It was on an unseasonably mild November day that a crew of landscapers took jackhammers to the concrete sidewalks surrounding 2151 Glummer Place, former headquarters of Bean-Tek Industries, and turned them into rubble.<\/p>\n
\n\tBea looked up at Mola Peggi, who was standing beside her in a cold weather edition of the classic Waddongan shimmering fish-skin dress. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWill the Pelinga trees grow here?\u201d Bea asked. \u201cNew Stirling isn\u2019t exactly tropical.\u201d She thought of Hortensia and corrected herself. \u201cTropical montane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYour sister Hortensia and our horticultural advisors believe so,\u201d said Mola Peggi.<\/p>\n
\n\tAt ten foot intervals, hefty Pelinga trees with root balls the size of small cars stood ready to be lowered into the freshly exposed soil surrounding the formerly fortress-like building.<\/p>\n
\n\tA fortress no longer, its blank gray fa\u00e7ade was now interspersed with windows from the first floor to the sixth, and where once the mechanical bean would have risen from the pavement, a life-sized octopus, cast in bronze, presided over a richly-planted plaza, welcoming all to the North Waddoo Islands Embassy in New Stirling.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019m glad you decided to put in a door,\u201d said Bea to Mola Peggi. And not just any door, but a double-width, red-painted door of pelinga wood from which Prince Nerl now emerged, clad in a Waddongan robe of purple cloth, with a matching cap to tame his waxed twists of stringy red hair.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis post should keep him out of trouble,\u201d said Mola Peggi to Bea, as Nerl approached and made a humble bow. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMiss Flannery,\u201d said Nerl.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAmbassador Nerl,\u201d said Bea.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI trust you and your sister will join us at the opening Koohoo ceremony next weekend?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOf course,\u201d replied Bea. \u201cI\u2019m sure we can catch a bus, if not a pony.\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\tNerl bowed again, then winked.<\/p>\n
——-<\/p>\n
\tCrotchett Street was buzzing with pre-Thanksgiving activity. Students filtered in and out of academic buildings. Petra the housekeeper was giving the doormat of number 107 a series of hearty smacks against the brownstone, while the kids who lived there moved down to the lowest of the marble steps to get out of the way of the billowing dust. And Bill the fruit cart man was doing a brisk business with sales of warm cider, winter squash, and pumpkin bread.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cSo Bob is still the winged wonder pony?\u201d observed Kitty. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah,\u201d said Gordy. \u201cWhat\u2019s with that? My hair\u2019s starting to grow in black again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAnd I haven\u2019t given Kitty\u2019s a trim in days,\u201d added Michael-Dan.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOh, he\u2019s happy enough,\u201d said Bill. \u201cLong as he gets to stretch \u2018em out now and again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWell don\u2019t look at me,\u201d said Odin. \u201cI\u2019m a digital composer, NOT an aerial cowboy. Once was enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019ll fly him with you Bea,\u201d volunteered Nola. \u201cI don\u2019t suppose he\u2019ll lose his wings. Hair, you shed. Antlers, you shed. I figure that once you have wings, you probably have to keep them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhich reminds me,\u201d said Bea, \u201cI told Hort I\u2019d help her with the mice. Flying mice eat a lot of millet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tShe hurried across Crotchett Street to the Mervin Frostly Science Building.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe lobby smelled good. Even a throng of jostling college students couldn\u2019t mask the pungently nutty aroma of a Pelinga tree in full autumn foliage, rooted happily in the middle of the atrium garden.<\/p>\n
\n\tAnd, in the fish pond, Bea caught the white glimmer of at least one mouse with gills, gliding under a lily pad.<\/p>\n
\n\tBea skipped up to the third floor, two stairs at a time.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWell then,\u201d said Miles Oakenshaw who was hovering awkwardly at the doorway of the botany lab. \u201cIt looks like I\u2019ve got all the documentation I need, and your future koohoo research has been given the a-ok.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThanks Miles,\u201d said Hortensia. \u201cSo you\u2019re…all done here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBea judged Miles to be at a loss for words, when the elevator dinged and Mervin Frostly stepped jauntily into the hallway. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cJust the person I was looking for!\u201d said Frostly. \u201cBut I wasn\u2019t expecting to find you here. I thought Miss Flannery might have your card though.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBea, Hortensia and Miles looked at each other blankly.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe State boy…the policy man,\u201d explained Frostly.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMe?\u201d said Miles.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYes sir. How do you like your job?\u201d asked Frostly.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s…a steady job sir, with good benefits,\u201d replied Miles.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBut boring?\u201d prompted Frostly.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWell,\u201d said Miles, glancing around a bit furtively as if unsure whether honesty was the best policy. \u201cA little.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI need a new second-hand man,\u201d said Mervin Frostly bluntly. \u201cGood pay, work that keeps you hopping…you do like to hop don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOh, um…yes sir,\u201d stammered Miles, \u201cI can hop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAnd you notice things,\u201d said Frostly. \u201cThe details. I\u2019m not so good with the details.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFrostly rummaged in his pocket for a business card, with no luck. \u201cFiddlesticks,\u201d he said. \u201cDarn details.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tHe grabbed the marker attached by a string to a wipe-off board on the botany lab door. \u201cMrs. Quigg,\u201d he said as he scrawled his office number onto the white board. \u201cCall my receptionist, Mrs. Quigg.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMiles fumbled to pull a card of his own out of his shirt pocket, and copied down the information. Then he stood up straighter, took a deep breath, and turned to Hortensia.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHortensia,\u201d he said, \u201cwill you have dinner with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOf course Miles,\u201d said Hortensia. \u201cI\u2019ll be right here. Come find me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBeatrix,\u201d said Mervin Frostly, as his finger hovered over the elevator call button, \u201cwould you like to take a walk with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOf course,\u201d said Bea, \u201cbut let\u2019s take the stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMervin Frostly pushed the stairwell door open for Bea.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThanks Mervin Frostly,\u201d said Bea.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNo Beatrix Flannery,\u201d replied Mervin Frostly, \u201cthank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAnd they stepped out into a crisp November day where red leaves\u2014and one fluffy yellow parachute seed\u2014danced down Crotchett Street.<\/p>\n
THE END<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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