The Grasp of Nighttide Read Online Free

wagon around the back and stack those boxes,” Ron said, glaring at Howard. 
    The little red wagon trailed away, leaving Alice and Ron in silence. It was obvious that Ron would say something awkward to her after the only other customer there left empty handed.
    He clicked away, entering the items on his machine. His face was composed; his lips pressed together, brows furrowed. He was acting like a serious stranger. 
    “$6.35” he said, looking up at her. 
    Alice pulled out the bills from her pocket and separated them from the receipts that held her song. She was always scared that some thief would snatch away her purse and decided her pockets were safer no matter how much (or how little) money she had. She counted and recounted. She was two dollars short. She should have counted the money ahead of time, then she wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of Ron. 
    When she looked up to face him, he seemed aware of Alice’s situation. 
    “It’s okay, you can pay me the rest later,” he stated. 
    “Tomorrow,” she assured him handing over what money she had. 
    “Or how ‘bout I ignore the rest if you have dinner with me tonight?” 
    “I have told you before. I have a boyfriend.” 
    He raked his fingers through his shoulder length hair and a black snake tattoo showed on his arm. She’d never seen it before. That was what was different. He was wearing a T-shirt instead of his usual full-sleeve formal attire; it suited him much better, she thought. Alice was about to compliment him, but Ron spoke a moment too soon. “I’ve never seen you with any guy, or anyone else for that matter.” 
    Alice was furious and it reflected on her face. Ron clearly implied that the boyfriend tag was a fake. It was perhaps a general thought that when a person is sick and lonely they may start imagining people. But she wasn’t crazy to imagine having a boyfriend. Although alone, she wasn’t ready to accept that sort of thinking from others. 
    “Okay,” he surrendered, partly worried of Alice’s anger. “Just once - for coffee. Please?” 
    “Once?” Alice asked. 
    “I won’t force you after that to spend any more time with me,  again ,” he promised. 
    “Tomorrow. When I am on the way back from my walk, I’ll stop by here.” 
    He smirked in triumph, “Here you go, and take this umbrella in case it rains again.” 
    “I don’t need it,” she retorted. 
    “Well it doesn’t have to be for you. It’s uh… it’s for the groceries.” 
    Yeah, right. Liar,  Alice thought, feigning a smile as she took it from him. “Bye Howie,” she hooted towards the back of the store. 
    “See ya around,” came the reply in an instant.
     
    ***** 
     
    It wasn’t long before she entered her neighborhood. Her quick strides led her home in almost half the time it usually took to walk this far. It was a real frustrating day and nothing was better than to get home. 
    All the houses facing the street were neatly aligned with the each other. The colors complemented each other with different shades of brown. Alice walked and walked, but none of them was where she lived. As cruel as it seemed, she was left out even in this aspect. After passing exactly sixteen, she turned to take the path to the right. 
    “Hey Alice.” An all-too-familiar voice made her frustration worse. Alice turned to see her neighbor, Anna Rolek. Anna ran from her doorstep to just outside her gate and stopped a few feet short of Alice to catch her breath. This went on for about a minute. 
    She just ran for about fifteen feet,  Alice rolled her eyes. 
    Anna then lifted her left hand and kept it on the mailbox. Alice’s gaze caught a glittery object on her wrist; a watch, a very expensive-looking one. 
    “It’s my boyfriend’s birthday,” Anna declared after taking a final long breath. 
    Who cares,  Alice thought as