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Tori folded the piece of paper, made her way across the atrium, and entered the café. She nodded at the hippie and left the note next to the large coffeemaker. The hippie nodded back and smiled.
Tori felt a huge sigh of relief. She had made contact. Maybe the reading wouldn’t be that day, but she had literally got her foot in the door. The tension in her shoulders relaxed. She hadn’t realized how taut she was. Now she could browse around for real and look at the art displays and maybe, actually, find something she could turn into a hobby.
She walked over to Hot Sand and watched with fascination as someone blew glass into a colorful sphere. She noticed several of them hanging from the ceiling. The tag said:
WISHING BALL
How appropriate. Maybe she should buy one. She picked one with colors of turquoise and aqua. The price was $65. She stopped and decided it would be too much to spend and her husband would have a conniption fit. Another artist walked over to her, and said, “Hi. We’re having a special today. Everything is twenty percent off.”
Tori eyed the ball again. “It’s beautiful.”
“One of my faves, actually,” the artist said.
Tori did the math in her head. Just a little over $52. She could fudge that in her weekly household allowance. Then she stopped herself. She didn’t have to justify buying something beautiful and original. Sure, there would be a bit of a dust-up over it, but she didn’t care. She contributed plenty to their overhead, including doing all the chores. “You’ve got a deal.”
The artist pulled out a step stool and plucked it from the hook. “I just polished it this morning so it’s good to go! Make a wish!”
Tori didn’t know where to begin but then settled on “guidance.” She closed her eyes and repeated it silently to herself. That was a lot easier than she thought.
The artist smiled. “Let me wrap that up for you.” She took the glass ball and went into a back room. Tori watched with curiosity as the other artist continued spinning glass into an object of art. A few minutes later, the artist returned with a colorful shopping bag with the piece of blown glass carefully packed in a box surrounded by bright tissue. “I put some filament in an envelope for you for when you hang it.”
“Thank you. I think it’s the first real piece of original anything I’ve ever owned.” Tori blushed with a slight bit of embarrassment.
“Well then, I am rightly pleased you chose one of my pieces to begin.” The artist smiled brightly and handed the rainbow of colors to her. “Thank you very much and I hope to see you again. Good luck and enjoy your day.”
Tori felt much lighter even though she knew she wouldn’t be very light much longer. There was a spring in her step similar to the one after she told Mr. Layton, George, about her predicament. Maybe her life had turned a page. And if that were the case, Tori decided she was going to be the one writing and reading it.
* * *
After Luna’s appointment left, she opened the note on the counter. She got a strange feeling from it. Not that strange feelings were uncommon for her, but this was a little different. There was something oddly familiar about the vibe she got from the paper. She shrugged and checked her schedule. The afternoon was whizzing by, but she had some time around four thirty. She wondered if the woman could wait until then. She had promised Rita she would talk to her just after five. Luna decided to dial the number.
A nervous voice answered. “Huh . . . hello?” Tori could barely choke out the words.
“Hi. This is Luna. I believe you left a note for me in my café?” Luna was bright and cheerful.
“Yes, this is Tori. Thank you for calling me.”
“Nice to meet you, Tori. Are you still in the building?”
“Yes, I am on the second floor doing a little window-shopping.” Tori knew that was about as close as she would ever come to owning a vintage Chanel bag. She was stunned at the prices. Even a used quilted bag fetched almost $2,000. She wondered what the original price was. Not that it mattered.
“I have some time between four thirty and five if you’ll still be around.”
Tori checked the many watches in the window at the Second Time Around shop. It was an hour and a half from now. But she was there, and she wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. “I think I can keep myself busy until then,” Tori replied.
“Great. See you later.”
“Thank you very much.” Tori clicked off her phone. She could not believe she was really going through with this. She had walked through the center twice already and wasn’t sure what she would do for another ninety minutes. Then she remembered she had a couple of magazines in her car. She went back to the parking lot, retrieved the magazines, and returned to the center. This time she went out the large glass doors that led to a patio. Even the landscaping was a work of art, inside and out. She noticed a small brass plaque that read:
LANDSCAPING BY CALGO GARDENS
That explains it,she thought to herself. They were known throughout the state for their landscape architecture.
She walked through the garden, noticing wind chimes and birdhouses. Several other plaques indicated where they came from. Blowin’ in the Wind was obviously the wind chime maker, and Tweety’s Townhouse had to be the birdhouse guy. She had breezed past both of them when she was inside. She liked the sound of the chimes. Relaxing and melodious.Maybe I should have purchased those instead, she mused. But she was happy with her magic ball. After all, wasn’t that the whole reason she was at the center? She needed some kind of magic in her life.
She saw a sign for the dog park and noticed three animals resting quietly under a tree. Two German shepherd adults and one she thought might be a collie. As she passed, the collie-looking dog lifted his head. It was almost as if he was saying hello.Get a grip, Tori. You may be on a mission, but let’s not blast into oblivion with imaginary conversations with dogs.A man who looked like he was in his mid-to-late twenties gave her a wave. Tori waved back.Everyone is so friendly,she thought. Maybe it was the artwork. Creative people being creative. Enjoying what they are doing. She sighed. She still hadn’t come up with something for a hobby. Glassblowing was surely out of the picture. Then she remembered passing a small shop with origami figures in the window. She turned and headed back to the interior of the center and walked toward Between the Folds.
When she entered the shop, she was mesmerized by all the different shapes of the origami. Most people are familiar with the crane, but it is an entire art form creating shapes out of one piece of paper. A petite Asian woman greeted Tori at the door. She was wearing a beautifully embroidered black kimono. She bowed slightly and spoke perfect English. “Good afternoon. My name is Suki. Welcome.”
