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I dropped my purse on the couch and decided to change the subject and not tell her I’d also met most of his family too. She’d start calling florists and churches.
“What are you doing out of your chair?” I asked.
She walked in, her left arm dangling useless, her gait unsteady, but she looked all right, even though it was getting late in the day.
“I’m feelin’ good. I also did two loads of laundry and cleared the dishwasher.”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. This was great news.
She smiled back. She knew it was great news.
“Did the mechanic call about my car?” I asked.
“Nope,” she answered then continued, “But you would not believe what happened last night. We had some excitement. The police called up and said there was a flasher in the building. They wanted to know if Trixie and I saw him. We didn’t, but we sure as hell went lookin’ for him.”
I started laughing, knowing this was the buzz-up that Eddie arranged and I began to feel a little less stressed out.
I had nearly a thousand dollars in my purse from tips, Smithie’s generosity and Lavonne’s check. Not to mention, it was payday from both Smithie’s and Fortnum’s. Mom was getting around better and I had friends looking out for me. Eddie was going to figure out what to do about Dad and I’d had some good sleep this week.
I was beginning to feel I could take on the world. Or, at least the next week. Usually, I was barely able to cope with the next hour.
I lay down for a while, took a shower, and Lenny phoned, telling me he was my ride.
I swung into Smithie’s on time for the second time in a week.
“Once is a miracle, twice means pigs are flyin’,” Smithie remarked when he saw me. “You got your shit sorted out?” he asked, putting my apron on the bar with another envelope of tips.
“Not yet but I’m working on it.” I gave him my coat and purse.
Smithie looked at Lenny. “She’s not five feet away from you the whole night. Got me?”
Lenny nodded.
“Good, now get to work,” Smithie finished.
It was Friday and Fridays were always packed at Smithie’s, seeing as they were payday. Payday also meant the boys felt generous, which meant decent tips. With two good nights this week and a shift on Saturday, if my car didn’t cost me a fortune to fix, I might even be getting ahead.
Half an hour before closing, I felt a hand on my shoulder and then Lenny materialized by my side.
“No hands, big man,” Lenny warned.
I heard Tex’s booming laugh and turned around, dislodging the beefy hand. “He thinks he can take me.” Tex’s voice was amused.
“It’s okay, Lenny. He’s a friend.” Lenny drifted away, his eyes still on us, and I turned to Tex. “What’re you doin’ here?”
“I’m gonna be speakin’ to Indy, get you girls some uniforms just like that for Fortnum’s. We’d all retire in a year.”
Wonderful. At this rate, everyone was going to see me in my Smithie’s uniform.
I pretended I was going to bat him with the tray and he pretended to cower.
Then he answered me, “Chavez called. He’s caught up in something that sounds like jen-you-wine police work. He asked me to pick you up. Said he’d see you tomorrow.”
I felt an immediate sense of disappointment. Then I felt the need to pretend I didn’t feel disappointed. I smiled brightly at Tex.
“It’ll be a while,” I told him.
“Not like there’s nothin’ to do,” he replied and wandered toward the bar, his eyes on the stage.
