Peachy Keen

Chapter 19

"Do you have any paraffin wax?" Tony asked Holly early in the morning. He'd come down and
fixed coffee, and considered making waffles, but he hadn't got the hang of the waffle iron yet. It was
apparently an art form judging how hot it was and the exact moment the steam finished venting to
indicate it was done. Eggos were easier, but homemade tasted better.

"Um, maybe...let me check." Holly rummaged in the pantry and emerged with a couple dusty, bug-
chewed cardboard boxes containing blocks of wax. "Yep. I tried canning years ago, before they said
wax sealing wasn't safe. Kept it because I thought the kids might like to make candles."

"Great. I'm going old school for the test run. I'll use the lost wax method to cast the vibranium
bronze-- that's long. Vibronzium?"

"It sounds like an instant tanning product," Holly said, trading the paraffin for a cup of coffee.

"And it would be illegal to make it look like real coins," Holly said, as if that would stop Tony. "Oh.
I know. I have just the thing!" She pulled up a fine silver necklace she had tucked inside her blouse
and took it off over her head. There was a round silver medallion at the end of it. "Eddie gave me
this on our first anniversary. He said it would protect me, even though neither of us was Catholic."
She handed the necklace to Tony.

He looked at it closely and laughed. "Saint Anthony Protect Us? Isn't he the patron saint of lost
causes?"

"Lost things, and people, and also miracles." Holly paused. "After... after Eddie left I looked him up.
One of the conventional images of him is a flaming heart, because of his visionary fervor."

Tony didn't really know what to say to that. He removed the medallion from the chain and gave the
necklace back to Holly. "Thank you. I'll return St. Anthony to you later."

By the time Jayden's Hyundai crunched down the graveled drive leading to Tony's workshop, Tony
had several dozen wax St Anthony medallions set in clay with splines leading to the outer edge of
the mold, and was building a small kiln to harden the clay and melt the wax.

"Hey," Jayden called as the car stopped, and the engine sound died away. "Pizza man!"

"Awesome." Tony peeled off his gloves and left the kiln-to-be. "Tell me it's pepperoni."

Jayden laughed. "Your Ms. Potts placed the order, so if you don't like it, my hands are clean."

"The safest hands are always our own," Tony said, and then he frowned. "Never mind, that didn't
make sense before and it makes even less now. Let me stow the rest of the goodies before we eat."

"Right." Jayden opened the Hyundai's trunk and brought out a box marked with the Amazon 'smile'.

"You're kidding me."

"Reuse is a thing, man." Jayden carried the box into the workshop and set it down on the first cleared space. "There's another box inside. I didn't ask how far down it went. One Christmas I had to open
six nested boxes to get the controllers for my new Wii. Grandma has a sense of humor."

"Fortunately, Pepper is a very sensible woman," Tony said as he uncovered the inner box, a smooth
white metal cube that had a thumbprint seal. He put his thumb on it, there was a click and it opened.
On top of fragments of alien bio-metal alloy several flash drives and a data cube rested. Apparently
Pepper hadn't been sure what kind of technology he had available. There was also a brief note
written on S.I. stationery. Tony picked it up and thought he caught a faint whiff of Pepper's perfume,
Shiso. It always made him a little hungry, since it was the herb used to wrap meat and sashimi. There
wasn't a sushi place in Rose Hill. One time Tony mentioned it, and he was directed to a bait shop.

"Yeah, Pepper is very sensible." The note read, Tony, I know you have your own Friday, but that
doesn't mean you are Robinson Crusoe. Pick up the telephone, for heaven's sake! We all miss you. I
even heard some of the board members complain that things were boring without you. No, that's a
lie. The board members are thrilled you sent new product specs without having to watch you
demonstrate by blowing up the conference room. I don't know what you're up to, but if you ever
need anything, even if it's just someone to listen, please call. And she signed it, Love, Pepper

Tony cleared his throat. "Yep! Pizza, let's call the troops."