Better than Butter

By Kay Coop

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Five women renew their friendships at a high school reunion, discovering each owns a bed-and-breakfast (BnB) in their respective community. Many years have passed, and the women vow to stay in touch. Through a round-robin the women share their BnB experiences, discover maturity hasn’t improved some of their younger habits, solve a mystery, and exchange life experiences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781649523914

Book preview

Chapter One

It is a typical crisp Missouri morning with Lil comfortably settled into her Adirondack with her morning cup of English Breakfast tea enjoying a quiet morning alone. Actually, she has had far too many mornings alone, but this day was different. Lil felt very much surrounded by love for the first time in many years. She had just returned from a high school reunion, which she had almost not attended. That seemed to be her pattern the past few years—planning and canceling. It was just easier to stay home.

Lil wasn’t always that way. Life used to hold such promise. She always wanted to be a doctor and will never forget the excitement of receiving the acceptance to medical school. That excitement was overshadowed by her love for her high school sweetheart. Bill convinced her to put her aspirations on hold and they would see stars together as he pursued his career as an astronomer. He loved studying the origin of the universe, galaxies, and black holes. Each day they were married seemed like she was living in a black hole. That was the beginning of Lil canceling plans. It was difficult to go to social functions with heavy makeup to cover bruises. Soon it just became easier to cancel life in general. It was a fluke accident that Bill’s forty-pound telescope had fallen off the tripod onto his head. Sitting by his bedside, Lil had mixed emotions and felt it was her fault they had argued when he left for work and he probably was careless; however, she knew that wasn’t true. Nothing took Bill’s mind off his work. Nothing! She recalled running out of gas on the freeway, and Bill suggested she call a friend for help as he was too busy. Another time she cut her hand and took a taxi to urgent care as it was inconvenient for Bill to help. No, he wasn’t careless when it came to work.

As Lil enjoyed a second cup of tea, her mind fast-forwarded to the joy of the reunion. Reconnecting with Ditty, Milly, Izzy, and Babs was wonderful. Finding that their lives had not been absolutely perfect helped her to come to terms with her own. She still got to dabble in the medical field even if it was only as a part-time receptionist. In the end, Bill’s insurance made it possible for her to buy the BnB. Now it was time to not cancel and write to her friends.

Dear Friends,

It was far too much fun seeing all of you again at the reunion, and I decided I am not going to let more time pass with no follow-up. Knowing us, it will be too easy to let time slip away and our reunion stop.

As a child, I remember fondly my father’s six brothers and sisters writing in a round-robin. It was an exciting time when the bulging envelope arrived. Six letters would spill out onto the table. Our family would devour every word reading the letters over and over. Mom would replace her previous letter with a new one, and off the robin would go to the next person on the flight pattern. I am hoping you want to join me in this fun way to stay in touch, and if you do, ours will be me writing to Ditty, she adds her letter and sends to Milly, who sends to Izzy, who sends to Babs, and Babs back to me. Each of us will add our letter and mail it on to the next person in line. When the robin comes back to you, take your letter out and add a new one.

This has been a week to end all weeks culminating with the simple act of trying to mail ten wonderful books to a friend. I have never done this before, but the UPS instructions said to just give them the weight and measurements of the box and they would calculate the fee. I just hung up the phone with UPS and was shocked to be told it would cost $210! Of course, I told the lady that was not acceptable. After I hung up the phone, I realized I had weighed myself with the books! You can imagine my embarrassment when I called back and got the same lady on the phone. She was still laughing when she answered and said, My dear, you weighed yourself, didn’t you? So much for living in a small town with only one UPS pickup.

I hope the four of you are all well. I’ll send this robin on its way and wait anxiously for its flight back to me.

Love,

Lil

Meredith Chandler was finishing her dishes from the BnB breakfast when she heard a shout of frustration. Looking out the kitchen window, she could see her handyman, Jake, in the vegetable garden shaking his hands and hollering. She ran out to see what was wrong and found him standing in four inches of water—he had forgotten to turn off the watering system last night again! Better than butter! This needs to stop.

Meredith (Ditty) was so upset she just turned and ran into the house. This forgetfulness was bordering on negligence by Jake, and it had begun when Ditty’s husband had passed away. He seemed to be loyal to Charles but not to Ditty or her conversion of her home to a BnB. She decided to give him one more chance and would have a talk with him after she calmed down.

The Chandler Farms enterprise expansion to BnB was so new Ditty was finding it both a wonderful challenge and lots of hard work learning to maneuver between running the farm part of Chandler Farms and the BnB part. Thankfully she had a few cowboys who worked the farm and lived at the bunkhouse up behind the barn and a farm manager who kept that part of the ranch working like a well-oiled machine. Still, she liked to keep her hand in and know what was happening and when. She and her husband had built this place from scratch, and knowing the operation was crucial to its success. She never wanted to rely upon someone else in charge of the place and her finding out what was happening after something had gone wrong.

When the telephone rang, Ditty was delighted it was her friend Clarice calling to check in on her. Ditty had returned recently from a high school reunion, and Clarice wanted to hear all about it. An opportunity to sit with a cup of coffee and slice of coffee cake was in the offing and something to be grateful for. Clarice, I was so fortunate to have the best group of gal pals in high school, and meeting up with them again just reinforced our friendship.

After an hour of laughing and catching up Ditty said, I heard the mail in the slot and am waiting for some mail. I will run now, and we will get together soon.

Sorting the mail, Ditty found a letter from Lil and suggestions for a round-robin, and she couldn’t wait to answer it.

Dear Robinettes,

Oh, this round-robin is better than butter. It looks so much fun!

I loved reading Lil’s letter and had to laugh at her weighing herself with the books. Oh my goodness, girl, I would not get on a scale even if someone paid me—in fact, I just tell the nurses at the doctor’s office to guess what I weigh and put it down. I have weighed 135 (a friendly nurse) to 285 (a snotty nurse). The doctor just laughs along with me as long as my blood work stays in order.

Today was my day to shop at the feed store, and it gets to be different every time. When you consider I buy 50# of corn for the deer, 50# bird seed for the birds (no surprise there) and 50# of cat food for the feral cats, it seems ridiculous. I have no pets! I also buy 25# bags of sugar for those blasted hummingbirds. After I’ve lifted those three 50# bags from the feed store floor to my cart, from the cart to the car, and from the car to my shop, I feel it equals at least one day at a gym.

A doe walked across my front porch last night, nibbling plants from the pots along the way. I walked to the living room window to watch her meander away, and she was followed across the same porch by a six-point buck. Honestly, the nerve! Cheeky critters.

All the guest rooms are filled right now, and the bunkhouse boys are plowing to put in crops. It is time I began dinner to feed everyone. I sure do like the idea of this round-robin. Can’t wait for it to go away and come back again.

Sincerely,

Ditty

It was another beautiful sunny day. Milly especially loved mornings lying in bed just a bit longer to enjoy the lace curtains swaying with the gentle breeze from the open window. George, her handyman, would be looking for a to-do list. She couldn’t wait to tell him her news.

Milly’s grandfather had a combination safe in the attic. He was, to say the least, a very unique man. She didn’t remember ever seeing Grandpa open the safe, but she did recall him having a fit when his handyman painted the attic. She could still hear him saying loudly, "Why on earth would you choose to paint the attic? There is plenty of work to be done elsewhere on this property…blah, blah, blah. In all the years she visited her grandparents, this was the only time she had ever heard her grandpa raise his voice in either excitement or anger. I think he was angrier with himself for not being able to work like he used to. After Grandma died, he just didn’t have the energy or motivation to work, so he hired a handyman, which created more of a problem because Grandpa wasn’t used to giving directions. Therefore, the handyman was left to figure out work to be done. He had been a painter for twenty-five years, so everything on the property had been painted at least once. Finally, he had made his way to the attic, which must have been a painter’s haven.

After grandpa was done grumbling, Milly asked him why he was so upset. He said he had penciled the combination to the safe on a support post. As her mouth opened, he stopped her with his own words, I know that was not a good idea! Then they had both laughed, and Grandpa was back to his jovial self.

Milly couldn’t recall exactly how old she was, but she must have been about ten or twelve when she had a bright idea of her own. It seemed logical to her. All that had to be done was remove the paint, and Grandpa’s numbers would appear. Well, Milly made a mental note that paint remover removes paint clear down to the bare wood. That afternoon Grandpa and Milly had a heart-to-heart when she shared her disastrous bright idea.

This morning Milly thought to herself, I do miss Grandpa so much and wish he was here so I could share my news with him. She had found a bag of old coins in the corner of the attic. When she dumped them out on the floor, there was a piece of paper with six numbers on it. Something told her to try those numbers to open the safe. Yes! She sat and cried in delight.

Hi Robins,

It is always nice to have friends drop in via old-fashion letters. It already seems like the reunion was long ago. It was wonderful to reconnect, and I do look forward to continuing our friendships. This round-robin is a good idea and looks to be a wonderful way for us to stay in touch. Thank you, Lil.

Lil, I am so sorry your arthritis is acting up and know how painful it can be. I had to laugh out loud at your UPS story. I know what you mean about living in a small town and everyone knowing your business. I, of course, don’t care about other people’s business, but everyone here seems to care about mine!

Ditty, that is a wide range of pounds from 135 to 285. Are you sure you have a good doctor? Seems to me he would want to be exact with matters like that. My doctor was just telling me the other day I am in very good shape. I was tempted to tell him he could lose a few pounds, but you know me, I would never voice my opinion unless asked.

Well, I must get out there and see if my handyman, George, is making any progress on the to-do list I gave him. Honestly, he should be able to see what needs to be done without me making lists. He really is invaluable to me, so I try to remind myself of that when I show my disappointment at his lack of attention to my list.

Take care and I’ll wait anxiously for the next round of letters.

Fondly,

Milly

It was a lovely Texas morning, and Izzy was busily kneading dough to make cinnamon buns for her BnB breakfast buffet. She had long decided that there was more than one way to fly, and since she was grounded from her airline stewardess job, she was just going to fly through life and enjoy every second along the way. What an adventure she had been on.

It was a lot of work and a lot of fun being an airline hostess, and she never regretted walking away from a very humdrum, unloving marriage in order to get her wings (so to speak), but her big disappointment in life was her dyslexia and need to concentrate and focus when dealing with tasks that kept her from getting a pilot license. Well! Izzy was going to pilot her life ship and have fun.

Izzy’s The Chartered Flight BnB was a very popular place for airline personnel, those who flew for a living as well as those who were on temporary assignment at the airlines. Being near the airport was a boon for her business. She also was happy to welcome travelers as well as airline people and had to get these buns done for a big breakfast.

While she was mindlessly kneading the dough, Izzy kept thinking of the joy she found in a recent gathering of high school friends. Now if they would only follow through and stay in touch.

A half hour later she heard, Izzy, there is a stretch limo pulling up out front. Are we expecting royalty?

Izzy laughed. No, Marie, just some air hostesses who pooled their dollars to arrive in style. You check them in, and I’ll pop these cinnamon buns in the oven and finish the buffet.

Dear Robins,

Oh, what fun! I’ve never participated in a round-robin before. I did fly a lot like a bird though. Ha. It takes some time to get used to being grounded and to redo my nest into a BnB. I may have to write you for advice as I go along, or maybe we can plan to meet and discuss the business as well as have some fun.

I think I read about a convention for BnB owners and operators and that might be something to consider down the road.

I have four air hostesses staying here now, and two are vegetarians. With me being a born-and-bred meat eater, it takes a bit to assemble a menu for them. So far since they are here for breakfast only, I am getting by with protein smoothies and bowls of fruit. For the other two, my handigirl and myself, I fix bacon and/or sausage and eggs (sometimes a breakfast casserole) and French toast with berries. We all are managing to get enough to eat.

I am putting together a booklet of places in this area to visit as many of these young women have never left home before. The experienced hostesses quite often just use their down time to rest or they hop a plane to a place they want to visit.

Good to hear your news and I am sending this on to Babs and I believe she then sends it back around to Lil. I hope I understand the flying pattern.

Milly, I agree we should write and mail this on in a timely fashion, and thank you for reminding us to do that. Hey Ditty, that’s pretty cool you let someone else figure out how much you weigh. I agree with your doctor. As long as your tests come back okay and he really is keeping an eye on you, he is probably enjoying your fluctuation too, hahaha.

Until the next flyby,

Izzy

"Gerald, please turn the radio down,