“Jameson set his mug down and slapped his hand lightly on the counter. “Okay, back to counting.”
He lifted a remote from behind the register and pointed it at a stereo. Instantly, classic rock sounded over the store speakers. He disappeared into the office only to return with a clipboard.
“I thought this is why bosses had employees,” Sue said, leaning against the counter as she drank her coffee.
“Stu had a gig tonight,” Jameson answered. “I don’t mind. It only takes a few hours.”
Jameson went to the teas and began counting tins by pointing his pen at them. He moved it in time with the music, and she wondered if he was aware that he kept the beat.
When he paused to write down a number, Sue approached. “You’re right. This is fascinating work.”
Jameson laughed.
“Not to brag but I happen to be an excellent counter,” she said.
“Oh, yeah?” He grinned.
Sue nodded.
He motioned toward the coffee mug pyramid. “Mugs?”
“On it, boss.” She gave a small salute.
“I see, you’re trying to muscle Stu out of a job.” Jameson laughed.
“Not if that means the morning shift.” Sue went to the pyramid display. “I’m a midnight coffee girl now.”
“So what do you do, if I can ask?”
“I…” Sue furrowed her brow. “I don’t know. I guess I’m looking for work.”
“Oh yeah? What are you looking for?”
“I’m not sure.” She grinned. “Cat burglar, maybe? I have the shirt for it.”
Jameson nodded, laughing as he tapped his pen against the clipboard. “Fair enough.”
They fell into a comfortable silence as they both counted. When she finished the mugs, she started on candles, then moved to jams. Soon they were working their way around the entire store, counting inventory, drinking coffee, dancing and singing softly to classic rock. Once, Jameson even took her hand, twirling her to the music as he walked past her.
“And we’re done,” Jameson said, standing up from the floor. He crossed to the counter and put the clipboard down. “Thank you for your help.”
“No problem, I actually had fun.”
“Actually?” Jameson chuckled. “Don’t sound so surprised.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that. I’ve enjoyed doing inventory.” Sue slowly followed him to the counter. “I’ve just had a rough few months, and this was…” She looked around the store. “It’s been nice not having to think about it.”
“Anything you want to talk about?”
Sue shook her head.
Jameson walked around to the back of the counter and reached under the register. He pulled out a loyalty card and began punching it with a coffee cup-shaped hole puncher. When he finished, he signed his name on the back and handed it to her. “I think you earned this free latte.”
Sue liked that he didn’t pressure her to talk. Whenever they hit a sensitive topic, he sensed it and changed the subject. Conversation with him flowed, but even more importantly, silence with him was easy.
Sue detected the kindness in him. After years of Hank, she’d become an expert at spotting meanness in people. She didn’t always trust herself, but with Jameson, she felt she could trust him.
Sue took the card from him and grinned. “Thank you. I think I’ll come back in the morning and get that latte. I kind of want to meet Stu.”
“Into the younger guys?” He teased as he put the hole puncher away, but she saw the curiosity in his expression as he listened for her answer.
“No.” Sue laughed, and he looked relieved. “Musicians.”
“Oh.” Jameson’s head tilted back as he laughed, the sound welcoming. “I guess I better dust off my guitar before I ask you out.”
The ring on her hand tingled as if prompting her to pick up the offer. “Couldn’t hurt.”
Jameson took their coffee mugs and carried them to a sink. “I’ll remember that.”
“I should be getting back.” Sue started backing up toward the door.
“I didn’t see a car outside. You need a ride somewhere?”
“Heather Harrison is letting me stay at the movie theater,” Sue said.
“You’re staying in the theater?” He quirked a brow.
“The apartment, upstairs,” she corrected.
“Ah.” Jameson kept his eyes steadily on her. For a moment, she thought he might offer to walk her home. “Then I guess I’ll be seeing you around the neighborhood.”
Even though she was a little disappointed when he didn’t, it was probably for the best. Walking someone home felt too much like the end of a date.
Sue picked up her keys from the counter and lifted the card to give him a small wave. “Thanks for this.”
“Thanks for your help.” Jameson watched her leave.
Once outside, she moved from his eyesight and let loose a long breath, and grinned as she danced in a little circle. Ace still sat in the bookstore window, watching her. She tapped her finger on the glass and said, “I owe you one, buddy.”
Then remembering the security camera watching the area, she ducked her head in embarrassment and hurried down the sidewalk and around the corner. Once she was out of sight of the security camera, she stopped. Her heartbeat quickly, and she had a hard time catching her breath. At first, she thought it might be a panic attack, but she was too happy.
Giddy. She felt giddy, like a freaking teenager waiting for a prom date.
It had been a long time since she’d been excited that the feeling almost eluded her. For so long, she’d been living day to day, moment to moment, focused only on survival.
Was the house clean enough?
Would the food be done on time?
Did she have enough time to fix her makeup before the oven timer went off and Hank came home?
Moment to moment, every one of them scheduled. Day to day, each one formulated to make someone else happy. But was Hank ever really happy? He had some kind of demon in him, one that drove him to drink, one that made him care too much about appearances.
Already she could see Jameson was not like that. He didn’t check his appearance in reflective surfaces. He didn’t constantly straighten his clothes. She hadn’t noticed such little things on those first dates with Hank that came to mean so much.
Her marriage had not been love. It had been a prison sentence, a dark hole without air, without windows or light, without hope. The idea of going back to St. Louis, of stepping back into that house, terrified her. She couldn’t walk back into the cell. She couldn’t talk to Kathy and hear the woman praise her captor. She couldn’t smile while people told her how great a guy Hank had been, how she was one of the lucky ones.
It proved people didn’t know the pain others carried. They saw a façade. They saw what they needed to see for their lives to make sense. But there was no such thing as a perfect couple, a perfect family, an ideal life. There were always secrets.
Thoughts of her past dampened her spirits. Would she ever escape the voices in her head? She wished there was a way to sever the thread leading to her memories.
Sue paused at the theater door to unlock it.
“You should be ashamed of wearing that ridiculous outfit in public.”