Free The Cranky Dead by A. Lee Martinez Page B

nonchalantly back to Denise.
     
     
"Uh, yeah, I'm free," he said, struggling to spit the words out of his drying throat. "I mean, if you want to do something or whatever." He grimaced inwardly. Then he realized that it was pretty much impossible to grimace inwardly, which meant he must've grimaced outwardly and Denise must've noticed.
     
     
He stuck his hands in his pockets and lowered his gaze. It strayed to her chest, but that was purely coincidental.
     
     
"Uh, yeah," he replied. "Something or whatever, if you want."
     
     
"Cool." She put her hand on his arm. That was supposed to be a good sign, wasn't it? "Why don't you come by the house around seven?"
     
     
He'd agreed in a flash and quickly collected his deposit slip and dashed from the bank before she could think about it and change her mind.
     
     
Some things had changed since high school. Some hadn't. Denise was still a hot property. Since graduation, most everyone in his class had gotten hitched. It was just the way it worked in Rockwood. Most everyone married their high school sweetheart, usually because they didn't have any better ideas. Kerchack had watched the pool of available women shrink slowly around him and resigned himself to picking from the leftovers. And then, out of the blue . . .
     
     
Denise Calhoun.
     
     
He was determined not to blow it.
     
     
     
He picked Denise up at her house. She still lived with her parents. About half the adult population of Rockwood did. Kerchack wanted to make a good impression, so he'd gone home and changed into some slacks and his only shirt with a collar. He'd picked up some plastic flowers. Real ones might've been better but were hard to come by. He pulled into Denise's gravel driveway and checked his hair in the rearview.
     
     
The passenger door was thrown open, and Denise jumped into the bucket seat. "Hi, 'Chack."
     
     
Caught with his fingers wrapped around a cowlick, Kerchack tried to smoothly segue into adjusting the rearview.
     
     
She picked up the flowers. "Hey, are these for me?"
     
     
"Yeah."
     
     
"Cool." She held them to her nose and inhaled their sweet, artificial scent. "Are you ready?" she asked.
     
     
"Sure." He glanced to the house. While it was nice to not have to meet the parents, it also made this seem like less of a real date now.
     
     
He glanced at her. She was wearing a red t-shirt and torn jeans. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail. The only makeup she wore was some soft pink lipstick. He felt self-conscious in his collar and slacks.
     
     
"You look real nice, 'Chack." She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Are you hungry? I'm starving."
     
     
"Sure. Gil's sound alright?" he asked, as if there were any other choices. On Fridays and Saturdays, there were a few restaurants that stayed open late, but even the Dairy Queen closed at six otherwise.
     
     
Officially, Gil's All Night Diner was now Loretta's Place, but no one ever called it that. Even after the place had been practically demolished and rebuilt and a new sign installed in place of the old, it was still Gil's. Probably always would be. Rockwood had a long and stubborn memory.
     
     
The place was packed, meaning it had four cars in its spacious parking lot. No one had really liked Gil's when it'd opened, but after the renovations, everyone agreed it just seemed friendlier. There was still an air to the place, a sort of crackle. It'd always put Kerchack on edge. The entire building felt like one giant malevolent spirit. Still did. Now though the unease seemed muted, almost tamed. He wasn't exactly fond of the place, but it was the only choice in the county. He didn't feel like blowing the gas money to go all the way to Leeburn. Especially since he wasn't certain this was a date, and even if it was, he wasn't at all certain he'd be getting anything out of it.
     
     
Kerchack picked a booth by the door. The diner was big, cavernous except for the low ceiling, so they weren't near any of