by Beth Moore
“Do you like squash?” Lynn asked Chris.
Chris nodded as Lynn placed a plastic bag into her hands. “Go pick some out over there,” she said, pointing to the far end of the table containing several varieties.
Chris walked to the end of the booth, selected several different types of the vegetable, and returned to Lynn’s side to find her haggling with the vendor.
Chris whispered in Lynn’s ear, “Let me handle this.”
Lynn stepped aside, letting Chris argue with the man. After a few seconds, Chris had the price of the vegetables reduced by three dollars. Gathering up the bags, the two left the booth happy.
“Where did you learn to do that?” Lynn asked in amazement.
“I’ve lived in a lot of different places, even overseas. I learned to do that over in France. If you didn’t learn, they’d rob you blind.”
“Well, I am very impressed,” Lynn responded. This woman is full of surprises, she thought.
Strolling over to the next booth, Lynn picked up a slice of watermelon from a sampler tray and took a bite. “Mmm… this is great!” Cupping a hand under Chris’s chin to stop any runaway juice, Lynn offered the slice to her. “Chris, you’ve got to try this!” Chris took a bite; the juice ran down her chin but was stopped by Lynn’s awaiting hand. Lynn gendy wiped away the dripping juice on Chris’s chin with her thumb. Then, realizing that this motion had a tone of a seductive nature, she turned her attention to the fruit before her.
“That is so sweet!” Chris agreed as she wiped the remaining liquid from her chin with the back of her hand.
After surveying the lot of watermelons, Lynn made her choice, pulled some cash out, paid the vendor, and slung the melon onto her shoulder.
The two continued on their way. Lynn, keeping her eye on Matt’s whereabouts, smiled and asked Chris, “You think he’ll have the nerve to ask for a date?”
When she received no response, she turned around to find Chris had stopped to engage in conversation with someone. Upon second glance, Lynn recognized him as a local playboy. Immediately she walked over to the two.
“Leave her alone, Dave!” Lynn called out to the man.
Dave lifted his hands in a form of surrender and backed away. “Sorry, I didn’t realize she was with you, Lynn. She doesn’t look like a dyke,”
Lynn shook her head. “She’s not a dyke, Dave. But she may decide to switch sides after she’s gone out with you!”
Dave laughed nervously, turned, and walked away.
Lynn looked at Chris with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, but he’s a real loser, you can do a lot better than him.”
Chris nodded. Just then Matt rejoined the two.
“Was Dave hitting on her?” he asked. Turning, he put his arm around Chris. “You don’t want anything to do with him, honest.”
Matt looked over at Lynn, who had suddenly focused on something else. “Hey, look! Caramel apples!” Handing him the watermelon and other bags, she was drawn to the booth several yards away.
Matt moaned to Chris, “She loves caramel apples.”
Chris broke into a smile and followed Lynn. “Me, too!”
Lynn was already at the booth when Chris caught up with her. “One,” requested Lynn.
“Make that two,” Chris added.
“With or without nuts?” the vendor asked.
Lynn looked at Chris for a response. “With,” Chris replied.
“One with, one without,” Lynn answered the man, then turning to Chris, explained, “I don’t like nuts.”
Chris laughed, wondering if there was a double meaning in that statement.
Lynn smiled as she realized what Chris had found humorous and handed the man four dollars. Looking over at Chris, who was holding out some cash, Lynn pushed away her hand. “My treat.”
Matt came from behind the two. “Are you ready to go now?”
Lynn smiled. “I don’t know, are you ready to stop flirting now?”
Matt blushed. “His name is Gregg.”
“Well, did you get his number?”
Matt shook his head. “I couldn’t get up the nerve.”
Lynn laughed, motioned for Chris to go ahead of her, and followed the two out of the crowd.
The threesome climbed down the stairs back onto the sand. The sky had turned from dark blue to black. The moonlight danced across the rolling tide. A cool breeze whispered through the air. The three walked along in the dim light, the two women content with their apples.
“Boy, it does get land of chilly down here at night.” Chris said, rubbing her arms.
“I told you,” Lynn said as she untied her jacket from around her waist and hung it around Chris’s shoulders.
“Thanks,” Chris said shyly.
Matt poked Lynn in the ribs. “Very chivalrous of you,” he smirked.
Lynn answered his comment with a slap to the back of his head.
“Ouch, you’ve been kind of physical tonight, haven’t you?” he whined, rubbing his head.
Matt opened the glass door and slid it closed behind them. The three stood in deafening silence,
“Well,” Matt spoke up, “I guess it’s time for the million-dollar question.” Looking over at Chris, he continued, “Will you help me out? Will you play the part of my fiancee?”
Chris lowered her eyes and drew an imaginary line with her toe. She looked up, first at Matt, then at Lynn.
For a minute, Lynn was caught off guard by what she saw in the deep blue eyes staring back at her. Chris’s warmth and caring nature shone through like a long-lost friend. Shaking off the feeling, Lynn gave Chris her best pleading look.
Smiling, Chris nodded. “Okay.” She added, “So, give me the specifics.”
“Well,” Matt began, “they’re arriving late Friday morning. We’ll pick them up at the airport and take them to their hotel. My guess is that they’ll want to rest up after the flight for awhile. Later we’ll go to dinner. Saturday is the club’s ‘Sun and Fun’ day, which is one reason that they’re coming this weekend. The rest of the week will be full with whatever else I can fill their time with.”
“So a week, tops, right?” Chris asked.
“Right!” Matt responded. “Okay then, I’ll see you Friday around ten a.m.?”
Lynn broke in, “Wait a minute, that’s it?” Glancing at Chris, she exclaimed, “Men! Definitely not big in the detail department!” Lynn went on, “Don’t you think that your parents are going to want to know certain things? About Chris, about how you met, about a wedding date?”
“I agree,” Chris responded. “All parents are going to want to know those things. What have you told them about me, about your ‘fiancee,’ so far?”
Matt shrugged. “Nothing much. Actually, nothing. I just told them that there was someone special that I wanted them to meet, and then my mom assumed that there was an engagement, and I didn’t disagree.”
Lynn stood and ran her fingers through her hair as she began thinking about the details. “Well, the first thing that we need to figure out is why you haven’t, and won’t, set the wedding date. Otherwise, they’ll try and get you to set the date while they’re here.”
Chris began pacing. “She’s right. How about that I’m still in school, and we want to wait until I graduate?”
Lynn shook her head. “No, because they’ll ask you when you graduate, and they’ll want to set the date right after graduation.” She began again, “How about, Matt, you take your parents aside right away and tell them to please not talk about the wedding date because you’re afraid that Chris will feel pressured, and you don’t want her to feel any more pressure, with school and all. Maybe you two talked about it before she said yes and the only way that she agreed to marry you is that you would set the date after she got out of school?”
“Yes,” Chris said with a nod. “And if they ask me when I will be through with school, I’ll be really vague, saying that there is postgraduate work to be done… I can just be really vague.”
“Does that work fo
r you, Matt?” Both women looked at Matt, who had leaned back on the couch and was watching them in amazement.
“Yeah, sure, I can do that. Now, how did we meet?” he asked.
“You can tell the real story. About her car breaking down and all,” Lynn replied.
“Okay, what else?” Matt asked.
“You guys need to tell each other about your parents, about growing up, and…” she added sarcastically, “all about your hopes and dreams.”
“Well, I’m pretty tired, can we do it tomorrow night?” Matt asked. “Chris, do you want to grab a bite to eat?”
“How about I cook dinner? About six o’clock?” Lynn asked the couple.
“Does that mean that you’re going to eat with us? And listen to all the gory details of our lives?” Matt quipped.
“Don’t you think that your roommate should know some of the gory details?” Lynn snapped back.
“Do you two ever stop?” Chris asked as she threw up her arms in frustration. Then turning to Lynn she answered, “Tomorrow night sounds great.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow night!” Matt began walking down the hall to his bedroom, then stopped and turned. “And Chris? Thanks.”
Chris smiled and waved good night. Matt disappeared behind a door and swung it shut.
“Well, I guess I’d better be going,” Chris remarked.
“Umm…” Lynn said, pointing out some caramel still remaining on Chris’s chin.
Chris wiped away the sticky substance and smiled. “You could be a really bad influence on me!”
Lynn smiled back, then, trying to shake off the impure thoughts racing through her mind, responded, “It was just a caramel apple.”
But as Chris closed the door behind her, Lynn’s impure thoughts returned, and she felt it necessary to repeat to herself— she’s straight, she’s straight, she’s straight.
Chris climbed into the loaner car from Matt’s garage. She would be glad to get her Jeep fixed and back on the road. She could never stand the closed-in feeling of a regular automobile. She loved the feeling of the wind in her face and hair when she took the soft top off her Jeep.
Thinking back over the evening, Chris smiled. She had a really nice time. It was amazing how comfortable they all were with each other. She was surprised at how she was actually looking forward to the little charade. Turning on the stereo, she located the Neil Diamond tape in her pack of cassettes and slipped it into the tape player. She sang to the familiar tunes all the way home.
Chapter Three
The next evening, Lynn opened the door with a smile. “I hope you like two things, tri-tip and games!”
Chris chuckled. “That’s kind of an odd combination. What do they have in common?”
“Well, I barbequed tri-tip for dinner, and Matt wants to play a kind of different version of Scrabble tonight,” Lynn replied.
“I’m up for both. I hope we’re eating first, I had to skip lunch today.”
“Yeah, it’s almost ready. The baked potatoes are done. I’m just waiting for the veggies to steam.”
Chris entered the living room and was lifted away by the heavenly scent of the meal being prepared. She hadn’t had a home-cooked meal in quite a while.
“Anything I can do?” Chris followed Lynn into the kitchen.
“You can grab whatever you want to drink from the fridge,” Lynn answered. “And grab the butter and sour cream while you’re in there.”
&n;
Chris opened the door to the refrigerator. Wow, she said to herself. She hadn’t seen a fridge so stocked since… her parents were alive. Trying to wipe the thought from her mind, she grabbed the items and asked, “Where’s Matt?”
“He’s in the shower. He’ll be right out. He’s been working like a dog in order to have some free time while his parents are here.”
“Where do these go?” Chris asked regarding the condiments.
“Oh, out on the deck please.”
Chris slid the glass door open and was overcome by the aroma of the barbeque, the ocean view, and the cool breeze. Placing the items on the already set table, she stood for a moment taking in her surroundings. Last night she had been so nervous that she hadn’t been able to appreciate the beachfront setting. Tonight, though, she felt strangely at peace. I could live like this, she said to herself.
Lynn came out of the house with a basket of garlic bread. “This should calm your appetite until Matt is ready to eat,” she said, offering the basket to Chris. “Beautiful evening, huh?”
Chris took a piece of bread and hungrily took a bite. “Thanks, actually my stomach thanks you. Yes, it is beautiful.” Chris suddenly felt tongue-tied. Her mind went blank. Think of something to say, stupid.
Lynn broke the silence. “Well, I need to check on the vegetables.”
Chris, finally able to open her mouth, asked, “Anything else that I can do?”
“No, just sit down, relax, and enjoy the view. Feel free to have some more bread, there’s plenty more,” Lynn answered as she stepped back inside.
Chris grabbed another piece of bread, took a drink from her bottle, and leaned on the railing.
“Hey, sorry I took so long,” Matt apologized as he stepped out onto the deck still shaking out his wet hair.
“I hear you’re starving!”
“No problem.” Chris smiled as she held up a piece of bread. “I was saved.”
“So, did Lynn tell you about the game that I want to play tonight?” Matt asked.
“No, this was your idea, I thought I’d let you explain it,” Lynn said as she brought out the remainder of the meal.
“Well, I played a different version of Scrabble once at a party. Kind of a get to know each other kind of thing,” Matt explained as he pulled out a chair and sat down. “You see, every word that you make, you have to use to tell a story about yourself.”
“That sounds kind of fun!” Chris said as she loaded her plate. “Oh man, this is great!” she said as she took a bite of the meat.
“Yep, you really outdid yourself this time!” Matt said upon swallowing his first bite.
Lynn smiled. “Aw, it was nothing,” she said as she took a bite, and leaned back in her chair, appreciating the food and the company.
“Okay, I’ll go first,” Matt said as he laid down the letter tiles to form the word FAMILY.
The meal had been cleared away and replaced with the Scrabble game board. Matt sat back and related the first story of the evening.
“Every year my family would take a summer vacation. One year, we went to Hawaii and our luggage went to someplace like Arkansas. When our luggage finally caught up with us, we opened it up and found hay mixed in with our clothes!”
“You’re kidding!” Lynn chuckled.
Matt shook his head and raised his right hand. “I swear!” Turning to Chris, he said, “Okay, let’s hear your story about family.”
Chris looked down and fiddled with her napkin. Most of her memories made her feel so melancholy. Then she remembered something that made her smile. “Well, I told you that my family traveled around a lot due to my dad’s career in the military. It got so that every house or apartment looked the same. My mom never really kept many knickknacks or anything, because she got tired of packing and unpacking them. So no place really felt like home. Until one day, my dad brought home a bouquet of daisies. For some reason, they just warmed up the place. And from then on, everywhere we moved, the first night my dad would bring home a bunch of daisies.” Chris paused and shook her head. “Those simple daisies would always make wherever we were… home.”
After a moment of silence, Lynn looked at Matt. “I liked her story better.”
Matt threw his napkin at Lynn. “It’s not a contest!” He motioned to Chris, “Your turn.”
Chris placed her letters on the board, connecting with the “F” in FAMILY. FOOD.
“Not quite as deep as ‘family’… but just as important!” Chris smiled and continued, “My favorite food is Mexican food. Anything Mexica
n—tacos, enchiladas, burritos—mmm!”
“I’d have to say, Italian food would be my choice,” Matt responded. “I love all the sauces, the marinara and Alfredo sauces are my favorite.”
Matt placed his letters off of the “D” in FOOD. DRINK. “What’s your favorite drink?” he asked Chris.
“Alcoholic or non-alcoholic?” Chris questioned.
“Either, both. Mine are Sprite and Long Island iced tea.”
“Diet Coke and Malibu rum and Coke.”
Lynn listened to Chris’s choices and remembered the taste of the slight hint of coconut provided by the specialty rum. The thought brought back another memory. The taste of coconut as she kissed the neck of a coconut-oiled woman in the hot sand not far from where they were currently seated. The next word on the board brought Lynn out of her daydream.
MONEY was the word Chris set down, off of the “Y” in FAMILY.
“Money is something I am constandy worrying about. And next year they are raising the tuition costs again,” Chris complained.
“Well, I’m no stranger to money problems,” Matt explained.
“My shop just barely makes ends meet. That’s one major complaint that my dad has with me.”
Lynn found herself lost in another thought. Matt was repairing Chris’s car for free for her participation in this charade. Maybe Lynn could find another way to show Chris her appreciation for helping her best friend. Lynn made a mental note to herself to find out the current tuition costs at the university.
Matt placed the word ILL off of the “I” in DRINK. “When I was ten years old, I had my tonsils out. It’s the only time that I’ve been ill enough to be in the hospital. How about you?”
“I threw my knee out when I was a senior in high school while playing volleyball. I had surgery and was on crutches for several weeks. But I’ve never actually been in the hospital with an illness,” Chris replied.
Chris kid her letter tiles down from the “M” in MONEY to form MOVIE.
“Favorite movie?” she asked Matt.
“Bird Cage” Matt replied.
Chris smiled at Lynn, then looked back at Matt. “I can’t tell your parents that your favorite movie is Bird Cagel”