Free Harriet Beamer Strikes Gold by Joyce Magnin

of room and driving the BMW was like skating on butter—smooth. She took a deep breath, said a quick prayer, and took off down the street toward town. She thought about where she’d go and what she’d do. The new Grammy Suite was exciting, so maybe she would look at some paint chips as well as curtains. Maybe she’d stop at the furniture store she saw the last time she was in town. But first she needed to stop at the bank. That was the priority. Her thoughts were going fifty miles an hour when she slammed on the brakes. She almost ran a red light. Harriet stopped, and the car lurched a little, but at least she wasn’t in the middle of the intersection like last time. That’s what had made Henry so nervous since.
    The light turned green and off she went into the downtown area. The ride was pretty usual for a while, nothing too spectacular, except she did like seeing the mountains in the distance. But once you hit the shopping district, it brightened up into rows of stores and businesses with a decidedly Western theme. She pulled into the parking lot directly across the street from her bank on Church Street.
    “There now, that wasn’t so bad.”
    She grabbed her purse and got out of the car, making certain to lock it. Henry told her that locking it automatically set the car alarm. She stood there looking at the automobile as it emitted three short beeps indicating the alarm had been armed. “Car alarms. Geeze. In my day we just left the dog in the car … or the kid.”
    Harriet looked around. She especially enjoyed the more artsy fartsy places with local pottery and crafts. Maybe she would pick up something pretty for Prudence as a congratulations gift or something homey for her new suite. After all, according to the blueprints, she would have a fairly large sitting room. Of course, there was no kitchen, but that was okay, and the bedroom was a good size. Large enough for Martha—the next time she came. She crossed the street and headed into the bank. First things first. “Get it done,” she said. “Then forget it. It’s only money.”
    She approached the teller with the deposit slip Henry had given her. She couldn’t help but feel a little strange and wondered if the teller, a nice young man named Joseph, would be suspicious at all. Would he wonder why she was depositing so much money into her son’s account? Did she have to explain?
    “It’s not like there’s a rule or anything,” she said not meaning for her words to be heard. But when she set the deposit slip on the counter the words slipped with it.
    “Excuse me?” Joseph said.
    “Oh dear, I’m sorry, I was just thinking out loud.” He must think she was senile. And she didn’t want that.
    “I was just wondering about the deposit. If you’d be curious about why I was putting so much money into my son’s account.”
    Joseph continued tapping his keyboard. “No, that’s not my business. As long as you have the money.”
    “Oh, I do. You see, well, Henry, that’s my son, see his name is right there.” She was so nervous. “He’s building an addition onto his house. For me. And I’m the bank, so to speak.” Then she let go a nervous giggle that made her sound even more ridiculous.
    “That’s sweet,” Joseph said. “Sounds like you have a good boy there.”
    “Oh, I do.”
    Joseph pushed the deposit receipt toward her. “All done, sweetie. You have a nice day, now.”
    “Oh, oh, thank you.” Harriet took the small slip of paper. She looked it over. Her balance had dwindled considerably since she sold the house back east. “Oh well,” she said to Joseph. “You can’t take it with you.” She crammed the slip into her handbag and strolled out of the bank feeling both relieved and stupid. The air was fresh and had a little bit of an autumn snap to it.
    Harriet walked down the street and rounded the corner onto Neal Street and then down to Mill.
    Her first stop was to a baby boutique, where she couldn’t help herself and bought