Thank you for taking the time to read my summer fiction series story. If you have not yet read the first three parts please do so:
Small Hand and Foot Prints; Big City Girl
“This is wild, why would this man on the subway leave these earrings in your bag!” Lou shouted.
“We are going to have to find him,” Phoebe said.
“WE??” all the roommates replied.
“So what are we going to do, run a newspaper ad?” asked Tabitha.
Phoebe laughed and said “Of course not this is 2021, we will find him without buying an ad. We have Twitter,” said Phoebe.
“Oh this will be good, we are looking for a mystery man on the train who left earrings in a bag. We call him Chatty Charles because he talks too much. Can you help us?” Anna said as she started laughing hysterically.
Phoebe knew it sounded wild but she also knew she had to find this man and give him his earrings back. They were obviously an important gift for someone special.
Phoebe and the roommates were laughing and joking and then they got serious.
They sat brainstorming ideas and they all agreed Twitter was the place to start.
“Were you on the train 7/28/21 at 4:45 pm at the Mauve complex station are you missing something green?? Retweet please.” #missingsomethinggreen #lostandfound
The tweet was kind of corny, but it was a start.
They all sat around waiting for responses.
Thirty minutes went by and the only replies were smart-alec remarks from friends they knew.
Two hours later, they had ordered take-out and still only those smart alec replies.
The next morning Phoebe headed to class. She was focused on her class assignments and had no time for a Chatty Charles finder check.
She walked out of her final class and picked up her phone. Her Twitter had 12 notifications and not one was a solid lead.
Ugh, she thought.
At least the earrings were put up and safe.
*******
A week had gone by and still nothing. Each day on the train Phoebe did not stare at her phone instead she was alert and looking around for Chatty Charles. There were many familiar faces on the train but no one who resembled him.
Phoebe was sure that he must think the earrings were long gone and he must not have social media.
There had been over 200 retweets and lots of replies but still nothing… Yes, this was a big city but my gosh.
Phoebe and the emerald earrings had now been in each other's company for three weeks and no word from Chatty Charles.
*****
“Phoebe, WAKE UP!” Anna was screaming over and over.
“What is it?” Phoebe replied.
Phoebe could hardly understand anything Anna, Lou, and Tabitha were saying. She was not awake but she heard the word “earrings” very clearly and sat straight up!
Finally, she understood what they were saying. A tweet had come in: “Hey I was on the train that day, and I was sitting next to a girl who was cute, not too friendly, but cute, and I think the green things are mine.”
“Not too friendly? What the hell!” Phoebe yelled.
“See I told you this was dumb, and you wanted to save earrings for a jerk,” Tabitha said.
Phoebe was stunned, and she grabbed her phone and typed “Hey this is the not-so-nice girl and the earrings are gone.”
How does this sound? She asked her roommates?
“Do not say that!” He could be a killer. Just tell him you have the earrings and tell him to DM you when a good time is to meet.” Lou said.
Phoebe sent the tweet just like Lou suggested. She just knew she would get a fast reply…
Whoever this person was, there was no urgency.
Four hours later, he repied.
Chatty Charles sent Phoebe a message that said he’d meet her at Kona, on Monday which was the coffee shop near her Mauve office.
The roommates insisted on going with her. Phoebe thought they were being paranoid. They all agreed that the roommates would go in first and sit down and then Phoebe could go in and meet Chatty Charles, who Phoebe was now calling Cranky Charles.
Even though Phoebe had learned from his Twitter account that his name was Brandon she still called him Chatty Charles.
*****
Monday arrived and Phoebe was a bit nervous. She and the roomies laughed on the way to the coffee shop. They all had funny things they wanted to do to Brandon for saying Phoebe was not friendly.
The closer they got to the coffee shop the more nervous they became.
Phoebe walked in once she saw that the roommates were settled at their table. She tried hard not to look their way because she knew they’d all start giggling.
Phoebe was looking around looking for Cranky Charles, he told her he would be wearing a Lakers hat. Phoebe saw no one with that hat on.
She went to the counter to order her favorite drink.
The cashier asked for her name for her cup. When she said “Phoebe.” The cashier got a weird look on his face and said “This is for you.” He handed Phoebe a note and the prettiest yellow flower.
“What is going on?” Phoebe asked.
The cashier just smiled and said, “I am just doing what I was told and giving you the flower and the note.”
Phoebe walked over to the roommates and told them what was going on. They all looked around and there was no sign of Chatty Cranky Charles.
Phoebe opened the note which read: “I hope you like marigolds, the earrings are yours now. I hope I can find out soon if you are a nice person. LOL. Call me and we will have a proper meeting. I had planned to be there today but work duties called.”
Phoebe sat stunned staring at the phone number and wondering what kind of wild trick this was…
Share this story on your social media. I would appreciate it. Feel free to tweet me your thoughts to @mzhoov. Also if you feel inclined tips are always welcomed. Thank you again for reading my summer fiction series.
About the Creator
LaShunta H
I love to write
I love people and diversity
I love sports- GO LAKERS (and yes I was a fan pre Lebron)
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