Page 55 of Rigid

“Bet she put ‘em in the bag.”

I glanced at the bag. Stuffed with light blue decorative tissue paper, it was impossible to see what was inside.

I paused, lifted the tissues from the bag, and shook my head. Inside the slightly oversized bag was a small blue box tied with a white silk ribbon. Beside the box, a folded pair of maroon panties with black lace.

“I’ll be damned,” I said.

“They’re in there, ain’t they?”

“Here.” I handed him the bag. “You can get ‘em out.”

He pulled out the panties, shoved them in his front pocket, and then reached inside the bag again. He handed me the bag and held up a business card. “And, lookie what we have here. Wrote her phone number on it and everything.”

“Fuckin’ weirdo,” I said.

“Weirdo who’s gonna dislocate that skinny bitch’s hips.”

“Let me know how that high maintenance bitch works out for you, Nut.”

Her pulled the panties from his front pocket and admired them. “Will do, Smoke.”

As we walked toward the parking garage, I expressed my genuine concerns. “Not looking forward to Eddie dating.”

He shoved the panties inside his kutte. “Me neither. You doin’ the interviews, we doin’ em, or you just gonna let me screen the kids and tell you who qualifies?”

I chuckled. “I’ll do it.”

“Need any help?”

“I sure hope not.”

I had no idea how many people were going to want to take Eddie on dates, but I knew one thing: whoever wanted to was going to have to go through me first.

And I wasn’t an easy man to impress.

SEVENTEEN

Sandy

I pointed at the corner of the freezer. “Give me two scoops of the cookie dough with a waffle cone, please.”

The clerk, who resembled a clean-cut college football player, gave a grin. “Yes ma’am.”

I glanced at Craig. “He wants me to meet his daughter. Good idea?”

Without looking up from the various tubs of ice cream in the case, he responded. “Sooner or later, you’ll have to.”

“Wait!” I shouted as he was taking the second scoop of ice cream. “One cookie dough and one bubble gum.”

He looked up. “Are you sure?”

I sighed. “I’m pregnant.”

“Are you pregnant and sure?”

I shrugged. “For now.”

He tossed the scoop aside, got a new one and finished my cone. As he handed it to me, he looked at Craig. “What can I get you?”