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      “What’s the news?” Midge asked in a sincere tone as she slid into the seat facing Cherry. Cherry blushed when she looked up and saw the great big grin pasted on Midge’s face.

      “Mel said the car can’t possibly be ready until morning, but she has her assistant working on it right now while she drives to the next town to pick up a much-needed part. We can have it back first thing tomorrow,” Cherry reported. Cherry was frankly relieved that Nancy had not yet returned to the booth. How was she going to break the bad news?

      “Is that all she said?” Midge wanted to know.

      Cherry turned bright red. “Something big is broken,” was all she could remember of the detailed discussion she had had with Mel about the state of their automobile. Cherry had tried hard to concentrate but had suddenly become all light-headed when the handsome, husky girl with short gray hair, large expressive blue eyes, and a ready grin had slid into the booth next to her. Although potatoes were one of Cherry’s favorite foods—after all, they were loaded with essential vitamins and minerals—she had suddenly lost her appetite! Not only that, she had noticed the most unusual feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had hoped the potatoes weren’t spoilt.

      While Cherry had tried to pay attention as the girl drew diagram after diagram of the underbelly of their car, she had found herself staring instead at Mel’s large, strong hands, so deftly sketching complicated mechanical parts Cherry couldn’t possibly understand. “She has the strong, yet dexterous, hands of a surgeon,” Cherry had thought, noting with her keen nurse’s eye that Mel had taken extra care to scrub her short-clipped nails especially clean that evening.

      “I think it’s going to be very expensive, Midge,” Cherry gulped, quickly adding, “But Mel said if we didn’t have the money, I could leave my address and she would bill me.”

      “That’s very generous of her,” Midge grinned as she lit a cigarette.

      “People in Idaho are famous for their desire to help others, Midge. Why, did you know that there are more nurses here per capita than anywhere else in the United States?”

      Midge looked impressed.

      “She even worried whether we had sleeping arrangements for the evening,” Cherry continued.

      “Did she?” Midge raised one eyebrow. “How very kind of her. What did you tell her?”

      Velma suddenly appeared at Midge’s side. “Her time in the ladies’ lounge certainly wasn’t wasted,” Cherry thought, noting Velma had changed into casual Capri slacks topped with a snug peach sweater. “She looks like a movie star.”

      “I always get dressed up on Friday nights,” Velma explained her festive outfit. Cherry admired her sophisticated French twist hairdo, exotic green eye shadow, and bright peach lipstick. Her bangle bracelets made a cheerful clatter as she playfully punched Midge on the shoulder. “Move over,” she said in a bossy tone. Midge moved.

      “Cherry was just telling me that nice mechanic offered her a bed for the night,” Midge filled her in.

      “She did no such thing,” Cherry shrieked. Cherry could never tell when Midge was pulling her leg, and more than once in the eight days since she had first become acquainted with the handsome blonde, she had found herself dizzy with confusion. For good-natured Midge had a gentle teasing manner that made Cherry forget her sworn duty to stay calm at all times. “When I reminded her that there were five of us, she helpfully directed me to a nearby inexpensive yet clean motel,” Cherry whispered urgently, her face all aflame.

      “Ignore her, Cherry,” Velma said in a soft tone. She turned to Midge. “You’re such a tease,” Velma lightly admonished her girlfriend, giving her a little pinch on the thigh.

      Midge flushed with pleasure. “I’m a tease?” she murmured, putting an arm around Velma and pulling her close. “That sweater should be against the law,” she sighed, as she nuzzled Velma’s neck.

      Cherry hurriedly pretended to be engrossed in the menu. She hadn’t fully recovered from her embarrassment earlier that evening, when she had opened the car door to discover …

      “Let’s get dessert, shall we?” she cried. “I see the special tonight is sweet-potato pie. It looks good, doesn’t it? Why don’t I go get Lauren and we’ll all have pie?” she babbled nervously. In her confusion, she grabbed Nancy’s summer straw bag instead of her own patent-leather purse, and fled. But before she could get out the door, she slipped on a wet spot on the linoleum floor and fell smack into a man and a woman waiting to be seated.

      “Watch it, girlie,” the man growled as Cherry bumped into him and sent his straw hat and dark glasses flying. She flailed about, trying to stop herself from failing, and finally gave up, plunging face first into the bosom of a middle-aged woman outfitted in a shockingly casual shorts ensemble and silly Roman sandals. Nancy’s summer straw bag flew open, and her white leather jewelry case slid under a nearby booth.

      “Mother says a real lady would never wear shorts in public,” was all Cherry could think as she went down.

       CHAPTER 7

       Mysterious Strangers

      Cherry’s cheeks were as red as a summer tomato. “I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed as she took her hands off the strange blond-haired woman.

      “Well!” was all the woman had to say as she glared at the flustered nurse.

      “Next time be more careful,” the man barked. “You could have hurt my wife!”

      “I’m so sorry, ma’am” Cherry stammered. “I’m a nurse. Perhaps I should give you an exam to make sure I haven’t hurt you.” She looked closely at the woman, giving her a quick visual check for bumps and bruises. Her eyes grew wide when she realized that the woman she had almost knocked to the ground was the very same passenger of the brown Impala that had passed them on the road earlier that evening.

      “It’s you!” she cried.

      The woman’s eyes grew big in alarm. “I don’t believe we’re acquainted,” she said icily. She hastily donned a pair of cheap white plastic sunglasses.

      “No, it’s you. Now I’m sure of it,” Cherry insisted. “A man in dark glasses and a straw hat, and a woman with blond hair, a red scarf, and glasses just like yours passed

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