It had once been said to “Beware the Ides of March, for that will be your day of reckoning.” Even with six weeks left until the Philadelphia trip, Portia and Phoebe were already getting things in order. Their days of reckoning, however, were only being sown today. The reaping would come later.
Phoebe had already packed and unpacked and repacked her bags again. She had been scouring the Internet for places to shop and things to do in Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. Gatteau had promised $250 for each girl’s spending money. Mr. Gatteau dipped into his retirement money to provide it, but he always lived by the motto ‘You Can’t Take It With You’.
For Phoebe, $200 was not nearly enough.
She made calls – the first to Teddy Riley.
“Hey you…’ she said coyly.
‘Phoebe?”
“Of course it’s me, silly. What are you doing tonight?”
“Uh…nothing, really.” Teddy should’ve known better, but the mere fact Phoebe was not only paying attention to him, but also called him without him calling first was almost more than he could stand. This is the same guy who went out of his way to cross paths with Phoebe between classes – even if it meant crossing the open courtyard between the math, music, and English buildings in the dead of Pennsylvania winter.
“Would you like to take me out for dinner?”
“Sure…yeah,” he said excitedly, “How long do you need to get ready?”
“I’m ready now.”
“Okay, I’ll be over in about 10 minutes.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Teddy actually arrived at Phoebe’s house within 5 minutes – just enough time to start the car and drive between his and her house – not including streetlights and stop signs. Today’s trip to her house must’ve set a world record.
“Hello?” he called through the screen door.
“I didn’t know you’d come so quickly,” Phoebe called from the top of the stairs, “Sit on the couch. I just stepped out of the shower.”
Phoebe dried her hair without styling it and then dressed without taking time to check herself in the mirror.
“Wow! You look fantastic!”
“Thank you, dear Teddy.”
Phoebe wore a black and white one-piece cotton-Lycra dress. It hugged her body. Nearly nothing was left for the imagination. She also wore a stylish white ball cap with a ponytail sticking out the back. She looked both sporty and sexy at once.
“What are you in the mood for?” she asked.
“Anything at all.”
“I know this place on the riverfront,” said Phoebe.
Phoebe gave directions, cutting through the streets of downtown. They arrived at the front door just before closing time, greeted by the valet. Not quite sure what to do, Teddy began to park his car. The valet chased him down and parked the car.
Phoebe tucked her arm under Teddy’s as they went through the front door. The tiny Italian restaurant was more like a bistro: five tables for 2 and a row of four small booths. Dimly lit, it could’ve easily hidden small bugs and varmints running along the baseboards.
The clientele was mostly old businessmen and middle-aged couples. Phoebe’s cotton-Lycra tennis dress attracted the attention of all these old geezers, many of whom leered at the teenage girl, remembering glory days – days long gone. Phoebe winked at one or two, but held on tightly to Teddy’s arm. He felt every eye in the place. His breath sputtered as he tried remaining calm.
In a sense, Pittsburgh suffered the same woes as the middle-aged businessman sitting along the aisle: unsure of how it got there and more uncertain of where it was going.
Phoebe, however, had a crude treasure map. It began with Teddy Riley.
“You know I’m going to Philadelphia soon, right?”
“Are you excited?”
“Yes and no. I don’t have any money for my trip.”
“I could loan you some money, you know.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have any way of paying you back.”
“It’s no big deal,” said Teddy.
“I know, but…”
“No strings attached…”
“Thank you so much, Teddy.”
She leaned into him and planted a big waxy red kiss on his cheek. She dug a tissue out of her purse and dabbed it with spit. She wiped away the kiss-smudge and then went about ordering appetizers, steak, and a small salad.
“We can go to the ATM anytime and I’ll get you a couple hundred dollars.”
“I think I’ll need $400 to get through the weekend.”
“Four hundred?”
“When will I get the chance to be in Philadelphia again?”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Teddy paid for the restaurant bill at the end of dinner. He also made the trip to the ATM. He withdrew $400, just as he promised. Phoebe folded the four clean, crisp $100 bills and tucked them neatly under her bra.
Teddy took Phoebe home, but she stopped him along the way. Her hand dug deeply into his pocket. She rubbed gently as she kissed Teddy’s neck.
“Come on, Phoebe, I’m trying to drive.”
“Alright then,” she said plainly as she sat upright in her seat.
Teddy exhaled sharply. Phoebe turned her head towards Teddy. He glanced sideways at her before returning his attention to the road ahead. He pulled into her driveway. Phoebe got out of the car and leaned over towards Teddy. She kissed him hard once again, right on the lips.
“Ciao.”
Teddy watched her skip the whole way to the door. She waved and he left, somewhat frazzled and completely confused.
Portia, on the other hand, was not on the prowl for boys. She had Marcus. She was trying to figure out how she could get her college money.
While Phoebe was out seducing Teddy, Portia was alone in her room. A single reading light leaned over the edge of the vanity. Portia grabbed the bookmark and marked her place.
She reached up and plucked her cellphone from its normal place. She dialed a number and waited. It went to voicemail.
“This is Dr. Ulrich’s office. Our normal hours of operation are nine-to-five with a one-hour lunch from twelve to one. If you have called during off hours, please leave a message. If this is an emergency, please press “1”. Dr. Ulrich will be paged immediately.”
“Yes…um,” Portia cleared her throat, “This is Portia Gatteau. I recently applied for the receptionist position and was checking back to see what the progress was. Please call me back and let me know.”
Portia hung up the phone.
“Oh crap! I forgot to leave my number.”
She dialed the number again, but got a busy signal. She dialed again, leaving a short message – along with her phone number. It all sounded so jumbled. She wished she could do it all over again. Afterwards, she went back to her Biology book, studying it until she fell asleep.
The next morning was Saturday. Surely, a Veterinary office will be open on Saturday, she thought. Portia redialed Dr. Ulrich’s phone number. It went directly to voicemail. Portia hung up.
‘Maybe not.”
She showered and dressed and went downstairs. There was no cereal in the pantry. There was no milk in the fridge. Portia decided to go to the convenience store down the street. On her way, she passed an old pet store: “Jack’s Aquarium and Pets.”
She went inside.
An old man stood behind the cash register. His nametag said Bill.
“Hello. What brings you to my store?”
“Your store? Where’s Jack?”
“There is no Jack. It was Jack’s when I bought it and I liked the name, so I kept it as is.”
Portia nodded.
“Do you have any Ruby-throated Hummingbirds?”
“Heavens no! But, I do have Hummingbird Feeders.”
He led her to the back of the store and pulled a box from the shelf. It was old and dusty. He carried it to the register for Portia.
“Do you have birdseed?”
“You don’t use birdseed for hummingbirds. You use sugar water, or simple syrup. The best thing about that is you can make that yourself at home.”
“I’ll take it.”
Bill wiped the dirt from the box while Portia dug out money to pay. She carried the big, clunky box the whole way home.
“What’s that?” asked her mother.
“It’s a hummingbird feeder.”
“Oh my God! There are no hummingbirds in Pennsylvania!” exclaimed her sister.
“The guy at the pet store said there were.”
“I’m sure he just wanted to make a sale.”
Portia did not tell anyone about the fact that the box was covered in a fine dust. Nor did she tell them it had been marked at half-off the original price. She just went upstairs and put her hummingbird feeder together and filled the reservoir with syrup, mixing water and sugar just as the directions stated.
“Do you need help?” asked her father.
“I don’t know where to put it.”
“Let’s tack it up next to your window.”
Mr. Gatteau fetched a piece of wire and tied it into a big loop. He attached one end to the roof and the other around the hook on the feeder.
“There you go. You’ll have hummingbirds in no time at all.”
Portia nodded.
“I hope so.”
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