Page 73 of Ice Ice Maybe
After a long pause, he asked, “What kind of surprise?”
“I can’t tell you that, but I promise you’ll like it,” I said. “Where are you?”
Luckily, he finally relented and said, “I’m at the Hermitage.”
“The home of President Andrew Jackson?” I asked.
Mitch sighed. “No. The golf course.”
“Oh, okay,” I said. “Why are you there?”
“I love the smell of fresh-cut grass,” he explained.
This was definitely a side of Mitch I never knew.
“Promise me you’ll stay there,” I said. “I’m on my way.”
“Fine,” Mitch agreed reluctantly.
“Oh, and can you send me a selfie?” I asked.
“Why?” he asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.
I scrambled for an excuse, but could only come up with, “Just because.”
There was a pause, then a sigh. “All right, whatever.”
“Thanks. See you soon,” I said, ending the call.
A minute later, my phone pinged with a photo of Mitch standing in front of the pro shop of the golf course, looking broody as usual.
I turned to Nolan. “We need to go convince the two women to come with us.”
“Let’s do it,” Nolan said.
We tossed our empty cups and bags into the trash can and approached the animated duo.
“Sorry for interrupting,” I said to them. “I’m Zena, and this is Nolan. We couldn’t help overhearing your earlier conversation about Mitch Redding.”
The women exchanged skeptical glances.
“And?” the blonde said.
“Well, my family owns the Sea Lions, and we’re trying to honor our fans who live outside of San Diego. How would you like to meet Mitch in person?”
They stared at me.
“I’m serious,” I added. “You can meet him right now.”
The one closest to me crossed her arms. “No way. This is a scam.”
“I agree,” the other with auburn hair said, eyeing me up and down. “Things like this just don’t happen. Who are you? Are you going to abduct us?”
“She’s telling the truth,” Nolan said. “The owner’s name is Everett Dalton. This is his daughter, Zena.”
“Prove it,” the blonde demanded.
“Google her name and the Sea Lions and look at all the results that pop up with her picture,” Nolan said.
