"It doesn't matter. I don't care anymore. I'm just not fixing any more coffee, that's all."
"You know," said Emma, "there's a good marriage seminar coming up in January. You and Vince should come."
Alice laughed and then hiccuped. She patted herself on the chest and looked confused for a moment.
Shannon turned to hide a smile.
"Vince would never go for something like that," Alice said. "He doesn't care enough about me to actually work at our marriage."
Emma sighed. "Well, it's there if you want it. And Arden," she turned to her other friend, "you and Nick would benefit from it as well."
Arden nodded. "We're already planning on going."
"Are you sure, though, that it's Nick you'll be bringing?" Shannon asked with a mischievous grin.
Arden rolled her eyes and licked the sticky cinnamon bun frosting off her fingers.
"I'm just saying," Shannon said, "Travis is one fine looking man. Seems like either you or Emma need to snag him."
"Well it will have to be Emma, because I'm spoken for. Travis and I are perfect for each other." She turned red and glanced at her friends who were all grinning at her. "Nick," she said. "Nick and I are perfect for each other. Stop looking at me like that. It was a slip of the tongue."
"Sure there were no 'slips of the tongue' during those long, cold nights with Travis?" Shannon asked.
"If I had Travis all to myself," Alice said, "I'm sure the nights would be far from cold."
"Stop it, both of you," Arden said. "Nothing happened. Not for me, anyway."
Shannon turned her smile on Emma. "What about it? Are you interested in him?"
Emma felt herself blush. She wished she didn't do that. "Actually, I'm sort of waiting for Dustin to ask me out."
Shannon's jaw dropped. "When did this happen?"
"I've had a crush on him forever. But he's so shy. And you know me, I refuse to ask a guy out. If he doesn't have the guts to do it himself, then he's not worth my time."
"Then why wait on him?"
"I haven't been. I've dated other guys, as you well know. But nobody has managed to get Dustin off my mind. He's so cute with that John Wayne strong and silent thing he has going. I don't know if he'll ever get up the courage, though."
Alice stood, wobbled and then sat back down. "Well I'll say a prayer for you, Emma. That the Lord will endow Dustin 'John Wayne' Lanier with a set of balls big enough to ask you out. But if you want my advice, run the other way. You'll get over him. I got me one of those strong and silent guys and he's been nothing but heartache."
"Any woman would be happy to have Vince," Shannon said. "You'd best realize that soon before it's too late. Now, Emma, you can't go condemning him for being shy. I admire your conviction not to ask him out, but you know good and well that it's being shy that's stopping you, not your principles. You don't have to ask him on a date, but you're probably going to have to be more overt in your flirtation with him. Otherwise, he's never going to make a move."
Emma shrugged. "I'm not good at flirting. I talk to him every chance I get. I don't see why that's not enough.
"Because you talk to him the same as you talk to everyone. You're super nice and sweet to everyone. You have to single him out and let him know he's something special." Shannon looked to her friends for support.
Alice was staring into her third glass of orange juice, eyeing it suspiciously.
Arden nodded agreement. "I got a shy guy to ask me out once in high school. I had to really lay it on thick before he would man up and do it. But it can be done."
Emma laughed. "It just seems wrong, talking strategy like this. Love should just happen. It shouldn't require this much thought and planning."
Shannon and Arden both nodded. But Emma figured there was no use complaining about it. That was just the facts of life. Maybe she would flirt with Dustin a little at church on Sunday.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The next day was the annual Christmas parade. Pretty much the whole town turned out, no matter how cold or wet. Arden couldn't wait. When she was a kid she went either because she was in one of the floats or wanted to stand on the side of the street and catch candy. As an adult, the nostalgia of those days drew her out. She enjoyed watching the next generation of kids participating in the hundred year tradition.
Arden bundled up in jeans and a red sweater. She wore her Christmas socks, shoved her arms into her black, wool coat and wrapped a red scarf around her neck. Then she ran out to meet Nick who was climbing out of his car. She jogged to his side and took his arm and they walked the mile to Main Street.