up, and it won’t overwhelm the other architectural detail in the rooms.”
“Either one would be beautiful,” Darla assured him, wondering if she should brush up on her interior design vocabulary if she was going to hang around the man.
While she’d learned a little about typical brownstone styles simply by living in a prime example of same, Darla couldn’t describe most of its features beyond basic color and texture. But the fact that Barry and Curt intended to replicate the period-style paneling and other woodwork and plaster, themselves, impressed her almost as much as Barry’s easy familiarity with such terms as “denticulated.”
“We’ve still got a little more time to decide,” he replied with careless shrug, shaking off a bit more dust. “We’re starting the plastering tomorrow, and that will take us a while.”
Then, closing the oversized volume with an almost reverential gentleness, he gave Darla a hopeful smile and added, “If you can spare an hour or so, why don’t you come back to the brownstone with me so you can get a final ‘before’ look at the place, and then we can grab some lunch at the deli?”
A date! He’d beat her to it! Smiling a little, she began, “I’d like to, but—”
She paused for a look at Robert, who was busy straightening stock near the back of the store. The youth had been working part-time for a little more than a week now and was already proficient in the store’s main protocols. Even better, despite the first “yo, hoss” incident, Robert had managed to ingratiate himself with the eternally stodgy James. The crowning touch had come yesterday, when the teen had engaged the former professor in debate on some theory Robert had developed regarding Charles Dickens and what he’d decided was the metaphorical use of orphans in his writing. James had vigorously argued a counterpoint, but Darla had heard the pleasure in his voice at discussing his specialty with someone equally as interested in that time period.
But James would not arrive for his shift until after lunch, and Darla still felt uneasy leaving Robert to mind the store alone after the confrontation with Porn Shop Bill the week before. So far as she knew, the issue between Robert and Bill was settled, but on the off chance that the man returned, she didn’t want to leave the teen alone to deal with such a volatile situation. Then again, Jake was just a cell call away downstairs. After all, what could happen in an hour or so on a Thursday?
“—but next meal is on me,” she finished, making the quick decision that the teen had the smarts to work on his own for a bit.
“Robert,” she called, “I’m going to step out for an early lunch. Do you feel comfortable handling things alone until James gets here?”
Not that he’d be totally alone, she reminded herself. He’d have Hamlet for company.
Or would he? Darla looked around. The cat had spent most of the last hour stretched across one end of the counter, recovering from a strenuous morning of watching her and Robert unpack shipping cartons. Apparently, however, he had regained his strength in the few minutes she’d been chatting with Barry, for he was nowhere to be seen now.
Robert, however, did not seem to share her concerns. “Take all the time you need, boss. I’m, like, good,” he replied and gave an exaggerated “okay” sign in case she didn’t believe him.
He wore his usual black jeans and black shirt, but today he’d topped the outfit with a black knit vest in apparent emulation of James’s personal uniform. She wasn’t quite sure if the fashion statement was genuine or simply a subtle bit of tongue-in-cheek ribbing at the older man’s expense. She rather suspected the latter explanation, but if James was offended, he was perfectly capable of taking the youth down a peg or two.
“All right, then,” she told him. “Hold down the fort until I get back. If you have an emergency, call me on my cell, or else call Jake. The numbers are taped to the register.”
Robert gave her a snappy salute in return, and she sighed. Apparently, she’d forgotten what it was like to be that young and impulse-control challenged, for the cheeky gesture wasn’t as amusing as Robert surely thought it was. “Quick, let’s get out of here before I change my mind,” she told Barry and grabbed her phone and familiar olive sweater from underneath the counter.
The air outside had a distinct nip to it despite the