Chapter 9
Chapter 9
“ B lue, my sister tells me you’re brilliant and have invented a few apps,” Darren said when Blue and Jane returned.
“Who am I to argue with your sister?” Blue returned.
“I have to wonder why you’re working at a mid-level accounting firm,” Darren said. “With your skills and knowledge, you could do anything.”
“I had some offers from the big firms out your way, but I’m an east coast guy,” Blue said casually.
“Surely you could work remotely,” Darren said.
“Probably,” Blue agreed. “But I’m happy here, and it gives me the time and freedom to do what I want on the side.”
Darren didn’t want to let it go, Babs could see it. He was like a dog with a bone when he got hold of something. As an intellectual, it likely served him well. As a friend and brother, people found it off putting. Blue was already shifting uncomfortably, trying unsuccessfully to change the subject. Strangely, Babs didn’t mind. Based on Maggie’s description, she thought she would find him as aggravating as Maggie and Amelia seemed to. Instead she somehow saw the intention behind the words. He seemed to genuinely want to understand why people did the things they did and, if possible, he wanted to help them find a better way. Was it a character flaw that he thought his way was the better way? Yes, but it didn’t feel purposeful or pompous, merely blind and a bit misguided. Maggie was chock full of intuition; she could read the room, sense people’s moods and thoughts. Her brother seemed to be lacking that skill entirely.
He opened his mouth to respond to Blue and Babs intercepted, laying a gentle hand on his leg that caused him to look at her in question instead. “How’s your meal?”
He glanced down at his plate with a frown. “I haven’t actually tried it yet. I get sort of caught up in my thoughts. How’s yours?”
“Delicious. Do you want a bite?” He was eyeing her food with interest.
“You don’t mind?” he asked.
“I know your family is big on sharing,” she said.
His smile widened. “It’s sort of nice you already have an in with my family. It’s a handy shortcut that saves the effort of explaining.” He deposited some of his meal on her plate and took a bite of hers in return.
“Maggie said you cook,” Blue said, doing his part to keep the subject changed.
“I do, it’s by far my favorite hobby.”
“She said you’re chef level. High praise from the likes of her,” Blue continued.
Darren shrugged. “I’m not sure I agree with that, but I do enjoy it.”
“My little sister, Poppy, is a pastry chef. Did you ever consider going pro?” Jane asked.
“For a bit when I was in high school, but it’s better as a hobby, I think. I’m too pragmatic for anything less than the science route,” Darren said.
“I’m a horrible cook,” Babs volunteered. It seemed like another thing he should know about her up front, in case it was a hobby he enjoyed sharing.
“I’m a grumpy cook. I prefer to be in the kitchen alone. And you know what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen,” Darren said.
“No, what?” Blue said.
“They spoil the broth,” Jane answered.
“How do you know these things?” Blue asked, mystified and impressed.
“I read,” she said.
“Oh, no hope for me, then,” Blue said.
“I read enough for both of us,” Jane assured him with a pat.
“That’s what makes us a winning combination, because we balance each other,” Blue said. “Except neither of us enjoys cooking. But Jane is really talented at ordering takeout.”
“It’s an art,” Jane agreed.
“You’ll have to give me some of your best options after I move here next month,” Darren said.
“You’re moving here?” Blue exclaimed, darting a not-so-sly glance toward Babs. “You’ll be in DC, only a phone call away, available for nights out or in or whatnot?”
“Subtle,” Babs said.
“All I’m saying is you guys seem to be getting on well for people who met at a conference,” Blue said.
“We actually met before, earlier this morning,” Darren said.
“Darren stopped to help me change my tire. I had no idea he was Maggie’s brother,” Babs explained.
Blue leaned forward. “Wait, you had a meet cute?”
“Is that important?” Babs asked.
“It’s only the most important part,” Blue said. “Look at Jane and me. She pepper sprayed me, and now we’re in love. If we’d had some mundane run in, we probably would have gone our separate ways.”
“We did for six long months in there,” Jane reminded him.
“Shh, honey, the coworkers are talking,” Blue said, giving her knee a pat.
“On the other hand, maybe six months wasn’t long enough,” Jane mused.
“You’re a diehard romantic,” Darren observed.
“Aren’t you?” Blue countered.
“Yes, actually.” Under the table, he reached for Babs’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Her heart fluttered at the innocuous little touch. Whatever chemistry existed between them apparently extended all the way to physical touch. Not that she was planning anything of that sort. Slow and easy, that was how this was going to play out.
“And now you’re roommates,” Blue said, inserting a dose of panic into Babs’s plans.
How could she have forgotten that one salient fact? “Hmm,” Darren said, a noncommittal sound that could have meant anything or nothing. On a normal night, Babs could go home and analyze it. She could classify the whole thing, take a breather, make certain this was real and something she wanted to pursue. Instead she would now be sharing a room with the ridiculously handsome stranger beside her.
“Oy,” she exclaimed loudly, causing Blue, Jane, and Darren to look at her in question. “Oy am going to the loo,” she said in her worst fake British accent to try and cover the abrupt exclaimation, but on second thought she wasn’t certain she helped her cause any.
“I’ll go with,” Jane said, affecting her own British accent. Of course in her case it sounded authentic and not like an audition for a Saturday Night Live skit run amuck.
“It’s a test of true sisterhood that when your friend apparently loses her mind, you pretend to lose yours, too,” Babs said as soon as they were safely in the bathroom.
“What’s happening?” Jane asked.
“I’m seriously losing it, Jane,” Babs said. She leaned on the counter, staring at her flushed reflection in the mirror.
“Why? You’ve dated plenty,” Jane said. “You’re much better at it than I’ve ever been. At least you never pepper sprayed anyone.”
“Give it time,” Babs said. She pressed her hand to her forehead. “I don’t know. I don’t know, Jane. This morning it was a normal day. I was on my way to work, not expecting anything different. And then I blew a tire and this hero swooped out of nowhere. I felt the thing, you know, the little tingle you’re supposed to feel when you meet a guy with potential. But he was a stranger and he had Florida plates, so I chalked it up to a chance encounter and moved on. And then he turned out to be my close friend’s brother. And now somehow my roommate.” She put her head down and sucked oxygen.
“Okay, but Babs, none of that is bad.”
“I know, but I know this thing about him.”
“What? What could be so horrible?”
“He’s a perfectionist,” Babs announced. They stared at each other in the mirror.
“And…” Jane prompted.
“That’s it. He’s a perfectionist who finds the flaw in everything. And I’m so incredibly flawed. As soon as he figures that out, he’s going to sprint away from me so fast he’ll set some kind of record for a geologist.”
“To be fair, it probably wouldn’t take much to break a record sprint for a geologist,” Jane interjected. “Also, he’s not going to run away, Babs.”
“But he will. And then what’s going to become of me? It’s going to hurt.”
“So you’re preemptively trying to reject him before he rejects you,” Jane said.
“Something like that.”
“Babs, that’s a fallacy on so many, many levels. First you have the presupposition that you’re the only flawed one in this ratio when, in reality, we’re all flawed. I mean, look at me, I’m almost thirty years old and I hide from waiters. It’s weird, no, it’s beyond weird; it’s mentally ill. But Blue has his quirks, too. Where would we be if we only accepted perfection from each other?”
“But I have something a lot bigger than social anxiety hiding in my closet,” Babs said.
“That doesn’t stop you from dating other people,” Jane pointed out.
“This time feels different. I might like him, kind of a lot. The zing is there, you know the one I mean?”
“Oh, I know the zing,” Jane said, nodding.
“My issues aren’t the kind of thing that will go away, and I’m afraid it’s going to be a deal breaker for him,” Babs said.
“I have to point out the obvious here and say if it is, he was never worthy to begin with.”
“In my head, I know you’re right. But my heart…”
“Doesn’t want to be trampled again.”
Babs nodded.
Jane gave her a sideways hug. “It’s hard, I know, but you’re kind of stuck with him for the duration of this holiday. Might as well make it interesting and fun. And then after, if it all falls apart, at least Christmas will have been memorable.”
“You make a good point, Jane,” Babs said, blinking at her in the mirror as she made her assessment. What was so bad about a little holiday fling? It was a few days; that didn’t have to be forever. It wasn’t as if they had to continue after if things inevitably went south. She could write him off and forget him, chalk it up to a Christmas fling gone wrong. Her friendship with Maggie wouldn’t be affected, Maggie had already made that clear.
She took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m ready to leave the bathroom.”
Jane poked her head out and reeled it back. “I’m going to need another thirty seconds. Blue’s paying the check and the scary waiter’s still there.” She closed the door and leaned on it.
“Maybe we should be asking what’s wrong with Blue that he has a girlfriend and friend who are so messed up,” Babs mused.
“That’s a good point. Clearly the problem is with him.” She poked her head out again. “The coast is clear, but you go first, in case he comes back.”
“Yes, as I was saying, Blue is the one with the problem here,” Babs said. Clasping Jane’s hand, she led her back to the table.