Thirty Happens (20 page)

chapter twenty-six.

“
N
othing. I have nothing.”

Ashley pointedly looked around my room where I had a pile of clothes on the bed, clothes in the closet and in the dresser as well.

“Yeah, I can see you’re totally suffering. I should contact the local churches that you are in dire need and that a clothing drive needs to be coordinated as soon as possible.”

“Shut up.”

I reached for the first thing my fingers touched and threw it at her.

“Ewwwwww, ohmigawd. You just threw your
thong
undies at me? Seriously? What kind of sick and twisted bitch are you?”

She flung them off of her and then pretended to retch. At least I thought she was pretending.

I went and picked up my Victoria’s Secret knock offs and dangled them over her head.

“C’mon Ash, I thought you were supposed to be my best friend. Don’t you want my panties on you?”

She shrieked like a little girl. The sound shocked me at first, and then hysteria set in.

“Seriously. You have issues.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

We sat on the floor with our backs to the foot of our bed, surrounded by clothing.

“Tell me about this guy again.”

“Okay, well, he’s a
teensy
bit older than me. Not like crypt keeper old, but like, distinguished, sophisticated older. He has some silver in his hair and eye crinkles, but I don’t see liver spots and a walker in his
near
future.”

“Dude, you want to marry grandpa?”

“Ugh, no. Seriously, Ash. There’s just something about him.”

“What’s his name, again?”

“Chris. Chris Smyth.”

Her eyes bugged out at this.

“You’re dating Chris Smyth?” Her voice had gotten really low, almost a reverent whisper.

“Uh, well, I’m going on
a
date with him. We’ll see where it goes from there.”

I knew where I wanted it to go from there. I wouldn’t let that happen on the first date, though. I mean, only nasty chicks let
that
happen on the first date, right? I started chewing on my lower lip.

I could be nasty.

“So how do you know Chris?”

I was interested in knowing if she was going to be some form of competition.

She rolled her eyes at me.

“Karyn, everyone in town knows Chris. We all pretty much voted for him.”

“You what?”

“Do you know anything about him? Anything at all?”

“Well, I know he owns businesses, plural, and owns commercial properties that he leases to smaller businesses.”

“And he’s a town selectman.”

I just stared at her, unblinking.

“Like as in a politician. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure he’s one of the best we have, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the head of it all at some point. Everyone loves him.”

“Great. Just great. I find a guy who actually really interests me, like, one that I felt a freaking jolt over and he’s a freaking town celebrity. I mean, he’s not married, he’s sexy as hell. Why did he have to be a damn politician? I even text broke up with Ryan over this.”

She shook her head at me.

“Women have been trying to rope him in for years. I’ve seen people try to do the fake swoon, drop shit in front of him hoping that he would pick it up, gaze into their eyes, and then fall madly in love with them at one sight. What did you do? How did you manage to snag the most eligible bachelor in town?”

Uh, now I was starting to wonder if perhaps this wasn’t so much a date tonight as a way for him to get rid of me. If he had all of Wareham throwing themselves at his feet, why would he pick me?

“Probably because I annoyed him into it. I had seen him in the elevator at the rehab center and told him I wanted to take him out for coffee. Then after I found out I was full time at the paper, I went over for coffee and there he was. Ohhhhh,
that
explains the weirdo who was panting over him like a fangirl.”

I filled her in on the weird exchange earlier today.

“Yeah, that happens all the time, for him. He eats out a lot at local restaurants, you know, to support the small business owners. You almost
never
see him at the large chain restaurants. I mean, I think he’s glad they are here because they help the local economy and provide jobs and everything. But he really prefers the locally owned stuff. Plus, he owns most of the buildings downtown, so it would be in his best interest to eat there. Anytime you see him out, people are constantly coming up to him. He seems like a decent guy, though.”

“Ugh, I hope he doesn’t think I’m like those other groupies. I didn’t even know who he was.”

“That might be what he liked about you.”

“What if he stands me up?”

“He won’t. Like I said, he’s a decent guy. He’ll probably like, hold the door open for you and shit. Did you give him your number?”

“Yeah, got his, too. He texted me while I was at Nonna’s house.”

“Wait, you’ve met Nonna?”

I laughed, she was bouncing up and down over the thought of Nonna. I swear she seemed more excited about my meeting her than my going out on a date with Mr. Wareham.

“Yeah, I had actually met her when I first came back to town. I was doing my first test article on the flag placing at the National Cemetery, and she was there corralling a bunch of senior citizens. She said I should come visit, and I was in the mood for baked goods, so I did.”

She grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes with this weird, serious look.

“What did you eat there?”

I laughed at her.

“Your priorities crack me up. It was this really good cookie with an icing on it. I swear it just melted in my mouth, like, it almost dissolved but in a good way, not a really weird way. It felt like my taste buds were getting more action than I’ve had in God knows how long.”

She sat back and groaned, imagining the cookies.

“I love visiting Nonna, but I’ve had to cut back once I realized it was getting harder to zip my pants up. I feel like a junkie, but damn, she’s good.”

I nodded in agreement. I could see that being a problem for me, too.

“I hear you, apparently, this was a recipe from her granddaughter.”

“Ahhhhhh, the mysterious Alex.”

I sat back and looked at her expectantly.

“Okay, so tell me all you know.”

“So, apparently, she taught Alex to bake when she lived in Providence, and the two of them used to talk about opening up a bakery together. I guess it had always been Nonna’s dream but life got in the way or something. Anyway, Alex’s dad moved the family down to Atlanta, and I guess Nonna hasn’t seen her since.”

“Oh my God, that’s so sad. I mean, the way she talks about Alex, it’s like they are wicked close.”

“They still are. I mean, they write all the time. Like, legit letters. And every time, Alex sends a new recipe. It makes Nonna feel like they are still baking together. Nonna has told me she’s got a plan in place to get Alex up here once and for all so they can
finally
start their bakery. As far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better.”

I nodded solemnly. My mouth was watering at the thought of a whole bakery filled with Nonna’s goodies.

“Back to the task at hand, though. What the hell do I wear?”

“Sorry, got distracted. Did he give you any type of hint as to what you two were going to be doing?”

I shook my head ‘no’.

“Just that he was picking me up at six so that we could get a head start on the evening.”

“Typical guy.”

I picked up my phone.

Hey, Chris. It’s Karyn. Any tips for wardrobe for Friday?

“Let’s see what he says.”

Beep.

Just be you. It seems to work.

Ugh.

I showed Ashley the response and she just grinned.

“He likes you.”

“You got that from his text?”

“Oh yeah. Okay, let’s get to work, then. Which one of these outfits is the most ‘you’.”

***

At two minutes to six on Friday evening, there was a knock on my door.

No, I hadn’t been watching the clock. Not at all.

I opened the door and just… wow.

He wore a pair of light jeans, a white shirt, and a blue jacket. And it was absolute perfection.

While I was giving him the once over he did the same, and smile his appreciation.

“Excellent choice, Karyn. Shall we?”

He offered me his arm, and I linked mine as if I’d been doing this for years. Perhaps I was overthinking this, but it felt right. We fit perfectly. He was the perfect height, not too tall so that I felt shorter than I already was. I grinned at him.

How is it possible to meet someone and feel like they could be a forever type of person?

God, I hope he was a good kisser. It would be
horrible
if I was mentally sentencing myself to a life of mediocre kisses. I didn’t care how much in love I was with someone if they gave a bad kiss, that could be a deal breaker.

After I locked the front door, he turned me gently towards him and put his hands on either side of my face, and leaned forward. He stopped about a breath away from my lips, looking into my eyes for approval. I gave a slight nod, and he gently, softly brushed his lips over mine.

He only held the kiss for a heartbeat, before pulling away.

He smiled at me.

“There, now I won’t spend the whole night waiting to give you a goodnight kiss. I will be able to fully enjoy myself.”

I couldn’t speak. I just stood there grinning.

“Did I manage to make you speechless? I’ll take that as a compliment.”

I reached for his arm.

“I’m just hoping there will still be a goodnight kiss.”

The side of his mouth went up in a half smile.

“There will be a lot of goodnight kisses.”

Swoon.

“So where are we going?”

“Impatient much?”

I elbowed him.

“Oof. Okay, so I was thinking about taking you up to Boston. The train leaves Middleboro in about a half hour, so that gives us plenty of time to get there and find a cozy seat.”

I grinned. I haven’t been up to Boston since, well, since.

“The train, huh?”

“Hell, yeah. On one hand, it takes out the stress of trying to figure out where I’m going in that city. If only they would stop with all the constant construction. On the other hand, if I play my cards right, there will be plenty of time to get to know you better, without having to worry about driving.”

Smooth.

“Good call.”

***

“Oh my God, I’m stuffed.”

Chris smiled down at me and reached for my hand.

I grinned back and started slightly swinging our joined hands.

This had seriously been a perfect night, and the best first date I think that I’d ever been on. The train ride had been cozy, with him sitting across from me and the two of us quietly talking for the most part. The really cool thing was that we were able to enjoy a quiet yet comfortable silence as well. It was strange for me to be with someone that I didn’t feel like I had to fill the gaps in conversation.

I somehow knew that I could just
be
with this guy.

As far as dinner, he took me to a pub. Yup, nothing fancy. Just typical greasy, delicious food. I’m sure that I’d have to scrub my skin for a week before all the grease from the pile of french fries I inhaled would leave my body.

Completely worth it, though.

Now, we were walking around Boston Commons after our meal, walking hand in hand.

I squeezed his hand and looked up at him and smiled into his eyes.

“Whatcha thinking, beautiful.”

“I was thinking that this was an amazing evening.”

He tugged me toward him so quickly and caught me so off guard that I stumbled into him. He put his hands on my shoulder to steady me and kissed me on the forehead.

I realized that I had my arms wrapped around his waist and we stood there.

“What do you want, Karyn?”

What did I want? I wanted forever. I wanted a picket fence. I wanted a dog, two or three kids, and an SUV.

“Uh, I want you to kiss me?”

He shook his head slightly in amusement at me, the corner of his lips curved upwards, then leaned forward to brush his lips against mine.

“I wanted that too, but I meant it. What do you want?”

His eyes searched mine, darting from one eye to the other because we were standing too close for him to focus on my eyes together.