Free Annie's Answer by Pam Andrews Hanson Page B

difficult.
    “Now about the
drawer. I don’t imagine George’s wife has anything as practical as a roll of
contact paper in the house. We’ll have to go to the store.”
    “I can run get
some for you,” Annie said.
    “I’d like to
pick the pattern, not that you don’t have good taste,” Mattie said. “Anyway it
will be a nice outing. You can drive George’s wife’s car. Nathan left me the
keys.”
    “I’d really
rather use my own.” It horrified Annie to think she might get a scratch on Mrs.
Sawyer’s practically new Cadillac.
    “Fine,” Mattie
said, still smiling to herself thanks to her friend’s call. She retrieved her
purse and a second crutch, not wasting any time getting into Annie’s old VW.
    “You get
around in this old thing?” she asked, apparently not big on tact.
    “I mostly just
drive around town,” Annie said, telling herself to be patient, patient,
patient.
    After a
harrowing half hour selecting contact paper, Mattie had her drive to the market
for soy cheese and whole wheat pasta so she could surprise Nathan with a
casserole for dinner.
    Back at the
house cleaning drawers appealed to Annie’s sense of order, although she still
worried Mrs. Sawyer might not appreciate it. By mid afternoon, she’d lined half
a dozen drawers and, at Mattie’s insistence, had washed all the tableware and
utensils before replacing them.
    “Well, we
accomplished a lot today,” Mattie said when it was time for Annie to leave.
    Reminding
herself to be patient and kind, Annie didn’t mention that Mattie had mostly sat
watching her and supervising. If this was what the older woman enjoyed doing,
at least it made the day pass more quickly.
    Nathan didn’t
come home before it was time to leave. The day seemed empty without at least a
glimpse of him, but she tried to tell herself it was best that way.
    By the time
Annie had to go to the pancake restaurant, she felt exhausted, more from taking
orders without question than from the actual work. She left with Mattie’s
assurance they could do more kitchen cleaning tomorrow.
     
    After a slow
day, as Monday usually was, she found herself clock-watching, eager to get
home. When it was almost time for the restaurant to close, she had one last
customer.
    “Am I too late
for a stack of pancakes?” Nathan asked, coming up to her as she refilled
ketchup bottles for the next day.
    “Sorry, the
cook has closed the kitchen,” she said. “Didn’t Mattie make her casserole for
you?”
    “She made it.”
His tone told her enough. “I waited until she went to bed to come looking for
real food.”
    “I’m sorry.
There might be a couple of fast food places still open.”
    “Can you leave
now?” he asked. “Come get a bite to eat with me?”
    Could she? Her
boss would have a fit, but she accepted Nathan’s and hurried to the kitchen to
ask Marie to finish the closing jobs for her. When the other waitress
agreed—not without some curiosity about the reason—Annie tossed her
soiled apron in the laundry bin and grabbed her purse.
    Maybe she was
being silly, pretending she had a date with Nathan, but after her long day a
little fantasy would go a long way.
     
    Nathan was
smiling to himself when Annie hurried out to leave with him. Did he really need
or want a greasy hamburg or fried chicken that had been under a heat lamp since
the dinner hour? He could just as easily have had a bowl of cereal at home, but
he’d missed seeing Annie before she left today. He had a legitimate reason to
talk to her about his aunt, but he wasn’t good at self-deception.
    Sitting in
court, trying to stay focused, he’d daydreamed about Annie. When he couldn’t
get home before she left, he’d been surprisingly disappointed. His aunt’s
healthy but horrible casserole gave him a reason to seek Annie out at her
evening job.
    “Have you had
dinner?” It occurred to him that her work schedule didn’t leave much time for
meals.
    “I usually
have something when I get home from