Chapter 25 #2
Back in her car, she realized she was smiling. Parker Black, the nice version, the wounded hero version, was coming over to
her house. For dinner and a movie.
And to get ready for their show together on Friday. It was just business, she reminded herself. They’d both lightened up,
but that meant nothing. This was only a publicity stunt coming to an end.
Parker hated to see Alice leave. Having her with him, watching her enjoy one of his favorite classic movies, eating pizza
together. It had felt . . . comfortable. He hadn’t had to be anything but himself and that had felt good. He’d meant what
he said. She really was a heroine, one who deserved to be appreciated.
And kissed. He wished he’d kissed her. And if he’d had one more minute with her on the couch he would have.
“Listen to you,” he scoffed, “talking like a character in a romance novel.” Too bad they weren’t. He could be assured of that
happily-ever-after.
He went to bed and there was his mother’s novel, sitting on his nightstand. He picked it up and started reading. And then
couldn’t stop until he’d gotten to the end. Of course, all the issues got resolved by the last page and he realized he was
glad they did. No wonder these books were so addictive. They did leave a person feeling hopeful. His mother was right.
If only that kind of hope worked in real life. He turned off his bedside light, shut his eyes and then spent the next two hours imagining different scenarios where he and Alice would have met and things would have turned out differently.
Things still could. They could put all this nonsense behind them. Get to know each other better. Watch more movies. Share
pizza. Maybe even go to a ball game or two together. Go to a club and slow dance. He could win over her mom and her sister
and Bettina the gargoyle.
Morning brought a reality check. Bettina still wasn’t even remotely inclined to be won over, even when he arrived with lattes
from Starbucks.
“I only drink decaf,” she said.
Nola wasn’t any easier. “Sorry, but I take mine with soy.”
That left him to take his useless coffee drinks to the back room and dump them.
“But it was a nice offer,” Nola called after him. “Maybe there’s hope for you after all.”
He was just beginning to smile when he heard Bettina say, “Don’t count on it.”
One of their first customers informed him that he was rude and mean and gave him a typewritten list of books he needed to
read so he could transform from the beast he was into a prince. “Maybe,” she’d added.
The next woman in, someone named Julia, wanted a historical novel set in World War II.
“You can learn a lot about history from a novel,” Bettina said, smiling at her. “Even a romance novel,” she added and sent
Parker a look that dared him to contradict her.
He held up both hands. “Hey, I’m all for history.”
“You need to work on living down yours,” Bettina told him.
Yep, he was having fun now.
Next in was the pretty Lina, the woman who’d lit into him outside the bookstore.
She was wearing jeans, boots and a leather jacket, her long, dark hair in a ponytail.
Parker was in the process of ringing up Julia’s purchase and Bettina was watching over his shoulder, hoping as usual that he’d screw up. As if he would at this point.
“I’m on a mission,” Lina announced.
“What kind of mission?” Bettina asked.
“A mission to educate someone,” she said, and looked at Parker.
Oh, no. What now?
“Will you ask Nola if I can steal Parker for a few hours?” Lina asked Bettina.
“You going to hold him for ransom? Nobody will pay,” said Bettina. Such a funny lady.
“No, I want him to do a ride-along, to see what a day in the life of a demanding woman looks like.”
Of course, throwing one of his tirades back in his face. Parker had a feeling he was going to smart in a whole new way for
his many rants.
“I’ll check,” said Bettina, and practically skipped off to the back room where Nola had gone to catch up on some paperwork.
Parker put Julia’s book and receipt in a pink bag and thanked her for coming in. “Enjoy your book.”
“Oh, I will. And enjoy your ride-along,” she teased.
“I will,” he lied. Maybe Nola wouldn’t let him leave. There was a first, wanting to stay in the pink prison with Bettina his
jailor.
She was back with Nola in tow. “What do you have planned?” Nola asked Lina.
The proverbial twinkle in the eye? Check. A smirk? Check, check. Nola was all in.
“I just thought Parker should get a more realistic view of the life of a modern American woman. You know, one of us demanding ones who can’t tell the difference between real life and a romance novel.”
All three of them laughed. Like Shakespeare’s witches. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. He was going to be the one in the cauldron.
“Can you spare him?” Lina asked, pretending she didn’t know the answer.
“Oh, I think we can,” said Nola.
“Great. Get your coat, big man, and let’s go,” Lina said.
“Fine. Sounds fun,” he said, pulling out his best bravado.
He could hear them giggling as he went to the back room to fetch his coat. It’s your last day. You can survive anything.
He returned with a big grin. “Okay, bring it on.”
“Have fun,” Nola called as he followed Lina out the door.
The Seattle sky was its usual gray and an icy drizzle tried to crawl under Parker’s coat collar. Drizzle, drizzle, cold and rain. Look what you started. Where was your brain?
“So, first I have to run to the hardware store for Eduardo. He’s working on a zipline in the backyard for the boys and he
needs carabiners, whatever those are.”
“A zipline, huh? Whose idea was that?” Parker was willing to bet Lina had come up with the bright idea and added it to a long
honey-do list.
“His. We’re saving up for a family vacation in two years. Costa Rica, Sky Trek. I promised him I’d zipline, too, and maybe
this will help me get brave enough to do it.”
So much for the honey-do list assumption. “You don’t strike me as a woman who’s afraid of anything,” Parker said.
“I’m not afraid of bullies,” she said with a cocky grin. “Get in.”
Into the SUV Parker climbed. It smelled faintly of dog.
“Yes, we have a dog,” she said as if reading his mind. “Her name is Alma. You’ll get to meet her later.”
Hopefully Alma was the friendly type. “What kind of dog is she?” Parker asked.
“She’s a golden. Don’t worry, she’ll like you. She has no ability to discriminate between pendejos and nice guys.”
He didn’t bother to ask what pendejos meant. He got the idea.
They pulled into Junction Ace Hardware and he accompanied her in. She lost her hard edge and turned sweet the minute they
were inside. Of course, one of the pros was happy to help her find what she needed.
“You know how to turn on the charm, don’t you?” he taunted as they left the store.
“I know how to be nice,” she said.
“You this nice to your husband?”
“Seriously? You gonna ask me tonterias like that?”
Again, he didn’t bother to ask for a definition. “Guess not. What’s next?”
“Grocery shopping. I have to bake cookies for the Cub Scout pack meeting tonight. And I need ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes
and hamburger buns. Once I get home I have to put another load of laundry in, and I have a stack of clothes to fold. I need
to make a reel for my followers. You can help with that.”
“Fun,” he muttered.
“And I have to clean the bathrooms,” she continued.
“You make your man sit to pee?” Parker jibed.
She scowled at him. “What do you think?”
“I think you do.”
“Well, you think wrong. Eduardo has perfect aim. And he puts the seat down when he’s done, which I bet you’ve never done for
a woman.”
“Hey, I’m no caveman,” Parker said.
“So you say.”
Grocery shopping took an hour as Lina had to inspect every tomato, check out sale items and chat with a friend she’d run into. She introduced him as “Parker Black, the guy who hates women.”
“I never said that,” he protested.
The woman rolled her eyes. “I’ve heard of you.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” he said.
“We’re doing a ride-along. Parker’s spending a day with a real woman,” Lina said. “One who doesn’t have unrealistic expectations,”
she added.
“When you’re done with him, he can come follow my daughter around the office and then home to take care of the twins,” the
woman said.
“That’s okay,” Parker said. One ride-along was enough.
Once back at the house, it was time to help fold laundry, bake cookies, take the dog for a walk and help Lina film a reel
where she dissected the latest novel she was reading. “Four jalapenos, everyone,” she said with a wink. “Keep the Valentine
fun going. I’m going to. And yes, I’m going to try out this new fragrance.” She went on to tout some brand of perfume. “I
have some sponsors who give me free merch,” she explained when they were done. “And publishers send me free books to read
and review. It keeps life interesting.”
Parker suspected she kept life interesting.
Her cell phone rang and she answered with a chipper, “Eduardo, what do you want?” Whatever he wanted, by the way she giggled
Parker suspected it was R rated. “Yeah, I got them. Guess who’s here with me. I have Parker Black helping me out today. Anything
you’d like to say to him?” She grinned and held the phone to Parker. Yeah, this would be fun.
“Don’t mess with my woman,” Eduardo said.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Parker assured him, and handed the phone back. He suspected nobody messed with Lina.
“I got to go drop Parker off and pick up the boys. See you later,” she said, and ended the call with a smooch noise.
“Okay, time to go pick up the boys from school,” she said. “Then I have to take them to basketball practice. Want to join
us?”
“Uh, no.” He’d seen enough and had enough.
She handed him a cookie. “You were a good sport.”
And now you get a lollipop. He frowned, but he took the cookie. He’d already sampled one and they were good.
“Just because my friends and I like to read it doesn’t mean we don’t have our feet planted in the real world,” she said as
they walked out the door. “I don’t expect Eduardo to buy me flowers every week—that’s not in the budget—and I don’t expect
him to take me out for expensive dinners. I expect him to be my friend and respect me, and I do the same for him. That’s love.
Maybe someday you’ll find it.”
Maybe he would. A certain bookworm with brown eyes and freckles came to mind. Was the gate to love made of meat loaf, chocolate
cake and sports movies?