Page 60 of Perfect Mess

I held up the bottle. “So, what do you think?”

“I’m more of a beer guy.”

“Really? What a coincidence. I’m more of a beer gal.”

The beer cooler was right next to the wine shelves. Gary pointed to it. “Stouts or lagers?”

“Neither,” I said. “I’m a sour girl all the way.”

Mischief danced in Gary’s eyes. He pulled a six-pack from the cooler, then placed it in the cart. “So what would you think if you saw this in here?”

I recognized the packaging immediately. It was from one of the local breweries, FoxPaw Brewing. The beer was aptly named SourPaw. “I would think you have superb taste. That’s one of my favorites.”

“So you’ve been to FoxPaw?”

“I know the head brewer, Mike,” I said. “I go there all the time.”

FoxPaw Brewing was on the way home from the real estate office. Me and some of the other agents would go there after closing a big deal. They had a great beer selection, terrific truffle tater tots, trivia nights, even karaoke.

Gary said, “We should go sometime.”

“We?” Gary had caught me off guard. “By we you mean you and Janet. Right?”

He hesitated before answering. “Right. By ‘we’ I meant me and Janet. Obviously.”

“Obviously,” I agreed.

I took the six-pack of SourPaw out of the grocery cart and put the wine in the cart instead. “Janet will be here soon,” I said. I did a quick review of the grocery cart to make sure we didn’t miss anything. Tofu, check. Tortilla chips, check. Frozen dinners, wine, and architecture magazine. Check, check, and check. “We should get into position.”

“If you say so.” Gary’s hands gripped the cart like he was holding on to one of those Coast Guard sea rescue ladders they drop from a helicopter. Hovering over a school of hungry sharks.

“You’ve go this,” I said, trying to sound confident for both of us.

Gary positioned his cart near the front entrance so he could spot Janet when she arrived. I took my position near the cheese. The trap had been laid. The snare had been set. When Janet arrived, she would see Gary standing there with his cart. The plan was to let her recognize him, then make the first move. They would start talking, laugh about old times, then nature would take its course.

We waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

After thirty minutes, I abandoned my cheese post and returned to Gary, hiding behind a floor display of acid reflux pills.

“Are you sure she’s coming?” Gary was still death clutching the grocery cart. His knuckles were ghost white.

I checked my watch. Janet should have gotten off work over thirty minutes ago. “I’ll text her.”

MARY:

hey, u still at work?

JANET:

book signing

stuck here till 10

why?

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