"Point Loma."
She wrote his answers on the form. “And what would you like your ad to say?"
"Witty, intelligent, self-made man looking to hang out with a woman who has a good sense-of-humor and doesn't take herself too seriously. Who loves to travel and experience the great outdoors? Seeking a low-maintenance woman who isn't in a hurry to get married."
She wrote down his ad, and then took his contact number and credit card information. When she was finished, she hung up and sighed. How hard can it be? I'm obviously trying too hard. Okay, if I was my client, how would I help me?
She tapped the pencil on her chin.
I'd ask first who I am and then what was important. She tossed the pencil on her desk and returned to the computer. Typing she wrote:
Wanted: Boyfriend for Christmas.
She frowned and backed the cursor up. That was Daniel's idea and not a good one at that. She tried again.
Friendly, slightly shy, attractive woman seeks a man who likes to talk about life and adventure. Who will help me convince my mother I'm not hopeless.
She pinched her eyes shut and deleted the last sentence.
"Heather?"
She closed the window and spun around in the chair. “Yes, Mr. Sage?"
"Have you sent down today's ads yet? The natives in printing are getting restless."
She smiled at her boss. “I'm just about done. I'm typing up the last two right now."
He adjusted his tie. “Well, don't take much longer. Everyone is anxious to get out of here for the Thanksgiving holiday."
"I won't, sir."
"Good.” He adjusted his briefcase from one hand to the other. “I'm off to board a plane."
"Bye."
She waited until he cleared the door, and then turned back to the day's page. She added her ad and John's and emailed them, with the rest, to printing. Her heart raced at the thought of what she'd just done. Now let's see if the phone rings.
* * * *
Thursday afternoon, Heather helped Daniel prepare Thanksgiving dinner. She knew it would be a bittersweet evening as Daniel desperately wanted Heather's opinion before he popped “the question.” She also didn't doubt that she would feel a little like a third wheel by the time the evening was over.
Though Heather knew she should go into the night with an open mind, she still couldn't help feeling abandoned. That a “yes” vote for the woman meant a “no” vote for herself. She'd be alone. The last single person on the planet. Two days ago, she placed her ad and not one call in response. Not a surprise. All the good men her age were probably married or about to be.
She peeked in the crock-pot at the roast. As she checked the time on the stove, the aroma rising from the pot made her stomach grumble. Good, dinner was only a short time away. She pulled down some plates and started to set the table.
Daniel rushed in the room, leaving a trail of spicy cologne behind him. He looked amazing in a charcoal button-down shirt, a gray tie and black pants. His dark hair looked messy on purpose and his goatee freshly trimmed. His chocolate brown eyes danced with excitement.
"So, how does everything look?"
She smiled. “Are we talking about you or the food?"
He pulled her into a hug. “Both."
She kissed his cheek and pulled back. “The spread you fixed looks more than edible. Your mama obviously taught you well. And you...” She stepped back and stared into his eyes. “Never looked more handsome. Claudia is a lucky girl."
He smiled. “Thank you."
She wiped her hands on a towel hanging from the stove. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready myself. What time is she getting here?"
"Um...” He checked his watch. “In about fifteen minutes or so."
"Okay, good. That should give me enough time to shower.” She pointed to the living room. “Make yourself at home. I'll be back."
She jumped in the shower, just getting in long enough to rinse off, and stepped back out. She dried, dressed and primped in record time. She just finished applying her lipstick, when her cell phone rang in the other room. She peeked out the door looking toward Daniel sitting on the couch watching a football game. “Do you mind grabbing that for me?"
"Sure."
She walked back to the mirror and vamped left, then right. The white sundress was a good choice. Not too dressy, but not overly casual either. Perfect for an evening that held mystery. She leaned forward in the mirror and wiped off a small clump of mascara under her eye. What was this woman of Daniel's like? Nice, stuck up, candid, or shy? Plain, gorgeous? She'd only seen one picture, and that was from a distance.
Daniel had been dating her for over four months, but never talked about her. Not once in detail. Which was odd, even for him. Usually, he'd tell Heather something. When she asked him why, he said he didn't kiss and tell. Whatever that meant. Well, hopefully they would all get along okay. It would be awful to ruin a perfectly good holiday to snide comments and rude behavior. No reason to keep her family's tradition. There was a reason Heather didn't do Thanksgiving at home anymore. To avoid that very thing from people like her brother. Always saying what he felt like saying, whether it was appropriate or not.
Daniel knocked on the bedroom door. “There's a guy on your cell phone. Says he saw your ad."
Heather's eyes went wide. She flung the door open, snatched the phone from Daniel's hand, and shut the door in his face.
He knocked, but she ignored him.
"Hello?” she said nervously.
"Hi, my name is Thomas Carlson. I read your ad in the newspaper."
She smiled. “Yes?"
"I wondered if you're free tomorrow night. Maybe we could go out for dinner."
She held her stomach, trying to calm her nerves. “Yes, sure."
"Great. Where should I pick you up?"
Her heart skipped. Maybe that wasn't such a great idea. What if he's psycho? Wouldn't want him to know where I live. “Um, how about we meet somewhere?"
"Okay. Do you know Moretti's Italian Restaurant in Seaport Village?"
She nodded.
"Hello?"
She giggled. Like he could hear my head rattle. “Sorry. Um, yes. I've been there a few times before. That sounds good."
"How about eight?"
"Sure."
"See you then."
Heather ended the call and screamed.
Daniel thrust the door open, a priceless look of panic in his eyes. “What's wrong?"
She smiled, holding the phone to her chest. “I have a date."
"Seriously?” He raised an eyebrow. “No way. How did that happen?"
Did she tell him? He'd tease her for sure. “He saw my ad,” she mumbled.
He stepped closer to her, hand cupped over his ear. “I'm sorry, what?"
"He saw my ad,” she mumbled again.
He butted up against her. “What, Heather? I didn't catch that?"
She laughed. “I said ... he saw my personal ad, okay? Goodness."
"Unbelievable.” He shook his head, chuckling. “I can't believe you actually went ahead and did that? I never would have guessed."
"You told me to."
"Yeah, but since when did you start actually listening to me?"
"Since now."
"Oh, great. This may be the one time you should have ignored me.” He crossed his arms. “So, who is this guy anyhow? What do you know about him?"
She shrugged. “I didn't ask him anything."
Worry clouded his eyes. “You're going out with some guy you don't know anything about?"
"Your idea.” She walked past him into the living room and straightened a pillow on the futon she called a couch.
"No, no, no.” He walked around the coffee table, forcing her to face him. “I may have hinted for you to place a personal ad, but come on. Find out who responded. You don't know anything about him. What if he's a mass murderer?"
"Don't be so melodramatic. We're meeting in a public place and his name is Thomas."
>
He opened his mouth to respond, when the doorbell rang. “We'll talk about this later."
Heather rolled her eyes and crossed to the door. She unlatched the chain and opened it to a beautiful, curvy Hispanic woman who smiled at her. “Hi. Heather?"
"You must be Claudia.” Heather grinned and stepped back. “Come in."
"Thank you.” She walked around Heather and into Daniel's arms. “Le eché de menos, mi amor."
"I missed you, too.” His kissed her cheek. “How was your first day at work yesterday?"
"Exhausting.” She placed her purse on the coffee table and turned to Heather. “I just started as a preschool teacher at the First Start Daycare. I'm officially in charge of a dozen rug rats."
Heather grinned. “That sounds exciting."
"Would you like anything to drink?” Daniel walked toward the fridge.
Claudia shook her head. “I just came from my tia's house. I've been sucking down iced tea all day. If I drink another sip of anything, I'll spend the evening in your restroom."
"Well, actually, I think we're ready to eat dinner.” Heather motioned to a wooden table just off the living room and began putting all the food in bowls and placing them on the table.
"I'm starved. I never eat on Thanksgiving Day until its time.” Daniel escorted Claudia to the table, pulling a chair out for her. His eyes never left hers.
So much admiration, maybe even love. Heather sighed. Oh Daniel, you are going to leave me, aren't you? Heather tried to block out her jealous thoughts and pulled the tortillas from a warmer tray.
"So, Daniel tells me you're in advertising?” Claudia placed her napkin in her lap.
Heather laughed, then sat at the table and offered out a plate with corn tortillas. “Well, that's a glamorous way of putting it, I suppose. I write the classified ads for the West County Times."
Claudia placed one on her plate and reached for the bowl of roast beef. “I bet you get to read real juicy stuff, huh?"
Heather smiled. “Yeah, now and then there are some good ones."
"Do you like it?"
"I majored in journalism and knew I wanted to work at the paper, originally I thought that meant as a reporter.” Heather met her eyes. “But I quickly learned I didn't have what it takes."
"She's too nice.” Daniel winked. “The sharks ate her alive."
She offered him a tight smile. “Thanks, friend."
"You know it's the truth."
Heather sprinkled cheese over the beef on her tortilla and reached for the salsa. “So, you're a teacher. Did you always want to do that?"
"Absolutely. I've always loved kids. You can learn so much from them, you know?” Her button nose crinkled when she spoke. “My mother worked at an elementary school in Tijuana when I was young and I always said I'd do the same some day. I guess I was right."
Heather sighed. She's adorable.
For an hour they talked, and with each story, each revelation, it became clearer—Heather had to “pass” this woman as a good find. Once she did, Daniel would ask Claudia to be his wife and be out of Heather's life for good. Why couldn't Claudia be a monster? Horrible. Unlikable. Or better yet, why can't I tell a lie?
"So how did you and Daniel meet?” Claudia asked her, over a bowl of ice cream.
"Well...” Daniel and Heather exchanged looks and burst out laughing.
"You tell it,” Daniel said.
"No, you.” Heather scooped a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.
"You're going to interject anyway, you always do, but I'll start.” He looked at Claudia, but kept peeking back at Heather. “She'd just started as a freshman at San Diego State. It was the first day of the year, and I had just started the second semester of my sophomore year."
"We both ended up working in the cafeteria to pay for college,” Heather said, setting her spoon down. “Which would have been a fine way to meet..."
"Except that's not exactly how it happened. Was it Heather?"
"Um, no.” She licked her lips, smiling. “For some reason, I decided to help a bunch of girls in my sorority raid the guy's dorm. To this day, I don't know why I decided to go along with this, but I did."
"Yeah, keep going.” He nudged her arm.
"We were supposed to go in and steal underwear to put on the flag pole."
Claudia covered her mouth with her hand.
"They handed out room numbers and I got Daniel's room. I didn't know him from Adam. It was just the room number they pointed me to.” She peeked at Daniel again. His amused grin evident. “The girls had turned off the hall lights, so they wouldn't see us come in. Afraid I'd trip and fall, I decided to crawl on the ground, feeling along the carpet, hoping I'd find some there. Instead, I found a handful of hair."
"What?” Claudia furrowed her brow.
"Yeah, he was sleeping on the floor. No idea why, but he, of course, woke up."
"I was down there to protect my project from my roommate and apparently from you."
She laughed. “Frightened and maybe a bit embarrassed, I backed up and ended up tripping. I fell and landed on this building he'd created for his architectural class. Completely smashed the thing."
"I could have cried. I'd worked on it for over two months and it was due in the morning."
Claudia shook her head. “And yet, you two are still friends?"
"Yeah...” He smiled. “She stayed up all night and helped me fix it."
"Thus, the start of a beautiful friendship.” Daniel and Heather stared at each other for a moment, grinning.
"Hmm?” Claudia cleared her throat. “Well, I think I'd better go."
He looked away. “Are you sure?"
"Yeah, it's late and I have to drive to my nana's house in Tijuana in the morning.” She glanced at Heather. “Thanks for inviting me; everything was wonderful."
"You'll have to thank Daniel. He was the cook."
Claudia offered a closed mouth smile and nodded.
Heather stood and stuck out her hand. “Nice meeting you, Claudia."
She nodded. “Night."
Daniel led Claudia to the door.
Heather pretended to be busy wiping the table, but she caught sight of them kissing goodbye. Instant envy left her heart sad.
Daniel closed the door, and then faced Heather. “So? What you think?"
"She's great.” Heather reached in the freezer and withdrew the half-eaten carton of ice cream.
"But?"
Heather sat at the table and scooped some more in her bowl. “But nothing. There's no but. I like her. Really. I can see why you like her."
Daniel fingered one of the spoons, his eyes on hers. “You're not telling me something."
How she hated that he knew her so well. It infuriated her. “Look, it's hard. I know you'll get married and I'll be stuck here, an old maid."
He touched her hand. “Don't be silly. You and I ... we'll always be best friends."
"Yeah?"
He grabbed the ice cream and spooned some in a bowl. “I have a question."
"What?"
"How do you think you'd look in a tux?"
She pursed her lips. “Why?"
He shrugged, a glimmer of mischievousness in his eye. “I thought I'd make you my best man."
"Funny.” Heather laughed. “You know she has to say yes first."
"A mere formality.” He shoved a big bite of mocha almond fudge in his mouth, and then clamped a hand over his forehead. “Ooh, brain-freeze."
Heather grabbed a bottle of water from the counter and handed it to him. “Here, drink this. It'll help."
He unscrewed the lid and drank.
"Better?"
He nodded.
"Well, I hate to kick you out, but I have to get to sleep and you need to go home."
He stood. “Thanks again for doing all this. I know it was a little unorthodox for Thanksgiving dinner, but it meant a lot to me."
"I was with you. It was cool.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. Sh
e stepped back and looked him in the eye. “Why can't I find a guy like you?"
He traced her jaw with his finger. “Your day will come, Heather."
"Yeah."
"I'm sure of it.” He kissed her cheek. “Night."
She walked him to the door. “See you tomorrow."
"Yep.” He left and once again that familiar gloom invaded her heart. Lord, is it asking too much to find happiness? To feel love? I promise to make an effort, to stick myself out there. Please don't let me die trying.
She put the ice cream away, cleaned up a bit, and then headed for bed. After she got ready, she sat on the edge of the mattress contemplating if she should watch some TV or just read her Bible and go to bed. Her eyes fell on the note she'd scribbled earlier. She picked it up and smiled. She would meet Thomas at Moretti's tomorrow night.
Maybe soon she'd be able to say, he's the one.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Three
Daniel caught Heather about to climb in her car. She looked amazing in a red dress, her hair soft around her shoulders. It had been a long time since he'd seen her like that. “Hey, why are you all dressed up?"
"I've got a date, remember?"
He smirked. “You nervous?"
Her tight smile suggested she might throw up.
He crossed to her. “If the conversation lags, just remember the three E's."
"The three E's?"
"Employment, Education, and Entertainment."
She shook her head. “Explain."
"Ask him where he works, where he went to school and what he likes to do. Piece of cake.” He wiped his hands. “Men love to talk about themselves; if you feed his ego, he'll be putty in your hands."
"Funny.” She visibly inhaled and nodded. “The three E's. I can do that."
"You look beautiful.” He kissed the top of her head. “You'll do fine. The guy would be a complete moron not to fall in love with you the minute he sees you."
"Thanks.” She reached for the car door handle. “You're not biased or anything."
His smile left him. “Please be careful, Heather. If you sense anything weird or have an uneasy feeling, there's nothing wrong with just getting up and leaving. Even if you need me to come get you."
"You're sweet.” She touched his face and climbed in. “Wish me luck."
"Luck.” He shut her door and stepped back.
Wanted: Boyfriend for Christmas Page 2
