Riding the Thunder - Deborah MacGillivray [56]
Insistent knocking pounded on the glass. “Hey, Asha! Come on, roll the window down.”
They glanced up at the face, nose nearly pressed against the glass, peering in the passenger’s side window. Jago’s eyebrows lifted and he gave her a quirky smile.
“Um, Asha, not sure—either JohnWaters or Steve Buscemi is rapping on the glass. Neither prospect is comforting.”
Asha laughed and pressed the window button on the door to roll it down.
“Should you do that?” Jago teased. “Maybe he’s that guy in the hockey mask. Remember how when a guy and gal make out in those slasher flicks, some fruit loop—who looks just like him—goes berserk and hacks them up.”
“I heard that,” the ferret-faced man snapped, but his nasally tone was playful. “Just remember, buster, to sleep with one eye open from now on. Sorry, me and my machete interrupted the great make-out scene here, but I wanted to give you the list of the movies I got for Halloween weekend, Asha. Sorry, I couldn’t track down the license for The Maze. I really wanted to see that frog guy. He sounds cool. But they were able to get all the others for us. A super lineup, even if I do say so myself.”
“That’s fabulous, Colin. Thank you. It should be great fun for everyone,” Asha complimented.
“Hey, a Hammer Halloween. Chris Lee and Peter Cushing ride again.” The thin man leaned in halfway through the window, and stuck his hand out to shake. “Hi, Jago. I’m Colin Hughes. Call me Oo-It. Everyone else does.”
Jago’s eyes shifted to Asha in amusement, then back to Colin, as they shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Colin.”
“You can call me—”
“Oo-it,” Jago finished.
“Yeah, everyone—”
“Else does.” Once again, Jago finished Colin’s sentence.
“Yeah. Sorry I haven’t been down to the restaurant to say a welcome, but I was busy tracking down these movies for Halloween. We’re having a big bash. You still going to be here?”
“Yeah, I plan on it.”
Colin spied the cat sprawled on the dash and his eyes lit up. “Wow, what a great cat! Hadn’t heard you had a cat, Jago,” he said, scratching the beast’s chin.
“I think it’s more like he has me.” Jago chuckled.
Colin asked, “What’s his name?”
“I’m not sure.” Jago shrugged. “He hasn’t deigned to tell us yet.”
“You should name your cat. Cat’s gotta have a name.” Colin stopped scratching the purring feline and smiled sheepishly. “Well, I’ll let you get back to the ‘hot and heavy.’ Night Asha. Nice to meet you, Jago.”
“Nice to meet you, Colin.”
“Thanks again, Colin.” Asha waved. “I appreciate all the effort to get the movies.”
“Sure, anytime.” He stuffed his hands into his pocket and shrugged. “You know I’d do anything for you, Asha.”
Jago watched the strange man pull up the hood of his sweatshirt and trot off into the rain, back toward the concession stand. He raised his brows. “Oo-it?”
Asha chuckled. “Colin stuttered from childhood. Not bad, mostly when he became excited. When something put him into a dither, he’d go ‘Oo Oo Oo-it’ over and over again before he calmed down enough to get anything else out. He’s been Oo-it since he was six. Mostly he’s outgrown the stutter, but the nickname stayed.”
“He doesn’t mind?”
“It’s done in love and he knows it. He’s sweet. He’s the first one there to shovel your drive after it snows or to cut your lawn. He runs the drive-in and maintains the grounds around all the businesses. Quite handy with anything electrical. My guess is he’s a borderline genius, but few ever paid attention. We’re lucky to have him.”
“Hmm. Where were we?” Jago started to lean toward her, but the black cat jumped off the dash and in between them. He bounced on his hind legs, then butted Jago’s chin with his forehead, and not gently either. Asha heard the crack. Jago dodged as the purring cat kept trying to bonk