He laughed. “That would be a big fat never, but why does that even matter? Joyce asked me to go, and there’s nothing I would rather do than spend time with her. Besides, how hard can it be? You just close your eyes and sit there like a lump on a log. I’m willing to give it a try. Hell, I do that almost every day, anyway.” He held up his index finger. “The difference is, I now get to do it with a very special lady, even though we won’t be allowed to talk much or use our phones. It’s a real retreat.”
“And I get to do it with a very special man.” Grandma Joyce smiled. “We’d better get back home and start packing since we’re leaving in a couple of hours. We’ll be gone for just two nights and we’ll be off-the-grid as you kids like to say, since we will be checking our mobile phones at the front desk when we get there. But we’ll be sure to give you both a call when we get back. We can do a double-date!”
Lori and I said goodbye to Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Wayne and watched them walk back to his car, holding hands the entire time.
I was jealous.
I continued to stare in their direction even after they got in the car and drove away. “Huh.”
Lori nodded, also watching them disappear in the distance. “I was just about to say the same thing.”
“I’m a little bit in shock right now. I know our goal was to set them up, but I guess I’m just surprised that everything went according to plan. And they’re already going away together. How long has it been since they met? Seventy-two hours?”
Lori nodded. “Something like that.”
I glanced at her. “It happened so fast. I guess when you know, you know.”
She smiled, not responding, but not taking her eyes off me.
We stepped off to the side so the promo assistants could start disassembling the booth and packing things back inside the radio station van.
Lori was quiet, but then glanced at me, smiling. “Do you have any plans for tomorrow?”
I shook my head. “No. You?”
“Nope. How about if we do something?”
I cocked my head to the side. “You mean like a date?”
Lori laughed “Yes. Like a date or something. A wise man once told me that when you see something you like, you’d be foolish not to start enjoying it immediately.”
I chuckled. “Well then, we’d better get started. What did you have in mind?”
“Let me think about that. I’ll let you know in the morning.” Lori kissed me.
It was kiss number five that Lori had initiated.
She pulled away from the kiss, studying me. “Are you okay?”
No.“Yeah.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded a little too much. “I’m great.” More ridiculous nodding. “See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” Lori smiled. “See you tomorrow.”
She squeezed my hand and walked toward her car.
After she pulled out of the parking lot, I decided to walk back to the adoption center to say goodbye to Kaitlyn before I went home.
Okay, that wasn’t exactly the truth.
There was a strong force urging me to go inside and I wasn’t going to fight it.
I had to go see about a dog.
Chapter Twenty-Two
