Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 07 - Missing Milt by Hope Callaghan Read Free Book Online Page B

pocket and clipped her pen to the front.  “Yeah,” she clucked.  “Poor guy is missing.  I saw some crazy lady on the 6:00 news last night.  She had chained herself to some restaurant because of it.”
    She twirled her finger in a circular motion near the side of her head.  “There sure are a bunch of lunatics in the world.” 
    Gloria covered her mouth to hide her grin.  If she only knew.  “I heard he was a regular and that he came in with a group of men most mornings.” She glanced around.  “You wouldn’t happen to know if they’re in here this morning.”
    The woman tilted her head to a table not far from where the girls were sitting.  “Yeah, that’s them over there.”
    She leaned in.  “Nothin’ but a bunch of cheapskates.  They come in here every morning, sit there at that same table for hours and drink coffee.” She waved her hand.  “Coffee and if I’m reaaal lucky…maybe a donut or two.”
    The waitress shook her head.  “Lucky if I get a whole dollar tip from those tightwads.”
    She straightened.  “Course Milt. He’s a better tipper than most of ‘em.  He’d give me fifty cents no matter what he ordered.”
    The party in question was calling her name.  “Hey Fran!” She rolled her eyes.  “I gotta go.”
    The girls watched as she headed over to their table with a fresh pot of coffee.  “Looks like they’re here for the long haul,” Lucy observed.
    That would give the girls plenty of time to finish their breakfasts and head over there for a chat.
    Their waitress, Fran, came back a short time later with breakfast.  Gloria’s mouth watered as the woman set the piping hot food in front of her.  The aroma of cooked sausage and onions wafted in the air.
    Gloria eyed Lucy’s chocolate chip waffle, which came with a side of melted milk chocolate and syrup. 
    Lucy promptly dumped the entire mini pitcher of melted milk chocolate on top of the waffle.  Next, she poured the syrup over the chocolate.  She picked up a slice of bacon and dipped it in the chocolatey-syrup concoction. 
    She took a big bite and closed her eyes.  “Mmm.  This is so good.” She picked up a second piece, dipped that in chocolate and held it out.  “Here, you have to try this.”
    Gloria scrunched her nose.  She almost refused but it did look tasty - and fattening.  She took the piece of bacon and bit the end off.  It was good, but a bit too rich for Gloria’s blood.  “Delicious,” she agreed and handed the rest of the piece back to her friend.
    The girls ate their breakfast in silence. Gloria sipped her coffee – Lucy – her hot chocolate.  Lucy lifted the steamy mug to her lips.  “We should do this more often.”
    Gloria nodded.  “I’d like that Lucy.”  She picked up her napkin and dabbed the corners of her mouth. 
    Lucy set her cup on the table.  “I-I know that Bill took a lot of my time.  You know, we were always doing what he wanted to do.”
    Lucy looked up and Gloria could see the unshed tears shining in her eyes.  “Sometimes I miss him but you know, I’m just not sure he was the one for me,” she confessed.
    She drew a shaky breath.  “The more he sucked me into his life, the less of me and my opinion seemed to matter,” she said.  “If that makes sense.”
    It did make sense.  Standing on the outside looking in, Gloria felt that Lucy was losing her identity.  Of course, Lucy had always been – and probably always would be – a bit of a risk taker and free spirit, doing things that Gloria herself would never even try.  But somewhere along the way, Lucy began to change in small, subtle ways.
    Gloria wrapped her hands around her coffee mug.  “I love you, Lucy.  You know that, and I never want to say anything to hurt your feelings but I have to agree that you lost a little bit of yourself when you started dating Bill.”
    She let go of the cup and grabbed her friend’s hand.  “If Bill isn’t the one for you, the Lord will find the