“Yeah, he came in for his usual—our 3G Mocha Java.”
“You don’t sound too excited about it. Did you at least try to start a conversation with him?”
Caroline smirked. “No. Why would I? He never so much as glances at me except to give me the money and take his coffee and cinnamon bun.”
“Well, maybe you’re just too different from each other. Look at him and look at you.”
“Yeah, he’s perfect and I’m fat.”
Brina’s hand went to her hip. “You are not fat.”
“Keep your voice down. We have customers,” Caroline hissed.
Brina whisper-shouted, “You have full-bodied curves which a lot of men like. That was not what I meant when I said look at the two of you. Are you really so totally unaware of how your over-the-top appearance might affect some men? You’ve got tattoos, piercings in your nose, lips and ears, and your hair is always a few shades of blue and pink. It probably scared him away or just made him think you are this radical post-Goth weirdo that turns him off.”
“Gee, thanks, Miss Straitlaced Nurse. Maybe your prim and proper look scares off guys too.”
Brina huffed. “Plenty of doctors hit on me when I work at the hospital. The only reason I haven’t been dating is because I’m too darn busy.”
“Well, I also have my reasons. I swore off men when my lousy marriage ended and after your flattering assessment of me, I realize it was the right decision. So let’s just agree to be two old spinsters and forget about it.”
A customer came to the counter and Brina took over while Caroline wrote up today’s lunch menu on the chalkboard and hung it back on the wall out front. As she did, her gaze rested a moment on an old poster of a New York gallery show for an artist named Luna. It hung there among paintings and photographs by local artists and her many odd decorations and signs with sayings.
Like the Chinese wisdom of…“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.”
Yeah, she knew that one a little too well.
The two women worked through a busy lunch rush and by five o’clock, their closing time, things had settled down and the cafe was empty. They had often discussed staying open later, but that would require a dinner menu and neither of them wanted to go there.
“I’m going to sit down with a burrito,” Caroline said. “Do you want to join me?”
Brina brought her turkey and avocado sandwich over along with her favorite Sumatran blend. After they nibbled in silence for a while, Brina said, “I’m sorry if I was insensitive earlier.”
Caroline touched a napkin to her lips. “That’s okay. I needed a dose of reality testing. That guy is probably married with three kids anyway.”
“He’s not.” Brina gave her a Cheshire cat smile.
Caroline tended to keep to herself except for friendly chats with customers and neighbors, but Brina was a total snoop who always had the latest news or gossip. “Okay, what did you find out about him? And was the source reliable?”
“Hannah at the green grocer. She is not one to tell tall tales. It’s not really much anyway. Just that he is the older son in the family that owns Westfall Yacht World. Apparently his family has been buying and selling and repairing marine vessels for a few generations and Tyler—that is his name—is known for selling fancy-dancy yachts to some fancy-dancy peeps. So he is not only a looker, he’s also got bucks.”
Caroline snorted a short laugh. “No wonder he doesn’t even bother to look at me. I’m probably the equivalent of a maid or cook he grew up with.”
“I’d like to argue with you on that except I have a feeling you may be right. Those kind tend to stick with their own crowd.”
“So much for my secret crush,” Caroline said, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed. He seemed to have a sweet nature and was so sexy that he had been a fun guy to fantasize about.
“Yeah. Why waste your energy on a man that runs with a different wolf pack than the one you would belong to.” Brina sipped her coffee, then tilted her head studying her.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m wondering what pack you really belong to. We’ve been friends for almost three years and I still don’t know you that well. I mean, yes, we are great partners running this place, but it was Trinity who brought us together and now that she’s gone, I feel like you are still in some kind of protective shell and will not let anyone in, including me.”
“Nurse Brina strikes again.” Caroline had been a patient in a residential rehab facility when she met Brina, who’d been working as a nurse there. It was also where she had met their other partner, Trinity, a former fashion model who’d also been a patient there but now was happily married and living on the West Coast. “I could open up freely with Trinity because she and I had both been to hell and back again. But I remember how you used to look at me, almost as if I were a strange creature you didn’t want to get too close to.”
Brina’s voice rose an octave. “As a health practitioner I would never act like that.”
Caroline rolled her eyes in response.
“Okay, yes,” Brina said. “You looked kind of wild and fierce and angry to me. But do you think I would judge you on it?”
“You already have. Look at the stern assessment you gave me earlier about my appearance. This is who I am, Brina.”
“That’s just it though. I don’t think it is. The reason I picked apart your appearance is because I don’t think it represents who you are anymore.” She heaved a sigh. “Yes, I know it was you when you were a hot artist named Luna selling your sculptures for big bucks in New York City and hanging with a crowd that moved fast and liked to get high. But now you live in this quiet place and run a cozy little cafe and roast coffee beans. You even bake holiday cupcakes, for God’s sake.”
Caroline laughed. “You are making me sound like…” Her smile dropped and she went silent.
“Like what? Like a normal person named Caroline? Is that so bad?” Brina touched her hand. “Is some part of you still hanging on to your past because you want your ex back?”
Caroline grimaced. “No way. If we hadn’t met in college when I was still impressionable, I never would have fallen for that slime bag wastrel who begrudged every success I had while living off me, then stole from me, cheated on me, and led me into an addictive lifestyle. Yeah, I know it was my own responsibility to get myself out of it though, and I did.”
“Exactly,” Brina said. “So, maybe it’s safe for you to get rid of the nose ring and let your hair be its natural color. What color is your hair, by the way?”
“Ash blonde—‘ash’ being the key word. Kind of like murky dishwater.” One side of Caroline’s mouth lifted. “I have always hated it. Plus, when I was in high school my single-parent mom had enough trouble feeding and housing me and my brother, so I never asked for any of the trendy clothes other girls were wearing. Between my washed-out looks, unfashionable clothes, and my quiet nature, I was the plainest, most boring and invisible girl in the school.”
Instead of the surprise Caroline expected to see in her friend’s face, Brina grinned. “I knew there was a totally different you in there. Why not be that girl again?”
“Are you kidding? I was miserable. At least as a Bohemian artist I had success and a boyfriend and a life. I never want to go back to being that unhappy invisible girl. Ever.”
“So I’m right. Holding on to this look is a safety issue for you. But here is a news flash—you could never go back to being that invisible girl even if you wanted to. Everything that you became and did and experienced in the last decade is part of who you are. And that won’t go away just because you let some of the original Caroline come back.”
“Whoa. You make me sound schizo.” Caroline got up and walked back to the service area to put her plate in the dishwasher.
Brina followed her. “Come on, Car, you know what I mean.”
Caroline filled her coffee mug with the plain Americano she usually drank. Yeah, maybe I a
m still a Plain Jane at heart. “Why are you pushing me on this?”
“Because I saw the way you looked at that Tyler Westfall dude. You get all sexy-eyed and twinkly every time he stops in. I can tell you need a boyfriend, even if it’s not him.”
“What about you? Maybe you need a guy and that’s why you’re obsessed with me needing one.”
“Don’t try to turn the tables,” Brina said, putting her dishes way. “As soon as I finish paying off my mortgage I will cut back on my work hours and get back in the game. Even so, it has only been three months since the last time I dated someone. Have you dated anyone in the two years since your divorce?”
“Nope and it has been a great relief.”
“Liar.”
“Hey, I’ve got my bedside toys.”
“That can get pretty lonely after a while.”
Caroline began doing the nightly scrub-down and storage and when her partner joined her she figured the subject had been dropped.
She should have known better when it came to Brina’s tenacious personality. A half hour later she started up again. “What would happen if you let some of your piercings fill in and died your hair a natural color, like maybe…ash blonde?”
Caroline let out a soft chuckle. “You are impossible.”
Brina ignored her comment and went rolling on. “Tattoos are pretty common, but even there you could just wear long sleeves and a long shirt if you wanted to come off a little plainer.”
Caroline snapped her head around to face Brina, dishcloth in hand. “You don’t get it. Men do not like plain women.”
“I think you’re wrong. And exaggerating what that term means.”
“Sorry to inform you, but I’m quite experienced on this point. I was the plainest of plain as a teen. And I never had one date in high school. Not. One.”
“Yeah, but you went to the other extreme in college and look at the horrible guy you ended up with. You want another one like him? Because that is who you’ll attract this way.”
“Just because someone is creative doesn’t mean they’re an ass like my ex. I’m not sure I would fit with anyone who wasn’t a little offbeat.”
“A lot of people who are so-called ‘normal’ have offbeat sides to them. Why not try some men who are the total opposite of your wild ex? I bet you could find a guy who is perfect for you.”
“Oh please. You make it sound like I can go to a shopping mall and just pick out a few to try.”
Broom in hand, Brina paused and looked up at her, eyebrows lifted. “You can. On a dating app.”
Caroline shook her head vehemently. “No. N-O. No way. Dating apps are for losers.”
“Not true,” Brina said, resuming her work. “I think the ratio of losers online is not a whole lot different than the bar scene or other ways women meet men.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but it doesn’t matter because I’m not going to do it.”
As Caroline finished up, she could not help wondering if Brina was right about her holding on to her art girl look as a defense against her plain-Jane fears. She ducked into the bathroom and took a good look at herself in the mirror.
The first thing that hit her was the hot pink and cobalt blue hair that she’d matched with lipstick so dark it was almost black. Okay, a bit OTT for their sleepy little cafe. Then there was the gold ring in her left nostril, the silver stud in her lower lip, the multiple studs lining her ears above major league dangling earrings. Her silky sleeveless tank showed off her purple and blue flower chain tattoo that ran over her shoulder and down to her elbow. Her cropped low-rise pants showed her belly button aquamarine stud and part of the moon and star constellation on her right side that went from her waist to her thigh.
Hmmm.
When Caroline stepped out of the restroom, she said to her partner, “I concede. You are right. I do need a new look. I’m not sure what it is going to be, but I’ll give it a try.”
Brina squealed and hugged her.
“But this is only about me,” Caroline added. “Not about finding a man. I’m not doing any dating app or trying to reel in Mr. Westfall or anybody else right now. The jury is still out on that whole subject.”
Brina nodded, but said with a giggle, “We’ll see.”
Chapter 3
The hydrotherapy center was farther west on the Fork toward the mainland and Tyler managed to find time to get there three times a week. But Long Island seemed even longer today as he sat in his car on the way home, beset by worries.
Now that his paycheck and potential commissions went up in smoke, he had to find a way to come through on his commitment to keeping the center afloat as well as his promises to pay for the treatment of those who could not.
He cursed himself out for being so cavalier with Olivia Munson. Although, his parents had been itching to corral him for some time anyway and would have found another reason soon. Maybe he should come out and tell them the truth. Yeah, he’d made a mistake by hooking up with Olivia, but the reality was that he didn’t do things like that very often. All of the “partying” they accused him of was for the purpose of meeting possible donors for the hydrotherapy center. Even Countess Bella, who had angered her uncle for looking like she was dating him when she’d been engaged to another man, was someone he had brought in as a regular patron.
But he could not tell his folks that. He had to just let them continue to think he was an irresponsible player. This whole project was too precious to him. If he revealed it to his parents they would start meddling and turn it into a tool to get publicity for Westfall Yacht World. Tyler would never allow that. He did this for Lukas, to honor his memory. And for people like little Ricky that he’d worked with today, carrying him from his wheelchair to the pool and then getting him laughing during the pool pull exercises.
When Tyler finally reached the North Fork, he headed for the Yacht World office because his brother had asked him to look over some paperwork he had sent there. Pulling into the parking lot, Tyler got out of his car and walked down to the wooden dock area of the marina just to enjoy the breeze coming off the water. Then he called Caleb.
“S’up, bro.”
“You tell me,” Tyler said.
“Well, since Dad said he was going to cut off your access to company emails, I dropped off a packet I need you to advise me on.”
“You mean legal advice?”
“Duh, you’re the company lawyer.”
“Not anymore. Haven’t you heard the news?”
“Of course. I think it’s one of the stupidest things they have ever done. And we both know Mom and Dad have pulled some classics over the years. But I decided I would hire you freelance. So send me an invoice for your time and I will bill Yacht World.”
Tyler threw his head back and laughed. “Mom and Dad think you’re ‘the good son,’ but that is because you’ve always been sneaky enough to outsmart them.”
“Hey, we’ve got to stick together, Ty. Just like we did when we were growing up.”
“Thanks, man,” Tyler said. “Frankly, I was thinking about sniffing around my contacts at some legal firms on Long Island to see if I could get another job.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t leave me to be the only one to deal with Dad. You and I had plans for when he retires and that’s only a couple years away. Besides, this is your first love. Don’t give up that easily. He won’t really go through with this.”
“Apparently he already has. He still holds a tight rein on the company. He even cancelled my payment for a commission I earned two months ago.”
“Ouch.” Caleb paused a moment, but Tyler could almost hear his brother’s gears turning. “Look,” Caleb finally said, “you agree I know how to handle our folks, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, play their game. Go date some women—not the wealthy fast lane glamour types you usually hang with. Find some who are simpler, plain even. Women whose lives aren’t like the indulged comfortable princesses in the yachting circles. And bring one of them to the Labor
Day party.”
“You think that will be enough to convince them I might marry the girl?”
“Oh, I forgot about that part.”
“A minor detail. One that just happens to scare the shit out of me.”
“You never want to get married?”
Tyler ambled along the familiar dock. “I never really gave it much thought. Speaking of which, our senior stud in residence has just pulled into the marina.”
“Max Hatlind?”
“Yep. He’s getting out of the car now and you ought to see his latest. Blonde. Leggy athletic type. The guy is in his sixties. She’s got to be at least thirty years younger than him. And he’s taking her out for a spin on his Love Boat. How does he do it?”
“A bit of charm and boatloads of money. Don’t tell me you aspire to be another Max.”
“Well, I just never pictured myself settling down with one woman for the rest of my life.”
“You never want kids?” Caleb asked.
Tyler thought of little Lukas. “Yeah, actually I do.”
“Hate to break it to you, Ty, but that usually requires marriage, which also requires a wife. A few years back when you took a mortgage on that huge house, I figured it was you thinking about having a family.”
“You’re right. I guess I was thinking about that at the time.”
“Then maybe Mom’s not that far off,” Caleb said.
“Hey, I thought you were on my side.”
“I am. Listen, why don’t you just start exploring the idea of marriage and dating a possible wife and bring around some women to prove it so you can get your job back. Meanwhile, I’ll convince Mom the process might take a few years.”
“Okay, I guess that’s kind of a plan.”
Tyler ended the call and the headed into the office, waving to Max and his young beauty as they boarded his small yacht.
As Tyler drove along Peconic Bay Boulevard, his eyes lit up at the sight of his house sitting there right on the bay. Four years ago he’d had a good run on high-end sales and was able to put down a big chunk of money on a contemporary Mediterranean-style beauty. It was a little bigger than he really needed, but he’d fallen in love with its setting and style and just had to have it. And, yeah, okay, he’d been thinking maybe he would have a family of his own someday.
Tyler's Blind Date Experiment Page 2