Marla sat on the closed lid of the toilet, embarrassed at the honesty she had expressed about the kiss. She waited until she heard the quiet click of the bedroom door shutting before tiptoeing back into the living room and tried to go back to sleep, touching her lips, the effects of his kiss still lingering. Tears stung her eyes at the thought of Pete’s regrets. She should have known better than to hope he had feelings for her. Damn, she would have never gone there if it hadn’t been for her conversation with Betsy. Having let her guard slip she had ignored the fact that she was just a job to him. Consoling herself with the fact that once this was over they would go back to being strangers again.
Marla sat at the kitchen table waiting for Pete to finish getting ready, still shaken from the night’s events when he walked into the room.
“Good morning. Are you ready to go? I’ll have coffee for you at the bakery in no time at all.” Marla spoke coolly, as though trying to keep her emotional as well as physical distance.
“Yep, anytime you are.”
“You know I won’t be alone once I’m at the bakery so you can just drop me off at the door. If you stick around the bakery all day then for sure people will start to talk. Maybe it would be best if you just, I don’t know, set a time you’ll be back for me.” Marla stared straight ahead as she spoke, not wanting to make eye contact with him. Afraid he would be able to read the hurt and disappointment that she felt.
“I guess that will be all right. What time do you think you’ll be ready to leave?”
“How about two o’clock? Or is that too early for you?” Marla asked.
“No, that will be fine. I’m sure by then I’ll be ready to practically sleep walk home.”
“Stay here and I’ll run out your coffee and pastry.” Marla was out the door before he could argue. God, she couldn’t wait to get away from him. She practically ran into the bakery, rushing to get his order so she could be alone.
“Okay, spill it. What’s wrong?” Betsy demanded as Marla removed her apron and hung it on the hook in her office.
“Spill what?” Marla knew what she meant but decided to just play dumb. She didn’t want to talk about it with Betsy or anyone else.
“Whatever’s got you down lower than a snakes hips. You’ve been going through your day like a robot, sort of on remote control and you haven’t been your annoyingly cheery self either. No smiles, no heartfelt ‘thank you’ for the customers. So what gives?” Betsy demanded.
“Just tired I guess. I had another unscheduled visitor last night rattling around the back door. He was scared off but then I couldn’t get back to sleep after that.” Well it wasn’t exactly a lie, she just didn’t tell the whole truth. The last thing Betsy needed to know was that Pete had spent the night at her house, again. Luckily Pete’s car drove up before Betsy could finish her interrogation.
“Have to take off Betsy, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Marla waved as she dashed out the door and into Pete’s waiting car. Suddenly Marla wasn’t sure if this was a better situation than the one she’d just escaped. Pete seemed stiff and cool, not even saying hello when she got in the car. It was gonna be a long night.