Supermarket - Bobby Hall Page 0,36

a smile.

“Hey!” I said, feeling guilty for having another woman’s number in my pocket, even though it was for Frank. How will I explain this to her if she finds out? I thought. Anything I said would sound like total bullshit.

“What were you and Rachel talking about?” she asked.

“What? Who?” I said. She looked at me suspiciously.

“Rachel the cashier. She just left the room smiling. What were you two talking about?” Oh, shit, I thought to myself. When she walked in the room it was all peaches, except for me acting as though nothing had just happened between Rachel and me. My posturing had unintended consequences. Now Mia was thinking something was in fact happening. Maybe I should just tell her about the whole thing.

What are you, fucking stupid? Frank’s voice said in my head, like some funny angel and devil scenario. She’s gonna call bullshit immediately!

The voice was right, but I didn’t want to lie to her.

“Flynn!” Mia said, a confused smile on her face.

“Sorry, baby . . . I was literally here daydreaming. Now that I think about it, Rachel was trying to say hello or something, but I didn’t even notice. She must have been laughing it off on her way out.”

Mia looked at me, and I felt horrible for lying. But it wasn’t like I did anything wrong.

And just like that, she let it go.

“Listen, I had such a blast with you last night!” she said. “I was thinking, maybe round two tonight?”

I knew I should work on my book. But at the same time, so much had been going on that I felt I deserved another night to myself.

“Okay! That sounds like fun.”

“It’s settled, then. I’ll see you soon!” she said, departing with a kiss to my cheek.

CHAPTER 8

DISAPPEARING DOG

It had been a crazy few days. My anxiety had been ebbing and flowing. I was falling hard for Mia, and trying to embrace that beautiful feeling. But I wasn’t getting anywhere with my novel. I still couldn’t figure out how to end the book with a bang, which was nagging at me. It’s always something. Frank was being Frank. A burden, a friend. I couldn’t quite tell which. The Lola run-in fucked me up, but Mia saved the day and kept me from unraveling into what would have surely been a full-blown panic attack, or worse yet, a spell of derealization.

Things at Muldoon’s were fine. I finally felt like I had my bearings straight. I’d spent enough time in each department to have the lay of the land. I wasn’t making as many mistakes. Today I was in the refrigerated section, taking care of inventory. Shit was cold in there. I was rocking earmuffs, a scarf, and gloves. It was the section behind the glass when you reach in for your fancy-ass almond milk. Or oat milk. Or cashew milk. Or hemp milk. There were more foo-foo milks these days than I could count. What happened to the classic cow shit?

I ran into Frank while restocking. I told him everything. The conversation between me and Rachel, and even Mia walking in and how it must have looked. “People see what they want to see, man. You should know that better than anyone else,” Frank said.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, wrinkling my face.

“I mean Mia’s insecurity was giving her a suspicion that something was going on, so she prodded. Then she let it go because, regardless of what was happening before she walked in that room, she has no reason not to trust you. It’s perfect.” Frank smiled.

“Wait . . . why is it perfect?” I asked, confused.

“Because you got Rachel’s number, man! Now let me see it!” he said, eager to hold it in his hands. I reached in my left pocket, pulled out the torn magazine page with the number on it, and handed it off for him to do with as he pleased.

“I’m gonna call her tonight. Meet me on the roof in five for a smoke.”

And Frank was off. I grabbed an AriZona iced tea and headed up to meet him.

On the roof I looked out over the other side, opposite where there was the loading dock and endless trees. On this side, I faced the dreary parking lot and the rest of our shopping center—the record store, the bank, the dry cleaners, and, of course, the diner where Lola had left me.

Reminded of Lola, I took out my wallet and stared at the picture of us. I felt