She came closer and put her hand on Joe’s shoulder. The way she claimed his shoulder, her fingers curling around his arm, I knew before she even said the words. “Hi, I’m Joe’s girlfriend, Hilary.”
My first instinct was to burst into tears and run away, but instead, I kept the fake smile frozen on my face. “How lovely to meet you.” I was proud of myself. It sounded like something Violet would say. “I’m sure Joe is very excited you’re here to visit.” I cocked my head to grace him with my cheesy smile.
Joe looked like he wanted to hit someone.
“We should go inside, Joe.” Hilary said, tugging his arm. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”
He stumbled backwards, his face making a strange choking expression. Then he turned around and marched into the house with Hilary.
My feet rooted themselves to the driveway while my mind tried to figure out what happened. Joe’s front door had hardly slammed shut before angry voices drifted out. I hoped she reamed him. I knew I wanted to, but instead I was stuck, unintentionally eavesdropping on their argument, although I only caught snippets of phrases.
Finally, my feet magically freed themselves. I turned around and walked into my house, feeling like an idiot. Violet was right. I had no idea how to date. What just transpired proved that. I picked up the phone and dialed her number.
“Hey, Violet, I was wondering if you wanted to help me clean out Momma’s room this weekend.”
“I’m sure I can get Mike to watch the kids for a few hours tomorrow afternoon. How does that sound?”
“Great.” I said in my forced happy tone. It scared me how easy it had become to use. “Say, Vi, I was thinkin’ after I left.” I paused. No chickening out now. “I think you might have been right. I’m really new to all this datin’ stuff and maybe it would be a good idea if you found someone for me to go out with.” Better to let her think that than for her to know this was a rebound date. Leave it to me to have my first date be a rebound.
“Really?” She squealed.
I cringed. “Yeah, do you think you can arrange it?”
“I know I can. I’ll call you back in a bit, okay?” She sounded so happy I wished I had agreed to this years ago. Not for me, but for her. All those years wasted looking for the perfect Christmas gift. Who knew I only had to let her play matchmaker?
About fifteen minutes later the phone rang.
“Tomorrow night,” Violet said, so excited she choked out the words. “You have a date tomorrow night!” Then she squealed again.
I held the phone a few inches away from my ear until she stopped. “Yay,” I said with forced enthusiasm, although Violet didn't seem to notice.
“His name is Steve and he’s an electrician. He works for Mike and his dad’s construction business. He’s twenty-six and never been married. His family has been around forever. His parents live on Maple Street. His dad works at the paper plant and his mother is a bookkeeper. Steve is so excited to meet you.”
I almost asked Violet if I could see his pedigree papers, but thought better of it.
“He’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven. Oh!” she gushed. “I can help you get ready and pick out your clothes. It will be like it should have been in high school.”
Pretending we were in high school was a sobering thought, but it made me happy to hear Violet so excited. “That will be so fun!” I hoped my words didn't sound as fake as I felt.
Violet didn't notice. “I’ll come over at two. We’ll have time to work on Momma’s room and then you can get ready.”
“Sounds great.”
I hung up, hoping I made the right decision. I told myself it was just a date. It wasn’t like I was going to marry him.
But I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what Joe would think.
Chapter Nine
The next afternoon Violet showed up at my door, her arms loaded with clothes.
“We’re supposed to be taking clothes out, not in,” I said as I held the door open for her.
She took one look at me and raised her eyebrows. “What are you wearing? Where did you get that?”
I had on a pair of jeans that Momma never would have approved of and a cute t-shirt that actually clung to the curves of my body. “I bought it yesterday and some other clothes too. I decided to embrace the new me.”
I expected to embrace Violet’s wrath with my proclamation, but she surprised me by eyeing me from head to toe, her arms still full. “I approve. Very cute. You might not need these after all.”