Chapter 5 #2
“Hey,” he said, looking up with a smile. “This looks like my kind of fella.” He feigned tipping an imaginary hat, accurately predicting that it would make the older woman smile. He exaggerated his natural Southern drawl. “Levi Hawkins, at your service, ma’am.”
He had a brief flash of worry that the woman would recognize his name, but, if she did, she didn’t show it outwardly, instead merely sticking her hand out to shake, which caused her to juggle the book and then drop it.
“My goodness,” she said as Levi scooped up the hardcover before she could even think about bending.
His mother, even on her cross-country adventure, would magically sense it if he made an elderly lady pick up a dropped book.
He might be in his thirties, but he still flinched at the idea of his mama calling him up for a good old-fashioned scolding.
“I am doubly in your debt today,” she said, tucking the book under her arm more firmly before taking a second attempt at a handshake. This time, they managed it without losing any of the lady’s possessions. “I’m Miriam Landers. It is very nice to meet you.”
“You as well,” he said. “Is this a good place to get some reading done?”
He nodded at the book that had given them so much trouble.
“Son, any place is a good place to get some reading done,” she told him, her eyebrow arched playfully.
“My mom would really adore you,” he said with a laugh.
The arch rose higher. “Is that a quip about my age, young man?”
Levi felt emotions that he could only describe as ‘good old Southern boy panic’.
“I—no, ma’am—that is—I didn’t mean anything negative—”
Miriam cut him off with a cackle. “I’m teasing you, my friend. Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”
Levi’s shoulders slumped in relief.
“Not to bring up my mama again,” he said wryly, “but she would give me an earful for insulting a lady, so I’m relieved to hear that you aren’t offended.”
Miriam playfully fanned herself with the photograph. “Oh, the manners on you, young fellow. They don’t make’em like that anymore.” She paused, then looked down at the picture. “My Harold was like that.”
“Your husband?” Levi guessed with a nod at the item in her hand.
With a melancholy smile that told him as clearly as words that the man was no longer among them, and that he was both beloved and sorely missed, Miriam nodded.
“Yes, this strapping young fellow was once my beloved husband. I found this photograph while cleaning recently, and it still feels rather surreal to remember that we were once this young. I was the one who took the photo, you see,” she added by way of explanation.
“It’s a wonderful shot,” he complimented. “And you can tell that the subject was enamored of the photographer just from the way he’s looking at you.”
“Flatterer!” she crowed, visibly delighted. “Well, I won’t keep you any longer, no matter how delightful I find this conversation. Between this and book club, the highlights of my week are secure.” She scrunched her nose. “What an exciting life I live, huh?”
She sounded as though she did not consider this a terribly impressive social life, but Levi had spent every night out on the town while in Nashville and had spent every night since he’d come to Magnolia Shore sitting alone in his quiet house. A book club sounded like a really nice medium.
He told Miriam as much. “I’ve never been in a book club, but it sounds like it’s a lot of fun. Why else would they be so popular?”
“You make a good point,” she admitted. “And I don’t think I flatter myself when I say that our book club is one of the best. We’ve got a good group of women, all close friends, and we all support one another through thick and thin.” She smiled a saucy smile. “Sorry, though. No boys allowed.”
He chuckled at this childish phrase being deployed by a woman who was old enough to have grandchildren.
“That’s entirely reasonable,” he said. “In any case, I also thank you for the conversation. It was one of the highlights of my week, as well.”
She tsked at him. “I’m old, sonny. What’s your excuse?”
She gave him a parting wink and waved as she headed toward a spot at the front of the diner with a confidence that suggested that this was her usual spot. Levi returned to his own table, where he found that his French fries were no less delicious just because they were getting a little bit cold.
He answered a few more emails, then looked around, seeking some distraction. The pretty waitress had been missing for a while, he realized.
Just as soon as the thought occurred to him, the door to the back of the diner opened and the waitress came out, now wearing a different outfit.
It looked like she was wearing scrubs, and he might have thought that she was going off to some kind of healthcare job, except for the logo for a house cleaning company that was emblazoned across the back.
She was hand in hand with a little boy who looked like he was in elementary school.
Levi liked kids, even though he hadn’t spent much time with them, so he couldn’t judge the boy’s age more accurately than that.
“—going to drop you off before I head out to clean a little,” he heard the woman say to her son, catching just a snatch of the sentence before the noise of the diner overtook her voice.
Levi felt a pang of sympathy for this woman who was clearly working hard to provide for her family. The world could be really tough sometimes, and it hardly seemed fair.
He tried to go back to his work, but his mind kept drifting to the hardworking woman and her little boy. He sent a little wish out into the universe that things would get better for her soon, even if only in some small way.