She stood outside the tag room, rubbing her arms as though she were shivering, and telling anyone who would listen—vendors and customers—what a terrible, mean witch (although she told them they should substitute the w with a b) Katie was. Katie ignored her as she sailed out the front door and headed for the strip mall a few blocks away that housed a number of businesses—including Del’s Diner. Although the temperature was in the mid-nineties, her car was sure to be over one hundred and twenty degrees, and it wasn’t worth frying to travel such a short distance. She’d be just as hot and sweaty in the car as walking, and anyway, she needed a break from sitting at the desk in her stuffy office. Katie had nearly reached the melting point when she stepped inside Del’s, which felt like a refrigerator compared to the great outdoors. She looked across the booths, which were divided by a central aisle, and saw Seth in the back, waving for her to join him. Seth sipped his iced tea as Katie slipped into the booth seat opposite him.
