Records

The next morning, I give Ryan a long, passionate kiss goodbye before he drops me at my mother's house. I bite his bottom lip gently before asking, "Now I don't have to wait another three dates to have that again, do I?" He smiles as he groans and says, "I don't think you'd allow me to be chivalrous with your virtue again."

I laugh and as I open the door to his truck, I tell him, "I learned my lesson. I will never lie about my feelings for you again." He's grinning when I push his door shut. He quickly rolls the window down and says, "Love you."

"Love you too. Call me after work," I reply and then watch as he pulls down the driveway. I bite my swollen lip as I float into the house, high on love or whatever's got me feeling so airless and blissful. I find Celia whipping up some muffins in the kitchen and she smiles when she sees me.

"Why Sawyer, I ain't remember a time I've caught you in the kitchen this early."

I pull a coffee cup down from the cupboard and reply, "Ryan has to be to work by eight, so he had to drop me early."

I pull the coffee pot out and I am glad to see I have gotten the first, fresh cup. I inhale the delectable scent and drop two cubes of sugar into my warm black coffee. As I stir it around Celia says, "I'm makin' your favorite. Banana nut."

"Mmm...Fresh coffee and fresh muffins? I need to start wakin' up early more often," I say as I drop onto a chair at the table. I see the newspaper folded up in front of me and I catch a flattering picture of Poppy on the front page. I spin the paper over to me and quickly skim over the article. It sounds like there aren't any new leads, but a source confirms that the Penderghasts are moving to Oxford. It also mentions the Wellington House grand re-opening and someone at the paper must have talked to Lucy about honoring Poppy. I remember that I am supposed to meet Arthur at the club at nine so I can get my first check from him. I flick my eyes toward the clock above the stove and pop up from my seat.

"Why the rush darlin'?" Celia asks as I stride next to her.

"I forgot that I have to be at the club in an hour. I gotta go get ready," I tell her as I hold my cup firmly in my hands, careful not to spill any coffee on Momma's white flooring.

"These will be ready and waitin' for ya when you're done gettin' ready," Celia shouts out as I cross into the foyer. I find Momma trotting down the stairs and when she sees me, she snarks, "Well I know I don't have my glasses on, so my eyes might be deceivin' me."

"Ha ha Momma, I had to be up early because I have to go get the deposit money from Arthur this morning," I tell her as I cross her on the stairs. My back is to her as she asks, "Did you ask him if he could give you any donor or guest lists from the fundraiser?"

"Yes, I asked him. But he said Poppy never turned in a list and most of the funds raised were cash," I say loudly as I head into my room. I drop my coffee cup onto the vanity and Momma pushes my door open without knocking.

"So, he doesn't have a record of who donated what? What kind of record keeper is he?" She asks with a scowl and I shrug. I walk into my closet and my mother continues to talk to me, "So we don't know exactly who to invite then? And with a budget of only three thousand dollars, we can't invite all of Hollis, Oxford and Sommerville. We'll just have to extend invites to the usuals then."

After grabbing a fresh dress from my closet, I walk back into my room and say, "I can probably remember who all of the girls were that participated in the dates if I thought hard enough. But I don't know all the men that bought the dates or who all participated in the silent auction. We had donors of items and people that won the items. There are too many people to remember."

"No, Poppy must have had some sort of record. Ask Lucy maybe she'll know. Someone had to have been keeping record. The Historical Society is a huge Mississippi charity. I can't imagine Poppy is the only one keeping track of things," she says with a shake of her head.

"There are only ten active members in the club and most of them only focus on their tasks. I know I wouldn't be writing down who was coming to what party unless I was specifically asked to do so," I reply. I strut into the bathroom but Momma still talks to me.

"Ask Ryan if the police took anything from her place into evidence. If not, maybe there are Historical Society records at her house. Maybe we can ask the Penderghasts to let us have them," she says and I know Ryan won't be thrilled with our two worlds colliding. However, it would make it a hell of a lot easier for me if I can just use Poppy's previous lists. That way I won't have to do any research into old society parties and she'll probably even have everyone's addresses and correct salutations. I also won't have to worry about offending anyone if they were donors and were left off the guest list. I know Momma's head would spin if she donated to a charity and then wasn't invited to enjoy what she paid for.

I spin the knobs on the shower and shout, "I'll ask Ryan after I call Lucy. Will you leave me to get ready now?"

I don't hear her say anything else so I finally step into the shower in peace.

*****

I arrive at the club just before nine o'clock and find Arthur hanging around the golf pro's area. He spots me coming and I immediately give him a smile and a small wave.

"Good morning Mr. Huxley."

He gives me a small smile in return and I notice he is dressed nicely in grey golf slacks and a navy polo. I always assumed he was around the age of my father, but today, he looks younger. Maybe it's because it's the first time I have seen him without some kind of hat on his grey-haired head.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls a folded check out.

"Here is the deposit money for you. Is that all you needed?" He asks and once again, I am getting the feeling that he wants me to skedaddle. I nod as I tuck the check safely into my purse. I look back to him and reply, "Are you the golf pro for the club today?"

He nods.

"Yes, I have an appointment with someone this morning."

"Well then, I won't take up any more of your time. Thanks for the check. I'll call you when I need to purchase the decor," I tell him before I spin away from the pro area and head towards the front entrance. I am about to pull the door open when it's pulled open in front of me. I find Lucy standing on the other side and she laughs when she sees me.

"Oh, you startled me!"

I put a gentle hand on her shoulder as I reply, "Sorry about that! But lucky for me I did, I was just about to call you."

She drops her golf bag onto the tile floor and looks at me.

"I have a minute before my golf lesson, what can I do for you?"

"Oh? With Arthur Huxley?" I ask and she nods in surprise.

"How'd you know?"

"I just got a check from him," I tell her and she smiles. I shift my weight as I continue, "I wanted to ask you if you had any of the donor info from the fundraiser? I'm trying to make sure I invite anyone that helped raised funds, but I don't have a full list of everyone who participated."

She quickly shakes her head.

"No, can't say I ever had a list. Did you ask Arthur?"

I nod.

"I did, but he said he only deposited the funds raised. He has no records of who contributed."

I watch her brow furrow and then she says, "Well there must be some record. Otherwise, how do we know how much was raised that night and from whom? Even the men that bought dates in cash were written down. Most people that donate want to write it off on their taxes."

I can tell she's stumped and just as confused as I am. I look to her as I say, "Then that's information Mr. Huxley should have then? Poppy couldn't be the only one that knew where the charity's money was coming from and how much the society was raising. As President, you don't know?"

She shakes her head again.

"I haven't gotten much yet. Poppy held onto most of the official documents and the police won't hand anything over until the investigation is finished. I wanted access to her laptop so I could get the vendor's names off it, but the police denied my request. I was lucky that Betty and Scarlett had the information. Arthur is the only other person that would and should have kept records in regards to finances. It's in his job title."

I sigh, feeling a bit confused as to how a large charity such as the Historical Society could be so flawed. I watch Lucy check her watch and then say, "I don't want to make you late, but I have one last question. Who was President before Poppy?"

She frowns as she pulls her golf bag over her shoulder.

"Abigail Penderghast, Poppy's mother. When she stepped down, Poppy took over."

"Thanks for your time. I'll let you get on with your day. I'll also let you know how the party is coming along," I say as she smiles and then squeezes my shoulder before passing by me. I watch as she greets Arthur and I catch his narrowed eyes as he looks over her shoulder at me. He looks away from her and I can immediately tell something isn't right.