Truly Yours Contemporary Collection December 2014

by Joyce Livingston, Gail Sattler, Joyce Livingston

  When all the laughter subdued, Grace wiped a tear from the corner of one eye. “This is ridiculous, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know. But that’s okay. I know that in the end, you’ll see I’m right.”

  “Don’t bet on it, Mister. Now we’d better get busy. While you wash Dale, I’ll try to untangle the hair.”

  “Good idea. Where’s the detergent?”

  “Under the sink.”

  Without another word, Phil obediently located the detergent, filled the kitchen sink with warm water, and dunked Dale to begin his task. As he gently washed the angel, instead of working the tangles out of the hair, Grace watched Phil.

  She’d never seen a man with his hands in the kitchen sink. When she was a child, her father never washed dishes. The task had always been done by her mother, then shared with her brother and sister as she and her siblings became old enough to handle the responsibility. Whenever she cooked for Neil, she left what didn’t go in the dishwasher in the sink to soak and finished everything herself later, before bed. In the entire year she’d been dating Neil, he had never once cooked her dinner—most of the time they went out. The few times she ate at his house, they’d ordered in so there were no dishes to do.

  Keeping his hands immersed in, the sudsy water, Phil turned his head and spoke to her over his shoulder. “How do I tell when this is washed enough? I don’t feel any slime or anything anymore, but since he is under water, it’s kind of hard to tell.”

  Something strange happened in the pit of Grace’s stomach. Phil wasn’t doing anything unusual. If she didn’t know any better, it would have looked like he was simply washing dishes.

  She couldn’t believe how masculine he looked doing such a domestic chore. His stance and carefree pose told her he was relaxed and comfortable with himself, no matter what he did.

  “If you think you’ve gotten off all the dog drool, then you probably have. Just make sure you do a double rinse to get all the soap out.”

  “What about fabric softener? I always use fabric softener at home when I do laundry. It makes everything smell nice. I don’t know if guys are supposed to admit that.”

  “No. Fabric softener impedes a fabric’s ability to absorb water, so it’s best not to use any because we need the starch to be absorbed as much as possible into the cotton threads.”

  “Then maybe I should use more fabric softener on my shirts in the summertime. Then I won’t have to wear a jacket when it rains.”

  Grace opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

  “Okay, then that means I’m done. What should I do now?”

  Her voice came out much too mousy, but she couldn’t find the strength to speak normally. “I’ll set up my drying rack in the bathtub—that’s what I did last time. I’ll be right back.”

  Before he could respond, Grace dashed off. With shaking hands, she unfolded the wire rack and extended it across the tub. She didn’t know when or why Phil had started to affect her, but he had.

  Since the main reason she’d begun seeing Phil was because of Neil, Grace couldn’t help but compare the two men.

  She’d developed a comfortable relationship with Neil, partly because she always knew what to expect with him. When she and Neil disagreed on something, which didn’t happen often, they always respected each other’s choices and decisions. She never had to play guessing games with Neil. When Neil was up, he was up, and when he was down, he was very down, and she could deal with it.

  Another thing that she liked so much about Neil was that once something earned a place in Neil’s heart, he pursued it with enthusiasm and determination, pouring himself into it, body, mind, and soul. Even if she didn’t like hockey as much as he did, Grace couldn’t help but admire the way he diligently pursued the game he loved. In the end, Neil’s love for the game was an extension of his personality. She wondered how one day she would fit into Neil’s level of dedication, as it had been nearly a year that they’d been exclusively dating each other.

  Then there was Phil.

  She couldn’t quite figure him out, not that she knew him well. In the past year, during whatever contact she’d had with him, nothing seemed to rattle him until his granny’s angel became damaged. She supposed his ensuing panic was the main reason she found herself drawn to him. His reaction seemed to be borne solely out of concern for his granny—he didn’t want her feelings to be hurt by seeing he had allowed something she treasured to become damaged. Grace found his guilt that he’d let his granny down when she trusted him so endearing, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. The sweetness of his sentiment made her want to help him, regardless of other relationships involved.

  Plus, Phil made her smile. Not that he was a stand-up comic by any stretch of the imagination, but Phil possessed a sense of humor and general easy nature that shone through in everything he did. She could well imagine Phil staring up into the falling snow and ignoring all around him, not caring if anyone was watching him or not. Yet at the same time, once he made up his mind, it was made up, and nothing seemed to change it. For someone else, the two traits might not mix, yet with Phil, they did.

  The more she saw of Phil, the more he fascinated her. But was that right?

  “I think I wrung out all the excess moisture, like you said, without squeezing too hard. Are you ready for me? If you’re not, I’m here, anyway.”

  Grace squealed and jumped to her feet at Phil’s unexpected appearance. “Yes. Just lay Dale down in the middle, and I’ll straighten her out.”

  “Will he be dry by tomorrow? Should we do this after church or tackle the job in the evening? If you need time to fix the wing, then maybe—”

  The ringing phone cut off Phil’s sentence.

  Grace checked her watch. “That’s probably June calling me back.”

  “I’ll let myself out, then. We all have to get ready for tonight. Should I pick June up at her house, or will she be meeting you here? I’ll need the address.”

  Grace hurried to the phone as Phil walked to the door. “I don’t know,” she called out as the distance between them increased. “I’ll phone you after I talk to June. See you later.”

  The door clicked shut at the same time Grace lifted the receiver from the cradle.

  “Hi, Grace. I got your message. That sounds like fun, but I’m not sure I want to be paired up with a guy I’ve never met before.”

  “Phil said much the same thing. Don’t worry; it will be fine.”

  “I don’t know. . .” Her friend’s voice trailed off. “What’s he like?”

  Grace let a silence hang over the phone while she thought of how to best summarize Phil. Since she’d already spent a good portion of the last hour thinking about him, saying something about him should have been easy, but it wasn’t.

  In order to think better, Grace closed her eyes. In her mind’s eye, she pictured Phil with his warm smile and sparkling eyes, which she still couldn’t give a color to. Something in those eyes captivated her the first time she’d been alone with him, and they still did. Therefore, she didn’t want to discuss that with June.

  Instead, she made a mental list of Phil’s finer attributes. In doing so, she also had to admit that she wanted to spend more time with Phil and get to know those attributes even better.

  Since Dale only needed a few hours of work, the time spent with Phil would soon revert to the way they were before. That meant she wouldn’t see Phil very often except for church on Sunday, when he didn’t always sit with them, and he never joined them for lunch afterward.

  She had hoped, though, that Phil felt the same way about their budding friendship as she did. If so, hopefully he might spend more time with her and Neil on the nights they didn’t have specific plans. However if, after their outing tonight, Phil and June actually did hit it off, it would be only natural for Phil to spend his spare time with June instead of her.

  Something strange happened in Grace’s stomach, making her think she must have suddenly become very hungry and not noticed before.

>   “Grace? Are you there?”

  “Oh, sorry,” she mumbled, then cleared her throat. “Phil is very nice.”

  “Nice? Well. . . Okay, but only because you wouldn’t have asked in the first place unless you thought it would be fun. Where are we all meeting?”

  “Parking might be tight, so why don’t we pick you up on the way?”

  When June spoke, Grace could hear the smile in June’s voice. “Great. I’ll see you later.”

  As they hung up, Grace suddenly realized that she really didn’t want her friend to come. She mentally kicked herself for the unbidden thought, as such thinking wasn’t fair. She was really going with Neil, not Phil. She had no claims over Phil and his social life and no real reason to want to be part of it.

  Besides, it had been her idea to invite June in the first place. Therefore, as a foursome, they would have fun.

  eight

  The phone rang just as Phillip walked in the door. He agreed on a time with Grace, since they were going to pick her friend up on the way to the coffeehouse, and hung up quickly.

  “Neil? Where are you?”

  Neil’s voice drifted from down the hall. “I’m shaving.”

  Phillip made his way to the bathroom, stood in the doorway, leaned one hip into the door frame, and crossed his arms.

  “I’ve got to ask you something.”

  “Mmm,” Neil muttered as he dragged the razor down one cream-covered cheek.

  “The other day you said Grace was shy. I don’t think she’s shy. She jumped at the chance to come tonight. She even invited a friend on short notice. And she certainly holds up her end of a conversation. What makes you think she’s shy?”

  Neil ran the razor under the tap but didn’t resume shaving. With one cheek still coated with shaving cream, he turned to Phillip. “I dunno. I guess because she’s so quiet most of the time. Whenever I ask her what she wants to do, she usually picks something simple for just the two of us. I’m really surprised she wants to go to the grand opening. It’s going to be busy and crowded and noisy. If she has a good time, maybe I’ll ask her if she wants to go to the next hockey game with me.”

  Phillip chose to reserve judgment on that one. “Have you ever met her friend June?”

  Neil resumed shaving. “Nope.”

  “Have you met many of her friends?”

  Neil made a number of short, quick strokes beneath his nose, then stood. “Not really, come to think of it. But she goes out shopping and stuff with them all the time. Girl stuff, I guess.”

  Phillip almost asked if Grace had met many of Neil’s other friends, but stopped short. He hardly ever saw the two of them together, and not only was he Neil’s best friend, he lived with Neil. He would be the one out of Neil’s friends to see the most of Grace.

  “She doesn’t see much of your friends either. That’s weird,” he muttered.

  Neil splashed a handful of water on his cheeks, then wiped his face with a towel. “Not really. I told you, she’s shy.”

  “Shy is one thing, but she’s certainly not a social outcast.”

  “I’m done. If you want to shave, the bathroom’s yours. What do you want to do for supper? Maybe we should just grab a couple of burgers on the way to Grace’s place.”

  Phillip blinked at the abrupt change of subject, which told him the topic was not open for discussion.

  “Whatever.” He leaned toward the mirror and rubbed his fingertips over his chin. “I don’t really need to, but maybe I will shave. I suppose I should be trying to make a good first impression.”

  “Can’t hurt. After all, when was the last time you had a girlfriend?”

  Before Phillip could respond, Neil turned and disappeared into his bedroom to change, which was just as well. Phillip didn’t want to talk about his love life with Neil, although he supposed he deserved Neil’s little barb after questioning Neil so much about Grace.

  After they changed, they were ready to go. Since Neil’s truck only sat three people, Phillip became the designated driver. As Neil suggested, they grabbed a quick burger mid-route and continued on. Grace was ready and waiting in the lobby when they arrived, and they were quickly on their way to pick up her friend.

  Beyond the number of passengers in the car, Phillip hadn’t thought in advance about the seating arrangements until they arrived at June’s house. Both Neil and Grace scooted out of the front seat to sit in the back, offering the front seat to June.

  All of a sudden, Phillip felt very “paired up.”

  Fortunately, June looked as nervous as he felt. The fact didn’t help him to relax, although it did make him feel a bit better.

  Grace managed to ease some of the initial discomfort by doing her best to keep conversation going. To Phillip’s surprise, she did most of the talking, inserting comments and questions from the backseat almost nonstop, which he greatly appreciated. However, her actions once again contradicted Neil’s statement that she was shy. Yet, Neil was the one dating her, and Neil allegedly knew her better.

  Once they gained admission and purchased four flavored lattes, they were seated at a table. Now that Phillip wasn’t driv-ing, it was time to work through the initial awkward stage of a blind date. During the trip to the coffeehouse, he had made up his mind that no matter what happened, he would make the best of the situation. June wasn’t a complete stranger—she was Grace’s friend—and so being, they had at least one thing in common. That gave him someplace to start.

  He pushed his mug to the side, rested one elbow on the table, leaned his chin on his knuckles, turned to June, and smiled politely. “I’ve never seen you here before. Do you come here often?”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Grace smile for just a split second. June didn’t smile at all. She blinked a couple of times, then silently stared at him with wide eyes.

  Since the lights hadn’t yet been turned down for the featured guest musician, every nuance of June’s face showed quite clearly.

  He couldn’t help but compare the two women.

  Grace’s face was round and cute, and her big brown eyes accented her inward sweetness. In contrast, June’s face was more pixielike in appearance. Thin and fine featured with a slightly pointy chin, she could have been called delicate if she weren’t nearly as tall as he was. Her short, blond hair would have given any other woman a boyish appearance, except that June was so lovely, no one could ever call her unfeminine.

  If he had to judge her on appearance alone, he would have to say that June was prettier than Grace, yet he found Grace more attractive. However, he knew he had to be fair to June. Technically, he wasn’t there with Grace, he was there with June, and he shouldn’t have been thinking about Grace.

  Yet he was. He couldn’t help it.

  Phillip cleared his throat, straightened in the chair, and clasped his hands in front of him on the table. “Okay, that didn’t work. I’ll try again. What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?”

  June didn’t respond, but Phillip could see Grace nibbling on her bottom lip, trying to hold back a grin, which gave him the encouragement he needed.

  He put on his best puppy-dog face, blinked a few times, quirked one eyebrow, and then leaned forward toward June. “If I followed you home, would you keep me?”

  June’s mouth dropped open. Grace groaned from across the table. Beside her, Neil rolled his eyes.

  He leaned closer to June, then jerked his head toward Grace. “Psstt,” he said in a stage whisper, “Grace wants to know if you think I’m cute.”

  Grace buried her face in her hands. One corner of June’s mouth quirked up, and the tightness in her face began to soften with the beginnings of a smile.

  Phillip let himself start to smile back. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Ah. Did the sun come out, or did you just smile at me?”

  Still, she didn’t speak. Almost as a mirror to his own position at the table, June crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, watching him, smirking.

&nbs
p; Phillip cleared his throat. “You know something? I lost my phone number. Can I have yours?”

  Finally, she broke out into a genuine smile. Now that he saw it, she really did have a nice smile. With her smile, she finally spoke. “I don’t know if there’s any response to any of those bad pickup lines.”

  Phillip shrugged his shoulders. “There has to be, otherwise guys wouldn’t use them.”

  On the other side of the table from Phillip, Neil groaned. “Forget the pickup lines. Did you see the last Blackhawks game? I wonder if they’re going to make the play-offs this year.”

  Phillip continued to lean back in the chair with his arms crossed. He turned his head toward Neil. “I don’t know if the ladies want to talk about the Blackhawks, Neil. Can’t you forget about hockey for one day?”

  Both of June’s eyebrows rose. “It’s okay, Phil. Next week they play the Kings on home ice. That should be an interesting game. What do you think, Neil?”

  “I’m not much of a Kings fan myself. But those Canucks are looking really good this year, so far, anyway.”

  Phillip could have joined in, but he knew that Grace wasn’t much into hockey. He didn’t want to see her left out of the conversation.

  Leaving Neil and June to discuss the possibilities of future play-off contenders, he turned to Grace. “Did Neil tell you that I’ve been learning to play guitar? That’s one of the reasons I wanted to come tonight. One day I’d love to be good enough to play for our church’s worship team. It’s kind of a dream of mine. But for now, I just enjoy watching and listening to live musicians, especially Christian musicians. Who knows, maybe I can pick up some tips.”

  “Aren’t you taking lessons?”

  Phillip shook his head. “No. Do you know Tyler? He plays, but his schedule has been too erratic to plan regular lessons. So far he’s been teaching me when we can get our schedules together. I’ve got this book, too, but it’s not the same as sitting down with someone and actually being shown what I need to know. I’m not very good, but I’m making progress, so I guess that’s what counts.”