Time for lunch since the paychecks were done, she turned in the direction of a much talked about café.  Ornate wrought iron table and chairs dotted the area around the restaurant entrance. Tubs of blooming flowers added to the appeal.  A couple of business men in suits sat at one of the tables, staring at their cell phones as they silently munched through lunch. At another table sat two young mothers dealing with young children as they chatted. Ellie stared at them for a second with the slightest pang.

Did she envy them because they had children? Her momentary tug could come from the fact she’d never experienced a leisurely meal with her mother. After the drop-off, her parents never came back. She and her brother were like dogs left at the kennel, except people come back for their pets.

The line was visible through the glass doors. Better to get in line than dwelling on the past. It would make the wait for lunch longer. The multi-colored chalk announced daily specials.  Rebel is Disguise had potential.  A casual glance revealed the packed interior of the small café. An elderly couple in front of her held hands. Sweet.  Her grandparents held hands and often kissed each other on the cheek. They always seemed content in each other’s company. Neither one of them ever made any mention of being unhappy about raising their grandchildren. They could have been traveling the world instead attending school conferences and helping with science fair projects.

The couple in front of her moved sideways to take their place in another line to wait for their food. The attendant nodded at her. Ellie stepped up to stainless steel counter. “Large ice tea, unsweetened, and Rebel in Disguise. “ She ran her debit card through but thought a joke might cheer up the weary employee. “Is the Rebel in Disguise anything like a Rebel Without a Cause?”

The woman looked at her blankly and handed her the receipt. References pertinent to this decade might help. Two sliding steps put her in the next line.  Ten minutes later, everyone seemed to be getting their food, except her. Even Eli. Wait a minute, the attendant meant Ellie. No Eli was claiming the sandwich and tea that she was sure was hers.
“I think that’s my lunch. Ellie?” She enunciated her name and got a nasty look from the employee for it. Geesh and she was the one who had her name mangled. Tray in hand, she maneuvered through the cramped seating area. One smallish table to her right.  A teen girl texting slid into the chair before she reached it. Nevermind, she didn’t want to sit inside anyhow. Too noisy.

Outside there was the slight hum of road traffic, but not too bad. There was four empty tables. She decided on the one farthest from everyone and was half hidden by the oversized tubs of petunias. Once seated, she placed her cell phone on the table and picked up er tea. As a singleton, as she sometimes referred to herself, she knew how to look busy.  A phone, newspaper, a computer were all signs that someone was busy. Not lonely, not alone, but working, not an object of pity, but someone taking a working lunch or possibly waiting for someone.

This apprehension about being alone she needed to get over. Nina usually ate lunch alone, in her office where no one could see her, although her business savvy friend would probably have no issues with eating in the mall food court. After all, she practically knew everyone who worked in the mall. Her confidence could have resulted from having parents who loved and adored her.

Ellie bit into her sandwich which was actually a Reuben made with turkey instead of corned beef. Not bad, but corned beef provided more of a balance for the sauerkraut. The turkey buckled under the more aggressive garnish. Could be she was the more like the turkey than the sauerkraut.

The fragrance of the flowers drifted on the breeze lifted her melancholy a little. Her grandparents loved her even though her brother and she showed up for a visit and stayed a lifetime. Well, in her case, eight years, until she went to college. An occasional postcard would arrive from her parents from some exotic locale. The postmark was usually weeks before. Her grandmother used the postcards as proof that her parents were thinking of her. The cards served more as taunts in her opinion. Look what we can do without two kids hanging on to us. People can’t tuck checks into postcards, either.

A couple sat down next to her. They both were dressed in business casual but were evidently taking a break from work.  The man opened the conversation.

“I’m so glad we finally have the chance to meet.”

Argh. A lunch date she would have to witness an awkward day meeting. She read about the popularity of these mid-day look sees due to limited time. At best, only an hour of the day was wasted, and you were already dressed for work.

“Me too.” The woman giggled and flipped back her hair.

​Save me.  Was I ever that stupid-acting? Probably not, she had been a serious child who grew into a somber adult, not that she wanted to be. Her goal was to work hard, graduate early, and ease the financial burden on her grandparents. A scholarship helped along with a work study job. Most of her life was work, then more work. When you got right down to it, most of the handful of relationships were work, at least for her.  

I've been gone, but I am back with more from The Love Talisman. Ellie is at work and is hurting from being stood up by her boyfriend, Justin.


The previous stuff had to have been a fluke, nothing more than a series of phrases she decided applied to her.  It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought the issue through before.

Instead of dropping Justin as Nina advised, she held onto him. Yeah, it was no secret he didn’t treat her well. They never went anywhere. Instead, they hung out at her place. Nina insisted that meant he was married. 

Nina didn’t know him like she did.  Justin didn’t have money because he lent it to his brother to start up a pet therapy business. He didn’t like going out because he had a difficult ex who would make a scene if she saw the two of them together. While it could be true, as opposed to bull manure that Nina insisted it was.

Termite’s crew was framing up a house on her first stop. The fresh scent of cut timber caused her to inhale deeply. Construction may not have been her first job choice, but she discovered she liked being part of the creation process. Certainly better than crunching numbers for a fast food chain, which was her first job. Always working with the smell of hot grease and fries put on the pounds. Okay, she may have sampled the wares. No chance of her gnawing on brick or masonry stone, although her stomach growled reminding her one slice of toast and a cup of coffee didn’t make a meal.
A spontaneous cheer went up from the crew as she climbed out of her car. A few whistled. Her simple outfit of a t-shirt and khakis didn’t merit any adulation. Paychecks always made people happy, except when they didn’t show. At least, they had faith she’d deliver them.

The sound of hammering stopped as the crew drifted around her anxious for their checks, but pretending not to be. A few teased her about hardly working. She laughed. It was an old joke that irritated her at first. After awhile, she accepted that those who did manual labor tended to regard those who stayed behind a desk as not working because they didn’t break a sweat. Sometimes she did, especially if the air conditioner broke.

An older carpenter with graying hair waited quietly. The other men called him grandpa affectionately. He probably wasn’t that old. Some people went gray sooner than others. All she knew is he did good work, didn’t miss days, and finished on time, all important things in the construction industry and he almost never talked. Smiled, nodded, and occasionally gestured, replied in single words or phrases. Today, his brow furrowed as if he were concerned. Maybe he doubted he’d get paid today. “Here ya go.” She had caught herself before she said, Grandpa, as she handed him his check.

“Ellie, do you feel okay? You look a little peaked?”

The man spoke, and he knew her name. She didn’t know which surprised her more. The men all stared at her and Grandpa, um, make that Marvin. She made out the paychecks and knew everyone’s actual name. The day he decides to string two words together it has to be on her less than gorgeous appearance. Yes, her hair was flat and her makeup non-existent. Did he want a paycheck or her wearing eyeliner?

“Um, I'm okay. Overslept. Missed breakfast. That’s all.” She could feel everyone’s eyes on her as she stumbled through her excuse. Why did she have to be so interesting all of the sudden?

“Well, ah, time’s wasting. Got to get back to work.” She clapped her hands together without thinking it was similar to Harry when he signaled the meeting was over and the crew needed to work.

Termite gave her a sharp look, then yelled. “Stop lollygagging, girls. Time to man up and work for a living.” The men grumbled a little and moved back to whatever they had been working on.

Ellie was tempted to explain she hadn’t meant to tell the men to go to work, she only meant herself. The way the day was going, she’d mess up her apology somehow. Besides calling the men girls as an insult did not endear the foreman to her. Despite the stereotype of construction workers harassing women, they were reasonably respectful. Most were married with families. Although there were a few single fathers on the crew, only Harry and she knew whose wages were garnished for child support.

​Off to the next site, where Leroy was the crew boss. He somehow got to be called by his given name, which might have something to with his massive build. The man wouldn’t make the mistake of calling the crew girls with Robby on the site. The tall woman did good work, and learned long ago not to put up with men’s crap. Maybe Robby could give her lessons.
 As she drove from site to site, the radio chose not to give her any more advice than not using her lawnmower because an ozone alert was in effect. It also mentioned a shoe sale going on. That message might have been for her, but nothing about love charms. Could be she imagined it all. Yeah, that was it.