Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
P aige didn’t want to sit home alone this evening, but she wasn’t about to go to a bar. To her, a woman alone at a bar just looked so sad. And desperate. Not that she hadn’t done that herself, once upon a time.
In the early days of finding out her husband had left her for his personal trainer, she’d spent too many nights sitting alone at a bar, trying to drown her sorrows in a glass.
It seemed better than drinking at home, but too often, she’d ended up talking to men who were in worse shape than she was, physically, emotionally, and mentally.
It had served as part of her wake-up call. For that, she was grateful.
But tonight, she wasn’t going to a bar. That would never happen again, not alone anyway. Tonight, she’d decided her mood was too good to sit home alone. Tonight, she was going to the South Hall of the community center to play bingo.
She’d thought about reaching out to the Queen Bees, but Paige wanted the option of being able to leave early if it turned out to be boring.
She wasn’t really going because bingo was something that appealed to her, but because she had a feeling it would make great content. She was already imagining she could do a three-parter. If the crowd was good, maybe five.
To her, bingo was most definitely an old person’s game. She had to remind herself that, technically, she was an old person now. Even if she didn’t feel that way. Bingo wasn’t entirely new to her. She’d played it a handful of times in her life but tonight was more about coming up with new content.
There was no telling what might appeal to her followers. Or, for that matter, go viral. Anything was worth a shot and the crowd at bingo promised to be at least interesting.
As soon as she walked in and caught a glimpse of Luizy Defray’s pink hair, Paige knew she wasn’t going to be disappointed. There were some very interesting characters who lived in the Colony, and she didn’t mean interesting in the way the Queen Bees were.
There was a certain type of person that tiny homes appealed to beyond the average soul who was just looking to downsize or simplify their life. There was also the artistic, slightly left of center, old hippy sort.
Luizy was one of those. A painter who did landscapes that always contained some random element. Like the picture she’d put in the community center art show of the Gulf looking so beautiful at dawn. Except for the clown sunbathing on the beach.
Not even remotely to Paige’s taste. Tacky, if she was being honest, but clowns had never been her thing. Except for the one she’d married.
Anyway, Luizy was never boring, that was for sure. Paige was pretty sure she vaped marijuana, too.
Paige stood at the entrance, surveying the crowd and judging what seat might be the most advantageous. Bingo was a lot more popular than she’d thought it would be. There weren’t that many open seats in the community hall.
There were more toward the back. Probably the seats up front were better for those with bad hearing or eyesight.
She found one between a man with only two bingo cards in front of him and a woman who was simultaneously playing twelve. Neither one looked like they’d be too chatty, which would allow her to take video footage and not have to worry about stopping for conversations or reworking the audio.
With her single bingo card clutched in one hand and her phone recording in the other, she made her way to the open seat. “Here we go, gang,” she said to the camera. “It’s bingo time.”
The man noticed her as she walked up. He got out of his seat and pulled her chair out for her.
Now that was new and different. “Thank you. Very chivalrous of you.”
“Graham Whitby, at your service.” He smiled and gave her a nod. “I was well-reared.”
“It shows.” She smiled back, charmed by his English accent, and took the seat. “Paige Wheeler, nice to meet you.”
“Lovely to make your acquaintance, Paige.” He returned to his chair. “I must confess this bingo is new to me. I suppose you know exactly what you’re doing and want to be left alone.” His gaze passed her to settle sharply on the woman on the other side of Paige. “I’ve already been told as much.”
Paige laughed. “This is my first time here, but I understand the general idea of the game. I’ll help if I can.” She set up the little stand she’d brought and attached her phone to it, then turned the camera around so it could capture her.
“Brilliant.”
“B-17,” the caller announced.
She didn’t have that combination, but Graham did. She pointed it out when he didn’t seem to be finding it. “Right there. Mark that.”
“Much thanks. You are keen-eyed.”
She glanced at her phone. Graham was being captured in the picture, too. She slid her hand toward him. “Quick question.”
He looked over. “Yes?”
“I’m recording this for my social media. It’s kind of a thing I do. Do you mind being in it? My camera is picking you up.” She gestured at the phone.
“Ah,” he said, smiling at his image. “Does this mean I’m going to be famous?”
She laughed. “I make no guarantees.”
“It’s fine with me.” He waved at the camera. “Hello, there.”
She didn’t know what her followers would think of Graham. Sometimes they liked a guest, sometimes they left rude comments about how they didn’t follow her to see other people.
Amazing what people thought was acceptable behavior online.
“I-22.”
She had that, so she marked it, then looked over at Graham’s cards. It wasn’t on either one of his. “What pattern are we trying to make? I just realized I didn’t hear him say that.”
“Pattern?” Graham’s brows rose. “Oh, dear. I didn’t catch that either, I’m afraid. But I did warn you I was out of my depth.”
She smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll find out.” She leaned toward the woman on her right. “Sorry to bother you, but what pattern are we trying to get?”
The woman cut her eyes at Paige. “An I. Pay attention.”
Paige did her best not to react. “Thank you.”
With a snort of disgust, the woman reached over all of her cards to touch the heads of five little troll dolls that were lined up in front of them.
Paige glanced around and realized a lot of people had knickknacks and other little objects around their cards.
“Good-luck charms, I believe,” Graham said softly. “Pity me not bringing my rabbit’s foot.”
“O-62.”
Neither of them had that one. Bingo was a strange game. She could probably do a whole video on the objects people brought with them.
As surreptitiously as she could, Paige picked up her phone and got footage of her neighbor’s troll dolls. She turned around and got some of the woman behind her, who had a Princess Diana purple Beanie Baby bear on one side of her cards and a unicorn on the other.
That would be enough. She returned her camera to its former position.
“N-37.”
Graham leaned back, a funny gleam in his eyes. “I don’t think I’m going to win this one.”
He was handsome, in that proper English sort of way. She hated to make the analogy, but there was a faint air of James Bond on vacation about him in his dress shirt and linen jacket. “I probably won’t do any better. I have half the cards you do.”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t look good for either of us, really.” He glanced at the caller. “This is rather bold of me, but would you care to get a bite to eat?”
She’d had a small salad with a few strips of leftover steak for dinner. Wasn’t much, which could explain why she suddenly felt famished. She smiled. “That sounds nice.”
“The Queen’s Arms? Or is going to the pub too on the nose for me?”
She chuckled. “No, the pub would be great.” She almost never went there, so it would be different and interesting.
“N-34.”
“Outstanding.” He put his hand on his cards and nodded at her neighbor. “What do you say we donate our tickets to Miss Congeniality there and be on our way?”
Smirking, Paige nodded. “I say let’s do it.”
She smiled into her camera, gave a wink to the audience who’d see the recording after it was edited and uploaded, and gathered up her things. She slid her card toward the woman on her right. “Here you go. Best of luck.”
Graham added his cards, too.
The woman scowled at them, quickly added their cards to hers, and touched all of her troll dolls on the head again.
Graham offered Paige his arm and she took it. They walked out giggling like two high-schoolers who’d just pulled off a prank.
Once outside, she let him go. “I came in my golf cart, so I’ll just meet you there.”
He nodded. “Righto. See you shortly.”
She smiled all the way to The Queen’s Arms, going slow enough to get her phone out, fire up the camera, and take another video.
“Gang, I’m not sure why I said yes, but I’m off to our local pub to have dinner with Graham.
He’s a very nice man, as I’m sure you saw in the previous video.
I promise I’ll tell him immediately that I’m not looking for any kind of relationship.
I don’t want to lead him on. But he is sweet.
And funny. A little dinner can’t hurt, right? ”
With a smile, she ended the video. What was she doing? This was very impulsive and not her style. She really wasn’t interested in a relationship, so she’d have to make that clear. Not after everything she’d been through. Not after the way she’d transformed herself and built a new life.
A man would just complicate things. Wouldn’t he?