We Interrupt This Date by L.C. Evans

too, Jack.”
    I watched him walk away and then I sat in my
car staring at the night sky through my streaky windshield that
made the stars blur into pale blotches. A deep longing for
something in the past had pushed its way into my soul. I wasn’t
sure what I wanted, but I knew whatever it was had made me ache
inside.

 
     
Chapter Six
     
    Somehow I had mentally assigned Brenda,
Odell’s niece, her uncle’s intellectual capacity. Though there was
a definite family resemblance in her stocky build and she had her
Uncle Odell’s droopy eyes and wide nose, she proved to be pretty
sharp. If she hadn’t been as obnoxious as her uncle was, I might
have liked her.
    When I complimented her on how quickly she
caught on to the bookkeeping system, Miss Brenda straightened her
back and announced, “I took secretarial training at the community
college in Spartanburg. Of course, I’ll be making a lot of changes
after you leave.” She swiveled her head from side to side.
Something about the way she stuck out her lips gave me the idea she
wasn’t happy with the way I’d arranged the desk and chairs. For a
second I went defensive, but then I reminded myself that soon this
would be Brenda’s domain.
    Despite her trainability, I gave in to moping
through a good part of the day, listening to my mind screaming at
me that I was soon to be sans paycheck. The troubling thoughts were
momentarily silenced when Jack called and invited me to lunch on
Friday. We still had, he reminded me, a great deal of catching up
to do.
    Patty scooted into my office as soon as I put
the phone down. Excitement had her eyebrows practically dancing a
tango.
    “I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I heard the last
part of your conversation. Was that a man inviting you to
lunch?”
    Not eavesdropping? She’d been lurking outside
my door like a spy too lazy to find a real hiding spot. I glanced
pointedly at Brenda who’d just come back from Odell’s office. Patty
didn’t take the hint. I guess she figured that since I was leaving
it didn’t matter if Brenda told Odell about me taking a personal
call.
    “It’s not a date. Jack’s an old friend who
moved back to town recently, so it’s only polite for me to catch
him up on how the area has changed over the years.” Right. Lunching
with Jack was all about manners.
    Patty held her arms straight up toward the
ceiling. Her eyes narrowed to slits and she aimed the slits about a
foot over my head to stare at the wall behind me. Then she started
swaying her hips like a belly dancer warming up for a performance.
“Right. Right. Susan, it’s good news. The Universe told me Jack is
your destiny, and I am just soooo happy for you.”
    “It spoke to you without benefit of the
tarot? Despite the newsflash from the beyond, Patty, you can rest
easy. Due to a complete lack of chemistry between us, which he was
quick to remind me of last night over coffee, Jack and I are
nothing more than friends. Besides he has a girlfriend.”
    “The Universe doesn’t lie,” Patty said in
tones of deepest respect. The bell at the front of the store rang,
and she scurried back to her register to wait on a customer.
    I had a feeling she wanted to light a candle,
but Odell doesn’t allow lit candles in the shop. I glanced at
Brenda. Her mouth hung open, and she was fingering a little gold
cross hanging around her neck.
    “Don’t mind Patty,” I said. “She’s harmless
and her predictions are about as accurate as what you read in the
tabloids.”
    “I don’t read the tabloids.” Brenda sniffed.
“But I’m well able to deal with difficult co-workers.”
    “I’m sure.” The secretarial school I’d
already grown sick of hearing about must have had a required class
on the subject.
    I’d planned to stay late to work with Brenda,
but she had errands to run and I had no doubts she was planning to
lay in a supply of new office decorations. I was able to leave
promptly at five, my usual quitting time. I made a side trip to
Publix