AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Him?” The brunette’s mouth drops open. The blonde continues, “Patty had him over about a hundred times last year. Well, his truck was parked outside of her house about a hundred times, anyway.”
“My goodness, so you don’t think... you don’t think this has anything to do with a love potion, do you?” the brunette asks unbelieving.
“You’ve seen the way Hank acts when he thinks no one is looking, right?” The blonde asks without really asking, “That man’s been gayer than a pride parade in the summer. Of course, nothing wrong with it, unless you drag your wife along, but Patty’s always been a bit... desperate for attention.”
“She sure has.” The brunette contributes.
The irony of these two women drawing eyes from across the restaurant with their loud cackling and flashy outfits calling someone else desperate for attention is not lost on me. But I am captivated by every word they speak.
“So, you know what happened?” the blonde goes on.
“What?”
The blonde leans in as though she’s going to speak quietly but instead speaks at a full volume, “I heard Patty and a couple of her church friends took themselves on a little crusade and broke that witch’s store windows. Shattered them. And they graffitied some silly words like ‘leave’ and ‘you’re not welcome’ on the windows that didn’t break.”
“I’m surprised Patty Jenkins even knows how to hold a spray can, let alone has the strength to break any windows.” The brunette surmises.
My heart races as the two of them continue gossiping. All pretense of my focus being elsewhere has been dropped but the two of them are too enthralled in their conversation to notice.
“Jimmy, Patty, and Hanks’s son did it. You know the son; he’s been in lots of trouble for spray painting those train cars. I bet you, Patty went and raided his supply of paint so no one could link the defacing to her.”
“Well, I’ll be! You reckon Patty knows her husband is gay and she’s just trying to save face?”
“I reckon you’d be void of a brain if you lived with that man for all those years and didn’t at least suspect something.”
“You know how those church groups can be though, I guess I can’t quite blame her for trying not to be ostracized.”
“Word is Pastor Brown’s got his eye on her. You know how he is, real old school. I reckon she was trying to impress him.” And with that, the blonde downs the rest of her martini and looks right at me to find me staring.
“You ladies ready for another round?” I ask them without missing a beat.
“You’re good,” she says with a mischievous glint in her eye, “I wouldn’t mind a round of something else with you sometime either.”
This icky feeling inside of me must be how women feel when a man is incessantly hitting on them while they are merely trying to do their job or go about a mundane task. I’ve seen it with Madison when we’ve gone grocery shopping for the pack together. But I’ve never felt it myself until now.
Dustin and Ash must be laying it on thick, for better tips, when they work behind the bar, if this is how the clients assumethey can treat any of our bartenders. I’ll have to talk to them about professionalism while at the bar... Eventually.
After I handed the women their next round of drinks, I passed down a food menu for them as well. “Just in case,” I say with a grin, “I catch the fish myself.”
This entices them and each of them orders a fish and chips. I don’t mind keeping folks supplied with a hefty flow of liquor, but I won’t be over-serving these ladies on an empty stomach.
After work,I practically run down the block to Lorelei’s to tell her what I discovered. I notice a young man with pointed snakeskin shoes and a tall thin demeanor sitting on a bench kitty corner to the shop with his eyes locked on the store window.
Probably trying to work up the courage to go in, maybe to buy a love potion? A kid like that is liable to need all the help he can get, he’s a little odd.
“Lorelei, that window tint sure is doing its job.” I say entering the shop, “I can’t see a thing until I am right up against the windows.”
“I’ve had quite a few more visitors than usual today, so that’s great. It is a little funny though, because it’s not like folks can’t tell exactly who is coming and going from the front door.” She says smiling.
“Well listen,” I scan the shop to make sure I didn’t miss anyone lingering about. “I found out who vandalized your shop.”
“Oh?” Lorelei raises an eyebrow and glances at the clock. “A few minutes until close anyway. I think I am going to lock up early and you can tell me all about it upstairs.”
My heart skips a beat,I’ll tell you all about it alright, and then some... I shake my head pushing the thought from my mindand she gives me a curious look. “Sounds good.” I choke out trying not to give away my embarrassment.
“Do you know a woman named Patty Jenkins, or perhaps her husband Hank Jenkins?”
“I know Hank, he was in here a little while ago buying a potion for courage and inner strength.” Lorelei says.
