Read Online The Lovely Chocolate Mob by Richard J. Bennett - Free Book Online
Authors: Richard J. Bennett
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pictures on our website aren’t as pretty as they are in real life.”
I was stumped for a second, then understood what he was saying. His phone might have extra listeners, and he was hesitant to say more. He wanted to speak face-to-face.
“You know, I have a real interest in day lilies. I’d like to see some of them real soon. Tell you what, I’ll drop in sometime and you can show me what you’ve got.”
“Okay, Randall! Well, hey, I’ve got to get back to work. I look forward to seeing you!”
After work, I drove to Byers’ Florist and looked around. Gary was in the back work area, cutting and mounting flowers and tying ribbons and bows to them, arranging and making them look desirable for the ladies. I guess some people liked buying flowers. I walked back to the work area.
“Hey, Gary!” I said, “How’s it going?”
“Hello, Randall! Didn’t expect to see you so soon!”
He stood up from where he was sitting, came over to me and shook my hand. “Let’s go to the back,” he said, “I want to show you some of those lilies we talked about.”
We walked to the far back of the shop, out the back door and into a greenhouse. It was a nice temperature in there, so I didn’t mind. I usually liked doing my business indoors, away from the sun, but all the flowers and climate controlled atmosphere made it kind of nice. Gary walked over to a corner and turned on a CD player, and cranked up the volume. Fortunately, it was classical music. Must have been for the employees while they’re working out back, or maybe it was for the flowers to help them grow. I wouldn’t know, but I guessed giving the plants music beat spending time talking to them.
Gary came over and said, “Okay, we can talk now. Sorry about all the cloak and dagger.”
“That’s okay, Gary. I’m getting used to it. The older we get, the more we seem to do this kind of thing.”
“You just can’t be too careful; you never know who’s listening.” He looked around as though he was searching for somebody with a camera. “Were you followed here?”
I chuckled at that, but said with a straight face, “No, nobody followed me. I’m not in any trouble, so nobody wants anything to do with me.”
“That’s good to know,” he said. He pulled up a stool and sat down. I don’t think he liked to stand too much, since I’m sure he was always on the move in this job. He probably sat down every chance he got, like I do; I decided to follow suit, so I pulled up a stool as well. Gary looked at me, and said, “I don’t know where Walter is these days. He’s been kind of hard to find since his release. He took a hard fall, and I think he’s embarrassed that he hasn’t been able to get back into the corporate world, now that he has a record, even with all his expertise.”
I nodded, and added, “He said he was going to lay low until his parole was over. That time has passed.”
“I’ll put the word out that you’d like to speak with him,” said Gary, “but I can’t guarantee anything.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I may not have any need with him. It’s a concern I have; it’s nothing pressing.”
Since that was out of the way, we talked about people we knew, schoolmates, old girlfriends, old teachers, for about 20 minutes, reliving our youthful days. Gary was a businessman now, and I didn’t blame him for being careful. He had to keep himself far from being associated with controversial and shady characters, and I guess Walter had somewhat of a reputation for being a character, although I felt he had been misunderstood. Nobody understands genius; they’re labeled as ”eccentrics,” which serves to isolate them socially.
I finally got up to leave, and Gary walked me to the front of the store, talking all the way. He probably didn’t get many schoolmates and old friends here at his business; it must be lonely at times although he does have much of his extended family here with him. He’d become a family man, and had
I was stumped for a second, then understood what he was saying. His phone might have extra listeners, and he was hesitant to say more. He wanted to speak face-to-face.
“You know, I have a real interest in day lilies. I’d like to see some of them real soon. Tell you what, I’ll drop in sometime and you can show me what you’ve got.”
“Okay, Randall! Well, hey, I’ve got to get back to work. I look forward to seeing you!”
After work, I drove to Byers’ Florist and looked around. Gary was in the back work area, cutting and mounting flowers and tying ribbons and bows to them, arranging and making them look desirable for the ladies. I guess some people liked buying flowers. I walked back to the work area.
“Hey, Gary!” I said, “How’s it going?”
“Hello, Randall! Didn’t expect to see you so soon!”
He stood up from where he was sitting, came over to me and shook my hand. “Let’s go to the back,” he said, “I want to show you some of those lilies we talked about.”
We walked to the far back of the shop, out the back door and into a greenhouse. It was a nice temperature in there, so I didn’t mind. I usually liked doing my business indoors, away from the sun, but all the flowers and climate controlled atmosphere made it kind of nice. Gary walked over to a corner and turned on a CD player, and cranked up the volume. Fortunately, it was classical music. Must have been for the employees while they’re working out back, or maybe it was for the flowers to help them grow. I wouldn’t know, but I guessed giving the plants music beat spending time talking to them.
Gary came over and said, “Okay, we can talk now. Sorry about all the cloak and dagger.”
“That’s okay, Gary. I’m getting used to it. The older we get, the more we seem to do this kind of thing.”
“You just can’t be too careful; you never know who’s listening.” He looked around as though he was searching for somebody with a camera. “Were you followed here?”
I chuckled at that, but said with a straight face, “No, nobody followed me. I’m not in any trouble, so nobody wants anything to do with me.”
“That’s good to know,” he said. He pulled up a stool and sat down. I don’t think he liked to stand too much, since I’m sure he was always on the move in this job. He probably sat down every chance he got, like I do; I decided to follow suit, so I pulled up a stool as well. Gary looked at me, and said, “I don’t know where Walter is these days. He’s been kind of hard to find since his release. He took a hard fall, and I think he’s embarrassed that he hasn’t been able to get back into the corporate world, now that he has a record, even with all his expertise.”
I nodded, and added, “He said he was going to lay low until his parole was over. That time has passed.”
“I’ll put the word out that you’d like to speak with him,” said Gary, “but I can’t guarantee anything.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I may not have any need with him. It’s a concern I have; it’s nothing pressing.”
Since that was out of the way, we talked about people we knew, schoolmates, old girlfriends, old teachers, for about 20 minutes, reliving our youthful days. Gary was a businessman now, and I didn’t blame him for being careful. He had to keep himself far from being associated with controversial and shady characters, and I guess Walter had somewhat of a reputation for being a character, although I felt he had been misunderstood. Nobody understands genius; they’re labeled as ”eccentrics,” which serves to isolate them socially.
I finally got up to leave, and Gary walked me to the front of the store, talking all the way. He probably didn’t get many schoolmates and old friends here at his business; it must be lonely at times although he does have much of his extended family here with him. He’d become a family man, and had
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