“It’s my first time, so let’s stick to half an hour.”
“Sounds good. And what can I get for you two?” Simone asked.
“Your crullers are amazing, so I’ll take one of each,” Charlie said.
“BLT for me,” Colin said.
“If I can ask, what does your apron say?” Maren asked.
Simone stretched out her apron. “Va te faire cuire un oeuf. It means ‘go cook an egg.’”
“That’s cute for an apron.”
The woman gestured Maren close and dropped her voice. “It means ‘go fuck yourself’ in French.”
Maren laughed. “I love it.”
“Mmm, thank you. I find it comes in handy with certain customers.”
“I bet it does.”
They paid, then Simone pointed at the beaded curtain again. “Go on through. I’ll bring you your donuts and drinks in a few minutes. I’ve gotta make that sandwich first. Go have fun. Go, go.” She shooed them away.
“This is absolutely fantastic,” Maren said as soon as she crossed the beaded curtain. “I’ve never done this.”
The room reminded her of a bowling alley. There were ‘lanes’ with high dividers, axes at one end, targets at the other. She caught Colin and Charlie checking out the room, too, but in a different way. They nodded at each other.
Right. No windows, no one else here, and an emergency exit. Perfect for hiding me.
Stop it. This is your day out. Just enjoy it.
“You first,” Charlie said, gesturing toward the axes. “Go for it.”
“Thanks.” Maren picked one up and studied it. It wasn’t as heavy as she thought it would be. Of course, it was easy to develop strong arms when you were carrying a small child around all the time. “You guys had better stand back.”
“I think you’ll do fine,” Colin said.
“All right, it’s your head.” She laughed nervously. She looked at the target across the long room. She didn’t have a picture inher head of who was after them, but she created a sort of shadow shape in her mind and put him right in front of the target. She drew her arm back, felt the weight of the axe, the smooth wooden handle, and threw it.
Whack. It hit the center of the target with a satisfyingthunk.
“Got it!” she said. She looked at Colin. He was smiling and staring at her with a look of pride on his face.
“Yes, you certainly did.”
They spent the next half hour throwing axes, making jokes, competing, and eating donuts. Charlie was awesome, just like everybody else she’d met. She was tough, no doubt, but there was a warmth to her that Maren just loved. She figured Ben must have made her a very happy woman.
I wonder if I could ever find someone like that.
Oh, who was she kidding? Not just someone, not just anyone, but Colin. The way he was looking at her, laughing, having fun. She felt like he could make her smile for the rest of her life.
When they were done, they collected their axes and set them back where they belonged. They went through the beaded curtain and stopped at the counter again.
“It was great meeting you,” Maren said.
“Did you have fun?” Simone asked.
“Oh yes. The most fun I’ve had since I can remember.”
