Page 18 of Signed, Sealed, and Smitten
Sissy smiles. “Is that what brings you in today? Museum business?”
“It is,” Phoebe confirms.
“Then how can I help you?” Sissy asks.
“I’ll need a dictionary first off,” Phoebe says. “But for Jay. He said he happened to be heading here to explore, but I don’t think he knows what that means. ‘Explore’ implies it would be his first time here, and somehow, I don’t think that’s the situation.”
“Guilty,” I say with no remorse. “I wanted an excuse to hang out with Phoebe.”
Sissy gives a hoot of laughter, and none of the other patrons even turn their heads. They’re used to Sissy Mayhew. “Get on out of here, Jay Martin, and let me be useful to this poor woman.”
I salute her. “Phoebe, I’ll be in theWho Wassection if you need me.”
Phoebe shakes her head, but she’s still smiling when I slide my hands in my pockets and stroll away.
A half hour later, Phoebe finds me sitting on the floor in front of theWho Wasbooks.
“What do you have there?” she asks, and I look up to find her smiling down at me. I’m going to have to learn her smiles because I don’t know if this is a pleased-to-see-me smile or if she’s trying not to laugh at me.
“Catching up on some I missed.” I hold up the book so she can read the cover.
“Who Was Celia Cruz?Tell me in one sentence.”
“Queen of salsa music and Cuban icon.” I climb to my feet and reshelve the book. “Productive visit?”
“Very. I have an appointment with her next week to go through some of their special collections.”
“Awesome. Sissy isn’t from here, but she’s lived here long enough to know the city as well as anyone. She came out here for college, if I remember right. Ready to go?”
“I’ve got more errands to run, so this is where I leave you. But thank you for the company and the introduction to Sissy.”
“Of course,” I say, surprised by the disappointment I feel that she’s brushing me off. “Maybe I’ll see you around tomorrow.”
“Probably,” she says, “if you plan to be underfoot at the museum again.”
Ouch.
She laughs at my grimace. “I’m kidding. It’s your house; I’m just working in it. Feel free to keep teaching me its secrets. See you tomorrow, maybe.”
Then she leaves without looking to see if I follow.
Ouch again. But then I’m smiling, because it hurts so good.
Chapter Ten
Phoebe
One of myerrands this morning had been to place the Smitten Kitten letter in the hands of the government. I’d brought it to the post office, where I explained the situation to the counter clerk, and she agreed it was odd for it to keep getting shuffled back to my mailbox, assuring me they would handle it.
That might mean the dead letter office, but she’d also confirmed that there wasn’t anything else I could do since the letter was stamped. I wasn’t interested enough in solving the misdirected letter mystery to become a felon.
I would definitely swing much harder if I were going for a felony. Maybe causing chaos for breaking into a billionaire’s compound to repatriate an artifact looted from another country. History belongs to the people, always. It bothers me when it’s hidden away in private collections. Liberating something like that would be worth a felony, if I was determined to commit one. Which I’m not.
Still, as I walk into The Serendipity, I swing by the mailbox, knowing Smitten Kitten’s letter has been handled, but Icheck anyway. Maybe I need the satisfaction of removing another item from my to do list.
It is empty.
Yesssss.
