prizes - 34. agnes and minerva

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part thirty-four of thirty-nine

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“i have miss agnes miller on line two, miss gray..” “put her through,” minerva replied promptly. she took her reading glasses off and her pencil down, glad of any diversion after two hours of reading reports. “hello, minerva. i hope i am not interrupting anything.” “nothing very interesting. what can i do for you, agnes dear?” “i thought we should meet and have a little chat.” “about anything in particular?” “yes, something in particular, though it may not be that important.” “so it is not urgent?” “maybe not, but i would like to see you in person. it won’t take long, and we can meet anywhere you like.” “anywhere?” minerva raised her eyes to the window of the corner office she had commandeered in the gray headquarters when she had come into her inheritance. it was a dreary day outside. it looked like it might rain a little bit. there were sometimes birds on the ledges she liked to think she recognized, but none were there on this day. “well, not in chicago or philadelphia.,” agnes was saying. “ i thought we might meet somewhere for dinner - “ “how about the coffee shop across the street?” minerva interrupted. “ you know the one i mean? it’s called jack’s or jake’s or something but there is no sign.” “yes, i know it. doesn’t it get kind of crowded in the middle of the day? unless you want to meet later, around three o’clock.” “i have something scheduled at three,” minerva lied. “i would rather meet at noon. if jack’s is busy, we can go somewhere else. like the automat.” “very well,” agnes agreed. “whatever suits you. i will see you at noon.” “until then.” minerva put the phone down. she was a little surprised that agnes had not argued a little more about the time and place, because agnes always like to argue, about anything and everything. i should have argued more, agnes thought as she put the phone down on her end. she might get a little suspicious if i am too nice. but agnes did not really care. she thought the meeting a waste of time anyway, and was only arranging it to humor the countess. “well?’ tomo asked. he had listened to the brief exchange from the shadows of a couch against the wall of agnes’s apartment. he always sat in shadows if he could. agnes described the conversation. “i know the place she’s talking about,” tomo said. he laughed. “that’s easy enough. i thought she might want to meet in some place like bayonne or perth amboy.” “minerva is not the type to arrange meetings in bayonne or perth amboy.” “no, i guess not.” 35. "ain't that something?"