Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Anyway, my phone buzzed, and it was a photo of the pawnshop. Lennox’s pawnshop. Followed by a text saying he was thinking about grabbing a late lunch and then asking if I would like to join him. It was very un-Lennox-like, but me being me, I immediately jumped at the chance, thinking he wanted to talk.
So, I’m here now, standing outside the pawn shop with a cherry pie in my arms and a thing of cream wrapped up with an ice pack in a towel in a bag. Seriously, I need to invest in a cooler.
I glance at the pie, then in the direction of the retreating bus that I just got off of. I kind of half wish I hadn’t brought pie. Do only crazy people bring pie when they get invited to lunch? Am I that person? The pie lady who comes in all bubbly and blonde and cheerful?
What would be so wrong with that?
It’s not my voice in my head that I hear. It’s Lennox’s.
When I walk into the pawnshop, it’s fairly busy, which is probably normal for a Saturday. I walk over to the far left side of the counter where two employees wearing the same turd—I mean line—T-shirts are standing and talking while studying a phone with their heads bent.
“Those are the cutest pussy toes I’ve ever seen.”
“Do you know they smell like tacos?”
“Really? Dude, that’s awesome. I want a pussy of my own.”
I clear my throat. A little too loudly. I’m sure that I’m scarlet. The two guys, who are probably in their early twenties, if that, nearly leap out of their skin. I guess they didn’t see me standing here.
The first grins sheepishly while the other, a red head whose pale skin flushes a neon red, slowly swivels the phone around.
“Pussy toes,” he explains. “I just got a cat. She has the most adorable toes. Pink with black speckles. See?”
“And they do smell like tacos,” the other guy explains. “Cat feet. Have you ever smelled them?”
“I can’t say I have.”
“Catch them at a time when they’re sleeping, not fresh out of the litter, and I swear you’ll find that their feet are pure tacos. It’s a well-known fact.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Hey, is that pie?” The redhead puts his phone down on the counter and gives me a big grin. He calls over to the girl I met before. “Hey, Sher, someone brought a pie for us!” He grins at me but then suddenly sobers. “Please tell me that you’re not here to pawn or sell that.”
“No.” I guess this is the reason the universe smiled favorably on me for a change. So I could share the love in the form of cherrylicious, golden-crusted pie. “It’s for all of you.” I take the cream out of the bag and set its sweaty ass on the counter. Yeah, it was a long bus ride. Thank goodness for the ice pack. “This is also for you.”
“Cream!” The redhead guy totally salivates.
“Oh, no way!” Sher joins the guys behind the counter. “I swear this place gets stranger and stranger every single day, but this is a good surprise!” Her eyes finally light up when she looks at me. “Oh! I know you. Are you here to see the boss?”
I flush immediately and get terribly flustered as soon as she says those two words. The. Boss. “I…I guess I am. We’re having lunch together.”
Sher frowns. “Oh really? He just took lunch, but I’ll go get him.”
Right away, I feel quite sick to my stomach. What if this is some kind of joke? What if Lennox asked me here just to test how pathetic I could be? Why would you even go there? Harsh. How about some self-love for a change? Let’s try that. Oh. There. Doesn’t it fit nicely? Yeah, it’s all soft and warm and fuzzy like a fluffy pink sweater that’s two sizes too big, so you can really wrap yourself up in it with a side of extra fluff.
Sher disappears to the back, and I try and focus on the joy that I brought to the place in the form of pie. The guys also disappear with it quickly enough, all with huge smiles on their faces. I glance around nervously, wondering who is actually watching the shop, but none of the customers browsing around abscond with anything the moment the staff’s backs are turned. Soon enough, Sher is back.
“Lennox says he’s on his way out.” She goes back to her customers, and I twist my hands nervously in the skirt of my black maxi dress.
I couldn’t decide what to wear, so I went with something that was breezy because it’s made of organic cotton and bamboo and something that was both kinda fancy and really not fancy all at once. I’m sure a black dress works for any occasion, and this is my usual go-to when I have no idea what to wear.