THREE
OF A PERFECT PAIR
Hell’s Delight 2
KAREN MERCURY
Copyright © 2013
Chapter
One
“Thank God you’re here.”
Katrina Abramson grabbed her coworker by
the arm and jerked her behind the voter registration booth. “Here are the
forms, pens, Gatorade, and bumper stickers saying ‘Vote for Skip Mesquite.’”
“I thought we weren’t supposed to
endorse any one candidate,” her coworker said dully.
“You’re right—we’re not.” Katrina raced
madly from the booth as though fleeing an avalanche. It was the Fourth of July.
She shouldn’t be standing behind a boring booth in a ninety-degree oven trying
to push the least popular agenda at the Frontier Days Fiesta. She had only agreed
to it because she had just broken up with her boyfriend, Marco, and thought it
might help occupy her on a holiday where traditionally she was eating corn
dogs, watching fireworks, and participating in a wet T-shirt contest—all for
charity, of course. She usually won the wet T-shirt contest, too.
Katrina dashed past booths selling hemp
hammocks, pyramids to communicate with one’s dead cat, bonsai, and tie-dyed
T-shirts. Her goal was the beer truck. Katrina didn’t even normally drink beer.
But today, what with the heat, the boredom of the voting booth, and having
caught sight of Marco strolling with his arm draped over a strange girl’s
shoulder, Katrina suddenly wanted one. Badly.
Ah. That cup of
beer sure hit the spot. Immediately Katrina got back into line to purchase
another cup. She danced back and forth on her feet, antsy. She wanted to leap over
the counter, tear the smiling, affable workers away, and pour a pitcher of beer
for herself. What the fuck is Marco
thinking? Showing up in public so
soon after we split? Everyone in town knows we were a couple for five years. You
could at least show me the respect of not parading your bimbo all over the fair.