Jenny moved her chair a bit so Lily-Grace could take the seat beside her. “I just told her the plan,” she said.
“And I am devastated. I was going to bid on your dad,” Mrs. Yang replied.
“With what money?” Jenny laughed.
“I’m secretly rich. Don’t worry about it,” Mrs. Yang said.
“Mrs. Yang. Question for you. What about Mr. Yang?” Lily-Grace asked. To her knowledge, Jenny’s parents had been happily married for decades.
“There is nothing wrong with a backup husband.”
Lily-Grace gasped, placing her hand on her chest. “Papa LeRoux is no one’s runner-up.”
“Just as well. I can’t compete with Leona. Look at those earrings.” Lily-Grace followed her gaze toward the ballroom door, where Miss Leona had just glided in with her granddaughters. Lily-Grace considered going over to greet them, but she didn’t want to drop any hints that they were already in cahoots once the bidding started.
“She is quite the fashionista.” Lily-Grace picked up the program on the table, filled mostly with ads from local small businesses, including the Yangs’ B and B. She flipped to the first page of contestants. Each entrant was given a half page with their headshot and a short bio. “We know anyone else in this?” she asked Jenny.
“My stupid sometimes boyfriend. And I heard Neddy Davis’s mom entered him.”
“Aww, Ned.” The short white kid sat next to Lily-Grace in seventh grade social studies. He was quiet and sweet, and loved telling Lily-Grace about his favorite R & B songs of the day. It would have been annoying as hell with anyone else, but there’s something about Neddy. He was the best.
“He goes by Ned now,” Mrs. Yang said. “His wife left him, which I think was a bad move. He makes a lot of money. Best Realtor in town.”
“Well, dang.” Lily Grace kept flipping through the program. She smiled when she got to her father’s profile. He was wearing his “fancy” glasses and his favorite tie in the photo. Scanning his bio, she tried not to dwell too much on the mention of his four grown children. She hadn’t asked if he’d told Mrs. Lovell about his other kids. He still loved them, but he didn’t bring them up to Lily-Grace very often, for obvious reasons. She flipped to the next page and her eye almost twitched at the color insert highlighting two last-minute entries. Jesse and Lilah Pleasant.
She gave Jenny a light jab. “Did you see this?”
“Surprise?”
“You knew?”
“Yeah. I told you he’d be here.”
“Yeah, ‘cause he helps with the auction or ’cause his family donated a million dollars to the cause. Not because he was in the mix.”
“He’s in the mix. Get your wallet ready.”
“Yeah, no. If he can’t send a text, I’m definitely not paying for him to hang out with me. Sorry.” Lily-Grace had more snark on the situation, right on the tip of her tongue, but Mrs. Donatelli, the owner of Chip Chip Hooray, the best ice cream spot in town, stepped onto the stage.
“Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us tonight for our annual community date auction. Just a few announcements before we get started.” She lied about “a few,” instead launching into an abridged but painfully long history of Charming before she got to the rules for the auctions. “There will be a reception, poolside, following the auction, for all of our donors, winners, and their dates. Now let me bring out our emcee for the evening. You might all know him from local fire station No. 332, right here in the heart of Charming. Proof that this auction can lead to true love, Omar Harrison. The room broke out in applause as the house lights dimmed a bit.
“His wife bid on him a couple years back,” Mrs. Yang explained as Omar went to the mic and got the evening started. First up, Will Barzelay, the new assistant basketball coach over at the high school. Everything about him was pretty average, but he came with dinner for two at the Charming Inn. A giggly woman and her friend in the front row joined forces to come up with the winning bid. Lily-Grace smiled, taking in the charm of her hometown and the people in it.
As each entrant graced the stage and went to the highest bidder, Lily-Grace anxiously awaited her father’s turn and did her best not to think about which woman was going to take Jesse Pleasant on whatever Pleasant family-related date he had planned. It would probably be a free snack from the mini bar at the ranch, followed by a really uncomfortable conversation about homemade dog food. She pitied whichever woman decided to pay for that outing.
Finally her father came onto the stage. For some silly reason tears rose to her eyes when he spotted her in the dim room and waved. She waved back and blew him a kiss.
“Now, ladies,” the MC went on. “We have a real gem tonight. Mr. LeRoux is a pillar of our community who has probably given financial advice to half the people in this room. A father to extremely successful grown children, he is looking for someone to discuss the expandedStar Trektelevision universe with. Our winner will join this fine gentleman for an evening of dinner and your choice of dancing or a trip to the Trappman observatory.”
“He’s mine,” some woman yelled from the far side of the room as Lily-Grace’s dad held up his hand in Vulcan greeting. Lily-Grace couldn’t see who it was, but the whole ballroom burst out in laughter.
“I think we should get this bidding started then.” The MC took the first bid, from that same shouty woman. Two more women bid, including Mrs. Donatelli. Her husband passed away when Lily-Grace was an undergrad. She hadn’t remarried. Maybe Mrs. Donatelli had an eye on her father. Finally, Mrs. Lovell piped in with a ridiculously high bid. Gasps around the room mirrored Lily-Grace’s own shock.
“Oh, that’s too much money,” Mrs. Yang said sarcastically. People close to their table laughed.
“Who can top that, folks?” the MC said, giving Mr. LeRoux a light pat on the shoulder.
Shouty Gal’s hand flew up in the air, adding a significant amount to Mrs. Leona’s current bid. That’s when the murmurs started. Ice cream must be doing very well, because Mrs. Donatelli was not out of the game yet, either. She called out her bid. Lily-Grace loved her father, but this she did not expect. He’d already topped the bid for Mike Crowe, the sheriff’s deputy with an eight-pack and a jaw that could cut glass. He was so fine, Lily-Grace and Jenny almost bid on him. But he was old news now.
