by Amy E. Lilly
Indie texted to say she would be out front to pick her up in five minutes. Quinn flicked her brush through her hair one last time and headed downstairs to meet her.
Indie pulled up in Herbie. Quinn peered into the car, but she didn’t see anyone else. “Where are our dates?”
“We’re meeting them at Marty’s place and then switching cars to head over together. Marty had a meeting today that ran late, so I said we would meet them. I like the outfit. Where’s your faithful steed?”
“Hardy har har har. You are so funny.”
“You look cute. You know I’m only yanking your chain.”
Indie zipped in and out of rush hour traffic and fifteen minutes later, they were pulling up to a small house in an older residential area on the outskirts of the city. Quinn got out of the car and followed Indie to the house. She knocked on the door and moments later it was opened by a masked man.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
http://theromancereport.blogathon.com
The Romance Report
A blog dedicated to the pursuit of love and happiness.
Friday, October 5, 8:18 p.m.
It has been an interesting evening, dear readers. I promised Mindie I would go on a double date since I owed her after our Ric the hairy-backed beast debacle. Imagine my surprise when I met my date, and he was wearing tights and a mask.
I know what you’re thinking, dear readers. It was a repeat of my date at Dark Dreams, but nothing could be farther from the truth. My date was a comic book geek. He had created his very own superhero costume. He was Super Dork. He thought he was clever, but I thought it was accurate.
He had covered his chubby frame in a garish yellow spandex costume with a large green “G” on his chest. His face was covered by a matching mask. He removed it when we were first introduced, but I quickly asked him to put it back on. Yes, dear readers, it was that bad. Mindie may have to go back to frenemy status.
Determined to make the best of my evening, I cheerfully embarked on my first foray into the comic world. At least that part of the date was interesting and I had fun. I never read comic books or manga as a kid, but the quality and variety is amazing. I also met some unique individuals at the festival.
I begged off extending my blind (or should I say masked) date to include dinner. Super Dork was a heavy mouth breather. I spent the whole evening looking over my shoulder waiting to see a pack of hounds running me down.
As Frenemy and her cronies dropped me off at my apartment, Super Dork leaned over and panted, “Do you want to feel what’s under my tights?”
I punched him in the nose.
Comments:
IndigoRainbowUnicorn: I love you, my friend. Please take me off Frenemy status. At least, Super Dork won’t be trailing along on my dates with M. anymore.
QuinnieBee: Apologies to M. I feel bad for losing my temper, but I’m done with dating. The tights were the fashion faux pas that broke this camel’s back. M. was super nice. Definitely need to spend time with him without the Breather.
IndigoRainbowUnicorn: Will do. M. liked you, too.
Dreambuilder: Glad you didn’t find your soulmate in those tights. Did you like the gift I left you? Hot pink is a good color.
QuinnieBee: OMG! It’s you! I loved it. It was the perfect gift. Thank you.
Chapter twenty-Nine
Quinn had begged for Sean’s help getting ready for her grandmother’s birthday party. “Come on, Sean. You know I can’t do my eyebrows and hair,” Quinn begged. “Please? Pretty please with brown sugar and sunshine on top?”
“Honey, the only brown sugar in here is me. I will do your hair, but only if you let me pick out a dress for you. I don’t want to waste all of my amazing talent just for you to drag out that yesterday’s news dress you always wear.”
“It’s an expensive black dress. My mother gave it to me,” Quinn protested.
“You do this on my terms or no Diva Shawna Makeover in your future.”
“Fine,” Quinn said, relenting.
Now she sat perched in her living room on a chair with her hair in large rollers. Sean gave her eyebrows a critical look. “I showed you how to shape your brows. Why aren’t you shaping your brows?”
“Who has time? I jump out of bed, shower and go. Bread to bake. Pies to roll.”
“There is no excuse for poor eyebrow maintenance.” Sean clucked his disapproval and began to tweeze Quinn’s brow. “I’m going to do this one more time, but after this, I expect you to do this once a week. Comprende?”
“Yes, sir,” Quinn said meekly. “Ouch!”
“Beauty is pain. Pain is beauty.”
“Did you get that out of a fortune cookie?” Indie asked, popping her head up from her computer. Beside her, Marty chuckled. Marty had turned out to be a great guy. Funny, smart, handsome in a nerdy sort of way, and he was very sweet to Indie. He didn’t say much, but his silence was a nice balance to Indie’s louder ways.
“Open your eyes so I can put some liner on them.” Sean commanded Indie as he dug through his box of eye pencils and brushes.
Twenty minutes later, Sean announced his newest masterpiece was finished except for the dress. “You have to keep your eyes closed.”
“How am I going to get dressed if I can’t open my eyes?” Quinn demanded.
“Indie. Take care of this because I know she’ll throw a hissy fit if I do it even though I don’t want a piece of her. Much too high maintenance for me, even if I was straight.”
“I’m right here and can hear you.”
“I know,” Sean said with an evil laugh.
“I’ll help her. Come on, Quinn. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I may need to shop for new friends,” Indie grumbled and led Quinn to her bedroom.
“And miss all this fun and excitement?” Sean called after her. “I don’t think so!”
Indie helped Quinn step into the dress and zipped her up. “Oh my goodness. Sean has really outdone himself this time. You look absolutely stunning.”
“Can I open my eyes up yet?” Quinn asked.
“No!” Sean shouted from the living room. He scurried into the bedroom and tutted and fussed at the hemline and shoulders. Once he was satisfied, Sean told Quinn, “Now you can look.”
Quinn blinked her eyes open and looked in the mirror. It didn’t even look like her. She had cheekbones! And her eyes looked sexy. She turned and hugged Sean. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Sean hugged her back and patted her on the butt, “Your welcome. Now go get yourself a man, sugar.”
“Shoot. I look so good right now, I could probably get two boyfriends. I might have you come and fix my hair and makeup before every date.”
“Oh no. Like I said, I love you, Quinnie, but you are much too high maintenance for me. Sean, pluck my eyebrows. Sean, blow dry my hair. Sean, fix me up with your cousin, Ricardo.”
“Oh no you didn’t!” Indie and Quinn both exclaimed at the same time.
“Hmmm…” Sean pursed his lips. “You know you want to run your fingers through his back hair.”
“I threw up a little in my mouth.” Quinn shivered in revulsion. “Yuck!”
“Get your shoes on. Zach’s going to be here any minute to pick you up. Marty, Sean and I will be there in about a half an hour. Sean needs to finish getting ready.” Indie shooed Quinn out of the bedroom.
“For Grandma Rose, I’m leaving Shawna at home and going to her party as the best-dressed Mexican man she’s ever laid eyes on.”
“Grandma Rose would be okay with Shawna,” Quinn said.
“I know, but I’ve decided it’s okay to let Juan Carlos make an appearance sometimes, too.”
Quinn heard a knock at the door and went to answer it.
“No! You go stand there in the lamplight. I’ll answer the door,” Sean said, as he pointed Quinn towards the middle of her living room.
Sean answered the door, and Zach walked in and stopped. “You take my breath away,” he said to Quinn.
“Aw.�
�� Indie and Sean cooed in unison.
“Thank you,” Quinn felt a momentary flush of shyness at all of the attention. She looked around for her evening bag. “You look pretty amazing yourself.”
Zach wore a navy blue suit with a crisp white dress shirt and a dark blue silk tie. Quinn felt a small flutter in her stomach when she looked at him. “Are you ready to go?” He asked.
“I’m ready,” Quinn said and took the elbow he offered. “I’ll see you all at the restaurant.”
Zach drove Quinn to Hanrahan’s. They didn’t talk much on the short drive downtown. Zach had turned on a soft rock station. Quinn kept looking at Zach out of the corner of her eye. He really was handsome.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Quinn was quickly enveloped by a crowd of well-wishers there to celebrate Grandma Rose’s birthday. Anne had gone to pick her mother up under the auspices of having a family dinner at Uncle Patrick’s restaurant. Quinn looked around for Zach and saw he was engaged in conversation with her father. Her father laughed at something Zach said and slapped him on the back. Quinn started to make her way over towards them.
“They’re here!” Someone called out. “Quick! Everybody quiet!”
Uncle Patrick dimmed the lights on the back side of the restaurant to help hide the party-goers. Quinn saw her mother help Grandma Rose down the sidewalk and through the front door.
“Surprise!” They all shouted.
Grandma Rose looked up, startled. “Oh my! Well, this is a surprise! Madelyn Wilbright, is that you? And George?” Grandma Rose was soon ensconced in the seat of honor at the head table as friends and family all surrounded her to wish her happy birthday.
Half an hour later, Quinn was chatting with a friend of her mother’s when Uncle Patrick came up to her with a tall, older man in tow. “Quinn, I’d like you to meet Charlie Macomber. He’s one of the instructors at your school. He’s agreed to be your mentor chef.”
“What are you talking about?” Anne Daniels said from behind Quinn. “What school? Mentor chef? Quinn, what’s all this?” Anne’s voice had grown shrill and everyone stopped to stare.
“I’m going to culinary school to be a chef,” Quinn said in a small voice.
“What? A chef? Whatever for? You have a degree in journalism from a top school and you want to throw it away to cook for a living. I didn’t sacrifice my life so my daughter could sling hash like a…”
Quinn stood white-faced and trembling. Zach made his way towards her, but when he grabbed her hand, she pushed him away.
“Anne, that’s enough!” Rose Hanrahan commanded. “Enough! Into the kitchen this instant!” Rose grabbed her cane and moved her way towards the back of the restaurant. “Everyone continue with the party. We’ll be back in five minutes. And you young man,” Rose pointed her cane at Zach, “you stay put.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Zach said and took a seat at a nearby table.
Quinn, her parents and Uncle Patrick followed behind Grandma Rose. When the door to the kitchen swung shut, Anne turned on her brother and spat, “This is all your doing! I can’t believe I let her come work for you. You’ve brainwashed my daughter into wanting to throw her life away to sweat in a kitchen!”
“Mother, I’m a grown woman, I made the decision, not Uncle Patrick.”
“Well, you’re not doing it. I forbid you to throw your entire future away on this!” She waved her hands and wrinkled her nose in distaste.
“Anne, that’s enough,” Quinn’s father said quietly.
“I told you that your father and I could get you a job at the paper. You don’t need to waste your life and your education. You had one bad experience for a no name Internet site. You’ll bounce back,” Anne continued.
“Anne, I said that is enough. Quinn is an adult. If she wants to be a chef, she can be a chef. Knowing her, she’ll be the best damn chef this town has ever seen. No offense, Patrick,” Quinn’s father said.
“But she could work at a national newspaper. We know people.” Anne protested and turned to Quinn. “Why in the world do you want to cook?”
“I want a family. I want to give my children something you never did. A home. Two parents that are home every day for their child, not chasing after some war lord in Africa. I want to make something with my hands, not spin stories to assuage whatever politico is in power.”
“I never knew you felt this way,” Anne said, shock on her face. “I thought you loved being with Grandma Rose. Ma, didn’t she always beg to go to your house?”
“Anne, be quiet and listen, really listen to your daughter,” Grandma Rose said.
“I love Grandma Rose.” Quinn grabbed her grandmother’s hand. “If not for her, I wouldn’t have had nearly as wonderful childhood as I did. You, too, Uncle Pat.” He nodded his head for her to continue. “But they didn’t make up for not having you there. I wanted my mom and dad. You were too busy chasing stories, and when you were home, you were too busy trying to make me into something I’m not.”
“I want you to have a better life than I did growing up,” Anne said. “Honey, you don’t know how hard it was when I was young.”
“Yes, I do. Grandma and Uncle Patrick told me everything, but Mom, I’m not you. I’m never going to be you. I have to find my own way and sometimes I’m going to fail. It’s okay. I love you, Mom, but I’m doing this. I’d like your blessing, but one way or another, I’m going to culinary school in January.”
“Is it going to make you happy?” Anne asked, sniffling a little.
“Yes, Mom, it will. I love all of this. It makes me feel like…well, me.”
“Fine. On one condition,” Anne said.
“Anne, leave your daughter alone on this,” Uncle Patrick said, warning filling his voice.
“Hold on, Patrick Hanrahan, and let me finish,” Anne admonished. “Promise me if you do this that you’ll be the best damned chef in the city.”
Quinn hugged her mother. “I promise, Mom.”
“And quit calling me Mother. I know you only do it when you’re angry with me.”
“Deal,” Quinn said, laughing.
A cheer erupted from the dining room. “There’s never a dull moment or lack of drama at an Irish party,” Grandma Rose said, her eyes twinkling. “I’m proud of you, Quinn. You’ve given me the best birthday present ever. Now take me to meet your young man.” Rose moved her way towards the dining room.
“He’s not my young man,” Quinn said. “He’s my neighbor.”
“Don’t argue with your grandmother,” Grandma Rose said. “I know when a man is smitten with a woman and a woman is smitten with a man. Stop fighting it.”
“But…”Quinn protested. Her grandmother gave her a knowing look. “He is handsome.”
“He has a good job and he’s smart,” Anne chimed in.
“I like him,” Mr. Daniels said.
They walked into the dining room. Everyone acted like they hadn’t all been listening at the door.
Sean and Indie rushed up to Quinn. “Are you okay? What happened? We came in after the big blow up and missed everything.”
“I’m fine. Mom’s fine. I’m going to culinary school. Where’s Zach?” Quinn craned her neck and looked around the dining room. “Excuse me. I need to find my date.”
“Oooh, girl, did you hear what she just said? She said date,” Sean whispered loudly to Indie.
Quinn zigzagged her way through the tables until she stood in front of Zach. “Hi.”
“Hi. Would you like something to drink?” He indicated the glass in front of him.
“In a minute. I’ve got something to say and I want to get it out before I lose my nerve. I like you,” Quinn blurted. “I mean, I really like you and not in the friend way, but in the I want to wake up and have breakfast with you the next day kind of way.”
“I…” Zach started.
“Hold on. I need to finish. I like you and I want to date you, but I’m a mess. I suck as a journalist. I got fired. I work part-time at a restaurant and am going back to school
, so I’m all high maintenance and Sean says I can’t even pluck my eyebrows right and you know what? I really want to kiss you right now.”
“Are you finished?” Zach stood up.
Quinn waited for him to tell her she was crazy. Tears began to well in her eyes. “Yes,” she said in a small voice.
“Good because I can’t kiss you when you’re talking.” He pulled her to him and kissed her. Quinn’s toes curled as a flutter and then an electric current raced through her veins. When he finally pulled away, he looked down at her. “I like you, too, Quinn Daniels. In fact, I’m half in love with you already.”
“Does this mean I get to touch your telescope?” Quinn gave him a coy smile. She fluttered her lashes at him.
“Since this is our third date, I think that could be arranged.”
“I like a man with a big telescope. All the better to see stars,” Quinn whispered.
“Good to know,” Zach whispered back and kissed her again.
Epilogue
http://theromancereport.blogathon.com
The Romance Report
A blog dedicated to the pursuit of love and happiness.
Monday, January 10, 8:37 a.m.
Well, dear readers, it’s time for The Romance Report to close. It’s been a journey and I thank you all for sticking by me as I learned a little bit about life and love and a whole lot about myself.
Lesson One: Nobody knows everything about life, but we should all pay closer attention to our grandparents and other older folks in our life. My Grandma and Abuela Reyna have given me more wisdom about life and love than I could have ever learned on my own.
Lesson Two: Romance is great, but love should be based on trust and friendship, too.
Lesson Three: Be yourself. If you do, everything else falls into place.
That’s all, dear readers. I have to get ready for school, and my boyfriend (I know! Exciting, isn’t it!) is fixing me breakfast for my first day of school. Good luck in love, dear readers!
Comments:
Grayson 14: Does this mean you won’t go to prom with me?