Love on the Line - Deeanne Gist [61]
“I stopped by the Grants’. And guess what? They bought a subscription.”
“They did? Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” He jingled the coins in his pocket. “Mrs. Grant was telling me about Maifest. She says it’s the biggest event of the year.”
“I suppose it is.”
“She said fellas secretly place Mai trees in front of the windows of their sweethearts.”
“Yes. The phone lines are always buzzing the next morning.”
He wondered if anyone had ever left one for her. “She told me about a parade. Plus a greased pig chase and a Maypole dance.”
“I’ve only been to last year’s, but they had all that and a merry-go-round, too.”
“Yeah?” He lifted his brows. “I’ve never seen a merry-go-round.”
“It was my first, as well. From what I hear, they aren’t bringing it in again. It was evidently quite expensive.”
“That’s too bad.” He cleared his throat. “Are you going with anyone in particular this year?”
A slight pause. “No, I’m not.”
“Oh.”
“Are you?” she asked.
“Um, no.”
Silence.
“Well.” He shifted his weight onto one foot. “I guess I’ll head on to the next phone.”
“That would be the Halls.”
“The Halls. Okay. I’ll call you from there.”
“I’ll be right here.”
“Talk to you in a bit, then.” This time, he hung up first.
“Hello, Central.”
“It’s me.” He plugged up one ear. “Are you there?”
“Yes.” She raised her voice.
“Can you hear me okay? The Halls have a passel of kids and I can’t hear a thing.”
“You’re coming through loud and clear.”
“Okay. I’m gonna keep going.” He hung up without waiting for a response.
“Hello, Central.”
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Her voice dropped again, doing strange things to his stomach.
“This is much better,” he said. “Much quieter.”
“You’re at the Tanskes’?”
“Yes. They’re out in the fields.”
“Did you stop somewhere on the way?”
“I tried to sell Mr. Büchner a subscription, but he wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Mrs. Büchner fed me lunch, though.”
“What did you have?”
“Barbeque and some kind of potato dish I can’t pronounce, but it was really good. What about you? What did you have for lunch?”
“I didn’t eat.”
“Why not?”
“I wanted to make some sugar water for the hummingbirds.”
He frowned. “You do that a lot, don’t you? Skip lunch, I mean.”
“I don’t know if I’d say a lot, but sometimes.”
“You’re going to be the size of those hummingbirds if you’re not careful.”
“I doubt that.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“You know what you need?”
“What?” she asked.
“An ice cream.”
“What?”
“An ice cream.” He pictured the new ice cream parlor next door to the post office. “Hodde & Kruse opened up today. They’re going to dispense cream, soda, and soft drinks all through the summer.”
“Oh my.”
“You want some?”
“Well, I . . . do you?”
“Why, sure. Don’t you?”
“I, yes. I love ice cream.”
“Then, let’s go get some. Right after work.”
“Today?” she squeaked.
“Why not?”
Every alarm bell in his system rang in earnest. He ignored them all. He was a man. She was a woman. He was interested in her. She was interested in him. He’d told her he wasn’t looking for a wife. She’d not pressed for an explanation.
“Well . . . all right,” she said. “After work?”
Suddenly, he couldn’t finish fast enough. “Five o’clock. I’ll pick you up.”
“Someone’s ringing in,” she said.
“I’ll let you go, then. Call you at the next stop.” Hanging up, he hurried out to Honey Dew, anxious to find the trouble so he could return to town in time to clean up.
“Hello, Central.”
“Can you hear me now?” Luke asked.
“Yes. Was that you trying to call earlier?”
“Yeah, but I couldn’t get through.”
“What happened?”
He shook his head. “Mrs. Ragston had grounded out the circuit by wrapping a hairpin around the line and the ground posts of the phone.”
“Good heavens.”
“I know. I’ve fixed it, though.”
“You’re all done, then?”
“I am. It’ll be quitting time when I get back to town. So would you let Schmid know I’ll bring him his battery first thing in the morning?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.” He wound the cord of the receiver around his thumb. “I can’t be by for you right at five. Not if I clean up first.”
“That’s fine. I want to eat a