Just after sunrise, Portia awakened to a low rumbling noise outside her window. When she got up and checked, a pair of ruby-throated hummingbirds hovered around the feeder.
“Phoebe! Look!”
Phoebe joined Portia at the window.
“Oh,” she said unenthusiastically.
“Aren’t they simply amazing?” said Portia.
“They’re just dumb birds,” replied her sister.
“They are not. They are one of the most magnificent machines on earth.”
Phoebe tapped a fingernail on the glass and the hummingbirds flitted away. Portia shot her an evil glare, but not before the birds quickly returned. They jetted from flower to flower, probing each one with their tiny beaks. Phoebe, who found it utterly boring, returned to bed. Portia, on the other hand, pulled a chair to the window and watched the hummingbirds intently.
She daydreamed while the birds drew nectar from each flower. She snapped out of her thoughts when she realized she had not checked on her brother.
She went downstairs, but Alex was not there. Mrs. Gatteau was passed out on the couch while Penny slept in her crib.
Portia headed upstairs to get her cellphone. The stairs creaked as she climbed them.
“Portia?” said mother, who was in a half-daze.
“Hmmm?”
“Where is your no-good brother?”
Portia shrugged.
“Quit covering for him. Phoebe told me you two were out together last night.”
“I don’t know where he is.”
Portia continued upstairs to her room. She was shocked Phoebe knew anything about her or her brother. She didn’t confront Phoebe, though. She did not have the time. Instead, she showered and changed and headed to the pet store. Today was her first day on her first job.
She texted Alex as she walked to the store: “Where R U?”. It was simple, but direct. The walk to the pet store was about ten minutes. It was enough time for a reply. One did not come. She crossed the empty parking lot to the back of the mall. Lights were on inside the pet store. Bill was inside, sitting behind the counter.
“Hello and Good morning!” greeted Bill as he unlocked the door for Portia and let her inside.
“It is indeed a good morning! I have to thank you for the flowers. I had two hummingbirds visit me this morning.”
“I told you they’d come. They’re all around us, but people just don’t take the time to notice.”
Bill led Portia to the cash register. A sky blue apron was spread across the counter. “Jack’s Aquarium and Pets” was embroidered across the top in bright gold letters. It also said “Portia” below the store name.
Portia stared at the apron for a moment. This was her first job uniform. A sense of pride welled within Portia.
“Put it on,” said Bill.
Portia glanced at the old man and then back at her apron. She threw it over her head and drew the ties around her waist. She tied a bow around her waist and combed her hands over the skirt of the apron.
“How does it look?”
“Just perfect,” said Bill, “Now let’s get to work.”
Bill walked her through the store, showing her where everything went. He then showed her how to use the cash register as well.
“It’s an old-time register, so it’s easy, really. You type in the amount and press the sales tax button. It’ll show you the total and you’ll tell the customer. You can type in the total and it’ll figure out the change, too.”
Portia nodded as he gave simple, but explicit directions for everything in the store, from making a sale to how to show guests around the store and how to present items on the counter. Bill’s way seemed to be the only way. Portia did not mind, though. She was excited about the chance to learn. She was so enthralled, she’d forgotten about her brother – until her phone beeped. It was a text message from Alex.
“Am fine. C U 2nt.”
“Short, but sweet,” she thought.
“No cell phones in my store,” said Bill.
“I’m sorry, it was my brother.”
“Sorry, Portia, call me old-fashioned if you want, but it doesn’t matter if it’s the President of the United States. No cell phones no matter what.”
“It won’t happen again.”
“Good.”
Portia nodded as she turned off her cell. She was already in trouble and she hadn’t even seen the first visitor. Meanwhile, Alex came into the clear as morning literally stretched out before him. He spent the night driving east and west along I-70 between home and the Army base.
It began in the middle of night. The long stretch of interstate was black, lit only by headlights and taillights driving east. Tall, hilly medians separated one flow of traffic from the other. Further into the night, it was only Alex and the semi truck he followed through the pass.
Reflector strips and signboards glared in the black of night, becoming almost fuzzy as Alex struggled to stay awake. He was glad to see the large green road sign for the Carlisle Barracks offramp. He veered to the right, away from the barracks, to an all-night diner. He pulled into the lot and turned off the car.
The diner was surprisingly busy for the lack of highway traffic. Alex was upset, because he wouldn’t be able to figure out who he was meeting him before that person spotted him.
Inside, there were a handful of soldiers. Alex asked the hostess directions to the restroom. She pointed the way and he headed through the back of the restaurant to an empty section. As he did, a man in fatigue pants and a plain black t-shirt followed.
“Alex?”
Alex nodded.
“I’m over there, at the end. Come sit across from me after you hit the head.”
The man returned to his seat as Alex went to the restroom. As he stood in front of the urinal, he was shaking slightly. He thought about leaving, but the man was between him and the door. He also thought about a back door, but that would draw too much attention. He needed the money and knew that breaking a promise to Ace would cost him plenty.
Alex went out and sat with the man.
“Where’s the stuff?”
“It’s in my car.”
“Go get it and come back inside.”
“Here? Now?”
The man nodded.
Alex fetched the package and smuggled it in beneath his coat. Alx placed it between him and the window as he sat down. The man motioned with a single finger. Alex looked around cautiously, surveying the diner.
“Just trust me and put it on the table.”
Alex did as told and the man grabbed the cheap steel knife from his place setting and thrust it into the belly of the package. White powder sifted out onto the table. The man tapped the knife in front of Alex.
“Take a taste.”
Alex had tasted cocaine before, but was reluctant to do so, especially out in the open like this. He hesitated for a moment. The man licked his own thumb and rolled it in the patch of white powder. It was wet and soggy.
“Confectioner’s powder,” said the man.
Alex sat there, a bit confused. Then, he realized what had just gone down. It made perfect sense now: the horrible hiding place in Ace’s attic for a kilo, the busy and open meeting place, and the trade right in the open. It was a dry run. There was no cocaine. This was just a test.
When Alex returned home, he met Ace. They went to the seclusion of ‘Ace’s office’ in the back bedroom.
“You don’t trust me?”
“Nah, I trust you, but business is business.”
Ace shelled out the money; two crisp 100 dollar bills.
“Thanks, but…”
‘You need more?”
Alex nodded.
“I don’t have any jobs I need done now. I do have friends who might need people.”
“I don’t want to del for anyone but you.”
“I’m not talking about dealing. I mean real jobs – on the level. What do you do?”
“I do heavy construction.”
“With that hand all torn up?”
“I can do about anything.”
“Can you even swing a hammer?”
Ace handed Alex a hammer. Alex used his left hand until Ace propped a pencil upright.
“Hit this.”
Alex missed the pencil on several tries. Finally, Ace pulled the pencil (and his own good hand) away.
“How about forklifts? I can operate forklifts.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Alex thanked Ace and headed home. Everything looked up until he arrived at home. His mother greeted him with enough trouble to offset all of his good fortune.
“You left your daughter here all night.”
“I know, but it was important…really important.”
“More important than my grand daughter? I don’t think so.”
“I was looking for a job.”
“Hah!” she grunted.
“I was.”
“You aren’t doing that to me again.”
“Alright.”
Alex took Penny downstairs, only to come up later in the afternoon.
“I just need one favor,” he begged.
“I’m not going to be your free babysitter.”
“Alright, I got you covered. Do you have change for a $100?”
Mrs. Gatteau looked Alex up and down. She knew Alex didn’t have any money – he hadn’t had money in over two weeks. He’d been borrowing money from Mr. Gatteau and Portia even before he went to the hospital.
“That’s some trick. Where did you get that?”
“Don’t worry about it, just give me change.”
“I don’t have change for that.”
“I’ll get you change after I go to the store.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I think you should watch Penny after all.”
Alex crumpled his dollar as he stuffed it back into his pocket. He went downstairs, spending the rest of the day at home. When Portia came home, Alex shared all the good news with Portia. She offered to babysit Penny while Alex went out. He returned late that night, but Portia stayed downstairs with him, going upstairs only to shower and change.
Portia worked Sunday, too. She’d already gotten the hang of things at work. By the time Monday rolled around, She was balancing her responsibilities at school, work, and home quite nicely.
Even with College Biology added to the mix, she was on top of her game. Luckily, that did not distract Phoebe. She attended both chorus class and the ensemble practice. Mr. Tanner brought Phoebe into his office after class to discuss an important matter.
“Phoebe, I know you had your heart set on this competition, but you have to understand, I’m doing this so we can win the competition.”
“I’m the best singer you’ve got.”
“I know, and that’s why I have a little surprise for you.”
‘Really?”
Phoebe was shocked to hear any good news from anyone at this point. She had been feeling like Pittsburgh’s little black sheep, the way things had been going. When Mr. Tanner gave her an envelope, she did not know what to expect. Six badges and lanyards fell out of the envelope. They said ‘Altoona Curve VIP’ across the badges.
“What are these?”
“A friend of mine works for the Pirates and they need people to sing the National Anthem at all their home games. I told him I had a few singers, so here you are.”
“But…”
“Just because you’re not right for competition doesn’t mean you’re not a great singer. In over 20 years, you’re the best I’ve ever had.”
The normally aloof Phoebe had never garnered this much attention from anyone before, She fanned the VIP passes in her hand. The plastic badges were in her hands – for her to sing the National Anthem in front of a big crowd. This was all hers, no sharing with Portia or Sophie or anyone in the world. She bit her lip as tears welled in her eyes.
“Mr. Tanner…”
“Okay, dear, here are some tissues. You talk to your parents about it and decide at which game you want to sing.
Phoebe was absolutely on cloud nine for the rest of the week. She didn’t mind at all that Portia was singing the solo, because she was singing the National Anthem for Pirates fans. She knew this was it. One day, she’d be singing on the big stage and the whole world would hear her, just as she always dreamed.
No comments:
Post a Comment