Hidden in Plain Sight: Chapter 5

Smith’s silver Lincoln MKZ turned into the driveway of the Victorian model house that had served as the housing for the President of McClaren College for the last century. The house stood two stories tall with a wrap around front porch painted white to accent the beautiful light blue building. The property overlooked lake McClaren and had one of the most stunning views of the sunrise Smith had ever seen.

Smith parked the car in the garage and, as was his new custom, dropped his bag in the trunk before closing the garage and walking inside. Leaving his brown loafers at the door, Smith changed into his house slippers and headed straight for the kitchen. Today had been another late day at the school as the meeting with the alumni association had run long as usual. Archibald hated asking the alumni for donations back to the school, but it had to be done. As much as he hated to admit it, McClaren had taken a step back the last few years simply because of budget. Last year they had to make some tough decisions and cut two faculty positions from the classics department and the field hockey team to help lower costs. Rising tuition leads the population to believe that the college has swimming pools full of coins like Scrooge McDuck hidden behind closed doors, but it’s just the opposite. The tuition has to go up because new buildings are going up, the Geology department just got a brand new hundred thousand dollar LiDar scanner. The football team just got a new locker room and hired a third full time assistant coach. The money was going out faster than it was coming in and with less funding from the state it had to come from somewhere. So, he met with alumni and asked politely for them to, “open their hearts, and their checkbooks, to the college that gave them so much.”

Smith opened the fridge. Peering inside he squinted contemplating his options. Settling on the least effort needed approach to cooking dinner tonight, he grabbed the to-go box with the leftover chinese and popped it in the microwave to reheat. Filling up the tea kettle he had used most nights since he was in college, Smith put it on the stove to warm and picked out a fragrant orange and turmeric tea. His mind drifted back to the pleasant evening he had a few days prior with the lovely woman he had met online. After about a month of chatting back and forth he had worked up the courage to ask her to dinner. He hadn’t been on a real date with someone he was interested in since he and Meredith had split up nearly five years prior, but this woman had definitely caught his eye. They had a lovely conversation about why each of them was getting back into dating. She listened to his stories, and he laughed at her jokes. It was a wonderful evening and he was genuinely intrigued by her. They had plans to meet for dinner again Saturday and he was very much looking forward to it.

The microwave dinged and Smith removed his dinner, smothered it in soy sauce, and headed towards the living room to eat in front of the television. Smith turned to the eleven o’clock news to see the familiar face of his brother Joe Whitefield behind the desk. Archibald ate his dinner and listened to Joe interview the owner of a local restaurant they had eaten at a few months ago. Joe had aired some concerns about joining the brotherhood, but Archibald had helped put those doubts to rest by explaining the companionship and support the members provided for each other. After a few bourbons, a very good steak covered in sauteed mushrooms and onions, and some friendly convincing, Joe was sold and sent in his membership dues the day after.

pulling his phone out of his pocket, Archibald found Joe in his contacts and sent him a quick message.

“Joe, looking good on my TV. The make-up crew deserves a raise haha. Grab a steak at Terry’s Friday?”

Archibald made it a point to try to meet with one of his brothers at least every other week and he hadn’t seen Joe in a few months. It would be nice to catch up with him and talk a little business. Archibald’s phone buzzed with Joe’s name, Archibald clicked the message.

“Terry’s sounds great! Meet you there at 7. Try to bring a story with you.”

Smiling to himself Archibald made a note to add “Dinner with Joe at Terry’s” to his agenda tomorrow morning.

The tea kettle whistled and Archibald jumped up to grab his mug. He added the tea bag and settled back on the couch breathing in the strong citrusy steam. “Look at me” he thought to himself with a satisfied smile. “Two non-work related dinner plans in one week, Steve is going to be thrilled.”