Page 68 of Hello Single Dad

Now these people were nothing more than strangers. How had my life drifted so far from where I began? I always thought people on the outside looked so happy and free, but now thatIwas out of the loop, I wasn’t so sure.

I had to worry about things my parents never worried about. Hoping my car wouldn’t break down so I could get to work and pay my bills. Waiting until Friday to eat out so I’d have plenty on my card. Getting gifts on a store credit card so I could pay a little at a time.

But as I caught sight of Pam Alexander and her husband, I thought my parents and I did have some similarities after all. I still had to impress the right people to succeed in my career. I had to play the game.

I gave Pam a wave, and she lifted her chin, her lips lifted but her eyes cold.

While Mom introduced Mara to one of her approved suitors, I found Anthea talking to Great Aunt Mildred. “Hi, Auntie M!” I said, stopping her short in her infamous story about her pet Dalmatians. Her eyesight was so bad that for a week, she mistook her feather dusters for the dogs. Luckily, the maid was feeding the actual dogs while Aunt Mildred petted cleaning supplies and bragged about how well-behaved they were.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “but I have to steal Anthea. Baby shower business.”

Mildred pointed a crooked finger at me. “You take care of her, alright? Precious cargo!” She patted Anthea’s belly.

I could practically feel Anthea’s spine stiffen. As we walked away, she muttered, “I’m not a damn airplane. Or a Buddha statue. Rubbing my belly isnotgood luck.”

“I know, I know,” I soothed.

“Thank you for getting me out of there. If I hear about her damn dogs one more time, I’ll shove her in the pool.”

“I’d like to see that,” I said with a giggle, leading her past the pool and toward the mound of presents under the cabana. The water was no longer pink, but sparkling clear once more. “How’s everything going? How are you feeling?”

“Huge. Like a cargo plane.”

I leaned my head against her shoulder, giggling, and she managed a laugh as well.

Anthea’s smile fell though, and she stopped walking. “Oh no.”

“What?” I asked, following her gaze.

Mom was coming our way with none other than Walter on her arm, the boring, straight-laced businessman she’d tried and failed to set me up with at the last shindig. Of course, Mara was nowhere to be found.

“Get me out of here,” I said to Anthea.

“If I have to get called a cargo carrier, you can talk to the boring man.”

I glared at her, then turned a smile on Mom and Walter. They would be getting here in three, two... “Hi there,” I said with a smile that was far too forced.

“Hello,” Walter said with all the personality of a saltine cracker.

Why did the sight of bland smiles and polished dress shoes make me want to run? Why did I have to be attracted to the artists of the world? To off-limits guys with rough edges and even rougher hands?

Walter wasn’t ugly. No, he had straight teeth, probably from braces he had at twelve. He probably went to summer camps as a kid and church on Sundays with his parents now and probably did great work on the job too. He was exactly the kind of guy who would give me a life of ease. The kind of guy my parents would approve of.

Mom put her hands on both of us, as if she could somehow transfer by osmosis her desire for us to be together. “Beatrice, I made a huge mistake.” She frowned deeply between Walter and me. “I made reservations for your father and me at La Belle for after the party, but I accidentally set it two hours early. Of course, I’ve been trying to get in good with the maître d there for years, and backing out last minute would really hurt that relationship.” Then her surgically altered face lit up. “Hey! Why don’t you two take it? You would be doing me ahugefavor. Charge it to our account, please, as a thank you.”

Walter shrugged. “I suppose I could enjoy a free meal at LaBelle.”

I shook my head with a frustrated, albeit admiring, smile. My mom was good. She was. But even she couldn’t ask me to make such a huge transgression. “Are you sure I should leave my sister-in-law’s baby shower?”

Mom pointed over my shoulder where Anthea had gotten sucked back into a conversation with Aunt Mildred. “Anthea should mingle with guests she doesn’t get to see on a regular basis.” She whipped out her cell phone. “I’ll have the driver bring up a car.”

36

BIRDIE

Confession: I can be abitof a hot head.

This was the most awkward car ride of my life, and we hadn’t even left my parents’ property yet. Walter insisted he hold the door open for me, instead of the driver, so the two of them danced around until I’d finally opened the door myself and got in the car.

---