Key Lime Season (January) Part 4

 "Hey, Abe." Fabian sat next to Abe Wright at the counter in the diner.

 "Rough night? You look awful."

 "Thanks." Fabian ran his hands over his face. Anne came by with the coffee pot and he turned up his cup, thanking her sincerely.

 "How's Lisa?" she asked.

 "Still sleeping. I left a note in case she wakes up. Thanks for understanding, Anne."

 "I've thought for some time that she needed a good night's sleep," Anne said. "Sounds like she finally found a place she feels safe enough to do that."

 "What's going on?" Abe asked.

 "Lisa went to let my dog out late yesterday afternoon and fell asleep in my vardo," Fabian explained. "She hasn't been sleeping well for a long time and I guess it caught up to her. I look like this because I spent the night on the couch in my sister's trailer."

 "You what?" Abe stared at him.

 "Lisa and I are waiting until we get married," Fabian replied. "I thought it would be for the best if I left her sleep and went someplace else. Oh, heaven! Thank you, Anne!" Anne placed a plate of hotcakes with a side of sausage in front of him. Fabian was enough of a regular by now that Anne usually anticipated his order so that it was ready or at least close when he arrived. The bell on the door jingled, but no one turned to see who came in.

 "Only you," Abe teased. "You get a pretty girl in your vardo and she falls asleep!"

 "She needs sleep," Fabian replied. "I'm not offended. Oh -- Anne?"

 "Yes?"

 "What kind of soups will you have today?"

 "I have a really nice chicken noodle that Lisa likes."

 "Great. Could you please put a quart aside for me? I'll pick it up after school."

 "I'd be glad to. And keep me posted on how she's doing."

 The bell on the door jingled again. Anne just caught a glimpse of the back of a head with very prominent ears wearing a battered blue baseball cap.

The carnies that came with the carnival solved a lot of problems just by being here.

 Carlos Moreno sighed. This was part of running a business that he really hated, but it had to be done. He'd avoided the problem long enough, and his father had avoided it before him. Carl Lange poked his head in the door.

 "You wanted to see me, Chief?" He was wearing that disgusting baseball cap. Carlos had known Carl all of his life. Carl had always worn a hat, and Carlos didn't think he could remember what color hair Carl had if he was asked. And Carlos hated Carl's snide, disrespectful use of "Chief". It wasn't sincere and that had become more obvious over time. Carl had no respect for any member of the Moreno family, but especially not one his age.

 "Have a seat, Carl." Carlos motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. He looked down briefly at the file on his desk. It was thick, containing many incidents, reprimands, and warnings. This had indeed gone on far too long. It was difficult for the mill to find drivers who were willing to haul to Texas and Mexico on a regular basis, so Carl had written his own ticket for a long time. Fortunately, Carlos had recently had an applicant who was starting a company. He was interested in any form of deliveries regardless of distance, and he had his own rig. He'd hauled for the carnival, and since the carnival was no longer going to be mobile, he'd started a trucking company.

 "Do you have another run for me?" Carl asked, flopping down in one of the chairs and leaning it back onto its back legs. He stopped just short of putting his feet up on the desk.

 "No I don't," Carlos replied. "I called you in here to tell you that we're going to have to let you go."

 Carl started to laugh, and Carlos looked at him.

 "Why are you laughing?" he asked.

 "Because we both know you don't mean that," Carl said, smiling. "What did I do to make you mad this time, Chief?"

 "Carl, I do have someone to replace you. He starts in two weeks. Your employment here is terminated effective immediately." The front legs of the chair slammed to the floor. Carlos went on. "You're on our health insurance for the next few weeks; you'll want to either buy your own or join the town's policy." He slid an envelope across the desk. "This is your severance package. It has a check for two weeks' pay plus instructions for filing for unemployment and contacts for insurance coverage."

 "You can't do this." Carlos almost recoiled -- Carl's face in anger was frightening.

 "Yes I can," Carlos told him. "I have an entire folder of reasons, and this is long overdue. The last two incidents, however, were the stupidest. You've been told over and over that the women in this company are not for your amusement. Yet you hit on both my fiance and my cousin within the past month."

 "Your cousin? Oh -- in Texas. What can I say? I like older women. As for your ... fiance, you're going to fire me because that girl was coming on to me?"

 "No, Carl. I think you and I both know that isn't the truth."

 "I say it is. It's my word against hers -- I don't understand why you always take their word for things. You know how girls get."

 "Carl, I'm not going to argue this with you. Or anything further. Joachim? Could you please escort Mr. Lange to clean out his locker and the truck?" Carlos's cousin Joachim, a very large, muscular young man who worked in human relations, came into Carlos's office.

 "Whenever you're ready, Mr. Lange," he said.

Sometimes, feeling safe is all you need.

 She was dimly aware of having to go to the bathroom. Very badly. She sat up and looked around in confusion, then realized where she was. Fabian was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper. He smiled at her.

 "About time you woke up," he said. "Feel better?"

 "Much. I have to go to the bathroom."

 "You know where it is." He waved to the tiny enclosure opposite the kitchen. She climbed down from the bed and Buster started bouncing, panting and barking as though she'd been away for a long time.

 "I'll be right back," she promised the puppy, and gave his head a scratch before going into the little bathroom and closing the door. While she was in there, something occurred to her. The table hadn't been set when she'd passed Fabian to use the bathroom. It had been a clear afternoon without a cloud in the sky when the dogs were out playing in the snow and now she could hear that it was pouring down rain and she could see that it was dark outside. She finished and left the bathroom.

 "Fab, what time is it?" she asked. He looked at his watch.

 "It's about six-thirty," he said. "Want to know the date?" He smiled, but she looked at him in horror.

 "How long was I asleep?" she asked, sitting at the table.

 "Calm down, sweetheart. I got soup from the diner -- I figured that would be better than anything when you woke up. If you want it, your sandwich from yesterday is in the refrigerator." He got up and dished her some soup from a pot on the Aga. "If you fell asleep at four, it's been twenty-six hours."

 "What?!" He put the bowl of soup in front of her and got a glass to pour her a drink of water.

 "You were sleeping yesterday when I got home," he told her. "I mean you were out cold. I let you sleep all evening, then went to Taryn's for the night. The dogs stayed here with you. I came back this morning to check on you, feed the dogs, and let them out. Then I called Anne and George, who were very understanding."