Who Needs Cupid? Read online

  He didn’t say anything right away. They seemed to silently agree to find their own personal space among the runners before talking. Around the middle of the second lap, Max said, “Jane is a good person, but I don’t think there’s much joy in her life. Not sure why. Your parents always seemed happy.”

  That made Elle think. Her father, for sure, had been an easygoing person. Everyone in town loved him. He’d pump gas for old ladies, long after full-service went out of fashion. He was notorious for extending credit to people who were equally notorious for not being able to pay. The only time she could ever recall her parents arguing was over money. Their mother had handled the books for the service station, a chore Jane later took over.

  “Obviously they loved each other,” she said, slowing down enough to talk. She wasn’t in nearly as good shape as she had been when she’d moved home. She’d worked in sales for a software company that believed strongly in keeping its employees fit. An on-site gym had been just one of the perks. But since opening the Cup, those darn mochas were catching up with her. “What with Mom dying of a broken heart and all.”

  Max missed a step. “I hate to disagree, but dying after losing a mate, doesn’t necessarily define the quality or quantity of feelings you had for that person.”

  Elle felt her cheeks turn even warmer than they already were. “Damn, if I had a spare foot it would be in my mouth. Sorry about that.”

  His smile let her off the hook. “If I’d have died a few weeks after Sarah, she’d have smacked me upside the head and made me get back in my body. She didn’t suffer fools lightly. When her cancer came back, she told me right there in the doctor’s office, ‘This is it. I fought a good fight, but I’m not going to make beating cancer my new job. It’s going to win, Max, and you are going to have to go on without me.’”

  Tears filled Elle’s eyes. She’d never met Max’s wife. The few times she’d returned home to visit her parents and sister, she’d never seemed to find time to call up her old friends. “Jane said she was a really good person. A saint, I believe, were her exact words.”

  Max hooted so loud people turned to look at them. “Sarah would be the first to laugh at that. She was a wonderful mother, an honest banker and big Bulls fan, but she wasn’t perfect. Nobody is, Elle.”

  His words were still echoing in her mind an hour later when she watched him bend over to take a drink from the water fountain. She wanted to reach out and touch his hair. A stray lock, damp from sweat, had fallen over one ear. But she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her heavy coat and looked around instead.

  Her loud intake of air must have sounded like a gasp of fear or shock because Max looked up so fast water trickled down his lips. “What?”

  Heart pounding in the silliest way, she pointed. “Am I having a déjà vu moment?”

  A six-foot long banner, crudely written in red and pink block print surrounded by extravagant arrow-pierced hearts, proclaimed: The Winter Ball. Saturday. February 17. Bring Your Valentine.

  Max wiped the water from his mouth and took a deep breath. He’d grown more or less inured to the many social events taking place around him. He volunteered to chapterone—or rather was required to chaperone—two or three per year. This had never been one he’d chosen.

  “Some things never change,” he said, striving for casual. “The administration tried to combine this dance with the Sadie Hawkins a few years ago, but it didn’t work. No matter how sophisticated the kids get, there’s a core group that still likes their social functions.”

  She was staring at the banner as if it had some power over her. Max decided now was the time to put their old demons to rest. “Elle, let it go.”

  “Huh?” She looked at him. “What do you mean?”

  “This was the dance that didn’t happen between us. We both know that, but I think you’re reading way too much into it.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I was a stupid, shallow twit, Max. I thought I’d blown it with the love of my life. He broke up with me a month later when I refused to put out. How could I have been so stupid?”

  He’d always hated it when she belittled herself. “Would it make you feel better if I told you I only asked you to the dance because I was hoping to get laid, and rumor had it you were easy?”

  Her mouth dropped open and a second later she gave him a shove that made him stumble backward. “That is not true.”

  He grinned. “I know. I just wondered if it would make you feel better if I told you that.”

  She started laughing. “You’re crazy.”

  “I know.”

  “I really have felt guilty about dropping you when Kyle came groveling.”

  Kyle. Right. Kyle Peterson. Super jock. Super jerk. “I know. But, just for the record, you didn’t break my heart beyond repair. Slightly bruised, I’ll admit, but nothing that time and a few sexual encounters in college couldn’t cure. So, can we finally put this to rest? We all make mistakes in high school. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t.”

  She took a deep breath and let it out. Then she held out her hand. “You’re a good person.”

  “At the risk of sounding redundant…again, I know. Hey, I almost forgot. I told my daughter-in-law I’d swing by and spend a couple of hours with Amber so she could run to the store. Wanna come?”

  “Won’t Amber be jealous?”

  “Not if you bring her black olives. Her parents don’t like her to have candy, but she’s a sucker for black olives.”

  “If we could swing by the Cup, I just happen to have a can left over from my tortilla soup. I’m in.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “NICE PLACE,” Elle said an hour later.

  She was sitting on the floor of his son’s family room, cross-legged, in stocking feet, with his granddaughter settled snugly in her lap. Amber hadn’t warmed to Elle immediately, but about half a dozen black olives had done the trick. Now, Max was feeling a little left out.

  He glanced around. “Yeah. Sarah helped them buy it before she died. I mean, she helped them fill out all the first-time buyer applications, cross all the t’s, etcetera. She was really good with that stuff. Maybe that’s why she and Jane were friends. They both liked numbers.”

  “Huh? Your wife and Jane were friends? Jane never mentioned that. Come to think about it, Jane has never mentioned having friends, other than Phil. I know she’s active in the community and at church, but I guess I’ve never really seen that side of her.”

  He shrugged. “They weren’t close, but they probably had lunch together once or twice a month.”

  “Hmmm,” she murmured, bending down to whisper something in Amber’s ear. The baby girl chortled and flopped sideways, holding out her arms toward Max.

  “Rumpa,” she called. Her language skills were pretty advanced, but her name for grandpa hadn’t changed since the word first came out of her darling little mouth.

  He moved off the couch and walked on his knees to where the two were sitting. Amber more or less launched herself into his arms. “Hey, presh, let’s show off for Elle.” He helped the child stand, and then they swung their arms back and forth to the tune of “Ring Around the Rosie.” Amber knew about half the words.

  “Wow,” Elle cried, clapping gaily. “That’s amazing. My little girl loved that song. We’d dress up like princesses and dance till we were dizzy.”

  “I bet you were a cool mom. Fun and adventurous.”

  Her smile faded. “I don’t know about that, but Nora is a pretty fabulous person. Graduated from college with honors. Had a bunch of job offers in the Bay area, but decided she wasn’t ready to settle down. Right now, she’s entertainment director for a cruise line. She books performers and handles the shows. When she has time off, she goes into the villages—not where the tourists are, but the ones that are really poor and don’t have running water and schools, and passes out books and money and toys. I donate to her cause every month. Not a lot, but a little goes a long way when there’s no bureaucracy involved.”

  Max had no i
dea, but he wasn’t surprised. Elle always had had more depth than anyone in town gave her credit for. “What time do you have to be back at the Cup?” he asked.

  “Four. I considered closing early on weekends, but we get enough theatergoers to make it worthwhile.”

  Max shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re open seven days a week.”

  She shrugged. “I have good help on the weekends, thank heavens. I almost never have to go in on Sunday. And if business keeps picking up I’ll be able to hire another person during the week. Did I tell you we’ve seen a twenty percent hike in sales since the Wifi went in?”

  “That’s good. Do you have plans tomorrow?”

  She nodded. “Absolutely. Laundry, grocery shopping. I have to make up the menus for the rest of the week. And I thought about going to church to support Lucky. Did you hear about Josh’s plan?”

  He could tell his question made her uneasy—hence her change of topic. “I did.” And even though he knew and liked Josh, he didn’t want to talk about the church or its pastor. “So, would you go out on a date with me?”

  “Huh?”

  Not the answer he was hoping for. “Brunch. Next Sunday. My son in Chicago wants me to meet his new friend. Um, did I mention that he’s gay? Meeting your child’s lover for the first time is awkward regardless of their sex, so I thought maybe having you along would make things easier.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Why? Because I’m from the San Francisco area?”

  He laughed. “No. Because you’re nice.”

  “Oh.” She didn’t speak for a moment. “How do you feel about him being gay?”

  He shrugged. “Jared is who he is, and he’s a really fine person. His mother had a rough time accepting the truth when he was in high school, which can be brutal when someone is different.”

  “Tell me about it,” Elle murmured.

  “But they reconciled completely before she died.”

  Elle got to her feet, then bent over and picked up Amber. “I’m glad. I know what it’s like to feel disapproval from someone you love over something you have very little control over. That probably didn’t make sense, but you know what I mean, right?”

  He did. “Your sister doesn’t know about Jared.” At her look of shock, he qualified, “At least, I don’t think she does. The last time we talked about some question on my taxes, she asked me when we were going to match my unmarried son to her very eligible daughter. I gathered she’d been trying to pair the two up since high school. Apparently she and Sarah never spoke of the subject of Jared’s sexuality. Or, maybe like me, she just didn’t want to burst Jane’s bubble of denial.”

  “Odd. I wonder what Jane’s going to say when she finds out her daughter has a crush on a divorced man with a child?”

  A door closed and the sound of voices, Amber’s parents returning from shopping, ended the conversation. Max and Elle said their goodbyes and left.

  As he opened the passenger door for her, he remembered that they’d gotten off track and she hadn’t answered him about the brunch date. When he brought it up again, she said, “I’m afraid I have to pass. I have a lot to do to get things set up for the Valentine’s Day party at the Cup.”

  “I understand. Then how about a movie next Saturday night? They’re doing a Movies of the Seventies revival at the old Grand Theater.”

  She looked skeptical. “Haven’t they heard of Netflix?”

  “Theater popcorn can’t be replicated in a microwave. I don’t care what Orville Redenbacher says.”

  Her laugh was sweet and tantalizing and almost enough of a push to make him confess that he’d been manipulating her Web page so only total losers—and his bogus mystery men—were showing up in her In box. But not quite. Call him superstitious, but this time he wasn’t taking any chances. He’d show up on Valentine’s Day at Cup O’Love and declare himself. The rest would be in Cupid’s hands.

  ON THE FOLLOWING Monday morning, Elle was at her desk, putting the finishing touch on her food order. Business had been steadily picking up. Nearly a dozen people—mostly women—had signed up for the dateathon. And everyone, except Elle, it seemed, was getting hits from interesting, eligible men.

  Becca and Lucky tried to reassure Elle that she was still “dating material,” but Elle had to wonder. Fortunately the upturn in business was keeping her too busy to fret about her apparently polluted dating pool. A steadily increasing number of people were showing up to make use of the WiFi—and buy coffee and other goodies. She was about to e-mail her wholesaler, when the phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Mom?”

  “Nora?”

  “Who else? Unless you’ve recently given birth or adopted without telling me.”

  Elle felt a serene warmness wash over her. She loved her daughter, her voice, her humor. “Nope. You’re my one and only.” She tried to keep her tone light, but Nora wasn’t fooled.

  “What’s wrong? You sound blue.”

  “You’re right. It’s probably that light deprivation sickness I’ve heard about. Either that or I’m sick of not getting along with your aunt.”

  Nora groaned. “I told Bjarne things probably hadn’t improved on that front.”

  Elle sat up straight. “Bjarne? Who’s Bjarne?”

  Nora let out an uncharacteristic giggle. “A coworker. Well, he works in corporate, but he’s great, Mom. He plays five instruments and speaks four languages. Or is it the other way around? He’s from Denmark. Blond hair, blue eyes and smart, Mom. Oh my God, he’s so smart. You’re going to love him when you meet him.”

  “You’re bringing him home to meet your mother? Wow, that’s a first.”

  Elle didn’t mean for the observation to sound critical. This really would be a first. Although Nora had mentioned other boyfriends from time to time, she’d never gushed about one and never suggested that he might be a part of her life long enough to visit the Midwest.

  “We have two weeks at the end of the month, and we decided to fly to Chicago and rent a car. We’ll stay with you a few days then drive to New York. His parents are going to be in the States on business and they’ll meet us there. Maybe you could fly out for a couple of days, too.”

  “Wow, this really is serious, isn’t it?” Elle said softly. “Oh, honey, I’m so happy for you. Can you e-mail a photo when you’re in port next? I’d love to see him.”

  They talked about all the vitals: how they met, why they’re perfect for each other, what they think might happen down the road. Elle was thrilled for her daughter, and just a little bit bluer when she hung up.

  Her baby had probably been the most independent child on the planet, which had been a boon considering how much growing up Elle had had to do as a young mother, but that self-reliance was a mixed blessing, now. If Nora and this young Dane married, they would probably spend their time split between two countries with a very wide ocean separating them.

  For a time, Elle had been able to pretend that by coming home to the Falls, she’d set the stage for the last part of her life quite nicely. She would have family nearby—a sister and niece whom she could call on if something happened. She’d even fantasized that Nora would be so charmed by the quaint little town that she’d relocate here, too, once she got over her wanderlust.

  But the chances of that bucolic scene happening seemed like pure fiction. Jane didn’t want anything to do with Elle, and she’d ordered Elle to stay away from Rebecca. Her business was at a make or break stage. She only had so many productive years left to add to her retirement fund, and presently the Cup O’ Love was more a drain on her energy, her health and her resources.

  “Give me one good reason to stay,” she muttered under her breath as she rocked back in her father’s cranky old chair.

  A loud screech made her wince. If that was an answer, it was pretty lame. But with a tiny stretch of the imagination, she could almost hear the word “Max” in its echo.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “DID WE LIKE THOSE movies back when we were
young?” Elle asked, discreetly trying to dislodge a kernel of popcorn from between her back molars.

  Max laughed. “In my own defense, I don’t think I saw any spaghetti Westerns back then. My friends and I liked to pretend that we were too smart for such plebian pulp. We’d get somebody’s parent to drive us to the city to watch something with subtitles.”

  They paused in the foyer of the old theater to zip up their jackets. Temperatures had dropped steadily throughout the week. Word of a storm—a big one—was on everybody’s lips. They’d had flurries off and on all winter, but the really bad stuff had missed them.

  Until now, Elle thought, when Max opened the heavy door for her step outside. The bite in the air chilled her lungs when she inhaled. “I had to give up on foreign films. I become engrossed in the action and forget to read until it’s too late.”

  “Ah…the beauty of DVDs. I have a couple I bet you’d like. You’ll have to come over some time for a marathon culture immersion. Instead of popcorn, we can eat treats endemic to the country. Edemame for Rashomon, arguably Kurosawa’s best, I’m sure you’ll agree,” he said teasingly. “Croissants and brie for Amelie. I promise you’ll love it. And…what would be appropriate for a Russian film? We could watch either Andrei Rublev or War and Peace.”

  “Umm…vodka?”

  “Vodka! Perfect. Sarah was a connoisseur. Some people claim that potato vodka is the best, but Sarah was a grain enthusiast. I’ll buy her favorite.”

  They turned right to get to where Max’s car was parked. As they strolled down Main Street, Elle decided Fenelon Falls had never looked better. The deco-shaped reproduction streetlights glowed like orange candle flames, giving the scene a Norman Rockwell painting quality.

  She tried to mute her curiosity but was only a few steps beyond a circle of light cast by the theater’s marquee when she said, “Somehow I can’t picture your churchgoing banker wife as a vodka drinker.”

  He took her arm—in the way people do when they’re walking on icy ground—and pulled her close so their shoulders touched. “Sarah came from a big, boisterous Polish family. They all smoke and drink and eat raw hamburger and onions.” He shuddered. “They tell me it’s an acquired taste, but I think it’s genetic. Both my sons like the stuff.”