“Question,” I said, waiting for her to reply.
“What’s up?”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.Here we go.
“Did I ever mention a guy named Ben to you? He’s a photographer I met on Christmas Eve last year.”
The line went silent and I squeezed my eyes shut, wondering what she was going to say. In all honesty, it didn’t matter how she responded . . . my world had been shifted somehow. The only person who might have answers was Margaret; she was the only constant in my dreams.
“Violet? You still there?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m here. I think I remember you telling me about that guy. Is he the one you met on the trail, and you loved his pictures?”
My heart stopped. “Yes!”
“Oh, and he’s the one who was leaving for the year,” she added. “You wanted to put his photos in our gallery.”
“Yes,” I said again. “He’s back and sending a folder of his pictures to us. I’ll email it all over once I get them.”
“Awesome. I’m excited. It’ll give me something to do today.”
Well . . . she knew about Ben. It made me wonder if she knew anything about Max.
“I have another question for you,” I stated.
Violet giggled. “Okay.”
“Have I ever mentioned a guy named Max to you? I met him two years ago at Nana’s retirement home.”
“I do,” she said. “I was hoping something would come of it when you said you met someone, but I don’t think you ever saw him again.”
“Until today,” I added in.
She squealed. “What? I need the details.”
“I ran into him this morning while visiting Nana. He wants to have dinner.”
Violet shrieked again. “That’s great, sis. I can’t believe you ran into both in the same day. What are the odds of that?”
Exactly. Whatwerethe odds? Something strange was going on and I needed to find out what it was. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking of magic, but magic wasn’t real. Or was it?
“Yeah, it’s a little weird how I saw them both today. I guess the universe is trying to tell me something.”
Violet laughed. “Yeah, it came to its senses and said it’s time you found your happily ever after. I have to say it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. I can’t wait to meet these guys. Who one do you think you’ll like more?”
Ben and Max both seemed great, but I knew little about them.
“I’m not sure,” I answered honestly. “Max and I are hanging out on Friday at the Cocoa and Cookie Craze Festival and then you and I will meet Ben at the Winter Bash on Saturday. Guess we’ll see what happens.”
“Can’t wait. I might have to make an appearance on Friday to meet this Max guy.”
“Go for it,” I said, seeing that night play out in my head. Violet would show up trying to be discreet, but it’ll be obvious she’s there to spy. She was not a subtle person. “Okay, one of the main reasons why I called you,” I continued, “is because I’m looking for Margaret’s phone number. I tried looking in the computer and it’s not there. Do you know if it’s written down somewhere?”
“If it is, I didn’t write it. If it’s not in the computer, I don’t know where it would be. I’m shocked you didn’t ask for it when she bought the paintings.”
“I know,” I admitted. “I don’t know why I didn’t.”
“Is everything okay?” Violet asked. “Why do you need to call her?”
