Page 95 of More Than Nothing
Athena pursed her lips. “I have a headache, too. That boy has no consideration—” She wandered toward the stairs.
Behind her mother’s back, Elenie dived for Frank’s phone, whipped the device from the external port and plugged the cell back into the charging cable. Her hands shook so badly it took three tries to connect it properly. She threw the phone back onto the worktop and flung open the cabinet above her head, just as Frank walked in through the back door. In the hallway, her mom was yelling fruitlessly up the stairs against the beat of Dean’s tunes.
“Coffee?” The word cracked but Frank only shrugged a bulky shoulder.
“Sure.”
Elenie put the kettle on the stove to boil and slid out of the room, data device in the sticky palm of her hand. “Be back in a mo.” Heart crashing in her chest, she passed her mom at the bottom of the stairs. “I’ll have a word with him. I want to get changed anyway. Keep an eye on the kettle, would you?”
Only her tight grip on the wobbly handrail as she climbed the treads gave her the strength to reach the top, where she sagged against the landing wall in sheer relief, running sweaty hands down the sides of her skirt.
“Corned beef hash and French toast?”
“No. We asked for two vegetarian omelets.” Mrs. Alberty and her friend looked at Elenie as if she had asked them to eat a brace of small children.
“My mistake. Give me one minute.” She double-checked the order numbers, took the plates she held to the correct table, and delivered them to Delia’s niece, Avery Delgado, and Leo Marsh.
“Sharp as a marble, you are today,” Delia groused when she returned to the hatch to collect the omelets. “Any chance you could pretend you didn’t bring your brother’s brains to work?”
Imagining a world in which her biggest issue was a misremembered breakfast order, Elenie kept her middle fingers under control and her lips zipped. She gave Delia a speculative side-eye.
For once, twenty-four hours out of the bed of Roman Martinez, the graze of his stubble on her skin crystal-clear in her mind—Elenie knew she had something that another person might envy. And, jealous or not, Delia could take her sour-faced, snarky attitude and go screw herself. One day, she could screw the job too.
Elenie had struggled to sleep last night, her mind churning after exchanging texts with Dorsey about the data recovery device. They’d arranged to meet tomorrow to hand it over. As desperate to get rid of it as she had been the gun, she was thankful it was easier to hide. Tucking the tiny object into the toe of a sock, she rolled it with the other in its pair and shoved them into the front pocket of her purse. Better to keep it close.
She longed to spill the story of last night’s narrow escape to Roman. Aching for his measured support, the security of his arms, she’d settled instead for a brief text to wish him a successful trip into the city. Craig was also out of town, and Elenie felt some of the pressure in her chest ease because of it. She didn’t give a hoot where he was but was grateful for the reprieve.
Diner 43 was pretty dead for once. It didn’t happen often and it hadn’t helped Delia’s crappy mood. Neither did her niece’s presence—apparently Delia was no fonder of her family. But Elenie made the most of being able to move slower than usual, noting any low supplies and tidying areas normally neglected. Best of all, she shared her morning break with Otto.
“That damned racoon was back again yesterday, Elenie. I swear he thinks it’s more his house than mine. Guess what he took this time!”
“Well, he’s had your shoe and your breakfast—what else could he possibly want? Please don’t tell me it was your underwear from the washing line.”
Otto gave a low, wheezy laugh. “That damn critter unscrewed the lightbulb in my porch. I saw him run away with it along the handrail and over the grass.”
“No way! I wonder what he wanted it for. Maybe the cupboard under his stairs?” Elenie snorted into her coffee. That was a story to share with Roman. She’d message him later. “Did you know racoons score nearly as high as monkeys, elephants, and dolphins on intelligence tests? They can even work out how to pick a lock.”
“Impressive.” Otto raised his bushy eyebrows. “Although, to be fair, that’s a tough one for elephants and dolphins, so the blasted racoons aren’t competing on a level playing field there.”
She had to give him that.
When Summer and Cait came in mid-afternoon, it began to feel more like a day off than the usual hard slog. With only one other table occupied in the diner and the serving area as clean as it had been in a long time, Elenie spent every quiet moment she could hovering near their table, keen to catch up but hyperaware of watching eyes.
Caitlyn shifted uncomfortably on one of the booth benches. She looked incredibly pretty in pale yellow loose-flowing overalls. Her bump was enormous and her eyes were tired.
“If you get any bigger, I’ll have to get someone in to unbolt the tables and shift them back a foot,” Elenie told her.
Caitlyn sighed. “You won’t need to, because if I get any bigger, I’ll do myself in.”
“Ignore her. She’s joking and seriously sleep-deprived.” Summer’s glance was sympathetic.
Caitlyn rubbed her temples. “Everyone tells you that you’ll get no sleep with a newborn—but don’t imagine you can stock up in advance. Oh no. It’s impossible to find a comfortable position in bed when you’re the size of a whale, plus you need to pee every three minutes, night and day.”
Elenie winced. “Just think what a pro you’ll be at existing on minimal sleep once mini-Milo arrives.”
“Please bring me hot chocolate and all the sweet stuff you have.” Caitlyn’s eyes were pleading.
“Your wish is my command. I’ll bring you anything but octopus.”
