No Team To Root For (10) "Obviously." Jodi said, pushing the trash container under the counter. Barrett smiled and said, "Well, at least this time we're not wearing the same clothes." "No. We're not." Jodi returned the smile. "So, Barrett. What can I help you with?" "Actually --- " He took a small piece of paper out of his pocket. " --- I'm looking for a book called --- " He looked at the paper. " --- Joys Of Yiddish by Leo Rosten." Jodi thought a moment. "I don't think we have that book." She opened a large drawer to her right. "But let me check the file." "A patient raved about it so much --- " Empty and unusually quiet, the room felt damp and smelled musty. "You just missed seeing your wife. She left about --- " Jodi glanced at the clock. " --- ten minutes ago." Thank God for little indulgences! "Oh --- that's too bad." After one or two minutes, Jodi closed the file drawer and looked at Barrett almost apologetically. "I'm sorry, we don't have it. I did-n't think we did." "Guess I'll have to get it at the main library." "Oh, I'm sure they would have it." She evened out two small stacks of books. "You know," Barrett added, "when I called I forgot you worked here full time." Jodi cocked her head and looked at him skeptically. "Really?" She pushed the two stacks to the side. "Really." Barrett cleared his throat. "Well --- thanks for your help anyway." "Oh --- " Jodi smiled broadly. "That's what I'm here for." Barrett started for the door, then suddenly turned back. "How about having coffee with me after you close up?" Jodi wasn't sure how to react. The telephone rang and she didn't have to. She answered it on the first ring. "Hello." She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. We close at nine." There was a short pause. "Tomorrow at nine." And she hung up. They stared at each other for a moment. Jodi said, "No, I don't think so, Barrett." "Why not?" He waited while she put the books away. "It's late and I'm tired and --- " "It's coffee. No big deal." He watched her lock the drawers at the desk. "It would be purely platonic." She looked up and stifled a laugh. "Yeah. Right!" "I promise." Barrett had his right arm raised. "Scout's honor." Jodi pointed to the clock. "The library closes in four minutes." Then she walked to the back of the room and began to turn out the lights. Barrett opened the front door. Then he turned around and said, "We can have coffee at Margo's. It's only a block away." Jodi walked back to her desk. Barrett wouldn't back down. "They're open until ten." Jodi stared at him for a second, then sighed. "Just coffee." "Just coffee." * The only other table occupied at Margo's was at the far end, where an elderly couple that Barrett had never seen before sat across from each other talking and smiling. All the tables in the small coffee shop were round with white linen table cloths. A fake red rose stuck in a narrow blue vase was in the center of each table. A small bar faced the kitchen and a silent juke box was at the front. There were no booths. "This is a small town, Barrett. If your wife finds out that we're sit-ting here together she might get mad" Barrett leaned in towards her. "All we're doing is having coffee." "Look, Barrett, I'm not real comfortable, okay?" "There's no reason for you to be uncomfortable." "There's every reason!" Jodi said it louder than she meant to. They both were silent for several minutes. Then Barrett surprised even himself by saying. "I once told you that your eyes were beauti-ful. I think they're more than beautiful." She stared at him severely for a long moment. "Normally I would say thank you. But that comment sounds suspiciously like a pass." Before he could answer, a short skinny waitress with gray stringy hair, small round face and large brown spectacles finally brought over two glasses of water and two menus. "Are you serving any sandwiches?" Barrett asked. "Nope. Just drinks and pies." said the waitress around her wad of gum. "What kind of pies do you have?" Barrett asked. The waitress threw a quick glance toward the kitchen. "All we got left is coconut cream and strawberry rhubarb." She chomped her gum viciously. "I guess --- coconut cream." Then Barrett added, "And coffee --- black." "Just coffee please." said Jodi. The waitress wrote down the order, gathered the menus and left. Barrett leaned back towards Jodi and asked quietly, "I meant it as a compliment. But what if it were a pass? Would you be upset? Would you be mad?" She paused a second. "I --- I don't know quite how to answer that." "You just did!" "Barrett, this conversation is making me nervous!" "Good!" "Barrett, please!" She put her hand up. "You're a married man, remember?" How could I forget! He took a sip of water. "So now we've es-tablished that I'm married." He took another sip. "What else?" "Isn't that enough?" Again Jodi raised her voice. Barrett started to protest and Jodi put her hands up again. "Come on, Barrett. We're just having coffee, okay?" He nodded resignedly. "Right. Just coffee." The skinny waitress came over with two coffees and a dinner plate fully covered with a huge slice of runny-looking coconut cream pie. She glanced at the two of them and hastily left. "Boy, they sure don't skimp on portions do they?" asked Barrett. "Want a bite?" "No." Jodi took a sip of coffee. "Look, Barrett --- " "Jodi, I have to ask you a question." He looked at his food as it he had just seen it for the first time. "I can't believe I ordered this. I hate coconut cream pie!" "Apparently your mind wasn't on the menu." She eyed him harshly. "What did you want to ask me?" He pushed his pie to the side. "Are you more comfortable now?" She shook her head slowly. "Not really. Was that your question?" "Uh --- no." He cleared his throat again. "Who was the guy you drove off when we were at Albers?" Jodi sat back in her seat and turned away. For a short time there was silence. The elderly couple left, smiling at Barrett and Jodi as they passed their table. Barrett returned the smile. Then Jodi turned back to Barrett, her eyes suddenly smaller and sadder. He hoped she was not going to cry. "He's a friend. And let's just leave it at that." Barrett finished his coffee and pushed his cup to the other side. "How good of a --- friend?" "Barrett," Jodi took a deep breath. "are you done with your cof-fee?" He nodded and showed her the empty cup. The waitress suddenly materialized. "Anything else?" She put the check in front of Barrett as she looked uneasily at the uneaten pie. Jodi forced a smile then stood. "I have to go." Barrett, dropping a five dollar bill on the table, stood to face her. "I'll walk you to your car." They walked in silence. One of the street lights was out so it was darker than usual. Barrett hoped Jodi was glad he was here to pro-tect her. They stopped in front of an old brown Chevy Malibu. "This is my car." said Jodi. "See." Barrett said as he opened the door for her. "Having coffee together wasn't so bad now, was it?" Jodi didn't respond. He went on cautiously. "I assume there are a few problems. But anytime you want to talk, I've got a good ear and a strong shoulder." She smiled weakly, then got behind the wheel and drove off. Barrett came down the stairs quietly, as he did every morning, in a steadfast effort to avoid waking Janet. And as usual, he made his own breakfast. He held the phone against his ear with his shoulder as he stirred his scrambled eggs. The phone rang twice before she picked up. "Hello." "Hello, Jodi. Barrett Jessop here." There was silence for several seconds. Barrett continued. "I hope you didn't think me too forward last night." "No, Barrett. In fact, maybe I should apologize for being rude." "You weren't rude. You were maybe a little defensive." "Oh, I was a lot defensive." "I was trying to help you --- " Barrett turned off the eggs and scooped them onto his plate. "You were being nice, Barrett. I know that. But I don't think you can help." "Look, Jodi. We all have problems. Sometimes it helps to share them." He poured himself a glass of orange juice. "Except, I have to deal with these problems --- well, this one problem, alone." Barrett didn't respond. Jodi went on. "But I think it's very sweet of you to concern yourself with my problems. I know you're sincere. I --- I guess I'm not used to that." "I told you I have a good ear and a strong shoulder." He took a large swallow. Barrett heard her sigh. "I know. Listen, I have to finish this pro-ject." "Maybe we can have coffee again sometime." Barrett finished the juice. Barrett could hear paper rattling. Then Jodi answered quietly. "Maybe." * Jodi Bartless was atop a ladder returning some books to their proper location. She heard someone say 'hello'. The sound made her jump and she had to grab the edge of the bookshelf to keep from falling. It came from below and the voice belonged to Barrett Jes-sop. "I'm sorry." he said. "I didn't mean to startle you. Jodi squinted her eyes to see who it was. "Barrett. Twice in one week?" "How about that?" Barrett grinned. Jodi smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah. How about that?" Then she put the last book away and climbed down. Barrett strolled up to the counter. "Do you have a copy of --- This Is My God by Wouk?" She thought a moment. "I think so." She locked the top drawer of the desk. Then she went to the far shelf. Barrett followed her closely with his eyes. "Here." She smiled again. "That's a very enlightening book." She stamped the inside back cover, took out a small card and handed the book to Barrett. Barrett took the book and leaned on the counter. "Thanks." "It's due back in four weeks." She looked at the clock. "We close in ten minutes." Then she put some books back on the shelf. "You missed your wife again. She left about --- " "I don't care about my wife." Barrett stared at Jodi. "If I did, I would be at home instead of here." Jodi returned his stare. "Barrett, I don't quite know what you ex-pect me to say to that." There was a long silence. "I'm not asking you to say anything." Jodi looked down. Then turning back to the eye doctor, she fi-nally said, "Look, Barrett. It's late and --- " Barrett held the book in both hands and leaned on the counter again. "Let's have coffee at Margo's --- like last time." Jodi shook her head. "I don't think so. Especially if Janet --- " Barrett stood up straight and put his hand up, stopping her in mid-sentence. "Just coffee." Jodi looked at the clock again then locked some cases at the side of the desk. "Barrett, I have to close up and --- " "I'm having coffee anyway. I could use the company." "Look, Barrett. I --- " "Just coffee. Nothing else." He waited, then added softly, "Please." Jodi took a deep breath and shook her head. "I must be crazy!" Then she smiled. "It'll take me about --- maybe another ten minutes or so." Barrett returned the smile and put the book under his arm. "I'll wait." * Jodi and Barrett seated themselves at the same table at Margo's that they sat in the last time. A group of teenage boys were seated in the back. The skinny waitress was seated on a stool at the bar reading a paperback romance novel. Other than that, the coffee shop was empty. The vase with the fake rose had been pushed to the side. Besides sparse meaningless small talk about the food and weather, Jodi and Barrett sat in silence silently sipping their coffee. When Barrett had finished, he put his cup aside. "Tell me, Jodi. Where are you from --- originally, that is?" "A small town in Illinois called Oak Park." "That's near Chicago, isn't it?" "Don't tell me you've heard of it." Jodi took a sip of coffee. "Sure. Actually, I've always been good with geography." Barrett absently ran his finger around the rim of the cup. "Did you go to school there?" Jodi looked up. "I went to the University of Chicago. I got my Bachelors and my MBA. there." Barrett raised his eyebrows. "I'm impressed." "Big deal! So I'm a librarian." She wiped her mouth on her nap-kin. Barrett waved to the waitress, then pointed to their coffee cups. He turned back to Jodi. "Do you have any family? Parents --- brothers --- sisters?" Jodi hesitated a moment. "I'm an only child." Barrett smiled broadly. "Me too." "My father was killed in a hit and run auto accident three years ago. "I'm sorry. Were you close to him?" She sat back and sighed. "Very." The waitress came up and filled both their cups. The teenagers got louder, all talking at once. "You would have liked my father." "I'm sure I would have." The waitress walked away from the table and went back to her novel. There was a long silence before Jodi continued. "I never knew my mother." Barrett could see it was difficult for her to go on. He started to interrupt, but Jodi continued. "She died giving birth to me." The students glanced at Jodi and Barrett as they passed their table on their way out. Jodi watched them go out the door then she turned back to Barrett. "Those students saw us together. It's a small town and --- " "So what? We're just having coffee." They both took a long sip of their coffee. "I know, Barrett. But --- " She had raised her voice and the wait-ress glanced over.
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