  “Jake’s my brother,” Etta placed the yummy looking cake on the countertop and poured Paige a cup, “Cream or sugar?”

  “Just cream. Jake stopped by yesterday and gave me a hand.”

  “He is a handy one… that Jake.” Etta studied Paige’s eyes with a drilling intensity.

  Wally slinked into the kitchen to pounce on imaginary prey and then began to eyeball the coffee cake. He looked away when he was caught. What a little sneak Paige thought shooting him a cautionary glare.

  Etta laughed, “Just like a kitty. Does he eat sweets?”

  “Like a fiend, especially ice cream.” Paige watched
Wally edge closer to the plate of cake. “Would you be offended if I gave him a little piece?”

  “I was going to do it, if you didn’t.” Etta shoved the cake plate toward Paige.

  Taking a pinch for Wally and a pinch for herself, “I’m not really into delayed gratification myself.”

  “Amen sister!” Etta looked around for a fork and then used her fingers to dig in and leaned easily on the edge of the counter.

  “Oh my God, this is so good.” Paige sighed trying not to let anything fall from her mouth as her eyes rolled in exaggerated joy. Her shoulders relaxed and she entered into an easy chat with Etta standing over the kitchen counter eating cake with their fingers and drinking tepid, strong coffee. Paige examined her closely, with her long blond hair and crystal necklace, Etta was an odd creature, a genuine hippy-chick.

  “Your truck!” Etta’s eyes were huge as she bolted out the kitchen door, down the stairs and ran for the slowly creaking, rolling moving truck.

  “SHIT!” Paige yelled as the truck moved in triple slow motion towards the overgrown gazebo. She flew down the back stairs right behind Etta, who heroically climbed up onto the slow moving truck, threw open the door, hopped in and set the emergency brake a few seconds after the sound of splintering wood echoed through the back yard. In the bright light of morning wearing only her red rocker t-shirt and hot pink panties Paige stood breathlessly cursing the stickers in her feet as Etta jumped down dusting her hands onto her jeans.

  The newly acquainted women stared at each other breathing heavily and began to laugh hysterically. “Oh My God! Thank you!” Paige yelled out of breath.

  “Your pergola is a gonner.” Etta pursed her lips at the creaking structure.

  Paige glanced quickly over the mound of lumber and bushes intertwined, “well it saved me from having to tear it down.”

  Etta eyed her new friend, scantily clad and shooed her back to the house, “Don’t you start a scandal on your first day…you’ve got plenty of time for that!”

  “What just happened?” Paige asked.

  “Tommyknockers!” Etta said with a conspiratorial wink.

  Even with the help of four hired hands, Paige made dozens of trips up and down the stairs. Her muscles ached with the torture of being out of shape. Her bed was made with crisp linens, washed before she packed them up. She scrubbed the muck out of the tub which took opening the window, wearing rubber gloves and a can of scouring powder. It was definitely going to be refinished. Towels and all the necessities were stocked in the bathroom. With the last project of her day completed, the needs of her stomach pulled her to the kitchen. The only thing she’d eaten all day was cake, coffee and tap water that tasted like iron. Rubbing her aching muscles, Paige rummaged for something, anything to eat.

  Out the kitchen window she detected movement. Etta was setting candles on her patio table, arranged the chairs and fussed like she was about to have a garden party. With daylight fading into the glow of candles, she created an ethereal scene. Etta even had a bouquet of daisies on the table. A hippy Martha Stewart! Wally was napping on a cushioned patio chair, no doubt resting up for the gala.

  From the back porch Paige shouted down, “When does the party start?”

  “I’ve got wine, BBQ’d salmon and salad from my garden. Come on down when you’re ready. I thought you’d be starving.”

  Paige contemplated changing out of the jeans she’d been wearing for the last two days, but the thought of another move without food drew her straight down the stairs and to the beautifully set dinner table.

  “You’re a picture down here in the candle light, Etta… a garden Goddess.” Paige looked around. Her overgrown gangly yard was suddenly enchanting. With brambles and wild roses illuminated by the warmth of flickering glow, deep purple clematis vines intertwined with honeysuckle, ivy and sweet peas climbing over every bush and tree trunk. What had appeared by the light of day as a wreck had been transformed by Etta’s beautiful table setting, candles and loving touch, “When do the fairies show up?”

  “You mean you can’t see them?” Etta winked slyly.

  Filling two glasses with wine, Etta handed one to Paige, raising her glass, “To new beginnings…” they toasted.

  “How appropriate,” Paige leveled a look across the table into Etta’s eyes that glistened in the candle glow. An intimate connection crept between them; an unfamiliar feeling to Paige, who had never been close to other women. Not even her mother.

  The first glass went down easy and cool, the second settled on her like a silky blanket, muffling the tension in her body. “This is amazing wine!”

  “Our local Winery, I thought it would be a good welcome.” Etta smiled.

  “Well, of course you have a winery here.” Paige laughed, “Is there a chocolate factory? How about Christmas tree and flower farms?”

  Etta beamed proudly, “I’d be happy to show you all of that once you’re settled.”

  “Seriously, you have a chocolate factory and a Christmas tree farm here?”

  “Yep, we grow a lot more than Christmas trees around here” Etta said as a matter of fact as she loaded the salmon onto a plate for Paige and one small piece for Wally, who had a place setting at the table! Paige looked straight at Etta who took the cat’s place setting in stride.

  “Unbelievable!” Paige grinned. She’d landed in an unusual place.

  Etta served them the most incredible salmon she’d ever eaten. With a hint of BBQ smoke and garden herbs, it was heavenly. Halfway through the meal Paige smiled at Etta who was watching her eat.

  “This is so good! Sorry, I’m eating like a trucker.” She looked at Etta who was smug with satisfaction in the flickering light. Wally had inhaled his salmon and was licking his empty plate and paws, occasionally giving Etta the misted over gaze reserved only for a cat messiah.

  “I love to cook.” Etta picked a piece of salmon off her plate and put it in front of Wally who had exhibited excellent table manners for the hooligan Paige knew him to be. “Truth be told, I usually eat something cold right over the sink if I’m not fixing food for someone else… this is nice.”

  “No someone special in your life?” Paige asked.

  “You mean a significant other?” Etta looked off in the distance, hesitating. Paige was immediately concerned that Etta might be interested in more than just a friendship. Was she a lesbian? Where in the world had that come from? Why should she care about the sexual orientation of a woman who’d just fixed an amazing candle light dinner for her and was now plying her with wine and conversation? Strange territory indeed.

  Etta looked Paige in the eye with a half smile, “There hasn’t been anyone… well… in a while, and to answer your inquiring mind, I’m not gay. I’ve considered it, and while I’m quite fond of the female form, having sex with a woman isn’t something that appeals to me.”

  “Oh, lord, I didn’t think you were coming on to me. I just…” Paige paused taking a drink of her wine, “wanted to get to know you. Sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about Paige, I spend most of my time with my clients or in my garden. I have a gallery on Broad Street which doubles as my office. I love to cook, garden and tend to the little things that make life more enjoyable. I’m very intuitive; I hope that doesn’t put you off.”

  “Having my needs anticipated before I know I have them is huge! I just don’t know how I’ll repay you for all your kindness.” Paige settled back into her chair enjoying the contentment of a full belly and the buzz of wine.

  “I liked you the moment you pulled into the driveway with Wally.” She slipped her furry devotee another nibble of salmon, and cast an intense look at Paige, “Now how about you? Significant other? What’s your profession? Do you have children?” Etta placed her chin into her open hand, dramatically batting her wide grey eyes waiting for Paige’s response.

  Paige weighed how much she wanted to share with Etta during a contemplative breath, “Well, there is no significant other. I’m 39 with a bullet. I could write a book
about my bad choices where men are concerned. I come from a small town in Oregon called Sisters.” Paige hesitated to continue, but something in Etta’s easy air urged her on, “After 20 years of dating, everyone at the store or the bank was related to someone I had been intimate with. My last bad decision, who I found out after our last date was married, got freaked out that I might rat him out to his family and well…long story short, he condemned my sweet historic cottage via eminent domain so his clients could build a shopping mall.”

  “Ouch!” Etta looked as though she could feel Paige’s emotions.

  “I didn’t have any fight left in me after that. I just wanted to get as far away from that pain as I could. I bought this old mansion on an internet auction site. It was the weirdest thing; I became absolutely possessed by it. I looked at thousands of houses but kept coming back to this one. The morning after I dreamed of walking through the halls of this mansion, I sat down at my computer and clicked the mouse until I owned it. Now I don’t care if it was a smart investment or not, I feel like I’ve been waiting to get here my whole life. It’s a bizarre sensation of…” Paige hesitated to find the right word.

  “Belonging,” whispered Etta.

  “Yes, belonging.” She examined Etta’s face for an indication of how much farther to go.

  “It’s going to make an amazing bed and breakfast.” Paige sat back in her chair rubbing her arms against the chill in the air, “How’s that? Oh and I don’t have children, although I think some of them grow up to be wonderful people, as a whole, I find them demanding, loud and sticky. I don’t think Wally’s fond of them either.”

  “I love children.” Etta looked wishful, “I was hoping to have a family by now. There aren’t a lot of choices in our City, and the one chance I had at love disappeared… literally.”

  Paige exclaimed, “I must sound horrible! Here you want kids and I tell you I don’t like them!”