Polkacide by Samantha Shepherd Read Free Book Online Page B

stage right; the desks all had
old-fashioned black rotary telephones and were overflowing with
piles of paperwork, mail, ledger books, CDs, and discarded fast
food containers. Only one of the desks was equipped with a
computer. A desktop model with a monster of a tower and a giant
monitor in a dirty white shell, it looked at least ten years out of
date.
    Six filing cabinets hulked
at the edges of the office space, three at stage right and three at
stage left. Each cabinet had at least one overstuffed drawer stuck
open with sheafs of paper. The tops of the cabinets were stacked
with record albums, t-shirts, posters, and/or boxes of junk that
might or might not have been mementos.
    Even the floor was heaped
with newspaper, garbage, and odds and ends. Extension cords were
tangled everywhere. One of Lou's favorite old accordions--black
with chrome trim and his signature embossed in gold above the
keyboard--lay in a corner. In another corner, a ten-foot-long
placard with "Polish Fly" in bold black letters and the band's
insect mascot between the words stood on end, leaning against the
wall.
    The place was a shambles, a
complete mess...yet it felt a little like a museum to me. Like a
monument to the father I'd once known, a man who was larger than
life in his accomplishments and sloppiness alike.
    "Here we are, Lottie." Peg
gave my arm a squeeze. "Home sweet home. Welcome to the nerve
center."
    "Pardon our dust," Eddie
said from behind us. "And our trash, and our avalanches waiting to
happen."
    Peg let go of my arm and
picked her way to the middle of the office area. "We've been busier
than ever since Lou died. You wouldn't believe the gifts and
condolences that have poured in over the last few days. Plus the
offers to reissue his recordings."
    "Don't forget the movie deal," said
Eddie.
    "A studio wants to option
Lou's life story." Peg lifted a framed photo of Lou from one of the
desks and smiled. "He's a bigger star than ever."
    "And on top all that, we've
got to manage Polish Fly and organize Polkapourri 25." Eddie walked
past me with hands clasped behind his back and gave me a look. "So
if you ask me, there couldn't be a better time for you to come on
board. We sure could use the help. There's only so much three
people can do."
    Peg replaced the photo of
Lou on the desk. "How are you with computers, Lottie?" She tipped
her head to one side and peered at me through her Coke bottle
magnifying lenses.
    "Computers like that one?" I pointed
at the Stone Age desktop with the giant tower and
monitor.
    Peg laughed. "Not
exactly. Real computers. From this century."
    I shrugged. The truth was, I
had a real flair for the information technology realm. In college,
I'd studied recording, a field that required killer computer
skills. I'd even worked in the music industry before meeting up
with Luke and starting the club. But I didn't want to put all my
cards on the table just yet. "I do all right when I have
to."
    "Well, I've been planning to
modernize." Peg grabbed a handful of overloaded files from one of
the desks and shook them. "Go paperless. It's long
overdue."
    "Okay." I kept my voice neutral. I
wasn't quite sure where she was going with this.
    "It's a massive job, as you
can see." Peg spread her arms and slowly turned in a circle, taking
in the mountains of paperwork ranging over every surface. "Much,
much more than we can do in one week. But maybe we can make a dent
in it now that we've got help."
    "Sure." I looked over at
Eddie, who was nudging the accordion on the floor with his toe. He
glanced over his shoulder at me and smiled. "I'll do what I can," I
said, as much to him as to Peg.
    "This is on top of
everything else, of course," said Peg. "And Polkapourri is always
our number one priority. Think you can handle all that?"
    Her bossy comments made my
hackles rise. She was using a take-charge attitude to try to keep
me in my place...though in reality, I was now her equal at Polish
Lou Enterprises.
    My impulse was to open fire
with