Cold by John Smolens Page A

do, though it’s been hard lately.   Since Lorraine—and, well, since your brother moved out.”   She looked up at the clock on the wall.   It was nearly midnight.   “You hungry?”
    He nodded.
    “There’s only one place in town now that stays open this late.   Joey’s Pizzeria has a new owner and they deliver.   Sometimes I call them and the kid comes over on the way home and gives me a deal on whatever’s leftover.”   She stood up; her jeans were tight around her thighs.   “Let me call before he closes up.”
    “He sweet on you?”
    “Yeah, sure.   They’re all sweet on me.   That’s been the problem all along.”

 
    •

 
    Warren opened his eyes.   He had dozed off and now he could see Noel behind the counter talking on the telephone.   Leah’s head was heavy on his right thigh and she was snoring softly.   He still had his hand inside her panties where she was warm and wet.   Noel hung up the phone and turned to her left.   She seemed to be talking, though no one else was in the office.   It was difficult to tell from this distance.   Warren drank the last of the schnapps, put his head back against the seat and closed his eyes again.

 
    •

 
    “Jimmy was just closing up,” Noel said.   “He’ll be over in two minutes—you should get in the back office.”   Norman started to get to his feet.   “No, I’d stay down,” she said.   “Be just your luck that somebody would drive by and recognize you.”
    Norman got on his hands and knees and crawled into the back office.   When he was beyond the desk he sat on the cot next to the computer station.   “The cops,” he said.   “They ever come in here at night?”
    She leaned against the doorjamb and folded her arms.   “Not unless I call them.   Sometimes we get a party in one of the rooms and they come and check it out.   Happens a lot in the summer.   During the fall it’s hunters on the weekend mostly.   And now packs of snowmobiles are starting to invade every weekend.   A few times I’ve had to call the police because someone was—”   She felt her face flush.   “Someone was getting out of hand.”
    “You mean some guy’s beating up on his wife or girlfriend.”
    “I haven’t seen it the other way around yet.”
    “I suppose not,” Norman said.   “I just came from a place full of guys like that.”

 
    •

 
    Warren was awakened by the sound of an engine.   Across the street he watched Jimmy’s delivery truck pull up in front of the motel office.   Fucking Jimmy wasn’t twenty; wore those real baggy jeans that look so stupid.   Ball cap backwards.   Just a happy guy delivering pizza.   A million kids like that get sucked into the Navy.   It would be something if he were delivering more than pizza, if he went in there and Noel put her arms around his shoulders, kissed him, then took him into the back office.   Warren could see himself driving over there, going into the office, catching her going down on the kid.   Snap a photo and give her a ton of shit over custody.   Just to make her sweat.
    But Noel came around the counter, opened the front door and never let Jimmy out of his truck.   She leaned over and talked to him, her arms folded under her breasts because of the cold.   Fucking crazy to be out in that.   Hair blowing all around.   Then Jimmy handed the pizza box out his window.   She tried to pay him, but Warren could see that the kid was refusing it.   Always looking for an edge.   Maybe the kid wasn’t so stupid.   He drove off and Noel rushed back inside.   She walked through the door to the back office and went out of sight.

 
    •

 
    They ate quickly at first, while the pizza was hot, but after her second slice she stopped.   Norman kept going, though he left his crusts in the pizza box now.   When he stopped, he looked like he was about to fall asleep.   “You look exhausted,” she said.   “I could give you a key and you could go down to a