Kathy Abbott

Kathy
Abbott

A Short Story from the Regulator
Series

C.K.
Jackson

Kathy raises the red grapefruit to her nose and
inhales the citrus; the smell helps bring her mind back to the
present. She loves her job at Shop N’ Go and looks forward to going
to work every day but she’s been daydreaming since she started her
shift. Her one-week vacation starts today so, even though she is at
work physically, mentally she is already relaxing with her
boyfriend at her apartment.

Kathy peels the grapefruit like an orange.
Juice drips onto the pile of paper towels laying on the table in
front of her, reminding her once again why she is tired of eating
them. She’s been eating them twice a day for the past two weeks
hoping that she’ll soon fit into her favorite jeans again. Still,
they are messy and she’s growing tired of the taste. When she
finishes the fruit, she walks over to the trash bin to toss it out.
The door opens just as the grapefruit hits the bottom of the can
and she turns to see Robyn enter the room.

“
Hey Robyn. Come and sit for a
while. Are you on break?” She points to the table under the window.
“My table’s over there.”

Robyn smiles. “I just need more coffee before
getting started on the shelves. I’m checking expiration dates
today. Sucks to be me right now. What are you doing? Still eating
those grapefruits, huh? You’re gonna turn into one of them one
day.”

Kathy giggles. “I thought I’d eat my
grapefruit before the silver rush.” Each morning at eleven o’clock
the local senior center drops off a busload of participants to do
their grocery shopping. Like clockwork everything slows to a crawl
in order to accommodate them. Kathy smiles while bouncing in her
seat. “I can’t wait to end this day already.”

“
You’re way too happy today girl.
What’s going on? And don’t tell me it’s because of your vacation,
either,” Robyn says.

“
I was just thinking about my date
tonight. Between that and my vacation, I’m ready to go home,” Kathy
replies. She feels as if she is walking on air and hasn’t been able
to stop thinking about her date all week.

“
Oh shit, that’s tonight! I almost
forgot,” Robyn says. “You still didn’t tell me who Mr. Sexy is,
though. When’s the big reveal? And don’t bullshit me, because I’m
not in the mood.”

“
Okay, okay. I’ll let you know
after our date because I don’t want to get you all excited only to
find out he’s an asshole … or that our first date is our last. That
would be horrible. You may need to wait until I get back from
vacation to hear the dirty little details, though. I’m planning on
locking us in a room for the next five days.”

“
I hear that,
girl. Okay, I’ll be patient but not
too
patient, so you just make sure
to tell me everything first. I’ll be pissed if I see it on Facebook
before hearing it from you.” Robyn sips her coffee and nods to the
clock. “Don’t be late getting back to your register.”

“
I know. I’ve already been written
up once this month for being late. See you later.” Kathy gets up
and walks out of the room.

At five foot five, Kathy is not model
beautiful, but she’s pretty. She doesn’t have much of a nightlife
but, when she does go out on an occasional date, she tells Robyn
all the juicy details. This time she hopes to share the news that
she is in a committed relationship. All she wants is a boyfriend
who loves her and her new boyfriend is the first guy she’s dated
who understands her. When she talks, Clint listens. He remembers
their conversations, no matter how silly they might be. Clint takes
the time to cheer her up when she’s upset and he never look for
ways to end their calls until she’s ready to end them. He is kind
and patient, and she likes that about him. For now, though, they’re
keeping their relationship a secret. It’s not like he’s cheating on
a wife or a girlfriend; she’s asked him those questions already.
No, they agreed to surprise their friends and families with the
news together.
Tonight is important for them. It’s not like one of their usual
dates and since it’s their first time meeting in person she has
gone to a lot of effort to look good. She’s had her hair cut and,
in the last week, she has perfected a new eyeliner style. Both have
worked to bring out her best feature, her incredibly light-brown
eyes. Even her nails and toes are painted with his favorite colors.
Everything she’s wearing is new, down to her panties. He’s special,
and she wants him to know it; she has never gone this far to please
someone. She pulls on her coat, picks up her keys, grabs her
handbag, takes one last look at her clean apartment, and walks out
to her car.

*  *  *

Kathy slows to match the speed limit upon
entering Freemont. Until now she has been traveling at breakneck
speeds, singing along to her speed-worthy road-trip playlist. But
the last thing she wants is to get a ticket on the first day of her
vacation. She stays on State Highway 35 South until she reaches the
Freemont Mall, then turns into the parking lot. She keeps left as
he has instructed.

The mall has gone through many updates and
some major renovations throughout the years; it’s now a monstrosity
that spans several acres. The parking lot that circles the exterior
of the shopping center’s brick building is sprinkled with various
businesses and eateries, allowing shoppers easy access to a variety
of stores, restaurants and one triple-level parking
garage.

The parking lot is so huge she
feels as if she could get lost in it but she shakes off the trickle
of fear with calming thoughts.
Just keep
going. He’s there, waiting just for me.
But it is getting dark and she is in an unfamiliar place. The
adrenaline rush has her in a heightened fight-or-flight state and
her senses are in overdrive but she is choosing to ignore
them.

The closer Kathy gets to the
meeting place the harder it is for her to hold in her excitement.
Tonight is their first time meeting in person since they started
dating online, six months ago. It is also her first relationship
since her breakup with Daniel last year. She still carries the pain
from the day she walked in on him and his new girlfriend. She
scowls.
It would have been nice if he had
broken up with me first.

She has never been to this mall before so she
is careful and alert. As she rounds the perimeter of the parking
lot she notices that there are fewer cars passing her than when she
started into it.

She makes a right turn off the perimeter road
and drives toward Mario’s, a department store located at the end of
the mall’s brick building. Across from Mario’s is a section of the
parking lot that remains unused most of the year. It is the perfect
meeting place.

*  *  *

Clint is parked in his SUV. It’s cold out this
evening, so he’s keeping warm by running the engine. Old-school rap
and hip-hop stream through his radio while he waits. They met on
Facebook. Kathy is the kind of girl who accepts friend requests
with the expectation that she will remember when and where they met
at a later date. His profile pic was a car and, when they first
Skyped, she matched her profile picture perfectly. They have been
speaking to each other every night since.

His freshly showered scent mixes with the
small, black air-freshener tree under the passenger seat. The
heater has risen the temperature inside his truck and it’s so warm
now that he’s already placed his coat in the trunk for the night.
The clock on the dashboard shows it’s getting close to eight
o’clock. She’ll be arriving soon. One last look in the mirror.
Perfect. He taps the radio’s display and starts streaming a
playlist he created for her. Nothing but love songs, and all by her
favorite artists.

*  *  *

Kathy spots his black vehicle with dark tinted
windows, and rushes to park next to it. He lowers his window,
allowing her see his face and, as soon as their eyes meet, she
becomes a giddy teenager. He steps out of his truck and walks over
to her driver-side door. Kathy catches her breath, turns off her
engine, places her keys in her handbag, and leaps out of her car
into his arms.

They stand holding each other. “Come on, let’s
get in my ride.”

Kathy almost skips to the passenger side,
she’s smiling from ear to ear and can’t help it. Sliding onto the
front seat the first thing she notices, while placing her handbag
on the floor next to her feet, is the car’s black, leather
interior. She inhales, taking it all in so she will always remember
their first date.

“
I love how you keep your car so
clean.”

“
Come here, girl.” He pulls her
into his arms. “Finally, I can get my hands on you.” He gently
grabs the back of her head, and kisses her hard. When he opens his
mouth, she slides her tongue in.

Kathy pulls back, taking in his handsome face.
“Oh. My. God. You look even better in person …” She pulls him
closer, drawing in his scent, and kisses him again.

“
You made it here, so my
directions must have been good. Did you have any problems along the
way?” Clint asks.

“
No problems because your
directions were better than good, they were great, and you’re lucky
they were, too.” She laughs, and punches him softly on the arm. “I
am so happy you’re working close to my town this week, this spot is
perfect.”

He gives his million-dollar smile and she has
to remind herself to breathe. Her heart is beating so hard she
thinks it might explode. He smiles, motioning to the back of the
truck so that they can be closer to each other. Kathy opens her
door, gets out of her seat and slides into the back.

Clint also gets in the back but lays across
the seat while Kathy lays on top of him, with her head on his
chest. She lifts and turns herself so she can reach his lips and
they kiss. Clint reluctantly separates from her. “Can you stay for
a few days?”

“
Of course, babe, I cleared my
schedule for you,” she says.

“
Damn … you did?”

Clint kisses her again and it
feels right to Kathy.
This is what I want.
He’s handsome, sweet, thoughtful, I can’t ask for more.

“
Wait … there’s something I want
to tell you. Sit up for a minute,” he says.

“
What is
it?”
Oh … Please don’t say that you
have another girlfriend, or you’ve been clowning me all this time,
I can’t go through that again.

They sit up and Clint holds her hands. “You
know that I work in private security right?”

“
Yes.”

“
Well … Sometimes I have to do
things that I don’t agree with, things I don’t want to do. But it’s
my job, so I do it. I need you to understand that it’s strictly
business and never personal. Do you understand?”

“
Yes, Clint, but I know you and I
know you would never do anything to harm another person. Why are
you telling me this?”

“
I just want you to know this
about me. I would never let anyone harm you. You mean everything to
me.” He smiles. “Thirsty?”

She beams back. “Yes, please.”

He reaches over the back seat into a cooler
and pulls out two drinks. He stretches and yawns. Kissing her
gently on the lips he opens a cola and passes it to her. “Damn
you’re beautiful.” He opens a bottle of water for himself and they
lay together, drinking and watching the stars through the
sunroof.

Kathy turns and looks into his eyes. “I wish
we could stay like this forever.” She feels herself relax in his
arms. She’s getting tired and thinks he can tell because she keeps
closing her eyes, slipping in and out of sleep. She feels heavy,
her limbs are too worn out for her to even think about
moving.

“
It’s okay, babe, take a nap. I
got my woman with me now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

She feels beautiful and amazing
after hearing him call her
his
woman and the last of her internal barriers slip
away, leaving her wide open.