How (Not) to Fall in Love(10)

“So you give people free food if they tell you a story? For real?”

He nodded, leaning against the counter. “It’s a tradition. The first owner of this place did the same thing. Thus the name.”

The Second Hand Story.

I took a huge bite of donut to give me an excuse not to talk. What could I say? Wow, you are not what I expected at all. You are oddly cool in a hippie-ish sort of way. How can you and my OCD father possibly be related?

“You sure you don’t want coffee?” He refilled his NPR mug.

“Just water,” I slurred around my mouthful of donut.

He opened a small fridge and handed me a bottle, then gestured to the hatbox. “So what’s in there? Or was this your way of making sure I recognized you?” His eyes practically twinkled. How could my dad be so freaked out by this guy?

I swigged more water, stalling for time. I didn’t want money to be our first topic of conversation. It seemed rude, not to mention embarrassing. He wiped the counter with a rag, oozing patience.

“It’s just some…stuff. I thought maybe you might…” This was pathetic. I was pathetic.

His eyes held mine for a moment, and then he lifted the lid off the box.

“Ah,” he said, looking at the jewelry. He glanced up. Concerned? Judging? I couldn’t read his expression. “So you need some cash.” It was a statement, not a question.

I nodded, too mortified to speak.

He rubbed his scruffy beard. It looked good on him, no matter what Dad said. “Darcy, I wish I could help, but this isn’t exactly the kind of store you need right now.”

“It’s not why I’m here,” I said, relieved to find my voice. “I wanted to see you. But while I was waiting for my driver,” I forced a smile, “I remembered you work in a pawn shop, so I thought maybe…” I couldn’t finish.

My face flooded with heat. What was I doing? I had to get out of here. I grabbed the box from the counter and slid off the stool. Toby ran to the door, and then I remembered I didn’t have a car to whisk me away. Crap.

“Sit down, Darcy. Please.” Charlie’s voice was gentle but commanding. “I’m not letting you run away, not after waiting all these years to see you again.”

I took a breath, then resumed my seat on the spinning stool, embarrassed. Looking into his kind eyes, so much like my dad’s, I thought that maybe I didn’t want to leave.

“Sorry,” I said. “This is all just…a lot to take in.”

He nodded. “I can only imagine what you and your mom are going through.”

I bit my lip, unsure how much I should tell him.

“My car was repossessed.” I could tell him that much. Toby gave a long-suffering dog sigh and curled up on the rug again.

“Repo’d?” He looked stunned.

“Yeah. It was…pretty bad.” I took a deep breath and plowed on. “My mom talked to the bank, and if we come up with about six grand in a week I can get the car back.” I left out the part about catching up on old payments and making new ones. Mom said there was no way we could do it.

Charlie let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot of cash.” He looked genuinely sympathetic.

“Yeah.”

“What about your mom? Can’t she help?”

I shook my head. “She wants to but our accounts are frozen.” I shot him a quick look. He definitely knew what that meant and so did I, now. Frozen = no access to money = Mom getting a job.

Charlie sipped his coffee. “Maybe you should try a pawn store. Not a thrift store, which is what my store is.” The corners of his eyes crinkled just like Dad’s when he smiled at me.

“Oh. I didn’t realize…”

His grin spread like marshmallows melting in hot chocolate. “Do you know the difference?”

I should know the difference. I was a freaking honor student after all. But this wasn’t exactly my usual scene. “Not really,” I admitted.

“Thrift stores sell used things that are donated, usually, or stuff we buy really cheap. Pawn shops take your valuable items and loan you cash based on a percentage of the value.” He snorted. “A very small percentage, but still, it’s something.”

I frowned. “What do you mean ‘loan’? I just want to sell the stuff.”

“They buy things, too, so you could walk into a pawn shop right now and come out with cash. But if you do a loan, you could buy your jewelry back. Eventually.”

“I doubt I’d ever be able to come up with the money to buy my stuff back,” I muttered.

He sighed. “I wish I could help with your car.”

“It’s all right,” I said. “I’m getting used to the bus.” I hesitated. “And that’s not why I came here, to ask you for money. I really wanted to see you.” I glanced back toward the shelf of shakers. “And those are awesome. They look just like the ones you drew on my birthday cards.” I bit my lip. “I kept those, too.”

Some of the sadness left Charlie’s eyes, making my own heart lift. We sat in silence, taking each other in, until I heard a door slam somewhere in the back, and Lucas emerged from behind the curtains, like an actor ready for an encore. He had a to-go cup in each hand, and sat down right freaking next to me.

“Here.” He slid a cup toward me. “Liz insisted, when I told her Charlie’s niece was here.” He glanced at Charlie, grinning. “You’re lucky she’s busy over there or she’d have crashed your private party way before I did.”