Archie of Outlandish

by Lynnette Kraft

  “I will pay though.”

  “You can’t,” said Archie. “It’s a complimentary room. Several businesses in Outlandish offer services in exchange for the rooms. Stay Afloat is one of them. We give them free advertising in the paper. So you can’t pay. It’s not even an option.”

  “But what if—”

  “Tallie,” said Archie, “let’s go get your things.”

  Of course Tallie was pleased to be staying in The Lupine Inn, but more than that, she was grateful to Archie for caring for her enough to work it out. After she took her bags up to the room and came back out to meet Archie, she hugged him and said, “You’re the best, you know.”

  Archie scratched his cheek, looked squarely at Tallie, and said, “It seemed wrong for you to be staying anywhere but here. And Pop-Tarts! Ew!”

  Tallie laughed. “Now remember, I’ve never lived with a chef, and I eat macaroni-and-cheese donuts for dinner!”

  Archie rolled his eyes. “I can’t imagine.”

  “Don’t you ever eat junk?”

  “Yes. Sometimes. Well, no, not really,” he admitted.

  “You should eat some junk with me while I’m here. It’ll be an experience!”

  “I have always wanted to try funnel cake,” Archie admitted.

  “Believe it or not, I’ve never had one, either,” said Tallie. “I mean, not many towns have street carts with funnel cakes year-round. I’ve only seen them at fairs and such, but I’ve never actually bought one.”

  “Well, let’s just get that out of the way right now,” said Archie.

  Tallie laughed. “Pop-Tarts and funnel cakes all before lunch. Are you ready to experience that version of Tallie?”

  “I believe so,” said Archie.

  “Well, okay then.”

  The funnel cake cart was very near The Lupine, and it was just opening its window when they walked up.

  “Good morning!” said the man behind the window. “What can I get for you?”

  Tallie and Archie were staring at the menu on the side of the cart and looking a little overwhelmed when the man said, “Have you ever had a funnel cake?”

  At the same time they both said, “No.”

  “Well, you are in for a treat, my friends. You can order a plain funnel cake which comes with only powdered sugar, or you can order it with toppings.” He pointed to the toppings list and said, “And of course whipped cream is a must if you order toppings.”

  Tallie looked at Archie. “Let’s go all out.”

  “All right,” he answered. “You pick the toppings. Whatever you’d like.”

  “Oh, so much pressure. Hmmm. Let’s see. How about, bananas . . . strawberries . . . chocolate syrup and whipped cream?”

  “Sure,” said Archie.

  “Good choices, Miss. Coming right up!”

  When the enormous funnel cake was prepared and Archie had paid for it, Tallie carried it to a nearby bench to eat it. Archie set up his umbrella stand and said, “I feel like we should pray and ask God to protect us from whatever this has the potential of doing to us.”

  “Oh come on,” said Tallie. “It’s just a funnel cake! And besides, it has fruit!”

  “And that makes it so much better for us,” said Archie sarcastically.

  “It was you who suggested it. Now stop making me feel guilty.”

  “All right,” Archie said.

  She held up the plate. “You have to go first.”

  Archie started to refuse, but Tallie put her finger up and said, “No, no, no.”

  She handed the plate to Archie and he began to pinch off a little piece, but Tallie said, “Take a bigger bite than that! Oh, but wait, I want a picture!”

  “Ohhhh no,” he said.

  “Archibald, I’m here to see Outlandish and have some fun. Let me take home some memories. Please?” she begged.

  Archie smiled a crooked smile and sighed. “All right. Have it your way.”

  He looked around to make sure no one was looking and then pinched off a large piece of the funnel cake. Tallie stood back with her camera and waited until he put the piece to his mouth. Just as it touched his lips, a piece of banana fell on his lap. He ignored it while he shoved the funnel cake into his mouth. He turned his head away from Tallie while he chewed, but he could hear her giggling as well as taking pictures. Finally, when he was done chewing, he went to clean up his mouth, and it was then he realized they’d forgotten napkins. He tried to use his hands, but Tallie said, “Wait, let me help.” She let her camera hang from a strap against her chest, pulled a napkin out of her purse, and began cleaning up the funnel cake leftovers around Archie’s mouth.

  “There,” she said. “So what did you think? Delicious?”

  “Quite, I’m afraid.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t tell your mother.”

  “Thank you,” said Archie. “She really would frown at such a messy presentation of ingredients.”

  “I’m sure she would,” said Tallie.

  “Now, Madame Photographer, it’s your turn.”

  “Here,” she said removing the camera from around her neck. “You can take pictures of me. Just so it’s fair.”

  “I’m not sure I’ll do it very well,” he said taking the camera reluctantly.

  Tallie put the strap over his head and said, “I put it on automatic for you. All you have to do is look through here and click this button.” Moving away from Archie, she added, “I’ll even stand back here so you can stay right under your umbrella.”

  “For the sake of your memories, I’ll give it a whirl,” he said.

  Tallie tore off a piece of the cake and said, “I’m excited,” before putting it in her mouth.

  Archie snapped a picture of Tallie while she posed with the plate in front of her. He took another picture when she pinched off a piece and put it in her mouth.

  “My piece was bigger,” he said. Which made Tallie take a much larger piece and put it in her mouth.

  He took another picture, then stopped to watch Tallie for a moment while she chewed. He couldn’t help but laugh at the chocolate drizzle that was now on the tip of her nose.

  “Don’t laugh!” she said with her mouth still full.

  “I’m not laughing,” he said, suddenly looking very serious.

  “So messy!” she mumbled through a full mouth.

  Archie laughed. “But worth it, right?”

  Tallie nodded, finished chewing, and reached for a third bite. “Totally!”

  13

  Archie and Tallie finished their funnel cake and were tempted to go for another but resisted and went to the beach instead.

  While they walked together, Tallie asked Archie, “Have we had enough light conversation to warrant a more serious one now?”

  Archie acted as though he didn’t know what she was referring to, but he knew exactly what she wanted to know. “Does it have to be terribly serious?”

  “No,” she answered shaking her head. “That’s not what I meant. I’m just . . . well, I’m still wondering why you couldn’t answer me when I asked what you’d been up to.”

  Archie nodded. “I see.”

  Tallie stopped walking, which made Archie stop, too. She turned to face him. “If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s okay. I just thought, maybe, you might want to, you know, tell me what you’ve been thinking about.”

  The day had been so pleasant that Archie hated the idea of possibly ruining it, so he decided to reveal only a little piece of what had been on his mind. “Before you left last time you encouraged me to do something. Do you remember what it was?”

  “Yeah,” Tallie said quickly, “I told you to keep writing.”

  “Children’s stories,” Archie said. “You told me to keep writing children’s stories.”

  Tallie acknowledged his words with a smile
and nodded.

  “Your encouragement was well-timed. I had been wondering what direction my life might go in the way of a profession. Writing had been the only thing I’d ever pursued beyond hobby, but that has only been part-time work, nothing to support myself with. It’s been weighing on my mind.”

  Tallie was quiet while he searched for the right words to continue.

  “I prayed about it and eventually went to Father and asked for advice. Among other things, he encouraged me to keep my eyes and heart open. He said there was more for me out there and to search around every corner for God’s will for my life. So I searched. I read everything. I talked to everyone. I went everywhere.”

  “I had no idea you had all of that on your mind. Have you worked anything out?” she asked.

  “Yes. It was when I was in the library one day that, I believe, God revealed something valuable to me. Something that would steer me in a particular direction.”

  “What was it?”

  “I went into the library that day to read my papers, and when I walked in, Mrs. Pinkers, the librarian, brought a book over to me. This wasn’t unusual at all. Mrs. Pinkers and I have enjoyed and discussed children’s books for years.”

  Tallie’s jaw dropped open. “Oh my gosh, that’s so sweet.”

  Archie blushed a little. “Well, she left the book with me and asked me to let her know what I thought of it. I said I would and she walked away. Only a moment later, a little girl walked up to me and asked me about my umbrella. Her name was Felicity. I had never seen her before, although it turns out she was Mrs. Pinkers’ great-granddaughter. Anyway, we had a little conversation, and then she asked me to read the book to her. I wasn’t at all comfortable with it, but I remembered my father’s advice about keeping my eyes and heart open, so I decided I would read the book to Felicity.”

  Tallie grew fonder of Archie with each word he spoke.

  “By the time I was finished,” Archie continued, “Felicity seemed changed. I could tell the story had spoken to her. Its message seemed to leave an impact.”

  Archie’s expression was serious when he looked at Tallie. “Tallie, a child’s world is an important one. Children need stories. They need to be inspired. They need to see kindness and catch a glimpse of different lives . . . different worlds.”

  “I totally agree,” said Tallie.

  “Stories can transform people,” Archie said. “I want to be a part of that. I think God wants me to be a part of that.”

  Tallie felt a lump in her throat so she didn’t try to talk. Archie questioned her with his eyes and she waved her hands in front of her face.

  “What is it?” he asked. “Are you all right?”

  She finally managed to say, “I can’t believe how sweet that is. I’m totally choked up.”

  “So now you know why I didn’t want to bring it up before.”

  Tallie nodded. “God is definitely doing something in your life. I can’t wait to see what it is.”

  “Now if I could only figure out what story I’m supposed to write. I’ve labored over it and so far every idea has been worthless.”

  “It’ll come,” Tallie said. “Just be patient and wait for it.”

  Archie nodded. “Are you thirsty?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I am.”

  “What I wouldn’t give for some frozen grapes.”

  “Frozen grapes?” Tallie asked.

  “Oh. Father used to sell them from a cart before he married Mother. I’ve never actually had one, but they sure sound good, don’t they?”

  “Anything frozen . . . or even cold sounds really good right now,” Tallie answered. “I’m actually really thirsty.”

  Archie pointed out a lemonade cart. “Will lemonade be okay?”

  Tallie nodded enthusiastically.

  The line was a little long, but they eventually purchased their lemonades and decided to go back into town so Tallie could take her photos of the fountain.

  When they were moving toward Central Circle, Tallie’s attention was drawn to a small child, a blond boy, who was leaning over the edge of the fountain.

  “Oh gosh, I hope he doesn’t fall in.”

  When Archie saw the boy, he knew immediately what he was doing, which was reaching for a coin in the fountain. Although he’d never done it himself, he’d always wanted to and had been watching children reach for coins for as long as he could remember.

  The fountain wasn’t deep, and the child wasn’t likely to drown if he fell in, but if he were to fall head first, he might get a decent bump on his head.

  The boy’s determination to get to the coin made his reach quite dramatic. He was balancing on his midriff. His legs were in the air. Tallie was nervous about him being hurt, so Archie rushed over just in case.

  Archie sat on the wall of the fountain next to the boy, but decided not to bother him unless he began to tumble. Tallie came and sat next to Archie and whispered, “Who do you think he belongs to?”

  “I don’t know,” Archie answered. “Do you see any likely candidates?”

  They both scanned the area but nobody stood out. Archie turned to watch the boy and saw his little fingers coming very close to seizing a penny. Realizing the boy was only moments from falling in, but also very close to getting his penny, Archie decided it was time to step in and help him. Leaning his head down a little he said, “Hey there. I’ll tell you what. I’ll keep you steady so you can grab it.”

  The little boy’s eyes remained focused on the coin, so he didn’t look at Archie but he did manage an “Okay.”

  Of course Archie only had one hand available, but his hand was large enough to wrap his fingers around the boy’s ankles, so that’s what he did while the little boy secured the coin in his short fingers.

  When the boy pushed his body back over the edge of the fountain’s rim, Archie let go of his ankles and said, “Good job.”

  The boy looked at Archie with large blue eyes and said, “Thank you, Mister!”

  “It was my pleasure,” Archie said, feeling good about helping him.

  The little boy was admiring his coin when his mother finally entered the scene. “There you are, Oscar! Did you take that coin from the fountain?” she scolded.

  The little boy looked up at his mother and nodded.

  “Now give me that,” the woman said to her son.

  The boy pulled the coin closer and said, “But . . .”

  His mother opened his clenched hand, took the coin from him, and threw it back into the water. “You can’t steal coins from public fountains. It’s against the law. Well . . . at least, I think it is.”

  She looked at Archie as if she expected him to tell her whether it was or not. Having no idea himself, he just shrugged.

  The boy began to cry, which was no surprise to Archie. He’d witnessed his diligent effort in getting the coin and knew it must have felt like it was all for nothing. Archie looked over at the boy sympathetically and watched as his mother steered him away from the fountain. Archie still felt sorry for him. When the little boy looked back, Archie waved and so did Tallie.

  A title, Children, Please, Take a Penny from Our Fountain, came to Archie even before he realized his mind had pegged the incident as article worthy. He usually wasn’t one of the participants of his observations, and he didn’t plan to let anyone know it was he who helped the little boy take the penny from the fountain, but Archie decided he would write the story, because he wanted the children who came to Outlandish to be able to do what they were forbidden to do in probably every other public fountain, which was to take a coin.

  “Arrrrrchibaaaaaald.”

  Archie turned toward Tallie in a sort of daze and said, “Yes?”

  “Where were you?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I was trying to get your attention. You were totally zoned out.”
>
  “I’m sorry. Titles. Story ideas. They pop into my head without even trying. And I guess now I can be sure that they pop into my head only when I’m not trying.”

  Tallie laughed and then asked Archie, “So what was it?”

  Archie said, “I think I will propose that children living in or visiting Outlandish be allowed to take pennies from the fountain, at least one. Don’t you think they should be allowed to? I mean, it’s only a penny.”

  “That kid inspired you?”

  “Yes. You see, for children, it isn’t about the value of the money. It’s the experience. What if he thought there was magic in that penny?”

  It was as if he forgot he was talking to Tallie, because he handed her the umbrella, saying, “Will you hold this above me for a . . .” letting his words just trail off. He pulled a little notebook out of his pocket and began writing a few key points to remember.

  Finally remembering where he was and whom he was with, he said, “Oh, I’m sorry,” and took the umbrella from Tallie. “Would you mind if we went back to my place so I can type up this article? Or maybe you want to get settled into The Lupine, and we can meet for dinner?”

  Tallie laughed. “So that’s how it works, huh?”

  Archie looked confused.

  “Seriously, that was impressive. When an idea clicks, it really clicks, doesn’t it?”

  Archie finally laughed at himself. “Yes, I suppose it does just . . . click.”

  Tallie stood up. “Okay, well, why don’t you run off and clear your mind, and I’ll get my photographs of the fountain, and, hey, I might even take a nap.”

  “You should take a nap. I mean, if you would like to.”

  “So, do you want to meet for dinner?” she asked.

  Archie stood. “Yes, I do. I’ll pick you up at The Lupine at, let’s say, seven o’clock?”

  Archie’s article took no time at all to write, and the final paragraph left him feeling very satisfied.

  Outlandish is known for its charms and delights. People come to be entertained by exceptional performers, to eat delectable food, to buy unique merchandise, and to experience the stunning beauty of California’s central coast. I propose that henceforth it will also be known as a place where imaginations are nourished and dreamers are cheered by allowing our fountain to contribute a penny a day to each child who wishes to reach in and pull one out.