Free Coming Up Roses by Alice Duncan Page A

kinds
of foods. Or different ways to prepare, serve, and name foods, she
guessed was a more appropriate way of thinking about it. And what
was sauerkraut? Rose decided she’d probably never have to know and
decided not to remember the word, which made her feel slightly
better since her memory for words wasn’t infinite and there were
several rattling around in there already.
    So H.L. Led the way to a food vendor, where
he bought hamburgers and carbonated drinks for the three of them.
They sat at one of the outdoor tables placed along the main
thoroughfare so that diners could watch fair visitors as they
munched.
    “ This is quite tasty,” Rose said. In
truth, she was finding it difficult not to gobble her hamburger, it
tasted so good and she was so hungry.
    “ Good,” agreed Little Elk, who looked
as if he wouldn’t mind eating another three or four of the
delectable meat sandwiches.
    “ I like ‘em.” H.L. was clearly pleased
with himself as he, too, indulged in a hamburger. “How do you like
your soda?”
    “ Soda? Is that what they call this?”
Rose held up her drinking glass, which fizzed amusingly. She took a
tentative sip and giggled. “It’s very good, but the bubbles
tickle.” When she glanced at H.L., she discovered him gazing at her
speculatively, his sea-green eyes gleaming. She wasn’t sure what to
make of his expression, but it worried her.
    “ I don’t suppose you’ve ever tasted
champagne?” he asked in a quiet voice.
    “ No.” Because the question and his
expression disconcerted her, Rose turned to Little Elk. “Do you
like your soda, Little Elk?”
    The Indian nodded. “Good.”
    “ Would you care for another hamburger?
I know how much you like to eat.”
    Although she smiled at her friend to show she
didn’t mean anything unkind by her remark, it occurred to Rose that
it hadn’t been her money that had provided the first round of
hamburgers. She supposed it might be considered impolite for her to
offer H.L.’s guest more food.
    But that didn’t really matter, she decided
instantly. Rose might send most of her money home to her family,
but she made a large-enough salary that she was able to keep a
supply of pin money on hand. And if buying Little Elk another
hamburger would make her feel less uneasy in H.L. May’s company,
the money would be well spent.
    Little Elk nodded. “I like it.”
    “ Wait right here,” H.L. said as he got
up from the elaborately molded ceramic bench, “I’ll get you another
one.” As he loped off toward the hamburger concessionaire, he shot
back over his shoulder, “Be right back.”
    Rose watched him in dismay. She oughtn’t have
done that; she knew better. While she possessed no understanding at
all of the polite nuances of behavior required in sophisticated
society, her mother had drummed proper manners into her when she
was a child. She’d just made a big gaffe, and she was
mortified.
    “ Wait here,” she told Little Elk,
leaping up from the bench and hurrying after H.L. “I’ll be right
back.” She had to run to catch up with the long-legged reporter.
“Mr. May! Mr. May, wait a minute.”
    He turned, surprised. “What’s the matter,
Miss Gilhooley?” With a wicked grin, he asked, “You want another
hamburger, too?”
    “ No!” Exasperated, Rose started digging
around in her skirt pocket, where she carried some change. “I’m
quite full, thank you, but it was I who offered Little Elk another
one of those sandwiches, so I ought to pay for it.”
    “ Tut, tut. I invited you to come with
me tonight,” he reminded her.
    “ This evening is my treat.”
    “ You didn’t invite Little Elk,” Rose
muttered, conscious that her friend’s company tonight was a direct
result of her own cowardice. “I should pay for him.”
    “ Pshaw. Don’t be silly.”
    “ I’m not being silly!” Heat crept up
the back of her neck. Rose wondered if she was making too much of
this. Probably. H.L. May rattled her composure more than any