Page 51 of His Choice

“He’s not totally wrong. He is a better person than I am. But my nurturing might have contributed to some of the good—like his open-mindedness and challenging those who abuse their power. Beware, though. He picked up some of my bad traits, too.”

I wasn’t sure if that was an invitation to find out more. “Oh?”

“Besides the forementioned prudishness and self-doubting—which didn’t come from me—he can be stubborn and sharp-tongued when annoyed.” She chuckled. “In fairness, those traits seem to be directed mostly at me. I guess that makes me the one who jangles his nerves. I admit that I’m meddlesome, but he knows he needs me to be. He has wants, but he’s risk-averse. That’s why he’ll probably never leave White Pines, even though it would make it easier for him to find someone to love him. And I’m a selfish person because it’s the one thing I haven’t pushed him on, even though it might be in his best interest. I’d miss him if he moved away. That’s why when this show came along, I became hopeful he could still meet a man and keep his home and friends here in White Pines.”

“And be with you,” I added.

She shrugged. “You won’t hear him say that’s important to him. But yes, I think that’s true. I love him unconditionally. And I know that he loves me too—he’d just love me more in a cremation urn shoved in the dark recesses of his basement.”

“Oh, my God,” I whispered before choking on a laugh.

“So, he and I play our little game of back and forth, complain about each other, then rush to help each other when needed. It works for us. Now, whether it will get on the nerves of whomever Cliff ends up choosing, I don’t know.” Her smile fell. “I hope it doesn’t. He might not believe this, but I’d make myself scarce rather than risk him losing what would make him happiest.”

“I’m sure that wouldn’t be necessary. Frankly, anyone who cares about your son would never put him in a position of choosing.” Despite Ms. Walker’s tough exterior, the more I learned, the more I liked her.

She smiled. “Well, on my chart of favorites, you just shot to number one with a bullet.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think Cliff will choose me.”

She crossed her arms. “Is this the insecurity you admitted to having? Do you need me to kick you in the butt now?”

“I have a roommate who does that,” I replied. I frowned as I recalled our earlier conversation. “Until tonight, it was always done nicely.”

“What do you mean?”

“I shouldn’t be talking about it. I don’t want to paint a bad picture of Aaron. He’s so supportive of me. And he’s amazing.” I scratched my arm as I thought about our relationship. “What he and I have is sort of like what you and your son have. Aaron gets on my nerves, too. But I care about him more than anyone, and I’m sure he feels the same about me. That’s why it hurt so much when he turned on me earlier.” She was staring, expecting me to elaborate. “My nemesis here, Daryl—the one who tinkered with my decorating bag…”

“Yes, Cliff told me about that,” she said. “Do you want this Daryl fool floating in the East River off New York City? I know people.”

Her grin made me think she didn’t, though I wasn’t certain. “No. His stunt ended up getting me the date, I guess. Anyway, Daryl was watching me and your son through the windows, then making comments to the others, implying I was a ho, or whatever.”

Ms. Walker appeared surprised. “I’m not allowed to watch the show until after the finale is filmed. You should warn me what I’ll be seeing when I finally get a chance to view it. Will I need to fast-forward through something that a mother shouldn’t witness?”

I gulped. “We were just kissing. Well…making out.”

She sighed. “I expected there would be moments like those filmed. I’ve seen these types of shows. Maybe I’ll skip over those parts anyway, considering Cliff’s my kid. If nothing else, it would make him more comfortable to know I’m jumping over those moments.”

I could understand that. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of my parents watching what I had done either. “When they get to the scene of me and Cliff in a pool, let the fast-forward button do its thing.”

She nodded that she would. “Not that you boys did anything wrong, of course. I’m happy you and Cliff hit it off. So, why did your roommate give you a hard time about it? What did he expect would happen?”

“Aaron thought I was being used. Daryl told everyone that a bachelor never settles on the person they chose for the first date. Apparently, producers pressure the show’s star to go on a first date with the least likely choice because they don’t want the whole series to be about that same guy,” I explained. “I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. I knew I wasn’t on par with the rest of these contestants. It still hurts to receive the confirmation, though.”

“Sounds like you’re drawing a lot of conclusions based on the words of an agitator,” she chastised. “I know my son. Cliff isn’t going to make an important life decision based on what producers tell him. If he liked you, and I’m guessing he did—considering he allowed himself to be filmed getting amorous with you—then you’re in the running. If I were you, I’d focus on trying to figure out why your roommate, the guy who allegedly cares about you so much, acted like a fuck-wad.”

I flushed. Ms. Walker sure didn’t talk like my mom did. “He said he didn’t want to see me heartbroken.”

Ms. Walker narrowed her eyes. “Or he’s trying to get into your head. Competition can bring out the worst in people. Maybe he’s jealous that you got the first date and it went well.”

I reminded myself that she didn’t know Aaron is straight and that he isn’t interested in her son.

I decided to manipulate the truth so she’d back away from her unfounded accusation without me breaking my non-disclosure agreement. “Um, Aaron shared with me that he hasn’t felt a…spark with Cliff. So, I don’t think that’s it…” She frowned at that. “I mean, he thinks your son is great. Totally! It’s just not gelling for him. Aaron will stay on because of the contractual agreement, but he won’t do anything to encourage Cliff because he’s not the type of person to play someone just to win a contest. And he doesn’t want to inadvertently mess up Cliff’s chances to find his best match. Obviously, I’m telling you all this in confidence.”

She contemplated that. “Maybe his jealousy isn’t about losing Cliff. Maybe it’s about losing you.”

If Aaron still ended up executing his plan to pretend he was falling for me, then Ms. Walker’s suspicion could be beneficial—particularly if the camera crew asked for her opinion. “Um, well, up until now, he’s never indicated that he’s interested in me that way.” I thought that was a safe comment to make.

Ms. Walker shrugged. “It doesn’t need to be romantic. It sounds like the two of you have built a co-dependent relationship—in a nice way. Maybe he fears losing that.”