It’s hard to get back in the saddle. Even with just two days away. Still deciding if those were post-justified planned outages or full-on fails.
“Ready,” the gray haired gentleman states like a question. The gray haired lady simply heads for the door.
Later, in the car, she says, “It’s too bad Jimmy can’t make it. I always look forward to seeing the girls.”
“Yes.”
The waiter sets the check in front of the gentleman. “The fish wasn’t as good as yours.” The lady offers him her good ear. Gesturing with a wavering hand that she didn’t hear.
“I said, ‘The fish wasn’t…'” The lady conceals a smile. “Stop that. I compliment you enough. You don’t need to hear it twice.”
“Here. Let me get that for you.” The young man holds the shop door open. Warm cinnamon air envelopes the three of them for a moment, then the boy is gone. Inside it smells like candles.
The gray haired couple stand shoulder to shoulder at the end of the card rack. The lady selects a pink one. The open card flutters like a rose in a breeze in her trembling hands as she reads. She puts it back. Next a pale yellow one. She snorts almost immediately and offers it to the gentleman. Up-nods in agreement. He puts it back.
The gentleman scans the rows with his finger like he’s tracing out sentences on a page. The doorbell jingles as a new man comes in.
To be continued…
Word count: 241