The Girl in Hemingway's Studio

by Carolyn Grady

  “Don’t pick up the check, let Walter do it,” Eric ordered as he shut the car door.

  “I’m not sure how we do that since we are the ones who called for the meeting, hopefully, to borrow some of Walter’s money,” Marcus snapped back as he placed the gear into drive and took off.

  The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Hotel was filled with beautiful, wealthy, and well-dressed individuals. Eric and Marcus were shown to the patio where Walter and Missy were drinking mimosas. Walter saw them and waved them over to their table. Walter and Missy had already ordered, and their meal was being served as Eric and Marcus sat down. The brothers quickly scanned the menu and ordered before the waiter walked away.

  “So, how was your trip with Sam Murdock and the boys?” Walter asked, taking a double take at Eric’s rumpled appearance. Missy moved her chair closer to Walter and further away from Eric.

  “Very expensive. Those good ole boys have great taste with a matching price tag,” commented Eric.

  Quickly Marcus explained their adventure, their conundrum, and their need for financial help.

  “Well,” started Walter slowly. “I already told you, I’m not interested in investing in mines and such. I had enough issues when I worked for the BLM and saw so many heartbroken people who put their heart, soul, and life savings into ‘a sure thing’ only to go broke. I do have the names of a few Scottsdale business people who enjoy risking their money on speculation projects. They might offer to finance your escapade, but they charge a hefty fee. Have you boys thought about getting a second on your houses? A bank loan would be the way to go.”

  “No,” answered Eric. “I already have two improvement loans on my house—one for actual improvements and one to grow my business. I know Marcus and Alexis are also tapped out too. Banks aren’t interested in talking to either one of us about a loan.”

  Marcus nodded in agreement.

  “What about Cousin Arthur?” Walter asked as he looked at Marcus. “His business is good, his wife is loaded, and I’ll bet he has a nice fat bank account. Wouldn’t he be happy to help you?”

  “Alexis won’t let me ask him,” answered Marcus. “We would appreciate the names of those guys that you suggested.”

  “Unless,” interrupted Eric, “Walter, would you be interested in just giving us a personal loan?”

  Walter laughed as Missy, uncomfortable at how the conversation was changing, left the table. Walter watched her walk away, took another drink from his glass, and said, “Sorry, but I don’t do loans, handouts, or giveaways. You have no idea how many relatives try to hit me up for money with their sad stories. My policy is to ‘just say no to everybody.’”

  Marcus was stunned. “Aren’t you an only child, Walter? And, I thought Arthur and his two sisters were your only cousins. Who would be hitting you up for money?”

  Walter looked around to see where Missy was before whispering, “Actually, it’s Missy’s relatives. She has six siblings and dozens of cousins with more hard luck stories than you can imagine. In fact one of her brothers, Anthony, runs a lucrative ‘private loan shark business.’ Most of his clients are his relatives.”

  Marcus and Eric were silently eating their meal when Missy walked back to the table with a new hat on her head and several packages in her hand. “While you boys were talking business, I thought I would check out the fabulous Anna J Boutique. Look what I found in just a few minutes. Walter, do you like my hat? Living in Arizona, you need to keep the sun off your face so you don’t wrinkle.” Missy smiled and sat down again.

  To the relief of the two brothers, Walter picked up the check. “I’ll get those businessmen’s names to you next week. Good luck.”

  On the way home, Marcus looked at Eric. “I think I’m going to talk to Arthur and, hopefully, he will offer to help us. Please don’t mention it to Alexis.” Eric smiled and nodded in agreement.

  “Maybe he’ll give you a loan that doesn’t need to be repaid.”

  While Eric and Marcus were meeting with Walter, Alexis turned the page on her kitchen calendar and realized it was October 1. She remembered her promise to take Ashley on the Polar Express Train Ride to visit the North Pole. She ran to her computer and pulled up the website, picked up her phone, and dialed the number listed for reservations. A nice lady answered the phone and listened as Alexis asked for tickets for three adults and one child (she hadn’t mentioned this trip to Marcus, but if he didn’t want to go, she would invite her father). She was hoping for Friday, November 11, as it was a holiday for herself, Marcus, and Christopher and no school for Ashley. She exhaled as the lady reported there were a few tickets left for the 7:30 p.m. train, but only one room was available at the hotel, but it did have two queen-sized beds. That would really make Marcus unhappy, as he hated sharing anything. She gave the pleasant lady her credit card number and cringed when she was told the package deal for tickets and hotel room would come to $691, including taxes, dinner on Friday night, and breakfast on Saturday morning. Marcus wouldn’t just complain about sharing a room with Christopher and Ashley; he would explode when he saw their Visa bill.

  She smiled as she thought how excited Ashley would be to take the magical train to visit the North Pole; she seriously doubted that she would still believe in Santa Claus next year. Actually, she wasn’t sure Ashley would still believe next month, considering some of the questions she had been asking.

  Alexis’s phone rang. It was Charlotte’s ring tone—Darth Vader’s Theme. Charlotte called her regularly just to let her know what a wonderful decision she had made. Charlotte loved New York City, and she and Aaron were truly in love. She got the job at Time magazine in the Research Department and loved it. Her main job was to do backup on facts for the written articles, just to make sure they were true and not part of the imagination of the author. Sometimes, her boss would ask her to run out to take a specific picture of a New York landmark for an article. Everything was working out perfectly.

  Yes, perfectly for everyone except a heartbroken six-year-old girl who misses her mother.

  “Hi, Charlotte,” Alexis said answering her phone. “How are you?”

  “I’m great,” answered Charlotte. “Aaron and I just got back from running in Central Park. You would be so proud of how healthy I’ve become living with Aaron, I now jog three or four times a week. Today was so beautiful as the weather is warm with a crisp cool chill in the air and the leaves were bright gold, scarlet, and orange. What are you doing?”

  Alexis smiled an evil smile; “Actually, I just made reservations at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams to take Ashley on The Polar Express. You and I had talked about doing that for her, but you never found the time to do it. Christopher agreed that if we don’t do it this year it might be too late.”

  Silence.

  “How is Ashley? I suppose Christopher is taking good care of her.”

  “Ashley misses you terribly. She still cries herself to sleep at night, but, yes, Christopher is a wonderful, loving father. Charlotte, you need to at least call your daughter. Let her know you still love her.”

  “Christopher yells at me after I talk to Ashley. When she hears my voice, she gets upset all over again. Sometimes I think it’s better to let her forget about me. But I do miss her.”

  “No, you need to keep calling,” Alexis shouted into the phone. “That child needs to hear that her mother still loves and thinks about her.”

  Still visibly upset after her conversation with Charlotte, Alexis called Christopher to tell him about the excursion up to Williams. He was delighted. Williams is only about forty miles south of Flagstaff, so it would take almost three hours to get there. Christopher volunteered to drive and suggested they leave about eleven on that morning. He thanked Alexis again for making the arrangements and correctly predicted Ashley would be thrilled. Alexis didn’t mention the phone call with her sister. Now all she had to do was convince Marcus this would be a fun road trip.

  One week later, Walter delivered a three-page list of possible invest
ors. Eric and Marcus split up the list. Most of the people on the list weren’t interested in investing—they all had excuses—too risky, didn’t know anything about mines, or decided to stick with the stock market—it was trending upward and setting a record. A couple of prospective investors sounded a little shady. Marcus was afraid he might be dealing with members from the Don Corleone family.

  The next week Sam Murdock called Eric with a preliminary summary of results from Carl Rodgers. The overview of the mine looked good. Carl thought there was a very good possibility there was a decent amount of barite in their mine. It also looked like several large barite stratums that were linked to the mine on their property. That was a really good sign. Sam would need a decision if the brothers wanted to invest with them or he would come up with a firm offer to purchase the mine within the next couple of weeks. Marcus called Gary Freeman, the geologist from St. Louis, only to learn he hadn’t found any local residents interested in buying the mine. Now it was crunch time—should they seriously try to find the money for the extensive survey or just sell the mine to Murdock?

  On Wednesday morning, Marcus told his boss that he had a doctor’s appointment and left work early. He had called his father-in-law earlier that day to set up a meeting. Arthur was busy at his drafting table when Marcus walked into the historic office bungalow. Arthur greeted him and invited him to sit in a chair in his office.

  After Marcus explained in detail the story of his uncle’s mine, the possibility of extracting a valuable mineral, and the cost of the survey.

  “Oh my, Marcus that’s quite a story,” exclaimed Arthur. “What does Alexis think about all this?”

  “Not much. She thinks Eric and I should just sell the mine for whatever we can get. But, Arthur, what if there’s millions of dollars hidden in that mine? Eric thinks we should go for it. There may never be another opportunity for either one of us to become really wealthy.”

  With a sad smile, Arthur responded, “Being rich doesn’t always bring you the happiness and satisfaction you think it will. How much money do you need to come up with to go forward?”

  “Sam thought we would each need $50,000 or $100,000 total plus the mine. That would buy Eric and me 20% of the profits or 10% each,” Marcus answered as he held his breath.

  Arthur whistled, “That’s a lot of money to gamble on a possibility. I don’t know much about mining, but I do know it can be risky. It can pay off handsomely or you can go broke. It sounds like your poor uncle worked that mine for so many years and barely made any money.”

  “Uncle Fred suspected his mine might be tied to a nearby mine where valuable minerals had been discovered. He paid for a preliminary geology search that showed traces of some of those minerals. Eric and I talked to the geologist who did the survey and he told us more extensive surveys were needed to see if the mine had deep veins and large pockets of those minerals or just spotty remnants. The same thing our investors and their geologist told us.”

  “I’m sorry, Marcus, but I really can’t help you. That’s too much money for me to risk,” Arthur paused and then added, “and I’m not sure those investors are being fair to you and Eric. It seems like the key to this whole mining project would be for them to own your mine. Personally, I think if you handover the mine to the investors, you shouldn’t have to come up with any more investment money. Marcus, I’m a little suspicious about this deal, especially since they are asking for such a large sum of money plus ownership of your mine.”

  Arthur handed Marcus a beer, and continued. “I know you think my wife has a ton of money, which she does, but things haven’t been good between us lately. I could never ask her for that much money for such a precarious project. And my own money is tied up in investments, as I’m preparing to retire in a few years. I’m very sorry, but I agree with Alexis. Negotiate with the investors and see if they won’t raise the price to simply buy your mine or sign over the mine as your share of the partnership.”

  When Marcus got up to leave, Arthur touched his arm. “Judith and I are flying to Maui on Saturday to celebrate our eleventh anniversary. I’m hoping we will have time together to put our marriage back on the right track. Let me see how the trip goes and let me think about giving you some money. Now mind you, not the whole $100,000, but maybe something.”

  Marcus was disappointed, but he smiled and shook his father-in-law’s hand. “Thank you, Arthur. Anything would help. Oh, by the way, please don’t mention to Alexis that we had this conversation. She forbade me to ask you for any money.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The Deal

  The next morning Alexis was pouring herself a cup of coffee when Marcus walked into the kitchen from the bedroom.

  “Good morning,” she said as he kissed her cheek. “What do you think about having a small dinner party for Dad and Judith this weekend? Friday is their eleventh anniversary, and I want to try to do something nice to make Judith happy for my dad’s sake.”

  “Actually, that’s a great idea,” Marcus said as he poured cereal into a dish and reached into the cupboard for a cup. “However, I think I remember your dad saying he was taking Judith to Hawaii on Saturday.”

  “Really? I didn’t know anything about a trip. I’ll call Dad, and if it’s true, we can do it when they get back, okay?”

  “Good,” answered Marcus as his wife looked at him with surprise at his sudden agreeableness.

  Thinking this was a good time to mention the Polar Express trip, Alexis plunged forward. Marcus’s pleasant demeanor changed as he ranted and raved about the trip, especially the shared accommodations and the expense. He wasn’t a “child” person, and he would hate that kind of trip.

  Alexis called her father, and he confirmed his plans for the trip to Hawaii. She congratulated both of them and wished them a wonderful anniversary trip. She also checked on a date for a small anniversary dinner party at her house when they returned. Arthur said he would check with Judith and call her back.

  Arthur and Judith returned from Hawaii on October 23 and showed up at Marcus and Alexis’s house on Saturday the 29 for a celebration dinner. Alexis thought of inviting Christopher and Ashley, but decided to keep the dinner party small. Even though her father would love having Ashley at the dinner, Judith didn’t enjoy children.

  Judith was in a wonderful mood as she entered their home and complimented Alexis on her home and the lovely flowers on the dining room table.

  “Alexis, you display such good taste in your choice of decoration for your home. It feels cozy, but yet so elegant.”

  Alexis almost choked. Never had Judith ever complimented her on anything. She usually delivered a lopsided remark with a pointed criticism. “Thank you, Judith. Did you and Dad have a good trip?”

  Judith grabbed her husband’s arm and kissed him on his cheek, “Yes, we had a wonderful time, just like our original honeymoon.”

  Marcus grinned and thought, Perhaps this evening will end up being a profitable one.

  The two couples had wine and bruschetta on the patio. It was a balmy fall evening, and Marcus had spruced up the yard to impress Judith. Marcus even added a set of solar-powered flickering “lightening bug lights” to the flowerbeds. The twinkling lights added a festive mood to the evening. Alexis’s flowers took over her backyard. Multicolored Petunias and blue periwinkles bordered by a row of white Alyssum were in full bloom as were the two huge pots of red geraniums that were placed on each side of the covered patio. Alexis loved tending to her flowers. Living in Arizona, flowers bloomed from October to May. They withered during the summer.

  Dinner was a spinach salad with strawberries and blueberries, chicken Marsala, long grain white rice, and roasted asparagus. Dessert was a Chocolate Torte. Alexis had worked two days on the menu and cooking everything from scratch. She wanted to please Judith and maybe make her dad’s life a little easier. Marcus was hoping for a large check from his father-in-law. Sam Murdoch was pushing for an answer on the brothers’ decision.

  At the end of the evenin
g, Judith thanked both of them for a lovely evening to celebrate their anniversary. Totally out of character, Judith hugged Alexis and said, “I’ve always wanted a daughter, and you are such a sweet girl. I think your father would be very happy if we became good friends.”

  Alexis nodded her head and smiled as she hugged Judith. She raised her eyebrows as she hugged and kissed her dad. He smiled and winked at her.

  “Bravo, that went well this evening,” said Marcus as he hugged his wife. “Judith seemed almost human. They must have had a terrific time in Hawaii. That’s a trip I would love to take with you one year. Trade the Arizona heat in the summer for a piece of Paradise.”

  “I’m just hoping things are smoothing out for my dad. I know he’s been so unhappy since Charlotte abandoned her daughter and moved to New York. Speaking of Ashley, the Polar Express Trip is a week from Friday. Are you going with us?”

  Marcus smiled, “Actually, I was talking to Eric about the trip. I told him I didn’t want to go and you could just take your father. Then he reminded me that if your father couldn’t make it, you and Christopher would be alone in a hotel room with Ashley. With the renewed honeymoon glow Arthur is exhibiting, I think that is a real possibility. So, yes, I’ll go with you.”

  “Marcus,” Alexis shouted, “Christopher is my brother-in-law. Even if we were alone, nothing would ever happen.”

  “Technically, he’s not. The marriage to your sister is void and null.”

  The Monday before the Polar Express trip, Eric and Marcus met with Sam Murdock for a dinner meeting at the Arrogant Butcher. The restaurant is located in CityScape, a newly formed mixed-use development in downtown Phoenix.