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“Yes,” Karen said, her tone softer, her voice quieter, almost as if she were whispering. “Yes, Andrea, good for you. I’ll let Mr. Karp know that you quit.”
“Karen, wait,” I started, but she had already hung up.
I stared at my phone in complete bewilderment.
***
Jane walked in two hours later, knocking as she pushed the door open and looking very confused. I was almost done with the latest inventory and was getting ready to close up.
“How you are doing in here?” she asked.
“About done,” I said. “I still have a couple of hours left on the clock, and I don’t think I can do much more of this today. Do you need help up front?”
Jane shook her head, looked out at the store, then back at me. “There’s a guy outside, says he’s an old friend of your brother’s. Wanted to say hi.”
I frowned. “That’s weird. No one knows I’m back.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Jane shrugged. “Anyway, I told him that you were busy, but he’s insistent. Want to help me get rid of him? Just say hi and send him on his way?”
“Sure,” I said, pushing my chair back and getting up, stretching my back. I remembered Bobby telling me about a reunion coming up, and I wondered who he had told that I was back in town. I hardly remembered any of his o
ld friends, other than Andy, of course.
I froze when we reached the front of the store. The man waiting by the cash register turned around and flashed me a wide smile.
“Hi, baby,” Dennis said.
I felt my knees buckle and the world around spin out of control. My entire body began to shake, and if it weren’t for Jane grabbing my arm, I would have collapsed onto the ground. I stared at Dennis with wide eyes, my jaw dropping like a drawbridge, and my heart jumping into overdrive. It beat like a hammer in my chest, threatening to break through my rib cage and run like hell, leaving me behind. My breathing quickened, and I suddenly felt very cold.
Dennis’s smile never faltered, but his eyes shot daggers at me. There was a promise of pain and suffering there, that the minute he could get me alone, he’d break every bone in my body, put them back together, and then break them again.
“You’re full of surprises, Andrea,” Dennis said. “I mean, I thought you might come here, but didn’t really believe you would. I mean, who knew Bobby would let you back in? I guess he’s just as soft as he’s ever been.”
“Dennis –”
Jane looked from me to Dennis and then back again. “Dennis Canfield?” she asked.
“Hi, Jane,” Dennis smiled. It was such a menacing look, I almost believed the store would go up in flames because of it. It was like the devil had walked into the supermarket. “It’s been a long time.”
Jane looked at me again, and I met her gaze. She must have seen just how scared I was, because her eyes widened in understanding, and she gently pushed me behind her.
“It has been, Dennis,” Jane said. “It’s always good to see a familiar face, although I didn’t recognize you at first.”
Dennis tried to look past her at me. “Time takes its toll on all of us, doesn’t it?” He chuckled. “Now, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to have a word with my wife. I’ve been away from work for two days, and we really need to go home.”
“Have you talked to her brother?” Jane asked.
“Now why would I do that?”
Jane shrugged, doing surprisingly well at maintaining her cool. I, on the other hand, felt like my bladder was going to go at any minute. “He told me Andrea was staying here for a few weeks. She works for me right now, and I’d hate to think that my expectations were for nothing.”
Dennis’s smile disappeared, and the scowl on his face made him look like a rabid dog. “Andrea’s coming home with me, right now,” he said through clenched teeth. He attempted to smile again, but it did little to make him look less threatening.
“I suggest you call Bobby first,” Jane said.
“Get out of my way, old lady,” Dennis said. “That’s my wife. I don’t need permission to take her with me.”
“I believe you do,” Jane said. “Hank! Charlie!”
