“Hi!” said a pretty blonde. “My name is Sarah. How can I help you?”
He hadn’t thought to get any food, but according to the menu the special today was a Cuban sandwich. Living in south Florida, he doubted it would be half as good as anything he’d eaten in Miami’s Little Havana, but he was hungry, so he’d give it a try. “I’ll have the Cuban and a cup of whatever you’ve got brewing.”
She poured him his coffee and took his money. “What name should I put on the order?”
“Ben,” he said, before taking a sip of the coffee. It was strong. Just the way he liked it.
“Passing through town on your way to court?” she asked.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s September and hot as all get out, and you’re wearing a suit and tie. Here in Florida that means you’re either a lawyer or going to a funeral. But there’s no funeral in the area that I’m aware of, so…” She ended that with a smile.
He couldn’t help but smile back. “No court today. But you’re right, guilty as charged. I’m a lawyer.”
“Welcome to The Bistro by the Beach, Ben the lawyer. Find yourself a table and we’ll bring your sandwich out to you when it’s ready. And if you need a refill on the coffee, just holler.”
He seriously doubted he’d be doing any sort of hollering, as she put it, but he thanked her anyway, found an empty table near the back, then immediately pulled out his phone to check his email.
“The Wi-Fi password here is dolphin,” said a female voice.
He glanced over to see an attractive older woman sitting at the next table. “So that you don’t use all your data,” she said, pointing to his cell phone. She was in her late sixties, maybe, with short bobbed silver hair and blue eyes. She wore yoga pants and looked extremely fit. “I’m Viola, president of the Gray Flamingos.”
The Gray what? “Thanks,” Ben said.
“You’re welcome.”
Seated at her table was a guy who looked about her age, and another woman, this one maybe a decade older. The older woman wore bright red lipstick and a T-shirt that said Prepare for the Worst.
Normally, he didn’t do friendly chitchat with strangers or anyone else for that matter, but he had to admit to being curious. Plus, these people looked like locals, and it would behoove him to get a feel for the town. Maybe he could even pick up on some gossip that could prove useful to his clients. “What are the Gray Flamingos?”
“I’d thought you’d never ask,” T-shirt said. She smiled at him like he was a hamburger and she was starving. “I’m Betty Jean Collins, current secretary of the chapter. The Gray Flamingos are an activist group for senior citizens rights. Don’t let anyone tell you that ageism isn’t a real thing.”
“You’ve never heard of us?” Viola asked.
“Sorry, but no. I don’t live around here.”
“We can tell,” said the man, who was eyeing him curiously as if he knew him, something Ben had unfortunately gotten used to over the past couple of years. Ever since the press had made a heyday over his relationship with Tiffany, he couldn’t go anywhere in Miami without being recognized. But way up here in the Florida panhandle? He hadn’t expected this.
“I’m Gus Pappas. Owner of Pappas and Son Plumbing and Whispering Bay city council member.” The man rose from his table and came over to offer his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Ben shook the older gentleman’s hand. “Nice to meet you, too, Gus.” There was a twitch in Gus’s brown eyes that told him he’d noticed Ben hadn?
?t given out his name.
“It’s not every day we have a strange lawyer come to town,” Viola said.
“And here I was about to say that all lawyers are strange,” quipped Gus.
Ben chuckled. He’d heard enough lawyer jokes to last a lifetime, but he didn’t mind them. He’d been known to tell an occasional one himself if it put a prickly client at ease.
“It’s that obvious that I’m a lawyer?”
“Well, there’s the suit,” Viola said, “Plus, we overheard part of your conversation with Sarah. We just didn’t catch your name.”
“Speaking of names, any relation to Kitty Pappas?” he asked Gus, remembering Gavin’s mention of the realtor handling his rental.
“She’s married to my nephew Steve. Great guy. Part owner of Pappas Hernandez Construction. If you want to build a house, then he’s your man.”