The Long Shadows. Andrew Boone's Erlich

I heard the clerk’s gruff voice.

      It was Lya’s turn to purchase and send her money order. She turned away from me and walked up to the counter. I felt unsatisfied, confused, and angry. Her interpretation of my dream was anything but comforting. I was more unsettled than before she began to speak. I wished I’d never opened my mouth and asked for her help.

      When Lya finished her business, she turned, walked to the door, and left. She hadn’t even said good-bye.

      Why was she so dismissive and abrupt? I felt like I’d just gotten stood up, that I’d been abandoned, that I didn’t get what I needed. I mean, I had finally confided in Lya and she had not responded. In retrospect, I think she did respond. I just didn’t like what she had to say. In just a few days I needed to give Ingalls my answer, and I was no closer to a decision than I had been when I left the sideshow the night before. As she walked to the door, all I could focus on was the clickety-clack sound her high heels made on the marble floor. I had unfinished business with that little woman and I knew, sooner or later, I’d have to deal with it.