A Handful of Hope

by Elizabeth Maddrey

  Sara sighed, her face crumpling into a frown. “I knew better than to come here. Why would you understand? When was the last time you had a date, anyway?”

  “Lunch.”

  Her friend straightened, a gleam in her eye. “How did I not know about this? Why didn’t you call me? Who? Where? I need details.”

  Why had she said that? Too late to backpedal now though. Jen huffed out a little sigh. “David. Turns out, we work in the same building.”

  Sara scoffed. “You and half the population of the area work in that building or the one next door. Your company is...”

  “Anyway, at the wedding, we got to talking and he asked if I’d like to do lunch. I said yes.” Better to stop the tirade about large international software companies before it could start. Not every company could stay a small, local business. Not everyone wanted to work for that sort of place. You couldn’t be anonymous in a tiny office and Jen didn’t want the problems that came with that. She liked being a worker bee—go in, do her job, go home. Period, end of story.

  “And?” Sara leaned forward, eliciting a grumble from Tribble who hopped off the couch and went to her dog bed, grabbed her favorite squeaky toy, and started gnawing. “Ugh. Why do you get her those things? Don’t they drive you insane?”

  Jen shrugged. “She likes them and the squeakers break eventually.”

  “If you say so.” Sara glared at the dog before turning her attention back to Jen. “David? He’s good looking, got that boy next door thing going on, which I know you like.”

  “As opposed to the international man of mystery vibe Luc gives off? Yes, I like the boy next door. At least with him, I can figure out where he lives.”

  “Whatever. We’re not talking about Luc right now. Spill.”

  Jen had been considering calling Sara to talk about lunch and try to work through her thoughts—get a better hand on them. But now...maybe she wasn’t ready to share yet. “He’s nice. A gentleman—opens doors and everything.”

  “Oooh. Points for him. Brave, too, since today you’re as likely to get your head ripped off as thanked for doing something like that. It all depends on the girl.”

  Jen chuckled. She’d said something along those lines to him. He said his dimples usually got him out of trouble, even with the sternest objectors. Boyish charm; he had it by the bucketful. “We have a lot in common, though he’s moved into management and I’m content to program. There’s not a lot to tell. We’re just getting to know each other right now, you know?”

  Sara nodded.

  “What?”

  “Just trying to decide if that was a dig.”

  Jen wrinkled her brow. “How would that be a dig? It’s just...what we’re doing.”

  “Luc...you’re saying I don’t know him.”

  She hadn’t been. Not that it wasn’t true, but that hadn’t been why she said it. Jen shook her head. “I wasn’t—”

  “You’re not wrong. But he’s so exotic and fascinating. That accent and his dark, gorgeous skin.” Sara let out a dreamy sigh.

  “What does he do for a living?”

  Sara blinked, frowning. “Um. I...don’t know. I’m sure he told me. Doesn’t he work with Ben? Why else would he be at their wedding?”

  Okay. Shouldn’t that be one of the first things you talk about? In that whole introducing yourself stage of things? “So he’s local? Not based in, where was it?”

  “Martinique.” The dreamy look was back. “I...assume so. He didn’t really say.”

  “Well, what did he say?” Jen crossed her arms. Something about this guy was starting to sound weird. She liked Ben. She liked him a lot. And he and Rebecca were a great couple. But if they were in a rush to add attendants, did he choose someone he knew really well, or just a coworker who happened to be available?

  “All kinds of things. Look, just because you’re doing something one way doesn’t mean my way is wrong because it’s different. I should go.” Sara stood, stuffing her feet back into her discarded shoes. “When Rebecca’s back from her honeymoon we should get together for lunch.”

  Jen nodded, standing. “Don’t be mad at me. I’m glad you’re happy. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  Sara shook her head. “Luc won’t hurt me.”

  “You look wonderful, Mom. St. Croix agrees with you.” Jen let her mother fold her into a tight hug. She’d said she was all right with not having Christmas together but...something had been missing. This made it better. She’d have to start saving now so she could go wherever they settled on next year. Or not be too proud to let them pay for her.

  “Thanks, Jennifer. You’re looking lovely as well. Though I do wish you’d come with us. I understand wanting to pay your own way, but it would’ve been our pleasure. In more ways than one. I missed my baby girl.”

  Jen’s dad came in, holding three flutes of sparkling cider. “So did I.”

  “Well, that makes three of us.” Jen chuckled and accepted the drink. “I was just thinking I’d start saving money and vacation days now so wherever you decide to go next year, I can come. Though, presumably, I won’t have a last-minute wedding to worry about putting a wrench in the plans.”

  Her mom crossed to the sofa and patted the seat next to her. “How was the wedding? Did you take any photos?”

  Dad sat in a chair facing them. “More to the point, did her parents do okay?”

  “It was good. Simple and short. And her parents seemed genuinely pleased. I think they’ll still have a reception in Texas at some point, but with the wedding out of the way, they can take their time on scheduling that.” Jen patted her pockets and stood. “I think I have a few pictures on my phone, which is apparently in my purse.”

  “Go get it. Are we working on your puzzle tonight? Or did you want to play a board game instead?”

  Jen dug in her purse for her phone and returned to the couch. “I already started the puzzle, so it’s at home. Sorry. I needed something to do on Christmas day.”

  “Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry. We never should have gone.” Her mom rubbed Jen’s leg. Tribble jumped up into Jen’s lap and licked her mom’s hand, making the older woman laugh and rub behind her ears. “Sweet thing. Is your mom letting you help with the puzzle, too?”

  Jen snickered. “She’s trying, but somehow her help isn’t quite as useful as you’d imagine. What on earth possessed you to get a five-thousand-piece puzzle? I’ll be working on it for the rest of my life. Which means I’ll never eat at my dining room table again. Did you realize it’s going to be five feet by three feet when it’s finished?”

  “That big?” Jen’s dad shook his head. “I left the purchasing to your mother, so you can’t blame me. But...maybe you could build it in segments?”

  “Both of you stop being so silly. You’ll have it finished in no time, Jen, I know you. Now show me those photos. I want to know all the details.”

  Jen swiped to the beginning of the photos and angled the phone so her mom could see. “This is the B&B...”

  “Lovely.” Her mother swiped to the next photo. “Oh, don’t you and Sara look lovely. That dress is amazing on you. We’ll have to see if we can find another place for you to wear it. A Valentine’s Day dinner, maybe?”

  “Mom. There’s no one to go to a Valentine’s Day dinner with.” Even as she said the words, she had a flash of David’s smiling face, the barest hint of a dimple in his cheek.

  “Hm, well, it’s not even the new year yet. There’s time.” Her mom swiped to the next photo and hummed again. “Who’s this?”

  Jen looked down, heat crawled across her cheeks. She’d been goofing around with David at the dinner table, taking selfies. “That’s David Pak, he was the groomsman I was paired with. A friend of Jackson’s, actually, but I guess he helped Ben court Rebecca somehow. I’m not clear on the details, to be honest.”

  Her mom’s gaze was piercing.

  “What?”

  “You’re blushing. Tell me more.” Jen’s mom swiped to the next photo, another of her a
nd David goofing around.

  “Yes, do.” Her dad crossed the room and sat on the couch, peering down at the phone. “When do we get to meet him?”

  Meet him? “Wh—no. It’s not like that. We’re just, we aren’t, we only sat together at the wedding.”

  Her dad chuckled. “I’m not convinced, but we can hold off. For now. What’s he do?”

  Jen’s tongue darted between her lips. “He’s a project manager at my company. Different division—realistically we’d never have even run into each other, despite working in the same building.”

  Her parents exchanged a look before her mother spoke. “Well. Your father and I met at work.”

  How had she forgotten that? They told the story at every possible opportunity. They’d been so...proud, maybe...that they didn’t meet in college like all their friends. They both had careers first. “It was a wedding, Mom. I doubt—”

  “He hasn’t called you?” Her dad reached for the phone and changed the photo.

  “We had lunch on Tuesday. But that wasn’t anything. He was just being nice.” Jen reached for her phone. It was time to stop talking about David. He hadn’t called, or emailed, texted, anything since. And really, who could blame him? She wasn’t anything special. Smart, sure, but incredibly average when you looked at her. David...was on an entirely different plane. “Are we looking at my phone all night, or ringing in the New Year with a board game like we’re supposed to?”

  David stretched his arms over his head and groaned. Everyone on the team was back from their vacations and the quiet, peaceful week between Christmas and New Year’s when he’d been able to get work done during business hours was gone. For the past four days, it had been meeting after meeting as people tried to remember what they’d been doing before the holidays. Two of the projects he was managing had deadlines looming at the end of January and both had key players who’d used their time off to find new employment. Not an auspicious start to the year.

  “Got a second?” Stephen, the team lead for one of the projects now facing certain doom stood in his doorway.

  “Yeah, of course. Come in.” Stephen closed the door and crossed to David’s desk. David’s stomach sank. There was no cheerful reason for Stephen to need privacy. “What’s up?”

  Stephen rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s no good way to say this. I’m leaving at the end of the month. I have my resignation ready to send, but after the bombshells in the meeting this morning, I thought I’d tell you in person beforehand.”

  David closed his eyes and swallowed before forcing a strained smile. “Where are you going?”

  Stephen named a smaller company—one they frequently used as a sub-contractor—and the same place their key programmer was going, if the rumor mill was to be believed. “I’ve loved my time here. I know I owe a lot of that to you. When you started moving up, you took the rest of us who’d started about the same time with you. But there’s so much paperwork and meetings now...I like leading a team, but I want to keep my hand in development, too. There’s not really a career path here that would allow that.”

  David nodded. That was true, if only because of the bureaucracy that came from working in a big company. Personally, programming had never been something he loved. After giving up on political science, he’d majored in business with a computer science minor only to provide more options for getting his foot in the door. Management was where he’d been headed from day one. If he tried, he could understand how that might not be ideal for someone more interested in code. Still. “We have some senior developer positions open in the architect track. I could look into transferring you. That would ease the management requirements and increase your development time. Plus, it would come with a salary bump.”

  “I...would I stay on this project?” Stephen frowned and clasped his hands together.

  “Do you want to?” David held Stephen’s gaze. He could make it work either way—he’d certainly rather keep Stephen, but the company overall would be better served if Stephen stayed, even if it meant changing divisions.

  “Maybe. I don’t know. What about the team lead stuff? Who’d do that?”

  David shrugged. “We’d find a replacement for your current position, most likely. Or, in the interim, I’d take it on. You don’t have to decide right away, take a week to think about it and let me know.”

  “Okay. Thanks, David.” Stephen stood and held out his hand.

  David shook it and smiled. Hopefully Stephen’d decide to stay—and stay on the project. He already had a voicemail from his boss asking what was going on with his projects. Losing another employee was not going to go over well. At all. Plus, Stephen was a solid worker. Even without the scrutiny he’d come under with three employees leaving at the same time, losing Stephen would be a hit to the team’s productivity. “Any time. I appreciate you coming to me in person.”

  When Stephen left, David leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Generally, people didn’t take counter offers. Or, if they did, they didn’t stay very long afterward. But he’d had to try. He also needed to get his feelers out and see if there was someone who might be interested in transferring to his project. He’d send a quick email to his contact in HR and have him keep an eye out for contracts that were ending. Internal transfers were easier all around than sourcing from the outside.

  His stomach growled and he glanced at his watch. After two and he still hadn’t had time for lunch. And it was late enough now there was no possibility that Jen wouldn’t have eaten. Which meant one more day without a reason to casually swing by. He could text her...and say what? He couldn’t guarantee that he’d be free for lunch tomorrow. He could ask her out to dinner over the weekend but that seemed premature somehow. Rushing her wasn’t a good idea. What he needed was a party where they could randomly bump into one another. Except that Ben and Rebecca were still on their honeymoon, so even if he could talk Jackson into having one, would he think to invite Jen?

  David sighed and ran a hand through his hair. This was like high school. Except worse. Because now, if he did manage to figure out how to ask her out, and she accepted, and they got into a relationship...now his family would insist on getting to know her, too. They’d be nice, they were good people. But he found them overwhelming sometimes, and he was used to them. They’d scare her off in two seconds flat.

  So what was he supposed to do?

  “Hey, man. Glad you could make it.” Jackson clapped David on the back and pulled open the door to Season’s Bounty.

  “Me, too. I appreciate the invite. I hadn’t expected you to be free tonight when I called—just thought we could get something on the calendar.” David followed behind Jackson as he wound through the tables and pushed open the door into the kitchen.

  “Hi, Paige.” Jackson poked his head between the expediting shelves before pointing to the four-person banquette stuffed into a corner of the kitchen area.

  It was hot. Steamy hot. But the smells mixing in the air set David’s stomach in motion. The granola bar he’d eaten at his desk after Stephen left was too little, too long ago. Did they order, like normal? He hadn’t seen a menu. David slid into the booth and waited for Jackson. He’d follow his friend’s lead on the food.

  “Go and sit, Jackson, I’ll be out in a minute.”

  David didn’t see her, but that had to be Paige hollering over the clatter of pots and pans. Jackson sat across from David and laid his arm across the seat back. “She’ll be here with food when she gets a chance. On the one hand, you never know what you’re getting. On the other, I haven’t had a loser yet. And she doesn’t charge me, though I usually try to pay at the front as I’m leaving. Sometimes they can slide it past her. So how come you don’t have a hot date tonight? What happened to...oh, what was her name, Sue?”

  Soo Yi. He hadn’t thought of her in ages. “We broke up a year ago. My parents were more upset by it than I was. She’s engaged to the youth pastor at our church now. They make a good couple. Better than we were.”

  Jackson w
inced. “That’s not awkward?”

  David shrugged. “Maybe a little, but my whole family goes to that church, I’m not going to leave just because it’s a little weird.”

  “No one else since then?”

  “Not really. In the aftermath of Soo Yi, I realized I needed to be more careful and only date someone if I was interested in the long haul. Marriage, family, the works. I’m nearly thirty. Dating for fun was fine in college, but now, it’s too much work. I’m guessing that makes sense, given that you’re engaged now.”

  Jackson chuckled.

  “Hi, honey.” Paige scurried to the table, holding a large, rectangular plate laden with bruschetta and two smaller plates. She leaned over and gave Jackson a quick kiss. “Hi, David. It’s good to see you. I know I haven’t seen you back here, but have you been to the restaurant before?”

  David shook his head. “I keep meaning to. I’ve actually stopped by twice, but the wait was longer than my stomach wanted, so I promised myself I’d try again. Sorry.”

  Paige waved away his apology. “Please. I’m glad you could come tonight, and hanging out back here is better, anyway. Not that the menu’s bad, mind you, but I’ve been playing with some dishes for spring, you two get to be my guinea pigs.”

  “Spring menu? It’s the first week of January.”

  She grinned. “I know. And I’m cheating a little, using some of my frozen or preserved vegetables instead of the fresh that I’m hoping will start becoming available late spring. But if they’re good, I might put a few of them on for the rest of winter. Other people have to be craving new flavors too, don’t they?”

  Craving new flavors? Had he ever craved a flavor? It sounded like a girl thing. Or a foodie thing. He was neither, but he nodded. “Sure. This looks good.”

  “Dig in, man.” Jackson took a slice of toast from the tray, maneuvered a large bite into his mouth, and set the rest down on his plate while he chewed. “Mmmm.”