J.P. assumed that wasn’t intentional until he locked stares with Tillie. Her expression wasn’t the playfulSorry I almost mowed you downlook he’d figured she would wear. No, there was a cutting edge to her tightened eyes, a threat in the hard line of her mouth that didn’t speak, but didn’t really need to.
“Tillie!” J.P. had to shout through cupped hands in order to be heard over the beep, beep, beep of the huge machine backing up. He chased it forward, but Tillie shot into high gear and rounded the corner in reverse, nearly taking out an entire stain remover display. “Tillie!”
“I’ve got work to do!” the woman roared back.
“Tillie, I need to talk to you for a second.”
She tapped her wrist with one hand. The forklift fishtailed without her steady grip on the wheel. “I’m on the clock. You’ll have to wait until my break.”
Tillie was calling the shots and J.P. had no choice but to agree to her demands. If he wanted his plan to work, he needed her full cooperation.
Of course, he hadn’t realized her break would be over an hour later. He busied himself in the plant section, making a mental note of the varieties he would choose for his apartment if he suddenly sprouted a green thumb. He never realized there were so many plant options, from climbers to creepers to shrubs and trees. And the pots! The store had scads of them, large and small, plastic and stoneware. The combinations and possibilities were endless.
But J.P. hadn’t come to Howie’s to select plants he knew he would later end up killing. No, he had come by in a last ditch effort to salvage things with Nora before that relationship ended in a similar fate.
“You’re still here?” Tillie came around the corner and snapped off the edge of an energy bar between her front teeth, then jammed the wrapper into a pouch on her apron. “I thought you would’ve given up by now.”
“That’s why I’m here,” J.P. said resolutely. “To prove I’m not giving up. On Nora, that is.”
“I don’t think that’s how she sees things.” In three large bites, Tillie devoured the remainder of the bar. “It seems like you’ve done everything possible to let her know you don’t want to see her.”
“Idowant to see her.”
“Right. But your dog…” Tillie screwed up her mouth dramatically and rolled her eyes. “Your dog had a pedicure or something, am I right? Wait…no. He had a job interview.” Her mockery would have stung had it not been one hundred percent justified.
“The excuses I gave her were terrible. I’ll concede that much. But the reason I’ve been avoiding Nora is that I have a secret I don’t want her to find out about until I’m ready.”
Tillie shifted from foot to foot. “Nora doesn’t like secrets.”
“More of a surprise than a secret, then.”
“She’s not a fan of surprises, either.”
“A grand gesture,” J.P. remedied. He had to be real; he was getting frustrated with the direction this conversation was headed. “I’m doing something special for Nora and I really want to keep it a surprise until the big unveiling.”
“But she needs to talk to you.”
“I know.” He nodded. “And we will talk, but just not yet.”
“So you came down here to tell me you’re going to continue giving my best friend the runaround?”
“No, I came down here for your help.”
Tillie bound her arms over herself, locking in place. “My help?”
“I need you to help me buy some time. Help me keep her in the dark for just a little longer.”
Her head sliced sideways in ano. “Uh uh. I will not lie to Nora for you. She’s my best friend. That’s a hard line for me.”
“I don’t want you to lie. I want you to convince her not to write me off just yet.”
“What if I think sheshouldwrite you off?”
J.P. deflated internally, but completely understood Tillie’s position. She had every right to dislike him. “Then I guess I’m on my own.”
He couldn’t blame her. If anything, he wished he had someone who cared about him so steadfastly. Someone who had his back in every situation and was ready to go to bat whenever he needed it. He knew Nora’s friends were protective of her, and that was something he admired, although it threw an enormous monkey wrench into his current plans.
He was halfway down the aisle and feared his ears were deceiving him, but he thought he heard a faint, “Wait.” He rotated on his heel.
