enough of the town's money this morning. Got
to get back to work"
"See you around, Chief." Franklin watched him leave. He
noticed that the chief kept his attention riveted on the hardware store across the street.
Franklin could not help himself. The chief was suspicious. Now, so was he.
What was the man doing at the Mason place?
At one o'clock sharp, David parked in front of MacDaddy's
Barbecue. As he climbed out of the Pathfinder, a green Honda
Civic pulled into the parking spot near him. Nia stepped out.
"Right on time," she said.
She had changed into a pink blouse, khaki shorts, and
sandals. She had let down her hair, too. It flowed to her
shoulders in curly waves.
"My father was right," David said. "You are the prettiest
girl in town"
She smiled. He opened the restaurant's glass door for her,
and they went inside.
It was a small, neat place, with lots of windows. From the
size of the take-out counter it appeared that they did a lot of
carry-out business, but there were tables spaced throughout
the dining area. The mouthwatering aroma of barbecue
spiced the air.
The restaurant was busy. People were lined up at the
carry-out counter, and all the tables except one were full.
David and Nia grabbed the only vacant table, in the corner.
David picked up the single-page menus that lay nestled
between the salt-and-pepper shakers.
"I already know what I'm going to eat," she said. "The
catfish sandwich is delicious. I grew up on them"
"Then I'll get the same," he said.
A waitress came to take their orders. They asked for the catfish sandwiches, and sweet tea. The server returned
quickly with the drinks.
As they sipped tea, their gazes met. They watched each
other for a long, quiet moment, a pleasant tingling building in
David's stomach.
He felt as though he were in a movie, one of those sappy
romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle. He had never had
an experience like this with a woman, and it frightened and
thrilled him all at once.
Then, at the same time, they smiled-in unspoken acknowledgment of the rare chemistry that coursed between
them like electrical current.
"So," Nia said. "You were going to tell me why you moved
to Mason's Corner."
He put down the glass of tea. "Well, it's because of my father. I mentioned before that I never knew him that well. I
decided to come here and get to know him, I guess. By living in the same house and being in the town where he spent
so much of his life, I'm hoping to .. ." He made a grasping
motion with his hand, straining to find the right words to express himself.
"Understand him?" she said.
"That's part of it. Understand him-and understand myself. Because I'm his son, I think I've picked up certain
habits, talents, and quirks from my dad. For example, he
used to drink strong, black coffee, never adding sugar or
cream. When I was a kid, I used to think it was disgusting.
Now, guess how I always drink my coffee?"
"Strong, no sugar, no cream?"
He snapped his fingers. "Exactly. I never thought I'd like
coffee that way, but it's the only way I like to drink it now.
And there're a bunch of other things I think I've picked up
from my father, subconsciously. I'll never learn everything
about him, but if I can just learn more ... it's important to
me, Nia. I can't explain it any other way."
"I understand what you mean," she said. "I really admire
you for having the self-awareness and the guts to come here
and sort of absorb yourself in his life. That says a lot about
you"
"I didn't have anything pinning me down in Atlanta. My
mom and my sister live there, but they're doing fine. I'm
self-employed and can do my work from anywhere. If there
was ever a time to do some exploring, this is it."
"What kind of work do you do?"
"I design Web sites. I majored in computer science at
Georgia Tech, then worked for a few years at a technology
consulting firm, but corporate America wasn't for me. I
started my business two years ago and
to get back to work"
"See you around, Chief." Franklin watched him leave. He
noticed that the chief kept his attention riveted on the hardware store across the street.
Franklin could not help himself. The chief was suspicious. Now, so was he.
What was the man doing at the Mason place?
At one o'clock sharp, David parked in front of MacDaddy's
Barbecue. As he climbed out of the Pathfinder, a green Honda
Civic pulled into the parking spot near him. Nia stepped out.
"Right on time," she said.
She had changed into a pink blouse, khaki shorts, and
sandals. She had let down her hair, too. It flowed to her
shoulders in curly waves.
"My father was right," David said. "You are the prettiest
girl in town"
She smiled. He opened the restaurant's glass door for her,
and they went inside.
It was a small, neat place, with lots of windows. From the
size of the take-out counter it appeared that they did a lot of
carry-out business, but there were tables spaced throughout
the dining area. The mouthwatering aroma of barbecue
spiced the air.
The restaurant was busy. People were lined up at the
carry-out counter, and all the tables except one were full.
David and Nia grabbed the only vacant table, in the corner.
David picked up the single-page menus that lay nestled
between the salt-and-pepper shakers.
"I already know what I'm going to eat," she said. "The
catfish sandwich is delicious. I grew up on them"
"Then I'll get the same," he said.
A waitress came to take their orders. They asked for the catfish sandwiches, and sweet tea. The server returned
quickly with the drinks.
As they sipped tea, their gazes met. They watched each
other for a long, quiet moment, a pleasant tingling building in
David's stomach.
He felt as though he were in a movie, one of those sappy
romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle. He had never had
an experience like this with a woman, and it frightened and
thrilled him all at once.
Then, at the same time, they smiled-in unspoken acknowledgment of the rare chemistry that coursed between
them like electrical current.
"So," Nia said. "You were going to tell me why you moved
to Mason's Corner."
He put down the glass of tea. "Well, it's because of my father. I mentioned before that I never knew him that well. I
decided to come here and get to know him, I guess. By living in the same house and being in the town where he spent
so much of his life, I'm hoping to .. ." He made a grasping
motion with his hand, straining to find the right words to express himself.
"Understand him?" she said.
"That's part of it. Understand him-and understand myself. Because I'm his son, I think I've picked up certain
habits, talents, and quirks from my dad. For example, he
used to drink strong, black coffee, never adding sugar or
cream. When I was a kid, I used to think it was disgusting.
Now, guess how I always drink my coffee?"
"Strong, no sugar, no cream?"
He snapped his fingers. "Exactly. I never thought I'd like
coffee that way, but it's the only way I like to drink it now.
And there're a bunch of other things I think I've picked up
from my father, subconsciously. I'll never learn everything
about him, but if I can just learn more ... it's important to
me, Nia. I can't explain it any other way."
"I understand what you mean," she said. "I really admire
you for having the self-awareness and the guts to come here
and sort of absorb yourself in his life. That says a lot about
you"
"I didn't have anything pinning me down in Atlanta. My
mom and my sister live there, but they're doing fine. I'm
self-employed and can do my work from anywhere. If there
was ever a time to do some exploring, this is it."
"What kind of work do you do?"
"I design Web sites. I majored in computer science at
Georgia Tech, then worked for a few years at a technology
consulting firm, but corporate America wasn't for me. I
started my business two years ago and
Similar Books
