The Sly Prankster

Part I

Mart sat on a wooden stool behind the main cashier’s station of his garden center and pored over the catalogs from various suppliers.  Muttering to himself, he stared at page after page of poinsettias, hollies, ivies and other Christmas decor.

“I never knew there were so many different kinds of poinsettias,” he moaned.  “How am I going to put together Christmas displays that will dazzle the citizens of this sleepy burb?”

Mart paused to watch a new hire ring out a customer then went back to studying the catalogs.

“Imogene wants us to submit a bid to do unique Christmas arrangements for the city buildings,” he muttered as he roughly turned a page. “I know a lot about tomatoes but zilch about poinsettias and even less about how to arrange them.”

Frustrated, he tossed the catalogs onto the back counter and set off on a walk through the plant nursery he and Imogene owned. Ambling through the tidy, outdoor aisles filled with tables of flowers, herbs, and other plants, he soaked up the late summer sunshine.   As he pinched off a few dead blooms from a pot of pansies,  he recalled his return to Sleepyside after being laid off from his teaching job in White Plains.  He wasn’t unhappy being unemployed. In fact, it gave him the opportunity to abandon a career that had proved to be unsatisfactory and to look for something else.  He couldn’t believe it when Imogene announced she wanted to go into business with him. She had purchased an old strip mall at the edge of town and had turned it into a garden center that would have ties to her successful antique store in town. Mart shook his head in disbelief when he recalled how he had struggled with his decision. Then over a delicious dinner at The Hideaway, the restaurant Imogene had opened next door to the antique shop, the two had sealed the deal, even coming up with the name, Bing’s Garden Center,  their two names combined: Belden and Ingram.  Whether customers wanted traditional flowers or something a bit more unusual, Bing’s Garden Center could fill the bill.  Additionally, Imogene made sure there were always accesories available to work into a garden or home decor.  All in all, Mart knew that Imogene had filled a niche for Sleepyside residents and weekend travelers who liked to visit the picturesque towns outside New York City.

He paused at the entrance to one of the greenhouses behind the main building and smiled with pride at how the nursery business had taken off and how he had finally found a good home for his green thumb.  Clearing his thoughts, he noted another employee watering the summer annuals that still remained.  “I need to move those out front and reduce the prices,” Mart reminded himself.  He continued on his rounds through the gardening complex where he greeted several customers.  Mart’s meandering was interrupted by the buzzing of his cell phone in his back pocket.  Checking the caller ID, he answered.

“Salutations, my unsophisticated sibling.”  He grinned into the phone, certain that his sister’s eyes were making an exaggerated roll.

“What kind of a greeting is that?” Trixie demanded. “And since when am I unsophisticated?  I believe you were the one who literally yelled ‘yee-haw’ when you saw Moms’ fried chicken on the table last Sunday.”

Mart rolled his own eyes. “What do you want?  I’m extensively engaged at the moment.”

“Engaged? Does Diana know that?” joked Trixie.  

Mart scowled at his phone.  “What do you need, Trixie.  I’m busy.”

“I’m actually calling for Imogene.  She wants to know if you have time to stop by the antique shop this afternoon. She wants to see your ideas for the Christmas displays.”

Mart ran his free hand through his short curls.  “Sure.  I think I can get over there around three.  Does that work for her?”

“Probably.  I’ll let her know.  Just go to the restaurant when you get here.”

Mart perked up at the thought of meeting Imogene at The Hideaway.   “I’ll definitely be there.”

After terminating the call, he grabbed the stack of catalogs.  “If you need me, I’ll be in the office,” he called out to his crew, determined to have a decent proposal to give his partner later that afternoon.  

Despite his efforts, Mart was not proud of what he had managed to come up with when he reluctantly sat down with Imogene at a corner table.

“Oh my,” exclaimed Imogene as she fanned herself with one of Mart’s catalogues. “Here is it 88 degrees outside and we’re talking about Christmas decorations. I never did like the idea of ‘Christmas in July.’” She poured Mart a glass of iced tea.  “Here,” she held out a plate of small sandwiches, “help yourself.”  

Mart took two sandwiches then took a big gulp of the tea.  “Ahhh,” he sighed contentedly, “iced tea is the quintessential summer beverage.  That and a cold beer.”

“I agree,” winked Imogene.” Now, show me what you’ve come up with so far.”

Mart opened his catalogues to the dog- eared pages he had marked earlier.  He pointed out the different flowers that he thought would work well together and described the design he had in mind.

“Hmmm.” Imogene assessed Mart’s choices.  “I like what you’ve selected, but your design sounds  a bit mundane.”

“I’m still working on it.” Mart spoke quickly.   “But when I’m done, it’ll knock your socks off.”

“Mart, I don’t need my socks knocked off.  But I do need something creative and original that will impress customers and draw them in.”

Mart met Imogene’s discerning gaze, then looked down at the unfinished sandwich on his plate.  He picked it up and took a bite, chewing slowly while he stared at the paperwork strewn on the table.  

Imogene leaned forward and dusted some crumbs off the white tablecloth. “How about we meet in few days?  Will that give you enough time to get your ideas together in a more concrete fashion?” she queried.

Mart swallowed his food. “Yes.  Absolutely.”

“Then I shall await your final presentation of your creative thought processes,” winked Imogene.

Mart grinned, “Most certainly.  You will not be left in a state of discontentment.”

*****

When Mart entered the back door of Crabapple Farm that evening, he tossed his pile of catalogs onto the kitchen table in frustration.

“Mart.” Moms hurried into the kitchen and immediately went to the oven where she pulled out a plate piled with meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans. “I’d about given up on you and was  ready to put your plate in the refrigerator and to let you fend for yourself.”

Dropping onto his chair at the table, Mart surveyed the plate Moms slid in front of him.

“Everything okay?” Moms tilted her head in concern.

“Yeh,” Mart silently placed a forkful of creamy, buttery potatoes into his mouth.  

Moms slid out a chair and sat down.  “Now, I know something’s wrong.  You never put my potatoes into your mouth with saying ‘Yum.’”

Mart paused, then ate some green beans.  Chewing thoughtfully, he looked at his mother.  “Do you know anything about poinsettias?”

“Poinsettias?”  Moms face held a puzzled expression. “I guess.”

Mart slid his pile of papers toward himself and quickly thumbed through a catalog until he found the pages he had marked  “Here,” he pointed to several pictures.  “What do you think about these?”

Moms studied the pictures.  “I like the red ones, of course.  But I’m really drawn to the ones with the frilly petals.”  She looked closer at the picture.  ”The Winter Rose Red poinsettia is beautiful.”

Mart sat up straighter and scooped another bite of food into his mouth.  “What about these hollies and ivies?”  He opened another catalog for his mother.  

“Oh, yes. I really like the holly. I’ve always loved it laid across the mantle with candles placed in front of it.”

“Moms,” Mart leaned back in his chair. “I think you might be the answer to my problem.”

“Oh?”

With his fork hovering over his plate, Mart stopped eating long enough to explain the plans Imogene had and how it was his responsibility to make them happen.  

“I thought I knew a lot about plants,” Mart lamented  “But I’m also learning there are many things I don’t know.  Sure, I can tell you how to maintain a garden and what fertilizer to use and what flowers do well in the shade, but those are all living and growing aspects of gardening.  I know nothing of the seasonal, potted plants, and even less about artistic arrangements.”

“Do you know what Imogene wants, specifically?”

Mart shook his head.  “Not really.  I think she just wants me to do it.  But I don’t even know where to start. I can make a list of plants, but that’s about it!”

Moms looked at him.  “I know who can help you.”

“Who?”

“Diana.”

“Hmmm...isn't that like cheating?”

Moms shrugged.  “I suppose it’s how you look at it.  You need help and Diana is an incredibly talented person.  If you went to Dr. Faris and he said you needed heart surgery, would you want him to do it himself or ask for help.”

“This is hardly heart surgery,” scoffed Mart.

“No, but it’s important to you and Imogene.”

“True.  But do you think that’d be ethical?”

“Why not?  I’ll help you pick out some plants. Then you can get together with Diana and have her help you design several different displays.  When that’s done,  you choose the ones you think are the best.”

“Moms, you’re a genius.”

A weight lifted from his shoulders, Mart suddenly felt ravenous and quickly shoveled the rest of his dinner into his mouth so he and his mother could get to work. With their two blond heads bent over the catalogs, they created a list of flowers and plants that were traditional to the Christmas season.  

“Now, I need to talk to Diana,” said Mart, stretching in his chair.  Noting the time on the old kitchen clock, he realized she would be done with work and available to chat.

“Night, Moms.” Gathering his papers into a neat pile, Mart walked towards the door.  “Thanks for all your help.  I do believe you saved me from an unknown doom.”

Moms chuckled.  “Probably not a doom, more like an uncomfortable awkwardness.  But I’m always happy to help.”

Upstairs in the privacy of his room, Mart booted up his computer and  made a face-to-face call to Diana.  He described the plants he and his mother had picked out, then discussed ideas for their arrangement.  

“Do you think you can do this, Diana?” asked Mart, holding his breath as he waited for her answer.

“Of course I can, silly.  I’ve always helped my mother with decorating our home.  This will be fun.”

“I plan to give you full credit,” Mart added quickly.

Diana laughed.  “I trust you.  But now, I’m going to hang up now and get to work.  I’ve already got some ideas percolating in my head and I want to get to work on them.”

“Thanks, Diana, you’re the best.  But, I’ve thought that since I was in first grade.”

Diana smiled and blew a kiss into the computer screen.  Mart pretended to catch it, then slapped it on his cheek.  

“Talk to you later, Sweetie,” said Diana.

“I’m counting the hours,” responded Mart.

 When his computer screen went dark, Mart closed the laptop and shoved it under his bed. A short time later, he turned out his light and drifted off into a sleep filled with images of a beautiful woman with dark hair and violet eyes.

 

**********

The next morning, Mart  was unlocking the front door when the young clerk, Josh came up behind him.

“Morning, Josh,” said Mart as he heard the key click, releasing the lock.

“Hi, Boss.  You’re certainly in a better mood today than you were yesterday.” Josh punched at the wire-rimmed glasses that constantly slipped down on his nose.

“Moi?  When am I ever in anything less than an upbeat and positive state of mind?” Mart’s eyebrows rose in indignation.

“Never mind,” said Josh, punching at his glasses again.

After opening up, Mart headed to the three greenhouses  that we behind the main building to water the plants.  Stopping outside of greenhouse #1, he sat down to put on his work boots, which he kept on the mat outside of the structure. Humming, he toed out of his sneakers, slid one foot into a boot, then stopped.

“Hey!  Where’s my other boot? Josh! Did you take my boot?” yelled Mart.

Josh, busy opening up the computer, came running.  “Did you say something, Boss?”

“Yes.  I asked if you took my boot?”

“What boot?”  Josh looked puzzled.

“My boot!” Mart lifted his sock covered foot and waved it toward his employee.

“Oh, you mean your right boot,” said Josh.

“Okay, my right boot.  Have you seen it?” Mart waved his hands through the air

“No.”  Josh abruptly disappeared inside the building leaving Mart hopping on one foot.

“Come on, where could it go?” Mart poked around the pots that were piled nearby.  “I took them off and left them here last night. I know I did!”

His annoyance growing, Mart finally sat down, took the one boot off and slid his sneakers back on.  

“This is crazy, totally crazy,” he fumed.  After thoroughly searching through the stacks of clay pots and the palates of mulch,  he headed indoors where an equally exhaustive search of the area behind the counter and the small office turned up nothing.

“Great!  Now I’ll have to go buy another pair,” grumbled Mart. “A shopping trip to Crimpers was not on my schedule today.”

After a quick trip to the local department store, Mart returned. Changing into his new boots, he surveyed the outdoor area for a place to stash his shoes.  His eyes lit on a display of herbs.  “Ah, yes.  I can stash my sneakers under here. They’ll be close to the greenhouse but be out of sight.  A perfect location, if you ask me.” A few minutes later, the sneakers were safely stowed away.  

Mart , with Josh’s help,  got to work moving the summer flowers out to the  front, making sure to add a special sign denoting the sale price.When they were done,  Mart stepped back and critically appraised their work, deciding  it looked good and would promote the sale of the remaining flowers.  Believing he was on a good roll,  Mart decided to take another look through the catalogs and closed himself off in his small office,  determined to generate some workable ideas on his own.

When the nursery closed for the day, a frustrated Mart  headed outside to change into his tennis shoes. Despite several Christmas ideas bouncing around in his head,  he didn’t feel that any of them would meet Imogene’s high expectations. All he wanted to do was go home, eat dinner, then work on his presentation.  He was also quite anxious to learn what Diana had fashioned the night before. Additionally, he knew he needed to make a detailed list of the products he thought Bing’s Nursery should carry for the holiday season.

“This isn’t funny, Josh,” yelled Mart when he felt under the rack of herbs for his sneakers.  “Give me back my shoes.”

“What?” Josh appeared from inside the main building where he had just finished closing down the computers and balancing the cash drawer.

“My shoes!” demanded Mart.

Josh shook his head.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.  And what’s with you and your footwear today”

“You didn’t take my sneakers?”  Mart’s face was flushed from his searching.

“Nope.  I know we have the outside lights on, but maybe you're just not seeing very well. Do you want me to get you a flashlight? It is starting to get dark.”

“No!  My shoes are missing.  Hey, wait a minute.” Mart poked through the pieces of mulch that had collected under the display.   “Here’s one of them.”  Mart held up a sneaker but, after further searching,  concluded that the other one was gone.

“Great, just great,” he groused, sitting on the stone walkway and scanned the darkened outdoor area.

“Which sneaker’s missing?” Josh asked, an amused look on his face.

“The left one.  Why?”

“You have your right sneaker and your left boot.  Sounds like a pair to me.”  Josh grinned.

“Not funny,” glared Mart.  “If you took my sneaker, so help me…”

“I didn’t, Boss.  I swear,” responded Josh quickly, holding his hands up.  “But it’s weird that your shoes keep disappearing.  I wonder if other things have disappeared too.”

“I’ll have to see if anything’s been written in the incident log,” said Mart. “Tomorrow, definitely tomorrow. I don’t want to deal with any more of these shenanigans tonight.”

Shrugging at his muddy boots, Mart finished locking up, making sure the greenhouses and back gates were secure.

“Let’s just say that I’m glad this day is over,” remarked Mart as walked through the dark parking lot.

“You can say that again,” answered Josh  “I don’t think I could handle any more drama about your shoes.”  

Before Mart could respond, Josh hopped in his car and  drove off, his lights reflecting on the pavement as he sped away.

“And thanks to you too,” muttered Mart as he slid behind the wheel of his own car and started down the same dark road.“If I can get home without anything else happening, I’ll be happy to call this day done!”

Pulling into the driveway at Crabapple Farm, Mart saw his sister’s parked car and, pounding his fists on his steering wheel, looked up at the star-lit sky.  “You couldn’t give me a break, could you?”  

As he clomped across the terrace in his work boots,  Mart could see his sister and mother happily chatting at the kitchen table.  “If Trixie finds out what happened today, she’ll carry on like it’s one of the greatest mysteries ever. And if not that, then how incompetent I am.” Shaking his head, Mart turned the doorknob.

“Mart!” Moms head glanced up at the clock when she heard the back door open.  “You’re late.”

Mart shrugged his shoulders.  “I know, Moms.  I had a ...situation at the nursery.”

“A situation?” Trixie’s eyes lit up.  “What kind of situation,” she asked eagerly.

“Just a situation, that’s all and you don’t need to know anything else,” snapped a weary Mart.

“Well, excuse me.”  Frowning, Trixie stuck her tongue out at her brother.

Ignoring his sister, Mart went  to the refrigerator and began rummaging through it.  “There’s gotta be something in here,” he fussed as he shoved the contents of the shelves around.

“Let me help.”  Moms pushed Mart aside and, after pulling out a few containers,  loaded up a plate.

“Thanks, Moms.” Mart flopped down in his chair and sighed loudly.  Across from him, Trixie leaned forward and gave her brother an amused stare.  

“What?” Mart returned her gaze.  “Don’t you have anything to do? You have your own apartment now. Don’t you need to clean it? Have dinner with Tad?  Work on a homework assignment?”

Trixie snorted. “My place is already clean.  Tad and I dined here tonight and now he’s back at work.  And I’m in between terms.  Therefore, I’m free to concentrate on your situation.” She made air quotes with her fingers  “So, what is it?”

Mart ran his hand through his short hair.  “I lost two shoes at work.”

“That’s it?  You lost a pair of shoes?”

“No, I said I lost two shoes.  One shoe each from two different pairs.”

“Wait, you lost two shoes at work? How does one do that?”

“I like to keep my boots outside  greenhouse #1 so they’re handy to put on in the morning. When I went to put them on today, one boot was unaccounted for.  I looked around but couldn’t find it so I went to Crimper’s and bought another pair.  Then when I went to change out of my newly acquired pair of work boots this evening, one of my sneakers had vanished.”

“I see,” said Trixie.  “Do you think you have elves working on your shoes when you’re not around?”

Mart’s hand hit the maple table.  “I knew I shouldn’t have confided in you.  I thought you’d moved out, yet here you are still making my life miserable.”

Trixie laughed.  “I don’t think I’m making your life miserable, Mart. I’m sure your shoes will turn up. Maybe another employee hid them as a joke.”

Again, Mart shook his head.  “That’s what I thought.  But Josh was there both times and he said he didn’t take my shoes.   To be honest, Trixie, it’s kinda weird.  Where could they go?”

Trixie propped her chin on the palm of her hand  “So it’s a nursery mystery?”

Mart sighed in exasperation.  “Yes!”

“Hmmm…” Trixie gazed intently at the wall  beyond Mart, seemingly lost in thought.

“Here you go.” Moms set a plate containing pork chops and peas in front of her son.  “We had potatoes but Trixie and Tad ate them all. I thought I had some leftover macaroni and cheese, but then remembered  you snacked on that last night.

“Great.  Just great,” grumbled Mart.  “First missing shoes, now missing potatoes.  Could this day get any worse?”

“Mart,” said Moms firmly, “I’m sure your shoes will turn up.  On the bright side, you’ve made progress on your Christmas proposal, right?”

“A little. Diana says she has some great creative notions, but, as part-owner, I need to be coming up with some ideas on my own.”

“Why don’t you do what I do?” suggested Trixie.

“Snoop into everybody’s business?”

“No.”  Trixie pulled out her phone and tapped on an app.  “Here.” She held it out toward her brother..  “It’s called Pinterest.  Sometimes I need ideas for the antique shop so I look through this app.  And my living room ottoman that you think is so cool…”  She tapped her phone.  “Right off this site.  You should look through it.”

“Really?  You check Pinterest to get ideas?”  Mart stopped chewing and looked at his sister.  “Does Imogene know that?”

Exhaling loudly, Trixie sat back in her chair.  “Yes,  and she does it too.   It helps to see what others have done. Sometimes we like the ideas and sometimes we like parts of them and change them around to suit our tastes.”

Mart pulled out this phone.  “I would have to have this Pinterest app, right? What if people see it?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Mart  Who’s checking out the apps on your phone?”

Having no answer to Trixie’s question, Mart shoveled another forkful of food into his mouth.  

Trixie stood up.  “It’s no big deal, Mart. But my advice is to take a look. You never know what you’ll find.”  Gathering up some freshly baked muffins, she kissed her mother, then headed out the back door.

Mart looked at his mother in disgust.  “Pinterest?  Really?”

Moms nodded.  “I think your sister’s right.  Besides, she’s quite a hit at the antique store.  You might want to give it a try.”

After finishing his dinner,  Mart went upstairs to his room.  He pulled out his phone and stared at the device in his hand, trying to decide what to do.  With a shake of his head, Mart crawled onto his bed, then searched for the Pinterest app. Taking a deep breath, he hit the button to download it onto his phone.  Once the app was loaded, he opened it and began scrolling through thousands of pictures of holiday displays. When Diana called an hour later, she excitedly shared her ideas with him, texting her sketches of what she had created. After talking with her,  Mart was able to put together several boards of unique and exquisite designs and downloaded them onto a flash drive so he could show them to Imogene the next day.  He also had an extensive list of accessories that would lend an elegant and unique feel to the arrangements. Pleased with himself, Mart settled in his bed and promptly fell asleep.  

**********

 

The next day went by quickly for Mart.  He and his staff made room for a delivery of late summer and early autumn plants.  

“Hey, Mart,” yelled Josh. “What do you want to do with these fountains?”

Mart looked at several unsold garden fountains.  “Let’s put them out front with the last of the  annuals.”

“But they’re kinda heavy,” said Josh, tugging at a big round basin full of water.

Mart shook his head.  “Empty them before you move them.”

“Good idea, Boss.”  Josh began dumping the water out, causing it to flow through the outdoor aisles.

“Josh,” said Mart, “don’t empty them here.  Customers could easily slip. Try removing the water with a bucket and pouring it down the drain.”

“Got it,” answered Josh, who dashed into the main building.

Mart watched in disbelief as Josh returned with a chipped coffee mug and used that to bail water from the fountain into a bucket.

“Here,” said Mart,  pushing Josh aside.  “This is what I had in mind.”  Mart went and got a bucket and then, by carefully tilting the fountain,  poured the water into it,  carried the bucket to a nearby drain and emptied it.  “See? Two or three trips and you’re done.”

Mart watched Josh attempt the same procedure.  But when Josh tried to carry the bucket to the drain, he sloshed it all over.  

“Wait.”  Mart ran over and helped carry the heavy bucket.  As they were walking, Josh stumbled and the bucket fell, dousing Mart’s feet with water.

“Oops.  Sorry, Boss.” Josh winced as he punched at his glasses. “More troubles for your shoes.” He smiled weakly at his boss.

“Let’s just get this done,” sighed Mart, choosing to ignore the water that had filled his work boots.  

The two emptied two more fountains, with Mart getting wetter each time.   Finally, they had the fountains emptied and moved.  Walking back to the greenhouses, Mart realized  he couldn’t tolerate wearing his squishy boots another minute.  He went to his car and got out an old pair of sneakers and, returning to the back of the nursery, quickly changed his footwear.   “Oh, drat,” grumbled Mart when he realized that his pants had received a soaking and that his wallet, holding his precious thumb drive with his Christmas ideas, was also wet.  Mart pulled the wallet and thumb drive out of his pocket.  Before he could decide what to do with them, he heard a shout, announcing the arrival of a delivery truck. Hoping everything would dry quickly,  Mart set his belongings on the bench in the sun, then hurried off to help with the delivery.

Despite the order being larger than he expected, Mart and his afternoon crew got to work unloading and arranging all the plants while dealing with a steady stream of customers.   By the time the sun was setting, the nursery boasted neatly displayed and labeled plants, tidy aisles, and an exhausted boss and staff.

“Great job, guys,” said Mart.  “That was a huge order.”

“What’re you gonna do with all these plants, Boss?” asked Josh.

“We’re going to sell them.  What else would we do with them?”  

Josh shrugged.  “There’s a lot of them.”

“Have you seen the number of customers we have in here, Josh?  I bet we’ll be ordering more in no time at all.”  Despite his boasts, Mart  privately worried that the nursery wouldn’t be able to sell all the plants that had come in.

Noting the late time, Josh moved behind the counter and begin closing up while Mart went back outside to lock up the gates.  Returning to the main building, he saw his wallet sitting on the bench outside the door.

“Crap!  I forgot I left my wallet and my...wait a minute! Where are my new boots?” he cried out.

Josh appeared at the door.  “Did you say something?”

Mart clutched at his hair.  “Yes.  I want to know exactly where my boots are.”

“Did you lose more shoes, Boss?  Sheesh!”  Josh shut the door and returned to his closing duties.

Mart sat on the bench and looked around.  He got down on all fours and searched through the mulch and the nearby plants and pots .He even scooted up and down the aisles in hopes that one of his boots had been accidently kicked away from its hiding spot.   Annoyed, he sat back on his heels and poked through his wallet. “All my credit cards are here and so is my cash and driver’s license.  Oh no!  Where’s my flash drive?”  Again, Mart dropped to his knees and sifted through the mulch and poked through all the herbs and their pots that were nearby.  Finding nothing, he slowly pulled out his phone and punched in Trixie’s number.

“Where are you?”  his sister demanded when she answered.  “You were supposed to be here a half an hour ago.”

Mart pinched the bridge of his nose.  “First, we had a huge delivery this afternoon and second, I still have that situation here.”

“Situation?”

“You know, the shoes.”

 “You mean you lost more shoes?”

“That appears to be the case. I set them out with my wallet to dry.  I laid my flash drive right next to my wallet and it’s gone too.”

“Let me get this straight: your wallet’s still there but the flash drive and your boots are gone?” Trixie asked breathlessly.

“Yeah.  My plans for the Christmas displays are on that flash drive plus the additional items I thought Imogene might want to order.”

“You still have your phone, right? Or did that disappear too?”

“Since I’m talking to you, I think that answer is obvious.”

“Okay.  Come over here and we can pull the ideas that you found on Pinterest and put them on the computer.  And you need to bring all your catalogs.  Imogene will understand about the lost USB  but she will want you to get to the bottom of this ‘situation’ as you call it.”

“See you in a bit.”  Mart clicked off, finished closing up, and drove to the antique store, parking in the back alley behind his sister’s car.

“Hey, Trixie.” A gloomy Mart entered the cluttered backroom.

“I have the computer ready.  Imogene’s waiting for you in the restaurant.”

Mart scrubbed his face.  “I hope she isn’t disappointed in me. She wasn’t too thrilled with my incomplete ideas the other day, and now I have some weird shoe thief loose in the garden center.”

Poking through her bag, Trixie stopped and looked at her brother.  “She won’t be.  She hired you because she believes in you.  She’s interested in your ideas; she just needs to see a clear vision of them.   Just be your usual self, except don’t use all those big words.  Imogene will beat you at your own game every time.”  Trixie gave Mart a thumbs up sign, then left.  

Mart grabbed the laptop computer and walked through the dark shop and into the restaurant. “At least  the drawings Diana sent me are still on my phone.  That should help,” he whispered to the blanketing darkness. Trying to calm his jangling nerves, Mart squared his shoulders and headed toward the lit doorway of the restaurant.

**********

word count: 5215

Author Notes:This story came about as a result of the August writing challenge, so a special thanks to Jixemitri for providing this opportunity.  Thank you also to my sister, Judith, who edited this story and to my daughter, Katia, who also edited and provided feedback. Pinterest - a mobile and computer app that is basically a “catalog of ideas” as stated by CEO Ben Silbermann.