A Very Wanton Christmas

Carolyn pulled James out the front door of McKeels Bed and Breakfast. Her gleeful laugh bought mirth to James heart, but he wished she would have given him time to put the toboggan cap on his head. He had never worn a stocking on his head before, but it was an early Christmas gift from Carolyn, and he had also been blessed with a matching scarf and mittens.  Homemade gifts had never been part of his family’s Christmas traditions. 

She dropped onto her back, right there in the front yard. Before his eyes, she started moving her arms and legs up and down as if she were doing jumping jacks on her back. After a couple of seconds he could see that she wasn’t having a medical episode and he reached down to help her up.

“A snow angel.” She flipped her hand over and pointed it toward the impression on the ground. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She is.” His dimples deepened as he gazed at her chilled face. He loved the rosy cheeks and red nose caused by the cold air.

“You make one.” She tried to pull him to the ground.

“No way. One angel is plenty.” He hugged her close. “Do you always get this much snow?”

“We do and more.”

“More?”

The scene looked like a Currier and Ives painting. A young couple standing in front of a Victorian-style house with a nice-sized, fully decorated Pine tree out front. The snow broken only by the couple, the snow angel and the red berries of a Holly bush. A red cardinal flew overhead and landed in the Evergreen tree. All the scene needed was a globe overtop.

Wanton, West Virginia is beautiful and serene on the surface, but along with the magnificentness rages discord and ugliness. You will see the full range of ups and downs in the novel “Stamp Out Murder” and coming next year “Cancel Out Murder”.

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Fourth of July in Wanton, WV

Fireworks, a parade and lots of excitement surrounds the Fourth of July in Wanton, WV. There's even a Dilly-Dunker where it's a tradition for Mayor Harold Benson to get dunked. The townspeople have been trying for years to get the sheriff to volunteer too, but he says, "No way."

Mayor Benson, one of the biggest men in Wanton, smiles broadly as he sits on the little padded seat. People are lined up to get a shot at seeing him fall and hearing the song, "Splish-splash" play each time the target is hit. He's there early to allow the people to have some fun, but he has to leave around lunch time to get ready for the one o'clock parade. Never fear, he'll return to the Dilly-Dunker right after he finishes the parade, kissing some babies, and judging the pie baking contest.   

Aunt Linda always wins the pie baking contest, but no one minds because she makes plenty of extras to sell. Linda leaves McKeel's Bed and Breakfast long enough to watch the parade, win the Blue Ribbon for her apple-rhubarb pie and to take a couple turns at dunking the mayor.

The local gossip is all about Aunt Linda and Mayor Benson. Have they rekindled their the love affair of their youth? You'd think with so much going on in this small town for the 4th of July there wouldn't be time to gossip. 

Hearts on Fire

Love is in the air and in West Virginia the groundhog did not see his shadow, so an early spring is expected. This is good news for James and Carolyn, because they love to walk along the Cheat River and it's been way too muddy. While waiting for the mud to dry up, the couple needs to find another way to entertain themselves.

James and Carolyn (like any new lovers) want to spend some time alone.

Carolyn has never been to an auction. James is very excited. Usually it's her that introduces him to new adventures, this time it will be him. Auctions may not be the best place to buy antiques, but sometimes there comes along a great value and maybe even something hidden within something else. Such as a valuable painting under a cheaper print. Once James' mom had bid pretty high for a frame she wanted and she got the bid. The print was a dark, slightly damaged picture of an old barn with a wagon sitting in front of it. Under that print was a sketch by Grant Wood.

A  very good reproduction of a William and Mary Antique end table was up for auction. It was a very dark wood. It was a little over two foot high by almost the same width. The auctioneer suggested  perhaps it could be used to hold cocktail supplies, in a spare room or even at a summer cabin. William and Mary style furniture was known for the dovetail design and for the lightness to the pieces. With this type of carving and construction the furniture was made in a slimmer, sleeker style than ever before. It started out at twelve.

Carolyn raised her hand. The auctioneer nodded, stated he had twelve and went on with twelve-fifty. The auctioneer continued barking. He yelled fourteen, do I hear fourteen-fifty. The crowd was electric, the auctioneer was excited and James felt a little worried. It was a nice piece of furniture, but it was getting into pretty high numbers. He hadn't known Carolyn that long, but he couldn't see her spending that much on an end table, no matter how nice the piece of furniture appeared to be. He leaned close to her and whispered, "Do you think that table is worth Fifteen Hundred Dollars."

She pulled her arm in close to her body and her voice squeaked, "Fifteen hundred?"

After they left the auction empty handed, James suggested they grab a bite to eat. They entered the little diner, seated themselves and snuggled together in the back booth. The waitress seemed hesitant to interrupt them to ask if they'd like to order something to drink. James never mentioned the auction and neither did Carolyn.

Read more about James and Carolyn in
Stamp Out Murder 

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