The Missing Dough(31)

At least this one had ended well for Josh, the man, and his daughter.

It wasn’t always that things worked out so nicely for everyone.





Chapter 8

We were nearing the end of our afternoon lunch shift and approaching our own break for a meal, and I was up front, discussing with Maddy what we were going to do with our time off, when I looked up to see a familiar couple walk into the Slice, though it was the first time they’d ever been in my pizza place to my knowledge. They were in their civilian clothes now, and the woman’s makeup was toned down quite a bit, but I had no trouble recognizing the Stouts, two of the performers we’d seen onstage the night before at the Founders Day Festival.

The woman approached me first. “Are you Eleanor Swift?”

“I am,” I said. “I’ve got to say, you made yourself a fan last night. You all were really good onstage.”

Samantha grinned a little at the compliment. “Thanks. We’re still working on it, but I think we’re finally getting there. Listen, Kenny and I were wondering if you had time to have a little chat.”

Maddy wanted to stay, but a man at one of her tables was making writing signs in the air and looking frantic about it. “Would you mind taking care of that?” I asked her.

My sister wasn’t all that pleased about it, but she still managed to smile. “Of course.”

After she was gone, I said, “We’ve still got ten minutes before we close up shop for the afternoon, so if you’re willing to hang around, we can talk as soon as we lock up.”

“We’ll make it easy on you. How about if we order a medium pie with the works and a couple of beers, and we can talk while we eat?”

“Sorry, but we don’t sell beer,” I said. “We have underage employees working here.”

“Fine,” she said, clearly trying to keep her smile. “Bring us some sodas, then. I’ve heard wonderful things about your food, and I’m dying to try some of your pizza.”

“Are you kidding me? What’s pizza without beer? This is a joke,” Kenny said.

The woman turned to her ex-husband and said, “They don’t have to talk to us at all. We’re asking them for a favor, remember? Try to be civilized for once in your life and stop insulting them, would you?”

“Sam, give me a break.”

Her expression iced over. “I told you that my name is now Samantha to you, and I expect you to use it. You’re not entitled to give me pet names anymore.”

She held his stare, and I wondered which one would back down. To no great surprise, Kenny dropped his gaze first.

“Okay, I got it. I’m sorry,” he said.

“Good,” she said. “Now, why don’t you find us a table so I can talk to Eleanor alone for a second?”

He didn’t like it, that much was clear, but he did as he was told.

Once he was out of hearing range, Samantha told me, “I could never train him like that when we were married. Maybe if I had, it would have lasted longer than it did. Are you married, Eleanor?”

“I was,” I answered simply.

“Got rid of him too, did you? That’s the only smart thing to do when one won’t obey you.”

I wasn’t about to let her talk about Joe like that. “Actually, he died. I would give anything I possess to have him back.” It was the complete truth, too. Sure, David was becoming more and more important to me every day, but no matter how close we got, it would be nearly impossible for me to love him as much as I had cared for Joe. That might not be fair to David, but I’d pretty much told him the same thing when we first got together, and he’d been willing to accept it. I knew that David hoped that I’d change my mind someday, and I was certainly willing to try, but it was hard to give up the past and focus on the future instead.

“I’m so sorry,” Samantha said, the glibness now gone. “I get so full of myself sometimes that I forget that other people have had their share of woes, too. Can you forgive me?”

Wow, when this woman turned on the charm, it was palpable. “You’re forgiven. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go make that pizza.”

“We truly appreciate it,” Samantha said and then joined her ex-husband.

I went back into the kitchen to make her pizza, and Maddy followed me in. “What was that all about? I can’t believe that chucklehead couldn’t just leave a ten on the table and be done with it.”

“You didn’t miss much. The Stouts want to chat, so we’ll chat,” I said as I knuckled the dough into the pan for their pizza.

“I heard that much. I’m just wondering what happened after they ordered.”