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I wonder how long Lenore’s been here. It sounds cliché, but Sturgeon Bay is a small enough town, even with the tourists coming and going, that you always see the locals at places like grocery stores, auto shops, and community events.
Then again, she headed back up 42. Maybe she’s living in one of the smaller communities north of here. Judging by her fancy office clothes, she’s probably been commuting into Green Bay for work, but still, that would have brought her through on a regular basis because Sturgeon Bay was where the most fully stocked grocery stores and nearest big box stores would be. She would have to have shown up somewhere.
Why am I so preoccupied with the woman? Every time my thoughts turn a corner, she’s there. It’s as if she’s a little pixie who’s sprinkled me with magic dust. A short pixie with the darkest hair I’ve ever seen.
I wonder if she’s just got a seasonal job or plans on sticking it out year-round. The stupid part of me attaches itself to the idea that she’s staying year-round.
Steve, my best friend since our training wheel days, owns a local restaurant and knows the seasonal cycle of workers all too well. He finally got a chef to stick around for more than a year, and, as he would say, the kitchen is on fire. Word of mouth has spread, and now people are coming just to try her food.
He’d also kick my ass for, at the very least, not getting her number. Of the pair of us, he was much more outgoing and had a steady stream of girlfriends. I already know what he’d tell me, “Seize the opportunity, ask the lady to drinks, shoot your shot.” I have a feeling my odds of being rejected would have been high, especially with everything she already had to deal with this morning.
I hope Lenore is here to stay. There’s something about her that makes me desperate to find out more. She’s quirky but vulnerable and tries to hide it. The determination she maintained while dealing with her car and her asinine boss makes me want to stand between her and her demons.
I got the feeling she didn’t know many people in the area since she was trying to remedy the situation on her own. I was glad to see that she texted details of our route to someone. I caught a glimpse of a couple of the messages on her screen while she studied signs as we drove by. She is clearly a street-smart woman who isn’t good at lying, subtlety, or snooping. I also saw her through the window of the shop while she poked around in my truck. I stalled inside, oddly content to let her riffle through my things. People usually trust me, and it was important to me for her to feel comfortable.
She was crawling out of her skin when I first saw her at the gas station. I could see the tension in her shoulders and the slight shake of her hands. Then that call had come from Taub, and I saw how she tensed up even more. At one point, a little vein on the side of her head started to stand out. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to work with him.
In my mind, I replayed the visible relief that eased the tightness in her whole body after I said she was better off without him in her life. It was proof enough that he’d been an ass in person too.
I must have been stewing longer than I realized because Mrs. Jenkins pulls her late-model Chrysler into the garage for her appointment, and I haven’t gotten anything done other than raise my blood pressure.
With the sole thought that at least Lenore has my personal card when something else goes wrong, I push all thoughts of her from my mind and focus on my customers.
