My phone buzzes again, and I resist the urge to chuck it down the freezer aisle. I have a feeling that it’s Zia again, and I’m right.
I’m learning quickly that when Zia is set on something, she doesn’t let it go. Not a bad quality. It’s just… Why is she so determined to set up Paige? If Paige was really interested in going on a date with Ian, she could ask Zia about the guy at work. I could avoid being the middleman, and Paige and I could keep our dating lives separate. Things could go on like normal.
I click on Zia’s text, reading her most recent addition.
Zia: Or maybe we should have Ian and Paige go on a one-on-one date and get to know each other first.
Great! I couldn’t have planned that better. I’m moments away from texting Zia back to tell her this is a five-star plan when I remember Paige’s diner date a couple weeks ago. I nearly had a heart attack when Paige called me for a rescue using our SOS phrase. What if this Ian isn’t actually a good one? What if he mistreats her? Last time, I was seven minutes away from herdate venue. What if Ian takes her somewhere far away and I can’t get to her, or to a place without reception, where she can’t call me?
Before I know it, my thumbs are moving, and I send the response.
Jordan: No, a double date would be fun. Six on Saturday it is. I’ll pass Ian’s info along to Paige.
A strange mix of relief and dread pools in my stomach. I try to tell myself that what’s done is done, and it’s for the best. And at least I’ll be able to make sure Ian is really worthy of Paige.
But now I have to give Paige Ian’s number, and that’s not just crossing the line we’ve drawn but obliterating it.
Paige unloads her groceries onto the belt, and I put the little bar separator between our stuff and start loading some dairy items on the foot of space remaining.
Paige’s items move forward, closer to our usual cashier, Dove, as the guy before us leaves with his heaping tower of grocery bags.
“Hi, Dove,” Paige says, raising her voice for our hard-of-hearing cashier.
“Oh, hi, sweetie! How’s your summer been?” Dove beams at Paige as if seeing her just brought a splash of joy into the woman’s day. I can’t blame Dove—Paige has that effect on everyone.
“I can’t complain,” Paige says, leaning closer to Dove and speaking louder. “I haven’t seen you for a few weeks. Not since before Mother’s Day. Did you do anything fun?”
“Oh, dear, you don’t have to talk so loud anymore.” Dove taps behind her ears. “Just got myself a pair of hearing aids.” She scans a jar of jam before bagging it.
“That’s wonderful.” Paige smiles, leaning back.
The beeping from the scanner picks up as Dove gets into a rhythm. “I’ll tell you one thing, I sure do love hearing my littlegrandkids again,” she says. “I forgot how wonderful it is to hear their giggling from another room. And the trickling of the stream in my backyard. It’s been far too long since I’ve heard those things.”
Paige looks thoughtful. “I love that. It's like you got life’s soundtrack back.”
“I’ve never thought of it that way, but I think you’re exactly right.” Dove hands Paige her receipt, and Paige pulls our empty cart forward and begins loading it with her bags.
“Hi, Jordan,” Dove says in greeting before eyeing the food I unpacked on the belt. She looks up at me like I’ve been too loud in the library. “I don’t see very many fruits here.”
Paige snorts.
I point a finger at Paige. “Dove, you let Paige get away with a twenty-four-pack of orange soda, and you’re flaggingme?”
Paige gasps dramatically. “Don’t hate on my junk food.”
Dove smiles and starts zipping my lackluster groceries across the scanner. “Yeah, well, Paige is getting more than just apples,” she says, pinning me with a pointed stare.
I pick up my box of Froot Loops, putting it front and center. “Here. Fruit.”
“Paige, help this man,” Dove says.
Paige holds up both her hands. “I’ve tried. He’s very particular about the squish level of his produce.”
Dove just laughs and shakes her head before printing out my receipt and handing it to me. “Have a good night, you two.”
When we get to the parking lot, I pop my trunk open, and Paige and I start loading our groceries in the back. It’s a casual setting, about as good a time as any to obliterate that line.
I take a breath. “Hey, so Zia was wondering if you wanted to go on a double date with us this Saturday. She wants to set you up with Ian, the ten.” I waggle my eyebrows as if the lightheartedgesture could mask the fact that I’m officially meddling with Paige’s dating life.
