Chapter Forty-Four
T he tea kettle on Vickie's stovetop signaled that the water was ready. Dawn plucked a tea cup from the cabinet and glanced over at Vickie, who was sitting stone silent at the kitchen table. "Are you ready to tell me what's going on or do you need some liquid courage?" Dawn's penchant for hot tea in a crisis was a running joke between them.
“Tea, please."
Dawn calmly poured steaming hot water into a teacup.She stirred a touch of honey into the chamomile tea and . “This is my best attempt at comforting you with something I’ve made.” She paused. “Unless you’re in the mood for popcorn.”
Vickie managed a tiny smile. "That isn't necessary. But I appreciate the gesture." She took a sip of tea and steeled her nerves. "Do you want to know what kind of an idiot I am?” she wailed. "Some people never learn and in this case, it's me. I'm people."
“You’re not an idiot.” Dawn poured water over her own tea bag and came to sit across from Vickie at the table. “I’ve been dating for more than half of my life.” She winked. “I know that’s hard to believe, right?” She chuckled. “And I have to say that this guy is a mystery to me.”
“Get in line,” Vickie mumbled. She hadn’t even bothered to call Ainsley yet to tell her she was right.
“Let’s try and figure it out. So he calls you sometimes.”
Vickie nodded. “Yes. He even called me while I was in Tennessee.”
“And on those calls, is he all business?”
“Not entirely. Sometimes he’s really chatty, telling me funny stories about his students or asking me all about my week.” She shrugged. “But then sometimes he’s all business and just wants to discuss Abraham Lincoln.”
“Okay. What about the time you guys have spent together in person? Was it mostly business? Or pleasure?”
Vickie made a face. “That’s just it. I’m not really sure. I mean, I have a great time with him. We have a lot to talk about and all. And we have fun, you know?”
Dawn shook her head. “No sense. I think he just has no sense.” She grinned.
“When he told me the project was a scam, he grabbed my hand. Why would he do that?” “It sounds like there isn’t much rhyme or reason to anything he does.”
“But then he turned around and told me how we’d both wasted our time and tried to pay me for helping.” Vickie wrinkled her nose. “That makes it seem like it was just business. Period.” She let out a heaving sigh. “I went and did it again.”
“What? Now you’re Britney Spears?”
Vickie grimaced. “Funny.” She took a sip of hot tea. “I guess it just doesn’t make sense. I know he likes spending time with me. I can tell.”
“I hate to be Dawn the downer, but maybe his liking to spend time with you isn’t enough. I think you need to let him go.” She held up a hand. “I know you don’t want to hear it. But he drove off and left you standing on the sidewalk with a huge suitcase.” Dawn cut her eyes at Vickie. “That does not bode well.”
“You’re right.” Maybe she wouldn’t even bother to tell Kristy and Ainsley about this. She could just move on and pretend he didn’t exist. Yeah right.
“How about trying the online thing? You’ve already got a profile,” Dawn said in a singsong voice.
“It’s easy for someone who just found the love of her life to give out dating advice, huh?” Vickie grinned. “I shouldn’t have told you about the profile. To tell you the truth I haven’t even logged on there yet.” Mainly because her cheeks still flamed at the thought of her having been out there on display for a few months without even knowing it. From now on, anytime someone told her she looked familiar, she knew she’d panic that they’d seen her online dating profile.
A sheepish look flashed across Dawn’s face.
“What?” Vickie sat up, glad to focus the attention on someone else. “Is everything okay with Jason?”
Dawn’s face turned pink. “Everything is more than okay.” She sighed. “I hate to tell you this, especially with the way things have gone these past few days.”
“Ignore me and my pity party. Tell me what’s going on.”
Dawn grinned. “You, of all people, are going to think this is a horribly unromantic story. But the other day, Jason and I had lunch in Georgetown. After we were through, we were just walking around, looking at all the shops. We came to a jewelry store and I was looking at some earrings that would be perfect for the upcoming holiday party season. But the next thing I knew, Jason was on one knee.”
Vickie’s mouth dropped open. “Right there on the street?”
“Well, the sidewalk.” Dawn grinned. “I know that doesn’t rank on your romance scale, but I thought it was pretty spectacular.”
“So you said yes?”
Dawn nodded. “I sure did. We went right into that store and picked out a ring.” She held up a ringless hand. “It’s being sized today, but I’ll stop in and show it to you later.”
“I’m speechless.” Vickie was very happy for her friend. But Dawn had always been the one person she could count on to be single, despite her many suitors. It was almost like the whole world was coupling up and leaving Vickie to fend for herself. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I know it’s sort of quick. We’ve only been dating for four months. But like I said earlier, I’ve been dating for half my life so I know what I’m looking for by now. I think I knew almost immediately that he was the one, I just had to make sure he felt the same way.”
Vickie knew that technically, she’d been dating for half of her life as well. Her first date was at age fifteen. Now she was thirty. That was not a comforting thought. Especially considering she didn’t seem to have gleaned the lessons from a half-lifetime of dating like Dawn had.
“I’m glad that’s off my chest. It was all I could do not to tell you as soon as I walked in, but then I saw your very sad face and those awful flannel pajamas.” Dawn grinned. “And I knew right then that it was best that my ring was at the jewelers today.”
“Actually, I’m thrilled for you.” Vickie grinned. “Besides, maybe Jason has a friend.”
Dawn laughed. “I’ve already scoped them out. I can promise you that none of them would meet up to your expectations.”
“I’m not that bad.”
“Too hairy, too short, doesn’t use good grammar, talks while he chews, too competitive, not smart enough, too smart. . .should I go on?” Dawn regarded her with a raised eyebrow. “Because I’m pretty sure that was just the last year alone.”
“I took the last several months off though.”
“Only because you were preoccupied with Thatcher. Believe me when I say that none of Jason’s friends would be up to your standards.”
“I don’t think I’d want a fix up right now anyway,” Vickie said. Because the last thing she needed was yet another bad date.