Under the Boardwalk by Barbara Cool Lee Page A

react when Hallie's scarred hand took the gum from her.
    "Anyway," the woman continued. "Somebody burned the whole place down a long time ago and they're super paranoid about fires." She raised her hands, busily filing. "It's a nasty habit, but I can't seem to break it. I need to chew on some gum, or file my nails, or I go nuts for a cigarette."
    She looked up from her hands. "Oh. Here's our first customer. You can work the front. It's real easy. You take the tickets and push the button to start the car on the track out here." Charlie pointed to the panel next to the stool.
    Hallie sat down on the stool Charlie vacated.
    "I'll be in the back," Charlie said. "Just ring the buzzer three times if you need me to come out and help you. I'm sure you won't have any problem. It's not exactly brain surgery."
    Hallie laughed.
     
    ~*~
     
    The morning went quickly. Like Charlie said, it wasn't exactly brain surgery. Even when the sun came out and the crowd started to pick up Hallie found that she only had to use half her mind to do her job. The other half of her mind was thoroughly occupied with thoughts of a certain green-eyed rancher.
     
    ~*~
     
    Where was Kyle? Hallie looked at her watch again: 1:35 p.m., one minute later than it had been the last time she'd looked.
    Jeez, what was the matter with her? She was a grown-up. Hovering around with sweaty palms like a schoolgirl on a blind date was ridiculous. He probably got held up somewhere. It was no big deal.
    She had only 25 minutes of her lunch hour left. It was time to stop hovering around and go get something to eat. After all, she could buy herself lunch without his help.
    There were refreshment stands all along the promenade, so she made her way through the crowd toward the nearest one.
    A souvenir booth next to the refreshment stand caught her eye, and she stopped to leaf through a rack of postcards. She smiled at one: a solid gray card, the color of fog, with the caption Summer In Pajaro Bay .
    She finally chose a card with a picture of a lighthouse on it. "Oh, that's a nice one," the freckle-faced girl behind the counter said when she rang it up on the cash register. "They're gonna have tours of the lighthouse next summer after they get it remodeled. You want a brochure?"
    Hallie shook her head. "Thanks," she said, taking the change for her postcard. The picture was pretty. She didn't have anyone to send it to, but she could prop it up on the shelf in her room. She didn't like to have too many possessions, but a postcard wouldn't weigh her down too much.
    She looked back toward the haunted house. Still no sign of Kyle. Guess it's lunch for one.
    A guy in a purple tie-dyed jumpsuit manned the counter at the refreshment booth.
    "'Mama Thu's All-Natural Veggie Hot dogs'?" Hallie read aloud from the sign behind him.
    "A real taste of California," the guy said. "You want one? We've also got a good Banh Mi Trung today—a sausage and egg sandwich."
    She thought about comparing the Vietnamese version of an egg sandwich to the Spanish version she'd eaten for breakfast, but decided her stomach probably wouldn't appreciate it.
    She looked up to see the guy watching her with an intense interest. He smiled at her. "New here?" he asked. "I'm JJ. I could show you around..."
    She shook her head, saying no to the obvious flirtation in his smile. "The veggie hot dog sounds good," she said firmly. "I'll take one."
    She sat on a bench to eat. When she was almost finished, something made her glance up once more at the crowd, and she felt a ridiculous lump in her throat when she recognized the lanky figure striding toward her.
    She smiled and waved, and he quickly made his way to the bench where she sat.
    "Hey, I thought you weren't going to make it," she said casually when he was within earshot. She looked down at what was left of her lunch. "I thought this hot dog would taste like boiled cardboard, but it's not too bad. And the hot chili sauce has my eyes watering." She motioned to the bench