Shoe Strings

cup
and landed on the tabletop with a splash.   He gave her a scathing look, which she promptly ignored.
    “What can I get you to eat?” Kerri Ann asked in the same
false tone she’d used earlier.   Lita
thought of repeating Bryce’s request about spit after ordering her slice.  
    “You were telling me about your work?” Bryce prodded after
Kerri Ann walked away to the kitchen.
    “I’m a shoe designer.   Ladies’ shoes.   I have a
small boutique in Atlanta.”
    Bryce tipped his chair back and ducked his head to get a
look at the sling-back sandals she’d worn today.   “Very nice.   I assume those are your own?”
    “I wouldn’t think of wearing anything else, but the streets
in Sequoyah Falls pose a bit of a challenge.”
    “Cobblestone and brick can’t be easy to manage in heels, but
then again, I don’t know how you women walk in those things on any surface.”
    “Your Y chromosome puts you at a disadvantage.”
    He smiled and looked back toward the kitchen.   “At many things, I’m afraid.”
    Lita wanted to ask Bryce about his situation with Kerri
Ann.   She loved other people’s
romantic troubles, but her connection to Cal and Jesse made her think
twice.   She opted for safer
ground.   “So what do you do?”
    “I’m an attorney.”
    “That must be exciting.”
    Bryce considered while studying the tea in his glass.   “Maybe in a town like Atlanta, but up
here in the mountains, it’s pretty standard.   Wills, estate planning, real estate
transactions.   Nothing to write home
about.”
    “There’s something to be said for small town life.   Cal said he hasn’t locked the doors to
his place since the seventies,” Lita said.   “I wouldn’t even check the mail without locking the door behind me.”
    “See, even checking the mail in Atlanta’s exciting.”   Bryce smiled and ran his hand through
his hair.   “So you’re renting from
Cal Bloodworth?”
    “Yes.   Do you
know him?”
    “I grew up with his son, Jesse.”
    Lita hoped her face didn’t blush at the mention of his name.
    “You’ve met Jesse, I see,” Bryce said with a smirk.
    “I’ve run into him a time or two.”
    “He hit on you?”
    Lita laughed.   “You do know him well.”   She
sipped her Coke.   “What’s his story
anyway?”
    “Jesse?   He owns
a rafting business just outside town.   Does real well with it.”   He
nodded toward the bar where Kerri Ann was serving another customer.   “They have a son together, Ty.”
    “Cal’s told me.   He said they were high school sweethearts.”
    “Oh yeah.”   Bryce
sat back in his chair, peeked a look over his shoulder.   “They were the golden couple in high
school.   Captain of the football
team and head cheerleader, both blond and gorgeous.”
    “You make it sound like they shouldn’t have been together.”
    Bryce shrugged, leaned closer to put his elbows on the
table.   “They were all wrong for
each other.   They fought as much as
they got along.   Both of them are
headstrong, impatient, athletic, and stubborn.   They were so damn competitive with each
other they spent half the time being pissed when the other won.”
    “Won what?”
    “Anything.   Better grades, nicer clothes, bigger athletic achievements,
tic-tac-toe.   It didn’t
matter.”   He sighed, as if he’d said
too much.   “Sorry, but it was hard
on the bystanders.   Especially when
they got married.”
    Kerri Ann brought out the pizza and salad and quickly
stomped back into the kitchen.   Bryce watched her go and then dug into his pizza like a man with a lot
on his mind.
    ***
    Jesse parked along the back alley of the Pizza Den and
walked in through the employee entrance at the back.   Kerri Ann hated it when he ignored her
request to come in through the front like everybody else, but coming in the
back guaranteed him a good parking spot and a handful of toppings as he passed
through.   He was just tossing an
olive in his mouth when she burst through the swinging kitchen door and nearly
took him out.
    “Hey, watch it, would ya?” he said.   “I’ve got precious cargo here.”   He hoisted the black instrument case
onto the counter.    “Ty left
his trumpet in my car again.”
    “That boy would lose his head if it weren’t attached.” Kerri
Ann pulled the case off the counter and slung it into the corner.   “And I told you to use the front.”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah.   What’s crawled up your butt?”
    “You.   Now