Archie of Outlandish

by Lynnette Kraft

  To the one celebrating, a smile says—

  Congratulations!

  To the fearful, a smile says—

  Have courage.

  To the traveler, a smile says—

  Bon voyage!

  To the worried, a smile says—

  Be comforted.

  To the adventurer, a smile says—

  You’re brave.

  To the weary, a smile says—

  Rest yourself.

  When someone smiles,

  the world begins to change.

  When you smile,

  you change the world.

  Archie shut the book and put it face-up on the table. He sat quietly for a moment not quite knowing what to say. Felicity surprised him by hugging his arm and saying, “Thank you, Mr. Archibald.”

  Archie patted her on the head. “You’re quite welcome. And how did you like the story?”

  “I liked it,” she said, smiling widely.

  Archie chuckled. “Yes, so did I. Shall we change the world then?”

  Felicity nodded excitedly, scooted off of her chair, and happily ran off.

  “Wait, where are you going?” Archie called after her.

  Felicity turned and said, “To see Great Grammie.”

  Archie watched her run to Mrs. Pinkers who was now putting books on the shelf. Raising his hands in the air he said quietly, “Now how did I miss that?”

  Mrs. Pinkers hugged her great-granddaughter and said, “How did you like the story, sweetie?”

  “I liked it a lot, Great Grammie.”

  “Oh, good! Now why don’t you go to the back and eat that snack we brought for you?”

  Felicity waved at Archie. “Bye, Mr. Archibald!”

  Archie waved back and smiled. Mrs. Pinkers walked over to Archie and sat down. Mrs. Pinkers winked at Archie with her wrinkled eyes. “It seems you’ve won a little girl’s heart . . . Mr. Archibald.”

  Archie dropped his head and put his hands up. “What can I say?”

  “And what did you think of the story, Archibald? Are you as impressed with it as I am?”

  Archie smiled and said, “Yes. Yes, I liked it. The illustrations were done beautifully and the story was . . . well, clever . . . and even, inspiring.”

  “I thought so, too!” said Mrs. Pinkers.

  Archie’s smile grew.

  Mrs. Pinkers asked, “What?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing,” Archie said, trying to put his smile aside.

  “You know I’m a good listener,” said Mrs. Pinkers.

  “Yes, well, it’s just I had a little revelation, that’s all.”

  “From the smile on your face, it appears it was a good one.”

  Archie laughed through his nose. “Yes, it was a good one.”

  Archie looked fondly at Mrs. Pinkers. “Thank you, Mrs. Pinkers.”

  “For what, Archibald?”

  “For being an inspiration all these years.”

  Mrs. Pinkers patted Archie’s arm. “Well, I’m not sure how I did it, but . . . you’re welcome.”

  Archie folded up his papers, so Mrs. Pinkers asked, “Leaving so soon?”

  “Yes, I just realized there’s something I need to take care of.”

  When Archie lifted his umbrella out of its stand, Mrs. Pinkers stood and said, “I suppose I better get back to work. Will you tell your parents hello for me?”

  “I certainly will,” was Archie’s answer.

  “Children’s stories,” Archie announced to his parents almost as soon as he walked in the front door. “I think God wants me to write for children.”

  Albert walked up to Archie. “Did you see your poster, Son?”

  It only took Archie a moment to realize what his father was asking. He smiled and with a nod, answered, “Yes, Father. I saw my poster.”

  11

  Annella was shopping at the market when she saw Tallie walk through the door.

  “Tallie! What are you doing here?” Annella hollered while walking over to her with a bundle of scallions in her hand. “Archie didn’t tell me you were coming.”

  Tallie gave Annella a hug then stepped back. “Oh, well, he didn’t know. It was last minute. I didn’t have time to write to him.”

  Annella smiled. “Well, he’ll be delighted to see you again. It’s been a few months now, hasn’t it?”

  “Yes, it has,” said Tallie. “We’ve written a little, but I’ve been so busy with Ms. Perrelli I haven’t had a lot of time to write. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m not really a great writer.”

  “Is Ms. Perrelli here with you then?”

  “No, not this time. Actually, I just needed a few days away, and Outlandish seemed the perfect place to run away to. I really love it here.”

  Annella played with the tops of her scallions. “Shall I tell Archie you’re here? I’m going straight home after I check out.”

  Tallie blushed. “Oh, well, I guess you could tell him I’m here. I mean, I don’t want to bother him if he’s busy.”

  Annella rolled her eyes and chuckled. “I’m certain he isn’t too busy to see you.”

  Tallie looked relieved.

  “I’m working tonight and Albert is out of town, so Archie will be eating at the restaurant. Why don’t you surprise him?”

  Tallie looked a little uncertain. “Do you think I should?”

  “I do,” Annella said with a playful expression.

  “Well, okay,” Tallie answered. “That does sound kind of fun. I’m just grabbing a few things for my stay. I’ll pop by the restaurant later. What time do you think he’ll be there?”

  “He’s usually there by six.”

  Annella grabbed Tallie’s hand and squeezed it. “He’ll be so happy to see you, dear.”

  Tallie waited until six-fifteen just to be sure Archie would already be there. She hadn’t felt so nervous in a long time. When she walked in, she saw a band setting up by the dance floor, she also saw Archie at his table with his head down and a book open in front of him. Her heart began to race at the sight of him. She stood for a moment trying to decide how to approach him. Would she say something clever or just walk over and say “Hi”? While she was trying to decide, the hostess said, “One for dinner tonight?”

  “Oh, no,” Tallie said. “Um, I’m here to see Archibald.”

  The lady pointed to him. “He’s at his table.”

  “Yes, I see that,” said Tallie. “I’ll just go on over. Thank you.”

  The hostess smiled and turned back to her guest book.

  Tallie was out of time for coming up with anything clever to say, so she just cleared her mind and decided she’d say whatever came out in the moment . . . which ended up being, “Is this seat taken?”

  Archie knew her voice immediately and turned to see her. “Tallie!”

  It wasn’t like Archie to show excitement quite like he did in that moment, but he was so surprised to see Tallie that it happened before he could stop it. He stood up and rather than taking time to open his umbrella to go to her, he put his hand out to her. When she took his hand, he pulled her into a hug.

  Stepping back, she smiled and said, “I was so nervous about just popping in on you like this, but your mother suggested I surprise you.”

  “My mother?”

  “Yes, I ran into her at the market today.”

  “Did she know you were coming?”

  “No, no. I really did just run into her. She was as surprised as you are. I was going to write to you first, but I didn’t want to have to wait for your response. I was just so ready to get away . . . like yesterday.”

  Archie motioned for Tallie to sit down. “Why did you need to get away? Is everything all right?”

  “Oh yeah. Everything’s fine. Gemma can just get a little controlling, you
know? I mean, I’m thankful for her help. Don’t get me wrong.”

  “On a first name basis now?”

  Tallie didn’t understand. “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Well, I’ve never heard you call her Gemma. It’s always been Gemma Perrelli or Ms. Perrelli. And she was stubborn with me about it as well.”

  “You know, you’re right! Come to think of it, there was a point where she started letting me get away with it, but I honestly can’t tell you when, and I didn’t even realize I was calling her by her first name. I guess I’ve been too stressed out to notice.”

  “She does like to call the shots, doesn’t she?” Archie said sympathetically.

  “Yes! She does.”

  “But you’re okay?” Archie asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “That’s good,” Archie said through a sigh.

  They were both quiet for a moment, then Tallie bit her lip and dropped her shoulders. “Um, speaking of Gemma,” she said with hesitation. “I want to apologize for the photograph she sold . . . the one of us.”

  “You don’t need to apologize,” he said. “It wasn’t you who sold the photograph.”

  “It might as well have been,” she answered.

  “What do you mean?”

  Tallie bit her lip again and thought about changing the subject, but then she felt her face and neck grow warm and knew her bright red splotches would be a dead giveaway to her secret.

  “I’m so sorry, Archibald. Gemma did ask me if she could sell it.”

  Squinting her eyes and turning her face away as if expecting to be rebuked, Tallie added, “She even asked me . . . to ask you.”

  Archie didn’t yet understand the full meaning of her words, but he could tell Tallie had more to say so he waited quietly.

  Tallie look down at the table. “See, I knew what your answer would be. I knew it would upset you that she took the picture in the first place, so . . . I didn’t ask you, and later I told her we didn’t mind.”

  Archie was still confused. “Did I do something to offend you, Tallie?”

  “No, no, no. I don’t mean I wanted to upset you. What I wanted was for you to see the photograph in the paper.

  “I’ve seen your dad reading the Pacific Coast Buzz, so I knew there was a good chance you would see it.”

  “I guess I’m missing something. I don’t understand,” Archie said, narrowing his eyes.

  Tallie sighed. “See, I liked the photograph and I thought if you saw us together, you would remember our time together. I wasn’t sure I’d see you again so soon, and I . . . well anyway, I am sorry. I know it doesn’t make any sense.”

  Archie wasn’t offended, but he was bewildered by her confession and was still trying to solve the puzzle in his head.

  “Well, shall we have dinner?”

  Tallie examined him, trying to decide if he was upset or not. She couldn’t tell, so she asked. “You’re not upset with me?”

  “I don’t believe so,” he said, putting his chin between his thumb and forefinger.

  Tallie found his response to her confession terribly funny. She smiled and tried to hold back the laughter, but it didn’t work. Before she knew it she was laughing.

  Archie laughed, too, but only because Tallie was laughing.

  Tallie forced herself to stop and said as seriously as she could, “I would love to . . . have dinner with you, that is.”

  While they were looking through the menu, the band began to play. Tallie found herself moving to the music and said, “I’m loving this music! What is it?”

  “It sounds like a sort of bossa nova.”

  “What’s a bossa nova?” asked Tallie.

  “Hm. Well, technically speaking, it’s Brazilian jazz . . .”

  “How would you even know that?” she asked.

  “Well, I’m not certain, but I think it is. This might be a variation of it, but it does sound similar.”

  “Are you a musician or do you just happen to know everything?”

  “Mostly I just like to learn, and that must be one of the things I learned. And yes, I do play piano and play at a few other instruments.”

  “A few other? Sheesh.” Pointing at the band, she said, “Can you play one of those? That is one massive cello!”

  It was Archie’s turn to suppress a laugh. “It’s actually called a bass.”

  “Really? What’s the difference?”

  “I’m sure there are many differences between the two that I couldn’t explain, but at a glance, the bass is much larger. Also, cellos are played while sitting down and placing the instrument between the legs, and a bass is played while standing. That’s the standard method.”

  Tallie giggled. “As you can tell, I’ve never known much about music, although I did learn to play the recorder in the fifth grade.”

  Archie raised his eyebrows. “Well, I’d say that makes you know more than at least some.”

  “I suppose,” Tallie said, shrugging. She then surprised Archie by saying, “I do know a little about dancing, and this is some pretty great dancing music. You’ll dance with me, won’t you?”

  “Noooo . . . but thank you,” Archie answered. “As delighted as I am to see you, I just—”

  Tallie interrupted. “Hey, I thought you said you could dance.”

  “I can, and I’m quite good, too, but if you remember, I said I danced in my living room . . . with my mother.”

  “You’ve never danced here at the restaurant?” Tallie asked.

  Archie shook his head.

  She prepared her next question in hopes of appealing to his competitive side. “Well, I’ll admit, I was surprised when you said you could dance. It just didn’t seem like something you would enjoy.”

  Archie shook his head. “I know what you’re doing.”

  “That didn’t make you want to change your mind?”

  “Not in the least.”

  “Come on, don’t you feel at least a little persuaded to show me your dancing skills?”

  Archie shook his head and made it clear he wasn’t even considering it.

  “I don’t believe you really can. I think you should prove it to me.”

  Archie only looked at her in disbelief.

  “Is it your umbrella? Nobody’s on the floor. We wouldn’t bother anyone.”

  “No, Tallie, it’s not my umbrella. It’s my nerves. I’m simply too—”

  “Afraaaaid?” Tallie asked.

  “I guess I’m a little afraid.”

  Tallie finally surrendered. “Oh, I missed you, Archibald Plumby.”

  Archie changed the subject. “I really appreciate that you are willing to call me Archibald. I wonder why people are so uncomfortable with it. I always introduce myself as Archibald but inevitably I become Archie.”

  “It’s weird,” said Tallie. “I wonder why?”

  “I’ve never been able to figure it out. Is it very hard to say?”

  Tallie said it carefully, “Arch-ibald. Ar-chi-bald. No. It’s actually really easy to say.”

  Archie laughed. “Maybe it’s just a little too formal sounding for most people.”

  “What is your middle name?” Tallie asked him.

  “Benjiro.”

  “Benjiro? I’ve never heard that before. What does it mean?”

  “Peaceful.”

  “Oh, that fits you perfectly! What about the name Archibald?”

  “Bold and truthful,” he said, lifting his chin and showing a look of mock pride.

  “Wow. Your parents did good,” said Tallie.

  “Well, I think so,” he said with a chuckle.

  “What about your name?” he asked.

  “Oh, are you ready for this?” asked Tallie.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Well. Tallie’s
short for, Tallulah. I’ll bet you’ve never heard that one.”

  Archie replied fondly, “No, I haven’t, but it’s a beautiful name. Have you ever learned its meaning?”

  “I’m not sure,” she answered. “I think I remember my mom telling me it means ‘leaping water’ or something like that,” she said with a laugh. “My mom’s adoptive family was Native American. Tallulah was my mom’s only sister who died when they were kids. She said they were super close. Anyway, almost everyone pronounced my name wrong, so I decided to start going by Tallie when I was pretty young.”

  “That makes sense. And Tallie suits you. What about your middle name?”

  “I don’t have a middle name. I mean, I do, but it’s only a letter.”

  “A letter?” questioned Archie.

  “I know, that’s weird, isn’t it? My mom was a little eccentric.”

  “I don’t think it’s weird. But which letter?”

  “Z,” Tallie answered. “Tallulah Z. Greenleaf.”

  “So, Tallulah Z., shall we order our dinner?”

  “Well, Mr. Archibald Benjiro, what do you recommend?”

  “I recommend it all. My mother is the chef, after all, and I can promise you, everything is delicious. Why don’t you look through the menu and see what sounds good to you?”

  “Okay,” she said, taking the menu from Archie.

  Archie subtly admired Tallie while her attention was on the menu. He still couldn’t believe she had come. When she looked up from the menu he quickly turned his head to make it appear he was looking at something else. She could tell he had been watching her, and so he wouldn’t feel awkward she said quickly, “I’ve never liked fish much, but I’ve been told it’s because I’ve never had good fish. So if I were going to try some, what would you recommend?”

  “Have you ever eaten shrimp?” he asked.

  “Only fried. I don’t dislike it as much as most fish.”

  “Grilled shrimp is delicious and pretty mild. You could try that. Or you could try the fish tacos. Mother uses haddock, which is also a pleasant flavor. She serves the tacos with cabbage, lime, avocado, and cilantro. They’re one of my favorites.”

  “I’ll have that!” said Tallie.

  Archie raised his hand to the waiter. When he walked up he said, “Hey Arch, my man. What’s up?”

  “Hey, Taft, we’re ready to order if you’re ready.”