Down Home and Deadly

lot of people just like to hear me talk.”
    His accent did stand out in our little S outhern town. Not to mention his European charm and Italian good looks. And according to Harvey, older women, especially, liked to sit in his section. Maybe because he had the courtliness of an old-fashioned gentleman.
    “Well, we have to finish cleaning up, hon.” Carly made a shooing motion at him. “You probably need to go on home and study.”
    “Yeah, I get to clean the restrooms.” I pulled latex gloves out of my pocket. “I can’t wait.”
    “Would you like me to help? I can do the men’s room.” He picked up a pair of gloves.
    I glanced at Carly. She must have read my mind. There were some gift horses you didn’t refuse. An offer to clean the men’s room definitely fell in that category. “Sure. You can if you don’t mind.” She handed him an apron. With the extra help , it didn’t take but a few minutes to finish up the cleaning and put the supplies away. As we gathered up our personal things, Carly stepped back and looked at Marco ’s face. “Are you getting enough sleep?”
    “Between studying and working here, I don’t sleep a lot. But I rest plenty.” He pulled off his latex gloves. “I need to work all the hours you will let me have so I can make enough to pay for school.” He tossed his apron into the laundry hamper. “And I have to maintain good grades , so I have to study a great deal , too.”
    “Wow, you do have a full schedule. Not much time for a social life , I suppose.” Carly smiled at him.
    “Social life? What i s that?” He grimaced. “The only females I see are right here at the diner. Remember the woman with the snake tattoo? ”
    I smiled as I thought of Jolene.
    “Hiding from her. That i s my idea of a social life.”
    “You need to get out more, honey,” Carly said as she carefully locked the front door.
    We walked out onto the back porch. Carly locked it , too. We all started out to the vehicles together. Marco veered off toward his old van .
    Carly looked at me. “I forgot I parked around front.”
    I motioned toward my car a few feet away. “I’ll give you a ride around there . It’s safer that way.”
    She climbed into the passenger seat , and I started the car.
    “Poor Marco . He looked so exhausted tonight. Kind of overwhelmed.” My tenderhearted sister sounded distressed.
    “Well, no wonder with his busy schedule. I don’t think I could face going to school and studying plus working here as many hours as he does.” I put the car in reverse and slowly drove around the building.
    Carly sighed. “Yeah, and he looked worried, too. I guess he really needs the money.”
    A sudden memory of Marco standing by the cash register when we’d walked into the dining room an hour earlier flashed through my mind. “You don’t think he needed it bad enough to kill J.D. and rob him do you?” I dismissed the idea as soon as the words came out of my mouth.
    Carly shook her head. “No way do I think that sweet boy would even think about such a thing.”
    “Me either. But you know Mama always told us some people would do anything for money.”
    “True. But I don’t think Marco falls into that category. Do you?” She glanced at me as I pulled up beside her car. “Besides , I hadn’t heard J.D. was robbed. Was he?”
    “No idea. If he was, that bit of gossip hasn’t hit the streets yet.” I wondered if I could pry that information out of John with a free piece of pie. Probably not.
    Carly turned toward me. “Not to change the subject or anything, but I hope you have a good time tomorrow.” She leaned back in her seat. “Are you nervous about spending the day with the ‘in-laws to be’?”
    I shook my head. Then I nodded. Then I shrugged. Talk about mixed signals. “I don’t know. You know I always loved Alex’s parents even when we were kids. I guess I’m afraid our engagement will change things some.” I turned off the motor. “But having premium seats at a Cardinal’s game will be worth overcoming my nerves.” I grinned at Carly.
    “I’m sure they knew that , too.” She climbed into her car. “Have a good time. Call me when you get home.”
    “I will , but it’ll be really late . Don’t work too hard without me.” As I pulled out of the parking lot, I realized that Carly and I hadn’t ended up getting to talk alone after all . Pretty soon we’d just have to sit down and visit.
    *****
    Dear Pru,
    I’ve been married three months to the man