“Hold your horses, Vern, it’s coming.” Kathy yelled back, as she set a mug out and poured the coffee.
“Has it been bad tonight?”
“No worse than usual. Vern passes through town now and then and is always ornery as a porcupine. Just makes for a longer night, but don’t worry about him, tell me how the date was.” Kathy asked, propping a hip against the counter.
“Don’t you want to get that to Vern first?”
“He’ll survive a few minutes without it. This is my diner, and I’ll give it to him, when I’m good and ready.”
“Here,” Olivia took the mug and quickly delivered it with a container of sugar packets and cream.
“About damn time.” The man grumbled, and then looked up at her, or more pointedly, at her chest, as interest lit his eyes. Olivia had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. For the past few weeks, she’d been hit on by almost every male that passed through the diner. Even ones old enough to be her grandfather. She was pretty immune to it, but after having a great night with Heath, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it.
She slapped the ticket in front of him and marched away, before he could get a word out. Now that she decided to stay, she might need to think about getting a better job and move her and Ivy into a better neighborhood. They wouldn’t make it very far off her waitress tips. The only problem was the better money was made on base, and she was leery to go there. There would be no paying under the table, which meant she would be back in the system, and she was sure the government was probably looking for her, too. She would have to think of something else.
Kathy didn’t hide her laugh, as Olivia sat back down.
“What?”
“You should see Vern’s face.”
“I’m not in trouble, am I?” Olivia cringed. She was normally nicer to the customers, because she needed the tips, but she didn’t want anything to put a damper on her night, and Vern definitely would have irritated her, if she had allowed him to speak to her.
“No, I tell Vern off all the time. He just looks so sad and pathetic, and now it’s funny. Now quit stalling and tell me about the date.” She planted her elbows on the counter and looked at her expectantly.
“Well, we were supposed to go to dinner at a restaurant, but they messed up the reservation, so Heath bought some food at the grocery store and took me up to some lookout, and we ate under the stars, staring out at the city.”
“Hmm,”
“What?”
“He likes you.”
“I like him, too.” More than she cared to admit, but the knowledge of her lie hung over her head.
“But?” Kathy knew she wasn’t saying something.
“I didn’t tell him about Ivy.”
Kathy stared at her in horror, which made her feel even more guilty. “Why not?”
“Heath doesn’t like kids. I was hoping I’d ease him into the idea. I also wanted more time.”
“I’m not one to stick my nose in other people’s business, but you need to tell him, sooner rather than later. If there’s one thing I know about men, it’s they hate being lied, too.”
“I plan on telling him.” She assured Kathy. “I just wanted to ease him into it and give Ivy some time to adjust to me dating.”
“Sounds like an excuse to me.” Kathy said, giving her the stink eye.
“You’re supposed to be on my side.” Olivia felt defensive. Girls were supposed to stick together and support each other.
“I’m not on anyone’s side. I, of course, want to see you happy, but this big of a lie between you isn’t good.” Kathy wagged a finger at her, like she was a school teacher, and Olivia a naughty student.
“You’re right.” She admitted. It was foolish to think she could hide Ivy from him. It wasn’t fair to Ivy either. She was proud of her daughter. It was a small enough town. He’d figure it out. It was better the news coming from her than someone else. “I’ll tell him tomorrow, when he comes to pick me up.” Olivia decided.
Kathy nodded in approval. “Good for you. If it scares him away, then it wasn’t meant to be. Now, go home and get some sleep. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.” Kathy chuckled, making Olivia blush.
Chapter 16
