Chapter 9: Tender Words of Love

Outside of Drew’s movie, there was nothing scheduled the next day.  That was a problem, as days with empty schedules can be quite boring.  This one proved to be no exception.  For instance, Edward never would have consented to wander around a flower garden with his little sister if he had anything else to do.

“What a boring garden,” he commented.  “It’s just flowers.”

“It’s kind of pretty, isn’t it?” asked Renee.

“Pretty useless.  What do these flowers do?  They just sit here and look nice.  What this garden needs is some Venus flytraps.”

Renee laughed.  “I don’t think they have enough of a fly problem for that.”

“Flies are everywhere,” said Edward.  “I haven’t—say, isn’t that Mr. Blaine’s daughter and her fiancée, sitting on that bench over there?”

Renee stood on her tiptoes and peered over about five hedges.  “Sure is,” she said.  “They look like they’re having a private conversation.”

“Not for long,” said Edward, reaching into his pocket.  “We’re supposed to find out everything about everybody.”  With that, he pulled out a small remote control car.  He pushed a button on it, placed it on the ground, and pulled out the controller.  The car went skimming under bushes until it wound up under the bench.

Edward and Renee crouched behind their bush, and Edward inserted some headphones into the controller.  “Shh!” he said.

“—really wonderful, darling,” Hannah was saying.  “I can’t understand why Father doesn’t like you.”

“Oh, your old man’s not so hard to understand,” said Mr. Coffman.  “Always thinking of your fortune.  I can’t say I blame him.  If I were in his shoes, I’d mistrust myself.  You’re so lucky.”

“At least he’s letting us go through with the wedding,” said Hannah.

“Of course!  Why wouldn’t he?  Hannah, I’ve been thinking.  Your father sees me as a nothing, a no-good, a poor man looking to capitalize on your fortune.  He sees me as an economic drag.  Well, I’ve got a way to prove to him that that’s not the case.”

“What?”

“My company is looking for new airplane designs,” said Mr. Coffman.  “Your father’s famous for his.  There’s a rumor going around that he’s working on one right now.  My company’s willing to make him a generous offer.”

“Why, Peter, that’s wonderful!”

“Sure is, beautiful.  What’s he working on?”

“Working on?”

“Yeah, you know.  His project?”

Hannah laughed.  “I’m afraid I don’t know any more about it than you do, Peter.  Father keeps his business affairs to himself.”

“Oh, I see,” said Peter.  “That’s too bad.  He hasn’t said anything about it, and my company isn’t sure if they’d be interested.  Hannah, you’re his daughter.  Do you think you could convince him to let you know what he’s working on?”

“I don’t know, darling, but I’ll give it a try.”

“Hannah, you’re marvelous!”  There was a sound that rhymed with gooch.  Renee stood up just in time to see Peter and Hannah do the same.

“I’ll be by tomorrow, about this time,” said Peter.  “Goodbye, my love.”

“Aw, how sweet,” murmured Edward.  “And very interesting.  Let me know when they’ve walked away from the bench.”

“They’re far enough away now,” said Renee.  Edward rolled the car back, took off the headphones, and packed up his stuff.

“What did he say?” asked Renee.

“He wants Hannah to find out what her father’s working on,” said Edward.  “Says his company might be interested.”

“What company does he work for?” said Renee.

“You know, he didn’t say,” said Edward.  “That’s a good question.  All he said was that they were interested in new airplane designs.”

“Is it Boeing, or is it Black Market Contraband International?” said Renee.

“No idea,” said Edward.  “Shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.  Why don’t you go ask Hannah?”

Renee darted towards the house and soon caught up with Hannah, making her way towards the front door.

“Hello,” said Renee.

“Hello,” said Hannah.  “Enjoying your vacation?”

“You bet,” said Renee.  “I was just going for a walk around the gardens.”

“What a coincidence; so was I,” said Hannah.

“I know; I saw you,” said Renee.  “You love Peter, don’t you?”

Hannah sighed.  “He’s the most wonderful guy in the whole world.”

“He seems like it,” Renee smiled.  “I don’t know him very well, but he’s very well-mannered.”

“He’s always like that,” said Hannah.  “Just the best gentleman someone could ask for.”

“He’s got a good job too, doesn’t he?” asked Renee.

Hannah nodded.

“Where does he work?”

“One of the airplane companies,” said Hannah.  “Not Father’s.  That’s probably a big reason Father doesn’t like him.  Peter’s pretty high up in the company, though.  I keep telling Father it would be best for both companies if he married me.”

“Don’t worry, Miss Blaine.  I’m sure things will work out for you.”

Miss Blaine smiled at her new friend.  “Thanks for the encouragement,” she said.  “I’m sure things will work out alright for your father, as well.”