Cinderella's Secret Agent

Was that one of the reasons he’d become such a crack shot, to compensate for his failure in that other area? Was that why he was so adamant about never taking a life, because he knew he’d never be able to create one?

Del sighed and slid down to stretch out on the bed. He’d definitely had enough to drink. He’d progressed from mushy to maudlin and now he was headed straight for philosophical.

Maybe he should forget about doing this once a year. Every eight years was more than enough.

The rain hit the front window of the diner with the determination of machine-gun bullets. Near the counter there was a crash of breaking crockery. Del winced as echoes of the racket ping-ponged through his skull. He held his breath, waiting until his brain stopped sloshing around, then hunched his shoulders and took another gulp of coffee.

“Broom is in the back room,” Laszlo said from his post in front of the grill. He scowled at the teenager who stared at him defiantly.

“I’m not cleaning that up. I didn’t do it.” The girl pointed a black-tipped fingernail toward the other waitress. The black nail polish matched her lipstick, as well as the studs that marched in an arc along the edge of her right ear. “It was her fault.”

Joanne blew a large bubble and popped it with a snap. “Taking responsibility for your mistakes is good for your karma, kid. You don’t want to come back as a toad, do you?”

“You bumped my elbow.”

“I was nowhere near you, hon.”

“Yeah, right. What’s the matter? Memory failing? Take too many acid trips back in the sixties, Grandma?”

Joanne chewed her gum harder. “Twerp.”

“Cow.”

The two customers nearest the door evidently decided it was a good time to leave. They stood up, their chairs screeching across the floor with a noise akin to a freight train making an emergency stop.

“Enough,” Laszlo growled. “You get broom now, or you look for the other job.”

“Hey, fine with me, Fatso.” The girl pulled off her apron and tossed it on the counter. “This job sucks. I can make more money with a squeegee.” She strode to the door, her six-inch platform shoes pounding across the floor like an artillery barrage.

Del squinted as his left eye began to water.

“Nice going, Laszlo,” Joanne muttered. “That’s the second one in two days.”

“She was the idiot. She look like the witch and scare customers.”

“I suppose she couldn’t help it. I noticed right off that her aura was unbalanced.” Joanne retrieved the broom and swept up the shattered dishes. The shards clinked together with the rat-a-tat sharpness of a tap-dancing troupe practicing on a sheet of aluminum.

Del finished his coffee. Placing a paper napkin across his saucer to muffle the clunk, he carefully set the cup on top of it. The bagel he’d managed to eat was sitting in his stomach like a stone, but at least it had gone down quietly.

“Would you like anything else?”

He stifled a groan at Joanne’s perky inquiry. He started to shake his head but thought better of it. “No, thanks.”

“Sorry about the commotion,” she said. “We’re having a hard time finding a replacement for Maggie.”

“That’s what I figured.”

“Poor kid. She was so eager to have that baby, but it took all of us off guard.”

“That it did.”

“We sure were lucky that you happened to be in here. My gosh, I don’t know what we would have done when she went into labor like that.” She tilted her head, smiling at Del. “She told me she named the baby after you.”

“Yes. Delilah.”

“That’s just like Maggie. She’s such a sweet girl.”

“She’ll make a good mother.”

“That’s for sure.” She gave her gum a pensive chew. “Do you have any kids, Del?”

Why was everyone asking him that lately? “No, I don’t.”

“Maggie’s just nuts about them. When I called her this morning she was already talking about having more.” Joanne gasped and smacked her forehead. “Oh, no. Maggie!”

“What about her?” Del asked immediately. “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing like that. She’s going home today.”

“Already?”

“I promised I would take her, and she’s anxious to leave. She hates hospitals. Laszlo said he’d lend me his car.” She whirled around. “Laszlo! You’ve got to get her back.”

“Who?”

“The kid with the earrings.”

“No. She is the witch.”

“But I have to pick up Maggie. If you don’t get that earring girl back, who’s going to cover for me?”

Laszlo scowled. “You can’t go. Maggie will wait.”

“She can’t wait. She has to clear out of the room this afternoon.”

“She can take subway.”

“The subway? Laszlo, you don’t understand. She doesn’t just need a ride, she needs someone to help her get the baby settled. It would be horrible for her to have to go home all by herself. And taking her child home is such a momentous occasion, she shouldn’t be alone—”

“I need you here.”

“But I promised. She’s expecting me in an hour.”

Del listened in silence as the two tried to figure out what to do. Of course, there was an obvious solution to the problem. His shift wouldn’t start for another few hours. He could easily get to the hospital, pick up Maggie and Delilah and take them home. That would still leave him plenty of time to get them settled before he had to meet Bill at the surveillance site.

That would be the decent thing to do, wouldn’t it? The kind of assistance a friend or an honorary uncle would give? Last night he’d already decided there would be no harm in that, right?

Despite the rain that sheeted down the window and the hangover from hell, the day suddenly seemed brighter. Del’s teeth barely ached as he scraped his chair back and stood up. “Maybe I can help,” he said.