Page 21 of Statler

“After leaving the cages open time after time,” she glowered, “where they invited a number of unanticipated bears, they thought the answer was to leave all their garbage and trash inside where they let it pile up. The place stunk to high heaven when I finally was able to get in to clean it.”

“You cleaned the cottages?” Statler asked, a bit surprised. Wasn’t she…office help?

“Jill of all trades,” Eliza answered without a trace of bitterness. “So, if you find you’re in need of a cleaning person, I’ll take care of it. The extra work keeps me busy.”

Which begged the question…

“We’re good at cleaning, so you shouldn’t need to bother. But what, exactly, is there to do in town for entertainment?” Stat asked.

He felt like he already knew the answer.

“Not much,” she snorted. “Unless you like hiking. There are a few other, minor pastimes around town, and a festival every now and then with various competitions. The next one of those will be the day before Halloween.”

He wasn’t sure about competitions, but…

“We all like hiking,” Statler informed her. “And we often do an early morning run before we head to our jobsites. Trails work great for that.”

“There are a lot of wonderful ones in the area,” she confirmed. “Especially where you’ll be living. All you need to do is go out your door, and you’ll have your choice.”

She tapped her cheek, contemplatively, and it was damned cute. “But if you’re looking for something more in the lines of eating out, or drinking establishments, there are a number of places in Caribou.”

“Don’t tell me,” Tonka piped up. “Ten miles away.”

“That’s right.” Eliza smiled, and it kicked her up a notch from mere cuteness, to…a natural beauty that had Statler taking notice.

He didn’t know exactly why he was mindful of the change, but for some reason, he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the woman.

“Why is everything ten miles away?” Tonka grumbled, bringing Statler back to the conversation at hand.

Eliza shrugged. “Small town setbacks, but you get used to it.”

“Now,” she returned to being all business, “I hate to hurry things along, but we need to get moving. I still have a lot of work on my desk that I have to finish before I can call it a day.”

“Let’s go, then,” Statler concurred. “Would you…care to ride with me?”

A wash of color moved up into Eliza’s cheeks. It was barely noticeable, but definitely there since Stat had been looking for it.

“Oh. No thanks,” she stammered. “I’ll, uh, have to get back here right away, and you all will be acclimating. There’s no need to interrupt your settling in with a trip back just to drop me off.”

“It wouldn’t be any trouble,” Stat assured her.

He didn’t know why he was pressing the issue, but his team was certainly noticing.

Dizzy in particular was making kissy faces behind Eliza’s head.

Note to self: Kill Dizzy, later.

“I still think it’s better if I take my own car,” Eliza clipped.

She’d returned to her previous primness, so Statler didn’t push.

“No problem.”

As they walked across the parking lot, Eliza approached a very used, older model Toyota that looked like a stiff wind or a solid bump would have it falling into rusty little pieces.

Statler wanted immediately to call Eliza out on the safety of driving the pile of shit, but with a deep breath, he stopped himself, opting for the second time today, to choose his battles, judiciously.

If he got to know Eliza better, which he really wanted to do, he’d broach the subject at a later date.