“It was a real mess. I thought I was going to have to do CPR there for a couple of minutes, but I got lucky and didn’t have to after all,” Jeremy told Royce a couple of hours later. “I had to go home and change clothes, then drop my suit off at the dry cleaners.”

“Do you think the sub was that bad?”

“No way of telling, but I’ll tell you what, I never even unwrapped mine. I just pitched it,” Jeremy admitted. “I probably shouldn’t have gone in there at all, but I did learn that Milt is pretty wrapped up in this wedding business and probably isn’t giving much attention to anything else.”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Royce shrugged. “Maxine could get pretty obsessive back when I knew her, so it doesn’t surprise me that she’s gotten worse. I wish I could say I feel sorry for Milt, but I don’t. So are we ready to go on the ad campaign?”

“Getting there,” Jeremy replied, glad to be onto a subject that was a little less unsettling to his stomach. “I went ahead and signed off on the print ads, and the graphics guy is getting the stuffers ready for the store flyers. They ought to be done in plenty of time. We’re going to shoot video the first of the week, and that ought to be done in plenty of time . . .”

Royce was only half listening to Jeremy. In a way he wished that he hadn’t taken the risk of going into the sub shop, but right at the moment he was glad he did. From what he had overheard, Maxine was keeping Milt as busy as Royce could hope for with the wedding, so he wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the chain. With the opening of the six new stores not all that far off, it seemed like Milt was still fat, dumb, and happy, and there probably wasn’t much he could do now even if he had the full story.

But the original intent of the program was to have Milt, and hopefully, to a lesser extent, Maxine, dealing with so much stuff at the same time that they’d make a lot of bad or short-sighted decisions. That was going to get worse – much worse – when the wedding rolled around, considering what Royce had planned for it. It might humiliate Petra, but right at the moment Royce didn’t care. She had apparently sold out to Milt and Maxine, and now she was going to get swept up in the carnage.

Royce couldn’t roll delightedly in his anger all the time; he had other things to do. He was a busy man, and in the years since the divorce he’d given a lot of his time to Pafco, mostly because he hadn’t had anything better to do. There had been no point in asking someone else to do something if he could do it himself.

That had begun to change a little since the decision a few months before to even things up with Milt and Maxine. There was too much to do with that, especially in opening the new stores along with everything else he did, so he’d had to delegate some authority. Dumping the store project on Jeremy had proved to be the right move to make; he’d done well with it and everything seemed to be on track.

That was something of a lesson for Royce; perhaps he had been overdoing it. As the weeks had gone by, he’d started looking for other things he could pass along to someone else, or cut out entirely – he’d been making his own make-work. He was beginning to see that as soon as the new stores were open and the Wilsons had been adequately dealt with, he was going to have some time on his hands. Perhaps with his anger sated he could use some free time to enjoy himself, he thought as he drove into the Parker’s Corners store employee parking lot.

Royce didn’t go to Parker’s Corners much more than he went to any of his other stores, but he always felt better when he was going there since there was the prospect of seeing Maria. It wasn’t going anywhere with her, but he enjoyed seeing her whenever he could since she brought a little sunshine into a life that had been having far too many dark thoughts, especially in recent days since he’d realized that Petra had brushed him off again.

Once again he found Maria in the office, although this time she was messing with employee schedules. That was normally a job the manager had to deal with, although it was often passed along to an assistant. Still, it was tedious, and there were chances to make mistakes that could get employees upset.

“Oh, that lovely chore again,” he smiled when he saw what she was working on. “I remember those days, and I remember the way people could throw fits when they got put on the wrong shift, got their hours cut or raised beyond what they wanted, and all sorts of other little bear traps.”

“It’s not fun,” she shook her head. “Some people are willing to work any time, any shift. Others want the stability of a regular shift. There are all sorts of alternatives between the two extremes, especially when seniority gets involved.”

“Tell me all about it,” he smiled. “I did it for years, and I’m glad I’m not doing it any more. So aside from that, how are you doing today?”

“Not too bad, but I’ll tell you one thing I’m sorry about leaving behind at Upper Avondale.”

“What’s that?”

“When I worked there, if I had to go somewhere beyond walking distance, I could usually borrow Dad’s minivan to do it, or get him to drive me, or something. This is most of the way across town, and it’s really inconvenient if I have to take Ramona to a doctor’s appointment or something. Walking somewhere is just not as convenient as it was at Upper Avondale, and the bus routes here just don’t seem to work my way.”

“Well, this is a suburban area, more so than Upper Avondale,” Royce conceded. “People are pretty much expected to have cars here.”

“I realize that, but I don’t have one. It makes it pretty hard sometimes.”

“So get a car. I know you know how to drive since you drove my car back at Christmas.”

“I’d like to get one, but money is a problem, and I don’t know much about cars. I know there are pay-here, zero-down places I could probably go to, but I know I’d be running the risk of buying a real clunker that needs more repairs than it’s worth. When a woman walks onto the lot at those places, the guys there see her as a walking cash register, and I don’t have the money to throw around.”

“I’ve heard those stories too,” he agreed. “Couldn’t you get your dad or your brother to help you with finding a car?”

“Getting them free to do it is the issue,” she sighed. “They’re both working odd hours, and my brother doesn’t know much about cars anyway. He’s more interested in video games.”

“I suppose there are worse things he could be interested in,” he smiled as he made up his mind. “If you want, I could go with you sometime, and frankly, I’d stay away from those pay-here, zero-down places. There are actually some relatively honest car dealers, but you won’t find them at those places. We could go to the place where I usually get cars. They know me and I don’t think they want to jerk me around very badly. They usually can come up with favorable financing if they really want to.”

“Oh, Royce! Would you really do that for me? I’d really, really appreciate it.”

“No big deal. It’s not like I have anything better to do than to help out a pretty lady.”

“I don’t think I’m all that pretty, but I appreciate the compliment,” she smiled. It was a nice smile, and Royce was happy to see it directed at him. “How about if we do it Saturday afternoon? I can have Naomi keep an eye on Ramona.”

Petra was filled with plenty of mixed emotions as she marched into Mueller Auditorium with the rest of the graduating class. Since they were lined up alphabetically, Barry was well ahead of her in line, so she didn’t have him to talk to.

She had seen her mother and Milt earlier; her mother seemed to be beaming with pride and accomplishment, more than Petra was doing, while Milt appeared to be stoically enduring the boredom.

All in all she was glad to have college over with. It hadn’t been easy, but she’d done well with it. She hoped that it would be worth all the time, money, and effort that had been poured into it – her father’s money, especially. It seemed like an atrocity that Milt was at the ceremony when her father wasn’t, but that was how it had worked out. She might have been able to come up with an extra ticket, but if her mother found out about it there would be hell to pay. There had been enough fights with her mother as it was, so why get into another one? It wouldn’t solve anything.

At least the wedding would be in another month. It looked as if her mother was turning it into a real pain in the neck, but at least when it was over with she would be married to Barry and her mother would be less important. Much less important if Barry managed to come up with a job far away. She could hardly wait.

There was little doubt that Royce would have been upset to know that Petra was graduating at the same time he was looking at used cars with Maria, but he didn’t know it, and Maria was keeping his mind occupied anyway.

There was no way that shopping for a used car with her could be considered a date, he thought. It was just helping out a friend, after all. The fact that she was single, vivacious, and a joy to be with had little to do with it, at least on the surface. Still, being with her was unleashing a few emotions that Royce thought he had buried a long time before. In spite of everything, he thought, a man could do a lot worse than her. He had; he’d married Maxine, after all.

It had not taken much talking with her to come to the conclusion that she was looking for a small, cheap, economy car, preferably used for the price difference but not so far used that it would be a mechanical monster. She didn’t care much about the make; running and reliable were more important to her, and he pretty much agreed with her on both counts.

With that thought in mind they drove over to Baxter Motors, where Royce looked up an old friend, Nick Fishel, and laid the problem out to him. “I have two or three sitting out back that probably are pretty much what you’re looking for,” he told them, and led them out to the back of the used car lot.

It took a while to look each one of them over, and for Maria to drive each one of them. She found things she didn’t like about two of the cars, nothing substantial – they were just things that she didn’t like. However, a third one seemed to suit her; she liked it and the price seemed to be right. “I don’t think I would like it if Ramona were much younger,” she commented as she and Royce rode around in it. “Since it’s a two-door the back seats are hard to get into, but fortunately she’s beyond needing a car seat.”

“I remember those days,” Royce smiled. “They were a pain in the neck, too.”

“We weren’t in cars very much when Ramona was younger,” she replied. “We had a car seat, but it was usually left in Dad’s car since it was after Reuben died and I couldn’t afford a car. But living where we did, I didn’t need one all that badly, so I made do. I’m learning that I can’t do it now, but I’m making enough money at Parker’s Corners that I don’t have to do without any more.”

“I’m glad things are working out for you. So do you think this car is what you want?”

“I think so,” she said. “It seems like a nice little car.”

“Good,” he said. “Take a right at the next corner. There’s a place about halfway down the block called Hefferan Auto Services. I know a guy there who ought to be able to take a professional look at this thing and only take a few minutes at it. He’s sort of expecting us about this time.”

“Did you set that up?” she replied as she signaled for the turn.

“Of course I did. Maria, some men consider it beneath their dignity to admit that they don’t know much about cars, but I’m not one of them. I know my limits and being a mechanic is beyond them.”

“Royce, sometimes I think you’re too good to me. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Just being prudent,” he replied. “I think it’s something that ought to be done every time someone buys a used car, and that’s especially true for a woman. That is, get a mechanic to take a look at it independently. They know what they’re looking for while the rest of us don’t.”

“That may be so, but Royce, I don’t know that I could have done this without you.”

“First time for everything, and you need to know a few things to protect yourself,” he shrugged.

It turned out that they would have to wait a few minutes for the mechanic to get the car on a lift since he was just finishing up on another job. That was fine; Fishel knew that they probably were going to be gone for a while.

They sat in the car and talked while they waited on the mechanic. “I’m sure glad you were willing to take the time to help me with this,” she repeated. “I would have been lost without you.”

“I’m glad to help out. It makes a nice break from what I’ve been doing. It’s been busy, and it’s nice to have a little time off. Spending it car shopping with a pretty woman is very enjoyable by comparison.”

“Royce, I appreciate the compliment, but I don’t think I’m that pretty.”

“I was all through your apartment when we inspected it before you rented it,” he smiled. “I’m pretty sure I saw a mirror in the bathroom. Have you looked in it recently?”

“Oh, Royce, now you’re just teasing me. I’m a working mother. I don’t have the time to doll myself up like you’re trying to say.”

“Then you have a natural beauty you’re not admitting to. I find you very attractive, and if you don’t think so you’re the one who’s teasing me. Like I said, I enjoy being with you.” He knew he was pushing things a little too far, so backed off. “However you look at it, spending time with you is a lot different than what I’ve been doing. It gives me something to relax with.”

“What’s that?” she replied as if she noticed him backing off and wasn’t sure she liked the idea.

“Well, I do more than just run Pafco Supermarkets,” he explained, figuring it was a safe topic. “I’m involved with a new venture. We’re trying to keep it quiet, but we’re going to be opening a chain of sub shops and another business in a few weeks. In the beginning I thought it was going to be pretty simple and I should have known better. I mean, I know how complicated it is to run one grocery store. Ten of them is at least ten times worse, and that’s for businesses that are already up and going. Even though the sub shops are going to be a lot smaller than even one supermarket, there are all sorts of things that have to be done to get them ready to go. But we’re on schedule to open, and I’m going to be glad to see it happen. The first few weeks ought to be exciting.” And for more reasons than one, he thought, but Maria doesn’t need to know that.

“That sounds like something different for you,” she said. “I know that while it’s a chore to learn all the things an assistant manager has to do, it’s a welcome change from being a cashier all the time.”

“You’ve been with Pafco quite a while, haven’t you?”

“Oh, yes. I started at Upper Avondale right after I married Reuben. I had to take some time off to have Ramona, but my mother was willing to watch her when she was just a baby, and I went back to work. Reuben and I needed the money. We were actually doing pretty well until his accident, and then I really needed the money.”

“I’m surprised that you didn’t move back in with your parents.”

“I had to for a while, but there was a limit on how much I thought I ought to leech off of them. I wanted to make it on my own. Besides, it was a long way to the store, and I thought it would be better to have my own place. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a crappier setup than I thought it would be. But it was close to the school and close to the store, so it had its advantages. It really wasn’t until you promoted me and transferred me that I realized just how crappy it had been, so I have to thank you for that, Royce.”

“It must have been tough on you when Reuben died,” he observed.

“Yes, it was,” she sighed. “Royce, Reuben was a good man, and I loved him. We had a good thing going, and he had a good job and all, but a lot changed when he died. It’s been a real struggle until recently, and you had everything to do with that. I really didn’t want Ramona to grow up without a father, so I spent some time looking for a guy to be with, but it didn’t go very well. I never thought Hector was going to be a guy I wanted to spend my life with, but at that moment I thought he was better than nobody. Well, I was wrong on that and I would have been better off without him, but you fixed that, too. I’m glad you did.”

You know, he thought, it wouldn’t take very much pushing with her to make things get really interesting. It’s just too bad that it wouldn’t be the right thing to do. “Just glad to have been of service. I think you deserved it.” He knew that that statement could again easily take him in a direction he didn’t think he ought to go, but it was very tempting to go that route with her.

Fortunately the mechanic saved him. They had to break off the discussion so he could give the car a good looking over, and he did. He put it on the computer to check to see if there had been recent problems or things that needed work, and even put it up on the lift so he could get a look at the underside. “It’s hard to tell everything you ought to know from just a quick look,” he reported. “But it looks like it wouldn’t be a bad car for you, and if you take good care of it, it ought to last you for a long time.”

“Thank you,” she told him. “That’s good to know. Royce, unless you can come up with some reason not to, let’s go buy this car.”

They headed back to the dealership after Royce slipped the mechanic a couple of twenties for his time. Dealing with the paperwork was a hassle, and so was the financing, but Royce was able to make a couple of suggestions that simplified things, and presumably knowing the dealer helped with that. Maria couldn’t get out of paying a down payment on the financing, but after some negotiation it turned out to be a token amount, and the payments weren’t anything she couldn’t handle, either.

After more than an hour the little car had temporary tags on it, and they were done; Maria seemed to be as pleased as punch. “Let’s go back home so we can show Ramona,” she smiled. “I think she’ll be about as pleased as I am.”

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, happy to see her happy. “Let’s get her in the car and take her out to dinner. It might be a little early for her, but maybe that doesn’t matter.”

Ramona was indeed excited to see the new car, and was no less excited to have Royce take her and her mother out to dinner. Royce managed to avoid the burger shack that Ramona said would be ‘cool,’ and they wound up at a nice chain family restaurant; she didn’t seem to mind. “I like your new car, Mom,” she exulted. “It’s going to make it a lot easier to get out and do things.”

“I know it is,” Maria replied. “And once again, we have Mr. Palmer to thank for making it possible.”

“I’m glad you do nice things for Mom,” she said. “Thank you, Mr. Palmer.”

“I enjoyed doing them,” he smiled at the girl. While he was happy to see her excited, it reminded him a little too much of what he had lost when he’d first lost Petra, back about that age. He had missed an awful lot, and he knew it. Being friends with Maria and Ramona wasn’t the same thing and didn’t fill the hole, but he felt a little better for it.

“Can we do something like this again sometime?” Ramona asked. “I like being with you, Mr. Palmer.”

“I don’t see why not,” he smiled. “In fact, I have an idea. It’s still a little early in the year, but in a month or so it’ll have warmed up enough that the pool ought to be comfortable. I could have the two of you come over. We could order some pizza, and you could play around in the pool.”

“You have a pool!” Ramona said, wide-eyed.

“Just a little one,” he replied. “I don’t use it much. It came with the house when I got it, so I had to take it.”

“Oh, Mom, can we?” she almost squealed. “I don’t know anyone who has a pool!”

“We’ll have to get some swimsuits,” she said to her daughter calmly, but she smirked and added to Royce, “Just don’t get any bright ideas.”

“I didn’t say a thing,” he laughed, although she had set his thoughts off into some areas that were pretty inappropriate if they involved someone as young as Ramona, but maybe not if they just involved Maria. A little surprisingly, he realized that he welcomed the idea. He was getting more entranced with her, and didn’t mind in the slightest. “But the offer is good,” he added.

“Then I guess we’ll have to take you up on it,” she smiled, “and the pizza sounds like a good idea too.”

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