"What's the important job?"
Doris grabbed a ten-dollar bill from her desk and held it up. "I'm dying for a piece of that apple pie I saw in the diner bakery case. And make sure it's a big one with whipped cream. Buy yourself a slice too, for your troubles."
I shook my head. "Feeling really irreplaceable right now on this job. Apple pie and whipped cream." I turned to leave.
"Oh, and good job on spotting that bad timber, Ro."
I waved the ten-dollar bill. "Be right back with the goods."
I had to admit I didn't mind going to the diner, especially when it was after the lunch hour. That meant there'd only be a few customers, and if I was lucky, I'd get a chance to see Rachel. I rarely ate at the diner. I was still sitting on a mostly empty bank account. My first check went to paying off overdue bills, and the rest went into a savings account so I could pay Colin my part of the rent next month. I only got lucky on that one bus ride. Rachel usually came in on a later bus and left on an earlier one.
I walked into the restaurant. Two women were sitting at a back table with coffee and pie, otherwise the place was empty. I could hear pots and pans clanging in the kitchen. Rachel walkedout from the kitchen area. Her smile rendered me speechless for a second. God, she was something else.
She hastily tucked a strand of loose blonde hair behind her ear. "Hi, haven't seen you in here much. How is the job going?"
"It's going well. In fact, today the boss gave me a really important job to do. She asked me to pick up a slice of apple pie with whipped cream. I figure that will be something I can add to my resume. Official pie purchaser."
Her laugh was even better than her smile. It had a softly gritty sound, like listening to a great country music song. "I think I'd put that right at the top of your resume. So, just the one piece?" She leaned down and slid open the bakery cabinet.
"Actually, she told me I could buy a slice for myself, but, you know, apple is too fruity. I'll go for that chocolate silk pie. Oh, and whipped cream on both. I'm feeling like I need a reward for doing such a good job with this whole pie retrieval task."
Rachel leaned down to a shelf and pulled out two Styrofoam shells for the pie slices.
"Actually, just put mine on a plate. I can down that slice of chocolate pie in two bites."
Rachel smiled as she placed a slice of pie on a plate. "It does feel a little silly giving a man your size this tiny sliver of pie. Are you enjoying the job?" She shook her head. "Never mind. How many people enjoy their jobs?"
"I don't mind it. Doris is cool. Would I rather be shredding a trail on a mountain bike or hanging out at a pool party with bikini clad women? Yes, but I don't mind getting out of bed in the morning to come to work. I've definitely had jobs where that was a challenge. At the moment, I'm off the bus. My brother is on a business trip, so I get to use his wheels. And that sounded about as loser-like as I could possibly sound. I'm saving for a car."
She put up her hand. "No need to feel like a loser. I'm finally getting a car back from the mechanic this afternoon. Those bus rides can get really old."
I scooped up a forkful of pie and hummed my appreciation. "So good. Hey, I know this is sort of out of the blue, but how'd you like to get a cup of coffee sometime? I could even pick you up because, you know, I've got wheels and all that."
"Asked with the true confidence of someone with car keys in their pocket." She tilted her head and squinted her brown eyes at me. "And the confidence of a guy who never gets turned down for a date."
"Nah, I wouldn't say that. I mean, I've heard no, but I would love to hear a yes from you. Or maybe you have a boyfriend?"
"I suppose that would help ease the blow if I said no." She took the ten-dollar bill and walked to the register for change.
"It'd definitely help my ego."
She returned with the change. I held out my hand. She gazed at me with those big brown eyes as she dropped the change on my palm. Her fingertips grazed my hand slightly. "Excuse me for saying so, but you don't look like the type of man who needs help with his ego."
"You'd be surprised. A string of bad luck has knocked me back a few pegs. Not in the woman category but definitely in the life category."
"Yep, I know all about the bad string of luck thing. Going through a bit of that myself right now. And no, there's no boyfriend. Sort of sworn off of them at the moment."
"I guess that's my answer." I patted the keys in my pocket. "Guess I'll have to impress some other amazing woman with my set of borrowed wheels." I picked up the container of pie and turned to leave.
"Hold on." She was wearing a sweet, flirty smile as she wrote something down on her order pad. She tore it off and handed itto me. "My number. I don't work tonight. But I serve coffee all damn day. I'd like a glass of wine. There's a little bar near my apartment. I wrote down the name. How about eight tonight?"
I folded the paper. "I'll be there." I walked out triumphantly. I'd been needing a win and a date with Rachel was definitely that.
thirteen
. . .
Rachel