When She Comes Knocking by Dan McDowell

Author:Dan McDowell [McDowell, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Published: 2023-05-31T23:00:00+00:00

COFFEE TALK

Work the next day was forgettable.

Broken water machine.

Bob Dowdy remaining obnoxious with my DVD copy of Mystery Men.

Mori smoking cigars.

Rent-a-cop walking the hallways, hopelessly wandering, trying to bust one of us.

And me dodging and ducking all the above in hopes of finding peace of mind. I tried music, a guided meditation, and even laid off coffee, but nothing helped.

Jake sat in my office last fall, looking at my corporate accolades of which there were plenty. I had a wall of employee of the month awards, the one-year plaque, the five-year plaque, the ten-year plaque, and the J&P branding iron.

“Dad, are you ever going to do something different?”

I glanced down at my reports. “I don’t know, bud.”

“You just seem like you’re not that excited about your job, anymore.”

“Well, you know, sometimes a change of scenery can really improve things,” I said. “Maybe I can ask for one of those corner offices once I get that big promotion, a window would be nice.”

“Would that be enough?”

I sighed and patted him on the shoulder. “I don’t know. Why do you have to be so perceptive?”

“Mom.”

“She keeps all of us sharp, doesn’t she?”

Jake picked up my “Employee of the Year” company clock from five years ago that sat on the corner of my desk.

“You’re pretty good at what you do, aren’t you?”

I closed my eyes.

***

A few client calls later, it was quitting time. I guess I’d zoned out.

The ride home was quiet. Too quiet. Turning on the car stereo made it worse, though.

I pulled into the driveway. Hannah had the curtains drawn and I could see through the kitchen window. We had a guest. And there was some part of me that hoped Jean could be friends with Hannah. It would be convenient. I wasn’t ready to let my guard down, though. I couldn’t.

She and Jean were sitting at the kitchen table with mugs of coffee, their faces pinker than usual from what I can only assume was extended periods of laughing which is what they were doing when I came inside. Hannah and I locked eyes as I came through the front door. I kissed her and waved toward Jean. She must have caught a whiff of the Cognac from lunch because she glared at me. Jean might have, too.

“Looks like y’all are having a pleasant chat?”

“We are,” Hannah said. “How was work today?”

“Good enough,” I replied, smiling at Jean and then back at Hannah as she sipped her coffee.

“And how are you, Miss Jean?”

“Good enough,” she said, mimicking me. She and Hannah burst into laughter.

“Well, I’ll let you gals finish your coffee. I’ve got a yard to cut,” I said.

Hannah nodded. “Davey’s on his playset back there. Send him inside once you get close to him.”

The reactions seemed unnatural, and normally I wouldn’t care. But things with Jean just kept weaving and wobbling us all sorts of directions I couldn’t have expected. She’d been so cold and unwelcoming the first time we met, turned hospitable, then flirty, and now acting like she’s old friends with my wife.

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