Page 124 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

“Not with her there.”

Cat glanced away, feeling as out of place as a rooster in a henhouse, or more accurately, a hen in a rooster house. She chuckled.

“It’s just the punch line, spit it out!”

“Oh, all right,” the man relented, casting Cat a sidelong glance. “So then the man says, ‘Hey that’s no lady, that’s my wife!’”

“Heh, heh, heh,” the whiskered one laughed and slapped his friend on the shoulder. “That’s a good one, George.”

“Thanks, Pete.” The portly one grinned.

“That’s the oldest joke in the book,” Cat said, propping her chin on her hand. “I’ve heard that one a million times.”

George spun toward her, then his gaze narrowed, and he said, “Oh, and I suppose you’ve got a better one.”

“You betcha,” Cat answered and rose from her seat to move one seat away from him. “Want to hear it?”

“Sure,” Pete answered for his friend. “And if it’s better than George’s, I’ll buy you a beer.”

“What if it isn’t?” she asked.

“Then you’ll buy me a beer.”

“What about me?” George piped up.

“Shut up. Let the little lady tell her joke.”

“Okay,” Cat began. “What does a dog get when he flies?”

The men shook their heads.

“Jet wag,” she said with a laugh. Pete and George looked pained, but she heard a snicker from somewhere.

“That was terrible,” Pete said.

“I’m a fourth-grade teacher,” Cat said. “Give me a break. Okay. Here’s another one. Why won’t sharks eat clowns?”

Both men shook their heads again.

“Because they taste funny,” Cat said, slapping her hand on the bar with a laugh. “Get it? Clowns taste funny.”

“Ugh.” Pete lowered his head to the bar, and George looked away. “Dad jokes. She’s hitting us with Dad jokes.”

A second beer was plunked down before Cat and she looked up to see the bartender giving her a lopsided grin.

“That dog one was funny,” he said shyly.

Cat smiled. What a nice man.

“Had enough?” A deep voice growled in Cat’s ear, and she started, dousing George’s shirt with her beer.

“Look what you made me do,” she gasped and dabbed at George with a cocktail napkin. “I’m sorry, George.”

“That’s all right,” he said. “I’ll send him the cleaning bill.”

Pete burst out laughing. Cat looked at George’s shirt. It was a blue T-shirt with a large red arrow on it that read I’m with stupid. The arrow was pointing in Jared’s direction.

“You do that,” Cat giggled and turned to Jared. “How long have you been here?”