Page 107 of Tony

“His sister married my cousin.” Soshee beams. “I’m his sister’s brother-in-law’s cousin! And did you guys know those people at the Crappy Coffee Shop share a little dog and they’re like… bad FBI or something?”

“What the hell is she talking about?” Vann says.

“I think you’d better sit for this,” Soshee says, bustling towards the kitchen. “In fact, I think we need alcohol. Lots of alcohol. And frittelle. Lots of those too. Because Tony’s right. We are good together.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - BELINDA

Tony starts talking while Soshee starts placing bottles of Bucked Up beer on the coffee table in front of her tattered velvet couch and then serves up a whole bunch of powdery-sugary frittelle on an antique silver plate. I’m a little distracted by her apartment, because she was right when she said it might be a little over the top.

But I decide I like it. I like her version of over-the-top. I never hated Soshee. I just didn’t get why she was all invested in a man who didn’t feel the same way back.

However, one could say the same thing about Vann. And even though it didn’t work out for Soshee, it did work out for him.

So it’s about hope, I guess.

No. Not hope. Because that implies you’re at the mercy of something or someone. Hope definitely conjures up feelings of desperation in my book.

So I think maybe it’s more about belief. Yeah. Much better word than hope.

Tony explains what he and Soshee were up to yesterday while Vann and I were on our first date.

“A dog?” Vann asks.

“I don’t understand how you didn’t notice that the people who run the Crappy Coffee Shop all walk the same dog.”

“Uh…” Vann looks at me, then back at Tony. “I don’t really understand how you did. I mean, you’ve been in town for what, a week?”

“About there,” Tony says. “But it wasn’t just my advanced skills in observation.”

I roll my eyes.

“You said it yourself. Soshee here has the best view in Fort Collins.”

“We stalked you on our second date,” Soshee says.

“And the first date, too.” Tony laughs.

“And the third!”

“No,” Tony says. “The third date was the trip to meet your mom.”

“Oh, right. My bad.”

“What the fuck is happening here?” Vann asks.

“Sorry,” Tony says. “We were sitting up here. At that table right there, to be specific.”

“And Tony noticed there was a discrepancy in the dog walkers,” Soshee adds, completing his thought.

“They just seemed weird to me, ya know?” Tony says. “I see this cute college-age girl walking that dog one day, and then I see some suit dude walking him the next. And I think they were using that dog as an excuse to stalk your house.”

“My house?” Vann says.

“Yup,” Soshee adds. “So we think there’s something fishy about the Crappy Coffee Shop.”

Vann thinks about this for a moment. “They are closed a lot. And they’re not friendly. I got coffee there a few times when they first opened, trying to be a good business neighbor. But they were sorta rude. So fuck it. Life is too short to buy coffee from rude people when I can charm sexy Rook at the Fort Collins Theater coffee shop every morning. I still want to be supportive of the downtown businesses. So I go in there for sandwiches.”

He winks at me so I know he’s just being Vann. Which I get.