The Perfect Body, page 20
part #8 of Professor Molly Mysteries Series
Stephen’s father strode over, looking both stylish and sweaty. A blazer over a turtleneck was not what I would have picked for un-air-conditioned building on a summer afternoon in Mahina. Most of the men in the room were wearing cotton aloha shirts.
“Oh, you’re both here,” I said. “How wonderful. Would you like to join us?”
“No, we’re sitting up at the front table,” Tiffany said. “We’d better get up there. Where’s Donnie?”
“Right here.” Donnie set two glasses of water in front of me. I picked up one and downed it gratefully, then started on the other one. Donnie hugged Tiffany and shook Angus’s hand. Then Tiffany said,
“Did you tell her?”
“No,” Donnie said. “I thought she’d get a kick out of being surprised.”
When Stephen’s parents had left, I said,
“Where did you get the idea I like surprises?”
“I didn’t say you’d like it,” he said, picking up the two empty cups. “I said you’d get a kick out of it. I’ll be back with more water.”
Pat and Emma showed up and took their seats at our table. Donnie came back just as Victor Santiago, Mahina State University’s Vice-President for Student Outreach and Community Relations, stepped up to the microphone.
We sat through Santiago’s brief history of the building. He talked up the architectural features and left out the part about it having been a tuberculosis hospital. Then came a series of speeches from various administrators I knew only by sight. Finally, the chancellor stepped up and said a few appreciative words about our donors.
Emma leaned over and whispered,
“What are they gonna name the building? I missed it.”
“They haven’t said,” I told her.
Donnie smiled, but didn’t say anything.
An eruption of applause yanked my attention back up to the front. Victor Santiago was at the mic again, and Angus Park and Tiffany Schwartz were walking up to where he was standing.
“Why are Stephen’s parents up there?” I whispered to Donnie. “They didn’t donate money, did they? Weren’t they just suing us?”
“The university agreed to give them naming rights to the building,” Donnie said.
“What? Instead of money?”
“Exactly.”
I stared at him.
“That’s what you were suggesting at lunch that day?”
Donnie nodded.
“Donnie, you’re amazing.”
He settled his arm around my shoulders, and we watched our Vice-President for Student Outreach and Community Relations present Stephen’s parents with a scale model of the building, complete with its new sign.
So Stephen’s parents had gotten some compensation from the university after all, and I wouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for my department’s printer paper.
When the presentation was over, we all walked to the next building over to show Donnie my new office. He was mildly impressed by the extra room, but more interested in the secret doorway.
“This is solid.” He ran his fingers down the door jamb and examined the recessed latch. “You don’t find work like this anymore.”
Emma and Pat were sitting in my visitor chairs. Emma was trying to goad Pat into a game of bumper cars by scooting her chair into him repeatedly.
“This is why we can’t have children in the office,” I said.
Donnie stood up, his hand still on the door jamb.
“Is Francesca okay?”
Pat placed one big boot on the base of Emma’s chair, rolled her away from him, and held her at leg’s length.
“I’m not talking about Francesca,” I said.
“I was kinda surprised by the name they picked.” Bored with bumper-chairs, Emma stood and went through the doorway into the secret room. “I thought they’d want to call it the Stephen Park Building or something.”
Donnie frowned.
“I thought so too. But I suppose Park Beverly Hills Cosmetic Center Building was what they wanted. What are you going to use the extra room for, Molly?”
“I’m going to use it as a private place to pump milk,” I said.
“It’s a bar,” Emma called out.
Donnie looked at me.
“I wouldn’t call it a bar,” I said. “I mean, it’s not just a bar. I ran an extension cord in so I have a coffee machine and a mini fridge. But yes, people can come here after hours to relax if they like. Including and especially my hardworking husband.”
“Get some A/C in here and you got yourself a deal,” Donnie said.
“Really?”
“Donnie,” Emma called out, “you want some absinthe?”
“The liqueur?” Donnie asked.
“Yeah. You want to try it?”
“Uh, no thank you. It’s a little early. In fact, I should probably head back to work.”
“Aw, brah, you leaving already?” Emma came out holding a silver tray. On it were three plain glasses that used to be furikake jars, a green Pernod bottle, a bowl of ice, a smaller bowl of sugar cubes, and the fancy spoon I’d found in the back of the drawer.
Donnie checked his watch. “Maybe some other time, Emma. The dinner crowd’s going to be coming in pretty soon.”
“Papa’s gotta work to build up that college fund,” I nuzzled the top of the baby’s fuzzy head. “Right, Francesca?”
“College fund?” Donnie put on an innocent look. “Oh, I have bigger plans than that. I was thinking if I keep at it and play my cards right, maybe one day this will be the Donnie’s Drive-Inn Building.”
About the Author
Frankie Bow teaches at a public university and writes licensed Miss Fortune World novellas as well as The Professor Molly Mysteries. Unlike Professor Molly, Frankie is blessed with delightful students, sane colleagues, and a perfectly nice office chair.
Thank you for taking the time to read The Perfect Body. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends and posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.
Mahalo, Frankie
Frankie Bow, The Perfect Body
