Chapter 6: Richard Hires Entertainment

Salicia was Raven’s childhood friend even though he sometimes played cat and mouse games with her.

“Why didn’t he invite her over today when he invited his other friends? Now it’s gonna be twice as hard to convince her to help,” Richard told himself inwardly while he waited for Salicia to answer the call.

“Hello, what a surprise!” Salicia declared as soon as she answered her phone.

“Hi, how’ve you been?” Richard asked in a light and friendly tone. He hoped that Raven would not be upset about him involving Salicia in his surprise.

“I don’t know why he sometimes cuts her off and then lets her in on his life again, just as suddenly,” Richard said to himself while he allowed Salicia to chatter on at the other end of the line.

“So, I actually needed a favor from you, pretty please,” Richard stated as soon as he got a break in the flow of conversation.

“You see, my uncle bought an early birthday present for Raven and I wanted to add to the surprise,” Richard began.

“Oh, that’s interesting. What did he buy? Salicia asked without skipping a beat.

“My uncle bought him a sports car,” Richard replied, trying hard to be patient.

"Uncle George must be wondering where I am,” he told himself inwardly.

“Oh, another sports car? But he already has an awesome one already,” Salicia commented.

“Well, Raven sort of wanted a better version,” Richard responded.

“Oh, so he knew about the surprise,” Salicia commented.

“My uncle asked him what make of sports car he wanted, but the car is arriving now as we speak. I just want to make it a little more special for Raven,” Richard responded.

“That’s so no nice of you,” Salicia replied in a sing-song tone of voice. Richard could just imagine her twirling her red ringlets around her finger.

“So, what do you want me to do for you?” she asked next.

“I wanted to hire some dancers to dance next to the car with some nice, funky music and then we can record it on video and show it to his friends,” Richard said all at once, trying to get his request over and done with as fast as possible.

“Oh and why, might I ask did you think of me when you decided to hire these dancers?” Salicia asked.

Richard did not know whether she was joking.

“How to answer her now?” he asked himself nervously.

“Well, you’re so smart and knowledgeable about so many things,” he began hesitantly.

“Oh, I’m just joking!” Salicia laughed. “Of course I know how to find those dancers online. I can send a list of websites and you can order the dancers from the list. Most will be pre-booked, but you are likely to find dancers who are available for tonight,” she explained.

Richard thought about what Salicia had just said before answering.

“Gosh, I feel intimidated because I haven't done it before,” he answered as he scratched his head.

“Okay then, I will do it for you and it won’t look so bad if a grown lady does it instead of a young man like you,” Salicia suggested.

“Thank you so much,” Richard responded with relief flowing through him.

“Except for one little snare,” Salicia remarked.

“What's that? Richard asked, holding his breath.

“You can't pay on your phone, so you will have to send me the money so that I can pay for you on my phone,” she explained.

“Oh, no problem, we can do that,” Richard replied as a fresh feeling of relief flooded him. He sighed audibly.

“Okay then, I will get you the price quoted for just an hour’s entertainment. You don't need them to dance for longer than that hey?” Salicia asked.

“No, not at all. They’ll just dance around the car a little bit to celebrate, that’s all. Send me the quote and I will send you the money,” Richard said before he ended the call.

He heard a lot of commotion in the garage area and walked over there hastily.

The shining new sports car was parked in front of the garages. Raven seemed to have forgotten all his troubles from earlier on. He was busy clicking away with his phone like a lunatic as he took dozens of photos of his latest toy.

Richard felt a slight pang in his stomach. The car was really stunning.

“Can I ever expect them to do something like this for me one day?” he asked himself.

“Rather work hard and enjoy your craft until you can get your own stuff,” he mumbled to himself as he waited for Salicia’s message.

“Oh, boy! They must be almost done with dinner by now,” he said in shock as the realization hit him next.

“I should get to the dining room or there will be trouble,” he said as he began to walk away.

He almost bumped into Joan then.

“Goodness! How long have you been there for?” Richard exclaimed. He wondered if she had heard everything that he had said.

“I came to call you for dinner, but I saw you busy on the phone, so, I had to wait for you to finish,” Joan responded.

“So, how much did you hear?” Richard asked, urgently pulling Joan aside; away from the garden lights and into the shadows.

“I didn't hear or understand much except that you're buying something online,” Joan replied. "Isn't that risky? What if they scam you out of your spending money?” she asked with a concerned look in her eyes.