pipes.â
âThe one who shakes hands with his left hand because itâs closer to the heart?â
âGood memory.â She smiled and he opened the restaurant door for her, waving his hand in a signal for her to go in first.
The Lobster Pot was like a large shack, harshly lit, with long wooden tables and a few booths. Soft rock music played loudly, nets and lobster pots hung on the walls, people wearing shorts and flip-flops drank beer from plastic cups. Another reason Holly had picked it: there was no way Jack would think she was expecting a romantic evening. The food was delicious, but the atmosphere was only a few steps up from McDonaldâs.
âWowâgreat place. Puts Figs to shame, but promise you wonât tell anyone I said that.â
âIâm calling Charlie Thurlow tomorrow.â
âYou wouldnât do that, would you?â
Flirt, you idiot. At least try to flirt.
âOf course not.â
OK, donât flirt. But at least try to relax.
âLook, thereâs a table free.â She led him to a fortuitously empty booth in the middle of the room and they sat down across from each other.
âOKâthis is how it works. Over there, in the back on your left, is where you order lobsters and steamed clams if you want themâsee where they have all those Lobster Pot T-shirts hanging up? Over the tank full of live lobsters? Right behind the tank, thereâs a counter.â
âI see.â He pointed to a counter at the other end of the room. âBut people are queuing up at that counter tooâwhy?â
âThatâs for other types of food like scallops, haddock, fried clams, coleslaw and stuff. If you want wine or beer, you get it in the back room with the lobsters. Soft drinks are at the scallop and other stuff counter.â
âVery complicated; Iâm not sure I could work here.â
A voice on a microphone said, âNumber 128, your order is ready,â and a large woman in pink polyester pants with a âWild Women Are Necessaryâ T-shirt rose from the neighboring table, made her way to the counter and collected a red plastic tray heaped with food.
âIf you want a lobster, they can take it out of the shell for you. They call it a Lazy Manâs lobsterâno work. Otherwise you have to crack it open yourself.â
âI donât want to be typecast as a Lazy Man straight off the bat here.â He put his elbow on the table, his chin on his hand, and narrowed his eyes. âSo Iâll go the Alpha Male route and get a lobster and crack it open myself. How about you?â
âIâll do the same. They drown the Lazy Man lobster with so much butter itâs hard to walk to the car afterward.â
âRight, then.â He stood up, took off the blue windbreaker he was wearing and placed it on the tabletop. âThis will save our place. Letâs go foodwards.â
They ordered two boiled lobsters and two glasses of white wine. When he said what he wanted, the young girl behind the counter couldnât take her eyes off him to write it down.
âJeez. Are you English or something?â she asked.
âNo. I just pretend to be.â
âYou sure sound English.â
âThank you. Itâs taken years of practice.â
She stared for another thirty seconds then managed to put pen to pad. When she then handed over the bill, Holly opened her bag.
âNoâthis is on me,â he said. âNo arguments.â
After picking up their numbered ticket and their glasses of wine, they headed back to their table. Jack stopped at the tank with the lobsters in it and peered in.
âYou have to wonder when they know,â he said.
âKnow what? That theyâre about to be taken out of the tank to be eaten?â
âNo. I mean before. When theyâre in the sea. How long before they know the bait theyâve just headed for has trapped them?â
âSomehow I
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