“It’s not a big deal.”
“It should be. Some people need to be educated and taught hard lessons early in youth. Besides, the lobster rolls and tomato are mistakes. Three mistakes is too many. I have to speak with the manager.”
“About the rolls and tomatoes only,” I say with a voice that brooks no argument. He hates this voice, and I hate it when he uses it on me, but Blake nods and leaves for a few minutes. Bishop’s tapping the table. “If you fire her?—”
“I’m not gonna fire her. I’m not even her boss.”
“I know. Hear me out. If you fire her, she’ll be free to take a vacation. With me. Ha! I have a date.”
“Um, no, let’s not do that,” Vanessa says.
Bishop’s standing, and I stand with him, my wife and Vanessa along with us. Arguments start, and when Blake returns, he starts getting into it with Bishop, and we part as we often do, with grudge hugging and back slapping that hopefully won’t break anyone’s spine.
8
My wife and I leave the restaurant first. I head for the car. She stops, and I follow her gaze toward the mall across the street. “Yes?” I prompt.
“Do you mind if we go for a walk in the mall?”
“For what purpose?”
“Strolling. Maybe shopping.” She taps her purse.
“You can shop online.”
“I’m tired of buying online. I’m tired of doing everything online. I want to wear a dress before I buy it. I want to see people, the pretty things they sell, and I want to buy them and carry bags of them home.”
“You want to buy people and carry them in bags. Are they in pieces or whole?”
Benny’s eyes go wide, and then she smiles. “Pieces. Leather bags. They don’t leak.”
I’m officially in love. I can joke about violence with my wife. “I thought plastic was best suited for that.”
“Plastic-lined leather bags. Duh.” She punches me in the shoulder. “It’s the mall. Walk, shop, eat a slice of pizza.”
“Are you still hungry?”
“Not yet.” She winks and takes my hand, interlacing our fingers. Hers feel small in my large hand.
I give in. “I haven’t been to the mall since college.”
“All the more reason to go now.”
“It’s getting late.”
“It’s four in the afternoon.”
I assess her attire again. She even has a ring though her belly. A hoop with a dangling heart. It’s sexy as hell. The trench coat I thought up earlier sounds promising now.
“What do you want to do?” she asks. “It’s your day off.”
“What all men want to do with their wives, Princess. Fuck.”
She tucks her hair behind her ear. “I’ve never been to a mall.”
I frown. “How is it even possible?”For a girl your age, I want to add, but don’t. I’ve had enough reminders of our age difference for one day, fuck you very much, universe.
“Daddy thinks it’s too dangerous for me.”
