While Chrissy waited for Edward to return from picking up Emma at the train station, she went through her timeline for the construction of the grocery store. Currently, the construction workers were removing the factory equipment. Then they would do a thorough cleaning of the interior of the building and start building the aisles of the store. She really hoped that Emma would find this project interesting. Chrissy had been behind on her management duties of Polly’s Pasta, the Italian restaurant chain she owned. They were doing well despite this and Chrissy, along with much of the restaurant employees, were hoping to see some of the dishes as ready-to-go meals for people who did not have time to cook in the new grocery store.
Chrissy examined updated reports from the managers of each restaurant; Polly’s Pasta was a chain in Pennsylvania and Ohio. She was in the middle of reading one report when she heard the front door open. She laid the reports down and walked over to the foyer. Edward rolled in two very large suitcases. He sighed. “She has two more, plus a backpack, and her purse.”
Chrissy’s eyes grew wide. “Well, it’s a good thing I am putting her in the guest house and not just a spare bedroom.”
“Remember, she has left college. That includes her dorm room. I should have warned you,” said Edward.
“It’s alright. I should have realized that; I lived in a dorm room once too.”
The door opened and a thin brunette girl rolled two more very large suitcases into the foyer. A backpack hung on her shoulders and a small purse hung diagonally from her left shoulder to her hip.
When she straightened herself after parking the suitcases, Chrissy was surprised to see a section of her hair colored pink.
Emma smiled widely. “Hey Chrissy, its so good to see you!” Chrissy gave her a hug and said, “I’m so happy to see you too. Welcome to your new home.”
Emma stood back and said, “Thank you so much for doing this. Allowing me to stay here and getting me a job. I really appreciate this.”
“No problem…let’s get your luggage to the guest house. And then, we can catch up over tea and cookies.”
The guest house was a good five minute walk from the back door of the house. Once one reached the backyard, a series of brick steps led to the front of the guest house. It was a matching brick one-story house with a forest green front door and matching window trim. Chrissy opened the door and led Emma through the small foyer down a hallway to a door at the end of it. She opened the door. “Here is your bedroom. I had it cleaned and fitted with new sheets and a bedspread. The bathroom is in the middle of the hallway. On the opposite side of the house is a kitchen, living room, and dining room. I did not stock it up with food. I was hoping you would eat with us and if you need a snack or something to drink, you are more than welcome to help yourself in my kitchen or the pantry.”
Emma released her suitcases and sat on the bed. “Uncle Edward has already directed me to let him know when I need something, which honestly makes me feel a little uncomfortable. But yes, I would love to eat with you guys.”
“Your uncle takes his job very seriously. And he wants to be able to take care of you.”
Just then, Edward barged into the room with the other two suitcases. “There is a situation at the main house. The sisters say it is urgent.”
“Sisters?” asked Emma.
“My nun friends. I wonder what’s going on.” Chrissy turned to Emma. “You’re welcome to come or you can stay here and unpack.”
“I’ll come,” Emma said.
Edward stared at her. “Anything to get out of unpacking. I hope you will get to that eventually.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Yes, Uncle Edward. Don’t worry. I won’t live out of my suitcases.”
As soon as Chrissy stepped into the main house, she was surrounded by Mother Superior, Sister Elise, Sister Elizabeth, and Sister Cynthia. They smiled at Chrissy who introduced them to Emma. They took turns shaking her hand.
“What’s the matter?” asked Chrissy. “Is everything alright?”
Mother Superior stepped forward. “We don’t mean to bother you, Chrissy, and this may seem silly to you, but it is important. Every Easter, we plan an Easter Egg Hunt outside of the convent for disadvantaged kids in the community. We usually get the plastic colored eggs at Wal-Mart. However, when we went down there, there were no eggs available. Wal-Mart claims they ran out.”
“And its not true,” insisted Sister Elise (the youngest nun of the group and Chrissy’s best friend). “I went down there today and sneaked into storage. There’s plenty of plastic eggs back there. They’re making things difficult for us. They know we have this event every year and we need a lot of plastic eggs for the hunt. They’re punishing us for supporting your grocery store.”
Mother Superior glared at her. “You’re a nun, not a private investigator!”
Chrissy broke in. “Wait a minute, aren’t they risking losing the other customers who want plastic eggs, too?”
“It doesn’t matter,” claimed Sister Elizabeth. “Its a short term loss. They’re dead set on you failing.”
Emma cleared her throat. Everyone turned to her. “Can I ask a stupid question? Is there not another place you can buy plastic eggs?”
Sister Elise shook her head. “The only other place is the pharmacy, but they ran out because the rest of the town was forced to go there. I love that pink streak in your hair, by the way.”
Mother Superior glared at her again.
“I’m not saying I’m going to do that. Obviously, I can’t. I’m just giving a compliment.”
“Well…we’re going to have to go outside of Stoney Brook. Uncle Edward, why don’t we make a road trip of it? What’s the closest town?”
Edward looked like he had swallowed a bunch of nails. Chrissy knew he was uncomfortable in this situation. He was a practicing Anglican Protestant and was not used to interacting with the nuns. Chrissy, who was a devout Catholic, was the one who primarily interacted with them. Then there was the fact that Emma was ordering him around; only Chrissy did that and she did not like “ordering” him around since he was like family to her.
Chrissy came to Edward’s rescue. “Why don’t we go with the Sisters, so Edward can focus on things here? Would that be alright?” She looked at Mother Superior.
Mother Superior gave Edward a long, steely look. He turned away from her and to Chrissy’s surprise, she smiled. “Of course, Chrissy. We have a van. We call it the Sister Mobile. Emma, you’re welcome to come.”
“I’d love to,” she said enthusiastically.
Edward mouthed “thank you” to Chrissy.
* * *
This is the end of Part Three. Part Four will be posted tomorrow, which is the final section of this short story.