Chapter Sixteen
Ira stormed into Tammy’s and flopped into a bench seat. He tossed a half wave at Honey as she hurried past with a coffee pot. He instantly regretting passing his bad mood on. Luckily, she didn’t seem to notice the thundercloud hanging over him.
“Right back to get you, Ira,” she sing-songed.
Part of him was disappointed she didn’t drop everything for him. The realist inside knew she was doing her job the way she should. She poured coffee for a couple of gray-haired ladies near the front window. Dang it, he was jealous of the two old biddies. He shook his head at his own foolishness.
Moments later she breezed back to his table and slid into the booth across from him. “What’s up, Ira? You look like you lost your best friend.” She poured coffee into a clean mug and set the pot on the table. “Oh, no. Is Bill alright?”
“Bill’s fine. My computer, on the other hand, is not and the shop is closed while the shop owner is on vacation. I don’t want to buy a new one until I find out if it can be fixed.”
“Maybe I can help. I know a thing or two about computers,” she offered.
“You? Seriously?”What did a waitress know about computers?
“I did take several computer courses in college. I repair and maintain my own equipment. I don’t mind looking at yours. Unless you’d rather wait?” There was a hint of exasperation in her voice.
“You might as well take a look; you can’t make it worse. Sorry, I sounded ungracious. I’m happy you’re willing to look at my computer. I’m sorry for passing on my bad mood.” It would be great if she could help. He had some Army paperwork to fill out regarding his pension and medical coverage. He’d rather get it done sooner than later. Sometimes life rolled on too fast and things got forgotten in the day-to-day shuffle. This paperwork was too important to mess up.
“No worries. I understand. Technology gets the best of all of us at one point of another. I’m not taking it personally. Relax. Enjoy your coffee. What’s the best time for me to look it over?”
“When can you come? I’d like to get it fixed sooner rather than later. I’ve got forms to fill out, and paperwork to do.”
“I’m off in half an hour. Why don’t you hang around until I’m done? I can go home with you, or meet you there. Whatever works. I’ll have to stop at home and grab my kit.”
“Kit?”
“A couple of basic repair tools in case I have to rip it apart.”
“It’s a good thing you grinned, or I’d think you were serious.” Her irreverent attitude made him smile. “You’re not serious, are you?”
“Only a bit. What is wrong with it? Just in case I need to tear it down.”
“It started a couple weeks ago. It started getting slower and slower. Now it barely boots up. Websites time out before it can load them. It’s brutal slow.”
“Probably a virus. I’ll bring my virus stripper.” She grinned again. “I haven’t had to clear off a virus in months. I’m excited.” She clapped her hands. “Anyway, what can I get you today, besides coffee?”
“I might as well eat while I’m here. What’s the special?” Tammy’s was know for the daily specials. You never went wrong ordering them. In all the months he’d been eating here, he’d never had a bad meal. Beat the hell out of army mess food any day.
“Clam chowder with fresh baked bread, or meatloaf. I haven’t tried the meatloaf, but the smell is to die for.”
“Meatloaf it is. With mashed potatoes and gravy, please. And can I get an iced tea next time you swing past? No rush. Please and thank you.” He hadn’t had meatloaf in an eternity. Nobody made it like his mother had. He had her recipe, but couldn’t duplicate it. His always turned out as a dried-out brick. Maybe the special would be a good replacement for hers. He wondered if Honey could cook. If and when, and it was a big if, he got married, he’d prefer his partner could cook. He was a capable cook for most things, he even had several dishes he did really well. But despite his addiction to cooking shows, he was not a master chef.
“Right-oh. I’ll be back in a flash with your lunch. Working on your computer could take a while. Shall we plan for supper together?” She blushed prettily. “I don’t mean to invite myself to dinner…Never mind. I’ll just go put your order in.”
She was gone before he had a chance to agree to dinner together. He enjoyed eating with Honey. She was an entertaining and intelligent companion. A waitress with the skills to fix a computer was curious. Oh well, he’d been debating replacing it anyway. If she ruined it, not a big deal. He’d backed up his files last week.
* * *
“My laptop is in the library,”Ira explained as they entered his house. “I’ll get you started and make us a cold drink. Days like today, I wish I had air conditioning.” He waved her toward the office and she stepped in front of him and headed toward the newly completed room.
“It is brutally hot. I finally splurged on a fan for my bedroom. Even with the windows open, I couldn’t sleep.”
“I have a fan in my room too. I’m still debating cooling the entire house, but only on the hottest days. No sense suffering, but also no sense running air conditioning when opening windows works equally well most days.”
She looked back over her shoulder and smiled at him. “I agree entirely. We seem to have similar ideas about a lot of things. I like that in a friend.”
Friend? Now he was in the friend zone. Did a guy ever break out of the friend zone and into the boyfriend zone? Probably not. Honey had a dozen fabulous attributes, but didn’t seem to have any big ambitions for her life. Not like his own ambition to help out the family farm, and to build his own small farm. He reminded himself he wasn’t fit for marriage anyway.
