The Devil Next Door

Chapter 2: A Lunch Date

It is Dr. John Lambert's day off, which means he is out grocery shopping. It is a beautiful autumn day, so he takes all the doors and the roof off of his Jeep that morning before cruising around town. The drive to the store takes him right past the vet clinic, and that is a good thing. Dr. Taylor is always late, and he has had to fill in for her for a few hours many times before. This will give him a chance to look for her black Civic in the parking lot.

The light is red at the intersection in front of the clinic, so he has plenty of time to spot the little car sitting in the vet's designated parking spot. As if that was not enough of a surprise, he also spies an old, but well preserved blue truck and a young woman sitting on the tailgate. Even from this far away, he can tell that she looks upset. As he looks closer, he realizes that it is the woman from yesterday. Her horse was doing just fine when he left last night. Had something happened to her?

He flips on his blinker and pulls into the parking lot. He pulls up beside her and rolls down his window. The woman jumps in surprise. Sheepishly, he realizes how creepy it must be for a man to unexpectedly park so close to her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he says. "I don't know if you remember me, but I'm the vet who was working yesterday."

"Dr. John," she states.

"That's right. How is Midnight this morning?"

She looks down at the ground sadly. The white bandana covering her hair momentarily blinds him as it reflects the bright sun. She was not wearing that yesterday, and her clothes are different now too. Her long green dress goes down to her ankles. He had not thought anything about her clothes when they first met, but now he wonders if she might be Amish.

"They said that she's doing better but not well enough. They want to keep her until Monday. I know they're taking good care of her, but I have to admit. I'm worried about her," Imogen says quietly.

When she looks back up at John, there are tears shining in her eyes. He instantly feels compassion on her and wants to make her feel better. An idea comes to him, and he commits to it without a second thought.

"I'm sorry that Midnight can't come home today, but like you said, she's in good hands. If it's alright with you, I'd like to treat you to lunch to make up for you driving all this way. How does that sound?"

She shifts back and forth on her feet nervously but says, "Alright."

"Great! Hop on in! I know a great spot, " he replies.

She glances at his Jeep warily. Again, he realizes too late how creepy that must have sounded.

"Or you could follow me there," he amends.

She seems much more comfortable with this and hops into her truck. They pull back out onto the main road, and John turns his wheels toward Barred Rock's. Like always, the parking lot is crowded, but they both manage to find a spot to park.

Imogen's eyes widen when they walk inside. It is crowded in the dining room, but no more than normal. Obviously she has not been here before. Otherwise she would know that no matter how busy the restaurant is, customers always get their orders quickly.

They get in line, and just as he expected, it moves quickly. In just a few minutes they are standing in front of the register.

"What do you want to order? Everything here is great, but my favorite is the fried chicken sandwich. The chicken tenders are good too. There's nothing wrong with a classic," John says.

She studies the menu for several long moments. Her eyes skitter across it several times, almost as if there are too many words for her to take in.

"I'll take the chicken sandwich," she says finally.