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“Be her friend. Show up for her. Do things for her. Be in her corner. Love her for her. Once you prove that, well, she’ll be so in love with you that nothing else will matter.”
I don’t even flinch when Nancy says the L- word. It’s not a word I typically keep in my vernacular. I’m not even sure what it means. I used to think my parents loved each other. I loved baseball. Do I love Millie? Am I in love with Millie? I don’t know, but Nancy is right, the decision is mine and Millie’s to make. I guess now the only thing to decide is how I am going to convince Millie that it’s a decision worth making.
I’m finally in the groove of things and working on a contract for one of our new clients when my phone rings. I don’t even look to see who it is before I answer.
“Mark Winters.”
“What are you doing Saturday?”
I silently groan. Why didn’t I look at the caller ID? I don’t have time for Ben right now.
“Ben, I’m at work. Can I call you back later?”
“This won’t take long. What about Saturday?”
I’m not caffeinated enough to deal with him today, at least not right now, so I stall.
“Nick Klinefeld asked me to come by sometime to see his team this year. I figure their game on Saturday would be as good as any.”
“Nick Klinefeld? Why would he call you about that? It’s not like we were friends with him.”
“You weren’t friends with him. Hate to break it to you, but I wasn’t monogamous in our friendship.”
“That doesn’t matter, the game is what? In the afternoon, right? So you’re free Saturday night?”
“My mom just got back into town; I was planning to go see her, but why don’t you just tell me why you called and stop all the fake pleasantries?”
“You make me sound so shallow and self-centered.”
He said it, not me.
“Come out on a double date with me and Belinda!”
“No.”
“But you haven’t heard who we want to set you up with.”
“It doesn’t matter. The answer is no.”
“You haven’t been on a date with anyone since you’ve been back to town, and here I am with the perfect excuse to not only go on a date with someone but also get to hang out with me. It’s a win-win.”
I’m not sure he really understands what a win-win situation would be, because any double date that involves Ben—or worse, Belinda—will not be a good time. He will dominate all conversations, and she will complain about everything or at the very least act as if she is above everything and everyone.
“Fine.” I resign myself. “Who are you attempting to set me up with? Not that I’m saying yes.” It better not be any of Belinda’s college roommates, because every single one of those women has been worse than the previous. I didn’t even know that was possible. “Do you even remember the last blind date you tried to set me up on?”
“So you ended up getting a few stitches. It was a simple misunderstanding.”
Misunderstanding? He was joking, right? The woman was insane. She had come into town to visit Belinda one time when I had been home visiting. Belinda thought it would be a fantastic idea to set “Karen” (I’ve blocked any recollection of her real name) and me up on a date. I had initially declined, but Ben, wanting to keep his new wife happy, had somehow talked me into it. It was the worst. We hadn’t been at the restaurant twenty minutes when “Karen” accused me of flirting with the waitress and threw a candlestick at my head. It hit me right above my eye, and next thing I knew all I was seeing was red.
“Thirty-two! I had to have thirty-two stitches! All I did was ask for a wine list, and I ended up with thirty-two stitches! The answer is no! No more blind dates. No more set-ups at all.”
“Come on, it’s Belinda’s cousin.”
“No! You and Belinda are the worst matchmakers.”
“It’s just one date. Besides, I already said yes.”
“Ben!”
