Chapter 40

After all that excitement, I needed some down time. The best place in the house to do that was the man-cave. As I sat down to watch some TV, the blank spot on the wall where at his house Grandpa’s mirror was situated reminded me of Sunday, which in turn reminded me that I needed to call Trent. My phone came out and Trent answered on the third ring.

“Tim, how are you? Thanks for calling.”

“Hey, Trent. I hear you’re getting used to life in the NCAA. What’s up?”

We shot the breeze for a few minutes before he got down to why he had asked me to call him. “Look, I feel bad for letting my sister down. You were right all along – Andrew wasn’t the guy for her. I hear she’s still unattached and I wondered if you could help me, since your insight into character seems to be better than mine.”

I was hesitant. “Okaaay. What do you need?”

“My roommate,” he started.

I interrupted with a groan.

“No, wait, it’s not like that. My roommate is from Macon, too, and he has a younger brother the same age as you. His brother goes to Central High, so we don’t know him. From what Markus has told me, his brother is a really good guy. Unlike Andrew, Markus and his family go to church. Matt plays baseball for Central but other than that he’s a bit of a nerd, or so I’m told.”

I still didn’t see where I fit into this. “So what, Paige and I are supposed to double with Gloria and her blind date?”

“No, not that at all. Look, we have a bye-week this Saturday, so Markus and I are coming home. What I’d like to do is have you meet me, Markus and Matt for lunch, after which we can hit the batting cages or the driving range or something like that – maybe even go-carts. I just want you to get to know Matt so you can make the judgment call as to whether he’d be good for Gloria. Then you guys can double with her and her blind date.”

Paige would have my hide if this went bad. “You’re killing me, Trent. That’s too much pressure.”

“Look,” he wheedled, “run it by Paige but make her promise not to tell my sister. We’ll meet you at Eddie’s at noon, okay? I’m buying. Oh, and Matt won’t know that you’re there to evaluate him, so be cool. Markus and I just told him that we were getting together with friends to do something fun.”

Against my better judgment I agreed to meet them at one of the best burger joints in the city on Saturday. If nothing else, I’d get some prime beef out of the deal. For now though, I needed to fill in my other half so that things didn’t get weird. I texted her, asking her to meet me in the media room in five. The text had just barely been sent when she came through the door.

“What’s up?”

I had no idea how to explain Trent’s crazy scheme to her, so I just started. “How serious were you and Gloria about making me fix her dating situation?”

“We were just joking. Why do you ask?”

“Well, Trent...”

“Oh, no! Neither of us trust his judgement. He was the one to suggest Andrew for her over your objections. If you think...”

I pulled her into my lap in the middle of her rant and carefully placed a hand over her mouth. “Let me finish, please?”

In response she licked my palm. I wiped it on her sleeve.

“That’s nasty. So as I was saying, Trent has a roommate from Macon who has a younger brother. I have been assured that both guys are upstandingly moral, but even Trent doesn’t trust his own judgement. He apologized to me before he told me his stupid idea.” I waited to see if there were any comments forthcoming.

“I’m listening.”

With a Paige that was open to hear me, I laid out the rest of the plan, including the blind date idea. She was onboard with the first part but promised that she could come up with something better for the second. When I asked why she was okay with it, she answered.

“It’s simple, I trust you. More importantly, so does Gloria. I know how you felt about Andrew before he started to date her, and I told Gloria all of that. We both trust your judgement. If you say this Matt is a good guy, then we’ll move forward with ‘Operation Boyfriend.’”

I laughed. We had gone from ‘no way,’ to providing code names for the mission. “That means you’ll help and you’ll keep this a secret from Gloria?”

“I think it’s safe to say that Red Five, that’s you,” she said, poking me in the chest, “can count on Princess Leia,” her finger turned to indicate herself, “to assist in getting Rey a Han Solo of her own.”

I shook my head disbelievingly. “That was wrong on so many levels! We’re going to have to re-watch all eleven movies as your penance.”

Paige giggled and squirmed in my arms. “That’s cruel and unusual punishment. You can’t make me watch the prequels. Meesa no like.” She snuggled in. “Actually that’s not such a bad idea. Me, you, Gloria, this Matt character. I’ll set it up after you give me the all-clear.”

On Saturday I got up early. It was more than midway through October already but the grass was still growing and needed mowing. I hoped to finish before lunch which meant I needed to get working. Dad interrupted the weeding I was doing to let me know we had to get to the ‘Y’ for our workout. I just laid the hoe down and got in the Tahoe with him. When we came back, instead of taking a shower I grabbed a quick bite and picked up where I had left off. By eleven, everything was in good shape, mowed, weeded, and edged, giving me time to hit the shower before I had to meet the guys. I got a wink from Paige and a surreptitious “Mission is a go,” from her on the way out the door.

Eddie’s was bustling for a Saturday when I got there. Even though it was a few minutes before the appointed time, I saw that the other three were already present. I joined them at the table they had selected, Trent made introductions, we all shook and I was left behind to guard our seats. Trent asked what I wanted and I told him to just get me two of everything he ordered, except for the drink. Breakfast was a long time ago, I was hungry and I had burned a bunch of calories already that day.

They were gone for almost fifteen minutes, but when they returned, I saw that Trent had followed instructions. Like guys everywhere, we didn’t talk much while we were eating. Markus and his brother were almost as big as Trent, but they learned that I out massed them by a good twenty pounds and a couple of inches. I pulled up the pictures on my phone from this summer when Trent asked what I had been doing that kept adding size and muscle to my frame. That’s one way to bond, look at pictures of houses being built. The new guys had a hard time believing that I had been foreman and project manager for the summer, but Trent backed me up.

“You should see the house where he lives. He built that almost single-handedly between the beginning of September and the beginning of December.”

I couldn’t take all the credit, “Come on, Trent. You know that my grandpa and Jose helped and so did Dad when he was at home, plus we had our crew out for a week and then there were all the subcontractors.”

“Whatever,” he said dismissively. “It’s still a really nice place. My sister is over there all the time. Tim’s step-sister and girlfriend is my sister’s best friend – has been since kindergarten.”

Matt and Markus didn’t know if Trent was joking or not. He left it for me to clarify.

“Paige is the daughter of my dad’s first girlfriend. When we moved to Georgia last year, Paige’s mom and my dad renewed their relationship. They were married in May. I started dating Paige about the same time that my dad restarted dating her mother – there’s nothing incestuous about it. Of course it makes it easier to see her since she lives down the hall just past the bathroom from me.”

The guys all agreed that such conditions would indeed make spending time with my girlfriend easier. Having exhausted that topic, we moved on to others. Over lunch and conversation I found that I liked Matt Jenkins, for all that Trent tried to paint him as a nerd. Perhaps part of it was that I was somewhat of a nerd too – science fiction, comic-book-hero movies, schoolwork all played a role in my life as well. That actually got us started on the recent Marvel and Star Wars movies since everyone had an opinion on those. Trent finally got us out the door about one, pointing us in the direction of the local batting cages.

Trent rode with me since he and Markus had carpooled in Markus’ pickup. I was still learning the city, so I had to rely on following the Jenkins brothers and the occasional direction from my buddy. We got to the batting cages and picked up helmets and bats at the rental counter. Three of us opted for the medium-speed machines while Matt, as a member of an organized team, tried the fast-pitch cage. We were just bumming around watching Matt as he got pretty good wood on the ball. Then it was our turn.

Matt’s brother and Trent, trash-talked him the whole time we were there, and Matt just took it with a smile. I was beginning to believe that the Jenkins boys were actually good guys after all, and that Trent may have been right. My phone emerged from my pocket and I gave Paige a call, telling her I was bringing the guys back and that if she wanted to introduce Gloria to Matt, now would be a good time to do it. She could use the pretext of too much testosterone for her to handle all by herself. I’d figure out a way to get rid of the football players later and then it could end up being just the four of us.

Paige agreed, so after we finished with the batting cages, I suggested we go back to my place for the rest of the afternoon. The deal was sweetened when Trent mentioned our media room and how it was like a miniature movie theater. He and Markus agreed to meet us there, leaving Matt to ride with me. I found out that there were brains behind the nerdy, athletic, façade.

“So, Trent’s sister. I assume that’s why we’re headed back to your place?”

“Were we that obvious?” I asked, wincing a little.

“You weren’t, but my brother has mentioned her once or twice and he doesn’t like baseball, so the batting cages were a huge tipoff for me. I assume this Gloria is going to be there so I can accidentally bump into her.”

“You got it in one.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Excuse me?”

“My brother has never set me up with a girl I’d actually want to date. There’s always something wrong with her.”

I laughed, not being able to imagine being on the short end of it all the time from an older sibling. “There’s nothing wrong with Gloria. Wait until you meet her.”

Matt didn’t look so sure. “I don’t know, Markus has burned me before.”

I spotted a parking lot and pulled in, turning off the truck. “Be honest with me here, Matt. What are you looking for in a girlfriend?”

When he answered he impressed me by beginning with qualities of character instead of focusing on the external features.

“Honestly? I want someone loyal, moral, ethical, principled, smart, good sense of humor, likes science fiction, willing to take a risk, a woman with depth, someone who isn’t afraid to introduce me to her friends and who wants to meet mine. I want someone who believes in God, who attends church. Of course, it would be a bonus if she’s really good looking.”

I listened to his list of characteristics and Gloria checked all the boxes for him, he just didn’t know it. “Okay, and how would you describe yourself, honestly?”

“Probably the same – loyal, moral, ethical, principled, smart, athletic, a risk taker occasionally. I play sports, and I’m a team player who is willing to create a team of two, so long as she’s in the game with me.” Matt stopped short. “Look, if you guys took me to lunch and the batting cages to butter me up to meet some stuck-up snob or the girl rejected by everyone at your school, then forget it.”

I could tell he was confused when I started laughing at him. “Is that what you think? We were trying to butter you up?”

“Yeah, that’s my brother’s usual M.O.”

“Well, it’s not Trent’s. Trent is very protective of his sister and the reason you’re here today is because the last guy he thought was right for her turned out to be a dirtbag of sorts. I thought that before she started dating him, but he was Trent’s teammate and I was assured my perception was wrong. It turns out that it wasn’t, so the whole purpose of this afternoon was so that I could vet you. Trent trusts my judgement with his sister, maybe because she’s halfway in love with me and he knows I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her if I could avoid it.”

I started the truck back up. “Now, if what you told me you’re looking for is true, I can tell you that Gloria meets every requirement you have and then some. I’m not worried about her being good enough for you, I’m worried that you won’t be good enough for her. And let me tell you, if you hurt her in any way, my girlfriend will stomp me into the ground and when I get back up, I’m going to make you wish she had done the same to you. After that Trent will get hold of you and then Jake, her younger brother.”

I watched as a smile creased Matt’s face.

“I think I like this girl already. If she makes such good friends that they’re willing to get to know me just to see if I’m right for her, then I want to meet her. Do you have any pictures so I’ll recognize Trent’s sister?”

I left the truck in park and pulled out my phone. There were still some open house photos of me standing between Paige and Gloria and I showed one to Matt. “She’s in the red dress. The other is my girlfriend.”

I heard the intake of air as he looked at the photo. “That is definitely not the reject of Jefferson High. What are we doing sitting here? I’m in.”

“What took you guys so long?” Trent and Markus were sitting in Markus’ truck in our driveway, waiting for me so we could go in together.

“Numnuts here isn’t an idiot,” I responded, jerking a thumb at Matt. “Apparently this isn’t the first time Markus has tried to set him up so he put two and two together and was a little leery about meeting Gloria. I told him that the reason he was with us this afternoon was so I could vet him and that Paige would make me a castrati if he hurt your sister.”

We left the vehicles and walked toward the front door.

“Did you tell him what I’d do to him?” Trent wanted to know.

“Yeah, after I got done with him.”

“Okay then. Are you going to let us in?”

I opened the front door to be met by Dad. Strange vehicles on the yard were just one of the things that brought out the protector in him. He grunted when he saw me. “Tim, Trent. Who are your friends?”

“Dad, the larger one is Markus Jenkins. He’s a football player at UGA and Trent’s roommate. The other one is his younger brother, Matt Jenkins. They live in Macon but attend Central High, or did in Markus’ case.”

“Guys, this is my dad, James McKenzie.”

The guys stuck out their hands and Dad shook them.

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. McKenzie,” Matt said, to be echoed by his brother a moment later.

Dad was looking at Matt, a puzzled expression on his face. “Is your father – Pat?”

“That’s right.”

“And your mother? Caroline? Newbury?”

“Do you know them?”

“Once upon a time I did. Give them my greetings when you get a chance, would you? For now, welcome to our home. I’ll let Tim show you around.”

He made to leave, but I told the guys to wait and caught up to him, steering him into the garage where we could have a private conversation.

“Dad, Trent wants to introduce Gloria to Matt. You knew their parents – tell me, are they good people?”

Dad’s smile bridged the years of memory. “The best, Tim. If those are their boys, I’d even let them date Paige.”

“Hey, there’s no reason to get nasty with me.” I chuckled. “Good, we were worried after the last guy that Trent said was good enough for his sister turned out to be not what we thought.” I walked back into the house with Dad, giving Trent a thumbs-up as I came around the corner and into the foyer.

“Come on guys, let me show you the place.”

We started in the basement before walking through the tour that it seemed everyone got the first time they came over. They got to see the upstairs but not the bedrooms, and we finished with the media room. As Trent had advertised, it was enough to impress the Jenkins. We settled into the seats and started a movie right off. Paige and Gloria hadn’t run into us so I figured it best to wait for them there.

My phone dinged a little while later with an incoming text. When I looked at it, Paige wanted to know where we were. I texted back that we were in the media room. A second text from her asked if I could come out and talk to Gloria for a moment. I told the guys I needed to step out for snacks and they just waved me on. Gloria was sitting in Grandpa’s chair in the living room, not looking very happy.

“What’s up?” I checked with Paige before advancing on Ms. Foster.

She pulled me around the corner and spoke with me in low tones. “Gloria’s mom told her what was going on here. Right now she’s angry with you, with me, with Trent and with this guy she’s never met. Do something.”

I wanted to ask why I was responsible for this mess, I wanted to just tell everyone to go home and not involve the McKenzie-Mercer family in their little soap operas, but instead I said, “Yes, Dear.”

Do something. Do what?

“Paige, could you put on some music in the great room? Bolero would work nicely, I think.”

She looked puzzled, but went to do as I had asked. I in turn walked over to the young woman who was upsetting the vibe of my grandfather’s space, held out my hand to her and waited. Gloria looked at the hand, then my face ... and back to the hand. Reluctantly, she took it, allowing me to gently raise her to her feet. I backed away from her, drawing her along with me until we could clearly hear the soft strains of the opening of the Ravel piece. My stance invited but didn’t demand, so that it was clear that it would be Gloria’s choice whether to accept my arms or reject what I was doing.

It wasn’t a happy young woman who let me place a hand on her back, but I had been fairly confident she would acquiesce. We moved slowly to the music in the room. As one minute passed and began to turn into two, she thawed, nestling into my embrace.

“I’m not all that pleased with you right now,” Gloria told me quietly.

“I know.”

“Why should I trust you after what happened last time?” she accused.

“Good question.” I pulled her in even closer, and now her face was against my neck, my nose in her hair. “You should trust me, I think, because I want you to be happy, and you know I won’t intentionally do anything to hurt you.” I breathed in her scent. “By the way you smell really nice, Gloria.”

“Stop it,” was uttered, but there was no conviction behind it.

“Would it help if I said Matt was a good guy? Would it help if I said I’m only part of this because your older brother trusts my judgement, and he knows you got hurt with Andrew because he recommended a poor match for you? Would it help if I told you I’m only doing this because you called in Paige’s marker at church which made this a religious crusade?”

Again, “Stop it,” but this time with an undercurrent of mirth.

“You’re beautiful, Gloria, inside and out. Any guy who would try to diminish that is not the man for you. You can’t demand vibrancy and warmth and love from a heart, but when it’s freely given, you can accept the gift, and nourish the spirit that offered up so much of herself.” I simply held her and swayed to the rhythm we were creating.

“Do you promise he’s a nice guy?”

“No, but I promise that you’ll have the opportunity to find out for yourself if you’re willing.” I pulled Gloria even closer into a hug. “Now, shall we get some snacks from the kitchen and make an entrance?”

Her eyes were closed as I released Paige’s friend and then backed away from her. The only touch we maintained was fingertips. Finally they, too, drifted apart. Paige turned off the music and came to collect Ms. Foster. “Come on. Let’s go see what the cat dragged in.”

I was left to pull together chips from the pantry and drinks from the fridge to take with me into the man-cave, the girls following behind.

The opening of the door signaled the guys that their refreshments were here. Trent hopped out of his seat and started to help me when the girls came through behind me. I swear, I had never before seen love at first sight, but I did that day. Gloria’s eyes met Matt’s, and that was all she wrote. We introduced Paige and Gloria to the brothers, and all the polite responses were spoken, but her gaze never left the younger Jenkins.

The guys made an effort to vacate chairs in an attempt get the women properly seated. We had almost settled in when in what happened to be the most awkward timing, Trent reminded Markus that they had to go over a few plays yet, and that his playbook was at the Foster residence. I saw them to the front door.

“Smooth, Trent, real smooth.” Sarcasm dripped from my words. “Neither of them is an idiot. They both knew why they were here today.”

Trent looked embarrassed. “Yeah, sorry. Watch out for her, would you Tim? And pound Markus’ brother if he screws up.”

“My pleasure.” I shook hands with him to seal the pact.

“Markus, it was good to meet you. Remember to pass my dad’s greetings to your folks.”

We shook hands as well.

“I will. Good luck with Matt and Gloria. You have my permission to step up and teach him a lesson or two if he needs it.”

That was funny. “Don’t worry, between the three of us and Jake, I think he’ll be on his best behavior for a long time.”

The front door closed behind the guys and I returned to the media room, wondering what I’d find.

Mrs. Swift’s question echoed off my lips when I saw the scene in the man-cave, “How long have they been like that?”

Gloria and Matt were still standing, still grasping each other’s hand in a shake long gone dormant. They were talking animatedly, compressing a whole first date’s worth of exploration into five minutes. Paige was seated, already enjoying some of the chips and cokes I had brought.

“They’re still working on their greeting. It’s so perfect it’s making me sick.” She stood up as I approached, and then she occupied my lap, placing her arms around my neck. “And what’s with this religious crusade nonsense? You know that’s the kind of stuff you’re supposed to save for me.”

“I do, but who needed it this afternoon?”

“That’s why I’m actually not mad at you.” She looked over at the clasped hands and rapid fire conversation. “How long do you think this will last?”

“Not too much longer. Things that intense take a toll on the male psyche.”

As if to prove me right, Matt raised Gloria’s hand to his lips before turning to me. “Could you give me a lift home, Tim? My brother seems to have abandoned me here. I’m not complaining about that by the way.”

I was a little surprised that he was leaving so soon after meeting Gloria, but their body language didn’t indicate that there was anything wrong, so I simply removed my girl from my lap and escorted Matt to the front door, followed by the women. As we exited, Matt commented that he’d see both ladies on Friday.

We hopped in my pickup and I followed directions to Matt’s house which was pretty well all the way across town from us – probably the reason he didn’t go to our school. As I dropped him off, I needed an answer to his cryptic announcement.

“Matt, care to explain why you’re going to see my girlfriend on Friday?”

“Oh!” He exclaimed, startled. “Gloria told me we were double dating with you two. If you call me this week, we can work out the details.”

“That makes sense. See you Friday then.”

Gloria was still at my place fifteen minutes later when I got back, chattering excitedly with Paige. I interrupted.

“Sweet Pea, did you make our reservations for the Symphony this week?”

There was a mischievous sparkle in Paige’s eyes. “Friday, wasn’t it? They told me I got the last two seats.”

“Good, good. I’ve already contracted with the service to take us into the city for that evening. I made sure to get the smaller car so that Mom and Dad can’t crash our outing.”

Gloria looked dismayed. “You can’t do that. You’re coming on my date with Matt.”

Paige was laughing at her friend. “And just when were you going to let us know about that?”

“What do you mean? You agreed before Matt left.”

Aunt June had pregnancy brain for a while but that was due to the hormones coursing through her body. Gloria had Marvin the Martian brain, just add water, or in her case ... Matt.

“I don’t know what conversation you had, but Paige and I were definitely not part of it. Friday you say?

“Paige, are we free on Friday?”

“Well, until the check clears for the Symphony tickets, we have no plans. I suppose we could do something. Someone needs to ask though.”

Ah yes, the whole asking part. “Paige, I would like to spend some time with you on Friday evening. Will you go out with me that night?”

“I had planned to wash my hair, but you asked so nicely. Yes, we can do something. What do you have in mind?”

“Let me check with my social secretary.” I caught the eyes of Paige’s friend.

“Gloria, what is there to do in Macon, Georgia on a Friday night?”

Gloria’s look could have re-solidified butter. “You guys are hilarious. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? Plan the date?”

Paige saved me. “I don’t know. Usually the ones who do the roping are the ones who plan the date. It sounds like you and Matt need to have some conversations. I’ll have you know that I’m accustomed to the ‘Tim McKenzie dating experience’ and the bar is set awfully high. Whatever you decide on, we’ll pay our half, but you and Matt need to put some effort into it. Let us know.”

Paige took Gloria back to her house after that. Mom and Dad and I made supper together, waiting for the fourth member of the family to return. When she did, we ate, and then since she hadn’t helped, Paige got to wash dishes. I volunteered to dry so she didn’t have to do double duty. She was hesitant in regard to what had happened that afternoon.

“Are we doing the right thing here, Tim?”

I dried the pot lid that was in my hand before answering. “I don’t think we did much more than introduce two people to each other. What’s so wrong with that?”

“It just feels weird to think that the little bird might be leaving the nest.”

I almost dropped the pot that went with the lid I had recently dried. My laughter seemed to make Paige upset. “You’re kidding me. That’s what this is about? She’s not your child, Paige, she’s your friend and she’s the same age as you are, and she’s already demonstrated quite conclusively that she knows how to make good decisions.”

“I know.” She threw the sponge into the soapy water. “I know! I just wish she wasn’t moving forward without us.”

I put the pot down, captured her hands and dried them with the dishtowel so I could use them to pull her along with me to the chairs in the breakfast nook.

“Paige,” I said when she was sitting comfortably beside me where she belonged, “everyone has the right to be the hero of their own story. When she was around us, she wasn’t. She was the third wheel, a minor character in our narrative. Yes, she wanted what you had, and if you were out of the picture, she might have been able to have it. But you’re here, and she needs to find someone who can make her happy like you make me. We owe it to her to become supporting players in the narrative she’s building.”

Paige digested what I had said, “So, by forcing her to work with Matt to plan the double date, we’re getting her to shift the focus back onto her own storyline?”

“If it helps you to think of it like that, yes.”

She wasn’t done yet. “Where am I in your tale?”

“You? You’re half of the main characters in my life story. You bring joy and color and depth to the tapestry around me and I see us riding matching horses off into the sunset together.” I decided to change the question up for her. “How do you see yourself in your monologue?”

“You know, sometimes I don’t like you all that much.” She kissed me so I figured she was joking. “Questions like that make me examine my actions.” I heard a breath.

“You know how last year you said there was a, ‘Fun Paige,’ and a, ‘Bratty Paige?’”

“Spoiled, I believe I used the word spoiled.”

“Hush up, I’m trying to share something. ‘Spoiled Paige,’ was the main character, but she was sitting out the action onstage, waiting for good things to happen. ‘Fun Paige,’ was the hero. She was engaged, she interacted with peripheral and not-so-peripheral characters, she intertwined her story with others, bringing that depth to the tapestry. But to some extent, there’s still an element of reserve within her that houses, ‘Spoiled Paige’ – the anti-hero that keeps trying to make the active character slow down, allow her play to be overshadowed by another’s. That element needs to be exorcised.”

I ran my hand up and down her arm, comforting her as she sat next to me. “How do you do that?”