Summer In Iron Springs (15 page)

Thirteen

After work, Phoebe walked into the kitchen and inhaled the delicious aroma of fried chicken and homemade bread. She hugged her father and then Anna.              

“How long are you staying?” Phoebe asked Peter who was sitting at the small kitchen table watching
Anna working at the stove.

             
“I took a couple weeks off. I was hoping we could spend some time together,” Peter said.

             
Anna was busily whisking the gravy for her fried chicken.

             
“That sounds good,” Phoebe said, surprised the firm would give him two whole weeks off. “But, are you sure it’s okay? I mean, you’ll be missing a lot of work.”

“You’re more important than work,” he said, smiling at Phoebe. And, since this is where you want to be; it’s where I want to be as well. I spoke with the partners this morning and they told me to take all the time I needed.”

Phoebe smiled at her father. He really was changing—and she was sure their relationship was going to be much better now that they were learning how to talk to one another.

***

              After dinner, Phoebe took a quick shower, toweled off, and then sat down at her vanity mirror. She put all but the bottom layer of her hair up in a clip and then blew it dry in sections. She liked the silky effect this technique created, but since it was a time consuming process, she didn’t usually bother to do it.

When her hair was done, she curled her lashes and applied mascara. Then, she applied some blush to her cheeks. After that, she put on lip gloss and headed to her closet. She chose the pink dress that she’d purchased at Hildi’s after she got her first paycheck. Paired with her white sandals, the outfit was perfect. Checking the time, she hurried downstairs. Billy was waiting for her in the living room. When he saw her, he stopped talking and gave her a long admiring glance.

              “You look really pretty,” he said, moving toward her and hugging her briefly. He glanced nervously at Peter who gave him a smile in return.

“You look beautiful, honey,” Peter said. “What movie are you going to see?”

“We’re not sure yet. I want a chick flick and he wants something with action in it. So, we’re going to get there and then decide.” She gave her dad a kiss on the cheek and then walked over to where Anna was sitting. “Thanks for dinner. It was delicious,” she said, wrapping her arms around Anna. “And thanks for everything you’ve done for me. I want you to know I appreciate it so much.”

Anna
’s eyes became moist and she smiled a gentle smile. “Just having you here is all the thanks I need, sweetheart,” she wiped away a tear. Now, you two go have fun. She waved her hand to shoo them out the door.

***

              “You look amazing Feebs,” Billy said when they were seated in his truck.

             
“Thank you,” Phoebe said, smiling at the compliment. “You look pretty good too,” she laughed.

             
“Well, I better if I’m gonna keep up with you.”

             
Phoebe thought about telling her father she and Billy were going to the movies. She couldn’t tell him they were going to the gallery but she felt bad for lying. Especially after he made a point of telling her he’d never lie to her again. “Can we go see a movie after we leave the gallery? That way, I won’t have lied to my dad.”

“Good idea,” Billy
said, giving her thigh a gentle pat. After we are done at the gallery, we’ll go see a movie.”

             
As Billy drove them toward town, he told Phoebe that years ago gold miners had descended on Iron Springs like wildfire; they stayed until there was no more gold and then, as quickly as they’d come, they left. Because of the mountainous terrain and beautiful scenery, the town became a destination for travelers. The tourist population grew when local businesses began to cater to visitors and started offering fun things to do. Ski slopes were carved into the mountainside and soon, Iron Springs was a regular tourist trap.

As he talked, Phoebe could feel the fondness he had for the small town. She had never felt anything like that and she envied him. She liked Seattle, especially the artsy aspect of the city. But, there was something about the Iron Springs that had taken up a special place in her heart. She wondered how she would ever say goodbye to Iron Springs . . . and to Billy. The thought made her want to cry. She swallowed her emotions and told herself she’d have to deal with them later. For now, she had to focus on getting the information she needed

              After finding a parking space, Billy got out of the truck, walked to the other side and opened Phoebe’s door. He took her by the hand and led her to Park Street. “Are you ready for this?” Billy asked stopping in front of Inga’s Country Bakery—the Swedish Bakery that shared a wall with the gallery.

              Phoebe nodded. “Yep.”

             
“Wait here for a second,” he whispered. He crept toward the window of the gallery and craned his neck so he could glance inside. He wanted to make sure that Howard was there. Billy had to do a double-take when he saw him. Howard was dressed in a very expensive looking three piece suit; he wore a black wool fedora hat and carried a walking stick.

             
“He looks like a regular snob,” Phoebe joked.

             
Billy spun around to face Phoebe. “I thought I told you to wait over there,” he scolded pointing to the bakery.

             
“I couldn’t wait. Let’s go inside.” Phoebe hurried toward the gallery’s entrance. “Perfect, he’s alone,” she whispered once they were inside and she’d had a minute to survey the room and determine that Mr. Snooty Pants’ partner was nowhere to be seen.

             
“Shhhh,” Billy cautioned. He pretended to admire a bronzed statue of a Native American man who was wearing a loin cloth while climbing a steep mountain.

             
Phoebe looked at the piece. She knew Billy was only acting, but the statue was truly remarkable.

             
“We’re on,” Billy whispered when he saw Howard give the signal. He tugged on Phoebe’s shirt as he began to play his part in the charade. “Excuse me,” he bellowed. “Can I get some assistance over here?” Billy motioned obnoxiously with his hand for Mr. Sour Face to assist him. At first, the salesman merely glanced in Billy’s direction and quickly looked away.

             
“Is that the one?” Phoebe motioned with her arm, in an overly melodramatic fashion.”

             
“Yes, that’s it,” Billy said loudly. This earned him a horrified glance from Mr. Sour Face. “Excuse me.” Billy called out. “Can I get some help over here?”

             
Howard leaned in, whispered something to the man, and then nodded his head in Billy and Phoebe’s direction. The salesman nodded back and left Howard to attend to Billy and Phoebe.

             
“You again,” he huffed. “What is it now?” The man tapped his shoe on the floor and scowled impatiently at the pair of teenagers.

             
“We would like information about this piece,” Billy said pointing to the sculpture.

             
The salesman glanced at Howard before returning his attention to Billy. “What do you want to know about it?”

Phoebe glanced in Howard’s direction and could tell that he was struggling to open the locket. She couldn’t understand why it wasn’t opening. The thought that it might not be her mother’s made her sick to her stomach. After all their hard work—had they gotten to where they are now only to find out the cameo is simply a close copy and not the one stolen from her mother? On top of that, she wasn’t sure how long they could keep Mr. Sour Face occupied.

“What exactly would you like to know?” The salesman was growing impatient.

Phoebe tried to keep one eye focused on the salesman and the other on Howard and the cameo.
Come on Howard, open it!
She kicked herself for not asking her father more questions. Maybe there’s a certain skill to opening the locket—simply applying pressure in the right spots didn’t seem to be working.

“Well . . .”

Phoebe could tell Billy had no idea what to ask. As much as she wanted to know if Howard was going to get the locket opened, she had to help Billy or the whole plan would be wrecked.

             
“How much is it? Phoebe blurted out. Shoot! That was a stupid question.
As she waited for an answer, she tried to organize her thoughts and come up with a more intelligent question.

             
“The sculpture is four thousand dollars,” The man announced abruptly.

             
Phoebe glanced at Howard who had his back turned to her so she couldn’t see what he was doing. She returned her attention to the salesman and cleared her throat. “Before we pay for it, we need to know who the artist is. I mean, we need to assess the potential appreciation of the piece and that depends, in large part, on the artist.” Phoebe folded her arms in front of her and waited for a response.

             
The salesman glared at Phoebe; he held up a finger and excused himself before sauntering to the back of the gallery and disappeared through a door.

             
Phoebe raced over to Howard. “Did you get it?” she asked frantically.

             
“Not yet,” Howard replied, holding the cameo up for her to see. “It’s here and here, right?” he pointed to the two spots where he had been applying pressure.

             
Phoebe looked at the cameo. Her hands shook and she was too nervous to focus clearly. From what she could tell, Howard was applying pressure in the right spots but the cameo was not opening. “Wait!” she whispered, excitedly. “You need to flip it; you have it upside down,”

             
Howard turned the cameo and pressed the two spots. Instantly, the locket popped open. Phoebe let out a loud squeal before clamping both hands over her mouth.

             
Billy hurried over to them. “Did you get it?”

             
“Yes, we did!” she squealed excitedly.

             
Billy looked at the open locket and, after seeing that it was open, he took Phoebe’s hand. “Let’s go before he comes back”.

“Wait,” Phoebe pleaded. “I want to see it.” She strained to get a good look at the open locket but Billy pulled her toward the exit door.

“You can see it later, Feebs. We need to get out of here now.”

Reluctantly, she followed Billy toward the exit.

              It was only a few minutes later when Howard slid into the booth’s vinyl bench opposite Phoebe and Billy at the diner. They listened while Howard told them what happened after they left. “When Francis returned—”

             
“Wait a sec. Who’s Francis?” Phoebe asked.

             
“Francis is the salesman. Anyway—

Billy and Phoebe laughed out loud and Howard paused until they finished.

“We’re sorry Howard,” Phoebe explained. “But isn’t Francis a girl’s name?”

             
“Sometimes it is, but not in this case,” Howard said.

             
“These days, a guy would get beat up with a name like Francis,” Billy joked.

             
“Obviously there’s a generation gap or two at play here,” Howard said, before continuing. “Anyway, as I was saying, Francis returned with Charles—that’s his business partner—in tow.”

             
Phoebe said a silent thank you that she and Billy were out of there before the salesmen got there.

             
“When he noticed you were gone he whispered something to Charles. They both gave a disgusted look toward the door and Charles returned to the back room. Francis apologized for leaving me for so long and tried his best to close the sale”.

             
Phoebe was on the edge of her seat, hanging on Howard’s every word. “What happened then?”

             
“Well, I threw a perfect fit at the poor service he’d provided. I gave him a little of his own medicine,” Howard said with a wink. “I told him that I had fully intended to purchase the cameo but had thought better of it during the time I was being ignored. I handed the locket back to him and waltzed out of there with my nose in the air!”

             
“You didn’t!”

             
“I certainly did young lady. And he followed me out the door and down the sidewalk, apologizing the entire time.”

             
“That’s something I wish I could have seen,” Phoebe said between fits of laughter.