My face heated up dramatically. I clenched my fists. Obviously this man had no concept about what to say and not to a woman. Understandably that’s why he hasn’t gotten hitched yet. “What are you doing at my door this early in the morning?” I asked, sounding like a mother wolf ready to defend her pup.
“Going to work,” the nerdy, Nordic FBI agent replied, lowering his volume to match mine. “Can’t you tell?” He held his leather briefcase up for me to inspect.
“With everyone crying for a paperless society, I’m surprised a computer whiz like you would carry any paper around.”
He winked. “Can you keep a secret?” I didn’t reply. “It’s mostly for appearance sake. I hide my lunch in it.”
I gazed at the lanky six-foot snappy dresser and tried to guess exactly what he came by to bother me about. I hadn’t requested any assistance with a case. I tapped my bare foot. “You still haven’t explained what you’re doing at my door.”
Rod ran a hand through his thick blond hair. “I saw Margaret a few minutes ago.”
The tiny tidbit regarding Margaret piqued my interest. “Is she all right?”
“Of course. That woman will outlive us all.”
I let go of the flannel nightie and crossed my arms. “Look, Rod, I’ve got to go to work. If you don’t spit out your reason for being here within the next second, I’m shutting the door in your face.”
“Oh, she’s getting ruffled now. I love seeing your Irish temper flare up, you should display it more.” I glared at him. “All right, sweet pea, no more messing with you. Margaret told me Matt would be back in three weeks. Is that true?”
“Yes, but why do you care? Everyone knows you two have never been the best of friends.”
He swept his well-manicured hand in front of his face. “Ah, forget Matt. I want to know where you two defenseless women are going to live once your brother kicks you out.”
So we’re defenseless, huh? Wait till he discovers Aunt Zoe and I’ve been attending safety classes for women.
“We haven’t given it much thought yet, but we will. So don’t bother fretting over it.” I wrapped my hand around the door knob and started to close the door thinking Rod would get the hint and leave, but he stuck his shiny brown wing tipped shoes across the threshold to block it.
“I... ah...was thinking we should go to Ziggy Piggy’s one last time before you move on. What do you think?”
The guy doesn’t get it. He’ll never be on my A-list of men to date. I stretched my lips to their limits as I prepared to permanently squash any further suggestions of going out together. “Oh, Rod, as much as I love to go to Ziggy Piggy’s for their great BBQ offerings, I’m afraid I’m going to be extremely busy the next several weeks. However, if it turns out I’m not, I promise I’ll get back to you.”
Thankfully my words struck a chord. Not getting the reply he’d anticipated, Rod hastily withdrew his foot, allowing me to finally close the door.
“What... What’s going on Mary?” Aunt Zoe inquired from her still prone position on the couch. When she attempted to lift her fiery reddish head, fully decorated with rollers the size of juice cans, she didn’t succeed. “Did I oversleep?”
“Uh-huh. By more than an hour, and you missed seeing Rod too. He just left.”
“I did?” Aunt Zoe seemed to be energized by the fact that a male visitor dared to see me this early in the morning despite my naked face and disheveled appearance. She tossed Matt’s old wool blanket off of her and sat up. “Why did Rod drop by? Did he have information on Gracie?”
“Nope. Gracie was never mentioned.” I leaned against the archway between the hallway and living room and chuckled. “It’s hard to believe but the geek actually seemed genuinely concerned about where we’re going to move when Matt gets back.”
“See, haven’t I been telling you how nice a fella Rod really is? You just don’t want to listen to your Auntie.”
“Come on. The guy’s full of himself. Besides, I’ve already got two other men in the wings, David and Trevor.” The two cops were located in different parts of Minnesota and had no clue about each other. I’m hoping that’s the way it’ll stay.
Aunt Zoe stood and folded her bedding. “Yes, I know dear, but there’s nothing wrong with having too many law men in the wings.” She shook a chubby finger at me. “Remember no one’s made a commitment yet. And you keep saying you want to end up with a good guy.”
“Look, a discussion on which man I date is getting us nowhere. Besides, I have to be at Singi Optical in an hour.”
“What? When did your plans change?”
“About fifteen minutes ago. Raj said Kamini is needed at home. Their little one’s sick,” I explained as I headed for the bathroom with Aunt Zoe following close behind.
“But... but... we were supposed to hand out missing dog flyers beyond our neighborhood today.”
“Sorry. I can’t do it. You’ll have to be in charge, Auntie.” Discussion over, I closed the bathroom door.
Apparently a hunk of wood two inches thick between us didn’t faze her. Aunt Zoe kept talking. “I’d rather not be in charge, Mary. I’m no good at it. Edward used to make all the decisions in our household. Hey, what if I call Reed to see what he’s up to this morning? He’s much better schmoozing with shop owners than I am.”
Oh, please. The woman I lived with could talk the ear off a cat if one stayed around long enough to listen. If she wanted her boyfriend Reed Griffin, the owner of Bar X Ranch, for moral support, why didn’t she just say so?
I turned on the water for the showerhead. “Go ahead. Finding Gracie is all that matters.” I slid back the shower curtain, stepped into the tub, and let the steaming water slither down my five-foot-six framed body, washing away all reminders of Rod Thompson’s visit.
~5~
“I’m here, Raj,” I announced, gingerly stepping into the optical store’s well-lit welcoming waiting room. No one replied.
I continued inward till the three and half foot counter at the far end of the room forced me to reroute myself, causing me to end up in a room a quarter of the size I’d left behind, where Raj Singi had painstakingly set up a tiny lab-one that allowed him to cut, tint, and inspect lenses as well as repair frames. The optometrist wasn’t here either which meant he must be in the exam room or the men’s room. Either would keep him busy for a bit.
Since I already had plenty of experience fending for myself at the optical store, I removed my black mittens, charcoal-grey wool coat, and matching neck scarf and hung them up where they wouldn’t get dirty. Then I strolled out to the waiting room to see what might have been overlooked before the shop was locked up last night. There were a few things I noticed right away.
I tackled what I considered the messiest areas first in the front of the waiting room, one being the left portion of the office where toys for children under four cluttered the brown and gold stripped carpeting instead of resting in the cherry-red storage crate provided for. The cleanup took all of five minutes. Next up—straightening the ten beige-stained wood cushioned chairs, making sure their backs sat directly in front of the two humongous picture windows facing outdoors. The final task required collecting magazines scattered about, examining the date on each one, and tossing outdated copies.
With those menial tasks out of the way, I strolled over to the frame rack displays mounted on the large wall all the way to the right of the office and checked how many empty slots required frames.
While I was on my knees, digging through the cupboards searching for a variety of frames to add to the racks, Raj Singi came out of the exam room with a man I assumed to be a scheduled patient.
“Ah, Mary,” the thin five foot three, mid-forties man with thick coal-black hair and medium-brown skin said, “you are here. Good. Sorry, I didn’t put a note on the counter to tell you where I was, but Mr. Wolf was in such severe pain when he showed up at the door.”
“It’s all right. I figured you might be with a patient.”
“Ma’am,
your boss is a miracle worker,” the fifty-something neatly dressed Mr. Wolf said excitedly. “Thanks to him I can see again.” His hand shot to his back pocket. “What do I owe you, Doc?”
The eye-doctor’s deep set almond eyes settled on the man’s round pocked face. “Consider it a freebie.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Mr. Wolf zipped up his crinkled leather jacket. “Okay, but how about giving me a couple business cards. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind them being passed out to my coworkers.”
“Not at all.”
Before Raj Singi could make a move to get the man what he requested, I spoke up. “I’ll get them for you Mr. Wolf. Dr. Singi needs to prepare for his nine o’clock appointment.”
“Thanks.”
Once Mr. Wolf left, I headed to the back room where I found Raj cleaning his silver-colored wire rimmed glasses with a small soft cloth and a clear liquid he had squeezed from a plastic bottle of lens cleaner. “How’s baby Anika?” I asked. “If Kamini needs to take her to the doctor, I’m sure my aunt wouldn’t mind watching Keya and Charvi for her.”
“Anika’s problem isn’t serious. She’s cutting teeth, but I appreciate your interest.” Finished with his cleaning project, he rested the bows of his glasses on his narrow ears again. “I’m going to be quite busy in about five minutes, Mary. Since I have patients coming in back to back till six this evening, I would suggest you do what you normally do when Kamini’s not here. Help people select frames, answer the phone, and of course let me know when a person arrives for their exam.”
“Are you going to have time to go to lunch?”
Raj shook his heart-shaped head, confirming what I’d suspected.
Before I could offer to order lunch in for him around noon, the bell hanging above the entrance door jangled, informing us that a customer had entered the building. Raj and I immediately left the work room behind and went off in different directions, he to the exam room and me to greet the customer.
I stretched my lips to produce a broad smile. “Good morning. How can I help you?”
The elderly woman with silver-blue tinted hair and huge gaudy rings on every finger, except her thumbs, used a slender black cane to lean on. Even with the aid of her cane she still stood at least an inch taller than my five foot neighbor Margaret Grimshaw. “I’ve come to see Dr. Singi,” the woman replied in a no nonsense manner, reminding me of a drill sergeant. She pointed a crooked finger at the back counter. “My name should be in that appointment book of yours. It’s Francine Yousup.”
I excused myself, strolled over to the book lying opened to today’s date, found the woman’s name, and checked it off. “Yes, Ms. Yousup, we have you down to see the doctor at nine o’clock.”
The old woman ground her shiny brass cane into the carpet. “It Mrs. Yousup, young lady, not Ms. I don’t care if my husband’s been dead for twenty years.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, Mrs. Yousup. I only help out occasionally. Please follow me,” and then I slowly led her to the exam room at the back of the office.
After I left Mrs. Yousup with Dr. Singi, I strolled to the counter and glanced at the names written in the appointment book. None of the women’s names had a Ms. or Mrs. in front of it. It looks like I might be eating humble pie all day and not the type that fuels the tummy.
With the constant flow of traffic in and out of the office this morning, I barely had time to think about lunch until my stomach growled angrily and I glanced at the clock next to the wall on the counter. 11:45. I thought of what I packed to eat thanks to almost bare cupboards, peanut butter and jelly spread on a dried out hotdog bun. Not what I normally dine on. The simple meal would’ve been sufficient if I was only staying till one, but I needed something hardier like a double cheeseburger, large order of fries, and a shake to tide me over till supper. Too bad there wasn’t one of those meal trucks one sees dotting the streets of downtown Minneapolis stationed outside the optical store.
Raj Singi finally finished up with a contact lens patient and came out to the outer office where I was. Perfect timing. I can ask him if he’d like me to pop out and get him a fast food meal. If the answers “Yes” I can get something for myself as well. Since a few people were waiting for my assistance with minor optical needs, I spoke to him in a whisper. “Raj, I didn’t get a chance to ask you earlier but...”
Confounded by Aunt Zoe’s sudden appearance my tongue knotted up. Yours would’ve too if you’d seen her male goldfinch getup: neon-yellow earmuffs and mittens, black boots stretched to her kneecaps, and a black parka over canary-colored jogging pants. Although in defense of this particular bird, the male wouldn’t be showing his true colors in winter.
As soon as I got over the initial shock of my aunt’s clothing selection, I noted that her hands were weighted down with two Styrofoam food containers. I burst out laughing. Does the woman have extra sensory perception?
I mouthed the words, “How did you know?” to her as the three of us swiftly moved to the back room out of the sight of the customers.
Aunt Zoe surveyed the small room, explaining the food delivery as she did so. “It wasn’t hard to figure out you needed food, Mary, after I recalled the measly lunch I watched you packed.” Finally honing in on what she must’ve been looking for all along, an empty spot at the end of a counter, she deposited the food containers and pointed an accusing gloved-finger at Raj. “But I didn’t know about you, until Kamini shared you probably wouldn’t have time for lunch with your busy schedule. So I decided to feed two with one stone.”
Raj scratched his head. “You paid for our food with a stone, not money? I’ve been in America five years and do not know this. I suppose it takes many, many years for an immigrant to learn everything about a new country.”
“Actually, Raj, she was referring to another old saying.”
“Like with bells on?” he said, chuckling to himself.
“Exactly.” With customers still waiting for me, I figured I didn’t need to tell him Aunt Zoe hadn’t quoted the saying correctly or explain what it meant. I’d leave that for another time. Instead I switched gears. “Auntie, did you and Reed manage to get the flyers passed out?”
Her head bobbed up and down like a sewing machine needle. “Every last one of them.”
“Good.”
“I’m sorry you haven’t found Gracie yet,” Raj said. “I have a large piece of cardboard you can use to make a sign, Mary. When it’s ready, I’ll post it in one of the front windows.”
“That is so kind of you, Raj. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. You help me and I help you.” He opened his Styrofoam container now to see what my aunt had brought him. “Ah... you are an amazing woman, Zoe.”
That’s what he thinks, if he only knew.
The optometrist picked up a forkful of his curried rice and sniffed it. “Mary, is your lunch from the India deli too?”
“Gee, I don’t know.” I flipped the lid off the container hoping to find a cheeseburger and fries inside. “Yup. I believe it’s a kind of chicken dish.” Definitely not what I’d been craving, but I’ll eat it.
Raj leaned over and checked out my meal. “Mmm, you’ll like it. Chicken Tandoori with curried rice is very tasty.”
“Ah, curried rice. That explains why it’s tinted yellow.” I quickly resealed the Styrofoam box.
Deep wrinkles spread across Aunt Zoe’s brow. “Aren’t you pleased with your meal?”
“Sure,” I lied, “but we both can’t eat at the same time when there are people out front waiting to be helped.” I grabbed my aunt’s arm and steered her to the waiting room, allowing Raj to eat in peace instead of ending up with a truckload of indigestion.
When we reached the front section of the business, I quickly resumed a position at one of the small tables, thanked my aunt profusely for bringing lunch, and said I’d see her later.
Aunt Zoe didn’t budge an inch. “Don’t be so quick to push me out the door, Mary. Since
I’m here, I’d like you to check the bows on my sunglasses. I think they need tightening.” She tucked a hand in her jacket pocket, withdrew an enormous hot pink pair of sunglasses suited for a person traveling incognito, and handed them off to me.
Obviously my aunt thought our relationship gave her priority over anyone else in the room. Too bad. I believe in the first come first serve philosophy. I set her sunglasses on the edge of one of the two oak tables I used with customers throughout the day. “Sorry, I can’t adjust them right this minute, Auntie. You’ll have to wait your turn. Take a seat.”
She appeared miffed but quickly chose a chair located between the two picture windows and started an earnest discussion with a middle-aged woman to the left of her.
“Okay, who’s next?” I asked as I remained by the table nearest the entrance.
A dark-skinned man around thirty dressed in business suit attire stood and approached me with a spring to his step. His long slender hands held two items: a plastic bow and a frame. “I am,” he replied, exposing gleaming white teeth and a Jamaican accent. “The screw fell out. Can you fix it?”
“Sure. It’ll just take a second.” I excused myself and left to search for the right size screw in the lab where all the repair supplies are kept. Once I found exactly what I needed, I reconnected the bow to the frame and returned to the waiting room to clean the lenses. “Here you go, sir. You may want to try your glasses on to make sure they still fit snug around your ears.”
The man lifted his arm and glanced at his expensive watch. “That’s all right,” he said, taking his glasses back, “I’m sure they’re fine. Thanks.”
Just as he walked away from the table and the next customer strolled up to it, Gertie Nash charged in, mouth agape, acting as crazy as a bull about to charge a matador. She cooled off fast though once she saw I was busy with a customer. Her mouth clamped shut and she focused her attention on those seated in the chairs by the window, including Aunt Zoe. As soon as Gertie recognized my aunt, her mouth flew open. Then her loud obnoxious voice pierced the air. “Zoe, I didn’t expect to see you. I suppose you’re here for an eye exam.”
Death of the Pickle King Page 3