Pink Flamingoed (9 page)

The Christmas holidays were a time of relaxation for
Brad, but once the holidays were over, it was time for him to get back to work.
It had been only two months since his latest book had come out, but Brad had
heard from people who had read it and told him how much they enjoyed this one
and how eager they were to read the next one. He had planned to begin writing
his next book by early January, and since early January had arrived, it was
time to get to work.

Brad looked out his window and watched as the wind
blew the snow, thankful that he did not have to leave his house to go to work.
But then on Aylesford Place, very few people had to leave their homes each day.

Once January arrived, Brad’s day consisted of getting
up early, fixing himself a bowl of oatmeal and some orange juice, enjoying it,
and then pouring himself a cup of coffee, which he took with him to the
computer. Brad needed silence to create. He never answered the phone. He
refrained from answering his doorbell. He was a disciplined writer. That’s why
he was able to crank out a new book by the time his publisher wanted it. Each
Monday through Friday, Brad worked until he needed a break and then took a
shower and got dressed. Then, he started back to work and continued to work on
his book until lunchtime. For Brad, lunchtime varied. He determined his
lunchtime by when he felt it was time  to  put his book away until the next
day. Sometimes Brad ate at noon. Other times, it was close to three o’clock when he turned away from his computer for the last time.

+++

Amy never disturbed Brad in the middle of his writing.
She let him call her or pop over and ring her doorbell whenever he was ready to
face the world, or at least the one person in the world he could not wait to
see each day. January was one of Brad’s busiest times of the year, but winter
was Amy’s slow season. Amy was not one to sit around on her hands. Cabin fever
hit her much sooner than anyone else on the street. When she knew she just had
to get out of the house at least for a few minutes, she crossed the street to
check on Allison. The only time they had seen each other recently was at
church. Amy put on her boots, bundled up to keep out the cold, and crunched
through the snow to see her best friend. Well, her best female friend near her
age.

“Hello stranger. Long time no see,” Allison said, as
she opened her door with a smile.

Amy bent over and hugged her friend. “Sorry I haven’t
stopped by lately. I’ve been so busy with the holidays and all.”

“Yeah,
and
all’s
kind of cute, huh? You
like him a lot, don’t you, Amy?”

“You sound just like Cora.”

“You’re avoiding my question,” Allison replied in a
smiling, melodious way.

“Yes, Allison. I like him a lot.”

“He seems like he’ll be good for you.”

“I hope so. So, how are you doing?”

“Pretty good. I had a good Christmas. I went to see
my  mom and dad for a few days and got to see my brother and his wife, too.”

“Everyone okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Does that include Allison?”

“Well, I haven’t found a Mr. Wonderful yet, if that’s
what you mean, but business is really good and I’m happy. By the way, would you
like some hot chocolate. I was just going to fix myself some.”

“Sounds great.”

“Be right back,” Allison said, already swiveling her
chair.

Amy and Allison sat and visited for an hour or so,
each glad to have a friend so near by. After a good visit, Amy said, “Well, I
guess I’ll let you get back to what you’re doing.”

“Thanks for stopping by, Amy. Please do it again soon.
I miss our little talks.”

“I’ll have to do a better job, Alli. Really, it isn’t
like I’ve spent all of my time with Brad. You know how much I hibernate in the
winter, except when I go out to shoot some photographs.”

“Well, just remember to shoot over this way sometime.
Besides, I know the only reason you hibernate is because you don’t like to
drive in this kind of weather unless you have to, even though you have an SUV.”

“True, and I promise to come over more often. Now,
give me a hug.”

+++

Ethel handed Harry a long “to do” list on the day he
sent out an e-mail to everyone Scott had e-mailed. Not only did it cost him his
chance to explore the Internet, but his e-mail time. He barely had time to
watch
The Price Is Right.
He did not have a chance to check his e-mail
again until the next morning. When Harry checked it, he was elated to see that
he had ten new messages.

Harry forgot that he sent the message to Frank and
Cora, and Cora took advantage of the opportunity to reply to Harry’s e-mail.

“I’m glad you e-mailed us. Until we got your e-mail,
both of us  figured   that   [email protected]   was   probably  Barney.

We’re glad that you’re enjoying your computer, Harry.
I’m sure that Ethel can use the peace and quiet. By the way, did all of the ten
ways you could tell if you’re getting old apply to you? Bye for now, Cora.”

Harry continued to read his messages. He received
messages from Barney, Bertha, Scott, Jill, Kenny, Brad, and Amy in addition to
Rachel. Then he got to his last message. “What church on Aylesford Place?” was
all it said, and it was signed Moses.

“Who’s [email protected]?” Harry wondered. He made a  
note of everyone he had heard from and then tried to think of who else attended
the church he and Ethel attended. “It must be someone playing a trick on me,”
Harry thought. “Who could it be?” This so occupied his mind that he did not
search game show websites until after lunch.

+++

Brad had just gotten up one morning when the phone
rang. He rushed over to pick it up. “Hello.”

“Have you looked outside this morning?”

“I sure have. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“I’ll say. Sorry to bother you so early, but I wanted
to catch you before you started writing. Would you be interested in taking a
little break?”

“What’d you have in mind?” Brad asked.

“Well, we don’t get a lot of ice storms around here,
and to me an ice storm is an opportunity. I was thinking about going out and
taking some photographs and wanted to know if you’d like to go along.”

“Sounds like fun. I could go for a little while. Where
do you plan to go?”

“Well, I was going to walk down to the park and then I
might check out some of the other streets in the neighborhood.”

“Can you give me fifteen minutes to get ready? I’d
like to jump in the shower first.”

“Do you need longer?”

“No, fifteen minutes will be enough.”

“Okay, just come over when you get ready,” Amy said.

Brad blow-dried his hair, got dressed, and hurried to
Amy’s. Amy was watching for him and stepped out carrying a couple of bags and a
tripod.

“Here, let me help you with that,” Brad said,
grappling for Amy’s equipment with one hand while he held on to the railing
with the other. Brad grabbed some of Amy’s equipment and they were off, inching
along on what was normally a quick walk.

“So, how’s the new book coming?”

“I’m not doing too much writing yet. I’m doing
everything I need to do to get ready to write.”

“And what does that consist of?”

“Each writer is different, but with whodunits I begin
by deciding on a setting and a plot, and then I make a list of characters and
begin to flesh them out. Then I outline my book one scene at a time.”

“So, are you willing to reveal where this one takes
place and how the victim dies?”

“Some of that, but I’m always willing to change as I
go along if I feel changes need to be made. As it now stands, this one takes
place at a dinner party at a remote country manor where all of the guests spend
the night and the victim dies at the dinner party with all of the suspects
gathered around him.”

“Sounds like fun. Oh, by the way, I read the book you
gave me for Christmas and I loved it.”

“Well, it’s good to know that I have a new fan.”

“Speaking of fans, did you know that Nancy Armbruster
was the one who bought the last two copies of your books at The Printed Page?
Naturally, she bought them for Jill who has already read both of them.”

“Yeah, I know. Jill e-mailed me and told me how much
she loved them.”

“Oh, she did, did she? Does this mean that Melanie is
not my only competition?”

“Elementary, my dear Watson.”

Halfway down the street, Brad’s feet flew out from
under him. Amy grabbed for the camera equipment as Brad was going down. Brad
hit the icy sidewalk and let out an “ugh.”

“Are you all right?” Amy asked.

“Maybe, but no thanks to you. At least I know where I
stand in relation to your camera equipment.”

“A good man is easier to replace than camera
equipment,” Amy answered, as she grinned from ear to ear.

“Evidently,” Brad replied.

Amy reached out and helped Brad to his feet, but their
banter continued until they came to the park.

Amy sat down her equipment, took in the landscape.
“Isn’t this just beautiful, Brad?”

“And wonderful and incredible, too.”

“I’m talking about the ice storm.”

“Me, too. You haven’t cornered the market on
beautiful, incredible, and wonderful, you know.”

Amy had no idea how to make an ice ball, so she
refrained from throwing anything at her next-door neighbor. Besides, it might
hurt. Brad eased up behind Amy and put his arms around her waist while they
took in their wonderland of ice. Ice clung to each branch, to the porch of each
house, and sprung up from the ground like newborn stalagmites. “Yeah, it’s
beautiful, but it doesn’t smell as good as your hair.”

Amy turned and gave Brad a hug.

“Now, sit down and let me get some work done.”

Brad scraped the ice off a nearby swing, then sat on
it, and watched  Amy  go  to  work.  Amy  spent  almost  a  half  an  hour
looking through the camera lens to see what she thought would make a good
photograph.

“Brad, why don’t you lie down in the grass and make an
ice angel?”

“Why don’t
you
lie down in the grass and make
an ice angel?” Brad countered.

“Because, I’m the photographer. That’s why.”

“I can take the picture. All I have to do is push down
on the button. It can’t be too hard.”

“So, I guess I’ll go home and write a novel, since all
I have to do is push down on some computer keys.”

“Okay, you win. Where do you want me to lie down?”

Brad accommodated Amy, then went back to his swing. He
tuned out the clicks of Amy’s cameras and drifted off in his own little world.
And what a world it was. Brad could remember only twice when he seemed to leave
the real world and headed to a world of a different sort. The first time was
when he visited Williamsburg, Virginia as a child. It was as if he stepped back
in time, left the real world, and drifted back to feel what it was like for the
founders of this country. The other time was when he went to Niagara Falls and
rode the Maid of the Mist, which made him feel that he was close enough to the
falls that at any moment the boat would begin to climb the falls. Brad was sure
there were other places that would give him the same feeling. He had yet to see
the Grand Canyon. He had never visited the Grand Tetons or Yellowstone to
wander through country that is rapidly disappearing and among animals that he
would never find in New York City. Brad breathed in the cool winter air,
twisted in the swing and took in the panoramic view. He felt as if Jules Verne
had taken him on a
Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Amy shot photographs until she felt she had all the
shots she needed. She could not remember a more beautiful sight. Everything was
covered with ice; trees, grass, sidewalks, houses, playground   equipment, 
cars.   As   long  as  no  one  had  to  go anywhere, as long as the power
stayed on, it was a sight to behold. Amy didn’t want it to end, but end it
would. At least she would have photographs to jiggle her memory. At least she
could make duplicate copies so others could enjoy it as well.

“Okay, I guess we can go now,” Amy said as she started
to put her things away. Amy smiled and repeated her words. Brad too was lost in
the beauty of the moment. It was nice to love a man who took time to enjoy the
moments God only sends on occasion.

Finally Brad realized that Amy was talking to him and
that she had finished taking pictures.

“Amy, why do you use two cameras? Is it so that you
don’t have to change lenses?”

“With zoom lenses it doesn’t matter. I can zoom in and
out. But sometimes I want to shoot in black-and-white and other times I want to
shoot in color.”