I spun quickly to face her, panic settling in my gut. “What? Oh, Mitsy, I totally forgot! Look. Maybe you could just call him and see if we could do it next Friday? You know, I’m really swamped right now. We’d both have more fun if we did it when I wasn’t so distracted.”
Mitsy placed her hands on both hips and narrowed her eyes as she spoke to me again, “I will do no such thing! And if you think you are going to get out of yet one more date, well, let me tell you, Miss I-have-no-problem-dying-alone, I am not going to let you weasel out of this one! He’s a great guy, Bri. I haven’t actually met him, but Brian’s known him all of his life. His wife died two years ago, and he needs to get out of the house just about as badly as you need to. Just look at it as something that will benefit you both.”
I turned away from her as I closed the coat closet and walked back over to my desk to grab my purse. “I’m not trying to weasel out of it. I just really need to work on lesson plans for next week, and I think I’m catching a cold.”
Mitsy blocked the door to the classroom and grabbed my wrist as she dragged me back over to the filing cabinet beside my desk. I knew what she was about to grab before she opened the cabinet.
“You are not catching a cold, and don’t you dare try to tell me that you have lesson plans to work on.” I watched as she paused briefly to yank open the first drawer. “Let’s see. What do we have here? All of Monday’s lesson plans in this folder? Check. Tuesday? Check. Wednesday? Check. Do I really need to go on, Bri? You should just make it easier on yourself and tell me you’re going, because you are either way. All there’s left for you to decide is how soon you want me to get out of your hair.” She smiled sweetly and placed my folders back into the cabinet, slamming the drawer shut with immense satisfaction.
Reluctantly I grinned and held my hands up in surrender. “Fine. Fine. I’ll go. But you’re going to let me pick out my own bridesmaid’s dress for you and Brian’s wedding, right?
Mitsy thrust her hand in my direction, “Deal.”
*
I’d just zipped up the back of my dress when the doorbell rang at 7:30. At least he’s punctual, I thought as I tried to put an earring on with one hand while attempting to slip myself into my heels with the other.
Taking a quick glance in the mirror, I slathered on some lip gloss, held my hand in front of my face to check my breath, and headed to answer the front door.
Daniel held a bouquet of flowers so that they covered his face, and as he slowly lowered them I had to swallow the audible gasp that crept up my throat. I was able to manage a polite, “Hello. Please come in,” as my eyes combed over the thick, gray hair that covered his head.
As he made his way through the doorway I spotted a few thick, wiry hairs sticking out from the opening in his ear, and the abnormally large nose that some men get when they age was evident from his profile.
He was handsome . . . for a man in his sixties. As I shut the front door, I found myself wishing I’d had that glass of wine I’d thought about when I got home from work.
Steeling myself, I turned to face him. “It’s nice to meet you. The flowers are lovely. Thank you. Why don’t I go put them in some water, and then we can leave?”
He extended them to me and as he grinned slightly, I could see that his eyes looked exceedingly kind. “I can tell I wasn’t exactly what you were expecting. I guess Brian and Mitsy didn’t tell you much.”
I walked quickly into the kitchen, keeping my back to him so that he couldn’t see my face as I spoke. “No, not too much. I know that you’re a dentist and are related to Brian. I assumed you were a cousin.”
The old man chuckled slightly, and his cheeks reddened as I walked back toward him. “My sons are his cousins. I’m his uncle.”
“Oh.” I stared down at my purse awkwardly, wishing I actually had something to look for inside it.
“Look. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but we’ve both gotten all dressed up. Why don’t we go ahead and go out to eat and visit with each other a little bit, then I’ll bring you back here and we’ll forget this whole thing ever happened. No harm, no foul. What do you say?”
He extended a hand in my direction, and sympathy washed through me as I reached to take it. He obviously had no more idea of what he was getting himself into than I did. “Good food, nice company. What could it hurt? Let’s get out of here.”
As he held the front door open, I walked straight into the person walking rather purposefully toward my front door.
“Mom?” I said.
*
I repeated myself for good measure as the uncomfortable feeling of shock ran down my spine for the second time. “Mom? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in D.C., aren’t you?”