Full Moon

Clyde wouldn’t slow down. She became a horse to the water. The old biddy counted down to seeing her crush again.

“Can’t wait to see ‘im!” she shouted. “Wait for me, Nicky!” Muriel, Aisha, and Lewis all looked at each other.

“If only we can get her to be like this in life,” the leader muttered under her breath. Clyde glanced over her shoulder.

“Wha?” she asked.

“Don’t think this is harassing Nick?” Aisha asked. Clyde broke into loud laughter.

“Nope!” she said. “‘e’ll be ‘appy to see meh!” The dirty old biddy broke into loud singing. Aisha rubbed her forehead.

“You are hopeless,” she muttered. She turned to Muriel and Lewis. “Say something,” she mouthed to them. The other two old biddies shrugged and shook their head. Aisha threw back her head and groaned. Clyde grinned to herself the whole time.

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The Sunday Rush began at the Sunny Plum. Chris walked into the crowded café. He whistled to himself. The man walked through the glass doors. Chris could barely get into the building. He stood on his tip toes and waved his arms back and forth.

“Oi! Oi!” the man shouted. “Oi! Oi!” From the counter, Annie looked up and rolled her eyes.

“Tucker!” she shouted.

“What?” her husband asked.

“Go deal with your friend at the door,” she said. Tucker looked up with his eyes narrowed.

“What friend?” he asked.

“Who do you think I’m going about?” Annie asked.

“Hey!” Chris shouted, jumping up and down while flailing his arms. Tucker sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Now, I’m starting to remember why we all tried to avoid him,” he muttered under his breath. Annie put her hands on her hips.

“Well, do something,” she said. “I can’t have him staying here disturbing the peace. We need days like this to make ends meet!” Her husband groaned and threw down the dish rag.

“Fine,” he said.

“Thank you,” Annie said.

“Whatever,” Tucker muttered. His wife raised her eyebrow.

“Excuse me?” she asked. The man rolled his eyes and shook his head before making his way over to the entrance. Chris smiled as Tucker made his way over to him.

“Hello, friend,” he said.

“What are you doing here?” Tucker asked. “Don’t you see that we have a busy day today?” The men looked around at the crowd in the café.

“I came here to see you, of course,” Chris said. “Can’t I visit my old school friend? This is a public place, after all.”

“Then get yourself a table if you can find one,” the other man said. “You’re going to annoy Ivy if you keep showing up and ordering nothing here.” Chris put up his hands.

“Okay, okay, I understand,” he said. Tucker shook his head as Chris looked around for a free table. He would have to try and get rid of him again.

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Evan walked up the steps to William’s porch and knocked on the door. His ex’s neighbor opened up with a confused look on his face.

“Evan? What are you doing here?” he asked. The other man paced around as he laced his hands together.

“I don’t know how to put this,” he said.

“What?” William asked. Evan looked him in the eye.

“I think my son fancies your niece,” he said. William raised his eyebrow.

“Which one?” he asked. Evan pressed his lips together.

“Clover,” he mumbled. “I’m just letting you know.”

“Okay,” William said. “Thank you. Listen, can I ask you something?” Evan tilted his head.

“What?” he asked.

“How long are you going to stay here?” William asked.

“Excuse me?” Evan asked.

“She can’t stand you, you know?” the neighbor said. “She thinks you have overstayed your welcome, all of you. I have to agree with her.”

“She hasn’t told me that,” the ex said.

“That’s because she’s too nice to say so,” William said. He turned and walked back into the house. Evan was standing there, looking confused.

“What does that mean?” he asked. The door closed.

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The old biddies finally made it to Nick’s factory around three o’clock. Clyde spotted Nicholas taking a smoke outside. Her eyes lit up as she ran over to him with her arms wide open.

“Nicky, ‘oney!” she shouted. Nick looked up when he heard his name. He didn’t get time to react. Clyde jumped forward and hugged him wildly. The poor man tried not to look at her dirty, crooked teeth.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Nick shouted.

“I came ‘ere to see ya, ‘oney!” she said. The factory worker looked at the crazy woman’s friends for help. Lewis and Muriel shrugged and shook their heads as Aisha pressed her hand against her forehead. Nick sighed while Clyde broke into a huge grin.

Trip Well Spent