“My pleasure,” he said, then pressed his lips to hers.
“I hope you don’t mind, but considering it’s been a long day already, I thought we’d stay in for dinner.”
“I don’t mind at all,” said Jack. “As long as I’m with you.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY
CalmBefore the Storm
Friday morning, Jack drove Ellie to the university. He parked in front of the astronomy building, where they rehearsed Ellie’s answers to what she assumed would be a battery of questions. To Jack, Ellie was the smartest person he’d ever met, but, as he discovered, even she wasn’t immune to doubt.
“You’re going to do fine,” he reassured her. He smiled, finding her anxiety endearing.
“Finemay be acceptable for the university,” said Ellie. “But this is NASA we’re talking about. I need to be flawless.”
“Then be flawless. Either way, the most important thing is to be yourself. If you do that, he’ll have no choice but to hire you.”
When it was time, Jack walked her to the door and wished her luck.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself? I don’t know how long this will take.”
“Don’t worry about me,” said Jack. “I’m more than capable of entertaining myself. Besides,” he rolled his eyes skyward and finding blue sky, added, “it’s a nice morning, so I think I’ll go for a walk.”
After smoothing down the hem of her skirt, Ellie drew a breath and said, “Well, here goes nothing.”
When Ellie was inside, Jack walked around the corner. With most of the students away on summer break, he had the campus to himself. After checking out the Kirkwood Observatory, he took a stroll through Dunn’s Woods, stopping at Beck Chapel. When he was done there, he made his way to Walnut Street where he did a little window shopping before moseying over to the courthouse.
With the sun now directly overhead, Jack sought the shade of a nearby elm. Five minutes passed… ten… twenty. Checking the time, it was after noon, so he stood and started back toward campus.
While he waited for the light to change, he noticed a poster in the window of the bookstore that caught his attention. Written in bold letters was his name, along with a picture of his book. Gobsmacked, Jack went in to have a look.
“Good morning.” Sam greeted Jack as he entered. “How may I help you?”
Jack looked at Sam and smiled politely. “You don’t remember me. Do you, Mr. Hensley?”
Sam took another look. “As I live and breathe… Jack Bennett.” He stepped out from behind the counter and shook Jack’s hand. “How are you, young man?”
“Doing well, sir. How are you?”
“Fine. Just fine. If memory serves, the last time I saw you was the day you got released from the army. What’s it been, nine, ten years?”
“Something like that.”
Sam gave him the once-over. “I’m glad to see your hair grew back.”
Jack chuckled. “Me too.”
“So what brings you to Bloomington—research for your next novel?”
“Not exactly. Believe it or not, I’m here with Ellie. She has a meeting at the university this morning, and since I had a couple of hours to kill, I decided to walk around and see what’s new.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean the two of you are back together?”
“Yes, we are,” Jack confirmed, which elicited a smile.
“Well, it’s about time. You know, for a while there, I was worried about Ellie. We all were. She’s been hanging around the store for so long, Alicia and I consider her part of the family.” His smile became wistful. “She’s had a rough go of it, the poor thing, but I’ve always said I never saw her happier than when she was with you. Maybe now she can finally be happy.”
“Let’s hope,” said Jack.
