Page 31 of Saving Bonnie

Straightening, I wink as a red curtain rolls across her cheeks. “Thanks, babe,” I say out loud. “If you can swing by after the lunch rush, I’ll give you a foot massage.”

She’s glaring at me as I turn and head for the door.

*****

Bunny

My nipples are hard as ripe cherries under my apron while Tino strolls to the door like he didn’t turn my world upside down. The bell over the door rings, and years of conditioning to move at the sound pulls me from my stupor. Oh God, I’m standing in the middle of my dining area, with people peppering catcalls and a piercing wolf whistle along every second of what just happened.

“Lookie here. Bonnie’s got herself a boyfriend.” Cappy, one of our longtime customers, turns around in his chair to tease me from across the room.

“Come on, Cappy. Behave.” Running my hands across the front of the apron, I jump into action, as if I have to gain back those few seconds. My customers are waiting, and at least one of them is eager to have lunch.

“You had that little secret tucked away real good, didn’t you?”

“You’re turning into a dirty old man,” I toss over my shoulder. He cocks his head, one eye closed, and lets loose a hearty laugh.

“Come on, girl. You know we worry about you.” He nods his head at the other gray-haired men at the table. “If your grandma had a lick of sense, I would have been your grandpa years ago.”

That was never going to happen. Not when he tried going after Gram with, “I’m like a brick of charcoal. I go from dark to gray as I get hotter.”

Still, he’s been coming here my whole life.

“There’s no hiding anything.” I pull my order book from my apron pocket. “He works nights, so he’s usually asleep right now.”

“All right, girl.” He doesn’t sound too convinced. “But we’ll have to sit him down and set him straight real soon.” He gives me the stink eye one last time before turning to his buddies.

I take a strengthening breath and paste on my customer-service smile. Why did Tino have to pull that stunt in front of these two women? As it is, I’ve had to build thick skin and let their catty comments go by.

“Good morning, ladies.” I try to give them my best I’m-not-blushing-after-being-left-stupid-by-a-kiss smile. “What can I get for you today?”

“Didn’t realize you had a boyfriend,” Thelma says, chin in hand.

“Well, I don’t know if I’d call him a boyfriend...exactly.”

Right on cue, Tino hits the stairs, stomping up every step to my apartment. His footfalls are loud enough for everyone to hear and draw their own conclusions. Again, my face grows hot enough to sear a steak.

Thelma plops back in the booth, giving me a knowing grin.

“He seems nice,” Maria adds.

Nice? My mind rewinds a few nights to when he stood over a man he’d shot. I don’t think nice is very high on his list of priorities.

“Well, he’s certainly a handful sometimes,” I admit.

Maria chuckles.

I skip a beat, surprised to see a genuine smile from this woman. While she was dismissive before, the last few months she’s been more than a little bitchy. For a while I thought it was me, but her attitude might have more to do with the wedding ring she isn’t wearing anymore.

I put my pen to the notepad, hoping to steer the conversation in a different direction.

Thelma straightens in the booth. “I’ll have some beef nachos and a Coke.”

“I should have a salad,” Maria says, shoulders slumped.

She’s been trying to lose some weight, but she’s weak and Thelma’s steady diet of high-calorie snack foods doesn’t help.

“If you’d like, I can throw some chicken breast or sirloin on your salad and just a few strips of toasted tortilla. It’ll satisfy the craving for something crunchy without having something deep-fried.”

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