“Thanks, Bev.” Suzie stuck her gum on the side of her plate.
Beverly walked away mumbling something about the Sabbath day.
After a minute of picking at her doughnut, Suzie said, “Maybe we should have gone somewhere else besides Green Valley. Not everybody appreciates my…career choices.”
Her cheeks were red as she spoke, and what I initially took as oblivious disinterest may have been masking anxiety. Suzie exhibited classic signs of posturing to cover up the fact that she was nervous. She likely felt the judgment coming off the other patrons as strongly as I did. It was almost tangible.
“The coffee is very good here,” I said.
When she looked up, her mouth quirked into a half smile. My heart thumped loudly once before returning to its cave of solitude. She took a large bite into one of the doughnuts.
“This might be the perfect segue to discuss our meeting.” I cleared my throat. “Last night was…”
“Wild, right? Sorry about that. Occum’s a little crazy, but mostly harmless.”
I blinked at her. She had a knife to her neck last night. I couldn’t fathom how she could possibly claim that. I was about to launch into a series of examples of how wrong that analysis was, but reminded myself of our purpose. Most of what she said and did was an act. It was difficult to discern fact from lie when a person was always pretending. Likely, last night had shaken her to the core as much as it had me.
“Right. Be that as it may, we are now bound by a contractual agreement. Albeit a verbally binding one.”
“What?” She looked up and her eyebrows came together.
“My research. I wanted to explain my intentions.”
She swallowed a large bite down with effort, her eyes widened. “Wait, there really is research?”
“Yes, of course. What did you think?” I glanced around wondering if anybody was listening. “Wait, did you think I was asking for…”
She made a gesture like that was exactly what she thought. She slumped back and crossed her legs on the seat.
“Thank cluck. That’s a relief. To be honest, I was late because I wasn’t gonna come. I didn’t know if you were gonna want me to live with you to play into some crazy kink, like dressing up like your mother or something.”
“What? No! I—wait. Have you done that?”
“Not me.” She shrugged. “But there are some unusual tastes around here.” Her eyes widened meaningfully. “Well, anyway. Thank goodness you weren’t serious about living with you. Rather ballsy to lie right to Occum’s face though. That’s not gonna end well.”
“I was serious. I do need a, um, research assistant.” Though I may have stretched the truth about signing off. I just needed some time to formulate a plan of action.
“Why did you say it like that? You hesitated.”
“I didn’t hesitate.”
“You did.” She crossed her arms, chest blazing red. “Is this a sex thing or not?”
“Suzie. No.” I leaned forward and whispered, “And keep your voice down. That woman over there looks like she’s about to have a heart attack.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, don’t worry about Scotia Simmons. Her face always looks like that. What’s the deal then? What do you need me until Christmas for?”
“I’ve been offered substantial funding to continue my research if I can satisfactorily produce a real-life example validating my thesis.”
I had called Bouffant that morning needing more than ever to see if he had been serious in his offer. And though he sounded groggy and slightly reticent, he agreed to send the necessary paperwork to the school first thing Monday morning. Having this confirmation was such an intense weight off my shoulders I had almost forgotten about the biker holding a knife to Suzie’s throat last night. Almost, but not entirely.
“Okay,” she said exaggerating the vowels. “And where do I fit in?”
“You are my sample subject.”
“Meaning?”
No time like the present. Just put it out there. I clasped my hands on the table between us. “I propose you spend the next twelve weeks living with me so that I can use you in an experiment on inherent social bias. After which, by Christmas, I would present you to a group of observers to see if you have successfully passed yourself off as one of the scholarly elite.”
