Chapter 7

“My usual,” Frank said, “a bottle of Bud. I’ll pay for theirs.”

Willis turned to me. “What are you drinking, kid?”

“I’ll have a Budweiser too.”

After the bartender left, Katie said, “No one has to pay my way.”

Frank chuckled. “Girls don’t buy their own drinks.”

“Can we forget all that? I’m someone you work with.”

“I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

“I know you are, but it feels like a put-down. I’m not a girl. I’m a woman, a person, and I can pay for my own drink.”

“I bought Ed’s too. If it makes you happy, you can pay the tab next time. Lighten up. I’m a stingy old bastard. I don’t often buy a round, so enjoy it while you can.”

We sipped and talked, Katie and I reminiscing about high school and Frank looking on with amusement. Finally, he chuckled. “You kids didn’t go to the school where I taught, but your stories make you sound like my old students.”

“In what way?” Katie asked.

“They had the same cliques.”

“Katie and I were in the college-prep curriculum in high school. That made us members of the geeky kids’ clique. We carried books around and acted smart. I didn’t hang out with kids who weren’t in our classes. Katie was a geek like me, but she was cool with everyone.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I like people until they give me a reason not to. I’m not out to win any popularity contests, but a basic rule of life is it’s better to be nice to everybody.”

“How old are you again?” Frank laughed. “The idealism says twelve.”

“I’m twenty-three, two months older than Ed.”

“So you really were his ‘old lady’ back in school.”

She stopped, her glass halfway to her lips, set the drink carefully back down, and turned on her stool to face him. “Frank, you’re thirty-some years older than me. You have seniority at work, you’re training me and writing my evaluations, so I see you as my boss. That means I’m supposed to respect you. In return, I ask you to respect me. I was never his ‘old lady’ or his ‘chick’ or any of that crap. I’m my own person.”

“You can say that again,” he smirked.

“I’m serious, Frank. Yes, I’ll be the first one to admit this job fell in my lap. It was a lucky break, and I took it. Did it help that Cliff Schmidt’s old buddy John knew me and that Ed was my boyfriend in high school? Of course. I’d be a fool to deny it.

Hopefully people will forget that when they see how I work. I’ll make it or fail on my merits, at Tompkins and in life in general. You don’t have to like me, but I ask you to treat me the way I intend to treat you.”

“You talk like a guy. Maybe it’s because your tits are small.”

Katie put her hand on the edge of the bar between them and extended her thin middle finger. “You’re pushing it, old man. I guess that’s what I should expect from someone with a dick this big.”

Frank tried to look angry, but then his face softened. “Ed tried to tell me, but I didn’t listen. I under-estimated you. It won’t happen again. You wanna be one of the guys? Great. When you screw up, expect me to chew you out like I would a man.”

“Fine.”

“Truce?” He held out his hand.

She shook it firmly. “Truce. Now, be honest. How often have I screwed up so far?”

He took a long pull on his beer. “You read your evaluation. You just got your merit raise, so you know the answer. You haven’t screwed up, not even a little. You might be the easiest trainee I ever had. We can work under your terms just fine. Who needs another drink?”

“I have things I should do tomorrow morning, and it’s almost a half hour drive home. I’ll pass,” she answered.

I thanked Frank for the beer. “Katie, I’ll follow you to make sure you get to your street okay, since I drive right past it.” I stood with her while she unlocked her car. “We could both save on gas and repairs if we drove back and forth to work together. I could come to your place and either pick you up or park my car and ride with you.”

Car-pooling turned out to be a good idea. Sometimes I’d see her mom working in the flowerbeds if she got home from the diner early enough, and occasionally her dad would be on the porch, emptying a six pack. Mom was thrilled Katie had a decent job. Dad was glad she paid rent.