A look at the Cat Who series from Polly's eye

Think back to The first book where Polly and Qwill got together

A tall middled aged woman, of conservative dress and resolute demeanor stood at her clothes dryer and slowly and methodically hung up clothes. It was the first time she had been able to do the laundry since the white out from the Big One in which she lost power and ended up hosting an overnight guest. She had accepted a date from the new man in town, Jim Qwilleran. He had been paying her some attention for months and she felt he wanted to be just friends. But his invitations persisted. At first she felt flattered and then she wondered what a good looking, intelligent man with all the money in the world could ever see in her. She had very little money, having been widowed at an early age and eeking a living as a small town librarian for years. So she finally decided to invite him to her small country cottage, and see what he thought about her meager home. She picked a most inconvient night. The Big one hit, as the locals in her county called it and Jim Qwilleran's vehicle became stuck in a ditch. Being from down below, as the residents of Moose county called the lower 27 states, he was not prepared and walked on foot to her cottage. Thank goodness he found it. After he warmed up, she found the answer to her musings........he wanted a romance. She quessed she should have been shocked. she was not young and beautiful, she had not had a date in many years, but something about this seemed right. He seemed like an old friend she had known for years. Undoubtedly her sister in law, Lynette would not approve, but to her own amazement, she and Jim Qwilleran had spent the night together, snuggle deep under quilts and a down comforter, with the furnace out of commission, due to the storm knocking out the power. Polly put a hand to her mouth..........she smiled......she even grinned, here in the privacy of her own home she even bluhed.

And that is how it all began, Polly thought. Little old me, librarian from a small town in a rommance with a very pig-headed, cat loving, stick in the mud of a man. But I loved him so. He was so hard to take at times, with his obsession with crime and his rants, but I did love him. Polly Duncan, sat in her Parisian apartment, thousands of miles from the object of her musings. She was in Paris, living a life she would never have dared dream of a year ago. She had always loved to travel. She had been to London years ago, and now Paris. And she would get to stay here 2 years! She had to give up alot in the process, but the thought of one more year, one more month, one more day of the same old routine in Pickax made her crazy. She felt so free here. No one knew her, she could be anyone or anything she wanted. And the job she secured was so interesing and paid well enough for her to be comfortable. Her decision to stay, to store, sell and give away her things in Pickax and to leave Qwill behind had not been easy. But she did not regret it. She and Qwill had reached a standstill years ago. They had only gone through the motions lately, and he treated her like a comfortable old shoe.

She could not believe she felt he was selfish, but she did. He gave away his millions for the betterment of the county, but in his relationship with her, he was so selfish.
As long as she did what he was interested in, and never expected to do anything that interested her, he was happy. She came to the conclusion he would never marry her. As long as she had him over for a late night of intimacy on occasion and fulfilled his needs, he was happy. He never seemed to put her first. He did not even pick out her birthday gifts. She thought she would scream if she had to accept with a smile another gift picked out by Carol Lanspeak of Lanspeak's department store.

So she had made her decision. She had opted for freedom and a new life. She doubted he even missed her, once he got used to the idea.

But it was a bit sad. With all his money they could have traveled the world together. They could have done anything and gone anywhere. But he was content to stay in that small town, doing the same thing every year, every season, day after day.

She had tried everthing she could think of to appease his selfish nature. She got cats to please him. She changed the name of her cat for him. She changed her manner of dress. She moved her home, she gave up on building her house. She looked the other way when he wanted to dine with other woman. She changed jobs, she learned to like Mildred Riker, with her silly tarrot cards and superstitions for him. She stopped bird watching, she pretended to like books he liked. Nothing worked. He was just to set in his ways. He would never marry her she thought again.

And that cat. He was such a snob about koko, thinking his cat was better than anyone elses! What nerve!

She knew if she took this job in Paris he would not come after her. He might have to leave his precious Moose county and miss solving a crime! He was always so negative, trying to turn everything into a murder! What was wrong with him!!!

She preferred to be a positive thinker and look for good in things.

Here in Paris, her boss, an attractive silver haired man in his 60s had expressed interest in taking her to dinner. She liked his courtly manners, and he seemed to share her positive outlook. He even loved Shakespere and was a bird watcher. He was an American who had lived in Paris for 15 years.

She knew that giving her cats away and selling Duncan family antiques would be hard for some people to understand. But she felt that when this job was over, she would go live near her sister in Ohio, or perhaps somewhere else. She might even decide to stay in Paris. She could never go back to Pickax and watch Qwill from a distance, muddle through is life, living for murders, the cats, and that silly little column he wrote. He was so proud of that column, when he could have written any number of books.

She gave a big sigh and thought once again she had made the right decision.

Oh you liked it? I reread it and thought it might be a bit severe. At this stage in my life I can understand her way of thinking. If Qwill had been her own, her husband, if he had committed to her long ago, then the routine of his life, his hobbies that were different from hers could have been more tolerated. But he wanted his cake and eat it to. She felt she had given and given and he was just simply never going to marry her. No matter what she said, I know she wanted marriage. Thank you so much for seeing merit in this. I still think it sounds pretty severe. Praline

You have given me some encouragment to continue Joyce. I think I will make the chapeter continue with the origianl first thought of her standing at the dryer folding clothes. I will put her in Paris thinking back about whent he mansion burned in Shakespere and he clung to her for support that night at the carriage house apt.

I must stop dwelling on this she thought. But it did help to think it through. She needed to assure herself she had made the right decision. If only he had come after me in Paris. But he didn't so tht is the assurance I made the correct decision. They had had many arguments and down right fights over the years. She had backed away quite often in the beginning, sensing how different they were. She backed away when he joined the theater club and began spending day and night with the actresses there. But they got back together. She backed away when he told her to rename her cat. He was such a bully and so insensitive sometimes! But they always got back together. She was so furious with him when he tried to say Irma Hasselrich's death had been murder. But they still patched up their differneces. She thought, all the times I forgave him and took him back. She was jerked from her musing by the telephone. It was late at night and she wondered who would be calling this late. It was Joe Bunker, her neighbor from Moose county. He told her that Qwill's barn had burned. She put down the phone after thanking him for calling and sat down rather quickly in a chair. She put her hand over her mouth and trembled. Oh Qwill, your barn.........you loved it so. She thought about

Polly's life moved quickly in Paris. She met many new people and began a close friendship with her American boss that developed at a fast pace. He seemed to always want her near him, at work, and after work. Drives through the countryside and bird watching on the weekends with overnights at small inns became a favorite of hers. At first, after receiving Joe Bunker's call she thought about calling Qwill and twice she almost broke down and wrote him a letter to express her condolences over the barn. But she didnt, and as one season gave way to another, she thought of Qwill less and Paul Stanhope, her boss and new friend more often. He offered her companionship, and a new life. He was easy going and kind. And one day, 8 months into their intimate relationship, he proposed. She took a weekend to think it over and after making a list of pros and cons she agreed. They were married at one of the country inns they had grown to love, one early fall day, as the crysanthiums were a riot of color and the weather was just cooling. They decided to honeymoon in America, and as they came to the end of a whirlwind tour of famous sites in a variety of states, Paul asked her to show him Pickax, the place where she had spent so many years. Okay, with Anne's Permission, may I join our two stories and this is were he see Polly and her new husband on the town square that Sunday morning? Anne what do you think???

Anne, although this would be a nice way to tie all loose ends together, I think the the resolution might be too pat. Also, Praline has written such a touching story about Polly, I would hate to see her become the unwitting butt of a sordid scheme. With her already married, Qwill and Polly have to find some way to work things out the way they are--a more LJB type of theme--rather than let the resolution fall into their laps. As much as I hated to see them split up, I don't really see an easy way for them to mend the fence. That being said, Praline, Anne, it's your story, so go with what you agree on.

continuing from Polly's point of view...

The next day, Polly was at work, and during a lull could not help her mind drifting to Qwill and the news of the burned barn. She remembered back years ago when she told Qwill about her first husband being killed in a barn fire. It was not much later that the mansion burned. The night of the concert at the Old Stone Church. Polly detested fires. They had played such a role in her life. Qwill seemed to recover so quickly after the mansion burned. He was one that could bounce back, she mused. And then he had gotten so very involved with the theater club. Thank goodness he had quickly gotten that out of his system, or they might have never developed their relationship. Such a lovely time, eating at the Old Stone Mill once a week, listening to music or reading on Sunday afternoons, he even had her sit for a portrait that he hung in his room at the barn. Well she said outloud, to herself, I am sure that burned with the barn.

I love this story and I wish you would take it a little further and tell how she finally married her boss and as Anne posted, had a return trip to Pickax the show him where she lived for so many years.

...........She remembered the panic she felt when Qwill had been in Moose County for 5 years and he had fulfilled the rules of the Aunt Fanny's will. He has almost immediately left Moose County for a vacation. And he did not invite her. He could have so easily turned to her and said, let's get away and think things over. No, he took off by himself. Unbelievable. It was hard for her to hold her face up around Pickax while he was gone. She could hear the snickers and mutterings from the gossips. Well he up and left her high and dry as soon as he got the money. Bet she feels like a fool, now. And worse, Qwill had not given a moments thought how it would look for her. She had secretly hoped he would be miserable in the potato mountains. The Potato Mountains she groamed..........he could have gone to Monte Carlo!!!!!! Oh Qwill she moaned..............You had the strangest ideas!