Dating the Best Man

by Gail Sattler

  Some days, even though many people probably thought he was crazy, he would take a lawn chair and go sit close to it. As if he didn’t see enough birds on a normal work day when he was actually out in the forests or parks. Here, he was taking care of the city birds that didn’t have the same feeding opportunities as the country birds.

  Often children who lived in his building or nearby buildings would join him.

  Today he wasn’t wearing his hat. And there were no children. Just him and Daphne.

  Even though the Nuthatch had gone, Daphne remained immobile, her camera raised. “I’m going to stay like this until the next one comes. I’ve never done this before. I think I’m going to put a feeder in my backyard.”

  “Then you have to make sure you keep something in it, all the time. And after a heavy rain you’ve got to check the seeds and make sure it’s still dry. Moist feed can get bacteria and make the birds sick.”

  Keeping her camera aimed at the feeder, Daphne turned her head. “Sometimes it’s almost hard to get a word out of you, but when you see an animal of any kind, you go into teaching mode. Did you know that?”

  He opened his mouth then snapped it shut. “Sorry.” More than teaching mode, right now he was in nervous mode, and animals and their habitats was the easiest thing for him to talk about when a silence became awkward.

  She smiled. “Don’t be sorry. I like that about you. I also like that you make the effort and take the time to do that for the little birdies. You’ve got the feeder in such a good spot. It’s hidden from public view unless you know where to look.”

  “I’m kind of the only one who can reach it at that height.” Wily teens could probably get at it with a ladder, but most of the kids in the neighborhood knew him, at least by sight, so no one touched his feeder.

  “This is so calming. Like watching an aquarium.”

  “I’m not really into fish, but even if I was, they don’t allow aquariums in my building.”

  He watched Daphne, once again totally focused on his bird feeder, taking pictures of every bird that came, including the sparrows.

  First she’d come to his place and made it as far as the visitor parking. Now she was in the yard. He hadn’t yet invited her up to his apartment because he wasn’t sure she would accept. He had to be happy that she would go with him into his truck, which was, as far as he understood, the biggest hurdle she’d had to face. Yet, realistically, it wasn’t. A vehicle in a parking lot was still accessible if she became distressed, whereas inside a residence was not.

  This time a Pine Siskin came and went; the only movement besides the bird pecking for seed was Daphne’s finger, taking about a dozen shots of the same bird. This one was good for photos, as it was relatively rare for a Siskin to be around in the late spring.

  As more birds came and went, he saw rather than heard a number of children creeping in and sitting in the grass beside both his and Daphne’s chairs. With all the kids around him, here it didn’t feel like work. This was his home, and he liked kids. Since he was an only child, when the day came that he was married and it was time to have kids, he wanted lots. Not a baseball team number, but definitely more than two.

  He didn’t know his father—he’d never even seen a photo of the man whose genes made him. When looking in the mirror he could see some of his mother, in masculine features, but mostly he saw the face of a man he didn’t know.

  When the day came and he had kids, when they became adults, he wanted them to look in the mirror and like what they saw and be proud of their history, even if it only went back one generation.

  His mind wandered. Despite himself, he wondered what kind of kids Daphne would have. Or Daphne and him together.

  He knew Daphne had a good relationship with all her family—her brother, her parents and her grandparents on both sides. That was what he wanted for the kids he’d have one day, even though on his side it would only go back to him and his mother. He’d never met his grandparents on his mother’s side. He didn’t even know if they were alive or, if they were, where they lived. Every time he asked, his mother refused to talk about them. On his father’s side, it was even bleaker. The place for his father’s name on his birth certificate simply read “Unknown.”

  He didn’t have a heritage behind him but, God willing, he could make one in front of him.

  Maybe because the day was unseasonably warm, more and more children came until the grass had become a sea of young bird-watchers, snapping him out of his depressing thoughts.

  He was here to relax and share what calmed him, and that’s what he was going to do.

  Just as Daphne had pointed out, since he now had the usual group of interested bird-watchers around him plus a number of visitors, he began to ask the children who remembered the names of the birds as they came and went. As the children responded, he hoped Daphne liked birds, too. If she didn’t, he hoped that she was going to.

  As the different common birds arrived, someone in the group correctly named every single one, and he could see Daphne smiling, whether at the children or the birds, he didn’t know. The bottom line was that she was smiling, and after that, it didn’t matter. It was good.

  When a Red Crossbill came, none of the children indicated that they knew it.

  “Doesn’t anyone know that one’s name?” he asked in a stage whisper.

  “His name is Charlie!” a little boy called out, causing the bird to fly away and the group to break out into a fit of giggles, which became intermixed with shushes. The group once more became quiet.

  “I don’t know, Cory,” the young boy said. “I never saw one of that kind before.”

  “It’s a Red Crossbill. It’s a type of finch, and you don’t see them very often in this area. You’re very lucky to have seen this one.” He hoped Daphne’s finger hadn’t worn out, and that she hadn’t filled up her memory card. This was a rare sighting.

  A chorus of “ohh-hhh” cascaded through the sea of children before they again hushed, so the next bird would come.

  For about an hour children came and went with the birds, until he stood. “That’s it for today. It’s getting late, and it’s time for the birds to find a place to roost for the night, and so should most of you. Good night.”

  A few children thanked him, but most of them simply turned and scattered, either running for their parents, who were in groups chatting, or to the main door, where they flooded in.

  When Daphne stood, he folded both lawn chairs but then didn’t know what to do. Daphne had come in her own car, so he didn’t need to drive her home, but if they went anywhere, she would be waiting outside while he took his lawn chairs up to his apartment.

  She held up one hand toward him. “Like you said to the kids, it’s nearly time for bed, and I’ve got to get up early in the morning. I need to go in an hour early for a rush project, so it’s time for me to go, too. This has been a nice evening. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Before he could comment or thank her for coming, she was gone.

  At least she’d said the evening was “nice.”

  Hopefully, nice wasn’t woman-speak for boring.

  Chapter 9

  “You did what with him?”

  Daphne tried not to cringe as her brother glared at her. “I said, we watched birds.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No. That’s what we did. He brought out a couple of lawn chairs and a thermos of coffee, and we sat there and watched the birds. He’s got a birdfeeder that he hung on the tree outside the door of his apartment block. Then it seemed like all the kids in the neighborhood joined us. It was really different. But it was nice.”

  Better than nice, it had been great.

  Maybe one day she’d even see Charlie the Red Crossbill.

  “What else did you do?”

  “Nothing. We just sat there and drank coffee and watched the birds. And don’t look at me like that.”

  Rick dragged one hand down his face. “Like what?”

  “Like you think
I’m crazy. It was actually quite relaxing. We sat there for an hour and a half and watched the birds and he got all the kids to say their names.”

  Rick shook his head. “Kids? You sat with Cory and a bunch of kids?”

  She nodded. “A bunch of kids from the neighborhood joined us and he got them to say the names of the birds. The children got all the names right except one.” Which was pretty amazing. Just as Cory claimed, that proved he sat out there often, watching the birds with whoever joined him, and teaching them the species of every bird that came for a snack.

  He obviously liked children, which made her wonder why he wasn’t married with a minivan full of them. He treated them gently and with kindness.

  She’d wondered if he’d been treating her with kid gloves because he knew why she’d been living in a fishbowl, and if it would be different if he hadn’t known.

  Somehow she didn’t think it would be much different. He’d been naturally good with the kids, and she could tell by the glances he’d exchanged with some of the parents that what happened was normal, and happened often.

  People trusted him, children liked him, and he liked them back.

  He was a good man and she couldn’t help but like him. A lot.

  She’d met Cory for the first time while she was dating Alex, and now, looking back, she couldn’t help but wonder what her life would have been like if she’d met Cory first. She couldn’t even imagine Cory being disrespectful of her, much less forcing himself on her. She did know what would happen if they disagreed on something. He did the same thing as his two friends from church did with their wives—the two of them discussed whatever they couldn’t agree on and met in the middle.

  Yet, as much as she enjoyed her time with him, she needed to understand why he was doing this.

  At first she knew he’d taken her to the banquet as a favor to her brother, for which she’d be eternally grateful. She was pretty sure that whatever favor Cory owed had been paid back, and that was probably why Rick couldn’t understand why Cory kept seeing her.

  All she could do was hope he would continue, because the more she got to know him, the more she liked him. Which, right now, was a lot.

  Unless there was something Rick knew that he wasn’t telling her.

  All she could do was hope it wasn’t so.

  * * *

  Cory stood at Daphne’s door, wiggled the knot of his tie, and pressed the doorbell.

  Instead of Daphne opening it, when it swung inward, Rick stood in the doorframe.

  He didn’t look happy.

  Cory stiffened. “Is she ready? We need to be early today. I have to hand out bulletins.” He made a point of glancing over Rick’s shoulder, to the living room, where there was no sign of Daphne.

  “She’s not quite ready yet. This gives us a chance to talk.”

  Cory couldn’t decide if this was good or bad. He remembered back to the night he’d almost kissed Daphne good-night after her first session with the self-defense group. After that night, he didn’t know, but he’d felt something change between him and his friend.

  It would be good to clear the air.

  “Sure.” He started to move to enter the house.

  Rick stepped forward, blocking his path. “Outside would be better.”

  This was going to be bad.

  Cory purposely lifted his wrist, making it obvious he was checking the time. “I only have a few minutes. She said she’d be ready when I got here.”

  “I needed her to fix a pocket on my uniform. It won’t take her long.”

  This was going to be really bad.

  “Spill. What’s up?”

  Rick’s face tightened. “I don’t really like all the time you’ve been spending with my sister. Things are moving too fast for her, and she’s not ready.”

  Cory didn’t know much about women, but something had changed, and it was good. She smiled at him more. She never backed up if he stood too close. A few times when he dropped her off he thought she would respond if he took her in his arms to kiss her good-night, but every time she said she knew Rick was watching, apologized and stepped back.

  Often she’d be the first to ask about plans. She texted him at least once a day, sometimes about nothing. Sometimes even if he hadn’t been the one to text her first.

  Yesterday when he’d told her that he needed to go early to church to hand out bulletins, she asked if he would pick her up instead of going separately and meeting there.

  He wanted to take all those things as signs that they were ready to move forward in their relationship. Maybe, just maybe, she was feeling even a fraction of the same way he felt about her.

  He met Rick’s glare. “You’re wrong. She’s ready.”

  Rick crossed his arms over his chest. “That day when you were best man for Brad and Kayla’s wedding, I’d given you the job of looking after her at the chamber dinner. That’s all it was supposed to be.”

  “That wasn’t the deal. It wasn’t limited to just that one day.” He cleared his throat and paused, to give his next words more effect. “I’m not doing this just to help her, even though that is important. I’m doing this because I like your sister. A lot. I want what’s best for her, and that’s to be happy.” He didn’t say the next words he was thinking. With me.

  “I know my sister better than you do. I’m not sure that she’s ready to be dating.”

  Cory wondered, really, how Rick would know that. Not long after Brad and Kayla’s wedding he’d been with or talked to Daphne every day, meaning she hadn’t spent much time with her brother—she’d been with him instead. They’d been to church together every Sunday, as well as his weekly Bible study meetings. He’d been taking her twice a week to the self-defense classes, and been the target male potential assailant every time.

  When they had nothing else planned they’d gone for walks, and then short runs. Once they went to the gym where she’d done some rock wall climbing with him. She’d actually been really good at it, probably because she was so small and agile.

  They’d also spent a good amount of time at the mall, an activity he didn’t really like, but he acquiesced every time because she did.

  “I know we’re not dating, but we’ve been spending almost all our time together. I think she is ready to start dating.” Again, he thought it but didn’t say. With me.

  Rick turned to away, not making eye contact as he spoke. “If she was ready, she’d tell me.”

  “But she didn’t tell you that she still wasn’t ready, did she?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Cory checked his watch again. “Tell you what. Why don’t you join us for church this morning, and you can see how she interacts with people. I think you’ll be surprised.” As far as Cory was concerned, Daphne was almost back to her old self, the woman he’d wanted to get to know better, and he had. “Rick, I know how much you care about your sister. I do too.”

  Before Rick had a chance to reply, Daphne came running down the stairs. “I’m so sorry it took so long. I had a hard time finding the right button, but I did. Let’s go.”

  “Wait. Rick might come with us to church. What do you say, Rick?”

  Rick’s face tightened. “Sorry, I can’t. I have to work this afternoon. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Cory had a feeling he would be indeed be hearing more from Rick, but he no longer cared. He’d said what he needed to say, and as far as he was concerned, he’d made his intentions clear. Whatever happened, happened. He was going to go for what he wanted, and that was earning the key to Daphne’s heart.

  He pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Let’s go. If we hurry we can still be there in good time before the congregation starts to arrive. We’ll be the best bulletin team that church has ever seen.”

  “How many teams are there, exactly?”

  He felt his cheeks turning warm. “We might be the only one.”

  “Then I’m up for the challenge.” She turned to Rick. “It’s too bad you have to work. We always go out for lunch
after the service with some friends. Maybe next time?”

  Rick frowned. “Sure. Another time.”

  Somehow Cory doubted it, but it was probably always a possibility.

  Chapter 10

  Daphne couldn’t help but grin ear to ear as Allie handed her the certificate. The room full of women, and Cory, applauded.

  “Congratulations to all of you,” Allie said as she raised one hand to encompass the whole group. “Everyone here has passed the Level One session. Let’s all give ourselves and each other a big round of applause!”

  After the applause died down, Allie moved to highlight Cory, standing next to Daphne. “Now let’s give a big round of applause to our number-one volunteer, Cory!”

  The applause for Cory was more enthusiastic than the applause for all the ladies completing the sessions. He wasn’t only the number-one volunteer, he was the only volunteer. At the recognition, Cory’s ears turned red.

  As the commotion died, Allie clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “I’ve got coffee and snacks on the table in the back. Everyone enjoy!”

  Everyone made their way to the back of the room, including Cory.

  Daphne could tell Cory was trying to get away from the crowd of women, but as he approached the tray of doughnuts they surrounded him. Daphne almost smiled, watching him trying to decide which doughnut to pick.

  Then Susie placed her hand on Cory’s arm.

  Cory froze, his fingers inches away from his favorite doughnut, the one with the chocolate icing and colored sprinkles.

  Susie smiled up at him. Daphne had noticed that today, Susie had on a face full of makeup and sexy red lipstick. Her hair was artfully arranged to look just out of place enough that a man would want to smooth it into place.