Marisa nodded. “Coins are easy to tell apart by touch, but paper money is impossible because it’s all the same size. Without this device and a good system, I’d be lost. I used to have a wallet with lots of compartments, but when we were dating, Eric taught me this system of folding the money. I find it much simpler.”
Nancy whisked her tray from the counter and took a sip of her thick milk shake. “You and Eric used to date?” That would explain the bad vibes between Devon and Eric, she thought.
They took seats at a booth. “Devon hates the fact that Eric and I are still friends,” Marisa said. “He won’t come out and say it—I mean, he and Eric are fraternity brothers. Still, I’m sure he’d be happy if Eric fell off the face of the earth.” Marisa sighed.
“Devon loves you,” Bess said.
Marisa smiled. “I know. And I love him. I only wish he trusted me a little more. Eric and I are friends, and that’s all. Why is that so hard for Devon to understand?”
Bess put a hand on Marisa’s shoulder. “Who knows? Men are hard to figure.”
“You can say that again.” Marisa bit off the end of a french fry. Casey rested her chin on George’s shoe and looked up at her with a pitiful expression in her eyes.
“Bess,” George said, “may I please give her a french fry?”
“Absolutely not.” Bess tugged on Casey’s leash. “The first thing Penny told me was no table food. A couple of french fries, and she’ll be a guide dog has-been. Besides, fries aren’t good for dogs.”
“Or for people,” George said.
Bess bit her lip. “I know. But they taste so good. How can you sit here and eat a salad with all these yummy, fattening foods surrounding you?”
“I have a race tomorrow,” George said. “Remember?”
“You have to be up early, don’t you?” Nancy asked. “Five o’clock.”
“You’re not waking me up at five again, are you, Casey?” Bess yawned as she patted the puppy’s head.
Marisa wiped off her greasy fingers and touched them to her Braille watch face. “It’s nine o’clock already?”
“Do you need to get home?” Bess asked.
“I do have a lot of homework tonight,” Marisa said.
George stood up. “I definitely need a good night’s sleep. I’ll take you home, Marisa.”
“Thanks.” Marisa said good night to Nancy and Bess.
Nancy and Bess stayed at the restaurant for coffee, then headed home. Nancy shivered as she and Bess walked back to her car. “It really is chilly.”
Bess bent down and hugged Casey. “Are you cold, Casey? Maybe I’ll use Marisa’s sewing machine to make you some warm clothes.”
Nancy chuckled. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I guess Casey does have a built-in fur coat,” Bess said. “I’m just anxious to sew something, and I wanted to start out simple.”
“Dog clothes do not sound simple to me,” Nancy said.
“You’re probably right.” Bess tugged lightly on Casey’s leash. “I still can’t believe Marisa gave me her sewing machine. I hope things work out for her and Devon.”
“Me, too,” Nancy said as they reached her car.
“We’ll sit in the back so Casey has plenty of room,” Bess said when Nancy had unlocked the door on the passenger side. She lifted Casey onto the backseat and climbed in after her.
“Did you know that Devon proposed to Marisa a few weeks ago?” Bess asked as Nancy adjusted the driver’s seat to give Bess and Casey more room in the back.
“No.” Nancy turned the key in the ignition. “What happened?” She looked over her shoulder and backed out of the parking space.
“Marisa said no,” Bess replied. “Devon told me. He was pretty upset, Marisa said she wanted to wait until they both graduated from school and their lives were more stable, but Devon’s afraid—”
“I know what you’re going to say,” Nancy cut in. “Devon’s afraid Marisa still has feelings for Eric.”
“Exactly.” Bess pulled Casey away from the seat belt. “Besides, Devon wants to be an actor. He’s not sure his life will ever be stable.”
“I thought he was in architecture school for that very reason,” Nancy said. “Stability.”
“He’s in architecture school because his father wants him to be. He made that very clear at the inn. He’s taking acting classes on the side because he wants to.” Bess smiled. “We used to put on neighborhood plays all the time when we were growing up. Everyone wanted to be the hero except for Devon. He wanted to be the bad guy. That’s when we all knew he was a serious actor.” Bess giggled. “Once, he even got a black eye when he tried to kiss Laura Fissinger.”
“I remember now. Didn’t you fall off the stage and sprain your ankle during one of your productions?”
Bess frowned. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
When they arrived at Bess’s house, Bess invited Nancy inside. “Would you like some hot chocolate?” Bess asked once they were in the kitchen.
“No, thanks. But I’ll sit while you have a snack.”
Bess set Casey down and washed her hands. “How about some chocolate chip cookies? I’ve been doing a lot of baking since my parents went away. It’s fun to experiment when no one cares how messy the kitchen gets.”
“No, thanks. We just ate, remember?”
