“Uh-huh,” she says flatly, her eyes narrowing.
“No, really. I was going to ask if I could get a root beer with mine.”
Her mouth twitches. “You got it. I’ll meet you back here in a few minutes.”
*****
Jordy normally wolfs down her food. I think it’s a byproduct of never having enough to eat, which is why I try to feed her as often as possible without being too obvious about it. I always kept a few snacks on hand in my office, but since meeting her, I have food tucked away in various places so there’s always something to offer her. On weekends, I pack a lunch and tend to ‘overestimate how much I needed’ so I can share with her. She’s not stupid—quite the opposite, in fact. I suspect she knows what I’m doing, and yet as long as I’m not straight-up offering to buy or give her food, she accepts it. I think she realizes it benefits both of us in different ways.
Tonight, though, Jordy takes her time eating. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone eat a hamburger so slowly. There are times when I swear she’s eating her poutine one fry and cheese curd at a time. Not that I’m complaining. Being with Jordy makes me feel younger, and I love that we can talk about a variety of things and that we make each other laugh.
I lean back in my seat and wipe my hands on a napkin after finishing the last of my burger. I glance around at the relatively quiet food court and the people passing by. One of them catches my eye, and I nearly do a double take when my gaze lands on Spencer. My heart leaps when our eyes lock, and he smiles.
He lifts a hand in a wave, and I do the same. Rather than walk off like I expect him to, he crosses the food court toward us. Excitement and trepidation mix with the food in my stomach, and I resist the urge to dig my compact mirror out of my purse to check if I have anything in my teeth.
“Sorry to intrude on your dinner, but I wanted to say a quick hello,” Spencer says, looking between me and Jordy.
“Well, I’m glad you did. This is my friend, Jordy.” I gesture to my companion, noting the way her eyebrows wing up at the word ‘friend’. “Jordy, this is Spencer. He’s…we met…he’s friends with Fergus. He works with the MacKinnon Group too.”
“Nice to meet you, Jordy.” Spencer offers her a closed fist. I nearly lose my mind at the sight, although Jordy doesn’t miss a beat before tapping her knuckles against his. Did I fall through some strange space/time continuum and not realize it?
“You too,” Jordy says. Then to me, she adds, “Do all your guy friends have accents?”
“No, just these two,” I say with a laugh. “Well, Fergus’s cousin-slash-boss, Hugh MacKinnon, has a Scottish accent too, but we’re more business acquaintances than friends.”
Jordy eyes Spencer. “Fergus wrote the center a big fat check today on behalf of the MacKinnon Group, and we’ve spent the last couple hours spending some of it.”
“Jordy!” I drop my forehead into my open palm, unable to contain my laughter. At the sound of Spencer’s soft chuckle, I straighten. He’s looking between the two of us, his eyes dancing with amusement. “We were buying toys and clothes for the Holiday Sharing Program at the center,” I clarify.
“I figured it was something like that,” he assures me. “So is that how you two know each other? From the center?”
“I’m Hollie’s little gopher,” Jordy says, her face the picture of innocence. “I do all kinds of things for her at the center. Whatever she asks me to do, I do it.”
I huff, wishing she was in close enough range for me to kick her under the table. “If I ask you to be quiet and stop making me look bad, could you dothat?”
Jordy’s giggle is borderline evil as she waves me off. “Oh please, Spencer knows I’m kidding. I’m sure healsoknows you’d be a good, fair boss.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” Spencer says. I wait for him to excuse himself and leave, but he lingers. Jordy gives me a pointed look before pulling the food court tray toward herself and collecting our garbage.
“Can I treat you ladies to dessert?” Spencer asks suddenly.
“Oh, I…that’s not necessary,” I say. “Thanks, though.” The tray makes a scraping sound on the table and I glance at Jordy to see her giving me a look that practically screams ‘excuse you,Iwant dessert’.
Spencer nods. “I should move along then, I don’t want to intrude…”
“You’re not intruding,” Jordy blurts. “Right, Hollie?” She widens her eyes at me and jerks her head in Spencer’s direction.
“Right, no, it’s not that. I was just thinking of the giant cinnamon roll I ate earlier and the burger and onion rings I just scarfed down. But…I think I can make room for dessert. You, Jord?”
Jordy’s expression eases into a satisfied smile. “Ialwayshave room for dessert.”
*****
“The mall will be closing in thirty minutes. Please complete your purchases and make your way toward the nearest exit. Thank you for shopping at Bellevue Mall.”
As the announcement rings through the food court for a second time, I glance across the table at Jordy, then at Spencer, who’s sitting beside me. Most of the places in the food court had closed by the time we agreed on what we wanted, but Spencer managed to charm the guy at the ice cream place into staying open a few more minutes to dish out three desserts.
“I guess that’s our cue.” Spencer wipes his mouth with a paper napkin, swiping away the tiny dot of chocolate sauce that was stuck to his lip. A dot I absolutelydid notimagine licking off because a friend obviously wouldn’t do that…and because there’s a teenager watching us like a hawk. A nosy hawk who’s desperate for a crumb of intrigue or gossip.
