That was true. “Then you won’t mind us looking around for a few minutes?” I asked.
“Knock yourself out. Buy something pretty for your boyfriend.”
“Fiancé,” I corrected.
“When’s that wedding, again?”
“We haven’t set a date.”
“Too bad you don’t have time for a little vacation. Sounds like a planning session is in order. But don’t let me give you any wild ideas.” He winked, then headed over to the counter where he had an old-fashioned cash register and a very modern card reader set up to handle the purchases. The two record ladies were already in line, and the hourglass boys were right behind them.
Jean and I stood there a minute studying the crowd and the piles of junk.
“So,” she said.
“No.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”
“I can guess.”
“It could be anything.”
“All right,” I said. “Surprise me.”
“You were supposed to go on vacation today. You and Ryder. What happened?”
I glanced at the vampire in the corner who was studying a gold pocket watch through the jewelry loupe at his eye.
“He’s been leaving brochures everywhere,” I said.
“Ryder?”
I nodded and walked the perimeter of the place. “Tropical beaches, mountain cabins, cities, canyons.”
“You got in a fight over vacation brochures?”
“No.”
She picked up an old eggbeater. Waited.
“It’s just that he’s been planting them everywhere!”
“Here we go,” she muttered, turning the crank and making the beaters spin.
“I keep telling him yes, but stuff keeps coming up. So we’ve had to cancel. A lot. The fees are starting to add up.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s not like I don’t want to get out of town.”
“Of course not.”
She spun the beaters in the air, and the wind outside heaved the whale sides, sucking the tenting in, and blowing it way out. Rain clattered again, driving hard.
“I have a lot on my plate,” I said, but even as the words were out of my mouth, I knew they were a lie. Or at least an avoidance.
Ididwant to leave town. Desperately. The idea of a vacation with my fiancé was… well, it was wonderful.
