Mack tapped his ear, and I noticed a small hearing aid. “I hear way too much, Ms. Liza. Way too much.” Me and my roommate exchanged a wide-eyed look, and I was sure my face was as red as hers.
“If that’s true, do you think he’ll show up here?” Liza asked once we’d walked back out front.
I shrugged. “Nothing he does would surprise me. I guess I have to get another one of these.” I tossed the cell phone down on the counter, and it rang as soon as it hit.
Liza and I exchanged a look. But then I glanced down at the screen and saw Chance’s number. I turned the phone on and hurried out the back door again. “Hey there!” I was excited to hear from him, despite how awkward our last goodbye had been. I was sure he’d been embarrassed by being turned on, but I hoped my enthusiasm was enough to let him know I was okay with what had happened.
“Hey, Dream. Do you have a minute? I didn’t want to bother you at work.” He sounded like he was out of breath and I wondered if he’d been working out. Those strong muscles didn’t come from being idle all day.
“Yeah, I have just a minute. Did you need something? I’m going to the library again today.”
“Don’t bother. Look, I won’t need you for the next session. I forgot that school’s out Thursday and Friday and the following week for winter break, and I had a call for a pretty tall order. I’m going to work on that, and Star’s staying with the neighbor.”
“Oh, okay. I’m really sorry about what happened the other night. I mean, I was trying to avoid a mess by sharing the spoon trick, not make a bigger one.” I knew that probably wasn’t the problem, but if it were something else he could share, perhaps he would.
“That’s okay. It was just a little soda. Besides, I heard you got a phone call, and I assume it’s why you ducked out early on her.”
Shit. I wanted to explain, but I didn’t want him to fire me or think I was a danger to Star. Besides, it was kind of the truth. The phone call had sparked me leaving in such a hurry.
“It’s not what you think. The call was actually a wrong number.” It was the best I could do without giving away too much.
“As I said, it’s cool. Your personal life is really not our business.”
In the awkward silence that followed, I suddenly felt as if we’d taken three giant steps back in the progress of our friendship and trust.
“So are we still on for the week after next?” I hoped this wasn’t his polite way of letting me go.
“Sure. Ok, well, I have to get back to work here, so I’ll see you in a couple weeks.”
The phone clicked in my ear before I could answer and I looked down at the screen, a frown on my face. What the hell had happened?
I tucked the phone back close to my heart and headed inside. Liza was milling around in the kitchen area and was clearly waiting on a report.
“That was Chance. He’s cancelled for the next week and a half. Apparently, Star has a winter break and he’s going to be really busy with work.”
“Well, at least, it’ll make him miss you a little bit.” She winked at me and walked toward her tables.
I brushed it off and tried to get back to work and focus, but during our slow hour, a strange black car pulled up outside again. “That’s a different black car, and there’s nothing written on the door.” I walked over and elbowed Liza as she filled the salt shakers.
“Let’s wait and see if they get out of the car. It’s probably one of the undercover units from the county. I’m sure whoever is inside, is wearing a uniform.”
But the man got out and went around to his trunk. He wasn’t in uniform, and he had on a black jacket and dark glasses that made him even more intimidating.
“Okay, so maybe I was wrong. He looks like a tough character. I think you better go to the back just to be safe.”
I felt my heart begin to race as the man headed for the door, and I hurried to the back with Mack and the new girl who had just gotten off the clock.
“Are you okay?” she asked when she saw me ducking down behind the stack of cups.
“Yes, I’m good.” I covered my face and kept my head down.
“Okay, I was just wondering, because it looks like you’re hiding from my dad.” She gestured out front, and I wanted to crawl under the table with embarrassment.
“That’s your father? Does he drive a black car?”
“Yeah, he’s kind of obsessed with the color black. He thinks he’d Johnny Cash with a midlife crisis.”