“Henry hired a new assistant while I was away.” I stare at him, waiting for his response, but he gives none.
The man can sit silently longer than anyone else I know. It’s annoying, and I huff at him.
“I may have offended her, and now I’m worried things might be awkward in the office.”
“That sweetheart, Delaney? You were rude to her? You know you’re much too young to be so… edgy. You’ve gotta earn that over time.”
I laugh. “Oh yeah, is that what you did?”
“I’mnot at your level of crabby. I’m just quiet, and when something irritates me, I speak up about it.” He shrugs his shoulders.
Then it strikes me that his initial response indicates he’s met Delaney.
“How do you know Delaney? She could be a monster. You don’t know.”
Now it's Lester’s turn to laugh. Like a full-on belly laugh, and I’m not sure why.
“I ran into her when I was out getting pizza with Henry, Tillie, and the girls. She stopped in and bought a single slice. She was on her way out the door when Henry saw her and called her over. She’s an absolute doll. What did you say to her?”
“Hey, you’remyfriend. Maybe she was rude to me first, and I was just defending myself.”
Lester fixes his gaze on mine, not saying anything. I hate that he can hold out longer than I can without speaking.
“This stays here, but I’ve met her before.” Lester's bushy old man eyebrows rise in curiosity. I sigh. “I asked her if she had a background check before starting here.”
“You know everybody gets a background check there. Hell, the stuff you require from new employees is probably more thorough than the FBI. Why did you ask her when you knew she would’ve had it?”
“You can’t be too careful. Not everyone has pure motives. Anyway, that might not be all that happened.”
“Cripes.”
“I may have implied that she took the job because she knew I worked there. Like maybe in a stalkerish way.”
“Oh, that’s really nice. You’ll be lucky if she ever talks to you again.”
“If you’re my friend, you’re supposed to tell me I’m not in the wrong. Say that it’s all right.”
He shrugs at me. “Hey, if you don’t like my answers, go find some friends from your own generation. Doesn’t change that you’re a dumbass. To be clear, Idothink you are wrong.”
“Well, you’re one to talk. You make high school kids who have grown up here their whole lives go through two interviews to work at the hardware store for you.”
“Hey, my store, my right. I’d ask you what you’re going to do to fix it with the girl, but I’m guessing you’re still at that stage where you don’t think you need to make anything right. You gotta get to where you realize you were an asshole.”
“Well, thanks. That’s a ton of help.”
Delilah approaches the table with our drinks, and we thank her. She brings two glasses of tomato juice for Lester because she knows he downs it so fast. In true form, he drinks half of one glass before she’s even back in the kitchen area.
When he sets the glass down, he glances at me.
“I think there’s a difference between you and me. I’ve always been this way, just quiet with a small circle of friends and people that I love. But I suspect you haven’t always been like this. Frankly, you’re too young to be so uptight. Do you wanna talk about how you got there?”
My first instinct is to shake my head no and turn the conversation to something casual. But something in me tells me maybe that’s not the right thing to do now.
“I don’t know. I’ve always been on the more reserved side, but I guess I got more serious after my dad died. We were young—Henry was twenty-two, and I was only twenty. We had ouryounger brothers, who needed guidance and care. Our mom was in a terrible place from her grief. Henry and I basically split the workload. I had to be serious. I didn’t have the time or energy to indulge in anything except what we had to do to keep things running in our family.”
“That’s really young to lose your dad, and I’m sorry that happened to you all.” I nod, unable to think of a response that won’t seem insincere. “I still think that’s not all, though,” Lester says. “That doesn’t really explain why you’re so wary of new people.”
I swear we sit,again,without speaking, for a solid two minutes.
