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Kate and Ian stared at each other, as if they were daring one another to actually have an opinion. When she was convinced that he had said all he was going to say, she jumped down off the counter and said nonchalantly, “Okay then. I think I’ll tell her yes.”

Ian nodded and continued to dry the dishes he had just washed.
What I wouldn’t give to be inside his brain right now
, she thought.

~~~~~

“Stop fidgeting! You look great.” Brooke slapped at Kate’s hand as she tugged at her sweater for the tenth time in the last minute. The pair was sitting on opposite sides of a booth in a casual diner, waiting for their dates to arrive.

“I can’t help it! I’m nervous, okay? I hate blind dates.”

“Would you rather be sitting at home thinking up names for the fourteen cats you’re sure to own if you are too afraid to date?” asked Brooke.

“Precious, Mrs. Feathersparkle, Delilah, The Constable…“

“Stop it!”

Kate chuckled. “Please shoot me if I ever have fourteen cats. I don’t even like cats. I like men.”

“Well hopefully you’ll like Hank.”

“I’m not holding my breath.” Kate took a sip from her water glass and looked over to the entrance of the restaurant at the two men Brooke was waving down.

“Jason, Hank, over here!”

Jason was just as Brooke had described him. Tall, strawberry blond hair, glasses, and two very pronounced dimples. He was definitely handsome. Hank was average height, with brown eyes and brown hair that was slightly too long for Kate’s liking. He smiled when he saw Kate, and she instantly noticed his crooked teeth. “Fourteen cats,” she muttered so no one could hear. Taking a deep breath, she pasted a smile on her face and got up from the booth to introduce herself to Hank.

“You must be Hank. I’m Kate; it’s nice to meet you.” Kate offered her hand.

“Kate!” said Hank a little too loudly. “Great to meet ya!” He grabbed her hand forcefully and pulled her into an awkward half-hug. Startled, she tried to maintain her smile as she sat back down into the booth.

“Brooke, this is my roommate Hank, and Hank, this is Brooke,” said Jason. “Kate, I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for agreeing to double with us.”

“Sure, no problem,” she said cautiously. After all had perused their menus and ordered, Kate turned towards Hank.

“So, Hank, tell me a little bit about yourself. What is it that you do?”

“Oh, I work down at the movie theater. It’s great. You ever want free popcorn, I’m your guy!”

“The movie theater, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s the best. I’ve been working there since I was sixteen. Get to see all the movies I want.”

“That’s…that’s great. So…do you see yourself working there for a long time? Or is there anything else you want to do?”

“Anything else?” he asked, chomping on a piece of ice. “Nah, it’s the best.”

Sensing that her friend needed a bit of help, Brooke chimed in, “Kate manages a bookstore – The Bestselling Dwelling. Have either of you ever been there?”

“Oh, I know that place,” said Jason. “I’ve gone in a couple of times. Great building. Very homey.”

“I don’t really read,” said Hank. “I’m really focused on my band right now.”

“Oh, you’re in a band?” asked Kate, trying her hardest to sound interested.

“Yeah, we’re awesome. I play bass. We were gonna get together later and jam – you guys should totally come hear us! That would be sweet.”

Kate shot a sideways glance at Brooke, who was shrugging her shoulders and trying to hold back her laughter. She shook her head ever so slightly at Brooke and gave her a look that said you are so going to get it from me later. Turning back towards Hank, she said through gritted teeth, “Sounds awesome. Can’t wait.”

“I like this chick, Jason,” said Hank, throwing his arm around Kate’s shoulders.

~~~~~

Kate, Brooke, and Jason sat in folding chairs in the driveway of the house where Hank’s band was getting ready to play. The four band members were setting up their gear in the garage. Several other people were also sitting in the driveway, apparently waiting for the music to start. Kate had no interest in introducing herself to any of them. All she wanted was to go home and forget this date ever happened.

Brooke and Jason, however, seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were deep in conversation, and Kate picked at the strap of her watch while she waited for the band to start playing. Noticing a cooler at the end of the driveway, she walked over and opened it. Sifting through the cold cans of cheap beer, she eventually found a diet soda. Popping the top, she sauntered slowly back to her seat, wondering how long she would have to endure this so-called jam session.

The drummer, guitarist, and keyboard player were all at least sixty years old. All had unruly hair and were wearing old jeans and t-shirts that had definitely seen better days. The guitar player stepped up to the microphone.

“Hey gang, thanks for coming out tonight to hear us jam. We’re Planet Mayhem. It’s time to rock.”

The band broke into an extremely loud and slightly out of tune rendition of Mustang Sally. Kate looked around and was surprised to see that all of the strangers that had gathered were apparently totally into the music. She sat back and wondered what it felt like to shatter an eardrum.

Eventually Kate took out her phone and started to text Darren.
You’re never going to believe where I am right now
.

Where
? was his reply.

Oh, just sitting in the driveway at a stranger’s house listening to my date play in the most awful band I’ve ever heard.

So what you’re saying is it’s going well and you think you’ve found true love?

Ha, ha, ha. If you have any compassion in your heart at all, please come over here and pick me up.

A few minutes later, Hank stepped up to the mic. “This next song is for my girl, Kate. You’re the hottest girl in the driveway, babe.”

Kate tried to hide her face in her hands and was bracing herself for whatever song the band was about to play. They started in to a country tune, which she recognized as soon as they reached the chorus. Thankfully, she saw Darren’s Explorer coming down the street. Grabbing her purse, she turned to Brooke and said, “I’m outta here! And you owe me big time!”

She hurried towards Darren’s car and jumped into the front seat. He was chuckling at the horrified expression on her face. “You’re right. They really do sound awful. What is that song they’re playing?”

“Oh,
that
song? You mean the one my date just dedicated to me? It’s everyone’s favorite country song, ‘Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off’. Romantic, dontcha think?”

She looked at Darren and he was turning red, trying to contain his laughter. Her shoulders started to shake as she followed suit, and chuckles turned into roars and howls.

“So when’s the wedding?” asked Darren, wiping tears from his eyes.

“I’m doomed!” said Kate, throwing her hands in the air. “Do you know anyone who has any cats they want to give away?”

“Mom!” Kate dropped her suitcase and started running towards the woman squatting amongst hydrangea bushes. Olivia Henry looked up and saw her daughter running towards her through her backyard garden. Clapping with joy, she dropped her pruning shears and hopped up to embrace her one and only daughter. “My Katie-Bug,” Olivia said, using her pet name for her girl. “I’m so glad you’re home!”

“It’s so great to be home, Mom! I’ve missed you so much,” replied Kate. “Your garden looks amazing. Wow, this must have been such hard work.”

She looked around, surveying the beautiful backyard. Olivia had taken up gardening after her husband left, and it had quickly become her favorite hobby. Since Kate last saw the garden a year ago at Christmas, there was a new arbor with yellow roses growing up its sides, what looked like the beginnings of a vegetable patch, and a trench dug out with a small wooden bridge crossing over it. “Seriously, Mom, how
did
you do all this?”

“Well, you’re not going to believe this, but I hired a landscape designer,” said Olivia.

“You did what?” she replied incredulously. Her mother was an incredibly independent and resourceful woman, so the thought of her hiring help (thereby admitting that she needed help) was foreign to Kate.

“I know, I know,” replied Olivia, waving her gloved hand in the air dismissively. “You know this garden is my passion. I’ve devoted so many hours here, and it’s my sanctuary. But realistically, if I’m going to be able to make the vision in my head come to life, I needed to hire a professional. Unless you’d like to see me try and build a retaining wall. And I’ll do it, so help me!”

Kate laughed and shook her head quickly. “No no no, please don’t even try! I’m very glad you hired some help. Now let’s go inside. I can’t wait to see the tree!”

Kate and her mother spent the evening catching up inside the cottage that Olivia had decorated so beautifully for Christmas. It just wouldn’t be Christmas to either of them without these familiar decorations. There was the Christmas village set up on top of the piano. Kate used to stand there staring and making up stories in her head about the fictional city and the tiny figurine people who lived there. There was the ceramic nativity scene that Olivia had inherited from her mother’s mother. Olivia wrapped up each piece in tissue with great care every year, especially the little baby Jesus that Kate always begged to have the honor to place in the scene. And of course there were the strands of popcorn used to adorn the tree that Kate’s grandmother had strung, piece by piece, just a few months before she died.

“Sometimes I wish that I didn’t live so far away, Mom,” said Kate as she struggled to find the last corner piece of the 1,000 piece puzzle that she and her mother were determined to finish before she went back to North Carolina in a week.

“I know, sweetie. I would see you every day if I had my ‘druthers,” said Olivia. A grin spread across her face, and all of a sudden she burst out in laughter.

“What’s so funny?” asked Kate.

“Oh…it’s just…I don’t actually think I’ve ever told you this story, come to think of it,” said Olivia, still chuckling.

Kate stopped sifting through puzzle pieces and looked at her mother. They were as close as a mother and daughter could be, so the idea of a story that she had never heard her mother tell was so unfamiliar. “Tell me!” said Kate.

“Well, when I was pregnant with you, I spent a lot of time around the house in the last couple of months. The doctor wanted me to get lots of rest and stay off my feet, so I decided to do a needlepoint to hang on the wall in your nursery. I picked out a pattern that I thought was inspirational and worked for weeks to get it ready before you were born.”

Olivia continued, “I finished just a few days before I went to the hospital to give birth to you. Your father hung it on the wall behind your crib before we brought you home from the hospital. One day, I had laid you down for your afternoon nap. I was standing over your crib, watching you sleep…”

“Um, creepy,” Kate interrupted.

“Oh
stop
, you,” Olivia replied. “It’s not creepy, it’s sweet. Anyway, there you were, my perfect little baby. And I looked up at the needlepoint, all prepared to have a profound moment, and then I got the funniest picture in my head and I could never look at the needlepoint the same way again.”