Secrets, p.13
Secrets, page 13
She entered through the massive glass doors and found herself amidst a lush garden with breathtaking skylights. The perimeter was marked with artists’ shops and beautiful colors. It was a tsunami of visual stimulation. She didn’t know where to begin. Then her eyes went immediately to the corner where pieces of sculpture sat alongside another glass door. They appeared to be made of metal. Her first inclination was to look. She slowly walked around one side of the atrium, glancing into the windows of ceramics, glass, birdhouses, and jewelry. It was a bit overwhelming. It could take all day to find the woman she was in search of. When she arrived at the front of the metal-sculpture kiosk, she got a shiver. She peered inside and saw that no one was on the premises. She saw the sign about the honor system but resisted touching any of the objects. After browsing through the shop, she turned and noticed a sign for the Blonde Shallot. She was getting hungry and decided to check it out. As she made her way toward the sandwich shop, her eyes darted around to see if she could find the mysterious woman’s café. There it was. Namaste Café. She stopped in her tracks for a moment to peek into the shop. There was a woman around Tori’s age with a very long braid, granny glasses, and bangle bracelets standing next to an easel. Tori thought perhaps it was the woman she was seeking. There was another woman seated at the adjacent table, and they were talking. By the expression on the braided woman’s face, it was a serious discussion. She resisted the urge to go inside. She would check again after she had some lunch.
Tori entered the Blonde Shallot and decided to try something different and bought a caprese sandwich with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, tomato, and pesto on a ciabatta roll. She grabbed a bottle of water and carried her lunch to one of the high-top tables in the atrium. She found a seat where she could keep an eye on the café, hoping the woman would be free to talk at some point. She watched the first woman leave. She was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and had a large piece of paper rolled under her arm. Tori couldn’t tell if she was crying or trying to be incognito. Within minutes, another woman walked into the café. She watched them shake hands, then the braided woman motioned toward the table next to the easel. Tori thought she might have the wrong person. Maybe she was simply a sketch artist. Then she saw the braided woman sit across from the customer, who took off a piece of jewelry and handed it to her. The braided woman clasped the piece and closed her eyes for several minutes. She began to write something. The customer kept nodding. Then the braided woman got up and went to the easel and began to sketch. It was a very odd interaction. At least from Tori’s point of view. Several people stopped midway and blocked her from seeing what was happening next. Tori tried not to be conspicuous by craning her neck when the people finally moved away from her line of sight. At that point, the braided woman tore off the paper, rolled it up, and handed it to the customer. Both women nodded and shook hands again. Tori was now convinced that the braided woman was the one she needed to speak to and wondered if this would be a good time to approach her. But before Tori could wrap the remains of her sandwich, the braided woman slid the glass door shut, put up a sign, and disappeared through a connecting door into the restoration showroom. Tori sighed and decided she should finish her lunch and walk around the rest of the center. Maybe by the time she had completed her first lap, the woman would be returning to the café. A few minutes later, a young college-age woman entered the café and removed the sign. It became more confusing as the minutes went on. Maybe she was the person?
* * *
Luna entered Cullen’s workshop and yawned. “I am exhausted, and I still have two more people to meet with today.” She pulled up a chair and rested her head on the long worktable.
“Did you have any lunch?” Cullen asked.
“Not yet. I asked Sabrina to cover for me for a half hour. I needed a break.”
“I’ll go grab something and bring it back. You can hide out here for a while. Roast beef?”
“With cheddar please. Thanks.”
“Be right back.” Cullen grabbed his wallet and headed through the main door of his showroom.
Tori watched closely as a tall, nice-looking, clean-cut man with sandy brown hair appeared from the showroom. He was close in age to the woman from the café. Probably the same age as Tori, maybe a couple of years older. But not by much. Maybe forty, but it was hard to pinpoint. She eyed him walk toward the sandwich shop, nodding at each person passing by. His face lit up when he spotted a striking honey-toned woman with long dark braids, half of which were wrapped around her head. She wore a beautiful purple caftan with exquisite silver and stone jewelry. Tori noticed the woman was coming from a stall that said:
SILVER AND STONE
Probably the owner, Tori thought to herself. It occurred to her that there were several people close to her age who had businesses. Careers. Sure she had a good job, but she had never considered it a career. She couldn’t complain, though. It was so much better than working as a hostess with ungodly hours.
Tori watched as the stunning woman gave a brief nod and smile to the tall, sandy-haired man. Tori thought they could be dating by the way they looked at each other. Something about the man’s face. There was a special light in his eyes. The beautiful woman had a gentle but innocent, maybe even shy look about her. The two people caught up with each other. They were smiling and laughing. Tori tried to remember what that felt like. The man nodded toward the door of the shop he had just left. The woman nodded back in acknowledgment as she placed her hand on his arm. Tori’s feeling was correct. There was some kind of spark.
She watched the woman walk to the corner where the man had come from and go inside. Several minutes later, the man exited the sandwich shop with a large bag and strode to the same door. Must be having lunch together. But what happened to the hippie-looking woman? Tori shrugged and finished her sandwich. Her eyes were fixed on the strange corner shop with the metal sculpture. Maybe she would take a look. She glanced in the direction of the café and calculated that she would be able to spot the woman if or when she returned.
* * *
Cullen strode into the workshop with three sandwiches. One for Luna, one for Chi-Chi, and his favorite sloppy lunch. “Did you bring enough napkins?” Luna teased.
“I’ll have you know that I am not a messy eater,” Cullen shot back.
“No, you are not. But the sandwich has different ideas,” Chi-Chi said with a straight face.
Cullen chuckled. He was enjoying Chi-Chi’s company and humor more each day. He calculated how many days it would be before they went to dinner without his sister. Two weeks and a few days. He didn’t like to wish his life away, but in this case he was eager to be alone with Chi-Chi in a beautiful, romantic restaurant.
The three of them made small talk as they devoured their lunch. When they were finished, Luna and Chi-Chi helped clear the table of their bags and napkins. Luna announced she would take the diary back to her café and try to get something from it while waiting between clients. She was careful to be sure she wore latex gloves and handled it as if it were something fragile.
Chi-Chi had a box of amethyst she needed to peruse for the jewelry show coming up. Cullen was going to start to work on the trunk. Clean it up, fix the hinges and lock. The biggest obstacle was getting the smell out of |it. For something that had survived a fire, it sure did stink. In the letter, the owner mentioned it being in storage. Maybe it was packed with other fire-related items.
* * *
Tori watched the tall, stunning, honey-toned woman exit the showroom through the main door. She thought she saw a shadowy figure move from the showroom into the café. Shortly, the younger twentysomething woman exited the café, and the hippie type returned to the corner table next to the easel. Tori made a mad dash across the atrium, but before she reached the café, another person walked in. She realized she had been stalking the woman for over two hours and hoped no one else had noticed her odd behavior. Tori decided to write a note and leave it on the counter inside the café. One way or another, Tori was going to connect with her.
She searched her tote bag and pulled out the small pad and pen she always carried with her. Many people use their phones to write lists and take notes, but ever since she was in school for her paralegal certification she discovered there was a lot of note-taking on paper. She printed her name and phone number and jotted, If you have time today, can you please call me? You were highly recommended. There. That made it sound like she knew what she was doing and that someone had referred her. Technically, someone had recommended her but not directly. That was a good enough argument in the legal sense.
Tori folded the piece of paper, made her way across the atrium, and entered the café. She nodded at the hippie and left the note next to the large coffeemaker. The hippie nodded back and smiled.
Tori felt a huge sigh of relief. She had made contact. Maybe the reading wouldn’t be that day, but she had literally got her foot in the door. The tension in her shoulders relaxed. She hadn’t realized how taut she was. Now she could browse around for real and look at the art displays and maybe, actually, find something she could turn into a hobby.
She walked over to Hot Sand and watched with fascination as someone blew glass into a colorful sphere. She noticed several of them hanging from the ceiling. The tag said:
WISHING BALL
How appropriate. Maybe she should buy one. She picked one with colors of turquoise and aqua. The price was $65. She stopped and decided it would be too much to spend and her husband would have a conniption fit. Another artist walked over to her, and said, “Hi. We’re having a special today. Everything is twenty percent off.”
Tori eyed the ball again. “It’s beautiful.”
“One of my faves, actually,” the artist said.
Tori did the math in her head. Just a little over $52. She could fudge that in her weekly household allowance. Then she stopped herself. She didn’t have to justify buying something beautiful and original. Sure, there would be a bit of a dust-up over it, but she didn’t care. She contributed plenty to their overhead, including doing all the chores. “You’ve got a deal.”
The artist pulled out a step stool and plucked it from the hook. “I just polished it this morning so it’s good to go! Make a wish!”
Tori didn’t know where to begin but then settled on “guidance.” She closed her eyes and repeated it silently to herself. That was a lot easier than she thought.
The artist smiled. “Let me wrap that up for you.” She took the glass ball and went into a back room. Tori watched with curiosity as the other artist continued spinning glass into an object of art. A few minutes later, the artist returned with a colorful shopping bag with the piece of blown glass carefully packed in a box surrounded by bright tissue. “I put some filament in an envelope for you for when you hang it.”
“Thank you. I think it’s the first real piece of original anything I’ve ever owned.” Tori blushed with a slight bit of embarrassment.
“Well then, I am rightly pleased you chose one of my pieces to begin.” The artist smiled brightly and handed the rainbow of colors to her. “Thank you very much and I hope to see you again. Good luck and enjoy your day.”
Tori felt much lighter even though she knew she wouldn’t be very light much longer. There was a spring in her step similar to the one after she told Mr. Layton, George, about her predicament. Maybe her life had turned a page. And if that were the case, Tori decided she was going to be the one writing and reading it.
* * *
After Luna’s appointment left, she opened the note on the counter. She got a strange feeling from it. Not that strange feelings were uncommon for her, but this was a little different. There was something oddly familiar about the vibe she got from the paper. She shrugged and checked her schedule. The afternoon was whizzing by, but she had some time around four thirty. She wondered if the woman could wait until then. She had promised Rita she would talk to her just after five. Luna decided to dial the number.
A nervous voice answered. “Huh . . . hello?” Tori could barely choke out the words.
“Hi. This is Luna. I believe you left a note for me in my café?” Luna was bright and cheerful.
“Yes, this is Tori. Thank you for calling me.”
“Nice to meet you, Tori. Are you still in the building?”
“Yes, I am on the second floor doing a little window-shopping.” Tori knew that was about as close as she would ever come to owning a vintage Chanel bag. She was stunned at the prices. Even a used quilted bag fetched almost $2,000. She wondered what the original price was. Not that it mattered.
“I have some time between four thirty and five if you’ll still be around.”
Tori checked the many watches in the window at the Second Time Around shop. It was an hour and a half from now. But she was there, and she wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. “I think I can keep myself busy until then,” Tori replied.
“Great. See you later.”
“Thank you very much.” Tori clicked off her phone. She could not believe she was really going through with this. She had walked through the center twice already and wasn’t sure what she would do for another ninety minutes. Then she remembered she had a couple of magazines in her car. She went back to the parking lot, retrieved the magazines, and returned to the center. This time she went out the large glass doors that led to a patio. Even the landscaping was a work of art, inside and out. She noticed a small brass plaque that read:
LANDSCAPING BY CALGO GARDENS
That explains it, she thought to herself. They were known throughout the state for their landscape architecture.
She walked through the garden, noticing wind chimes and birdhouses. Several other plaques indicated where they came from. Blowin’ in the Wind was obviously the wind chime maker, and Tweety’s Townhouse had to be the birdhouse guy. She had breezed past both of them when she was inside. She liked the sound of the chimes. Relaxing and melodious. Maybe I should have purchased those instead, she mused. But she was happy with her magic ball. After all, wasn’t that the whole reason she was at the center? She needed some kind of magic in her life.
She saw a sign for the dog park and noticed three animals resting quietly under a tree. Two German shepherd adults and one she thought might be a collie. As she passed, the collie-looking dog lifted his head. It was almost as if he was saying hello. Get a grip, Tori. You may be on a mission, but let’s not blast into oblivion with imaginary conversations with dogs. A man who looked like he was in his mid-to-late twenties gave her a wave. Tori waved back. Everyone is so friendly, she thought. Maybe it was the artwork. Creative people being creative. Enjoying what they are doing. She sighed. She still hadn’t come up with something for a hobby. Glassblowing was surely out of the picture. Then she remembered passing a small shop with origami figures in the window. She turned and headed back to the interior of the center and walked toward Between the Folds.
When she entered the shop, she was mesmerized by all the different shapes of the origami. Most people are familiar with the crane, but it is an entire art form creating shapes out of one piece of paper. A petite Asian woman greeted Tori at the door. She was wearing a beautifully embroidered black kimono. She bowed slightly and spoke perfect English. “Good afternoon. My name is Suki. Welcome.”
“Hello. I’m Tori.” She took a breath. “Wow. This is amazing.”
“Thank you. Are you familiar with origami?”
“Not really. I know it’s a paper-folding art, but I have never seen anything like this.” She scanned the room.
“Yes, most people know about the crane, but as you can see, there are an infinite number of possibilities. Would you like me to show you?” The woman gestured toward a long table with various colors and sizes of paper.
Tori had some time to kill. so she thought it would be fun. “Sure! But I have to warn you; I am all thumbs,” she said shyly.
“Not to worry. I can teach you to fold a crane in less than fifteen minutes.”
“Seriously?” Tori sounded doubtful. “If you say so.”
“Wonderful. Please take a seat.”
Tori placed her special magic shopping bag and her tote on the seat next to her right. The woman sat on her left.
“What color would you like?” Suki asked.
“Purple?” Tori asked, wondering if the color mattered.
“Purple is a powerful color.” Suki nodded and handed Tori a sheet and took one for herself.
The woman explained that most of the figures are from single sheets, but you can join them together. She motioned toward the small garden of paper flowers.
“That is incredible,” Tori said in awe.
Step by step, Suki instructed Tori to make the folds, turning the paper, and more folds. As promised, within fifteen minutes, Tori had a purple crane.
“You see? That wasn’t very difficult.” Suki smiled.
“Wow. I would never have guessed I could do this.” She kept turning the once flat sheet of paper that had turned into a three-dimensional bird.
“I teach workshops once a month. Usually two hours. It is very relaxing.”
Tori realized that she had been so focused on folding the paper correctly that she had forgotten about pretty much everything for ten minutes. “Amazing.” She looked at an origami mobile with baby animals. “How long would it take to make something like that?” She pointed.
“That would take many hours.” Suki smiled.
“Like how many?” Tori asked.
“It would depend on how many animals you want,” the woman said.
“What about a crane mobile?” Tori decided on something less challenging.
“You just made a crane in fifteen minutes, but I encourage people to take their time. Enjoy the process. That is part of the beauty of origami. It is not a race.”
