by Amanda Tru
He spied a few sheets of paper on the corner of his desk and had the absurd urge to pick one up and start folding. Maybe an origami puppy for Chloe could make all this yucky tension go away. Tension couldn’t exist in the same room as origami puppies, right?
Instead, he ran his fingers through his already-rakish hair and pleaded. “Mom, please don’t do this. I cannot grant Selby’s request. I already told her ‘no.’ You don’t need to get involved. Just let it be.”
Camden’s heart ached as he watched his mother’s eyes fill with tears. Hoarsely she spoke, “Camden Hutchins, you are the most stubborn man I know. I don’t know why I should be surprised that you refuse to put family first.”
Turning around, she walked out of the office with her head held high and her shoulders shaking in accompaniment to her tears.
Bailey rushed out to follow her, and Camden slumped down in his chair, putting his head in his hands as they propped on his desk.
Once again, at least in his family’s eyes, he was a disappointment and a complete failure. And all because Uncle Wayne’s friend of a friend of a friend couldn’t manage to get past a first date.
Bailey listened for the sound of Camden’s engine as it drove away. It had taken longer for him to leave than she’d thought. He’d worked late, which wasn’t unusual, but even after he announced he was going home and stepped out of the office, he hadn’t actually left. Bailey suspected that either Lydia had stopped him again to continue her lecture, or John had caught him to add his two cents regarding his upset wife and Camden’s culpability in the matter.
Either way, Bailey felt just a little bit sorry for Camden. She understood that he was simply following his convictions, and she respected that. However, she happened to think he was wrong and had no such entangling ethics to trip her up.
Now, with Camden out of the way, she didn’t allow herself any time to analyze what she was doing, Bailey typed in the email address for Selby. Thankfully, she’d managed to extract the info from Lydia, who had procured it from the grapevine leading back to Selby herself. Camden would have never given it to her, and Lydia might not have either if she knew Bailey planned to go behind Camden’s back. Thankfully, simply saying that she wanted to contact Selby directly had convinced Lydia to eagerly hand over the intel.
Now she quickly wrote a list in the email labeled “Matches chosen by a Matchmaker.” She wrote down five names, inserting links to the Betwixt profiles for each. Thankfully, Camden hadn’t realized what she’d spent the last couple hours working on.
She was helping Selby and doing the contest with or without Camden’s consent. In this case, it was very much without.
Wanting the contest to be fair, she hadn’t even looked at Heath’s algorithm results but instead had started from scratch, compiling all of the profiles in Heath’s area and meticulously searching for those who may be compatible. Now she gleefully typed the names into the email, knowing they were Heath’s perfect fab five.
Then she used her administrator credentials to access Heath’s survey results and Camden’s algorithm-generated list. Without looking at the names, she copied and pasted the top five names generated by the algorithm into the email. Then she wrote a quick note to Selby, explaining who she was and that they—as in a general “they” that actually meant a singular Bailey—had decided to give her two lists of five names to help her brother. She hoped ten total names would be enough, wished Selby good luck, and asked her to follow up with Bailey to let her know how the matches worked out and if one particular list provided more compatible names than the other. Though tempted to say more, Bailey kept it simple and quickly pressed send without a hint of regret.
Like it or not, Camden had just submitted his first entry into their contest.
And Bailey could guarantee that he wouldn’t like it at all.
“Are you ready to go?” Camden asked cheerfully.
“Go where?” Bailey murmured, not even blinking as she studied her computer screen.
“Go on our date,” Camden supplied.
Bailey instantly jerked and swung around to look at him with eyes wide in sheer panic and her mouth gaping open in pure shock. The fear in her eyes only increased as she took in Camden’s suit jacket and slacks.
At least I got her attention! Camden thought, though careful to mask his enjoyment of her reaction.
“Not a date between you and me,” Camden clarified, granting her mercy with a quick explanation. “A date that was set up by our website. But we’re still going. Together. To this other couple’s date.”
Bailey shook her head. “What are you talking about?”
“Aren’t we doing the contest?” Camden asked, still enjoying toying with her. He knew he was being vague, and if doing so focused her attention on him, then he fully intended to string this out as long as possible. “I know we haven’t talked about it much these past few days, but I assumed we were each working on our entries for the contest dates. It’s Friday night, and I’ve officially chosen my first entry. Let’s go!”
“I didn’t intend that we physically observe the dates as part of the contest!” Bailey objected, her expression still incredulous. “I thought we were simply judging the dates by the results. Wait a minute, are you saying you found a local couple to match up?”
“Yes, I did! Well, local as in Brighton Falls. That’s why we need to hurry. Our reservations are at six o’clock.”
“You made reservations? For us?” Bailey asked, apparently unable to get past being completely dumbfounded by Camden’s actions.
“Yes, I did!” Camden said excitedly, not bothered by her objections in the least. “Why wouldn’t we go spy on a local date if I entered it into the contest? Doesn’t that sound like a lot more fun than sitting in front of the computer for yet another night and waiting for the couple to leave a review? What if they don’t leave a review right away, or even at all? This way, we can observe and know for sure that I won this round.”
“Keep dreaming!” Bailey said, grabbing her purse.
Thoroughly convinced that he’d just played his cards perfectly, Camden smiled and opened the door for Bailey to stride haughtily past.
Please help this to go well, Lord! Camden prayed, trusting that God would know he wasn’t actually praying for the success of his part of the contest.
The past few days had been difficult for Camden, and not because of the crazy workload. For better or worse, the number of new sign-ups did not drop significantly after the free promotion. The site had gone viral, and the number of new clients continued to increase at a hectic rate. Unfortunately for Bailey’s workload, many people seemed fascinated by the idea of a personal matchmaker, and many of those eagerly forked over the increased member fees in order to retain those services. Bailey had barely stopped to eat and was certainly not getting enough rest to continue functioning at such a pace for any length of time.
The day after their big fight about the bad date review and Selby’s request, guilt caught up to Camden. However, he didn’t feel convicted about what he said or did. Instead, he felt ashamed of his attitude and realized he was not treating Bailey as he should.
While Bailey professed to be a Christian, from Camden’s perspective, she quite obviously was not. Nor did she have any idea what a true Christian was. He now wondered whether God had placed him in this situation for a reason. If that reason was to show Bailey what real love and Christianity looked like, then he’d failed miserably. While not interested in Bailey romantically, his actions hadn’t shown her the Biblical definition of any kind of love. In fact, Camden couldn’t recall any interaction where he’d behaved especially patient or kind, and as the rest of 1 Corinthians 13 played through his mind, he realized there was not a single aspect of any of the description that he had demonstrated to his coworker. In fact, he’d done quite the opposite.
Over the past few days, Camden deliberately tried to back off and antagonize Bailey less. He’d also tried to do nice things for her, like bringing her coffee and
look for ways to go out of his way to show her love. It wasn’t always easy, and she seemed to frequently bait him into an argument. He was still honest with her, and if something were important, he wouldn’t back down.
Earlier that day, he’d seen how exhausted Bailey was, and yet she still doggedly worked in front of her computer, matching up people she’d never met and hoping that with each match, she’d united a pair of soul mates. Her pale face and dark-rimmed eyes told of the work’s toll, and Camden knew he must find a way to make her take a break. Suspecting that she would never consent, especially if he suggested it, he realized he’d need to be sneaky.
That’s when he’d logged onto the website control panel and located a date that had been scheduled nearby. The couple wasn’t special in any other way other than that they were convenient for Camden’s purpose. He hadn’t even bothered looking closely at their profiles except to confirm that they had been automatically matched by Camden’s algorithm. Without giving himself time to think, Camden quickly booked a matching reservation at the restaurant the couple listed as their meeting place in the schedule feature of the website.
“So, who is your chosen couple?” Bailey asked as soon as they were in the car and on the road to Brighton Falls.
Camden hesitated, not wanting to admit that he actually knew nothing about this couple. “Why don’t you look their profiles up yourself? It’s probably easier than having me interpret everything for you.”
“Fine. I will,” Bailey said, taking out her phone. “What are their names?”
Camden scrambled to remember, eventually retrieving, “Trevor Clauson and Jacee. I think it was Traveler, or something like that.”
“Jacee Travers?” Bailey asked a couple minutes later.
“Yes, that’s her,” Camden said in relief. “I really don’t know that much about them,” he finally admitted. “The algorithm showed that they were a very high match. Unusually so.”
“I see that,” Bailey said, her voice tight.
“You say that like you don’t agree,” Camden said cautiously.
“Of course, I don’t,” Bailey shot back. “They are too similar. Looking at the questions on the survey, they answered nearly everything identically, even the questions you like to see answered differently. They are virtually the same person. I guess all that is good news for me, though. I’m going to win this round of the contest without even trying.”
Camden felt slightly sick. Maybe he should have looked closer at the couple. The algorithm would place a higher degree of compatibility with matching a person who was an extreme introvert with someone who was closer to the middle of the scale. If they had answered the same, then the scenario existed that they would still appear a highly compatible match with just not receiving full points in some of those vitally important areas where differences should exist.
“It will be a good match,” Camden insisted stubbornly, not admitting his sudden case of nerves. “No two people are that similar.”
“We’ll see,” Bailey said, smiling sweetly.
Love is patient and kind… It does not insist on its own way…. It is not irritable or resentful… Camden recited the verses over in his head several times, battling the urge to return Bailey’s attitude with a snide comment of his own.
They arrived at the restaurant and quickly bypassed the line to retrieve their reservation. After being seated, they were handed menus. However, as soon as the waitress left, both Camden and Bailey dropped pretending interest in the menus and looked around eagerly.
“Do you see them?” Camden whispered.
“Right there,” Bailey responded, nodding covertly to a couple seated in one of the booths directly across from them.
Sure enough, the couple looked vaguely familiar as Camden tried to mentally match them with the profile pictures he’d glanced at. They really couldn’t have asked for better spectator seats. Their position at a table in the center of the room gave them an unobstructed view of the couples sitting in booths along the wall. The only thing Camden would change is that he wished their positions were swapped. Even watching unobtrusively felt conspicuous when attempting to conduct your spying operation from the exposed middle of a fancy restaurant.
“It’s kind of a fancy place for a first date,” Camden observed, looking around the tastefully decorated restaurant. He’d anticipated it being a nice place, especially with the need for reservations. He’d even dressed accordingly, trading his usual shorts for a pair of nice pants and even a suit jacket atop a more casual collarless blue shirt.
“I don’t know,” Bailey said. “I think it’s kind of nice. I like the romantic atmosphere.”
Of course, she does, Camden thought with a touch of humor. She’d disagree no matter what I said. It’s just on the principle of being disagreeable.
Fortunately, Bailey always looked nice, wearing dresses and stylish outfits as if working at a high-class business office and not just his parents’ house. Donned in a dress that was somewhere between orange and red, Bailey looked like she belonged here in an atmosphere that was, as she put it, “romantic.” Being fair, Camden had to admit that the twinkle lights strung in just the right places created an almost magical lighting that made the startlingly white tablecloths gleam and the high-quality glass and china glisten.
Camden and Bailey eventually turned their attention back to the menus long enough to order, but as they waited for their food, they didn’t converse with each other at all. Instead, all of their focus stayed glued to the couple across from them. Unfortunately, Camden soon realized that watching another couple speak and eat did not make for thrilling entertainment, especially when you weren’t seated close enough to hear or interact with them.
Camden’s glances Bailey’s way grew more frequent, noting that she still seemed highly engrossed in the scene before them.
“It looks like it’s going well,” Camden finally said softly. Any conversation would be better than watching a pantomime.
“It’s not,” Bailey said flatly, her focus still on the mind-numbing scene she apparently found highly engrossing.
“What do you mean?” Camden asked incredulously. “They’ve been talking nonstop!”
“They are both bored out of their minds,” Bailey explained.
I can relate, Camden thought ironically.
Completely oblivious, Bailey continued, “They talk, but do you notice that they’re not looking directly at each other? They look at their food or at the waitresses or other people in the restaurant, but not at each other. They aren’t happy. Their eyes aren’t sparkling. Their bodies aren’t turned toward each other, eagerly hanging on every word the other speaks. They aren’t excited in any way about being here. Instead, they are simply passing the time until they can finish their meal and be done.”
Camden watched a few minutes, noting the accuracy of every one of Bailey’s observations, but doubting her interpretation.
Camden and Bailey’s food arrived, momentarily distracting Camden as he began eating his seafood platter of shrimp and lobster. A few minutes later, he looked back up to check on Trevor and Jacee, and his heart sank.
Something wasn’t right. Jacee seemed to be studiously rearranging her silverware and Trevor attempted a subtle check of the time on his watch. As Bailey’s words replayed through his mind, he suddenly realized the missing element. Smiling. Neither one of them were smiling.
Bailey is right.
“How are your shrimp?” Bailey asked, saying something conversationally for the first time that evening.
Camden shrugged. “They are okay. Scampi isn’t my favorite. I prefer fried. How is your steak?” he asked, attempting to return the polite conversation ball to her court.
The corners of Bailey’s mouth turned down distastefully. “It’s okay. I’m not a big fan of the seasoning rub they’ve used. It has a little too much pepper in it.”
Camden’s gaze went from Bailey’s delicious-looking steak to his own plate and back again. “Bailey, do you like shrimp sc
ampi and lobster tail?”
Bailey nodded. “I do. I just wasn’t sure about ordering it here since they don’t technically specialize in seafood.”
“It’s actually pretty good,” Camden said. Then, with sudden inspiration, he continued. “Hey, the more I think about it, the more I realize I’m in more of a steak mood tonight, and I don’t mind spicy pepper at all. Do you want to trade?”
Bailey’s eyes brightened, and a slow smile dawned. “I’d love to trade, if you don’t mind.”
“Nope, not at all.” Camden eagerly switched her plate with his, pierced a bite of steak, and popped it in his mouth appreciatively. “Mmmm, that’s better. I think that’s a much better match.”
Bailey suddenly paused with her second bite on the way to her mouth. “Better match?” she murmured. Then she dropped her fork to her plate and swung back around to the booths on the wall.
Camden followed her gaze, realizing that Trevor and Jacee were finishing up their date. Their plates were crowned with their napkins, clearly announcing their status as finished and waiting for the waitress to come by and retrieve them. Jacee even had her purse slung over her shoulder, clearly eager for the waitress to come with their check and release her to make a quick exit without a backward glance.
Bailey hopped up from her seat and headed across the uncharted territory, weaving through the tables and chairs between their table and the wall. However, instead of approaching Trevor and Jacee’s table, she walked up to a couple who was clearly just leaving and standing up from a booth a few down from the other one.
Stunned by her actions, Camden watched as Bailey spoke to this mystery couple and then motioned them to follow her. She led them to the other booth where Trevor and Jacee awaited the waitress’s return with a credit card.
After a smiling Bailey spoke excitedly for a few moments, something amazing happened.
Jacee sat back down in her chair, and a man sat in the chair across from her. But it wasn’t Trevor. Instead, it was the other woman’s date. Then Bailey led the way back over to the other booth and happily deposited Trevor and the other woman into it.