but, mercury's not in retrograde!

by McCarthy, G. L.

  Alex was excited and unable to focus on teaching, which was apparent to several students throughout the morning. As Alex stared out the window in the direction of the maintenance yard she was brought back to reality by a question.

  “Excuse me, Ms. Whitney, but were you going to assign any homework?” Stacey didn’t want to pry, but it was Friday afternoon and a little homework was usual. This was a way to find out if she was all right.

  “Homework? No, not tonight.” Alex looked at the clock and it was five minutes before the bell. “I’m sorry girls. I seem to be easily distracted these days. Old age I guess.”

  “No way. I bet you wish you were still in New Mexico. I know I would.” Stacey was hoping Ms. Whitney wasn’t thinking of quitting as she was one of the cooler teachers. But Stacey was a senior so she would be gone at the end of the school year herself.

  “You’re right there, Stacey. But I love Taylorwood too. So no homework for the weekend. But next week we will need to do some cramming as the holidays are approaching and we are a bit behind schedule.” Alex looked at Stacey and smiled because she knew what the homework question was all about. “Have a good weekend and you may all go to lunch now.”

  “You too, and enjoy your lunch. See you Monday.” Stacey had a big surprise party organized with the help of a few close friends. Come Monday, she hoped to bring Ms. Whitney out of this funk. At least that was the plan.

  Coming through the door, Cyn almost collided with Alex as she was coming out.

  “Whoa. I thought I saw your girls walking to lunch early.” Cyn was backing up as Alex walked out her door.

  “I want to get lunch and head for the maintenance yard.” Alex was hoping for a quick end to Cyn’s mystery person.

  “Sounds like a plan. Should we tell Frederick, too?” Cyn was walking as fast as she could to stay up with Alex.

  “If we see him, but I want to make sure we talk to the guys. Do they eat in the yard or go off for privacy?” Alex was sure Cyn would know.

  “I think they all take their lunch back to the office. It’s quiet and they can talk about guy stuff without watching their language. If you know what I mean.” Cyn liked all the guys, but sometimes their language was a bit vulgar.

  “Got it. In fact, what if you go get our lunch and I keep walking. By the time you’re in the lunch room with Frederick, I will have found out what I need to know and be ready to eat.” Alex was on a mission, but hungry too.

  “Okay. Are you sure? I mean, it’s my problem, but then I didn’t see the truck so I guess it makes sense, if you go. Do you want your usual grilled cheese or the special?” Cyn felt a little left out.

  “How about a grilled ham and cheese. I’ll try something a little different today. Thank you.” Alex turned and headed for the maintenance yard.

  As she walked around the corner all the workers were present and accounted for. They hit the cafeteria before the crowd so they could get in and out in no time.

  “Good afternoon, Ms. Whitney. What brings you out here to our little piece of paradise?” Don was in charge of this area.

  “Good afternoon, gentlemen. I don’t want to bother you during your lunch, but I have a quick question. There was a white pickup leaving this area this morning. Do you know who it belongs to?” Alex didn’t want to sound accusatory but she was pretty sure it was the truck.

  “White pickup this morning? That would have been Roy Spicer. He was delivering some parts for the bus. Why do you ask?” Don wondered why she would be interested in him.

  “You know about Cyn’s troubles. I just wondered who the truck belonged to. You know, try and get as many leads as I can.” Alex wondered how often he delivered parts.

  “Don’t worry about Roy, that old boy is a sweetheart. I can’t imagine him doing anything like that.” Don would have bet a month’s wages on that.

  “Is he the only one who does the delivering?” Maybe he had a guy working for him.

  “Truth is, the parts are usually here before we get in. I always assumed he delivered them on his way into work.” Don figured that was how the parts arrived this morning. Also, they started work a half hour after the first class.

  “So you didn’t actually see him this morning?” This was becoming very promising.

  “No. I didn’t see who made the delivery. The parts were just here. You don’t suspect Roy?” Don knew Roy was not the guy. He had more work than he needed, so why mess with Cyn’s car when she was a customer already.

  “No, I don’t think it’s Mr. Spicer, but it could be someone working for him. I just want to check out any and all possibilities. Thank you, Don. Have a good lunch.” Alex could hardly wait to fill in Cyn and Frederick.

  Alex entered the back of the cafeteria. Her sandwich was waiting, still warm and ready to be devoured. This was good, because it was usually too hot to eat right away. As she took her seat she briefed the two on the new info and Cyn was shocked to say the least.

  “Mr. Spicer? No way, Alex. If he wanted my car he could have sabotaged it long ago. He has always done his best to keep my repair bills at a minimum. Are you sure it was the same truck you saw in front of my house?” Cyn didn’t know what to think.

  “I’m pretty sure, Cyn. But don’t jump the gun, I’m not saying it’s him. We just need to find out who else works for him. That’s all I’m saying.” Turning to Frederick, Alex hoped he would know.

  “Sorry, Alex. I have Don work on my car. I know of Roy Spicer, but don’t know him personally.” Frederick never really went into town much. It was the Mrs.’s job to do the shopping.

  “Okay. Then Cyn, have you ever seen anyone else at his shop?” Alex queried.

  “No. I get there around four when I’m just having my oil changed, and he does it while we talk. Or if I have something that’s going to take awhile I drop it off, he brings me to work and then he comes and gets me after school. But usually I have him come later since he’s doing me a favor. But I’ve never really made it a point to go see who else is working for him. We could ask Sheriff John. He knows everybody in town.” Cyn was glad he was a friend as this kind of information was something she didn’t want all over town.

  “Okay, we can ask him tonight, before we meet Carol for the game.” Alex was excited as things were beginning to come together.

  After putting the last bit of her sandwich in her mouth, Alex finished her water and was ready to get back to class and get this day over with. She hoped the afternoon would fly by, but it wasn’t something she could count on.

  Chapter 17

  Having a change of clothes, Alex and Cyn made good use of the private bathroom in the teacher’s lounge. The only drawback was all the questions asked as to where they were going. Alex invited everyone who asked to join them at the game, but she had no takers. The weather was once again going to be a tad chilly. Having already been to a game where she nearly froze, she was better prepared this time. Cyn had thermal sleeping bags and remembered her snow gloves as did Alex. At least it wasn’t raining – yet.

  Alex was starving as usual and could hardly wait to get to the tailgate party. But first they needed to talk to Sheriff John and fill him in on the latest news. Pulling up in front of his office they met him coming out as he was on his way to the game.

  “Good afternoon ladies. I see you’ve dressed for the game tonight. What’s up?” Sheriff John’s cousin, Carol, had informed him that Alex and Cyn would be at the game and to bring extra hot dogs for the tailgate party.

  “I think I spotted the white truck. My only question is, do you know if Roy Spicer has any employees who would make deliveries for him out at Taylorwood?” Alex didn’t think that sounded accusatory.

  “Roy Spicer has a couple of people, but they’re family. One is Steve, his youngest son, and the other is Tiffany, his daughter. Both have worked for him since they were able to lift a wrench. You think it could be one of them?” Sheriff John had known both of them all their lives and they were good kids, now young adults.

  “I don�
�t know. I saw their truck at school this morning making a delivery and it looked like the white truck I saw at Cyn’s. But considering the number of white trucks in town it’s probably just a coincidence.” Alex wasn’t completely convinced, but would let it slide – for the moment.

  “So, will I see you at the tailgate party? I’m on my way to the store to pick up supplies. Do you have any requests  beer, wine, bourbon, diet soda or chips, maybe?” He didn’t see either of them as real drinkers.

  “Diet soda is perfect. Any kind is fine. Cyn and I aren’t big drinkers; we need to keep all of our brain cells. I do enough damage with plum wine when I go to the Tea Room.” Alex didn’t want to sound too high and mighty about drinking.

  “Plum wine – that does sound good. I’ll have to try it next time I’m there. Okay, so diet soda. Cyn, anything for you?” He didn’t want her to feel left out.

  “Diet soda works for me too. Thank you for asking. We’ll see you later at the party.” Cyn’s mind was still processing the info about Roy’s two kids. She had seen a picture of his wife and two little kids, but never thought they were all grown up. She never asked and he never mentioned them. Maybe tonight at the game she could find out more from the good Sheriff.

  Waving goodbye, both women got back in Alex’s truck. After a few moments of silence they looked at each and started to laugh.

  “So what were you thinking?” Alex was wondering how to find out more about Roy’s family.

  “How I could find out more about Roy’s family without seeming to be prying. What were you thinking about?” Cyn assumed that just because Alex dropped the questions with the Sheriff didn’t mean she was taking them off the list of suspects.

  “The same thing actually. Although I’m hoping that after a few beers we may be able to get a little more out of the good Sheriff. You think?” But then Alex wondered what kind of a Sheriff would spill his guts when he had a few too many.

  “Probably not John, but one of the other parents maybe. Carol seems to know what’s going on and she likes you. Why not broach the subject when you question her about the available lesbians in town?” Cyn hoped Alex was still going to ask.

  “Good idea. I’ll try and get her away from the main group so no one can overhear our conversation.” Looking at the clock, they had a lot of time to kill before the party was going to start. “Do we need anything at the hardware store?”

  “We can always use trash bags and duct tape.” Cyn loved to wander around hardware stores and knew Alex did too.

  “Let’s go. I think I need both.” Giving Cyn a wink, Alex fired up the truck and headed for Carol’s store.

  Walking in, their eyes landed on the sale table. Being able to check for a tool she may not have, Alex was in heaven. So was Cyn. There were channel locks, several different kinds of wrenches in both US and metric sizes as well as screwdrivers of every size and type. It wasn’t long before Carol spotted the two and walked over to see if they needed any help.

  “Find what you’re looking for?” Carol could see they were doing fine on their own.

  “Some women love to shop for clothes. I love to shop for tools. How are you Carol?” Alex felt totally at ease. She knew Carol knew she was gay and had no problem with it.

  “Great. You both look like you dressed a lot warmer this time. It’s definitely going to get cold tonight. You are also very early, or was that the plan to get in some shopping before we leave for the game?” Carol looked at the clock and realized they were close to an hour early.

  “It didn’t seem logical to drive all the way home – change – and then drive all the way back. So we changed at school and decided to see what cool new stuff you have for us to buy.” Alex had spotted a small orbital hand sander that was on sale and headed for it.

  “You’re right. Makes total sense. We just got those sanders in and I can make you a better deal than the sale price shown.” Carol reached in her apron pocket and pulled out a little notebook. Flipping through the pages she found what she was looking for. “Okay, sale price is twenty-one ninety-five. I’ll sell it to you for fourteen ninety-five. That’s my cost, but I like you and want that little sander to go to a good home.”

  “Carol, you already gave me a deal on the refrigerator. Do you mark everything down for your friends?” Alex loved the special pricing, but wanted her to stay in business.

  “Actually I don’t. And let’s say the deal on the refrigerator was my house warming gift. You remind me of a girlfriend I had in college. She was the best friend I ever had.” Carol took a deep breath as she missed her a lot.

  “Did she pass away?” Alex figured if the woman was, instead of is her best friend, then something had happened to her.

  “Breast cancer. She was only forty-eight when she died. She was so caring and giving, as well as being the first lesbian I ever met. She brought me out of the dark ages on that subject a long time ago.” Holding back the tears, Carol hadn’t thought about her old friend that much until she met Alex and then all the memories of all the good times came back.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that. Breast cancer is so scary, but luckily there is no history of it in my family. Not to mention the school requires we have physicals every year, so I plan on staying around for a long time. Will your pocketbook be able to handle all those future deals you’ll be giving me?” Alex gave Carol a wink as she handed the sander to her. “Wrap it up. You’ve got a deal.”

  “Not to worry, my pocketbook is just fine. Do you want me to ring this up now or do you want to keep shopping?” Carol realized she could have a new best friend if she wanted one.“Oh, we definitely want to keep shopping, but give a yell when we need to check out so we can leave for the party.” Alex could lose track of time very easily in a place like this.

  “Sounds good to me. I’ll put your new toy up at the register. I need to do a few things myself before we leave. Give a holler if you have any questions.” Carol headed for the back of the store.

  “Will do and thank you again.” Alex needed to find out when Carol’s birthday was. She needed to be able to repay all these kindnesses some way.

  As she and Cyn wandered around the store, thoughts of losing a loved one from cancer filled her mind. She knew Jessie’s mom had passed away from Lou Gehrig’s disease, which hopefully wasn’t genetic. Her dad was still alive, as were both of Sam’s parents, so all good there. Alex’s father had been killed by a drunk driver and her mother was still annoying people so who knew how long she would live. Her father’s father was ninety-eight when he passed away so it looked good on both sides.

  The time seemed to have flown by when Carol returned to ring up her new toy. Cyn had found a few things and Alex had picked up some sandpaper for her new sander. As Carol finished closing out the registers, Alex and Cyn pulled the merchandise from outside to help in the closing of the store. Carol was impressed by how both women jumped in to help without being asked. She knew this was their core personality and that they weren’t trying to win brownie points. Although both of them did make points with her that day in a big way.

  Chapter 18

  Alex followed Carol to the school parking lot where all the other parents were gathered. Carol’s husband, Bob, was going to meet her at the game since he was coming straight from work. As the three women approached the group, it was obvious that several of the parents had a few beers head start and were very happy to see Carol and company. Alex and Cyn stuck close to her as they were introduced to everyone. Alex vaguely remembered meeting some of them at the last game she went to, but that was almost a month ago and a lot had happened to her since then.

  The good Sheriff was grilling hot dogs and hamburgers and seemed to be in very good spirits. Cyn and Alex got in line behind Carol. They were ready to eat. The smell was mouthwatering, to say the least.

  “Hey Cousin, what can I get you?” John was holding out his hands ready to give her a bun for whichever she chose.

  “A hot dog, of course. I would have figured you knew that by
now.” Carol was surprised that her cousin had forgotten her favorite food at football games. He may have had a few beers too, before she arrived.

  “Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to. One hot dog coming up.” John was feeling good, but not out of control.

  “Cyn, what will you have?”

  “A hamburger, please. Can you sit with us during the game or are you already spoken for?” Cyn knew he was divorced, but he could have a date along.

  “Here you go. One hamburger and I would be delighted to sit with you ladies. I’ll see you in the stands.” He liked Cyn, as she was easy to talk to, like one of the guys.

  “And for you, Alex? You seem to be lost in a daze.” John noticed the faraway look in her eyes.

  “Sorry, I was daydreaming. May I have a hot dog, please?” Alex was thinking about Sam and wished she was here with her.

  The Sheriff handed Alex two hot dogs as he gave her a big smile and put his finger to his lips for her not to tell. Smiling back, Alex thanked him and had one half eaten before she got to the table with the condiments.

  “I didn’t hear you ask for two hot dogs,” Cyn mentioned as she poured ketchup on her patty.

  “I didn’t. I think the Sheriff thinks I need to eat more. I was in a daze and maybe he thought it was from lack of food.” Either way, Alex was very happy with her meal. She added relish to her other hot dog and scooped up generous helpings of baked beans and potato salad.

  “Do you need to eat more?” Carol thought Alex was just right.

  “No way. I’m fine but I seem to be preoccupied with food lately.” Alex knew the reason.

  “So are you trying to fill a void or maybe you’re pregnant?” Chuckling, Carol knew the latter wasn’t in the cards, or was it?

  “Wow, you’re good. Let’s go sit and I’ll fill you in.” Alex grabbed her diet soft drink and gave Cyn a wink. Now she would find out a few things that Cyn was dying to know.