Chapter 11: Lunches with Toni

When Toni walked out onto the mall at lunch time, she almost ran into Ned Radkus. "Hi," she said. "How come you're not in school?"

"I've never liked school cooking," he said with a smile. "Whenever I can, I come downtown for lunch. I have to eat at school often enough, just to be with the teachers, to catch the gossip, hear what the kids are up to. But then I get away and get something good to eat. I'm doing Pearl's today. You want to join me?"

Toni hesitated a moment, but Ned lead on without noticing, so she followed. They walked down the street and entered the rather trendy restaurant, took seats and began reading the menu. They ordered and sat chatting while they waited for their food.

"I liked those pictures of Cabo San Lucas," Ned ventured.

"Thanks. I don't usually show pictures around." She noticed his questioning look. "It's just that..." She looked him in the eye. "Well, someone always asks why I go alone."

Ned shrugged. "Well, since you bring it up, why do you?"

"Let's just say, it's my way." Toni looked hard at her plate. Her cheeks were slightly red.

"Nothing wrong with it, you know. Why does it seem to bother you?"

Toni's eyes flashed briefly. "It doesn't bother me. It's just how I like to be."

Ned let it pass. "Just the same, I thought your pictures were good. I like the way you took so many pictures of ordinary people, the people there."

Toni relaxed slightly, smiled. "Well, I have to confess that's sort of selfish."

"Selfish? How?"

"When I travel, I take a lot of pictures of people at work. I like to get a feel for what people are wearing when they're making a living. After all, I design working clothes. I need to know what's changing."

"I didn't realize things changed that much."

"Well, the things that change are kind of subtle. The fit of the clothes, the fabrics, colors. Work clothes now-a-days are a little more casual than they were a couple of years ago. Freer fit. And the way people dress in other countries is different, too. At work, I mean."

"That must give you lots of ideas," Ned said.

"Right. And I can catch some of these things before my customers notice them. They come back from the focus groups and tell me I've caught something they hadn't thought of." Toni looked a little smug.

"You travel a lot? Go to other countries, I mean? Looking at the working people? Must be fun in a strange sort of way."

"Well, yes, it is. I guess we all look for the things that interest us most, wherever we go. I'll bet, when you travel, you keep an eye on how the kids react."

Ned thought that over, smiled back at her. "Yes, I guess I do. I had a friend once who accused me of ogling the school girls, but it really wasn't so. Kids fascinate me, and I like to see their body language, how they relate to each other."

"Was she the jealous type?" Toni asked with a grin.

"Who? Oh, you mean... Yes, it was a girl I was traveling with. And she was. But she was wrong. I was really doing research. I can't help it if some of my research subjects are pretty teenagers." He grinned back, not a little sheepishly.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, some of the working men I photograph are pretty good-looking, too."

Ned looked at her soberly. "Toni, I know what you mean. And I like the way you put it. The things we need to look at are things that increase our world-view. It's a mistake to put the wrong spin on those things." He looked back at her. "Tell you what. You take pictures of all the working men, and I'll look at all the teenage girls. Is that a fair division?"

"No," she smiled, "you need to look at the guys, too. I'm sure you do. And I take more pictures of working women than of men. They change faster and it's harder to suit them."

They paid for their lunches and walked out onto the mall, chatting. As they walked along, they stopped to listen to a young woman playing the hammer dulcimer, dropped some coins in her box and said good-bye.

Toni was standing near the curb on Broadway and Pearl, looking at the Girl in A Swing. Ned spoke to her. "What are you thinking? Do you like her?"

"Hi," Toni said, acknowledging him. "Yes, I do. It's funny though. Sometimes I worry about her. She sits there looking so lovely and yet, sometimes I think, 'She's going to sit there forever, all alone'." Toni's shoulders shook slightly, then she turned and looked at Ned. "Lunch? Fred's?"

They walked a block down the mall to a storefront out of the 60's. Fred's restaurant was old-fashioned, the menu a little out of date, but the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. Toni took off her jacket, and when Ned reached for it, she let him take it and hang it on a hook near the door. She began a study of the menu. When Ned sat down, he did the same until the waitress came and took their orders.