“Then my mother pounced on her, but she held her own,” he said, smiling at her. “It was rather impressive, if you want to know the truth. It drove my mother right out of here.”
“Well, all that stuff she was saying, it was pretty bad,” Paula said, a frown on her face. “I’m sure glad you don’t act like that, you’re a big jerk, but you’re not…Well, I don’t know…a big snob…”
“Oh, she’s more than a snob, but we’ll let everyone use their imagination what that word is,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know how my dad puts up with her. I would have…never mind, let’s just forget about the whole thing. Did you say that you were looking for me?”
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Jackson said, then looked over at Abby. “We have a huge favor to ask.”
“We wouldn’t bother you, but I just found out that I have to work the night of the fundraiser,” Abby said. “This is my chance to work with Dr. Bradwell. He specifically asked for me, and I can’t say no.”
He must have looked confused, “He’s that forensic pathologist teaching those seminars we’ve been taking,” Jackson explained. “This is a big break for Abby. She’s been working her butt off to get this invitation, and Dr. Bradwell said I could tag along too.”
“That’s great, you guys,” he said, still confused. “But what does this have to do with me?”
“We were hoping you’d go to the fundraiser in our place,” Abby said, a pleading look on her face. “It’s a fun party and the food is always good. We already paid for the tickets, so it wouldn’t cost you anything unless you decide to bid on something in the silent auction.”
“It’s for the Children’s Hospital,” Jackson said. “Think about all those sick kids and their families. The money really makes a difference.”
“You had to use guilt, didn’t you?” he asked, then sighed. “I guess I could go alone. There’s no way I’m calling Erin and inviting her up here, I’d never get rid of her.”
He remembered the ring sitting on the table, walked over, picked it up, and slipped it into his pocket, hoping no one noticed. “I’m sure we could find someone to go with you as a friend. It will be more fun if you’re not alone,” Jackson said, looking over at Abby. “Any ideas?”
The sound of the printer coming to life on the other side of the room broke the silence, and they all looked over at Paula. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make so much noise,” she said. “I would have just emailed these, but Hattie wants them printed out. I’ll be out of your way in just a second.”
Abby stared at Paula for a second, then a smile slowly spread across her face, “Hey, Paula, what are you doing tomorrow night?” she asked, then looked over at Ryan, still grinning. “See, problem solved.”
“No way, that’s not a good idea,” he said, backing away. “Besides, I’m sure Paula is busy.”
“Are you busy, Paula?” Abby asked, looking over at her. “If not, we were hoping you’d do us a favor.”
“Well…I don’t have any plans…” Paula said, but Abby cut her off.
“Then it’s settled. You and Ryan will go to the fundraiser together,” Abby said, clapping her hands together. “You’re goingto make such a handsome couple. It’s black tie, so I hope you have something to wear.”
“Wait…I don’t think…I mean…I don’t have anything to wear,” Paula said, her eyes wide with alarm. “And I’m not really the fundraiser kind of girl; I don’t even own a pair of heels. I’ll just embarrass you all, you should find someone else.”
“Nonsense, this isn’t a high society thing, it’s just people who care about the kids,” Abby said. “I’m sure we can find you something amazing to wear. You and I are about the same size, and I have an entire closet full of clothes that I never wear.”
Before he could protest, Abby was dragging Paula away and Jackson was slapping the tickets in his hand. “You’ll have a blast,” Jackson said, then hesitated for a second. “Is it my imagination, or did we interrupt something when we walked in?”
He thought about lying, even opened his mouth to say the words, but changed his mind at the last second. “Yeah, you could say that, I kissed her,” he admitted. “I didn’t mean to, it just happened, I’m such an idiot. I’m engaged; I shouldn’t be kissing other women.”
“Hmm…I didn’t think that was official,” Jackson said. “Has something changed?”
“No, we haven’t officially announced anything, but that’s why my mother was here, she’s pushing for me to propose on Christmas,” he said, feeling a little nauseous at the idea. “I pushed back, but I’m going to have to give in soon and get it over with.”
When Jackson just stared at him, he shrugged, “I know I shouldn’t talk about getting married like that, but not all of us can be as lucky as you,” he said. “I’d give anything to be able to fall in love like a normal person, but my mother…well…”
“I’m trying really hard not to judge you, you’re one of my best friends, and it’s your life, but I would feel a lot better ifyou were happier about this,” Jackson said, then shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe there’s a reason you kissed Paula, maybe fate has different plans for you. It might not hurt to keep an open mind.”
***Paula***
Doing her best not to whoop with joy, Paula followed Alex out of the coffee shop and into the chill of an early December afternoon, sure that she’d almost landed herself a job after graduation. What had started out as a quick meet-up for coffee just to get to know each other had turned into a full-blown job interview, and she’d nailed every part of it. Her views and beliefs about the media and journalism aligned perfectly with Alex’s, something she hadn’t expected, and they’d spent the last few hours talking about where he wanted the paper to go.
She’d been thrilled when he'd more or less said that he could see a place for her at the paper, and she could already see herself living in the Pacific Northwest, hiking in the mountains, hanging out at the beach, a new and exciting life. Telling herself she needed to slow down, she took a deep breath and looked up at Alex, deciding to let him close the meeting down and hoping the job offer would come right then.
“I had a great time today, I’m really glad we did this,” Alex said, smiling down at her. “I’ll talk to my dad about setting up a second interview. He may want you to do a sample piece just to see what you’ve got. It’s pretty standard in the industry for a new reporter. I’ll let you know.”
“That sounds great, I’d love to meet your dad,” she said, a little disappointed he wasn’t offering her a job right then. “I’d be more than happy to do that, just give me an idea of what you want and I’ll come up with something.”
