Page 57 of Afternoon Delight
“Because it’s still new.” Also, he had made his first sale at the antique store. It had been a fluke because the mirror was the size the customer wanted, but he had earned fifteen dollars for five minutes of work. “His dad and baby brother live in Toronto, though.”
“His sister is closer.”
“I know, but?—”
The door jangled. Mom turned.
“Dale,” she said with a warm smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Debra.” His wide smile faltered. His expression became confused as he looked around.
Oh, shit.
“Hi, Dale.” I made myself approach him without hurry, holding out my hand in hopes that he’d recognize I wanted to introduce myself. “I’m your new neighbor, Meg. We’ve met a few times. This is my mom, Vickie. You’ve met her once or twice, too.”
“We had a nice chat about some of our favorite haunts, like the diner out by the rail yard,” Mom said with a nostalgic smile.
“Right, right.” Dale’s smile was brave, but his eyes grew damp with upset.
“Should we go back to your shop and talk with Zak?” I asked.
“Yes. I think so.” He looked around, and I realized he was completely disoriented and didn’t know where the door was.
Oh, Dale.
“I’ll walk with you. It’s this way.” I motioned toward the door.
Through the glass on our door, I saw a middle-aged couple leave the antique shop to duck into the rain. Zak came out right behind them, shoving open my door with a hard push.
He pulled up short as he saw it was only Mom and me in the shop with his father.
“Hey, Dad. Everything okay?”
“Totally fine.” I projected all the calm reassurance I could. “We were just about to walk back and see you.”
“Debra retired so now Meg is in this shop,” Zak explained to Dale. “Did you want to look around? Or come back to our shop?” Zak was trying to pretend he was unbothered, but I could feel the tension that gripped him.
“I thought this was a toy shop,” Dale said with a husk of laughter as he peeked into the window display. He blushed. “That’s what I told your sister. That a toy shop was moving in.”
“Yeah, we were all surprised as hell when we saw what kind of toys,” Zak drawled. “That looks nice, Vickie. Brightens up a dreary day.”
“Thank you.” She had sobered at Dale’s obvious distress, but found a smile for Zak.
“What would Debra think if she knew?” Dale asked Zak. “That woman wouldn’t say shit if she had a mouthful of it. Now they’re selling unmentionables in her store?”
“She was pretty straightlaced.” Zak was relaxing. “She washed my mouth out with soap once for saying ‘fart.’ I still taste Irish Spring when I swear in here.”
“I wondered why your breath always smells so fresh,” I murmured.
Zak’s mouth twitched, and I was entirely too proud that I’d given him something to laugh about.
“Debra was a good listener, though,” Dale said.
“Let’s give her a call, see if she has time to chat. You can talk to her while I empty the china cabinet.”
“You sold the china cabinet? It’s about time. God, they’re a bitch to move.”
“We’ll put some blankets around it.” Zak opened the door, nodding at Mom and me.
