“This is fun,” I said, fully prepared to ride the changing waves of our second date. How many people got to hang out at a radio station? This was cool. On our first two dates, Darius had already showed me parts of the city I’d never seen before. “Dining together in a—”
“Oh, we won’t be dining together. I’m on the air in”—he checked his watch—“well, very soon, but you have a few options. You’re welcome to hang out here.” He turned on a TV. “They show a closed-circuit broadcast of the show throughout the building. Or you can sit in the green room with my illustrious guests—at least the ones who were able to come downtown to be interviewed in person. Or you can really see how the sausage is made and sit in the producer’s booth.”
“Wow,” I said, feeling a little overwhelmed. A few hours ago, I’d been anticipating a quiet VIP dinner with Darius at a fancy Italian place, but now I was at the WTS recording studio, about to eat dinner alone…somewhere…in a strange building. “I’ll check out the producer’s booth.” At least that seemed like it’d be close to Darius. “You got to see me at work. It’s only fair that I get to see you on the job, too.”
His eyes lit up. “That’s a fantastic way of looking at it.”
I followed him out of his office and down the hall. He peeked his head into a room on the way and shook the hand of a man inside. “We’ll come and get you soon.”
“That’s Steve Pumpernickel,” Darius told me as we continued down the hall. “He owns a bakery on the West Side, and he’s my first guest tonight.” He nodded back toward the green room. “I think he brought samples, if you’re interested.”
“Free bread? No wonder you like this job,” I said.
“Now you get it.” Darius finally pulled open another door at the end of the hallway, ushering me into a large studio filled with TV monitors, microphones, and wires everywhere. “News is on now, so we don’t have to be quiet.” He pointed to a TV screen on which a newswoman was reading today’s headlines. Darius walked me into the producer’s booth. “Cody, this is Annie. She’s going to sit in today.”
Cody, a young guy who really took the “dress down” directive to heart in black sweats and a trucker cap pulled down over his face, wordlessly pointed to a chair in the back corner.
“He’s not going to be the chattiest,” Darius whispered.
“Okay.” Maybe I should’ve stayed back in the office, but we made so many twists and turns getting here, I had no confidence I’d be able to find my way back. I set my container of food on my lap and sat quietly.
Darius went into the studio, and I watched him get geared up with his headphones, microphone, and water bottle. A few moments later, Cody was counting him in. “You’re on in three…two…one.”
“Good evening,” Darius said, launching into his intro, talking about his various guests tonight.
Cody sank into his chair and took a swig from a massive fountain drink. “You guys close?” He nodded toward the picture window in front of him.
“We’re getting to know each other,” I said.
He spun around, facing me, eyes narrowed. “You’re nothing like his last girlfriend.” He laughed. “But who is, right?”
I hesitated. “Right.”
Cody turned back around, focusing again on monitoring the show and answering calls.
I took out my phone and googled “Darius Carver girlfriend.” A picture popped up of him with a gorgeous, young, ethereal woman. Monica Feathers. I clicked on her name. Apparently she was a pop star, and a popular one, though I’d never heard of her. Not that my lack of knowledge in this area would surprise anyone. My music tastes stalled back when JT was still with NSYNC.
Monica and Darius looked so happy together in the pictures. He gazed down at her with a look of pure adoration. His carefully curated sheen and poise seemed to disappear in her presence. In the photos, he looked like the rest of us real-world goobers—purely and pathetically in love.
I glanced up at Darius, who was currently chatting up the bread man. I could see it now, the difference. He looked at Mr. Pumpernickel the same way he looked at me—with detached, professional interest.
He reserved his real smile for Monica Feathers.
But they were no longer together.
I opened my dinner container and tucked in. He’d gotten me an order of delicious four-cheese ravioli, because, while maybe he didn’t know me and I didn’t know him, he knew food. He was a hard worker, and so was I. The two of us had that in common. We hadn’t signed on for love and passion. We’d promised each other commitment and nothing more. There was a reason he was no longer with the woman he’d been passionately in love with, just like there was a reason I wasn’t planning on jumping into bed with my hot, young roommate. Darius and I were mature, experienced adults, and we were looking for pragmatism.
I noticed him looking at me through the glass partition, so I held up my fork and grinned, making “yummy!” circles with my hand over my stomach. He clutched his hands to his chest and sent me back one of his best made-for-TV smiles.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Here Comes Treble
Late Sunday morning, I pulled into my mom’s driveway and texted her to come out. My mother, carrying a huge lavender gift bag adorned with an obscenely large silver bow, slid into the passenger’s seat of my car.
“You can put that in the back,” I told her as she balanced the present on her lap.
“I’ll hold it,” she said. “It might break.”
“Well, put it on the floor between your legs, then,” I said. “It’s blocking my side-view mirror.”
My mom reached down, pointedly picked up a grimy gym towel from my floor, and tossed it into the backseat before setting her gift down.
“How’s my celebrity baby?” Her hand reached over and squeezed my knee.
“Your celebrity baby is wiped out.” I reached for my massive coffee and took a swig before backing out of the driveway. Ever since Darius aired his segment on my practice Tuesday night, right after the second round of the trivia tournament (Dorothy and the Tin Man were currently in a four-way tie for first; we were gonna get Dax that money), Tina and I had been fielding requests from potential patients and answering notes of congratulations from other people in my life.
Darius had been right. People in Chicago now saw me as the concierge doctor, and they wanted in. It was an uptown problem, for sure, but I hated to turn people down or tell them no, which was the position I now found myself in. I had planned to take on a few more patients at some nebulous point in the future, but things were getting out of hand. I had an actual waiting list now, and I had to carefully consider how much new work I was prepared to take on, meaning how much of my already paltry personal life I was willing to give up.
“It was a great segment,” my mom said. “The knitting ladies were talking about it all week. They came over to Regina’s to watch it again with us on Friday morning.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“We kept going on and on about how Regina’s son is in love with a celebrity.”
Serenity now. “Mom, Rob and I have been on two dates together. Let’s cool it with the love talk.” And we kissed, sure, but I was a thirty-nine-year-old woman in the twenty-first century. I could kiss people without it bringing scandal upon the ton.
“Rob has very nice things to say about you.”
I drew in a deep breath and flipped on my blinker, focusing on merging onto 294. “I have nice things to say about him, too, but we’re just getting to know each other.” I left out the part about how I was also getting to know Darius, because I wanted to avoid the emotional baggage that would come with causing my mother’s head to explode. “Besides, you should watch what you say around Mrs. Casey.”
“Regina? Why?”
I veered right toward I-90. “Because she needs to focus on her health, not pipe dreams about me and Rob getting married.”
“It’s not a pipe dream, though. Not according to Rob, anyway.”
My chest tightened. “What?”
She patted my knee. “Honey, you can drop the charade. Rob told us all about how you guys are ‘getting to know each other’ with the ultimate goal of settling down.”
I rubbed my temple. “Rob told you that.”
“Yes.”
I focused hard on the cars in front of me as I chewed my lip and willed away a headache I could feel coming on. Rob knew about Darius. He knew that I’d wanted to keep our situation quiet, especially from our mothers, yet he’d gone and burst our circle of trust.
Because the truth was, I honestly wasn’t sure yet who I’d pick. I liked the familiarity and the security of being with Rob. I could marry Rob, and my life would stay pretty much the same.
But Darius offered something completely different—excitement and adventure. And, judging by how things were going after his segment aired, a lot of money and career success.
I was choosing between two very disparate options, and both appealed to me equally. In the back of my mind, Dax’s warning to marry for the right reasons tried to wiggle in, but I ignored it. Who decided “love” was the one right reason to get married anyway?
“How’s Mrs. Casey doing?” I asked my mom, changing the subject away from my romantic life.
“She’s been feeling pretty bad because of the chemo,” Mom said. “We had to bring knitting to her on Friday.”
I carefully changed lanes.
“She’s waiting on some tests now, to get a better sense of how far the cancer has spread.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” I said. “She’s doing everything she’s supposed to do, and her doctors are great.” I’d done some research into Dr. Stucco, and he was legit. He’d take good care of Mrs. Casey.
“You’re probably right.”
I glanced over. My mom was staring out the window, pensive. “You okay, Mom?”
After a few beats, she said, “I lost your dad, and now I’m about to lose my best friend.”
I reached over and squeezed her hand. “You have me.”
“I know, sweetie. And your brother and the kids… But you all have your own lives.” She turned toward me, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry for bugging you so much about Rob. It’s just that…the two of you together gives me hope. Maybe you’ll get married and move next door, and maybe I won’t be alone.”
“Mom,” I said, a lump in my throat. “You can’t count on that. I mean, it could happen—really, it could; I promise—but don’t dwell on it.”
My mom had never really had to get out there and meet people. She never spent much time alone. After my dad died, she threw all her focus to her friends, doing knitting and playing Bunco and volunteering at the church. And she’d done it all with Mrs. Casey by her side.
“I know you’re sad about Mrs. Casey, but you can’t wait around hoping nothing changes or that folks will come to you. You’ve got to get out there and try new things, get to know new people, for yourself.”
That was what I was doing with Rob and Darius: being proactive, finding someone with a similar worldview with whom I could build a life. I could no longer count on Kelly and Yessi to be there for me, so I had to put myself out there and live the way I saw fit.
“That’s good advice,” she said.
“Well, I am a very famous doctor.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Iran-Contra with Konami Code
By the time we got to Huntley for Kelly’s bridal shower, my headache had become a real, almost corporeal thing. It felt like a tiny-but-strong monster running through my brain. I popped a few ibuprofens as soon as I parked the car.
My mom, thankfully, after our little emotional detour, had quickly turned the conversation over to my cousin who had just gotten engaged to her ex-husband’s sister. Thank goodness for relatives with drama.
The banquet hall in Huntley was packed with people, most of them unfamiliar, even to me. My mom, who didn’t know anyone, hovered at my side as I glanced around the room, looking for somewhere to go. I finally spotted Yessi, Polly, and their baby, Olivia, in the back corner. “There are our people.”
I led my mom over there, and we all did our hugs and hellos. Polly asked me about work, and I asked her how the veterinarian business was going. Yessi, who was holding Olivia, gave me a one-armed hug. “Be forewarned,” she whispered in my ear, “Kelly is in full bridezilla mode.”
“Well, it’s her shower,” I said.
“I know, but, dude, I made one little joke about the signature drink, and, well…” She gestured toward our table. “I thought it’d be prudent to sit in the back.”
“What’s the signature drink?”
Biting her lip to keep from laughing, she handed me a champagne flute filled with bubblegum pink liquid and garnished with gold leaf. “True Love’s Kiss,” she managed to blurt out.
Wrinkling my nose, I sipped it and immediately started coughing. “Oh my god! What’s in this? My lips are burning.” I grabbed a glass of water from the table, even though I knew that would only exacerbate the problem.
“It’s basically a vodka cranberry, but with liquid smoke and a hint of Scotch bonnet pepper.” Yessi waggled her eyebrows. “Apparently Mark likes things spicy.”
“Oh shit.” I waved my hand in front of my mouth. “I was not expecting that.”
Yessi took her seat. “All I’m saying is, tread lightly.”
“Unlike this drink.” I grabbed a roll from the bread basket. Maybe that would help smother the fire raging in my mouth.
“Yessi,” my mom said, “did you see Annie’s little video?”
I groaned. “Mom…”
“I sure did,” Yessi said. “I thought it was great—especially the part where it looked like you were using a stethoscope for the first time.”
“Yessi,” Polly said in a warning tone.
“I’m kidding.” Yessi patted my hand. “Annie knows I’m just busting her balls.”
“I do,” I said. “And I’m not used to being on camera, so forgive me for looking a little wooden.”
“A lot wooden,” Yessi said, struggling with a squirming Olivia. “But we still love you.” She blew me a kiss.
“What do you think about her and Rob Casey?” my mom asked.
I shot daggers across the table at my mother.
“Rob who?” Yessi said.
“My neighbor,” my mom said. “He and Annie are getting pretty serious.”
Yessi’s eyes, usually flashing and laughing, darkened in confusion.
My mom passed Yessi her phone. “Here he is.”
Yessi, quiet for once, peered down at Rob. “Wow,” she said. “Looks like everybody’s got their secrets.”
I turned toward my friend. “Yessi, my mom is fully overstating it. I’ve gone out a couple times with this guy, and we’ve talked about how we’re both up for settling down, but it’s nothing more than that.”
Yessi stood, hoisting Olivia onto her hip. “I’m gonna go feed her.”
“Hon,” Polly said, “you don’t have to go. No one minds if you nurse her.”
“I do,” she said. “I need a minute.”
I watched Yessi, my last remaining best friend, walk away. Shit. I turned to Polly. “I really haven’t been keeping anything from Yessi. I barely know what this thing is with Rob myself.”
Polly nodded toward the bathrooms. “You should go talk to her. She’s feeling a little insecure with all the Kelly drama. I’m sure it will blow over quickly.”
“Yeah. I should.” I grabbed my purse and headed purposefully in the direction of the ladies’ room to talk to Yessi, but then I heard my name as I passed a table. “Is that Annie?”
Sighing, I turned around and found Kelly’s mom and her aunts.
I c
lutched Kelly’s mom’s hand, leaned down, and hugged her. “Hi, Mrs. Stafford.”
“Glad you could make it, honey!” She kissed me on the cheek.
“Good to see you! Let’s talk later.” I pointed to the bathroom and kept going. I just had to talk to Yessi. I had to apologize and tell her that I really wasn’t trying to hide anything, I just didn’t know what to—
“Oof!”
I turned a corner and ran right into Kelly. My hand instinctively grabbed her arm to keep her upright. “Sorry! Are you okay?”
She rubbed her nose. “Man, you have a bony chest.”
The two of us burst out laughing, and she automatically, hopefully opened her arms for a hug. Relief flooded my body. Choked up, I leaned in for the clutch. I held on for a few beats too long before letting her go.
She wore a beige A-line dress under a white cardigan. “You look like a bride,” I said.
“What do you mean?” She, still giggling, wiped her eyes.
“I mean where are your usual bright colors and shimmery fabrics?” I flashed a smile so she’d know I was just teasing. “You’re wearing brown. I distinctly remember you saying you’d never wear brown.” I cursed myself inwardly. Yessi had warned me about this, and I’d gone and inadvertently poked the bear.
She glanced down at her dress. “It’s caramel latte.”
“It’s brown.” I chuckled.
She frowned. “Well, anyway.” She turned to walk away. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Kelly, wait.” I reached for her elbow. “I’m sorry. I was kidding. You know I was kidding.”
She turned toward me, but her mouth was set in a line. “I saw your segment on the news.” She didn’t come off as impressed as other people.
“Yeah,” I said brightly. “I’ve been getting a lot of calls ever since it aired.”
“I’m sure you are.” Her voice was flat.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She seemed…pissy?…that my business was doing well?
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