Page 16 of Sweet Pea

Callie

Given my current company and whereabouts, I probably should have been afraid. At the very least, I should have felt nervous, but I didn’t. My line of work put me in the presence of true monsters on a regular basis, and my father had drilled into me at an early age to be cautious, wise, and discerning. My experience and instinct told me this man was not evil. I also knew he wasn’t a saint, despite what his patch might say. Despite his gruff exterior, Sweet Pea had a softness in his eyes that no amount of scowling could hide. The patches on his vest told the story of a road warrior, but his eyes betrayed him, revealing glimpses of the deep waters that lay behind them.

“This place has the best potato salad you’ve ever had in your life,” Sweet Pea said, motioning to a platinum blonde, middle-aged waitress, snapping me back to attention.

“What?” I asked.

“Potato salad. You need to eat. You said so yourself. You might not guess by lookin’ at it, but the food here’s really good.” Sweet Pea handed me a menu as I continued to study him.

The waitress approached, and Sweet Pea introduced us.

“Ms. Callie Ames, this is Sally Anne. This is her place. Sally Anne, Ms. Callie Ames.”

“Hey, how come you called her Ms., but I’m just plain ol’ Sally Anne,” she protested.

“My love, you are far from plain. Besides, you are the queen of this establishment and one should never refer to royalty as Ms.,” Sweet Pea said, bowing his head.

Sally Anne rolled her eyes.

“I must beg your forgiveness for not addressing you as ‘Her Royal Highness.’”

“Alright, knock it off, kiss ass. You two need some more drinks?”

“One more round for sure,” Sweet Pea said, “But first, what’s on the menu tonight?”

“If you’re thinking about food, you should know Smokey’s been working on ribs all day out back.”

Before I could utter another word, Sweet Pea went into an ordering frenzy.

“Ribs, two racks,” he said excitedly as he slapped his huge hand down on the table. “Two large potato salads, a half pan of cornbread...let’s make that a full pan, Cajun tater tots, and—”

“Wait, I—”

“Oh, shit. You’re not a vegan, are you?”

“No, but—”

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