One Wish

Bullshit, she thought. He looked completely miserable. “You’re very resilient,” she said. She sipped her beer.

“I guess we’ve all been there,” he said.

“Where?”

“Heartbreak hotel.”

“Hmm. Well, I don’t think I have. I haven’t had my heart broken. Not by a guy, at least.”

Troy appeared to be momentarily frozen. “There’s no polite way to ask this, but has your heart been broken by a girl?”

She giggled. There were times, and this was one of them, that it would feel so good to dump the story on someone, explain how a heart can be broken by ruthless competitors or the media. “No, Troy. I’m perfectly straight. I’m into guys, I just haven’t been seriously involved. I guess it’s not in my nature to be tied down to one guy.”

“No boyfriend, then?”

“Are you fishing?” she asked. “I’ve had some terrific boyfriends, just nothing serious. No steadies, engagements or live-ins.”

“Why haven’t I ever met any of them?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I guess you weren’t around at the same time one of them was. I have a date later tonight, as a matter of fact.”

“Oh? What’s he like?” Troy asked.

“He’s kind of like a medieval knight, but has a gentle, sophisticated side. Big and brawny, very physical but disciplined. He’s also clever. Wise.”

“Fantastic,” Troy said. “Where are you going?”

“We’re staying in, actually. We might watch a movie.”

Troy lifted an eyebrow. “If I popped over unannounced, would I meet him?”

“Very probably. He’s a little possessive but I completely ignore that. Like I said, I’m not one to get serious. Let’s talk about your girlfriends.”

“I don’t kiss and tell.”

She straightened. “Humph. Yet you expect me to!”

“I think you were bragging and maybe stretching the truth. You’re a little weird, Grace. The last time we hung out was Halloween and you were a witch, complete with missing teeth. And you put a hex on me.”

She smiled, remembering. She’d told him she was going to shrink his thing. “How’d that work out?”

“Turns out you’re not much of a witch. So when you say your heart was never broken...”

“Come on, I’ve had my share of disappointments like everyone else, just haven’t had a romance end badly. We can moan about our various letdowns another time, when we’re both drowning our sorrows and feeling sorry for ourselves. Let’s not do that now, okay? I have a feeling if you get started...”

“Did Iris ask you to check on me?”

“Absolutely not. She said you were very grown-up and wished her every happiness. And I must say, buying a Jeep you can’t afford is definitely mature.” Then she grinned at him.

“It’s a great Jeep. Maybe I’ll take you off-road in it sometime. Besides, I only have one person to worry about so if I have trouble paying the bills, it’s not like I’m taking milk out of the baby’s mouth.”

She leaned her head on her hand. “You’re all about fun, aren’t you, Troy?”

“I work two jobs, Grace. I like to think of myself as active.”

“And your favorite activity is?”

“It’s a toss-up between diving and white-water rafting or kayaking. One of the things that brought me to Oregon is the great river trips. I was torn between Colorado, Idaho and Oregon. Oregon had the job. In a town on the water.”

“And you’re a teacher for the time off?”

“And the high pay,” he said, smiling.

“Iris says you’re the most dedicated teacher she knows,” Grace said.

“Iris should raise her standards.”

“Okay, so you’re still a little pissy.”

“I said I’d need a week or two,” he reminded her. He lifted his coffee cup to his lips. “What’s your favorite thing to do with time off?”

She didn’t answer right away. “I need more balance in my life,” she finally said. “That shop gets too much of my time. But it’s a good workout.”

“Flower arranging?” he asked doubtfully.

“I beg your pardon! I stand all day, haul heavy buckets full of fresh-cut flowers in water, deliver hundreds of pounds of arrangements to weddings and other events, get in and out of the back of that van all day, lift heavy pots and props and that’s before I have to clean up and do the books. It’s not for sissies.”

“And for fun?”

“I like to dance,” she said. “I don’t very often, but it’s fun.”

“I bet you were a cheerleader,” he said.

“I was never a cheerleader. I think I could’ve been. But I wasn’t interested.”

“You are the first girl in the history of the world, then.”

“I’m sure I’m not,” she said. “When I was that age I was into ballet, sort of. They are not the same moves at all. That, like flower arranging, takes strength. Plus, I have a bike.”

He raised his eyebrows. “A Harley?”

“A mountain bike. Retired for the winter due to ice, rain, cold and slick roads.” She drank the rest of her beer and put her money on the bar. “I’d love to stay and keep you company but I have a date.” She started for the door and turned back to him. “I’m glad you’re doing well, Troy. I’d like to see what that Jeep can do off-road. Maybe when the weather warms up. And dries up.”

“It’s a date,” he said.

But Grace knew it wasn’t a date. She went back to the shop but didn’t go inside. She went upstairs to her apartment, put some leftover lasagna from Carrie’s deli into the microwave, changed into her soft pajamas and turned on the TV. While her lasagna cooled on the plate she went through the channel guide and settled on some reruns until her favorite shows came on. With her dinner on a tray and her e-reader in her hand, she opened an old and beloved book—The Wolf and the Dove—and settled in with Wulfgar, her medieval knight.

She loved him. And she trusted him.