Hand-Me-Down Love by Jennifer Ransom

her trip to the botanical gardens in Orlando. Sean
didn’t notice. He poured coffee into the cup and sat down at the
table.
    “ I guess I
sorta lost it last night,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to see
that.”
    “ No reason to
be sorry,” Marla said.
    They sat
drinking their coffee for a few minutes. Marla didn’t know what to
say, and neither did Sean, apparently.
    “ I realize
that I can’t keep doing that job,” Sean said. “It doesn’t
seem important to me. Not important at all. At the end of the day,
I’m exhausted from the gladhanding I have to do. I can’t keep it
up anymore.”
    “ I
understand,” Marla said.
    Sean looked
around the kitchen. “I’ve always liked how you did this place,”
he said. “I like all this old stuff.”
    “ Thanks,”
Marla said. Then she said, “Sean, what do you think you want to do?
Where do you think you want to go?”
    “ I don’t
really know,” he said. “No matter where I go, I can’t escape
what’s happened. I’ve learned that in the last few months. I
can’t escape it.”
    And then Marla
said something that sounded crazy, but it seemed the right thing to
say anyway. “That condo seems lonely and I don’t think it’s
good for you. Would you like to stay here for a while?”
    Sean looked at
her with surprise. “I couldn’t ask you to do that,” he said.
    “ Why not?”
she said. “It seems like the best place for you to be right now.
Unless you want to go to Atlanta and stay with your parents. Or go to
Florida and stay with your sister. Do you want to do that?”
    He didn’t
answer right away and Marla sipped her coffee.
    He turned to
look at her. “No, I don’t really want to go to either of those
places,” he said. “It would just worry them.”
    “ Then stay
here,” Marla said, setting her coffee cup on the table. “Stay
here.”
    “ Maybe for
just a few days,” he said. “Until I can figure things out.”
    “ That’s
fine,” Marla said. She got up from the table.
    “ I’ve got
to get down to the shop. Jada will be here in a few minutes.”
    Sean stood and
took Marla’s hands in his. He looked into her eyes. “Thank you,”
he said.
    Marla dressed
and went down the stairs. Jada opened the front door right when Marla
sat down at her desk. They spent the rest of the day going over the
receipts from the sale the day before and tending to the few
customers that came in. At six, Jada left and Marla locked the door.
She went to the courtyard and called Lucy, who got up stretching,
then followed her up the stairs.
    When she walked
in, the apartment seemed empty. “Sean?” she called tentatively.
“Sean?”
    He walked into
the kitchen. “Hey,” he said. “I’ve been lazy today.”
    “ That’s
okay,” she said. “You deserve it.”
    “ I called
your father. I asked him for a leave of absence. He agreed, of
course.”
    “ Of course,”
Marla said. She put food in Lucy’s bowl.
    “ That was a
relief, getting the leave. I don’t really know if I can ever go
back to that, but at least it’s an option.”
    “ Just take
your time,” Marla said.
    “ I’d like
to take you to dinner tonight. I was thinking at Steamboat Joe’s.”
    Marla hadn’t
been to Steamboat Joe’s for months, though it was right down the
street from her shop. The restaurant specialized in boiled shrimp and
raw oysters and a specialty drink, Steamboat Steamer.
    “ That sounds
nice,” she said.
    Sean and Marla
sat in the living room for a while watching the news. Marla made Sean
a whisky sour and poured herself a glass of white wine. Around seven,
they left the apartment and walked two blocks down the street to
Steamboat Joe’s. It was crowded as always, and they sat on benches
outside until their number was called.
    Once seated at
a booth, they ordered boiled shrimp, which was put on the newspaper
that covered the table. Hushpuppies and slaw were placed to the side
of their plates, but it was the shrimp they were after. Sean and
Marla peeled