8 – Leaving Out The Details

"She's nice," Kelly commented as she dried the glasses she had just washed.

It was after midnight, and although it hadn't been a busy night, there had been a constant flow of people. Henry was at the cash going over receipts. He kept his head down, counting, but he heard.

"Why didn't you tell her?" Kelly continued placing the dried glasses on the shelf. "And, she left before she could see you in action." She grinned. Henry had had to break up a fight and toss two fellows out before they broke the place up.

"There was no need to tell her." He placed the counted receipts in an envelope by the register.

Kelly stopped, tossing the dish towel over her left shoulder, and turned to her boss with one hand on her hip, the other leaning on the counter.

"Henry," she began, "You're a good looking man, with an easy personality and a great business. Everyone in town knows who you are. You're respected. Why didn't you tell her you owned the place?"

Henry's lips quirked up at the corners as he turned to the waitress. "You think I'm good looking?" he teased.

"Ya," she quipped back, "for an old guy." She pulled the dish rag off her shoulder and snapped it at him.

He jumped back slightly and shook an amused finger at her, but answered her question. "I did not say anything for the exact reasons you stated. Everyone knows me. They make judgments and expectations based on that. She accepted me for who I am, not what I have. I appreciated that."

"Too bad she had to leave. She looked a bit nervous when more people came in."

Henry nodded slowly. He had noticed that, too. "Maybe she does not like crowds."

"I got to talk to her a bit when you were making her dinner. Gave her directions to the Upper Cut. She said I was the second person to recommend it so she's going to get her hair cut tomorrow. She also said something about hitting the road again on Friday. Too bad. It would be nice if she stayed a while longer." She smirked at her boss.

"She has an appointment in New York City in June and has a few more stops to make before she gets there." Henry ignored the smirk, absently toying with the receipt book.

"I think it's so cool what she's doing. Brave. I'd be scared to death that something would happen to me. You hear so much about people disappearing or being kidnapped." Kelly shuddered. "And she already blew the tire. Lucky Mathias was there. Could have been different if it was someone else."

Henry's eyes clouded over, and the muscles in his neck tightened. He'd thought of that too, but hearing someone else say it made the worry more real. He'd just met her, yet he felt a deep connection like he'd never felt before. Cliché but true.

"I am sure she'll be fine," he reassured.

Kelly finished cleaning behind the bar and left with a quick good-bye, leaving Henry heading to his office with the books. Carl had left about two hours earlier.

The place was quiet. The doors locked. Only the hum of the florescent bar light could be heard in the back room. Henry sat in the chair behind his desk, right elbow on the armrest, fingers tapping his lips. Julia had opened up after a while, but he could tell she held some things back. She was funny and intelligent, and seemed to genuinely care about others. He liked her personal philosophy about being responsible. And, she definitely cared about the earth and animals. That came through loud and clear when they had talked about the land. He smiled. Things in common.

She had grown up in New Hampshire, gone to university there, graduating in Political Science. He couldn't see her as a politician, and she had just smiled coyly. International Policy. A humanitarian. His smile grew. He should have guessed. A warm feeling built in his chest. She had worked oversees, primarily in Kenya, until an accident had brought her home. She was on medical leave. That explained the limp. She wouldn't go into details. Even so, their two-hour conversation had flown by, and when she announced that she had to leave, he found that he didn't want the conversation to end. And when she said she'd be leaving on Friday, it felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. He didn't let on. Played it easy. After all, they'd only just met, he tried to convince himself. He shuffled the papers on his desk and piled them neatly in the basket on the corner. Maybe he'd take a drive out to Medicine Lodge tomorrow, just to see how Samantha was getting on the beaded bag; ya right…one last chance to talk with Julia. Who was he fooling?