Shudder by Harry F. Kane Page A

stuff...”
    He threw a quick glance at Natalie, who looked at him with an indecipherable expression.
    â€œYou’re right about that,” she said. “I do have a new number and address, but you could’ve looked me up in the web. I have a
NuSmart
account and a
MyFace
profile, I’m easy to find.”
    â€œWell...” Dave said again and thanked the gods. They reached the lights of the
Byway
and he focused solely on parking.
    The night cafe was half-empty and they chose a table between two crimson leather couches. The walls of the cafe were covered with nostalgic old posters of ancient movies, there was
Twilight
and
2012
, and even
Waterworld
.
    True to form, the music was of the same era, more or less, and one of the incalculable number of
Rhythm is a Dancer
remixes played softly, intertwining with the sounds of liquids slurped, burgers munched, and words cross-pollinating with chatter and giggles.
    Dave opened the long, thin menu in the form of a Cadillac convertible. The car had a brief comeback as a fashionable hybrid copy of the classic thing, and its image still lingered here and there.
    A photo of a very greasy looking burger, with bits of onion and lettuce sticking out invitingly from between the two buns, tickled his interest.
    He glanced up at Natalie. “You know what you will take?”
    â€œAha, I think I’m ready.”
    Dave waved at a girl in a red shirt and black pants, and after finishing with the neighboring table, she came over. “Hi,” she said with a genuine glow of pleasure at seeing them.
    She was about Natalie’s age, looked like white trash, or at least formerly white trash, and had the positive face of someone who is on the usual mix of speed and over-the-counter antidepressants. She had ‘Ivy’ written on her name tag.
    â€œHi,” answered Dave, and looked at Natalie. She was apparently waiting for him to order first, just like he was waiting for her, and Ivy was throwing both amiable glances, holding her check-box in hand.
    Dave firmly resolved the situation by waving a hand with vague invitation at Natalie.
    Natalie took her cue, took her menu, and ordered, without meeting the waitress’s eyes. “I’ll have the Queen of Egypt salad please, and a glass of water.”
    â€œWill that be cold or warm water?”
    â€œRoom temperature, please.”
    â€œFine, thank you.” With a burst of lightning clickity-clack, Ivy punched the order in and turned her eyes to Dave.
    He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’ll have the Biker Grease burger, with fries, not spicy, and a cappuccino.” Then a small stab of guilt made him add an orange juice too.
    Ivy the waitress left and now they were alone, just the two of them.
    A silent moment pregnant with conversational possibilities descended upon the table.
    Then Natalie looked at Dave, placed her handbag on her lap, and stooped over it, slowly rummaging through its contents. “I’ll go outside and have a smoke, Dave; you go ahead and wait for the drinks.”
    â€œYou still smoking then?”
    â€œOf course. You still holding out?”
    â€œYup, still haven’t ever even lit one.”
    Natalie gave him a quick glance of approval and fished out her pack. “Good boy. Don’t start. The stuff’s unquitable.”
    She placed her bag back on the seat of the couch and got up.
    â€œWait, wait, I’ll go with you,” Dave said and also started getting up.
    â€œNo, no, there’s no need. Anyway, someone has to watch our things. Look, I’m leaving my handbag here.” She smiled at him. “I’ll be back real quick, I promise.”
    She went.
    Dave escorted her with his eyes. In the bright light of the night cafe, she was sexier than seemed polite.
    Her thin legs in fishnets, sticking out from her light purple dress, which in turn was sticking out from below her very short latex jacket, all worked on him in a very