Page 96 of Something Tattered
If I looked now, what would I see?
Cassie said, "Are you still there?"
"Uh, yeah. Sorry. I’m listening."
"So anyway," Cassie continued, "Biff tells the guy, 'If you want the car, come by the shop at eight.' And the guy tellshim, 'I've already got the car. I’m just here to settle the bill.' So Biff looks to the street, and sure enough, there's your car, idling in front of his house."
"So the car was running?
"Right," Cassie said. "And Biff seesyoubehind the wheel."
"But I wasn't." Walking slowly, like someone in a trance, I started moving toward the front door.
"Yeah, well, it was dark and all." Cassie paused. "Maybe he just assumed it was you. I mean, who else would be driving your car?" She perked up. "He said you waved out the window, all cheery like."
Absently, I murmured, "Uh-huh."
"So itwasyou?" Cassie gave a shaky laugh. "Wow, you almost had me there."
At this point, I hardly knew what to say. "But Biffwaspaid, right?"
"Not just paid," she said. "Double. In cash."
My front door was now within sight. I kept walking, slowly, with a mixture of anticipation and dread. I mumbled, "Double?"
"Yeah. For all the trouble. Or at least, that's what the guy told Biff."
"But he was still mad?"
"Biff? Not hardly." Cassie laughed. "He thought it was hilarious. I mean, yeah, he was surprised and all, but trust me, he wasn't complaining. I just saw him at the donut place. In fact, he was the one who told me."
"Uh-huh." Silently, I opened the front door and walked through it. I was afraid to look. And afraid tonotlook. Slowly, I inched toward the side of my house.
When I rounded the corner, I heard myself gasp. Sure enough, there it was – my car, parked exactly where Joel had indicated last night.
He'd called it a surprise.
Well, it was definitely that.
Chapter 45
The sound of tapping jolted me awake. My eyes flew open, and I saw Joel standing just outside my car window. I shot up in the driver's seat and glanced around. It was dark outside. Already?
I rubbed at my eyes. How long had I been parked here, anyway? When I'd pulled up, it had been late afternoon. The way it looked, I'd been asleep for hours.
I looked to Joel's campsite. There was no fire. In fact, there was no tent. I felt my eyebrows furrow. When I'd arrived, the tent had been standing there just like before. Now, it was gone.
I looked back to Joel, who eyed me through the car window. From the look on his face, he wasn't thrilled to see me.
After last night, I could see why. I rolled down my car window and summoned up a tentative smile. "Hi."
He didn't smile back. "Hi."
I cleared my throat. "I, uh, came to thank you."
His expression didn't change. "You're welcome."
I pointed to my steering wheel. "So I guess this was the surprise, huh?"
