At the bus stop, Nova tightens her grip on my hand. The sky is starting to grow light. We haven’t spoken a word since we left the station. But we aren’t ready to say goodbye. “I don’t know about you,” I say, “but I could use a cup of coffee. Fat Boy’s is open.”
Nova laughs and moves closer. “Fat Boy’s is always open,” she says. “Which is lucky because I have a hankering for a cherry coke and an order of onion rings.”
“Breakfast of champions,” I say. Then, still holding hands, Nova and I cross the street. We’re walking east, into the sunrise, and toward the diner that prides itself on being the only place in town where, 24/7, the fun never stops.
GAIL BOWEN
GAIL BOWEN ’s bestselling mystery series featuring Joanne Kilbourn will number an even dozen titles with the publication of The Nesting Dolls in August 2010. The first six books in the series have appeared as made-for-television movies with worldwide distribution. Winner of both the Arthur Ellis Best Novel Award and the Derrick Murdoch Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Crime Writers of Canada, in 2008 Bowen was named “Canada’s Best Mystery Novelist” by Reader’s Digest.
