Wilson's Hard Lesson (23 page)

Shannon took a deep breath and counted to ten. “I understand
that you thought we’d ordered ten copies of the Cthullu Cookbook,” she said
carefully into the phone. “But we only need one. It’s a special order for a
customer.” She looked around at the bright, airy New Age shop her mother had
carefully built from the ground up. “It’s not something that fits with the rest
of our inventory.”

She listened for a moment. “Yes, it’s clear that orders are
non-returnable. But these are books we didn’t order.” The store cat, Horace,
jumped up on the counter and tried to bump his smoky gray head against Shannon’s
face.  “Stop it,” she whispered. “I’m not in the mood right now.”

“No, I wasn’t talking to you,” Shannon said to the vendor.
“So we’ve agreed that I’m going to be returning these nine copies to you, and
that you’ll refund our money.”

A musical chime sounded, signaling that someone was coming
in through the front door. Shannon glanced up from her notepad, eyes widening
when she saw Brendan standing there. “No, I’m afraid a credit won’t help us.
We’ve looked through your entire catalog twice, and I can’t find any titles
that will work for our customers.”  She paused. “We need an actual refund.”

Brendan walked over to the tarot card display and carefully
studied the offerings. Shannon smiled, remembering the spirited arguments
they’d had about the relative merits of tarot cards versus Magic the Gathering,
which he had been passionate about before leaving for college.

Then the vendor said something that made the smile slip from
her face. “A restocking fee? Are you serious? It was your mistake in the first
place.”

She listened to the reply. “Well, we’re a small business
too. And I’m not willing to pay a restocking fee for books I never ordered in
the first place. I’m sending the books back, and I expect to see a prompt, full
refund.” Without waiting for a reply, Shannon hung up the phone.

“Wow!” Brendan said. “You’ve gotten fierce while I was
away.”

Shannon laughed. “You’ve got to watch these guys, or they’ll
walk all over you.” She rolled her eyes. “Can you believe he wanted to charge a
$6 restocking fee for a $12 book? I don’t think so.”

Brendan peered into the box. “The Cthullu Cookbook.”  He
looked up at Shannon and grinned. “How many recipes call for octopus
tentacles?”

“All of them, I imagine,” Shannon said. “I haven’t even
looked at it, to be honest with you.”

“You’re not using it to make my ‘Welcome home!’ dinner?”
Brendan made puppy dog eyes at her. “I am crushed. Truly and completely
crushed.”

“How long are you home for?” Shannon asked, hating herself
for the eager tone that crept into her voice. “And how did you manage to escape
getting locked up last night?”

“Being 22 has its advantages,” Brendan said. “Even though
I’d been drinking, there was nothing they could charge me with, since I didn’t
have a bottle in my hand when they arrived.” He tapped the side of his
forehead. “Those fraternity parties will teach you a thing or two, if you pay
attention.”

“You? In a fraternity?”

Brendan laughed. “No.  Sigma Tau asked me to pledge, but I’d
already gotten into rowing pretty hardcore at that point, and it was definitely
a situation of one or other.” He shrugged. “I go to some parties, they let me
hang out, but I’m not a brother.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Shannon said. She tilted
her head and smiled, well aware of the flirtatious tones that crept into her
voice. “How long do we get to enjoy the pleasure of your company?”

“I’m home for the summer,” Brendan said. “The internship I
was trying for fell through, so I came back here. I’m going to work for
Stevens’ Insurance over the summer. It’s not exactly what I need for school,
but the money won’t hurt.”

“Wow. You in a suit and tie everyday?” She shook her head.
“How times have changed. I remember your Mom fighting to get you to wear
anything besides a Warcraft t-shirt for your senior picture.”

“Hey,” he protested. “We were supposed to show off our true
selves. That’s who I was at that time.”

“And who are you now, Brendan?”  The energy in the shop
changed with her question. Suddenly she was very aware of Brendan’s presence;
the way he occupied space, the way he smelled, the way he moved. His gaze was
focused on hers, intently; it almost felt like a caress.

“I was hoping you’d want to find out,” he replied. “Can I
take you out of here for a little bit? We could go grab some lunch.”

“I’d like that,” Shannon said. “Let me just let Mom know I’m
going out.”  She stepped to the back room entranceway. “Hey, Mom?” she called.
“Brendan stopped by and we’re going to grab some lunch.”

Chloe bustled up from the back room, carrying a stack of
titles in her hands. “That’s fine, dear,” she said, and then looked at Brendan.
Her eyes got very wide at his changed appearance. “Wow!” she blurted out. “What
are they feeding you at that fancy school of yours?”

Brendan laughed. “Mostly pop tarts.”

“You’re a liar,” Chloe laughed. “I’ve been on the pop tart
diet for years, and it hasn’t done a thing for me.”

“You can’t expect to improve on perfection,” Brendan
countered.

“Flatterer.” Chloe waved her hands, shooing them out of the
store, but Shannon could tell she was pleased.

“Well, you made Mom’s day,” she said to Brendan. “That’s the
nicest thing anyone’s said to her in a while.”

“Alan doesn’t sweet talk her?”

Shannon blinked. “I can’t believe you remember Alan.” Her
mother had dated Alan for a few months during Shannon’s senior year. She shook
her head. “He’s not around any more.”

“What happened?”

“His wife decided she didn’t want a divorce after all,”
Shannon shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure she knew she wanted one in the first
place.”

“Men are assholes,” Brendan said. “Your Mom deserves better
than that.” He looked at Shannon out of the corner of his eye as they
progressed down the sidewalk.  “What about you?”

“What about me?” Shannon said.

“Anyone sweet talking you these days?”

Shannon laughed. “Not hardly.”

Brendan smiled. “I find that hard to believe.”

Shannon kicked at a stone on the sidewalk. “You shouldn’t.
You knew me all through high school. I’m still the same girl.”

“The Shannon I knew in high school wouldn’t have read
someone the riot act when they were trying to screw her over,” Brendan replied.
“She would have just let it happen.”

“That’s business,” Shannon shrugged. “It’s different. The
store doesn’t make a whole lot of money as it is. I can’t just let us get stuck
paying for over a hundred dollars’ worth of books we don’t need.”

“And the Shannon I knew in high school desperately wanted to
be part of whatever the cool kids were doing,” Brendan continued. “But I saw
you high tail it out of there way before the cops showed up.”

“You saw me leave?” Shannon asked, strangely pleased.

“You were the one person I was hoping to see,” Brendan said.
“All those people there didn’t have five minutes for me when we were in school.
But you and me?” The pause lasted half a dozen heartbeats; no more. “We were
buds.”

Shannon smiled. “We’re still buds.”

“Good.” Brendan pushed open the door at Mickey’s Hot Dogs.
“And you still love chili dogs?”

“You know it,” Shannon said. “Although I’m not sure they
still love me.”

“I don’t think they ever loved us,” Brendan said.

“Well, hello, stranger!” Tawni was working behind the
counter at Mickey’s. She’d been two years behind Brendan and Shannon in school;
Shannon had never really paid much attention to her until now. But it was kind
of hard to ignore how the petite blonde’s big blue eyes traveled over Brendan’s
muscled form. “You home for a visit?”

“For the summer,” Brendan said, seemingly oblivious to
Tawni’s obvious attention.

“Well, that will sure be nice to have you around.” Tawni
shifted her posture, putting her hand on her hip and pushing her chest forward.
The top of her uniform wasn’t particularly low-cut, but that didn’t really
matter much, given her ample bosom. “We’ll have to hang out sometime.”

“Sure,” Brendan said. “I guess.”

The door opened behind them, and another pair of customers
came in, switching Tawni back into business mode. “So what can I get you?” she
asked.

“I’ll have four chili dogs and a side of fries,” Brendan said.
“And a Coke.” He turned to Shannon. “What would you like?”

“She usually has two dogs and fries,” Tawni said, helpfully.
She spoke to Shannon as if she were four years old. “Is that what you want
today, sweetheart?”

Shannon could feel her face getting red. “Sure, that’ll be
great,” she managed. “And a Coke.”

“Not diet?” Tawni asked. Her tone was syrupy-sweet, but the
look in her eyes was not.

“No, not diet,” Shannon said. “Thank you.”  She turned on
her heel and walked over to a table near the window.

“You all right?” Brendan asked, as he joined her.

“Yeah,” Shannon replied, forcing her irritation down. “I’m
fine.”

“So tell me everything then,” Brendan said. He leaned
forward, elbows propped on the table. “I want to know what you’ve been doing.”

Shannon shrugged. “There’s really not much to tell. You’re
the one who’s having all the adventures.” She ate a french fry. “You actually
doing any schoolwork up there at college, or is it one non-stop workout?”

Brendan laughed. “I have never read so much in my life.  I’m
reading more than you ever did,” he said.

“Now that I find hard to believe,”  Shannon said with a
smile. “It’s one thing to see you giving up your games for the rowing, but
Brendan Benson actually hitting the books?”

“I’ve got to,” he said, suddenly serious. “My scholarship
requires I hold a 3.5.” He shook his head. “That free ride’s not exactly free.”

“Are you having a hard time with it?”

“Tough enough.” Brendan’s eyes flashed up to meet Shannon’s.
“I thought about calling you a few times for help.”

“Why didn’t you? You know I would have.”

Brendan shrugged. “I didn’t know what was going on with you.
Maybe you were dating somebody.”

“Even if I was, which I’m not,” Shannon replied, “I’d still
always talk to you.” She took a bite of her chili dog, hoping against hope that
none of the sauce would spill onto her shirt. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Things at school, man.” Brendan shook his head. “You see
all kinds of crazy shit. I never really knew how people were until I got away
from here. And that made me think I really didn’t have that great an
understanding of how things were here, either.”

Shannon cocked her head. “Like what?”

“Like Erica.”

“What about Erica?”

“You know how she was a big shit in the art department
here,” Brendan said.

Shannon  nodded.

“Well, when she got herself out there, it turns out that
maybe her work isn’t all that amazing after all.” Brendan shook his head. “Her
advisor told her to think about the arts education major rather than pursuing
her fine arts degree. That’s why she dropped out.”

“Erica dropped out of school?” Shannon was astonished. She
thought her best friend told her everything.

“Yeah,” Brendan said. “She’s working at a coffee shop in
Albany.” He dropped his voice. “And she dances at a strip club.”

Shannon’s mouth fell open so hard she felt her jaw snap.
“And how do you know that?”

It was Brendan’s turn to blush. “Some of the guys were going…”

“And you had to tag along,” Shannon laughed. She took a sip
from her soda. “You poor thing. Expecting some wild, sexy woman and there’s
Erica shaking her money maker in your face.”

“She’s pretty wild,” Brendan said. “She had a snake. And do
you know she’s got a tattoo?”

“Do I even want to know?”

“That part wasn’t so bad,” Brendan said. “She’s got some
flowers on her hips.”  His face got red again. “And a bird on her ass.”

“You were looking at Erica’s ass?” Shannon reached over and
smacked Brendan’s arm, surprised at the muscle she found there.  “Get out!”

“I couldn’t help it!” he protested. “She stuck it right in
my face!”

“Did she know it was you?”

Brendan took a huge bite of his chili dog and chewed it very
slowly. Shannon glanced around Mickey’s; Tawni, she noticed, wasn’t entirely
out of earshot. She was wiping down the milkshake machine, very, very slowly.

“I don’t think so,”  Brendan eventually said. “Not then,
anyway. Those places are pretty dark; all the lights are up on stage.”

“Still,” Shannon replied. “That must have been awkward.”

“It was weird.”

“People change, I guess.” Shannon thought about the years
she’d known Erica, and how shy her friend had been. “I remember Steve being so
made she wouldn’t let him see her in her bikini.”

“Steve’s a douche,” Brendan replied. “He always has been.”

Shannon raised an eyebrow. “You guys were tight.”

Brendan snorted. “He was playing all of us.”

“What do you mean?”

“He wanted to get into Erica’s pants.  That’s the only
reason he hung around with us at all.” Brendan shook his head. “You should have
seen him up at school.  Freshman year he got busted with alcohol and an
underage girl in his room.”

Tawni wasn’t even pretending to wipe down the milkshake
machine anymore. She stood there eagerly listening to everything Brendan had to
say.

“What happened?” Shannon asked.

“Nothing then. They should have thrown his ass right out of
school, but they didn’t. He got off with a warning.” Brendan shook his head.
“Two weeks later, he does it again. And this time? The girl’s not just
underage, she’s a minor.”

“Oh my god.”

“I haven’t seen him since that happened,” Brendan said. “His
roommate told me he’d gone to class one morning and when he came back, Steve’s
side of the room was completely cleaned out. It was like he’d never been there
at all.”