"Hi, you must be Andy's dad," Sharon said as she put the light bulbs she needed onto the counter at the hardware store. George, his dad, gave her a smile and took the light bulbs to ring them up. "I'm Sharon."
"Nice to meet you, Sharon," he said, eyeing her, but then shaking his head. "I suppose you know my son?"
"Yes," she said, a little taken aback that he didn't seem to know anything about her or even that Andy might have mentioned her. She thought he had, but glancing at George here as he worked the cash register, Sharon was totally floored. She had been looking forward to meeting him since noting he was the one working today, and she was now questioning anything and everything that she thought might be going on with Andy. She really liked him, but his dad here had her doubting all of that.
George totaled her purchase, and she blindly handed him a $20 bill, still pondering the situation. She decided to press forward to see if he knew anything about her.
"I'm renting his house and teaching at the school," Sharon offered.
He'd nodded, "I knew he'd rented the house. Good luck at the school. Nice kids around here."
"Ahh, thank you," Sharon said with a forced smile and a nod. She took the bag he handed her, and gave him a small wave. "Enjoy your day." With that, she tried to quickly retreat to the door. She felt her heart starting to race.
"Sharon," she heard from George and as much as she didn't want to turn around and face him again after feeling like she'd made a fool of herself, she did. Sharon schooled her features and pivoted, trying to plaster a smile on her face.
"I'm just messing with you," George admitted, waving at her with a grin. "I've heard all about you, to tell you the truth, it's been nonstop all about you." Sharon let out a half laugh, half choke as she tried to laugh. "Now, come on back over here. I've got coffee on, and you and I are due a chat to get to know each other. It's high time."