Mango Lucky

by Bill Myers

  Anna reached over and touched my arm, "Walker, that was just girl talk. Nothing for you to worry about.

  "And just in case you wondered, Frances Ford thinks you're a hottie. Says if she were a few years younger, she might have tried to hook up with you."

  I laughed, "She said that? Hook up? What's the world coming to?"

  Anna laughed, "Frances was really happy about what you did for her. Finding that ring is something she won't forget.

  "And look what you did for Walt. You found his beloved Jake. That means you did at least two good deeds today."

  I nodded, and then said, "You helped. Don't forget that. Frances Ford was about to shoot me until I mentioned your name. You're like a celebrity to her.

  "Do you get that reaction a lot?"

  Anna nodded, "Sometimes it works out that way. Sometimes not. Personally I'd prefer people just forget about the whole thing."

  We rode in silence for a few moments, then I asked, "Where are we going? The campground is the other way."

  "Yeah, I know. I just thought that since it was so late, you might want to grab lunch at the Vero Island Deli. "

  I nodded, "Sounds good to me."

  66

  It was after two when we arrived at the Deli. There wasn't a crowd, so we didn't have to wait. Anna ordered our sandwiches to go and I paid.

  Ten minutes later, our order was ready and Anna drove us to the nearby Jaycee Park where we found a table under the trees.

  As we ate our sandwiches, Anna said, "You mentioned earlier that you planned to leave on Saturday. Maybe even Friday. Has that changed?"

  "No, I'm still thinking about leaving Saturday morning. How about you? When are you planning on leaving?"

  "Probably Saturday morning. But it depends on when you leave."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, if you leave tomorrow, I'll probably pack up and go too. We've already found treasure, and with the weekend crowds, I'm not sure I want to be out on the beach alone."

  I nodded.

  "But if you're staying until Saturday, I'll stay as well. We could spend Friday doing something together."

  "Sounds good to me. As long as you don't make me plant more tomatoes or rescue more cars, people, or dogs."

  Anna smiled, "I promise there'll be none of that. We'll do something fun."

  After we finished our lunch, Anna asked if I'd like to go across the bridge to the mainland to get some supplies for dinner.

  "Yeah, sounds good. Who's cooking tonight? Me or you?"

  She laughed, "Since your cooking skills seem to be limited to gourmet frozen dinners, I think I better be the cook tonight."

  I grinned, "That's what I was hoping you'd say."

  As we crossed the bridge to the mainland, Anna pointed to the digital clock on her dash. "It's a little early for dinner. Do you mind if we stop at Target so I can pick up some supplies for my new camper?"

  "No problem," I said. "I'm just happy to be along for the ride."

  Anna followed Route 60 through Vero to the intersection of Kings highway, and pulled into the Target parking lot.

  Inside, she headed for the housewares department where she picked out pillows, pillow cases, sheets, and towels. Then she headed to the kitchen department, where she picked up a silverware set, cooking utensils, plastic glasses, and plates.

  Pointing to the cart she said, "This should do." And she headed to the checkout area.

  After paying, we headed to the Cruiser and loaded Anna's purchases into the back seat. From Target, we went east on 60 until we reached 21st Street, where we turned left into the Publix grocery store lot.

  Inside, Anna picked up a bagged Caesar salad, a hot rotisserie chicken, a key lime pie, and two bottles of white wine.

  She looked at me, "Can you think of anything else we need?"

  I shook my head, "No, it looks like you've got everything."

  Noticing the fully cooked chicken, I asked, "How soon until we eat?"

  "As soon as we get back," Anna replied.

  Leaving Publix, we headed back onto the island. It took about twenty minutes to get back to the campsite.

  When we arrived, I asked, "Will we be eating at your place or mine?"

  Anna smiled, "Let's eat at your place. That way Bob won't feel left out. You go ahead and take the food inside. I need to take care of a few things in my camper. I'll be over in a few minutes."

  I did as instructed.

  Inside the motorhome, Bob was still perched on top of the couch keeping a watchful eye on the birds in the nearby trees.

  He looked up at me and said, "Murrfph." He didn't seem too overly excited that I was back.

  But when I removed the freshly cooked rotisserie chicken from the shopping bag, it got Bob's attention. He was soon on the floor, purring and rubbing his whiskers against my leg. I was now his best friend in the world.

  I said, "Bob, I can see you love me now that I have something you might want to eat."

  Bob said, "Murrph."

  Anna was at the door a few moments later.

  Pointing at the counter, she said, "You take care of the wine. I'll do the rest."

  Soon we were at the table eating. Fresh Caesar salad, with roasted chicken breast on the side.

  I raised my glass in a toast, "Another hot meal, and not from the microwave. Anna, you're spoiling me."

  She smiled mischievously. "You're not spoiled just yet. But it could happen."

  I put my hand over my heart, "Anna, you're scaring me."

  And I meant it.

  67

  After dinner, I put the plates in the sink, while Anna cut a chunk of chicken breast into small pieces. After putting the small pieces of chicken on a paper plate, she set it on the floor.

  She called out, "Bob. I've got something for you."

  I could hear Bob's little feet trotting from the bedroom where he'd been sleeping. He quickly located the plate, cautiously sniffed the morsel of chicken, then looked up at Anna.

  "That's right, Bob. It's all for you."

  He looked at the plate, and using his front paw reached out and touched the chicken. Withdrawing his paw, he licked it.

  That's all it took. Bob hunkered down over the plate and began eating the chicken. Soon after, he began to purr loudly.

  Anna turned to me and smiled, "Bob likes roasted chicken."

  I nodded, "Yes, and it looks like you're spoiling him, just like you're trying to spoil me!"

  Anna smiled. Then she turned serious.

  "Remember last night when I said I needed to tell you some things? "

  "Yes, I remember."

  "Well," she continued, "before I could tell you everything, we were interrupted by Walt. And there's one more thing you need to know. And it may change the way you think about me."

  I took a deep breath, "Okay. Tell me."

  Anna hesitated, then said, "Remember last Saturday, when I rescued you in the rain storm?"

  I nodded, "Of course, how could I forget?"

  "Well," she continued, "it wasn't an accident that I found you.

  "See, your Sarah had called me. She told me you were going to be camping here, and she asked me to check up on you and Bob."

  "Wait a minute," I said, "You know Sarah?"

  "Yes, I know Sarah. She and I were roommates when she lived in Bradenton and worked on the charter fishing boat.

  "I was working for the power company as a meter reader, and we just hit it off. To save money, we became roomies.

  "When the power company transferred me to Vero, I moved out. But she and I have stayed in touch over the years.

  "Sarah knew one of my hobbies was metal detecting and she figured that with the storm coming, I'd probably be heading to Vero Beach.

  "So she called and asked me to check up on you and Bob. She wanted to be sure you both were safe."

  I shook my head, "If Sarah wanted to know if Bob and I were safe, why didn't she call or text me herself? And why did she want me to come over here in the first pl
ace?

  "And why when I called, did a guy answer her phone?"

  Anna took a sip of her wine.

  "Walker, Sarah wanted to tell you this herself, but she was embarrassed. She said I could tell you, as long as I waited until Friday.

  "Since it's almost Friday, I guess it will be okay to tell you the full story.

  "As you know, Sarah's kayak business wasn't doing too well. With all the new cut-rate competitors coming into town, she wasn't getting many customers.

  "She still had bills to pay and was afraid of running out of money. So she started looking for a job. And she didn't want you to know about it."

  I interrupted, "What about the lottery money?"

  Anna smiled, "The lottery money helped out a lot. She used most of it to pay off her truck and credit card bills. She got out of debt, but didn't have much money left.

  "So when she told you she was going into town for doctor appointments, she was actually going for job interviews.

  "Two weeks ago, the yacht club offered her a job as the dock master. And this was exactly what she was hoping for, a chance to work around boats again.

  "But there was one little problem. The dock master was a 24/7 job, and they wanted Sarah to move into a small on-site apartment at the club. The apartment would be rent free, and allow her to be close to the dock in case of emergencies.

  "Sarah couldn't pass this opportunity up, so she accepted the offer and the job starts Monday.

  "She didn't know how to break this to you. Especially the part about her moving and you losing your free camping spot in the boat yard.

  "So she figured the best way was to get you out of town while she moved, and then when you got back, she'd break the news to you."

  I interrupted. "Anna, if Sarah needed money, she could have asked me. I would have helped her out."

  "She said you'd say that. And that's what she was worried about. She was afraid she'd either become dependent on you, or you'd try to talk her out of taking the job.

  "Either way, she'd be losing control of her life. And she didn't want that. She didn't want to hurt you either. But she could tell you were getting emotionally attached to her, and that didn't fit in with her plans.

  "So she asked me to come over and check on you and report back to her. And I've been doing just that. I've talked to her several times this week.

  "There is some good news though."

  "What's that?" I asked.

  "Sarah said the rent is paid up on the boatyard for the next eight weeks. So at least you won't need to move right away.

  "And there is something else you need to know."

  68

  "Is it good news or bad?"

  Smiling, Anna replied, "I guess it depends on how you feel about Bob.

  "See, the reason Sarah wanted you to take Bob this past week is she didn't want him to get hurt or lost during the move to her new apartment.

  "And now that she's in the apartment, she has to convince her new boss to allow Bob to live there, because they have a 'no pets' rule.

  "So until Sarah can get her boss's approval, she needs you to take care of Bob.

  "Will that be a problem?"

  I shook my head, "No, no problem. I can take care of Bob for a while. He's pretty easy to live with."

  Smiling, Anna said, "Good, I'll let Sarah know. She'll be relieved. And happy that Bob can stay with you."

  Bob heard us talking about him, and he came up and nudged Anna. She began stroking his back.

  We were both silent while I thought about all she had just revealed.

  My initial reaction was shock and just a twinge of anger. Sarah planned this whole thing, and she and Anna had been talking behind my back all week.

  But as I thought it through, I realized there was nothing for me to be angry about. It was a little embarrassing that I was so easy to fool. But all in all, the week had gone well for me. And it had gone well for them, too.

  Anna was still petting Bob, when I changed the subject by asking, "So, what are you planning for tomorrow?"

  Anna looked up, relief obvious on her face. "So you're not mad at me?"

  "No," I replied. "No reason to be. You and I had a good week together, and nothing that you and Sarah did changes that. So everything is cool."

  Anna smiled, "Good. That's how I was hoping you'd see it."

  She paused, then said, "To answer your question, I'm thinking of going back to Ken's Coins tomorrow and selling the gold ring I found yesterday. You want to come with me?"

  I nodded, "Maybe."

  She smiled, "Even if you don't want to sell any of your finds, you should bring your coins and get Ken to issue certificates of authenticity for them.

  "That'll make them a lot easier to sell later on."

  Nodding in agreement, I said, "You're right. I should get them authenticated. Maybe even find out what they're worth while I'm there."

  Anna stood, "I plan to leave around nine in the morning. Be ready then." She turned and headed for the door.

  "Wait," I said, "where are you going? It's still early. I figured we'd hang out here for a while. Maybe talk a bit more about what's happened this week."

  Sarah shook her head, "No can do. I've got some things I need to take care of over in my camper."

  She turned, gave me a kiss on the cheek and said, "See you in the morning." Then she walked out the door.

  I looked at Bob. "Well buddy, it looks like it's going to be just you and me tonight."

  69

  The next morning Bob woke me at dawn. The birds had returned to the tree outside his window, and he wanted me to be aware of the possibilities they presented.

  When he jumped up on the bed, then sat on my chest, I ignored him, hoping he'd go away. But he didn't. Instead, he reached out with his paw and tapped me on the cheek.

  "Okay Bob. You win. I'll get up."

  Bob said, "Murrph," then jumped down from the bed and ran into the bathroom to inspect his food.

  Seeing that his bowl was still full from the night before, he strutted to the couch, jumped up on the back and found a comfortable spot where he could lay against the screen and spy on the birds outside.

  His small bump of a tail twitched and he made a clicking sound in his throat as small birds jumped from limb to limb just out of his reach.

  Bob was happy.

  Me? I would have rather slept in for another hour. But now that I was awake, I pulled on my shoes, ran a hand through my hair, grabbed my keys, and headed out for an early morning walk.

  As I had done the first day at the park, I headed east toward the Sebastian Inlet fishing pier, a brisk ten minute walk from my campsite.

  Upon reaching the pier, I could see that even at this early hour, there were several people with fishing poles extended out over the pier's railing, hoping to catch a big one with the incoming tide.

  As I passed one of the men at the rail, he turned and said, "Hey, it's Mr. Lucky. Stop and talk for a minute."

  It was the same fisherman I had talked to six days earlier.

  I smiled. "Good morning. How's the fishing?"

  The man nodded at the three fishing rods he was tending, "Not so good. Water's still stirred up from the storm. But at least the weather's a lot better today than it was the last time I saw you."

  "You're right about that."

  I nodded toward one of his rods, "Looks like you might have something on that line."

  He turned and saw that the line was twitching and the rod bent toward the water.

  Smiling, he said, "Yep, you're still my good luck charm." He then picked up the rod and started reeling in his catch.

  I waved and walked off. Time to head back to the motorhome.

  After a quick shower, I had a breakfast of cold cereal. Then I emptied the remaining cereal into the trash, and set the empty box on the dinette table.

  Back in the bedroom, I lifted the bed platform, and unlocked the storage compartment under the bed.

  Gathering up the gold and silver
coins and the ring, I took them up front and laid them out on the dinette table. There I carefully placed each item, wrapped in a paper towel, into the empty cereal box.