Page 28 of Professional Consult
Barb and Luke are polar opposites.
Where Luke is cold and standoffish, Barb is warm and inviting. Where Luke casts glares, Barb casts smiles.
We start patrol by going to the town diner for breakfast, and even though I’ve already had a plate of bacon and eggs, I decide it would be awkward if Barb ate alone.
“What’ll it be?” asks a pretty server.
“I’ll have the same thing I always do,” Barb says, handing back the menu.
“And I’ll have coffee, bacon and eggs, over easy.”
“Coming right up.”
Looking around the cafe, I see a handful of people that I’d normally never interact with. Not that I’d ever think I was too good for them. That’s not it at all. They’re just so unlike Hollywood folk with their flannel shirts, worn-in trucker hats, and casual clothes.
The women wear modest makeup if any at all, and many of the men are sporting stubble, and not the well-manicured sculpted kind. Stubble that doesn’t take an hour to groom.
“This cafe is quaint.” I’m usually great at making small talk, but it’s especially difficult here.
“Good coffee, good pie, good gossip.”
I can’t help but smile. “Everyone pretends they are above gossip where I’m from, but it’s one of the most prized forms of currency.”
“It’s always been that way. Even back when I was young. Girls fought with words. Boys fought with their dicks.”
“Oh…um, I didn’t know Pond Spring was so into cock fighting.”
Barb bursts into laughter, her face turning red after a solid minute of gasping chuckles.
“I wasn’t too keen on you staying around, to be honest, but you sure are a hoot.”
“I’ll try not to get in the way!”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just…we’re a small town. We look out for one another.”
“If you need to, feel free to put me in my place.”
“Oh, I won’t need permission for that. Tell me, what d’ya think of Josh?”
I scrunch my brow. “The night patrolman?”
“That’s the one.”
“He seemed nice enough.”
“Watch out for him. He’s a smooth talker.”
I smirk. “I can spot them a mile away.”
“I try to raise these boys right, but he’s too greedy to settle. He can’t stand the thought of missing out on something better, when sometimes what’s in front of you is the best you’re gonna get.”
“I’m sorry. Are you his mother?”
“No, but before he passed away, my husband, Ernest, was the chief of police, and I like to think that we had a bit of a hand in shaping the men that come through the station. Josh, though…uh-uh.”
“Oh…um, I’m sorry for your loss?”
“We had a good run, but his ticker finally quit some six years ago. Then Luke stepped up. Not that he wanted to. We couldn’t find another person to fill the vacancy, and that’s when I put on my badge.”
