Chapter Thirty-eight
“No, no,
no!” Howard held a framed photo in his hands as blood dripped from his finger.
“My favorite picture fell off the desk, and the glass is in fragments.”
Alarmed,
Janelle snatched a tissue from the box on the desk and pressed it to his
finger. “Howard, you need to stop this blood flowing.”
Ben
pulled the frame from his grasp. “Yeah. Take care of that cut first.”
With
a moan, Howard pressed one hand with the other. “The glass is in shards and the
picture is ruined. Ruined, I tell you!” He fell into his chair, pulled open the
top desk drawer, and lifted a box of Band-aids.
Janelle
took a moment to glance around. She had never been in Howard’s office before.
Large framed advertisements of Thorne’s
Bra and Girdle Company covered the paneled walls. His desk was neat and
clean, with not a stray piece of paper anywhere, although several large books
had fallen to the floor beside the desk. Five picture frames sat on top.
What kind of pictures would Howard place on his desk? He
wasn’t married, was he?
“The
photo is okay.” Ben set it down. “Get another glass for the frame and it will
be fine.”
Janelle
inched around the desk and gazed at the picture. A fat yellow tomcat stared
back at her. “A cat?”
“This
is Piccadilly.” Pride touched Howard’s voice. “He’s my best friend, and this is
my favorite picture of him. See how the light comes down behind him? And
notice how he’s looking right at the camera with that cute impish grin of his.”
Janelle
raised an eyebrow before glancing at the other framed photos. They were all of
Piccadilly—some when he was a kitten.
Baby pictures.
Ben
clapped Howard on the shoulder. “No harm done.”
“I’ll have to buy another frame tonight.” Howard glanced
at his watch. “Oh, no! I’m going to miss my bus.” Grabbing a briefcase, he
strode out of the office.
“See
you tomorrow,” Ben called after him.
They
exited Howard’s office and Ben closed the door.
“Poor
guy.” Janelle shook her head. “If a cat is his best friend, he must be lonely.”
“No,
not Howard. He lives on the family homestead with two unmarried brothers and
his oldest sister, Frieda. I met Frieda last year at the company Christmas
party.” Ben gave a little laugh. “Strange woman—the female version of Howard.
Two peas in a pod.”
“I
guess I can’t fault him for living at home. I still live with my dad.”
“Hey,
since your dad’s out of town, I guess you have no one to eat dinner with
tonight.”
She
held her breath. Did he want to ask her out? “Uh, yeah. It gets kind of lonely
when I have to eat by myself.”
“Why
don’t you come with me to Aunt Ida’s house? She’s making her famous pot roast.”
Janelle’s
lips parted. Aunt Ida’s house?
Ben
shrugged. “She’s a great cook.”
“Oh,
sure. I’d love to come.” She smiled. Better than nothing. At least she’d be able to spend the evening with Ben.
And Aunt Ida.
* * *
Have a great weekend!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Misty!
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