19. Dance at Jo’s
NINETEEN
Dance at Jo’s
STEVE
Steve slipped his rent underneath the office door then walked to the fire station to start his shift. He started the day with Kiro and Emerson talking outside the locker room.
“Morning, Steve.”
“Good morning.”
“Got something on your mind?” Kiro wondered. “You look a million miles away.”
“Yeah.” Steve knitted his brow. “I’m curious about something.”
“What’s that?”
“The other day at Café Mocha’s…”
“Celeste’s shop? What of it?”
Deciding to keep some of his thoughts about the coffee shop to himself, Steve curled his lips up in a mischievous smile. “Are all the retirees in this town so forward?”
“Huh?”
They strode down the hallway into the lounge to fix cups of coffee.
“The three old women at the coffee shop the other day. Are they always like that?”
“Oh. You mean the Tres Widows?”
“The trace what?” He grabbed a mug, filled it with coffee, and added a couple of packets of sugar. Tossing the empty wrappers into the trash, he added milk and stirred.
“The Tres Widows,” Kiro repeated while filling his own cup. “Lizzie, Berneta, and Abigail. Best friends since grade school, and they’ve all outlived their husbands. Hell, they’re practically as old as the town itself. You’ll see them at every funeral and town event.” He set the carafe on the burner and grabbed a glazed donut from the box on the counter. “You have to be careful around them, or you’ll end up on a date.”
Steve choked on his coffee. “What?” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Kiro shoved half of his donut between his teeth in time to see the panic on Steve’s face. “Oh shit. What’d you do?”
Steve surveyed the room, afraid the three women would appear out of nowhere. “I uh...”
“Which one?”
“Abigail?” Steve’s voice cracked just as Emerson walked up.
“Abigail?” Emerson paused for a split second, then burst out laughing. “Wait. Does Steve have a date with one of the Tres Widows?”
Steve raised his hands, immediately going into damage control mode.“What? How? Don’t...”
“Fresh meat,” Emerson coughed out.
Steve extended his hand toward Emerson. “Wait. No. I...”
“Let me guess,” Kiro said, smirking. “Drinks at Jo’s?”
Emerson’s hand landed on Steve’s shoulder. “Yeah. What is it? Dinner? Dancing?” He could barely get the questions out before doubling over in laughter.
Steve mumbled something unintelligible.
“Say again?” Emerson said.
Steve dropped his head. “Dance at Jo’s.”
Kiro gave a slow nod while feigning concern. “That’s not so bad, all things considered.”
Emerson nodded in agreement. “Yeah. You got off pretty easy.” Emerson patted Steve on his back and walked away, no longer able to suppress his laughter. The other men looked up when Emerson made a loud announcement. “Hey guys, Steve has a date with one of the Tres Widows!”
Steve closed his eyes and slumped as soon as he heard boisterous laughter at his expense breaking out in the lounge area. “I am never going to live this down.”
“Nope.” Kiro popped the rest of his donut in his mouth. “She’ll hold you to it, too.”
“Well, shit.” Head drooping, Steve stood alone at the counter after Kiro walked away.
The image of a tall, gorgeous redhead suddenly filled his thoughts. Psyching himself up for a day of endless mockery at the hands of his fellow firefighters, Steve entered the lounge, offering a formal bow to a rousing bout of applause and whistles.