Read Nothing Is Negotiable for Free Online

“No thanks, please, keep your seat.”
    Unsmiling, Willy pointed. “Sit.”
    Luke sat.
    A minute later, a nurse stepped into the waiting room and called out some names; an elderly couple across the room and the man in the suit beside Bonnie got up and followed the nurse back through the open door. Willy stepped over and plopped down next to Bonnie.
    “Little John’s going to college on a football scholarship,” Willy said. “He has to get him a physical.”
    Bonnie, distracted from filling out the form, looked at the boy and smiled. “That’s great. He looks very strong.”
    “He’s the quarterback.”
    “I bet he’s good.” She smiled and looked over at Little John who appeared to be in his own world listening to his iPod.
    Luke nudged Bonnie and whispered, “Let’s move over there.” He pointed at the empty chairs where the elderly couple had been sitting. The chairs were off in a corner, where they’d be out of the way. She nodded and reached down for her purse.
    As they started walking away, Willy spoke, loud enough for the entire room to hear, “What’s the matter, don’t like sitting next to Indians?”
    Startled, Luke said warily, “No, it’s just a little crowded in here. I just wanted to get out of the way. That’s all.”
    Luke and Bonnie hesitantly moved over to the corner and sat down. For the next five minutes, every time she looked at Willy, he was staring at Luke, his massive arms across his chest. A few minutes later the nurse returned and called Willy and Little John. When they went back, Luke and Bonnie finally relaxed.
    Half an hour passed, and Luke became fidgety. Bonnie noticed and reached into the outside pocket of her purse and pulled a folded piece of chartreuse paper and handed it to him. “We still need to get the stuff on this list. Why don’t you go get it? I don’t know how much longer it’s going to be before I see the doctor.”
    He looked at the list, handed it back to her and said, “The grocery store’s a ways from here so I’ll just go to the drugstore we saw on Main. You keep the list. I can remember aspirin, Kleenex, and sunscreen. They aren’t going to have lettuce, tomatoes, bread, or mayo. We’ll stop at the grocery store on the way out of town.”
    “Just hang on to the list.”
    “I’ll lose it,” he said.
    She rolled her eyes.
    He carefully tore the paper in half and held the top half out to her. “You take this part and I’ll get the rest.”
    She didn’t take it, just stared at him, and said, “Luke...”
    With a smirk on his face, he bent over and stuffed the top half of the paper into the outside pocket of her purse, and then put the other half into his pocket. “How’s that?”
    She shook her head and smiled. “Always have to have it your way, don’t you?”
    Smiling back, he said, “It’s usually the best way, isn’t it?”
    With a slight tilt of her head, she grinned and said, “Of course not.”
    He leaned over, kissed her, and stood to leave.
    “Keep your cell phone turned on and I’ll call you when I’m finished.”
    Luke pulled his phone out and flipped it open. “I forgot to charge it last night and it’s almost dead.”
    “Mine is too. Let’s not forget to charge them tonight.”
    “I won’t.”
    When Luke stepped outside he considered taking the car, but the weather was sunny with the temperature in the mid-seventies. Since the drugstore was only a couple of blocks away, he decided to walk.
    It only took a few minutes to get there and when he stepped inside, a nostalgic feeling swept over him. He hadn’t seen a store like this in thirty years. On one side was a grill where teenagers sat on metal stools with fountain drinks in short glasses. In the back was the pharmacy where two gray-haired ladies stood laughing and talking to the druggist behind the counter. It reminded him of the way drugstores used to be before the national chains started putting identical stores on opposing corners across America. Maybe that