hadn’t been a florist, he might have bought her a big bouquet of roses with an apology or something, not that he felt the need to apologize for anything. But giving flowers to a florist seemed kind of dumb. And as much as he wanted to bypass mass tomorrow and run into Teri at Golfing for God, that would be just a bit too much like stalking her or something.
No. He needed another excuse to bump into her. So he started buying lunch at the Kountry Kitchen. The café sat right in the middle of downtown Last Chance, across the street and one block north of Last Chance Bloomers. Flo, the waitress at the Kitchen, gave him less than friendly service, but he kept coming back every day, just so he could walk past Teri’s shop every noontime.
She was in there. He knew this because he always stopped and looked in the window. He’d done that six days in a row. And she was still letting his calls go to voice mail.
This daily routine felt distinctly adolescent. Noontime was, without question, the best time of the day because he’d catch a glimpse of her. But he was getting nowhere fast.
A week after the tree lighting, he was sitting in the Kountry Kitchen picking at his barbecue sandwich when a woman with blond hair, brown eyes, and a voluptuous build slipped into the booth’s facing bench. “Hey,” she said, “I’m Savannah Randall. I need to have a word with you.”
Tom tensed. Here it came, someone else who wanted to bawl him out about Mrs. Bray or explain to him how things worked in this town. The whole Lillian Bray situation, overlaid with his frustration over Teri, had left him feeling like a failure. He’d come here to serve these people. But they didn’t want him here.
He forced a phony bedside smile. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Randall?”
“Not one blessed thing, Doc. It’s what I can do for you.” She turned over her shoulder and called to the waitress. “Flo, can I have a Diet Coke?”
Flo gave Savannah a hard look and turned away, ignoring Mrs. Randall the way she frequently ignored Tom.
Mrs. Randall tossed her blond hair back over her shoulder. “Florreta, you hear me. Don’t you ignore me. And don’t you give me that look. Lillian went up to see a doctor in Columbia yesterday. And you know what? She’s got arthritis in her knees and the doc’s put her on some pills that actually work. Everyone in this town knows Doc Cooper gave her sugar pills. How on earth were sugar pills supposed to help her?”
Savannah turned back toward Tom with a grin. “Don’t you worry, hon, folks will come around. In fact, I heard that Lillian’s husband is grateful to you for insisting that she go see a specialist.”
A moment later, Flo came back with Savannah’s Diet Coke. “Is what you said true?”
“It is. And y’all should quit talking trash about the new doc. I heard he graduated at the top of his medical class and could have been a surgeon but decided on family medicine instead.”
Flo gave Tom a small smile. “Really?”
He nodded. “I didn’t have the heart for surgery,” he said. Another strike against him as far as Ma was concerned.
“You want some more sweet tea?” Flo asked.
“No, thanks, I’m fine,” he said.
Flo eyed Savannah again. “You here to give him advice?”
Savannah blushed to her hairline. “I’m just visiting with the new doc, Flo.”
“Uh-huh, I can see that.” She turned and walked away.
“Well,” Savannah said on a rush of air, “I guess the rest of the town is going to know that I dropped in to say hey.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess so. Thanks for making an announcement about Mrs. Bray. I’m happy to hear that she’s getting the medical attention she needs.”
“Me too. But to be honest, that’s not the only reason I dropped by. Honey, you need help.”
“I do?”
“Yes, you do. And I’m going to give you some. You see, the truth is, walking by Last Chance Bloomers and looking in the window every day is not going to get you what you want.”
So
No. He needed another excuse to bump into her. So he started buying lunch at the Kountry Kitchen. The café sat right in the middle of downtown Last Chance, across the street and one block north of Last Chance Bloomers. Flo, the waitress at the Kitchen, gave him less than friendly service, but he kept coming back every day, just so he could walk past Teri’s shop every noontime.
She was in there. He knew this because he always stopped and looked in the window. He’d done that six days in a row. And she was still letting his calls go to voice mail.
This daily routine felt distinctly adolescent. Noontime was, without question, the best time of the day because he’d catch a glimpse of her. But he was getting nowhere fast.
A week after the tree lighting, he was sitting in the Kountry Kitchen picking at his barbecue sandwich when a woman with blond hair, brown eyes, and a voluptuous build slipped into the booth’s facing bench. “Hey,” she said, “I’m Savannah Randall. I need to have a word with you.”
Tom tensed. Here it came, someone else who wanted to bawl him out about Mrs. Bray or explain to him how things worked in this town. The whole Lillian Bray situation, overlaid with his frustration over Teri, had left him feeling like a failure. He’d come here to serve these people. But they didn’t want him here.
He forced a phony bedside smile. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Randall?”
“Not one blessed thing, Doc. It’s what I can do for you.” She turned over her shoulder and called to the waitress. “Flo, can I have a Diet Coke?”
Flo gave Savannah a hard look and turned away, ignoring Mrs. Randall the way she frequently ignored Tom.
Mrs. Randall tossed her blond hair back over her shoulder. “Florreta, you hear me. Don’t you ignore me. And don’t you give me that look. Lillian went up to see a doctor in Columbia yesterday. And you know what? She’s got arthritis in her knees and the doc’s put her on some pills that actually work. Everyone in this town knows Doc Cooper gave her sugar pills. How on earth were sugar pills supposed to help her?”
Savannah turned back toward Tom with a grin. “Don’t you worry, hon, folks will come around. In fact, I heard that Lillian’s husband is grateful to you for insisting that she go see a specialist.”
A moment later, Flo came back with Savannah’s Diet Coke. “Is what you said true?”
“It is. And y’all should quit talking trash about the new doc. I heard he graduated at the top of his medical class and could have been a surgeon but decided on family medicine instead.”
Flo gave Tom a small smile. “Really?”
He nodded. “I didn’t have the heart for surgery,” he said. Another strike against him as far as Ma was concerned.
“You want some more sweet tea?” Flo asked.
“No, thanks, I’m fine,” he said.
Flo eyed Savannah again. “You here to give him advice?”
Savannah blushed to her hairline. “I’m just visiting with the new doc, Flo.”
“Uh-huh, I can see that.” She turned and walked away.
“Well,” Savannah said on a rush of air, “I guess the rest of the town is going to know that I dropped in to say hey.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess so. Thanks for making an announcement about Mrs. Bray. I’m happy to hear that she’s getting the medical attention she needs.”
“Me too. But to be honest, that’s not the only reason I dropped by. Honey, you need help.”
“I do?”
“Yes, you do. And I’m going to give you some. You see, the truth is, walking by Last Chance Bloomers and looking in the window every day is not going to get you what you want.”
So
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