Free Mending by J. B. McGee

actual area between the bar and the dark cabinets for more than two people.  Even then, she and Sam had nearly bumped into each other frequently.   The apartment had been recently updated, so the appliances were all black and new.  For what she had to pay in rent, the apartment was really quite nice.  She opened the fridge and grabbed the clear pitcher of filtered water and poured herself a glass.  As she placed it back, she pondered what she wanted to eat for a snack.  She finally decided on pepperoni, cheese, and crackers.  As she was preparing them, she heard the ping of her email.  She hurried back to the computer as if she were a child in a candy store, far too eager.
    ***
    To:  Gabby Gerhart
    From:  Bradley Banks
    Subject:  Re:  Running Shoes?
    Time:  08/09/2011  4:20pm
    Meet me off of exit 172 on I-20.  That’s the Thomson/Washington exit.  There is a Steak & Shake to the left of the interstate from the direction you’ll be driving.  Hope you like greasy cheeseburgers and milkshakes.  Seven sound good to you? 
    By the way, that’s about halfway, so maybe two hours of drive time for you.
    b
    ***
    Oh she liked greasy cheeseburgers and milkshakes way too much.  That’s partly why she loved that she was a runner.  She could get away with eating junk like that and then run a couple of miles to burn the calories before they became a huge problem.  She smiled at the thought of sharing a milkshake with him.  She loved Steak & Shake. 
    Minimizing her email, she pulled up Google and put in the exit number and her address for directions.  Sure, she had time before she got directions, but she was just curious where that was.  She had never heard of Thomson, Georgia.  Seconds later there was a map on her screen showing a blue line to the exit from Columbia and she wasn’t surprised that it did appear to be a perfect halfway spot.  Driving directions on Google showed that the time would be a little less than two hours and 98 miles.  She was curious how long it would take him to get there.  She took her address out and changed it to Atlanta.  It was a little over two hours for him and 118 miles.  She raised her eyebrows and just sat there grinning.  He had seriously thought about where the best place to meet would be and he made it an exit that would mean she was travelling less time than he was to get there.  The gesture was not lost on her.
    She maximized her email and clicked the reply button to his last email.
    ***
    To:  Bradley Banks
    From:  Gabby Gerhart
    Subject:  With Bells On
    Time:  08/09/2011  4:34pm
    looks like it’s the perfect halfway spot.  i’ll see you at seven on wednesday with bells on mr. banks.
    -g
    ***
    Within one minute there was a reply.
    ***
    To:  Gabby Gerhart
    From:  Bradley Banks
    Subject:  RE:  With Bells On
    Time:  08/09/2011  4:25pm
    Hmm, bells on, huh?  You not only torture me with your adorableness, Miss Gerhart, but you’ll jingle for me, too?
    See you then, Gabby Girl.
    b
    ***
    Gabby giggled as she covered her mouth.  Gabby Girl?  She had been called a lot of things, but Gabby Girl was never one of them.  She loved the cute nickname and the playfulness of his email.  He’d been mostly stuffy over email all day and she felt like she was arranging a job interview rather than a date with him.  She clicked reply.
    ***
    To:  Bradley Banks
    From:  Gabby Gerhart
    Subject:  Jingly emotions
    Time:  08/09/2011  4:26pm
    what can i say?  you bring out all kinds of jittery jingly emotions, most of which scare the heck out of me.  but, i think i promised to try. 
    gabby girl?  cute.  where did you come up with that one?
    trying,
    -g
    ***
    Gabby was surprised when there wasn’t a quick reply.  He had been responding so quickly that she was sure he was online.  She was frustrated because it was the first email of the day where she had really shown any kind of emotion and it was going unanswered.  She tried not to sulk, but she couldn’t