Page 32 of Teach Me How
No.
Because I have my pride.
Because I don’t want to be a temporary fill in until she finds a better, less dysfunctional man.
Just… no.
21.
Reese
Sheila hums quietly, tapping her orthopedic dress shoes on the floor while she readies a loan application for a customer. They’re not due for another hour, but it’s been a slow day at work, and we’re bored. She’s been sneaking glances at me all morning and it’s starting to get on my last nerve.
“Spit it out, Sheila. You’re driving me batty.”
Her lips pull into a grin, and she laughs to herself. “I should say the same thing to you.”
“I’m driving you batty?”
“Yes. Out with it, girl. I’m dying over here.”
“Out with what?”
Sheila leans against the counter, narrowing her eyes at me. “You got lucky, and I want to hear about it. Take pity on an old woman, Reese. Let me live vicariously through you.”
I laugh, trying to escape her hands when she clutches my arms. “You’re far from old.”
“Compared to you, I am.” She lets go of me and leans her hip on the counter. “Spill.”
“I got lucky.”
She waits for a beat, a cackle escaping her lips. “Tease. That’s all you’ll give me?”
“Would you like a name and address?”
She tips her head. “That’d be a start.” Her eyes scan my face. “Or you could just tell me why you seem so damn angry about it.”
The chime over the door sounds and we both clam up. Only once we’ve cashed a check and watched the customer slide out the front door do we resume the conversation.
“I think I screwed up.”
She laughs again.
“Sheila. This is no laughing matter.”
“Oh, it is, honey. In twenty years, you’ll know what I mean.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I just have to get through the next twenty years of mortification.”
She pulls her grin back, clearly still amused by my trials and tribulations. “I get the feeling you aren’t going to give me the details, so I’m shooting from the hip here. But a little advice? The messy part is half the fun. If there wasn’t a little drama at the start of the movie, ain’t nobody would want to watch it.”
“That’s not nearly as comforting as you probably think it is.”
She’s cackling again, but this time, I’m smiling, too.
“I’m just happy to see you wake up a little, Reese. You’ve been in a zombie state since you started here.”
“Thanks?”