The Lesson Read Online Free PDF Page A

thanked her and then took a seat at Gina’s one vacant table. His back was to her, but from the colorful chevrons on the sleeve she could tell it was, indeed, an officer of the United States Navy.
    “Look, Pilar, an officer.”
    Gina leaned low to whisper into the ear of the petite Latina. Next to Gina’s five-foot-eight frame, all long legs and long hair, the other waitress appeared doll-like. She stopped scooping ice cream to peer around the freezer case in the direction Gina was pointing. Gina kept her fingers discreetly down by her waist so no one would notice.
    “ Ooh, and he’s in your section,” gushed Pilar. “We hardly ever get officers in here. Lucky you. Ask him if he has any friends. You get me a double date with him and a buddy, and you can have my tips for a week.”
    The girls smothered a laugh.
    “Pilar, I’m going into the back a minute to fix my face. Cover for me.”
    “I will, but I’m not making any promises. Be quick or I’ll serve him myself.”
    Gina ducked into the changing room. After a minute she scurried back to the dining area, pulled her order pad from her pocket, and headed toward the table where the officer was seated. As soon as she reached it he looked up and smiled.
    Kevin!
    In one horrible instant Gina realized her mistake. Yellow stripes for officers, red ones for enlisted. Standing right in front of him now, she could see that the patch on Kevin’s sleeve was clearly stitched in red. How in the world could she have mistaken that skinny boy who showed up at her apartment two nights ago for an officer? Kevin looked so entirely different in uniform she had not recognized him. And now here he was, sitting in her section, taking her breath away. Her first response was scalding embarrassment that she had actually thought corny Kevin to be an officer. She stood there, speechless and wide-eyed. Finally she collected herself.
    “Ship sail a little off course today, sailor?” She smiled a half-smile to be polite. He was, after all, a customer. Her whole body was rigid with tension. She hoped she didn’t appear as discombobulated as she felt.
    “This is the right port.”
    Oh he was so obvious! Yes, his attentions were flattering, to a point. What girl wouldn’t be touched that a sweet guy had driven an hour and a half just to see where she worked? He was a charmer, all right, but he was a boy, probably had never even been on a date. Surely he was old enough to shave, but his skin was so smooth it didn’t look like he needed to. Kevin was pleasant-looking enough in his crisp, power uniform, and he was a genuinely nice guy, honest and witty. But he was a kid. In time he would make some girl a wonderful husband, provided, of course, he chucked the polyester pants.
    But she was not that girl, and she wasn’t going to encourage him, not in the least. It was stupid of her to have let him in to her apartment two nights ago. What should she expect him to think? She could have said, No, no, sorry, it’s late, and turned him away and that would have been that and he would have gotten the message loud and clear. But as usual she had acted too fast. She hadn’t thought things through. Now, on top of everything else, he knew where she lived, he knew where she worked, and he knew where she went to school. And she was the one who had blab-mouthed all this information. She had no one to blame but herself for the fix she was in. She should have been more careful.
    All these thoughts jumbled at once as she wordlessly handed him the menu. Compose yourself. Stick to business. She didn’t have time to chat anyway.
    Ding! The metal counter bell at the pass-through between the kitchen and the lunch counter brought her back to the moment. She had never been so relieved to hear the normally irritating sound.
    “I have to get back to the kitchen. Can I get you something to drink before you order?”
    She took his drink order and left, flustered but resolved. She would be more diligent about saying or