The Roundabout

by Gerri Hill

  “Oh…okay,” she said hesitantly.

  Megan laughed. “She’s seventy-two and very, very sweet. And she makes the best oatmeal raisin cookies you’ll ever eat.”

  “Well, I guess that alone is reason to hire her,” Leah said. “Tell Eileen to ask her to come over. I’ll visit with her and see what I think.”

  “Okay, I will.”

  Leah shoved her hands in the pockets of her shorts. “So…are you mad at me?”

  Megan raised her eyebrows. “Mad?”

  Leah shrugged. “You know…”

  “Oh. Because you kissed me?” Megan shook her head. “No. I suppose it was necessary. I mean…someone was probably watching. That’s good.”

  Leah nodded. “Yeah…but I don’t know if anyone saw us. Sarah came by yesterday.”

  “Oh?”

  “She asked me out. For dinner.”

  Megan’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? The nerve!”

  Leah smiled. “Guess where she asked me to go?”

  Megan put her hands on her hips. “To Craig’s?”

  “If only.”

  Megan laughed. “El Gallo?”

  Leah nodded. “Yep. Tex-Mex.”

  Megan’s smile faltered. “Did you accept?

  “Of course not. What kind of a girlfriend would that make me?”

  “Well, according to Nancy, they all think we’re lying about that anyway,” Megan said.

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Apparently we didn’t have enough interaction at dinner.” Megan walked over to the chimes, touching them absently, bringing them alive. “I haven’t heard from Mary Beth, though. Maybe you were right. Maybe she has grown tired of her game.”

  “Well, then maybe you’ll get to break up with me sooner than you thought,” she teased, although she hoped that wasn’t the case. She would certainly miss her interactions with Megan.

  “Or maybe it’s the calm before the storm. She’s up to something. I can feel it. She’s been too quiet.”

  “Well, I for one am not ready to break up with you,” she said honestly. “This arrangement was supposed to benefit both of us, remember. I don’t relish having to dodge dates from Sarah or Julie. I’d just as soon they think you and I are madly in love and leave me alone.”

  Megan met her gaze. “If that’s what you’re hoping for, then we’ve been doing a horrible job of convincing anyone, I’m afraid.”

  “Well, we’ll have to try harder then. Let’s do dinner. Here, at my place,” she said, repeating her earlier suggestion. “We’ll do it Tuesday night, like Mary Beth did. That is, if you and Nancy can both get away from the grill again.”

  Megan nodded. “Shouldn’t be a problem. It’s right next door, if they need us.”

  “Great.”

  “Will you need help with dinner? I could have Johnny—”

  “No, no…I’ll whip up something,” she said, already mentally going over her choices.

  “Okay.” Megan paused. “Will I see you this weekend?” She looked away quickly. “I mean, you know, for appearances’ sake and all.”

  “Sure. I’ll pop over for dinner.” Leah tilted her head, watching Megan for a few seconds. “You know, you could always come over here after you close. Wind down with a glass of wine or something,” she suggested.

  Their eyes held, and in that brief—but intense—stare, she acknowledged the change that seemed to be taking place between them. She wondered if Megan recognized the transformation herself.

  Megan finally nodded. “That sounds good. Tomorrow?”

  “Sure. But I’ll probably come by for a burger tonight,” she said. “In all my excitement of opening the store, I’m not sure I’m going to have any desire to cook dinner.”

  Megan smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’re finally open. At least the parking spaces aren’t going to waste any longer.”

  Leah nodded and smiled too. “Yeah. Send some of your customers this way, will you?”

  Megan turned to go, then stopped. “You should hang some chimes outside. Maybe a windsock or two.”

  “Okay. A couple of windsocks would probably do the trick.” She grinned. “You know, if I’m trying to piss Sarah off.”

  Megan laughed. “Sarah’s store is so stuffed with socks and flags, it’s hard to even shop there.”

  “She must do okay since that’s all she sells,” Leah said.

  “I suppose. Well, see you later.”

  Leah watched her leave, her gaze following her progress as she walked the sidewalk toward the grill. She was a bit puzzled by Megan’s visit. Was it really for appearances’ sake that Megan wanted to see her this weekend? Surely it was. Even though she found herself enjoying Megan’s company, that didn’t mean it was reciprocated. Megan’s sole goal was to get Mary Beth off her back. And Leah reminded herself that her goal was to deter any potential suitors. She had no desire to fall into the dating trap again. At her age, she was perfectly happy being single. And she was perfectly happy pretending to date someone in order to remain single.

  “Yes, I am.”

  So with that, she turned her gaze from the now empty sidewalk and tried to think of what she could serve for dinner next week. A loud rumble of thunder brought her attention back outside, however. She watched as the first raindrops fell, then went over to the door and closed it as the thunderstorm approached.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The beer Megan was pouring spilled over the glass as she stared. Leah was in shorts and really, should a fifty-one-year-old have legs that nice? Maybe there was something good to say about biking after all. She pulled her eyes away and mentally shook her head. No, she wasn’t attracted to Leah Rollins. She could admire someone’s body without being attracted to them. She did acknowledge, however, that she seemed to forget when she looked at her that she didn’t really like the woman.

  “Here you go,” she said, placing the beer in front Daniel, one of her regulars. “Where’s your wife? She coming later?”

  “No. Her sister’s visiting. They went over to Branson today.”

  “Lucky you,” Megan said with a laugh. “You were spared that misery, huh?”

  “I can think of a hundred things I’d rather do on a Saturday than go on up to Branson,” he said. “Like fishing.”

  “Was the river up after that thunderstorm yesterday?” she asked. “I heard they got over three inches up near Beaver.”

  “It was flowing pretty good,” he said. “Caught a couple of nice trout though.”

  She felt Leah’s presence and turned, smiling at her. “Hey.”

  “Hi. The place is packed already. Mind if I sit at the bar?”

  Megan motioned down to an empty barstool, then patted Daniel on the arm. “Let me know when you want a refill.”

  “Thanks, Megan.”

  She moved down in front of Leah. “Beer?”

  “Sure.”

  Megan took a frosted mug from the freezer. “I guess the thunderstorm yesterday kept you away,” she said. “Did you manage dinner on your own?”

  Leah nodded. “I keep a stash of frozen burritos on hand. Wasn’t quite as good as a burger would have been.”

  “Well, not that I’m drumming up business for other places, but the pizza joint on Cliff Street delivers,” she said as she placed the mug in front of Leah.

  “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” She took a sip, meeting Megan’s eyes over the rim of the glass. “You still coming over tonight?”

  Megan nodded. “I was planning on it. Unless you have other plans.”

  Leah smiled. “I’ve fended off another dinner invitation.”

  “Julie?”

  “No. Carla.”

  “From the art gallery? I thought she’d asked you out before.”

  Leah shook her head. “Tony was trying to set me up with her. I guess she got tired of waiting on me to make the first move.” Leah shrugged. “Anyway, I told her you and I were dating, which she’d already heard.” She drank from her beer again, then laughed. “She said
she’d been asking you out for years and you always turned her down. She wanted to know my secret.”

  Megan leaned on the bar, smiling. “And what did you tell her?”

  “Well, I told her it was my witty charm that you couldn’t resist.”

  “Oh, you’re so right,” Megan laughed. “It has nothing whatsoever to do with me stealing my parking spot back.”

  Leah pretended to be offended. “What? That’s the reason you’re going out with me? Hoping I’ll cave and give you your spot back?”

  “Of course. Why else would I tolerate you?” She looked past her. “Nancy’s coming over,” she murmured.

  “Why, Leah, I didn’t see you sneak in,” Nancy said as she pulled out the barstool next to her and sat down.

  “Hi, Nancy,” Leah said. “I haven’t seen much of Megan this week so I thought I’d pop over and visit. And get a burger,” she added.

  “You don’t have to be here every night, you know,” Nancy said, looking at Megan. “If I start dating someone, I plan to take a couple of nights off myself.”

  Megan stared at her and frowned. “You never date. Who are you going to start dating?” She was surprised by the blush on Nancy’s face, and she raised her eyebrow.

  “I’m simply saying that if I do start to date, that’s all. So you should take some nights off. Having Leah come over here is not exactly what I’d call a date,” Nancy said.

  “I agree,” Leah said. “Although she is coming over to my place after you close up tonight.”

  “Then why wait?” Nancy asked. “We can handle closing perfectly fine without you.”

  “My turn to tend bar,” Megan reminded her.

  Nancy laughed. “You tend bar every night. If Clint needs help, I’ll do it.”

  “You hate tending bar.”

  “And you hate food prep, but you do it sometimes,” Nancy countered. “Go on. Take the night off.”

  Megan glanced at Leah. It was one thing to go over to her apartment after closing and stay for an hour. Quite another to go over and stay four or five hours. Whatever in the world would they do for that long?

  “Sounds great,” Leah said. Then she smiled. “Can I still get a burger?”

  “Sure. I’ll grab something for me too. Be right back,” Megan said.

  * * *

  “Thanks for making her do this,” Leah said.

  “I know she feels obligated to be here since I’m here,” Nancy said. “Even when she and Erin were dating, she rarely took a night off.” She leaned closer. “I’m sure that’s what drove Erin to cheat on her. Megan wasn’t available much.”

  “Well, I’ll try to be more understanding of her work schedule,” she said. “And speaking of that, I’m going to have a dinner party on Tuesday. Can you make it?”

  Nancy nodded. “Yes. Mary Beth mentioned it to me. I’m sure you’re excited to finally be opened. I’m looking forward to seeing your shop.”

  “Yes, it was exciting when the first customer came in yesterday. I had a total of two before the rain hit,” she said with a laugh. “Thankfully, today was much better.”

  “Once June comes around and the town is crawling with tourists, you’ll be plenty busy,” Nancy said. “If I could offer a suggestion though…on nights when we have a live band, you might want to stay open later than usual. There’s a lot of foot traffic on those nights and most of the other shops have already closed up.”

  “Good idea. Thanks.”

  “Oh, and I heard that you were going to visit with Eileen’s aunt about a part-time job. Aunt Dee’s a really sweet lady.”

  “I understand she makes good oatmeal raisin cookies too.”

  Nancy laughed. “Of course Megan would mention that. She loves her cookies.”

  “Well, until Megan mentioned it, I hadn’t given any thought to hiring someone,” she said. “It never occurred to me that I’d need help.”

  “You can’t be there all the time,” Nancy said, echoing Megan’s words.

  “Yeah, I realize that now. She said she would stop by tomorrow after church. She sounded nice on the phone.”

  “She is. And she used to work for Gwen Barksdale, so she has experience.”

  “Let’s see…Gwen owns the Christmas store, right?”

  “Right.” Nancy leaned closer again, keeping her voice low. “Did you know she asked Megan out?”

  “Who in town hasn’t?”

  Nancy laughed. “I know…but Gwen? She’s sixty-five. Our mother is only sixty-four.”

  Megan walked up behind them. “Why are you telling her Mom’s age?”

  “Comparing her to Gwen Barksdale,” Nancy said.

  “Really? Must you?”

  “Has she asked you out lately?” Nancy teased.

  “No. But I did mention to her that you were much closer to her age. I think I also mentioned that to Mary Beth. Maybe you should be on the lookout, not me.”

  “Very funny.” Nancy stood. “Well, I should let you two get going. Enjoy your dinner.”

  Leah eyed the bag she held. “That was quick.”

  “Well, I cut in line with my order,” Megan said. “I can do that, you know.”

  “I would hope so. What’d we get?”

  “I got you something different,” Megan said. “Mediterranean burger.”

  “Sounds interesting.”

  “Veggie burger.”

  Leah nodded. “Okay. I’m game. What’s on it?”

  “The burger is made with chickpeas—garbanzo beans—and has roasted red pepper hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions and feta cheese,” she said. “And a cucumber mayo that Johnny makes. You’ll love his hummus too. He puts a little cayenne in. Gives it a nice bite.”

  Leah held the door open as they walked out onto the street. “I hope it’s as good as you make it sound.”

  “It is. It’s what I have most often,” Megan said. “I rarely eat a real burger anymore.”

  “Seen too many of them?”

  “Yes. I usually make a club sandwich for lunch with turkey and lots of veggies. I don’t normally take time for dinner.”

  Leah unlocked her shop and motioned Megan inside.

  “Unless Johnny has something left over from his lunch special,” Megan continued.

  “I would imagine I’d get sick of burgers too,” she said as she locked the door again and led the way to the back stairs. She flipped on the light and paused before heading up. “Is this okay?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, Nancy sort of forced dinner on us. I mean—”

  “It’s fine, Leah. Actually, taking a break from the grill is something both Nancy and I need. Saturday night is probably not the best night to be away, but it’s nice to get a break.”

  “Good. Then I’ll try to keep you entertained for a few hours.”

  “I wouldn’t mind a good movie,” Megan said. “That’s something I never seem to have time for.”

  After getting them each a water bottle from the fridge, Leah sat next to Megan at the bar, forgoing the small dinner table. Leah pointed to it now.

  “I’ve yet to use the table, but I guess it’ll come in handy on Tuesday. I’ll have to scrounge up two chairs though. I only have the four.”

  “You can use some from the grill,” Megan offered as she pulled the burgers from the bag. She also produced a large container of onion rings.

  “Oh, goody,” Leah said as she grabbed one. “These are the best.”

  “As much as I’m sick of looking at burgers, I don’t seem to get tired of onion rings.”

  Leah opened up her burger, seeing cucumbers and tomatoes bulging out on all sides. Fresh spinach leaves were shoved in too and she took a bite, surprised at how flavorful it was.

  “This is great,” she mumbled around a mouthful.

  “Thank you,” Megan said. “I hoped you’d like it.”

  Leah nodded. “I think I like it better than the pesto burger.” She took a sip of her water. “Speaking of food, I’ve finally settled on what I�
��ll have for dinner on Tuesday.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Fish tacos,” she said. “I’ll make up a beer batter and fry them. And I make a really good Baja sour cream sauce. Providing I can find fresh cilantro.”

  “You won’t find it at Susie’s. In fact, you’ll only find frozen fish there too.”

  “Yeah, I know. So…I was thinking—”

  “No,” Megan said. “You cannot shop there.”

  “I don’t understand these rules. If Susie doesn’t offer what you need, what’s the harm of shopping at the supermarket here? Why drive to Berryville?”

  “Because locals support locals.”

  “But if she doesn’t carry it, you have to shop elsewhere. It’s like going to the Ford place and wanting to buy a Prius. They don’t carry them. So…you have to shop someplace else.”

  “Believe me, I understand your argument. I had the same attitude when we first moved here. But locals support locals. If Susie doesn’t carry something, you drive to Berryville. You don’t shop at her competition here in town,” Megan said. “The same with eating. Locals don’t go to McDonalds for burgers. They come to the grill or, God forbid, the Burger Barn. They eat locally, they don’t go to chain restaurants.”

  Leah sighed. “Okay. I get it. So where is Berryville, anyway?”

  “Fifteen miles east. Takes about twenty minutes.”

  She reached for an onion ring. “So I guess you were right about me hiring someone. I can’t be here all the time.”

  “Aunt Dee will be perfect for you,” Megan said.

  Leah nodded. “She’s coming by tomorrow after church. Nancy said that she used to work for Gwen at the Christmas Store.”

  “She did. I think she also used to work for George and Peter down at their candle shop.”

  “So there won’t be a whole lot of training involved.” She laughed. “Maybe she can train me. It’s not like I know what I’m doing.”

  “So how was it?”

  “Better today. Friday, after the rain hit, I didn’t have a soul come in. Today was actually kinda busy. It was fun.”

  “So no regrets yet on opening Ruby’s?”