This morning she asked again, “Have you heard from Ryan?”
I glanced over to the other side of the room where Mrs. Kinkaid and Drew were debating the outcome of some reality show involving an island or maybe a boardroom. Someplace where people got cast out, anyway. “No, he hasn’t called. I told you I’d let you know first thing.”
“But he said for sure he’d call, right?”
“We’ve been over this, Piper. He said later in the week, but I’m not holding my breath. If he calls, he calls.” As much as I hoped I’d hear from him, I also dreaded hearing from him. If he didn’t call, the whole Mindy’s wedding plan could be laid to rest. I was OK with letting it go; I knew the drill. She’d humiliate me, I’d pretend to let it roll off my back, and eventually the whole thing would fade to black. Until the next time. I was used to it, almost. If she had to be top dog, I could be a big enough person to let her—“big enough person” being the key phrase here, seeing as how Mindy prided herself on her petite size.
“I think he will call,” Piper said, as if reaching a decision. “I just have this feeling. A guy doesn’t spend hours talking in a restaurant if he’s not interested. If you bored the hell out of him, he could have cut it short instead of ordering dessert and coffee. And after all that, he offered to drive you home. That was really gentlemanly.”
Ahem. Well, it may have been that he didn’t want the liability of a drunk driver on his hands, but her take on it sounded better.
She continued enthusiastically. “And that double hug thing sounded cool. Hey, I have a thought. Why don’t you make up some kind of excuse and go over to his house?”
It was just the sort of thing Piper would have done in her single days, and she’d have been able to pull it off perfectly. For me, though, it was not a good idea. “I’m not going to be doing that.” I shuffled through some paperwork to give my coworkers the illusion of workplace busyness.
“You could say,” she went on, as if I hadn’t voiced an objection, “that you thought you left something in his car. Your sunglasses! That would be perfect. I’m always losing my sunglasses. Just go ask. What could it hurt? At best it will give him a chance to ask you out again. At worst he’ll say no he hasn’t seen them, and then you say thanks and go back home. No harm, no foul.”
“I can tell you right now—not going to happen.”
“Oh, Lola, live a little. Just promise me you’ll think about it, OK?”
Classic Piper. In an effort to persuade, she always tried going in the front and then the back. And if that didn’t work, she’d come at you from the side. “I’ll think about it, but it goes against my nature, Piper. If he wants to call, he will. You gave him my number, and he knows where I live. And where I work. It’s not like he can’t reach me.”
“Oh pooh, you’re no fun. Hey, I hear Brandon over the intercom. I have to go. Call me as soon as you hear from Mr. Smoking-Hot, OK?”
“Will do.” I hung up the phone and was startled to see Drew standing over my desk. “Yes?”
“There’s some dude wants to talk to you on line two.”
“OK. Thank you.” I started to reach for the phone and then stopped to return Drew’s stare. He got the hint and shuffled back to his desk. Honestly. I cleared my throat and put the receiver up to my ear. “Lola Watson speaking.”
“Hey, Lola.”
Oh drat, I’d hoped it might be Ryan. What a letdown. “Hi, Hubert.”
“Is this a good time?”
“It’s fine.” I glanced across the room, where Mrs. Kinkaid and Drew were both uncharacteristically silent. I knew they were hanging on my every word.
“Because if it’s not good, I can call back.”
“No, this is fine.”
“OK, as long as I’m not interrupting anything.”
“What’s up, Hubert?”
“I was wondering if you’d go to this thing with me on Saturday night?” I heard him gulp. “It’s a show I want to go to. I’ve heard good things about it. We could go out to dinner before or after, if you want.”
I knew without looking that my social calendar was wide open. And I hadn’t been out to hear a band in eons. If Ryan called in the meantime, I just wouldn’t be available. That’s what you get when you wait too long to call a popular girl like me. “OK, sounds good.”
“So you can make it? That’s great! It’s kind of a dress-up thing, just so you know. They’re serving wine and cheese.”
Wine and cheese? Wait a minute. I switched the phone to my other ear and leaned over to fake looking through my lower desk drawer. “Hubert. Is this by any chance a show at an art gallery?”
He hesitated and then said, “The Michaels Gallery, downtown.”
“Let me guess. Kelly is having an exhibit.”
“Not just Kelly,” he said defensively. “A lot of artists, and I know most of them, too.”
“Hubert, I’m telling you as a friend, this is a very bad idea.”
The silence on his end was heartbreaking.
“She hasn’t answered your messages. If she wanted to talk to you, you’d have heard from her. You need to just let it go.”
“I can’t let it go,” he said quietly. “I have to see her. I can’t rest until I understand what happened.”
I paused to think of a good way to put this. “You know, Hubert,” I said, “you might never fully understand what happened. It seems like Kelly just wants a clean break.”
“Please, Lola, just come with me on Saturday night. I don’t want to have to do this alone.”
I looked up to see both Drew and Mrs. Kinkaid staring straight at me. I guess it didn’t take much to figure things out from my end of the conversation. Mrs. K. had her head tipped to one side in sympathy. She’d never met Hubert, but even through the phone she appeared to sense his sadness and desperation.
I sighed. “OK, I’ll go with you. But I can’t see any way this will turn out to be a good thing.”
“Oh thank you, Lola, you’re the best. And just think, if this leads to Kelly and me getting back together, I’ll be moving out and you’ll get your privacy back.”
“Oh, Hubert, don’t even worry about that. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”
He made a strange sound in his throat. “Well, thanks. I have to go now, Lola. My kids are coming back in from recess. I hear them out in the hall. I’ll see you tonight, OK?”
I hung up the phone and saw Mrs. Kinkaid and Drew were still gazing in my direction. “What?” I said, a little more sharply than I’d intended.
They exchanged a look, and then Drew spoke. “That was your friend, Hube?”
“Hubert,” I corrected.
“He’s the one who got booted out by his girlfriend?”
I never should have told them. Me and my big mouth. “Yes, that’s the one.”
“Man, he sounded all down,” Drew said.
“He’s going through a rough time right now.” Their faces were so serious; Hubert’s mood had somehow infected the whole office. We needed something to bring us back up, and I had just the ticket. “Why don’t we go over the entries for the contest?” I said brightly. Parenting Today was running a “cutest baby” photo contest. I’d been putting off going through the submissions—it was time consuming, not to mention hard to do. Babies are cute, all of them, even the ones with sticky-out ears and weird, patchy hair. Choosing the cutest was difficult, but I knew from last year that going through the photos was a joyful experience, which was just what we needed right now.
My suggestion had the desired effect. “I’ll get the folding table,” Drew said, hopping up to go to the janitor’s closet out in the hall.
Mrs. Kinkaid scooted her chair to the middle of the room to where she anticipated Drew would set up the table. “You know,” she said to me, “a good way to get over a heartbreak is to start dating again. I have the perfect girl for your friend Hubert: my niece Lindsey. She’s twenty-six and teaches grade school just like he does. Lovely, lovely girl. So pretty and talente
d and smart. We’re all amazed she hasn’t been snatched up already. If you like, I can set up the whole thing.”
I shook my head. Hubert and Lindsey? The two names didn’t even sound right together. Lindsey was a fussy-sounding name. She was probably one of those girls who wore high heels with everything, even blue jeans. “I don’t think Hubert would be interested in a blind date,” I said.
“You never know,” Mrs. K. said smugly. “Just ask him. You might be surprised.”
Thankfully the conversation was cut short by Drew, who came in the door with the collapsed table under his left arm. “Time for Babypalooza,” he said. “Bring on the pictures!”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The next day, a particularly warm and sunny one, Mrs. Kinkaid called in sick. In true Parenting Today fashion, she’d called early enough to avoid actually talking to me. Her voice mail message had just the right mixture of regret and sick-tonal quality. If it weren’t for Drew remembering that Mrs. K.’s younger daughter was flying in that morning from California, I wouldn’t have given it another thought. Considering the level of dedication in the office, it was a lucky thing putting the magazine together was only a two-person job.
Drew and I worked well together, and by that I mean he didn’t interfere much with what I was doing. He kept busy that morning writing a piece about head lice for our annual back-to-school issue. We’d recently scored two lucrative ads with shampoo companies that specialized in treating infestations, and we needed an article to showcase the advertisements. I gave the job to Drew because just thinking about it made my head itchy.
It was eleven o’clock when someone rapped on the office door and then pushed it open. The knocking had all the hallmarks of my boss from the newspaper upstairs, so I assumed it was him, checking up on us. He always had some kind of lame-o excuse for stopping in, but the real reason, I suspected, was to make sure we hadn’t turned Parenting Today into a party palace, complete with disco ball and spiked punch bowl. I looked up expecting to see Mr. Warner’s bald head popping through the doorway, but instead I saw Ryan Moriarty in all his dark-haired glory. The contrast between the two was as vast as the Grand Canyon.
“Hi.” He grinned in my direction and stepped inside the room. “Am I interrupting anything?”
“Can I help you, sir?” Drew asked. He straightened up in his chair and regarded Ryan the way one would a lice shampoo salesman.
“Hello!” I rose up out of my seat to meet him. He held out his arms, and I walked right into them for a quick hug. So out of character for me, but maybe my character needed some updating. We pulled apart, and I said, “How wonderful to see you.” I felt my face widen in a huge smile.
“I’m Ryan Moriarty, a friend of Lola’s,” he said to Drew, who nodded and pretended to turn back to his work.
So now Ryan and I were friends. That happened quickly. Oh happy day.
“I’m sorry to drop in unannounced,” he said, “but I lost your phone number, and I was in the neighborhood anyway.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. This is a nice surprise.” Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Drew smirk.
“I know this is last minute,” Ryan said, “but I was wondering if you were available for dinner and a movie tonight? I would have asked sooner, but I was called out of town on business and haven’t been home.”
“I’d love to,” I said. The words flew out of my mouth without thought. A lip-jerk reaction.
“Great. Why don’t I pick you up at your house at six thirty? We can go to an early movie and then do dinner. If that’s fine with you.” He raised his eyebrows questioningly, in a way that made him look like a young James Garner, before his Rockford Files days. A resemblance that would win points with my grandmother.
“Sounds perfect.” I did a quick calculation. If I left the office a little early, I’d have time to change clothes and do something with my hair and makeup. But fitting in a shower and shaving my legs was iffy. Not that I was planning to do anything that required clean-shaven legs, but I did like the idea of having every inch of me the best it could be. Good practice.
“I’m glad,” he said, and I believed it. He sounded glad and looked it, too. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone looked that happy to be going to a movie with me. Maybe never.
He gave me one last hug before he headed out the door. Watching his backside as he left, I realized I probably wouldn’t get much work done the rest of the day. Floating on a cloud is very distracting.
After Ryan left, Drew broke the silence. “So that’s the guy?” He jerked a thumb in the direction of the door. “The one who got the candy out of the machine?”
I grinned and nodded. “That’s the one.” My voice was uncharacteristically chipper. I couldn’t help it.
“I don’t think he’s all that great shakes. He looks kind of shifty to me.”
“What do you mean?”
Drew shrugged. “He just seems all shifty-like.”
That helped. “Can you expand on that statement? Give an example of what you mean, maybe?”
“I don’t know. Just the way he came in here looking around. It was hugely suspicious. Like he was casing the joint. And why was he wearing that jacket? It’s like sixty-five degrees outside. I’d be wearing shorts if I wasn’t at work.”
It was pretty warm out, but it had been cooler earlier that morning. I myself had worn a sweater, which I’d left in the car. “Well, everyone’s different. Maybe he gets chilled.”
“Plus,” Drew said, “what’s the deal with him supposedly losing your phone number? You’re in the book, and so is Parenting Today. Why would he park his car in the lot, walk through the building, and come down a flight of stairs to talk to you for all of three minutes? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Because he wanted to see me?” I hated that Drew was chipping away at my rainbow. Oh, where was Mrs. Kinkaid when I needed her?
“Do you have his phone number?”
“No, he never gave it to me.” I had tried to look it up earlier in the week, but he wasn’t listed.
“There you go. He’s shifty.”
“Well, I don’t think he’s shifty at all,” I said defensively. “I like him.” What did Drew know, and why would I listen to a guy who couldn’t even remember calling in sick on the previous day?
“Have it your way.” He rifled through some papers and jotted down some notes on one of the pages, but under his breath I heard him mutter, “But he still seems shifty to me.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I left the office an hour early, passing my boss, Mr. Warner, on the way out. When he raised his eyebrows, I smiled, gestured toward my mouth, and said, “Dentist appointment.”
“Have fun,” he said with the sort of forced jocularity he’s known for. He’s the kind of administrator who thinks he’s tough, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d believe it. I was, in fact, intimidated when I first started. It took three weeks and a heads-up from Mrs. Kinkaid to learn the secret of Mr. Warner—he accepts everything he’s told. If I said the magazine was running right on schedule, he assumed we were on schedule. If I told him we needed more supplies, he signed the order without checking. In dealing with him, I had the power of a Jedi warrior. I half suspected I could say, “You never saw me leave,” and he’d nod mutely in agreement and echo my words.
When I got home, Hubert was already there. It was still a shock to have someone else’s car in my driveway. Each time I saw it I had to self-correct the notion that I had a visitor and remember that Hubert lived with me now. In high school I thought that the coolest thing ever would be for Piper, Hubert, and me to share a house and a trio of cars—no parents in sight. What could be better than living with friends? As it turned out, our individual college choices ruled out anything like that. After graduation, real life got in the way, but having Hubert with me now was a small taste of the dream. I didn’t suppose Piper’s husband would let her come for a week or two without Brandon in order for me to get the full effect, so what
I had now was as close as it would come.
I walked into the house and dropped my soft-sided briefcase next to the couch. I heard a clattering in the kitchen, like the rattling of cookware lids, and I could smell roast chicken. And potatoes. Or at least I thought it was potatoes. Did they have a smell, or was I just guessing?
“Hubert, I’m home,” I said, doing my best Ricky Ricardo impression.
“Hey.” He stood in the doorway, oven mitts on both hands. “You’re early. That’s perfect. I have dinner going already. I hope you have an appetite.”
Oops. “Oh no, Hubert. I’m sorry, but I already have dinner plans.”
He frowned. “Since when? I asked you this morning, and you were wide open. You even said we should rent movies tonight.”
“I know, but Ryan stopped in at the office, and we made plans for tonight.”
“Ryan?”
“The guy I met through Piper.”
“Sort of last minute to be asking someone out, don’t you think? I’m surprised you agreed.” His voice was kind of mopey.
“He was out of town until today.” I didn’t actually know when Ryan had returned, but it sounded right. “I thought you wouldn’t mind. I didn’t know you were cooking. If you keep it for tomorrow night, I’m sure it will be delicious reheated. Or if you want to invite someone else over, that’s OK too.”
“I know I could invite someone else over. I wanted you.” He held up his arms like a doctor who’d just scrubbed for surgery.
“Well, I’m sorry. I won’t be here.”
He clapped the two mitts together, like he’d had a thought. “Well, how late will you be out? Because I still have an idea for later.”
“I don’t know. It might be a late night.” I hoped it would be a late night. “We better not plan on anything. I can’t really say for sure when I’ll get back.”
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