Total Recall by KB
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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Prologue
Jarod climbed onto the almost empty bus and paid his fare before sitting down in a seat where he could look out at the streets they drove along, his back to the driver. With another successfully completed pretend behind him, he was looking for a new possibility and thus had no real destination in mind. Passing the bus stop, he had seen the vehicle approaching and climbed on, paying for a ticket to the end of the line but unsure if he would remain on for that long. Reaching over, he took the newspaper that he had bought earlier out of his carryall and, folding it so it was easier to handle, he started to read through the first article, glancing up as the bus slowed down for the next stop.
The woman stood at the bus stop, her hands deep into her pockets and her head bowed to keep the cold wind off her face. She saw the vehicle stop in front of her and allowed an elderly lady to get on first, watching as the driver nodded for the pensioner to sit down without paying. The woman pulled the dark blue knitted hat off her head as she held out the coins.
"Good morning, Henry."
"Miss Jennifer, you sure make my bus cheerful in this cold weather with that red hair o' yours."
She laughed. "If it wasn't natural, I'd say I did it just for you. Can I have my ticket please?"
"You just go right on and sit down. I'll enjoy your beaming face and long red curls in my mirror as your fare today."
The woman smiled. "Well, as long as you're sure." She looked up at him, trying to hide a grin. "Aren't you running a little late this morning, Henry?"
Jarod turned to watch the driver glance at his watch with a hurt look on his face before he looked up to meet the teasing expression in the woman's eye. Sitting up straighter in his seat, he looked at her, his face calm.
"No, ma'am. Your watch must be fast."
She laughed. "It might be, at that."
As the bus pulled into the early morning traffic, she walked past him and took the seat opposite Jarod. She looked out briefly at the traffic before reaching into her bag and pulling out a folder. Glancing up to see the smile that still hovered at the corners of his mouth in response to the conversation that he had overheard, she grinned before looking down at the papers.
Ten minutes later Jarod saw her put the folder down and, turning so that she was looking out of the window, reach up to loosen her hair clip. As she let the curls fall around her shoulders, he heard the loud laughter from behind him and glanced up in time to see her meet the amused eyes of the driver in his mirror.
"Miss Jennifer, how am I supposed to concentrate on my work when you keep on distracting me?"
She laughed. "What would your wife say if she knew you were flirting with me like that Henry? I think that beautiful little boy of yours might be a bit upset, too, if he heard you talking like that to somebody who wasn't his momma."
The man's laughter filled the bus and several of the other passengers smiled in amusement.
"Are you saying that you'd tell my Mary-Ann, Miss Jennifer?"
"What incentive will you give me not to?"
"If you come up here, I could give you a real good incentive..."
"Henry!" she scolded him, even as her brown eyes danced with laughter. "Not in front of the other passengers. Some of them don't know you as well as I do and might be shocked." As she spoke, she happened to catch Jarod's eye and saw the amusement in them, smiling in return. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a brush and pulled it through her hair several times.
"I don't know what you mean, ma'am." The voice coming from the driver's seat was trying to sound innocent. "I was just going to give you your ticket."
Pulling her hair neatly back with a practiced hand, the woman slipped the clip into the red curls and fastened it before looking up to meet the driver's eyes. "I think I'd rather stay here, Henry. If loosening my hair is a temptation, I'd hate to think what might happen if I came and stood next to you. Besides, I do have some work to do."
"I don't know why. All you gotta do is read over it once and you know it."
"But I haven't read over this at all."
The man's face took on an expression of mock-sadness. "Are you deserting me for some other fine man that you were out with all night, Miss Jennifer?"
"That's right, Henry, a very fine man. Paul."
"Your brother?" His deep, rolling laughter caused her to grin. "Well, I guess I'm still safe for a while then."
"You never know. The love of my life could climb onto your bus one day, sit down opposite me and sweep my heart away. Then what would you do?"
"Isn't that obvious, ma'am? I'd never stop at his stop again."
Laughing, she picked up the folder once more and glanced through the pages. A small frown appeared on her face as she pulled out a pencil and began to scribble in the margin of one of the sheets, taking another sheet of paper out and comparing figures. With a sigh, she crossed out one and wrote in another before replacing the single sheet. Jarod watched as the frown slowly deepened, a small pucker forming on the previously smooth forehead. Suddenly, as though feeling his eyes on her, she raised her head. He gave an embarrassed smile and looked back down at his paper, watching out of the corner of his eye as the frown vanished and she smiled in return. She focused once more on the papers but felt his gaze on her again and looked up more quickly than before in time to see him glance away. A curious expression on her face, she opened her mouth to say something but then thought better of it and remained silent.
"Good morning, Ms Sarah."
Jennifer glanced up to see the woman climb on and smiled, looking over in time to see the man opposite watching her once more.
"Good morning, Henry. How are you today?"
"Better now that you've got on. With my two favorite ladies on board..."
"Henry, if you've already been flirting with Jennifer then you shouldn't be doing it with me. Besides, my husband would be very hurt if he knew."
"Ms Sarah." The man's voice sounded deeply offended. "As if I would ever flirt with any of the lovely young ladies that I drive around."
"No, of course you wouldn't, Henry. I just wanted to make sure." The newcomer laughed and, taking her ticket, moved further back in the bus and sat down next to the woman opposite Jarod.
"Since when do you take the bus?"
"Since Adam's car broke down and he needed to borrow mine."
"Is this instead of or in addition to the lunch we had planned for today?"
"It all depends how much time I have. I've tried to leave the lunch hour free but I can't guarantee it. Stop by the office and, if I'm available, we'll go." As the woman stretched out her legs, she accidentally tapped Jarod's leg with her shoe, looking up quickly. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine." He smiled and tried to concentrate on the paper.
He watched as the woman opposite him waved to her friend through the window and then glanced down at her watch.
"Don't you worry, Miss Jennifer. I'll get you to work on time."
"I bet you will, Henry. You always do. I'm never late on days when you drive."
"Well now, if you're going to flatter me..."
She laughed and cast one final glance over the papers before dropping them into her bag and pulling out a book. Opening it, she slipped the bookmark inside the back cover and then settled down into her seat. Jarod glanced at her several times, turning so that he could just make out her reflection in the window he sat beside and using that as a method of watching her. For a second his eye was caught by movement outside and he looked back to see that her eyes were fixed on him. He looked sharply up at her and saw the expression of amusement in her eyes as she replaced the book in her bag and got up off the seat.
"Don't you work too hard today, Miss Jennifer."
"I won't, Henry. See you tomorrow."
As the doors swung open, she stepped down onto the pavement before casting one final glance over her shoulder as the doors swung shut and the bus pulled away from the curb.
