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“ What? Who?” She stammered.“ Frank. I’ ll explain it later,” he said.“ No way. Let’ s find a table. You can eat and talk at the same time. You do it all the time,” she said, taking his beer from his hand. Tanya reached for Rodney’ s beer.“ I’ ll hold this for you. It’ s hard to juggle when you need nourishment.”“ That is very thoughtful. Mind if I join the two of you. I may be able to answer some of your questions better than Eddie,” Rodney said and began loading his plate.“ Yes. Please join us. And grab some desert, otherwise, Bill makes me take home the leftover cake,” she said, puffing out her cheeks.
Carrying two plates, Rodney followed the pair to an outside picnic table, away from the noise of the crowd. Eddie reiterated what Frank had offered.“ How do you know this is for real?” she asked, knowing if it sounded too good to be true, there was probably a catch.“ Frank is the straightest shooter I know. I have been working with him for ten years, he does not bullshit when it comes to family or money in that order. Pardon my language.” Rodney dropped his eyes after answering the question Tanya asked Eddie.“ It’ s okay Rodney. I teach middle school,” she clarified and turned to Eddie.“ What if there is no profit?”“ Then I still make eight grand more this year than last,” Eddie said.“ So you have already made up your mind.”“ No. I want to see the place first. Frank said we could pick up the keys tomorrow. I want you to go with me and check it out.”“ Eddie, I know you don’ t handle change well...”
“ The last couple of weeks have flown by. If this is what I did for a living, it would not be work. I would be excited about going to work every day, instead of just having a job. I think I owe it to myself to at least explore the possibility,” Eddie said, continuing to wolf down the food on his plate. Tanya could see the excitement in his eyes. It was one of those traits she loved because she could interpret his face so well. Eddie wore his emotions on his sleeve. From the beginning of their relationship she knew which Eddie she would be dealing with the moment she laid eyes on him. After years of study, the many faces of Eddie, she could read like a book.“ I don’ t have anything planned for tomorrow,” she said.
The plates were empty and the beers were down to their last swallow. Eddie watched Rodney fish a Walmart receipt from his pocket along with his cell phone. The big man punched in the numbers and stepped away from the table. A few minutes later he returned.“ Man, I hate to eat and run but something came up that needs my immediate attention. It was nice meeting you Tanya,” Rodney said.“ I’ m sure it won’ t wait,” Eddie said.“ Probably not. I’ ll go say goodbye to Bill. I hope we’ re cool.”“ We are cool. Thanks for being a great jail bird.”“ Cool,” Rodney said, and made his way toward the kitchen.“ What was that about?” Tanya asked.“ Private bible study. He’ s an assistant pastor,” Eddie said.“ It’ s after midnight.”“ Rodney is very dedicated,” Eddie mused.
He knew she could read him like a book, when he allowed her that privilege, which was, most of the time. They had a couple more beers, said their good nights and walked across the street. Eddie opened the front door, made from steel but made to look like mahogany, for Tanya and locked it behind them. Heading up the stairs, Eddie avoided the third stair that always squeaked and he promised to repair.“ I need a shower,” he said, with a sweep of his cape. Tanya followed and sat on the edge of their king sized bed, watching him undress. He entered the large master bath and she waited for the sound of him in the shower before walking into the steam filled room.
“ I can’ t tell you enough how proud I am over your effort. Don’ t take this the wrong way but I am really surprised how well the haunted house turned out,” she said, slipping out of her clothing.