I stared at the ringing apparatus on my desk. Was I supposed to just say, “Hello”? Was I to introduce myself? Was I even supposed to answer it at all? After the fourth ring, the voice that belonged to the flip-flops came from the other cubicle. “You might want to answer that.”
I picked the phone up as if it might be an explosive and said, “Savannah Phillips.”
“Hey, Savannah. This is Marla at the front desk. I know we haven’t met yet, but we’ll get to know each other soon. But right now, I need to tell you that there’s a man on the phone for you. I’ll transfer him.”
“A man, well, OK . . . how do you transfer him exactly?”
“Well, you just hang up the phone. Your phone will ring again, and when it does, you answer it just the way you did a minute ago and he’ll be on the other end. OK?”
“OK,” I said, hanging up the phone. I waited for about three seconds, and the phone rang again. I answered the same way, adding a hello.
“Yes, Savannah. This is Richard Cummings.”
I froze. I had hoped he might call. But I had never considered what I’d say or how I’d say it, let alone what he might say in return. I didn’t even know where to begin, so I just started with the first thing that came to mind.“Yes, Mr. Cummings. I didn’t know if I would hear from you or not.”
“Well, I am still appalled at your allegations and your intrusion. I wanted to catch you first thing this morning to let you know how out of line you were. You are extremely nosy, but you seem like you try real hard,” he said with mock appreciation.“Now, past things are past things, none of which needs stirring up around here. You need to let things that have been laid to rest, simply rest. Nothing but trouble will come from your accusations.” His anger had been giving way to weariness. “I’m asking you to simply let this be.”
“I don’t think it needs to just be,Mr. Cummings.”
“Well, this thing was settled years ago. And if you try to stir up things now, we will have some trouble to deal with.”
“Are you threatening me?”
He chuckled at that. “My dear girl, I’m too old to threaten people. I’m a successful, established businessman in a reputable community. My family and I are part of the fabric of this city, and to have a child from Savannah make such allegations against us is merely more than an annoyance. As for you, however, well, it would probably not be the wisest move.”
“Well, I’ve learned that when people are duped by a person they put great faith in, they usually appreciate the knowledge of such things in the long run.”
“I don’t believe anything my family has done has ‘duped’ anyone. But I do believe your meddling will ultimately contribute to the well-being of no one,” he said, his even voice full of hidden meaning.
“Are you saying that the things you have done have not had long-term ramifications on others’ lives?”
“I didn’t say I had done anything. But I do believe that any decision made by beauty pageant judges affects a young lady’s life for one year. That’s all. It’s just one year out of her life. So don’t waste your time on temporal things, my dear. Go write stories on things that really matter to people. That’s all I have to say to you.”
I jumped in before he could hang up. “Let me remind you of someone this story really matters to, Mr. Cummings. Her name is Emma. And your son’s decision, your son’s greedy choice, precipitated by years of your own greedy choices, have caused her to spend the last six years regarding herself as worthless. Did her own choices have something to do with that? Yes. Were your son’s decisions the catalyst? I believe they were. Are you innocent? I don’t think so. He followed in your footsteps, made the same choices you made for others countless times before. Besides the fact that you dictate destinies, you are a greedy man.”
“Don’t talk about what you don’t know.”
“Oh, I know. You chose a dollar over a life. You, Mr. Cummings, are the one who has let the temporal affect your future. You let one moment of decision, one pivotal moment of choice, determine that your life would be not one of character, but of compromise.”
“You’re treading on dangerous ground, little girl.”
“Maybe so,Mr. Cummings. But you should be old and wise by now. Instead, you’ve missed what really matters. You’ve missed the opportunity to be a man of character producing children of character.”
And with that, I heard a click from the other end of the line.
The bed-head from next door peeked around the corner and said with a quirky smile,“Do you talk to everyone in condescending composition form?”
I sat my elbows on the corner of my desk and laid my head in my hands.“No. No, I’m in rare form today. I’m sorry about earlier.
Not a good way to get started,” I said, looking up into his face.
His smirk softened. “Well, it was deserved, considering my smart-aleck comment. How ’bout we try again?” He stretched out his hand.“Hello, my name is Joshua, Joshua North.”
I shook his hand as confidently as I could, trying not to act as defeated as I felt.“Hello, Joshua, I’m Savannah Phillips. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well, Ms. Phillips. Do you need any help?” he asked, kneeling down beside my chair.
“Yes, I need a story. Because my first one just went bye-bye,” I said, putting my head back into my hands.
“It can’t be that bad. Maybe you just need to pursue it from another angle.”
“The only angle I have not pursued would involve breaking into a bank or using my influence with Judge Hoddicks to retrieve information that really wouldn’t produce a public-interest story. Except for maybe the Star.” I tried to laugh but proved totally unable.
“Well, if it’s any consolation, my first story was a total disaster. I was writing about a meeting of the Savannah Chamber of Commerce and called your mother for some background. Then I referred to her in the article as “Vicky Phillips.” It passed the editor, but I got a phone call at home at around six a.m. from one irate Vicky Phillips. It was pretty horrendous, and now I think your mother refers to me as ‘the young man with deplorable research skills.’” He grinned.
“You know how to make a first impression,” I said, looking at him and laughing as well.“If you only knew how much my mother detests being called Vicky. That’s like calling Queen Elizabeth ‘Beth.’ Some things are just forbidden.”
“Well, your father must not have minded, because he called me and told me he thought I did a good job for my first story.”
“So you’ve already met my parents.”
“Well, I wish I would have just been introduced to them as a normal person, but most around here would say I got what I deserved, and that I was anything but normal,” he said, standing back up, as if he had revealed enough of himself.
I stood up too, feeling as if I needed a good stretch, and it wasn’t much past nine o’clock.“Well, don’t worry,by the time everyone here gets to know me, you and I will be in good company. Shoot, by the time my first article comes out,Vicky will probably be calling me a young lady with deplorable research skills. Trust me, she is no respecter of persons.” Even as I said it, I wondered if that was true, considering her surprising response to news of my story the previous evening.
“Well, hang in there. It really will get better. You’ll figure out your story. You’ll write it, and everyone will love it. By what I hear, this town is crazy about you anyway. So, just do whatever it is that you’ve done for the last fifteen or twenty years, and I’m sure you’ll be just fine. I have to get back to work, or whatever it is they have me doing around here. I think I’m covering the school board meeting this morning at ten.”
“No more Chamber of Commerce meetings?”
“Oh, no! I got taken off of that beat immediately. Hey, maybe you can cover them,” he said with that same sarcastic smirk.
“Or not!” I said with my right eyebrow raised.
“How did you do that?” he asked, trying to raise his own eyebrow and putting his face through hilarious contortions instead.
“Just one of those God-given talents. I have a few, you know.
Despite my inability to communicate, there are a few things I can do.”
“Well, that is too weird. I’m going to have to see that again sometime.”
“I’m sure you will!”
“Well, I’ll see you later. Don’t work too hard.”
“How can I? I still haven’t figured out what I’m working on.
Maybe I’ll just sit here and decide which of my family members has secrets interesting enough to reveal to the world.”
“That shouldn’t be a hard decision,” he said picking up his notepad, pen, and tape recorder. As he walked toward the door, he said,“See you later,” and gave me a backward wave as the beautiful sound of flip-flops carried him away.
The latter part of the morning brought a sweet, timid girl named Margaret to my desk to give me an overview of my computer. She showed me all of its ins and outs and rehearsed me on the interoffice linkup and my deadlines for copy. We finished up around noon, and her parting words sent shivers up my spine.“You need to have your first article to Mr. Hicks for editing by two tomorrow. All stories will go to press by five. You’re lucky, Savannah; two is his latest editing slot. He always gave it to Gloria. I didn’t figure he would give it to you, but he hasn’t said to change it.” She smiled a sweet and gentle smile. “You’ll do great here. Don’t let them bother you about your mother, either. She’s one of the nicest ladies I’ve ever met.”
“When did you meet my mother?” I asked, afraid to know the answer.
Margaret’s shyness evaporated.“Oh, one afternoon, right after I moved here, I decided to ride one of the trolleys and take a tour to learn the history of Savannah.”
“A trolley tour, huh?”
“Yeah, little did I know, but I was sitting right by your mother. She was dressed in a pink linen dress, with a big straw hat and matching lipstick, fingernail polish, and pale pink shoes. She was the prettiest thing I ever did see, and I just couldn’t quit staring at her. I didn’t even hear the tour guide for staring at your mother. Finally, she told me who she was and what she was doing, but she made me promise to keep it a secret.”
“I’m sure that wasn’t hard.”
“Actually, you’re the first person I’ve told. Anyway, I shared a little bit about myself, and she took me to lunch and got me this job. So, any time anyone says anything about her, I just tell them to hush up. I say, ‘You don’t know anything about Miss Victoria, and you surely shouldn’t be talking about things you don’t know.’That hushes them for a while, and then,well, you know how people can be. But I just love your mother, and I’m sure I’ll love you too.”
“Well, thank you, Margaret. You’ve been a wonderful help, and I’m sure we’ll get along great. Is there a set time that I can go to lunch?”
“Oh, people go whenever. Mr. Hicks just wants the work done right and on time. The rest is up to you. Well, have a great day. I hope I haven’t talked your ear off,” she said, lowering her head as if she was all of a sudden embarrassed at her candor.
“No, it was wonderful. Thank you for sharing the story about my mother.”
“She really is a wonderful lady. Now, take care, you hear. And call me for anything,” she said as she turned to leave.
“I’m sure I will.” And I knew I would.