"Are you ready?" asked Jo impatiently.
"I don't think I can do this," Louise confessed.
"Oh, we went through this yesterday," Jo complained.
"Everything will be fine," Terri assured her.
"You don't understand. - Walter knows."
"He knows?" Jo asked.
"About Ferrari guy?" Terri prodded.
"Yes."
"Oh my God! You told him?" Terri and Jo were in disbelief.
"I kind of had to," Louise explained. "He called the dealership, and the dingbat receptionist told him that she remember him - remembered US. But obviously, Walter was never there."
"Why would she do that?" Jo asked incredulously.
"Because she's a ditz!" said Terri with disgust in her voice.
"It was an innocent mistake," Louise explained. "She saw me talking to Frank, and then when Walter called, she was like, 'Oh, yeah, I remember you. You were asking about toy cars.' "
"Oh crap!" Terri grumbled. "What are the chances?"
"Right?" wondered Jo aloud. "Walter's a smart guy."
"Yes, and he can sniff out a lie a mile away," Louise said. "I just couldn't risk not coming clean."
Terri - "What did you say exactly?"
"I said that some guy was waiting there, and he was being a jerk when I asked about the toys. I said that I told the guy off, and then he became apologetic, blah, blah, blah."
"So, essentially the truth?" Terri confirmed.
"Yeah, pretty much," Louise replied. "I told him that the guy gave me his card but that I threw it out."
Terri winced. "Ooh, risky move!"
"But that part's true," Jo added. "You did get rid of his card."
"It's ALL true," Louise insisted. "Look, I knew I wasn't gonna get away with it, so I..."
"You had to do what you had to do." Terri finished the thought.
"Right!"
"Oh boy!" exclaimed Jo.
"Okay, so what'll we do?" Terri asked. She still seemed upbeat.
"It's just an innocent horse farm," Jo offered. "You can still ask for a tour of the place."
"Yeah, I'm sure they give tours to potential clients all the time," Terri reasoned.
"Yes, but in order to be a potential client, wouldn't you have to, say, own a horse?" Louise countered evasively.
"They give riding lessons!" Jo recalled.
"Yes," Terri added. "It's on the website."
"So, now I'm asking for riding lessons?" asked Louise with incredulity in her voice.
"No, you just chat with the guy," Terri clarified. "Tell him that you want to take him up on his offer for a tour. And if and when we ever get there..."
"This is getting complicated," Jo interrupted.
"...the riding lessons are our cover."
Louise thought for a minute. "Okay, I can do this."
"Good!"
Louise pulled out her phone. "Oh, wait!"
"What?" they asked together.
"Should I call him Frank or Francisco?"
"Say Francisco," Jo suggested. "It's on the business card."
"Yeah, you don't want him to think that you remember that he called himself Frank."
"It seems like a small detail," Louise countered.
"There are no small details," Terri assured her.
"Oh, wait!" Now it was Jo's turn. "Don't use your real name."
"Good point," Terri confirmed.
"Okay," Louise thought. "I'll be Ann."
"Ann what?" Jo demanded.
"Ann what difference does it make?" Terri argued.
"What if he asks?" Jo countered.
Louise thought, "Okay, um..."
"How about Anne Hathaway?" Jo suggested.
"I think he's going to know who Anne Hathaway is," Terri argued.
"Ann Coulter!"
They all giggled.
"Let's not scare the poor man away, shall we?" - Terri
"Ann Johnson... Ann Roberts..." Jo offered.
"Too bland!" Louise was feeling uncomfortable again.
"Ann..." Jo pondered. "How about Ann Cartwright?"
"That sounds good," Louise concluded.
Terri added, "It has sort of a horsy sound." They all got a chuckle.
"Ann Cartwright," Louise confirmed. "Okay, here we go..."
'The Horse Farm'
Copyright © 2013 Daniel R. South
All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment