Some Day Somebody (20 page)

“What’s wrong?” she asked, checking her reflection in the window pane self-consciously.

“Not a thing. Have I told you how happy I am you’re here with me tonight?”

She raised a hand to his face and smiled. “I think you just did.”

Inside the restaurant, she slipped off her coat and tried to relax. Sam placed a comforting hand on the small of her back as a waitress led them to a table in the corner of the room packed with curious diners. Once they seated themselves, Carrie leaned in close to whisper. “If I had toilet paper trailing from my shoe, you’d tell me, right?”

“It’s only a few squares.”

“That is so not funny right now.”

Sam grinned from behind his menu. “They’re just wondering where the hell I found someone as good-looking as you, that’s all.”

“Yeah, sure they are.” She picked up her own menu, glad to have some way to hide the blush she felt creeping up her neck. “So, what do you recommend?”

“I’m partial to the sirloin, but you can’t go wrong with a t-bone or rib-eye.”

A few minutes later, Sam smiled up at the approaching waitress. “How’re you doing, Lace?”

The young woman beamed down at him. “I’m good, Mr. Sam. How’s Amanda?”

“She’s doing great.
Working at a bank here in town.
Hey, Lacey, this is my date, Carrie
Jeansonne
.  We work together in Lake Coburn.”

Carrie nodded politely and saw the waitress give Sam a quick nod of approval.

“Good for you, Mr. Sam.” She took their drink orders and left.

“Lacey is a childhood friend of my daughter’s,” he explained.

Carrie took a sip of water, fidgeting at the curious stares of other diners. “And so it begins...”

“Maybe we should stand up and introduce you.”

“Nah.
Let’s keep `
em
all guessing awhile longer.”

A second waitress, this one closer to their age, brought salads to their table, talking fast and gushing over Sam with obvious gusto.

“Did we order salads yet?” Carrie asked, smiling through the server’s exaggerated twang, and overzealous attention to Sam’s needs. She listened, shocked as the woman attempted to engage Sam in small talk while sending not-so-covert glances in her direction.  Sam gave her a polite nod of thanks and began preparing his salad. Instead of leaving, she loitered at their table.

Once Carrie realized Sam had no intention of introducing them, her curiosity took over.  She offered her hand to the woman. “I’m Carrie Langley, and you are...”

“Bertie Miller,” the woman said, countering with what felt to Carrie like a reluctant handshake, before wiping her hands on her apron.

Knowing a snub when she got one, Carrie couldn’t resist egging her on.
“Birdie?
Like a bird?”

“Uh, no, that’s with a T.”

Carrie stared in disbelief as the woman turned her back on her and picked up her one-sided conversation with Sam.
Snubbed again.

“Like I was
sayin
’, Sammy, if you need
anythin
’ at a-all, Sugar, you just let me
kna-ow
—”

“Oh,
Burtie
.
Like a
man
,” Carrie interrupted. “Your parents must have been expecting a son, then. Your father must be a Burt or Robert.”

The woman turned to stare at her. “
Nooooaah
...” she drawled. “
B-E-R-T-I-E...as in short for Roberta?
Oh, and by the way, I’m a friend of Linda’s. You
know,
Sammy’s ex-
wa
-
af
? You must not be from around here, you
havin
’ such a
thick
Cajun accent
an
all.”

Carrie gave the woman a thousand-watt smile as she rested her chin on her clasped hands. “
Nooooah
, but I lived in East Texas
fuh
six years of my
laf
, an’ when I get the
yearnin
’... I can
tawlk
jus as good
country
hick
as you can.
Sugar
.”
She batted her eyelashes dramatically at Bertie before continuing. “It’s been a pleasure, Burt, but I see our
real
waitress is back to take care of my and Sammy’s needs. Thanks so much for everything.”

When Lacey stepped up, effectively cutting off the older woman’s contact with Sam, Bertie sulked away.

Lacey gave Carrie a look of pure mortification. “I’m so sorry—I turned my back for a minute, and she was out here. She
knows
this is my section.”

Carrie pointed to the two vegetable filled plates. “These are someone else’s, aren’t they, Lacey?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Sam looked up from cutting a cherry tomato in half. “They are?”

“Did we put in our orders, yet, Sam?”

“No, but...”

Carrie cocked her head to the side and raised her hands, palm side up.

He gazed mournfully at his salad. “Do I have to give it back?

Lacey giggled and shook her head.
“Of course not.
  Are y’all ready to order?”

Sam ordered a sirloin, well-done, with a side of grilled vegetables, and then turned to Carrie.

“I think I’ll just have a salad.”

“I thought you wanted steak?”

“Not if Bertie is going to be within twenty feet of my food, I don’t.”

Lacey grinned. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t go near it, I promise.”

Carrie handed her the menu. “Okay, then. But just to be safe, I’ll have what he’s having, with the same grilled veggies.”

“How do you want that cooked?”

“Exactly the same as his,” she answered, pointing to Sam. “And could you bring a dish of extra lemon for Sam’s iced tea, please?”

Once Lacey left with their order, Sam wiped his mouth on his napkin. “How’d you know I liked extra lemon?”

“You ordered it the day we all went to eat at McKinley’s Grill.”

“That was less than a month after you came to work with us,” he said.

“It was the day after my divorce finalized.”

“You paid attention to what I said that long ago?”

Carrie ignored the question and changed the subject.

“That Bertie chick may know your
ex-
waaf
, but she was no friend of hers, was she?”

He grabbed his fork and attacked his salad again. “Used to be, but not for several years.”

“What happened? Did Linda figure out that Bertie wanted to
sweeten your tea for you, Sammy
?”

Sam pulled on the collar of his shirt. “Damn, it’s hot in here.”

“
Y’awnt
me to call Bertie over here,
Saaa-mmy
?
Bet she can make
ya
even hotter.”

Sam stabbed at a piece of lettuce. “Shut up,” he murmured.

Carrie leaned in closer to tease him. “What happened, Sugar? Did the scary lady make a pass at Sammy
Wammy
?”

Sam gulped at his tea before answering. “She grabbed my ass when I wasn’t looking. Linda saw it all and went over to confront her.”

“Oh-oh, did she threaten her?”

“She wouldn’t say at first, but a couple of weeks later, during one of our too-frequent arguments, Linda admitted to me what she’d told her.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “She told Bertie if she wanted that part of me, she had to promise to take the whole G.D. package. But, it’d cost me half of my retirement, everything we owned, and she’d have to take her son-pampering mother-in-law, too.”

Carrie’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my God, she really told her that?”

Sam puffed out one cheek before answering. “I don’t doubt it for a minute.” He watched as Carrie brought her straw to her mouth for a drink then pursed her lips.

“That’s pretty good,” she admitted.

“This time I’m the one asking to change the subject,” Sam said, clearing his throat. “How’d you get into drafting, anyway? Last night you said something about almost becoming a paralegal?”

“Okay, but only because I owe you one,” she said, using her fork as a pointer. “My two girlfriends, Sharon and Sandy, and I were on our way to a technical college in Lafayette to test for paralegal studies. About halfway there, I had a meltdown, and told them I couldn’t work for a lawyer. I was drawn to the drafting technology section in the catalog, but the required math scared the hell out of me. My friends gave me the boost in confidence I needed, and convinced me to go for it. I scored in the top three percentile.”

“Not bad for someone who’d been out of school for
awhile.
”

“I guess I remembered more than I gave myself credit for.”

“Why drafting?”

“All my life I’d seen this funny looking, three sided ruler hanging around our home. I remember holding it, examining it, and never being able to figure out how to use two sides of it.”

“A scale?”
Sam asked her.

“That’s right. I remember looking for a straight edge to draw a line and I asked if anyone knew where that three sided ruler was.” She laughed at the memory. “My dad said, ‘
I keep telling y’all, it’s not a ruler,
dammit
, it’s a scale!
’
At the time the only scale I knew about was the kind that weighed things. I didn’t know anything about drafting arms, templates or CAD programs. But my dad could draw anything to scale. I think he’d be proud I chose this career.”

“What does your mom do?” he asked.

“She retired as a teacher’s aide, but since Dad’s death, any damn thing she wants to.” Carrie dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. “She loves to work in her garden. I swear that woman could grow a rose bush from a rock. She’s the president of the Garden Club, and involved in all kinds of things.”

“Do you like gardening, too?”

She raised her thumb. “Does this digit look green to you?”

“I enjoy gardening,” Sam said, stacking their empty salad plates as Lacey arrived with their entrees.

“I hate it. I’ve got better things to do with my time.”

“It’s the differences that make life interesting. What’s wrong?”
 
Carrie’s eyes were riveted toward the entrance of the restaurant, her brows creased
curiously .

“I think those women are talking about us over there.”

Sam waved her off. “It’s a small town. Tomorrow they’ll be talking about someone else.”

Carrie leaned over to look around him. “I think this is different.”

Sam turned toward the trio of women at the doorway. “Aw, hell, damn, and double damn,” he muttered, as one woman walked toward them.

“Who is that?”