Chapter 2
Chapter Two
I turned on the lights and switched the sign to OPEN at The Bees Knees. I started working here three days after I graduated high school, and I’d loved all four years at this secondhand store with its blend of shabby chic meets vintage. The store was owned by Wanda, but she had let me put my stamp on the place and had hinted about retiring soon.
Ivy said I would be crazy to think I could invest in and run a business at my age, but then again, she also thought giving up my scholarships was a terrible idea as well.
The first thing I added to the store was a vintage media section complete with movie posters, old film reels, signed pictures, and anything else I could get my hands on.
I passed the large traveling trunks, old medicinal bottles, and blue-and-white china dishes on the refurbished vanity toward the back of the shop. I grabbed a stack of vinyl records and picked Elvis. I pulled out the black disk and put it under the needle. If there was a place that felt like home, other than my apartment, it was here. It was a hug from the past. A past that I wished to belong to.
The bell over the door facing Main Street rang. Jane rushed toward me. She was dressed in pink leggings and running shoes with her gorgeous long hair pulled back in a slick ponytail. Jane never needed help in the dating department, but I gave it to her willingly anyway.
She jogged up to the counter. “Hey, Em, I need to borrow the bathroom.”
“Too much green smoothie?” I grinned and handed her the key.
She grimaced. “Okay, it has its downsides. But I promise it tastes better than it looks.”
I’d seen her prep this “magic” smoothie as she added spinach, banana, and cottage cheese to a blender. She tried to get me to taste it. She failed. There was no way it tasted edible.
I shuddered as I remembered the green slimy mixture. “I don’t believe you.”
She rolled her eyes. But the need for the bathroom must have been greater than for defending the green drink. She rushed past me.
I grabbed a box and restocked the jars of penny candies and flavored honey. A notification sounded on my phone, and I pulled it from the back pocket of my jeans. It was from Kismet Silvers saying new profiles were live. I’d already uploaded a photo of Mom in a 1920s flapper dress and a bright smile.
I sat in my favorite chair in the furniture section, a velvet gold swivel that hugged around my back. It would only take a few minutes to glance through Mom’s new dating prospects.
Too bald.
Not enough teeth.
Too many wrinkles.
Hmm… This one says he has a horse ranch . That could be cool. Mom loved horses, but she didn’t have the time or means to own one.
I hearted the profile and heard a gasp over my shoulder. I turned to see Jane staring at my phone, her mouth opened and her eyes wide.
“What are you doing?” Jane glanced around the store to make sure we were alone and reached for my phone.
I moved my hand out of her reach.
“When I said to see which fish were in the sea, I didn’t mean the Dead Sea!” She held her hand out for my phone. “Let me see it. You must have changed some setting or something, because this group has gone seriously over the hill.”
She thought I was looking for myself. I handed her my phone, eager to see her reaction.
“What filters are you using?” She clicked frantically on my screen.
I bit back a giggle.
“Over fifty, wealthy, travels, and owns horses.” Jane faked a gag. “Em? What are you doing?” She practically threw the phone back at me, her face straight from an old, over-dramatized horror film.
I chuckled and returned to my phone. “They aren’t for me.”
“What?” Jane had a blank look on her face. “I mean, I’m glad, but…”
“I’ve decided who I’m setting up next.” I did a little excited shoulder shimmy as I met her hazel eyes. “My mom!”
Jane’s eyebrows furrowed, and she stepped back and put her hands on her hips. “Em, your mom would never let you set her up.” Jane and I were childhood friends, and she knew Mom’s fire almost as well as I did. “How did you get her to agree?”
I continued to scroll through the balding men.
“Em?” Her tone was stern.
“Fine. She doesn’t know.” I refused eye contact.
Jane frowned. “Your mom is gonna kill you. I think this is worse than when we decided we wanted a pink cat and spray-painted Spike.”
I flinched. Mom was livid.
Would she really be that mad? I mean, I didn’t think she would be happy…but when she was in Europe, she would be thanking me.
“She might not like the process, but can you imagine?” I sighed and leaned back in my chair. “She could travel, Jane, and be taken care of for once. Her whole life has been taking care of everyone else. Maybe she could even have horses again.” I tried to show her the profile on my phone.
Jane shoved my phone away and started to stretch out her legs. “Wait! You promised when you took those cupcakes you would look at the dating app?—”
I raised my finger. “I did.”
“For you to find a date.” She glared at me, but it was hard to take her seriously as she raised up and down on her toes, stretching out her calves.
“I looked at it for myself first, but then this ad came up for these older singles events.” I stood, no longer able to hold still. “Trust me, this will be perfect. This is so much better.”
Jane stopped stretching and narrowed her eyes. “Better for who?”
My finger paused above the phone. This wasn’t about me. I was thinking of Mom, but I wasn’t sure Jane would agree with my logic. It sounded like we were dangerously close to heading into another talk about trust, avoidance, and boundaries.
Gross.
The bell over the front door chimed as a tall man with brown hair and a black jacket walked through.
“Welcome in,” I called out. He wasn’t our typical customer—he was way too young, and he was way too hot. He held up his hand in a wave and flashed me a kind smile, showing a dimple on his cheek. He was probably a foot taller than me and looked like he never skipped a day at the gym. I resisted the urge to smile. I’m a sucker for a dimple.
“Can I help you find anything?” I smiled back.
He ran his hand through his chocolate brown hair and rested it on the back of his neck, effectively showing off his biceps. “Do you have a movie section?”
I nodded. “Yep! Straight up four rows and to the right.”
“Thanks.” He returned to his looking around the store and I did my best to return my attention to looking at Jane.
She placed her hand on the wall beside her and used it for balance as she stretched out her right leg by pulling it behind her. “How do you plan to get her on these dates, anyway?” She switched legs.
Oh right, setting up mom. For a second, tall, dark, and handsome distracted me from my goal.
“That’s why this is so perfect. Look.” I walked up to her, dodging the swinging legs. “They have this social section for new events.” I clicked around on the website and brought up the calendar section. “It’s at the remodeled venue in Eagle.”
Jane leaned over and stared down at the phone.
“See? I wouldn’t need to set her up on individual dates. I just need to get her there. The rest should take care of itself.”
She side-eyed me, not convinced.
“Look.” I clicked on the event that was in two days and read aloud. “Come meet other singles and mingle in an exclusive event for fifty and up. There will be a live band, get-to-know-you games, dance lessons, and desserts.” I clicked on the buy tickets link at the bottom. “See, it even lets you get two tickets with the account, so I could go with her.” I looked at Jane, unable to hold in my excitement. “They have all these themed parties. Disco night, travel the world, bingo and board games, and media blast from the past. It’s perfect. She is going to have so much fun.”
Jane raised an eyebrow and scrolled my phone to the part where, in bold, it said “fifty plus.”
I was hoping she hadn’t noticed that part.
One problem at a time.
“Mom is over fifty, and it’s not like I’m looking for a date. I’m just her plus-one.”
“Looks like you owe me a box of cupcakes.” Jane raised an eyebrow.
“Would you even eat them?” I scoffed.
She had been on a no-sugar diet for a year now—something about sugar increasing your likelihood of disease. I swore a life without sugar wasn’t worth living.
“That is beside the point.” Jane nodded toward the front of the store. “How about we forget the app. Look at that guy.”
I turned to see the man sifting through the media section. He shook his brown hair out of his eyes, and I had to admit he was gorgeous. Like the men they use on the weird commercials for cologne type gorgeous.
Jane leaned into me. “You ask him out, and I will forget the cupcakes.”
I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach as I stared—whoa, settle. I had to admit, he was tempting. I shook my head and firmed my resolve. I was trying to focus on choosing me, and already a dimple had me considering calling it quits.
No. I was already on a mission, and that mission was Mom. “That guy is way too young for Mom.” I scrunched my brows.
“Ugh! Not for your mom!” She swatted my shoulder. “I’m talking about you.”
The bell over the door chimed, and we turned to see the man leaving as quick as he came. Removing any lasting temptation with him. I wasn’t sure if I should feel relieved or sad. Relieved. I should feel relieved.
Jane sighed in defeat. “What am I going to do with you?” She pushed the buttons on her watch and headed toward the front. “I need to finish my run or I’m going to be late.”
I followed her through the store.
Jane held the door open, “Wanna join me?” She nodded outside.
This was a long-standing joke between us, and her way of saying she wasn’t mad at me, but this discussion was not over. I accepted the peace offering.
“I totally would, but I’m working.” I smiled. “Next time maybe.”
“Em,” She raised a brow and challenged. “Stop avoiding.” She waved. “One of these times, you’re going to come running. Talk later.” She turned and left.
I wasn’t avoiding. I wanted Mom to be happy. She deserved this. I was basically a saint, I was putting others needs first.
I looked down at the phone and added two tickets to the cart and clicked checkout.
A window popped up.
All events with Kismet Silvers are for singles fifty and up only. By clicking accept you agree the tickets are both for participants fifty plus.
“Ugh.” My lips pulled down in frustration. Did it really have to say both?
What’s the worst that could happen? I mean, it wasn’t like I could go to jail for it. I pursed my lips and looked up to the ceiling. They might ask me to leave…but maybe I could find someone to spoil Mom before then?
I bit my thumbnail, running through the pros and cons.
Worth the risk.
I clicked the green accept button again.
Next steps: get Mom to hang out with me on Wednesday night and figure out how to look fifty.
Easy.