Ticket 1207 (6 page)

“I’m so sorry,” Shawn said as she put her arm around Jill. “May I say something insulting about her?”

“Sure, but now that you know the story, we really don’t have to mention her again. I’d rather know more about you.”

“What would you like to know?”

“You find a genie who will grant you only one wish. You have ten seconds to answer, starting now.”

“Love, perfect love. How much time do I have left? Because I’d like to add a lifetime supply of chocolate.” Shawn inhaled sharply. “And potato chips.”

“You’re a romantic junk food junkie,” Jill said with a laugh.

Shawn held her head high. “And I’m proud of it. Now here’s one for you. Who would you rather have as your dog—Scooby-Doo or Snoopy?”

Jill stared at Shawn for a moment, then burst out laughing. “You’re nuts.” She sobered when Shawn stared at her, awaiting an answer. “Oh, dear God, you’re serious. What information can you possibly hope to glean from my answer?”

Shawn struggled not to give into her own laughter. “You have to answer first.”

“Okay.” Jill chuckled as she thought. “I’m gonna go with Scooby because he can kind of talk. Now why did you ask me that?”

“Because I couldn’t come up with anything as cool as the genie question.”

“Were you pulling my leg about being shy?”

“No,” Shawn said seriously. “It’s strange, but when I first met Vera, I felt comfortable around her in the first five minutes, which was great since I was stuck in a tiny dorm room with her and her multitude of shoes. You make me feel that way, too. I wish I’d had the courage to talk to you like this sooner.”

“Maybe it’s all about the timing. I’m starting to feel like I’m back on my feet now.”

Kay looked over her shoulder when she came to an intersection. “Did y’all notice any of the lights?”

“Oh, yeah, they were great,” Jill answered before she and Shawn sank down into the blanket and laughed.

Chapter 6

“I think this may be the last appetizer for me,” Jill said as she regarded the dish that their server had just set on the table.

Unable to make up their minds on one restaurant, they decided to have an appetizer at a few. They’d split a blackened chicken salad and a quesadilla, and now, they were trying to tackle a trio of shrimp kabobs.

“Did you leave room for beignets?”

Jill sank back in her chair and sighed. “I think that’s a second date thing. I’m gonna be miserable when we finish this.”

Shawn decided that she believed in Theo’s otherworldly abilities. She felt no timidity with Jill. Normally, it took a few dates for her to really relax and allow her personality to fully emerge. Jill sat close beside Shawn, and she fed her a piece of pineapple and shrimp.

“Good?” Shawn asked as Jill chewed slowly, then swallowed.

“Oh, man, you made a great choice, this is delicious. I’m going to be getting a lot of takeout from this place at lunchtime. And that brings me to my next question, who do you work for?”

“
Josten
Food Corp., all organic. My current project is combating black mold growth on sugarcane. Growers are highly competitive, so according to my contract, I’m not allowed to discuss my findings.” Shawn lowered her voice. “But I can tell you this, the water in the greenhouse sprinklers is very cold, and I always forget when they’re supposed to come on.”

“Had a few cold showers, have you?”

“I’ve learned to carry spare clothes and leave my phone in the truck when I’m in there.”

Jill skewered a shrimp with her fork and held it close to Shawn’s lips. “Are there a lot of women in your office?”

“Are you the jealous type?” Shawn asked with a smile.

Jill stuffed the shrimp into Shawn’s mouth. “I can be. How big are these women? Could I take one down if I had to?”

“You like me,” Shawn said with a silly smile.

Jill nodded. “Mm-hmm, and I’m going to beat you to the punch, Shawn Masterson. Would you like to have dinner with me again?”

“Yes, I would. What’re you doing tomorrow night?”

Jill grimaced. “That’s Christmas Eve, and I have to go to my mother’s house. I’d invite you, but I really want to see you again, and if I expose you to that, you will most certainly run away screaming. That’s one of the reasons I really don’t like Christmas, that and I miss my dad.”

“This time of year makes me miss my grandparents, too. They were the ones that kind of kept the holiday alive in my family. Now that they’re gone, it’s just Christmas cards from my folks and a phone call from my brother, but that’s about it. So I totally understand how you can resent this time of year.”

“What are you doing on Christmas?” Jill asked as she held another shrimp close to Jill’s mouth.

Shawn met her gaze. “Whatever you want me to.”

Jill fed her the shrimp. “Excellent answer.” She cocked her head. “I’ve never seen you wear the earrings I repaired.”

Shawn inhaled sharply, wondering if she should admit that she’d gotten desperate when she ran out of jewelry to break. The earrings were actually Vera’s, and she’d “accidentally” stomped on them until one of the sapphires fell out. She grabbed her throat and blinked, unable to make a sound. The back of Jill’s chair hit the floor with a loud clang, then the whipping began.

“She’s choking,” Jill yelled as she beat Shawn on the back. “Somebody do the hemlock, I have no idea how! Okay, people! Don’t just stare at me. This is our first date, and it’s really going well, so I’d prefer she doesn’t die!”

Shawn felt her ass leave the chair when someone yanked her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her like a vise. The air left in her lungs shot out of her mouth along with the offending shrimp. It took Shawn a minute to catch her breath, then she turned to her rescuer.

“Santa?”

“Dr. Santa, at your service,” he said with a bow, red suit, beard, and all. “I was on the other side of the restaurant and heard your friend.” He smiled. “All better now?”

“Yes, thank you,” Shawn rasped as she glanced around at the faces staring back at her. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Merry Christmas,” Santa said and walked away.

Jill’s hands were shaking as she held out a glass of water. “Drink.”

Shawn took the glass and sank down into her chair, wishing she could go even lower and hide under the table. “I’m so sorry that I embarrassed you.”

“Oh, honey, you didn’t.” Jill smoothed Shawn’s hair from her face. “I know it’s stupid to say don’t feel embarrassed when you so clearly are, but you shouldn’t be.”

The term of endearment eased Shawn’s discomfort. “Hemlock is a poisonous plant, not the maneuver Santa just performed on me,” she said with a smile.

Jill put a hand over her mouth. “I yelled that, didn’t I?”

Shawn began to laugh as she nodded.

“Okay, now I’m embarrassed. I feel like I should do an encore after my performance. I think I’ll sing
Jingle Bells
, but I have to warn you that I can’t sing.” Jill inhaled deeply and snorted when Shawn put her hand over her mouth.

“I’ll just ask for the check.”

Jill turned her face away from Shawn’s hand. “I need to sing.”

Shawn motioned for the server. “Check, please—quick!”

*******

“You’re insane,” Shawn said with a laugh as she and Jill walked down the street hand in hand.

“You bring it out in me.” Jill came to an abrupt stop in front of a window at a Christmas shop as a train made a pass on its tracks. “If I ever decide that I like this holiday again, I’m going to get one of these.”

Shawn plastered her face to the glass. “Aw, it’s got candy in one of its cars.”

Jill started walking again. “What was your favorite Christmas toy?”

“I had two. The first was a stuffed cat I got when I was four. I still have it. My second was a chisel set. It came with three blocks, a little hammer, paint, and of course, a chisel. The blocks were made of some sort of hard plaster, I guess. I chipped away at them, and the first figure I found was a baseball player, the next was basketball, and the last was football. I painted them, and they sat on my dresser until I got into my teens and decided they had to go. What was yours?”

“The Operation game. I thought I’d be a doctor when I grew up. My dad noticed that I had a steady hand, and I liked to draw. He said there was an artist inside of me, and it would never be happy if I suppressed it.” Jill smiled wanly. “He wanted an apprentice, someone to carry on the family business that he and his brother had begun. Rene’s father was his partner, but he had prostate cancer, and after all the treatments, he retired. I began to work with Dad then, and when he died, Rene stepped in as my partner.”

“Did her dad survive?”

“He did, they caught the cancer early. He comes into the shop every now and then when he feels nostalgic. Did you always want to be a botanist?”

“It wasn’t even on my radar until my second year of college. I’m sure you gathered I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. My brother and I both did because my parents weren’t very happy together, and they fought a lot. I’d call Grandpa when they tied into it, and he’d come get me and Ryan. To keep us busy, he taught us how to garden. Ryan hated it, but I loved it. So when I met a woman studying botany, I had an epiphany. Honestly, I like to play in the dirt and get paid for it, but that’s only a fraction of my job.”

“A jeweler and a botanist. We make an unlikely pair.”

Shawn gazed at Jill as they strolled lazily along the sidewalk. “I’m willing to see where it goes.”

“Me too.”

*******

When they returned to Jill’s place, Shawn stopped her from climbing the stairs and pulled her close. “I really like you, and I need to make a confession. I’ve been breaking my jewelry intentionally just for an excuse to see you.”

Jill stared at her in surprise. “You’ve been coming to my shop for a year.”

“At first, I thought you and Rene were a couple, but I wasn’t sure, so I had to break something and come back.” Shawn winced. “I did tell you I was shy. You just seemed like a dream that would never come to life.”

“I’m…flattered…and a little stunned.” Jill put her hands on her hips and stared at the floor for a moment. “You’ve been single for a year, and all that time…you were interested in me?”

“Yes,” Shawn said, wishing she’d not been so honest.

Jill released a heavy breath. “Wow, if I had known this, I would’ve dressed better, maybe done something with my hair.”

“You’re perfect. You don’t realize that?”

Jill closed the gap between them, clasped Shawn’s face, and kissed her. She felt the electrical shocks that Rene had described again as their tongues met, and she pulled away with a shuddering breath. “This was the best first date I’ve ever had.”

Shawn looked stunned for a moment and smiled. “You are perfect,” she said as she backed toward the door. “I’ll see you at Christmas.”

“I look forward to it. Good night.”

“It is a good night.”

Chapter 7

“Was it romantic? Did you have a good time? Are you gonna see her again? Did you get naked?” Rene asked as she came tearing through the door the next morning.

Jill didn’t look up from the bracelet she was working on. “Yes, yes, yes, and no.”

“Oh, you’re so lucky.” Rene took off her coat and sighed. “I love first dates. I try to make Nadia ask me out like we’re going on our first date, but she says, ‘We’ve been together for eight years, Rene. If you want to play pretend, dress up like a maid and clean the house.”’ Rene threw up her hands. “Who wants to
pretend
to clean? I might as well really mop, and we all know that isn’t gonna happen. What’re you working on?”

Jill hunched over her pad. “I’m not done, don’t look at it.”

Rene’s eyes sparkled as she asked, “Is it for me?”

“Shawn.”

“The woman is hot, but she’s destructive and goofy. She’s just gonna break it like she does everything else.”

Jill smiled. “I don’t think so.”

Rene walked over to the window. “Theo’s got a new sign, it says, ‘Want a gift that’s unique? I’ve got something that’ll make her shriek. Shrunken heads half off.” Rene was silent for a moment. “Do you think that means the heads are half off the bodies or they’re on sale?”

Jill sighed and continued to attach charms to the bracelet.

“She’s coming over, and she has presents! I didn’t get her anything,” Rene said in a panic as she looked around.

“Merry Christmas, fools,” Theo announced as she walked in clad in a red dress and matching turban. She set a wrapped package on the counter in front of Rene, then strode over to where Jill sat and put one in front of her. “Open these right now.”

Jill’s brow rose as she regarded the present. “I’m afraid, and, Theo, my mind has been elsewhere, I didn’t get you anything. I’m sorry.”

“I did!” Rene pranced over with a display holder for rings, it had a little bow around it.

“Well, look at that, my own felt-covered finger. I’ll put it on my mantel.” Theo kissed Rene’s cheek. “Thank you, baby.”

Rene’s eyes went wide. “Do you live down in the swamp in an old wooden house?”

“Rene,” Jill said indignantly.

“Don’t fuss at her.” Theo put a hand on Rene’s arm. “You should come see it sometime. It’s always surrounded by fog
comin
’ off the water. I got me a gator as a watchdog.”

Jill stared at the chicken foot dangling outside of Theo’s dress. “Marie been on the warpath this morning?”

Theo nodded. “She in a mood. Marie ain’t never liked the holidays.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “
’Cause
she’s cheap.”

Rene opened her gift and held up a typical drinking glass. “Thank you, Theo,” she said, looking even more confused than usual.

“That’s a spirit glass, got a spell on it. You get a ghost in
yo
house that’s actin’ up, you tell it to go in there, then cover the top with foil.”

“Oh,” Rene said reverently as she stared at it.

Jill took a navy blue cloth bag from a drawer that they placed jewelry in after a sale. “This isn’t a Christmas present, but it might keep the nails on the foot from poking you at night when you sleep.”

“Yes, I like it.” Theo dropped the foot into the bag, then cinched the drawstring top. She gave it a pat with a smile. “You can be sweet, jackass. Now open yours.”

Jill tore into the gift and pulled out a small amber vial of powder. “What is it?”

“Sprinkle that on her food, and she’ll be yours forever.”

Jill shook the vial. “Will it make her sick?”

“It’ll probably give her the burps, but it ain’t
gon
’ cause anything to fall off her. It might even make her boobs bigger.”

“Do you have something to make booty grow?” Rene asked. “I don’t have one.”

Theo grinned. “Biscuits will do the trick, baby.”

This is beyond power of persuasion, or is it? Jill wondered as she stared at the powder. If she was the only one who knew about it, then she would be fooling her own self into believing that Shawn would belong to her forever. An even more pressing question was, did she want Shawn forever? Their first date was fantastic, and she was looking forward to getting to know Shawn better, but it was way too soon to be contemplating a lifetime with her.

“Does this have an expiration date?”

“It’ll keep as long as the cork stays on.” Theo smiled. “Go on and doubt me, child, but ticket 1207 is what you’ve been looking for all your life. Now I got to go. I’m closing up at noon, so I can go home and be with my babies.”

“Wait.” Jill got up and moved around the counter. She gave Theo a big hug and a kiss on her cheek. “Merry Christmas to you and yours.”

Theo patted her on the shoulder. “You
startin
’ to become tame…I don’t like it.”

“Merry Christmas, Theo,” Rene called after her as she left.

*******

Shawn looked like a chipmunk; her cheeks were full of Oreo balls. She was about to grab another handful from the serving table set up in the common area when she saw Vera saunter in the door. “I thought we’d do lunch since you’re getting off early, but obviously, you’ve already been stuffing your face,” Vera said as she looked at the treats lining the table.

Shawn swallowed. “I could eat.”

“Good, let’s go.” Vera grabbed Shawn by the arm and dragged her along. “Let’s go to that café that has the really good cranberry and walnut salad. You could probably use the roughage. Your diet is complete shit, yet you look like a goddess. You make me sick.”

“I love you, too.”

Vera pushed open the door and walked over to her car that was brazenly parked in a fire zone. “After we eat, we’ll run by your place so you can get dressed.”

“For what?”

Vera opened Shawn’s door and stared at her like she was crazy. “For dinner at my brother’s, we do it every year.”

Shawn climbed into the car and said, “We need to talk about that,” before she shut the door.

Vera marched to her side as fast as her high heels would carry her. She snatched open her own door and jumped inside. “What do we need to discuss?”

“I can’t come tonight, I’m very sorry.”

“Shawn, why?” Vera whined.

“I want to surprise Jill with a tree. She doesn’t have one.”

“For the love of—just ask the woman out!”

“I did. We went on our first date last night,” Shawn said cockily.

Vera’s frown quickly turned into a huge smile. “You’re serious?”

Shawn nodded.

Vera banged on her steering wheel, then she turned her engine. “Champagne for lunch! How did all of this happen?”

“I went to see the voodoo lady, and she cast a confidence spell on me, and I just called Jill up and said, ‘Go on a carriage ride with me,’ and she did.”

Vera blew through a yellow light, her brow furrowed. “
Voo
…doo lady?”

“Yeah, she has a shop across the street from Jill’s place.” Shawn gazed out the window. “Don’t judge.”

Vera shrugged. “Hey, do what you have to.”

“It worked. I was nervous when I arrived at her place, but we started to talk, and I completely relaxed. She made me feel so at ease, and I could be myself. She’s perfect.”

“Baby, Jill isn’t perfect, no one is. All men are Mr. Right when I first start dating them, then I realize they’re all like the Seven Dwarfs’ dysfunctional cousins Dorky, Cheap, Dickhead, Droopy—you get the gist.”

*******

After the salads and champagne were ordered, Vera folded her hands on the table and stared at Shawn with a smile. “I’m proud of you for going after a woman you’re interested in. I’ve known you since college, and you’ve always been kind of blasé when it comes to dating. Women have pursued you, and you kind of let them catch you.” One of Vera’s red brows rose. “I have to know, are you that passive in the bedroom, too? Because I really can’t imagine you lying there staring at the ceiling.”

Shawn frowned. “I’m shy in social situations and when I first meet people. I assure you that in the bedroom I’m anything but passive.”

“You sure made Natalie scream. I used to sleep with a pillow over my head when she stayed over.” Vera smiled sadly. “I miss the days when we were roommates who survived off of peanut butter and pizza. I couldn’t wait to graduate and get a real job. Here I am twenty-something years later, and I wish we were back in that crappy apartment worrying about passing our tests.”

“Why would you want to go back to that place?”

“Because everything was simple.” Vera looked away. “I found another line on my face this morning.”

Shawn tapped the table with her finger. “This is about you turning forty in February. Vera, it’s no big deal. The only thing that changed for me is that I have to wear reading glasses sometimes.”

“Don’t you realize that’s the first part of the downhill slope? I don’t look good in glasses!”

Shawn held her reply as the server arrived with an ice bucket and opened the champagne. She poured them both a glass and went to check on their salads. Vera stared at the bubbles, a pout marring her face.

“It’s more than just the revulsion over aging. This thing with Jill could really work out, and there’s no one on the horizon for me.” Vera waved a hand. “I’m happy for you, and at the same time, I’m so jealous.”

“Constant worrying is a sign of aging, too.”

“Stop it, Shawn!”

“Have you considered that you just haven’t been ready to settle down, and if I do, you’re going to feel like you have to do the same? Think about it. You only date men like Dustin who come into town briefly. If a guy is readily available, you’re not interested, no matter how good-looking or sweet he is.”

“I like to be in a state of want. Too much of a good thing is annoying. You don’t like to be smothered, either.” Vera released a heavy sigh. “I’m ruining your feel-good first date glow.” She picked up her glass. “To you and Jill, may she live up to the dream.”

Shawn raised her glass and stared at it. “This is kinda scary.”

“It’s a café, baby, they don’t keep Dom on hand. You’ll have to settle for the cheap stuff.”

“I’m not talking about the champagne. What if Jill is really everything I’ve dreamed of, but I’m not what she wants?”

“Then she’d be a fool. Hey, go back to the voodoo woman and have her cast a spell on her if you have any doubts,” Vera quipped. “I may pay her a visit, too. Maybe she can make me young again.”

Shawn sipped the champagne and contemplated the powder that Theo had given her.

*******

“All right, we’ve traded gifts,” Jill whispered to Rene. “I’m sneaking out the first chance I get.”

Rene frowned. “They notice every year, and your mom bitches about how unsocial you are.”

“She bitches endlessly anyway. I want you to promise to poison me if I ever become like that,” Jill said as she listened to her mother.

“…and I marched right up to the manager and shook the rubbery celery in his face. I don’t think he even realized it was supposed to be crisp. They just hire these kids off the street and put them in charge. None of them know their asses from a hole in the ground.” Her captive audience nodded sympathetically as Patricia wound up for one of her usual speeches. “That’s the trouble with this country, too many foreigners, they’ll eat anything. We have to lower our standards because there’re so many of them here now…”

Jill bumped Rene. “She always conveniently forgets that her grandparents came here from Portugal.”

“She also forgot to put on her underwear. Unfortunately, I was standing behind her when she bent over to look in the oven. Somebody needs to tell her that dress is a tad too short,” Nadia said as she joined them. “Plotting your annual escape?”

Jill nodded. “Oh, yeah, especially after hearing that. If y’all love me, please don’t tell Mom about her dress and take a lot of pictures to share with the family. That might be enough to put an end to this holiday tradition for good.”

“Why wouldn’t we celebrate Christmas just because she forgot her undies?” Rene asked.

Nadia shuddered. “If you saw what I saw that close to the food, you wouldn’t have to ask, baby.”

“Stag again, I see.” Aunt Bertie staggered over to Jill with her drink sloshing out of the glass, clad in her holiday red velvet pantsuit. “You need to do something with yourself, a little lipstick and mascara wouldn’t hurt. Time’s running out for you to find a woman who can dress herself and you, too.”

The usual question and comments didn’t have the same gnawing effect on Jill, but a sharp retort flew out of her mouth anyway. “And you’re still pickling your egg, I see. Your mustache is looking really lush, have you done something different with it?”

“Please don’t go,” Nadia whispered behind Jill with a snicker.

“It does look darker, did you dye it, Bertie?” Rene asked innocently.

Bertie snarled and walked away. Jill chuckled and kissed Rene and Nadia on their cheeks. “I love you two. Cover for me.”