3: Matchmaker

Bryce

 

     We enter my sister's house, and Adele immediately runs over to play with her cousin.

    "Baby Jer-Jer!" she giggles and hugs him before they sit on the floor to play. I'm glad they have so much fun together since I leave Adele with Pamela almost every night.

    She speaks up again, this time to my sister, "Hey, Aunt Pamela, Daddy met a girl yesterday." She laughs when I turn around and give her an 'are you crazy? why tell her that!?' look. I shake my head and plop myself down on a bar stool, preparing myself for twenty questions.

     I never flirt with women in front of my daughter. Well, I wasn't exactly 'flirting' yesterday either, but Adele could tell something was up.

     I glance up at Pam. I can hear the wheels turning in her head. She's wondering which question to ask first. I speak up before she can ask, "It was just somebody when we went on a picnic yesterday." I shrug, trying to act nonchalant about the whole thing.

     "Mhm," she responds like she doesn't believe that's all. "In front of Adele?"

     Adele's hearing must be good because she speaks up suddenly. "I told him to. He was just sitting there staring at her the whole time we were eating."

     I put my elbows on the counter and my head in my hands. Adele and Jeremy start playing peek-a-boo, the current favorite game for the toddler. Great, I think sarcastically. This is all I need. My sister butting her nose into my love life. Again. And Adele is just like her. You'd think I was the child here the way they both try to take care of me.

     "So....?" Pamela asks.

     "So what?" I respond like I have no idea what she means when I really do. I look right into her eyes like I dare her to try to get anything out of me that I have no intention of spilling.

     She sighs exasperatedly and walks around the counter.

     She sits herself down next to me and asks, "So, what's she like?"

     I look over at her warily and answer, "She's new to the island, likes to read, and she's... quiet." I sit here and hope that that placates her curiosity. Of course, it doesn't.

     "Oh, a quiet bookworm that just moved here. Doesn't sound like your type," she says in a teasing voice. I know what she's doing. She's trying a reverse psychology thing on me to get me to say more, hoping that I'll argue that she is my type. She continues quietly so that Adele can't hear, her eyes narrowing in a mischievous sort of way, "I thought you only went after tourists because then you didn't have to be serious."

     She wants me to contradict her. Fact is, she's right. At least, with tourists, I know they're going to leave me.

     "You're right. She's not my type at all," I lie.

     She looks like she doesn't believe me. Jeremy squeals in the background as she asks, "So what does she look like?" Damn.

     "She has long blonde hair, glasses and blue eyes." Yeah, beautiful eyes as blue as that water out there. It's a shame they're hidden behind those glasses.

     Pamela asks me to be more descriptive. I tell her I don't know, that I wasn't paying that close attention. 

     "It was just a random person that was at the park the same time we were," I say in an almost agitated way.

     She continues for me, "That you sat and stared at the whole time." She pauses. "Then called up Ginger today to keep a look out and call you if this girl should happen to come by the library any time." She smiles triumphantly.

     My mouth drops open. What is it with these females? This is what I get for trusting Ginger to keep her mouth shut. I should've known she'd call Pamela.

     "I... um... I wanted to be sure to invite her to the party tomorrow night." Crap. Pam is going to take that and run with it. I flounder around, trying to come up with something to say to save myself from my sister's inquisitiveness. 

      "Mhm. You invited her?"

      "Yeah. I remembered she'd said she just moved here, so I thought it would be a nice thing to do," I quickly defend myself. Pamela looks just like Mom right now; it's scary. She has that look that Mom would give me when she wanted me to tell her what really happened with whatever happened.

     "Seems to me a pretty drastic thing to do to call up Ginger and ask her to be lookout just to invite her to a party."

     "Well, it's being held at my bar, so why not? And I thought that she seemed the bookish type." Of course, I also called up Desmond at the courthouse, Lynne at the spa, and Jesse at his store.

     "Who else did you call?"

      Everybody. Damn. What was I thinking?

      I avoid the question and say, "I just wanted to make sure she got the invite. You know, I wanted to make sure she felt welcome." I'm desperate to save this whole situation. I don't know if anything is going to happen anyway, and I don't want to raise any expectations with anyone.

      "Then why not tell them to invite her if they saw her? Why did they have to call you and tell you they'd seen her?" Pamela asks me, one eyebrow raised. She already knew I'd called everyone.

     Shit. "Because..." She looks at me expectantly. I wilt and surrender the information dejectedly, "Because I wanted to be the one to invite her. Because I wanted to ask her out before anyone else did. I don't think the invite came across that way anyway, but I can still hope she comes."

      She giggles and claps her hands excitedly. "I knew it!"

      "Pamela..." I whine. "Please don't get involved. Besides, it could all come to nothing," I say and watch her get up and dance around the kitchen.

      Ever since Ashley left me, Pamela has been trying to set me up with one girl after another, thinking that would make the hurt go away. Well, it didn't work! Ashley left us and had someone else deliver the divorce papers for me to sign. Ever since then, I've not taken any relationship seriously. Tourists are perfect for that. One week romance, my heart stays safe. Well, Erin is... I don't know. I'm treading dangerous waters here.

    "What has you dancing around the kitchen, baby?" my brother-in-law Simon says to her as he walks in the back door, kisses my sister on the cheek, and then trudges over to the edge of the counter to watch the kids play. He looks exhausted.

     I look over at him and say in a concerned voice, "Why not have a seat, bro? You look dead on your feet."

    "If I sit down, I'm going to fall asleep," he says and runs his hand over his face. Pamela starts cooking something or other. "I hate candles," he says while glaring at the coffee table where a candle sits unlit. Since he's a firefighter, I have a good idea why he'd say something like that.

     "Again?!" Pamela asks him.

    "Yes, but this time we got there in time. The only things damaged were a curtain, the lamp the candle sat next to, and a little bit of the wall," he says wearily, and I'm just happy the focus has shifted off me. He looks up at me and asks, "That party's tomorrow right?"

     At the same time I give him a yes, Pamela chirps up, "And Bryce has asked out someone for it."

     Simon shrugs and says, "Well, I figured he'd grab somebody." Thank you! Finally! Someone that gets it!

      Pamela continues, "A new neighbor."

     Simon's eyebrows raise as he looks up at me again. Jeremy screams at Adele because she's kept her face hidden too long. I get up to leave.

      "Yeah, I'd heard someone bought Carter's old place," Simon says. "I wonder if that's the one."

      News to me.

     "I bet it is," Pamela answers him. I turn back around and wonder if Simon is going to volunteer more information... information I'm suddenly desperate to know. Pam doesn't miss my hopefully pondering expression. Simon watches me too. Then he and Pam smile at each other knowingly.

      I groan at both of them and say, "I've got to get to work. I'll leave you matchmakers to your empty dreams." I kiss my daughter on the cheek and walk out the door.