Pearl’s didn’t have menus. She had a few specials written on a chalkboard hanging behind the counter, but with everything else, customers were just supposed to know what she served.
“Thank you, Pearl,” Daniel said. “We’d like a few minutes to think it over.”
“Take your time.” Pearl winked at him. “I’ll check on you in a bit.”
“Thanks, Pearl,” Harper said, then turned her attention back to Daniel.
“What?” Daniel asked once Pearl had walked away.
“She paid you in food again, didn’t she?” Harper asked.
He leaned on the table and offered her a sheepish smile. “I did fix her overhead fan, and offers of food were made, yes.”
“Daniel.” Harper smiled and shook her head. “You have to stop letting people pay you in food.”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t happen that often. I have plenty of jobs that pay me in cash.”
“Really?” She was skeptical and crossed her arms over her chest. “’Cause it seems like you get paid in food or gently used sofas or a box of bootleg VHS tapes.”
“That was one time.” Daniel held up a finger. “And it had an entire season of the original Adam West Batman in it.”
“You don’t have a VCR!” Harper countered.
“I’ll get one,” he insisted.
“Well, if you wait long enough, you’ll probably get paid with one.”
“Haha,” he said dryly, but he was still smiling.
Harper relented a bit, uncrossing her arms and leaning forward on the table. “I’m just saying. You have bills to pay, and I don’t think my dad would let you pay him rent in food or videotapes.”
“Don’t worry. I have it covered.” He waved off her concern. “The Paramount job is paying pretty well.”
“How is that going, by the way?”
“Good. It’s coming together, slowly but surely.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.” Harper rubbed at a spot on the table and, as nonchalantly as possible, she went on. “I thought something might have happened. Gemma came home last night acting kind of strange, but when I pressed her about it, she kept insisting that nothing was wrong. She just spent the whole night reading up on the mythology books I brought home from the library.”
Daniel shook his head. “I had to leave early because I was helping Pearl, but everything seemed fine when I was there.”
“Good.” Harper smiled at him.
Pearl came back to take their orders. Harper hadn’t really been thinking about it, so she just got the meatloaf and a cherry malt. Daniel apparently liked the sound of that, because he ordered the same.
Once Pearl had left to fill their order, he leaned back in the booth. He stared across at Harper and sighed.
“This is going against my rule where I said I wouldn’t tattle on Gemma,” he said finally.
“It’s not tattling,” Harper argued. “We’re adults. Adults don’t tattle.”
“That’s kind of my point.” He scratched the back of his head and glanced around the diner. “When I started working on the play, I said I would keep an eye on Gemma, but I wouldn’t run to you telling you every little thing she did wrong.”
“I know. And I’ve never asked you to,” she said. “I don’t need to know everything she does. I just want to know that she’s safe, and I trust your judgment.”
“Well, anyway…” He sighed again. “I didn’t see her much last night because I left early, but tonight, she seemed like herself. She was getting a little flirty with Aiden Crawford.”
“Aiden? The mayor’s son?” Harper asked, her eyes widening a little. “I thought she was seeing Kirby Logan.”
Daniel nodded. “That’s what John said.”
“And now Aiden’s dating Gemma?” Harper asked, and by now she didn’t care at all how Daniel or Gemma thought she should react.
“‘Dating’ is probably too strong a word. And you have to keep in mind that Gemma is, you know…” He gave her a knowing look, trying to remind her that Gemma was a mythological creature capable of enslaving men. “She can handle herself.”
Harper shook her head. “I don’t want her to have to handle herself.”
“I know. But…” Daniel trailed off when he noticed Harper digging in her purse on the booth seat next to her. “What are you doing?” Instead of answering, she pulled out her cell phone. “No. Harper, you can’t call her.”