Page 40 of Unexpected Hero

“No Pumpkin tonight?”

“She’s not feeling so good, so she’s under her heat lamp.”

“Oh no.” As much as I’d love to never see the reptile again, I don’t like it when Stella is sad. She loves the creature for unknown reasons.

“It happens every now and again. Upset stomach. Ate some bad bugs, maybe.” She plops down on a bean bag in her room and props her phone up in front of her. “Okay, so tell me about this dude. Name. Age. Height. Hair color. Address. Salary. I need all the details.”

She pulls out a notebook, flips it open, and hovers a pen over the page.

“You are not going to take notes about him.”

She tilts her head to one side, shooting me a scornful look with pursed lips and raised brows. “Have we met?”

Shaking my head, I start in with a recap, modifying it slightly to avoid my lack of money meltdown. If she finds out, she’ll insist on sending me a loan or making me go back home. She’s saving every penny for her own business endeavor. She’s worked so hard and is too close to have a setback now.

As for moving back to Climax, I’d have to live with her since I broke the lease on my apartment. And that’s out because I’d rather die than live with a lizard. So obviously, I can’t tell her about my bank account woes.

“Okay, so what happened when you got to the coffee shop? Did he pay?”

“Stella, why the focus on money? We both know that you don’t care about that shit.”

Honestly. She’s the salt of the earth.

“I’m not saying you should dump him if he’s cheap or broke. I’m just trying to get a feel for how the date went. Was he being a gentleman? How into you is he? I need to know the whole story without missing any details. I can’t ask around about him since I’m not there. Who will protect you?”

I smack my lips. “Oh lawd. You make it sound like I just popped up out of the cornfield. I’ll have you know that I can protect myself.”

“You once walked into traffic. If I hadn’t been there to pull you back, you’d be a black spot on the highway right now.”

I laugh at the memory she’s triggered. “Pshaw! That was only once, and it wasn’t a highway. It was Peachtree Avenue. No one drives down that road.”

“Lies!” She points her pen at the screen. “Adrienne Bird was zooming past. She almost hit you.”

“Does not count. She was riding that damn two-person bicycle with the life-sized Buddy the Elf blow-up doll strapped to the other seat. She was bound to hit someone, especially since she put Buddy on the front seat and had to look around him to steer.”

Stella shakes her head at me. “I stand by my assertion that I saved your life that day. I’m a hero. You need me. Let me know when you get a real place so I can come squat on your couch.”

The idea of her coming here makes me feel warm and fuzzy. She’s mentioned it before, but her whole life is in Climax. Unlike me, she’s not on the outs with her mama. She has a brother back home and more friends than I ever did. And I’m not sure her business plan would jive here.

“Back to the date,” she prods.

“Yes, he bought. We had coffee and grilled cheese sandwiches.”

Scribbling on her notepad, she mutters, “Coffee. Grilled cheese. Got it.” She stops writing and looks at me. “What did you talk about? How long was the date?”

When I resume speaking, her pen flies across the page. I have no idea if she’s really taking notes or making out a shopping list, but I keep talking.

“At first, I sort of thought he was annoyed by me,” I confess.

Her lips shift to a pout. “Why would anyone be annoyed by you?”

“I guess he wasn’t, but I thought he was. He wasn’t smiling much and didn’t laugh when I did. The conversation was a bit stilted.”

“Not good. But you said at first it felt that way. When did it change?”

“Well, at one point, I told him he was free to go and under no obligation to stay if he didn’t want to.”

She bobs her head like she’s impressed. “Bold strategy. What did he say?”

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