Before we got to the decayed front porch, the door swung open and a short balding man greeted us.
“Mr. Pierce, Ms. Chase?”
We both nodded and stopped at the bottom step. The man beamed at us and shut the door, stepping out onto the porch.
“I am so glad you are finally here. I am Norman Shay.”
Paul walked up a few steps and held out his hand for Mr. Shay to shake. He took it and shook it vigorously. I couldn’t help but laugh, and let out a little squeak when he took me into a big bear hug.
“I’m so sorry, but I am just so excited you are here,” Mr. Shay said, setting me down. I looked over at Paul and found him trying to hide his laughter. I just raised my brows and smoothed out my pants.
“We are so glad you reached out to us, Mr. Shay,” Paul said.
“Please, call me Norman,” he replied.
“Okay, Norman. As soon as I got your email, I called Aly right into my office to have her look at it with me. We both had no doubts that we were going to help you and your neighborhood.”
Mr. Shay smiled at that. “Thank you, that means very much. Hidden Creek used to be a better place to live, but with the decline in the economy and such, it’s gone so downhill, to put it mildly.” After saying this, Mr. Shay cast his eyes down. It seemed as though he were remembering a better time.
“How long have you lived here?” I asked him.
“It will be forty years this month. My wife and I raised our four boys here. They had such a nice childhood, too. When our youngest entered high school, things started to change, but not to this point. I only received a high school education, so I haven’t been able to afford very much. My wife works a full time job as well, but both of our incomes have gone to bills and as much as we can for our boys education, which isn’t much. It just breaks my heart seeing how bad Hidden Creek has become.”
I felt so sad hearing his words. When I remembered why we were here, it made me feel a little better. I had hope that we could give them a little taste of what the neighborhood used to be like.
“Well, Mr. Shay, we are going to help bring back a little part of that old Hidden Creek,” I piped up. “I really can’t stress to you enough how much your email and pictures touched me. I’ve been so eager for this day to come so we could finally see it, and you, in person.”
He brightened up at that. “Thank you, Ms. Chase. I am so glad you feel that way. We have all been eager for you and Mr. Pierce to get here. And please, call me Norman.”
“Okay, but only if you’ll call me Aly,” I said with a smile.
“Aly it is. How about we start by walking around the neighborhood a bit? Some people are excited you’re here. Some, unfortunately, are not. I got some angry words from a few neighbors when they found out I’d emailed you. They think we’re okay and that if not, we can do the updating on our own. They are wrong. This is way out of our league and budget. We need help.”
I let out a sigh as we started walking. “I was afraid of that,” I said. “I do not want to make anyone uncomfortable.”
Paul put his hand on the small of my back as we walked. I liked it, but the jolts it gave me distracted me from the conversation. I decided it was worth it, though.
“Norman, are those who are upset willing to hear us out today?” Paul asked.
“I’m not sure, to tell you the truth. I plan on knocking on their doors as we pass by. If they answer, I’ll invite them to come out and talk to you both.”
“That would be great,” Paul replied. “I’d like to be able to explain to them what we do and how we can help.”
“I knew you would,” Norman smiled.
We continued walking down the street since there weren’t any sidewalks. Making a mental note of that, we kept walking until Norman stopped in front of one of the worst homes I’d ever seen. It was so worn down from lack of care that calling it an eyesore was putting it mildly. The white paint was completely shredded and the shingles by each window were either gone or hanging on by a thread. There was no grass, only overgrown weeds for a yard. The cement porch was crumbling to the point that it was a safety hazard. My eyes could not believe what they were seeing.
“This is the residence of one of the protestors,” Norman informed us. “Mr. Halliday has been here for ten years and believe it or not, the house didn’t look much better when he bought it. He’s always said he’ll get to fixing it up at some point, but he never has. Unfortunately, his wife Vera passed away recently and he’s left alone to raise their two children. I was sure he’d be one who would welcome your help, but to my surprise, he completely resists it.”
Two children live in this rotted home?
“Oh, Norman, we need to talk to Mr. Halliday. He should know how much we can help him. The thought of anyone living in these conditions, let alone children, makes me so sad. How old are his kids?” I asked.
“Seven and eleven, I believe. Good kids. The oldest is Josh and the youngest is Heather. Stay here - I’ll go knock on his door and see if he’s home,” Norman said as he headed toward the door.
Paul and I stood back and watched Norman knock on the door. We both looked at each other, then back at the scene in front of us. After a minute, Norman knocked again. Finally, the door opened and a little girl stood there. She was adorable with long auburn braids and jeans with patches and a worn out red T-shirt. I could see Norman talking to her and her responding but couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Finally, Norman turned to Paul and me and beckoned us over. Not sure what was going on, we proceeded to the front porch. Not trusting the stability of the porch stairs, I stayed put and Paul followed my lead.
“Paul, Aly, this is Heather Halliday. She said her daddy’s at work right now, but I thought it would be fun for you to meet her. Heather, this is Paul Pierce and Aly Chase. They are the people who are going to help our neighborhood look and feel better.”
Heather frowned. “My daddy said he doesn’t want your help. That he can fix our house up himself.”
My heart sank hearing this. She was obviously too young to know exactly what was going on. I wasn’t going to plead our case with her, but I did want to ask her some questions.
“Heather, I’m Aly. May I talk to you for a minute?” I asked her gently.
Looking up to Norman for assurance, he nodded and she stepped outside. Walking over to the top of the stairs, she looked nervous. Hoping to put her at ease, I knelt down on my knees and looked into her sweet blue eyes.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. I was just wondering something, though. What is your favorite color?”
That got her attention. She walked down the stairs and her eyes brightened a little as she considered my question. “Well, I love pink, but I also love purple. I can’t decide, but it would definitely be one of those,” she said quietly.
Looking over my shoulder at Paul, I saw he had a small smile on his face as he watched us. Catching me looking at him, he gave me a wink.
Smiling, I turned back to Heather. “Pink and purple are such pretty colors and so perfect for a little girl. What are your favorite toys?” I asked her.
She immediately responded. “I love my princess dolls!”
I gave her a big smile. “Princess dolls? What kind?”
“Belle and Ariel and Sleeping Beauty. I really want Cinderella, but daddy says we can’t get it right now,” she said with a frown.
“Well, those princesses are special. I love them too. Guess what? Mr. Pierce and I are here to help your neighborhood feel and look better. We would love to be able to help you and your family too. Will you give this to your daddy and ask him to call me so I can talk to him more about it?” I asked as I handed her one of my business cards.
Taking it slowly, she held onto it and nodded. “Why did you ask me what my favorite color and toys are?”
I brushed a few strands of her auburn hair out of her eyes. “I was guessing you liked those colors, but wanted to be sure. And I love those princess toys too.”
She looked up at me with wide eyes. “That is so cool. I’m going to tell my daddy to call you!” she exclaimed.
Chuckling, I rose up to my feet. “That would be great, sweetie. It was so nice to meet you, Heather.” I reached out my hand for her to shake. Looking at it for just a second, she thrust her little hand into mine and squeezed. I instantly fell in love with this child and hoped her daddy called me so I could try to persuade him to let us help him and his children.
Paul leaned down to face her. “And by the way, I’m Paul. I work with Aly and also hope to be able to help you. We’re here to look around your neighborhood today and see what needs to be done. I’m very glad we got to meet you.”
Looking at Paul with her big blue eyes, I could see a little blush appear on her cheeks. Shaking my head, I was amused at the affect he apparently had on her as well. Does the man ever stop?
Shaking her little hand, Paul rose to his feet and put his arm around my waist. Loving the way it felt, I stepped closer to him and watched as Norman walked Heather back to her door.
Paul leaned close to my ear. “Do you even know how wonderful you are?” he asked, his breath hot on my cheek.
Shuddering, I tried to keep my sense about me. “What do you mean?”
“Just watching you talk to Heather. You handled it beautifully. Just when I think you can’t impress me anymore, you do just that.”
Trying to hide my elation at his words, and also my embarrassment, I turned my head away. He kept his arm tight around my waist, sensing my discomfort. Gathering my wits about me, I turned back to face him.
“Thank you. That means a lot to me. I just want her to know we’re not scary and that we only want to help.”
He gave me a squeeze and I about fainted. “I think you did that. She was glowing by the time she went back inside.”
Norman came back then so we started walking. “Norman, what a charming little girl,” I said, turning my head toward him. “I really hope her father changes his mind.”
Paul stopped and turned to me. “I love your enthusiasm, but don’t get too far ahead of yourself. One step at a time.” He reached out and grabbed my hand as he said this. Brushing his thumb along my wrist, he let it go as we started walking again.
When we’d reached the next corner, my cell phone started ringing. Grabbing it out of my pocket, I looked to see who was calling.
Ethan
Pleased to see his name, I excused myself from the men for a minute. “Ethan! Hi,” I exclaimed into the phone. Turning around, I didn’t miss the look that came over Paul’s face when he heard me.
“Hey, beautiful girl. Just wanted to call and see how things are going out there. I hope this isn’t a bad time.”
“It’s fine for a minute, but I will have to go soon. We are walking around the neighborhood with Mr. Shay and meeting a few of the residents. It really is good we are doing this, Ethan.”
“I knew it would be. I can’t wait to hear more about it when you get back. Are you still planning on returning tonight?”
Looking back at Paul, I saw he was still looking at me. Holding up my finger to indicate one minute, I turned back around.
“Yes, we are leaving for home when we’re done here.”
“I know it will be late, but will you call or text me when you get back? Just so I know you’re safe, Aly?”
“Oh, Ethan. You are so overprotective,” I laughed.
“I may be, but I won’t sleep well unless I know my girl has returned safely. So call or text, okay?”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, boss man. I will as soon as I get home.”
“Good girl. Now get back to that tour and kick some ass. Talk to you soon.”
“Okay, sounds good. Bye, Ethan.”
I pushed ‘end’ on my phone and returned to Paul and Norman. “I’m so sorry. Let’s keep going, shall we?”
“What did Baker want?” Paul asked with a scowl.
Suddenly feeling on guard, I scowled back at him. “Nothing that pertains to you, Pierce,” I said curtly. I never asked him what Casey wanted when she called. What gave him the right to ask me what Ethan wanted, even if we were just friends?
He shook his head. “I just don’t like him interrupting. He knows we’re touring the neighborhood. That needs to be our focus today.”
“Paul, what’s the big deal? He just called to see how it’s going. Drop it.” I was infuriated he was behaving this way. He had no right.
“Whoa, Aly. No need to get pissy. I just don’t want your focus on him right now, when we need to be giving it to Hidden Creek.”
I suddenly remembered Mr. Shay and looked over to him. He seemed very uncomfortable as he waited for us to continue. I felt ashamed at my behavior, and our conversation. Nodding my head in his direction to Paul, it suddenly dawned on him, as well, that we weren’t alone.
“Norman, I apologize. Please forgive us,” Paul said.
Rolling my eyes, I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and started walking ahead. I felt Paul’s hand wrap around my wrist as he leaned into my ear. “This conversation isn’t over.” Not wanting him to see what he did to me, I yanked my hand free and caught up to Mr. Shay. Hearing him chuckle behind me, I resisted the urge to turn and give him the bird. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.