The Chance

“You are a queen,” he said.

When Gina took Laine’s empty plate and turned to leave, Laine asked Eric, “You’re here every day?”

He shook his head. “Almost, though. If not for Gina, I’d live on coffee and Pop-Tarts.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m new in town, too. I bought the service station and there was so much to do there, opening it under a new banner after a remodel, I’ve been staying in the Coastline, which makes the Motel 6 look like a five-star luxury resort. One of these days I have to get serious about a house or apartment. It’s so easy, though. And I like walking to work.”

“A car man who likes to walk...”

“I have plenty of other places to drive. Even though we’re operating at full speed, I’m still busy upgrading the station. The previous owner didn’t do any body work, and that takes space. I have a pretty large classic-car clientele.” He took a sip of coffee. “What do you do, Laine?”

“Shoulder exercises,” she said. “I had shoulder surgery about three months ago and it’s a lot better, but I’m not there yet. I decided to take a leave from work and try a new landscape.”

“So you don’t work at all?”

“I’m set up to do computer work, but I’m avoiding it. I just did research—you know, boring stuff. Data, statistics, background checks, tax records, that kind of stuff...”

“For a big company?” he asked.

“Yeah, the biggest company. The Feds.” Then she grinned at him.

“That sounds really...boring.”

She laughed. “I know. I’m sadly good at it. But if anyone from my old department calls me and asks for a hand, they have to clock me in, pay me in comp time. I did a little math—I think I can turn a few months of rehab and vacation into a year off with a view just by doing a little off-site work from home.”

“I dated a woman a while ago who created and managed websites and she hardly ever left the computer....”

“I’m not that girl, I can tell you that. I have no trouble walking away from the computer. And leaving the headquarters meant no more traveling or supervising anyone. I really didn’t love supervising or training computer techies and researchers. I might come up with a new idea for earning a living during the next year.”

With an elbow on the counter, Eric leaned his head into his hand. “How are you with a wrench?”

“Better than you think.”

Gina brought his breakfast.

“I’ll let you eat,” Laine said. “I’ll bring my car over one day this week.”

“Great,” he said. And he watched her walk out the door.

When he turned back, Gina was staring at him. “Did you ask her out?”

“Of course not.”

“Why not?” she asked. “You obviously want to.”

He picked up his fork. “You don’t know that,” he said, then shoveled eggs into his mouth.

“Those pretty green eyes of yours lit up when you saw her sitting at the counter.”

He swallowed. “I can still appreciate a good-looking woman,” he said. “But I’m very busy these days.”

“You should make time for a more interesting social life than catching meals at the diner.”

“Well, I’m not completely comfortable talking to you about that possibility since you and I were...you know what we were. Involved.”

She laughed and her eyes twinkled. “We were involved for about two weeks and I hope you don’t take this too hard, but I’m completely over you. I was over you at least fifteen years ago.”

He ate more eggs. “It was more than two weeks.”

“Not much more.”

“And I’m over you, too.”

“Good to know. So...how about Laine?”

“Bugger off,” he said.

“She seems to be a nice, stable, attractive—”

The door to the diner opened and Gina’s husband came in for his morning coffee break. He was all uniformed up, gun and all, and although Eric was roughly as tall as Mac, law enforcement uniforms always seemed to take about four inches off his height. Mac leaned over the counter to collect a wifely kiss. Then his coffee appeared.

“Good, you’re here,” Eric said. “Your wife is getting into my personal life. She’s giving me dating advice.”

“You’re dating?” Mac asked.

“No, which is why I shouldn’t have to listen to dating advice.”

Mac raised one eyebrow and peered at Eric. Then he lifted his cup. He was a man of few words.

“You should see his eyes when he runs into Laine. Bip, bop, whiz! And smile? Oh, she makes him smile,” Gina said.

“Bugger off,” Eric said again. And Gina laughed while Mac chuckled into his coffee cup.

“You should be on the lookout for the right woman. You’ve never been married or even engaged, you work all the time. You could use a little stability. And the right woman tends to level a man out. Mellow him. Right, Mac?”

“Whatever you say, baby,” he said, bringing his cup to his lips.

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Eric said, scooping up his home fries. “And thanks for keeping these potatoes out of the kiln.”

“My pleasure,” she said. “Business good?”

“Excellent. Now that the station offers more services, we have more business. Norm was winding down, getting ready to sell, looking at retirement, so business was moving out of town. We’re spooling up, adding services, bringing business back. It turns out it wasn’t such a big gamble.”

“Great,” Gina said. “But you’re still living in a motel, not dating. We have to take care of that. You need a decent place to live and a woman.”

Eric drank the last of his coffee, stood, put a twenty on the counter and said, “Extra big tip, Gina, with thanks for the excellent advice.” Although she was laughing as he left the diner, he was thinking, I’m going to have to learn to like fast food. She’s killing me! She’s nosier than a sister!