1636: Seas of Fortune by Iver P. Cooper Page A

High Noon this Friday.”
    “That might be nice. I’ll have to ask Prudentia what her plans are.”
    “She can come, sure.”
    “I’ll ask Lolly. She’ll appreciate the excuse to get out of the house.” Maria was staying with Lolly, the middle school science teacher. Currently pregnant.
    “Uh . . . I was thinking that we could celebrate your completing the sugar report.”
    “That would be nice. So we should ask Irma and Edna. They told me so much about sweet sorghum and sugar beet. And Rahel should come, too.”
    Philip blinked again. “I suppose.”
    “And of course the Bartollis. Lewis and Marina, I mean.” She gave him a wink. “Don’t forget to invite your sister Laurel. Evan, too, perhaps?”
    “Yeah . . . I’ll ask them. Well, uh, see you Friday.” He turned toward the door.
    “It’s a date!” she called out after him.
    * * *
    It’s a date, she said , Philip thought. Yahoo!
    Philip needed something to cheer him up. It had only recently hit him that in just a few months, his gang, the “Happy Hills Six,” would be split up; most would be going into the military, and who knows where they would be stationed. Or what would happen to them there.
    His mother had been driving him nuts about it, too. It had been bad enough when Laurel went into the army—and jeesh, she was in Telephone and Telegraph, not exactly on the front lines—but Philip was the baby of the family and Momma was always bringing it up.
    And then there were Grandpa Randolph’s health problems. He was seventy-five years old, but until recently in great condition for his age. Thanks to all that hunting and fishing, Phil figured. But he was bed-ridden now, and Momma fretted over that, too.
    Phil wished, really wished, he could just, like, move out . If it hadn’t been for the Ring of Fire, he could have solved the problem by going to college some place far away. Like Cleveland.
    * * *
    “How’s your report coming along, Maria?”
    Maria greeted her friend Prudentia with a kiss on each cheek. “Almost done. It would help if the investors didn’t keep changing their mind as to what they wanted to know.”
    Prudentia smiled. “Believe me, painters working on commission have the same problem.”
    Maria showed Prudentia the report. “As you see, it covers pretty much everything the colony might grow, for itself or for export. Various kinds of rubber trees, sugarcane, cacao, coffee, cotton, dye plants, rice, pineapples, bananas, manioc, oranges, coconuts—you name it.”
    Prudentia gave it a once-over. “Impressive.”
    Maria shrugged. “I couldn’t have done it without Philip Jenkins’ help. He knows so much about trees, and of course he’s actually seen, and eaten, pineapples and bananas.”
    Prudentia gave Maria a knowing look. “I bet he’s been helpful.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “Don’t pretend to be obtuse. You know what I mean. I think he likes you.”
    “Yes, we’re friends.”
    “That’s not what I meant. I think he’s courting you.”
    “That’s ridiculous. I am in my mid-twenties, and he is what? Fifteen?”
    “Sixteen. And a half.”
    “That’s right. He did say that the first time we met.”
    “He has probably been saying it to someone every day since attaining that lofty age.”
    “Anyway, he’s not the only lad who helped me. There’s Lewis Bartolli, the chemistry ‘whiz kid,’ who did the write-up on aluminum, bauxite and cryolite. And his sister Marina has done a lot of typing for me.” She paused. “You know, maybe Phil is interested in Marina, and is using his visits as an excuse to see her . She’s pretty, in a dark sort of way, and just a little younger than Philip, so she’s the right age for him. And she is the daughter of the Bartolli of Bartolli’s Surplus and Outdoor Supplies, while Philip is a hunter and fisherman. Since Lewis Bartolli isn’t going into the family business, perhaps Philip sees an opportunity there. That would be sensible.”
    “Yes, that would be