How to Date a Dragon(92)
Judith waved the envelope. “Now, which of our terrific designers is going to win? Will it be Dick for his rock-and-roll lyrics? Or Candy for her inspirational poetry? Or Bliss for her sense of humor?”
The audience began chanting, “Bliss, Bliss, Bliss…”
Judith opened the envelope and smiled at the contents. When she held up her hand, the audience quieted. “I have a check here in the amount of fifty thousand dollars, and it’s made out to…”
She paused so long Bliss thought half the audience might pass out from holding their collective breaths.
“Bliss Russo for Hall-Snark Cards!”
The roar of applause and shock to her system drowned out any thoughts that might have been going through her head. Bliss rose and walked woodenly toward Judith. Before she reached her, she remembered to smile and echoed Judith’s giant grin with one of her own.
When the applause finally died down, Judith clasped her shoulder. “Now, before I can give this to you, Bliss. I’m afraid there’s a stipulation.”
There is? What the heck could that be?
“The judges heard about your wonderful news and want to be invited to the wedding.”
Another roar of applause began but died out when Bliss muttered, “Um… we haven’t even discussed the details yet.”
“Well, we have. As you know, the winner also receives a vacation. We’d like to throw you a destination wedding in…” Again the pause was far too long. Then confetti fell from the rafters and Judith shouted, “Hawaii! Congratulations.”
Bliss almost groaned aloud. She searched the audience and saw cameras focused on her parents’ proud faces. Her mother was openly crying, and her father’s beaming eyes seemed to be a bit watery too.
But where was Drake? The seat next to them was empty.
Oh, no.
“She’s speechless, folks. Go on,” Judith said as she gave Bliss a shove. “Go share this moment with your family.”
Bliss trotted down the side stairs, and cameras followed her up the aisle to her parents’ seats. They jumped up and each gave her long hugs and kisses. At last she saw Drake. He had just reentered the room through the double doors at the back.
He smiled when he saw her and jogged down the aisle. “What did I miss?”
Mr. Russo slapped himself on the forehead. “Oh, for the love of God.”
“Hey, I’m sorry. I couldn’t hold it any longer.”
“My future son-in-law will probably disappear from his own Hawaiian wedding.”
“What?”
“Never mind, Drake.” Bliss placed the check in his hand. “We won!”
“You did?”
“We did! This couldn’t have happened without you.”
He picked her up, whooped, and whirled her around in a wide arc. “That’s fantastic. But I didn’t do anything, honey. It was all you. Your hard work and talent.”
“No. You just saved my life. That’s all.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “All in a day’s work.” He whispered in her ear, “Speaking of work, there’s a job offer I need to talk to you about when we’re alone.”
Bliss glanced all around at the cameras and the swell of people coming closer to offer congratulations.
“That may have to wait a while. Can you give me a hint?”
He laughed. “No hints. You’ll just have to wait.”
Hmmm… Bliss was intrigued and could hardly wait to hear what her cryptic boyfriend had in mind, but by then, she was being embraced and jostled by one person after another, including her fellow finalists.
Candy hugged her and said sweetly, “I knew you’d win. Your cards are so funny.”
When Dick hugged her, he said, “I’m just glad the little sweetie pie didn’t win. Her cards give me cavities.”
***
A couple days later, the hoopla had finally died down and Bliss returned from New York by train. Transporting all her stuff was much easier without air travel’s inconvenience of weight restrictions, luggage searches, and pat downs that made her feel like a criminal.
This time when she arrived “home,” she wasn’t quite sure where to go. Her parents’ house? Ugh. Drake’s tiny place? It may be cozy, but at least it’s calm.
She called Drake at the fire station. After she chatted briefly with Mike Kelly, he put Drake on the phone. It was so good to hear his voice. She took a chance and said, “Hi, honey, I’m home.”
“Great! I’m off soon. Where are you? Winthrop?”
Bliss snorted. “No. I’m still at South Station. I’m not sure where to go from here. My mother will make a big deal out of everything. The neighbors want to come over and congratulate me on the win my parents weren’t supposed to tell people about yet.”