Lass Small - The Catch Of Texas

She looked at Paul and said, “Thank you. I’ll see you around, no doubt.” Then she closed the front door.

Paul gasped.

Geri turned and went into the back of the apartment to her bedroom, and she closed that door, too.

All that in just no time at all?

A little while later, Geri came from the back room to check out who was left. Since no one was there, Geri drew a deep breath and hummed as she gathered what was left for her own supper.

The fact that the two men had carried away most of the meal was no problem for her.

As Geri ate, she sat looking out over the beautiful trees to the river. It was a wonderful view. She smiled at the scene, though her thoughts kept returning to Frank.

Time passed. Several days. The phone rang.

Should she or shouldn’t she answer the silly thing? Geri wondered.

But she considered that as she got up and went to the phone. She lifted it, not saying anything, and it was Frank who asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

Then Frank asked as if the thought had just occurred, “Hey, you wanna go to a movie?”

Geri asked carefully, “What movie?”

And he said, “Twilight. It’s supposed to be good.”

“I’ve heard it’s scary.”

He told her, “Naw. It’s just like all the others. You’ve probably seen ’em on TV. Try this one. I’ve seen it, and it’s okay.”

“If you’ve seen it, why are you willing to go?”

And Frank told her, “This way I can watch you and how you take the movie.”

“That would be boring for you.”

In a smoky voice, he told her, “I can watch you.”

That made Geri feel naked. She considered all the other people who’d be there so she’d be okay. She said, “You’ll watch the screen. Behave.”

Frank complained, “Oh, hell. That again.”

“Yeah.”

He sighed with such endurance and said, “Okay.”

“Well, I’ll see if my headache takes care.”

Frank exclaimed, “That still around? I thought you were through it.”

Geri told him, “It comes and goes... depending.” What a lie.

So Frank said, “Maybe you ought to see a doctor?”

“It’s the season. I’m one who stops up with colds at summer’s tip.”

“Ahhhh.”

They talked a few moments longer, making plans for the evening. And when Geri hung up, she was oddly warmed by Frank’s concern for her.

So that evening, the two did go to the movie, Twilight. Geri looked around to see who else was there and did not see one single. person she knew. When had that ever happened?

Geri settled down and adjusted to being in a strange place.

The movie was odd and caught Geri’s attention quite easily. She watched the screen and was drawn into the plot. She felt the people were real, and their problems were just like everybody’s! She blinked and listened. She never shouted what they could have done! But she was restless and appalled they weren’t a little more aware of what all was happening.

When it was finished and they were on their way to her place, she told Frank what the actors should have done right away and not allowed it all to pile up.

Frank said, “It’s a movie.”

Now that was logical. The film wasn’t real. So she settled down and still it waggled in her mind.

Frank told Geri, “You were so wrapped up in what was happening.” He grinned at her.

She was more serious. She said, “They never should have—”

“It was a movie.”

Geri told him, “The plot was such that I could have done better.”

“Yeah. Want something to drink? Or how about ice cream?”

“Ice cream. If they’d only—”

Again he repeated, “It was a movie.”

She was somewhat irritated. “Aren’t you involved? Didn’t you figure out what they were supposed to do right away and not let it get all out of hand?”

He laughed, then said, “What you need is a good cherry soda.”

“Chocolate.”

He was shocked. “You don’t want a cherry soda? You’re waggling my understanding of you.”

“Probably.” She was sassy and slid her eyes to look at him. She really wasn’t finished with debating the movie. “So you’ve seen it twice now?”

Frank nodded. “I had to check it out to see if you’d like it.”

That touched her. “Thank you.” But she was irritated by the film. “It should have gone differently.”

“How?”

“The female lead should have been more in charge of the situation.”

He nodded. He did that because he wasn’t entirely sure exactly what she intended for the characters to do. Frank looked over at her and watched her tilt her head as she looked out the car window into the night’s darkness.

She was precious.

He took her to a busy ice-cream place that had sandwiches and beer. They got out of the car and went inside.

“Hey, Frank!” The call was for Frank, but the table of guys were looking at the remarkable Geri. The males got up and joined them at their table so that they could each sit by Geri.

Frank smiled. But he kept a good strong hand on the woman who was with him. He said, “Hush, now. Watch your language. This is a lady.”

Two

How interesting it was for Geri Jones to listen to the men speak and tease and laugh. They acted as if they had no other way to spend their time. What did they do?

So she inquired.

Their jobs were odd. She asked, “How did you find them?”

They shrugged and looked at each other. One man painted traffic signs. One was an electrician who strung new wires where they were needed. Another was in construction and altered buildings that were unsound.

All of them adjusted things. They knew how and it wasn’t difficult. And they knew how to read the drawings and help in the building of a building.

She asked, “How’d you know to do that?”

Some of them shrugged and one said, “It was logical.”

She asked, “How did you know what to do?”

It was Mark Goode who listened and replied, “How it was, wasn’t working, so we figured how to change it so that it would work.”

Geri was amazed. Anyone who could do something like that was clever.

Jack Smith told her, “We have lots of help on such things. There’re men who draw and figure and decide.”

“Who?” she asked.

“Guys that can figure out why it isn’t working. They can be desk people or people who do that kind of thing and knew it was crooked at the time they put it in. Some ideas for buildings are really dumb.”

She watched the speakers seriously and suggested, “Do any of you ask about things you know are wrong?”

“Yeah,” one of the older men said. “But the one that designed it doesn’t allow us to comment.”

Geri asked, “So you figure then what you’d have done if you’d drawn the layout?”

“Naw. They could be right. It’s when we find they’re wrong, and nothing really works right, that we figure how to save it. Some things don’t save. They’re empty and dead.”

“Ahhhhh, ” she said softly. She was thinking and considering. The apartments where she lived were somewhat that way. Some of the places were without good views. It was almost as if they’d been slapped in place and left that way.

One of the older men told her, “The place you live?”

Now how did he know where she lived? So she just looked at the man.

Easily he went on, “Some of the apartments were redone. We had to change them. The people who’d moved in didn’t understand outside walls that nobody could look out of.”

She nodded as she said, “Ahhhh.”

The older man who was called George said, “We put in the windows.”

So she asked, “How about an outside porch?”

George shook his head. “No support below. With the windows, you get to see out. That’s as good as we could do.”