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“But that’s just it. These women decide they want Steven, but what they really want is to be ‘Mrs. Steven Gherring.’ It has nothing to do with caring about him and putting him first.”
“If she tries to take advantage of him like that, I’ll beat her up.”
“That’s more like it,” laughed Gram.
“But we should at least give her a chance, don’t you think?”
“I’ll reserve my judgment, but do you have a backup plan?”
“I’m evaluating everyone I meet as possible wife candidates. That is… every smart, pretty, sophisticated female between the age of thirty and forty.”
“Humph! How did you come up with that age range?”
“First off, Mr. Gherring always goes out with younger women, so that must be what he likes. But personally, I think girls under age thirty just don’t have enough life experience to go with Steven. And over forty, they’re not pretty enough and too set in their ways to change. You know how it is. Marriage is all about compromise. It’ll be hard enough for Mr. Gherring, having been single for so long, without saddling him with a bossy woman who’s inflexible.”
“It does seem like you’ve given this a lot of thought, but we may have to re-evaluate along the way. I’m having dinner with Steven tonight. He somehow discovered I’m staying in town, and he’s a little suspicious.”
“But he can’t know we’re plotting against him—I mean, plotting for him—can he?”
Gram laughed. “Don’t worry, dear. I have a feeling this time I’m going to get my way.”
“I’m glad I’m on your team and not playing against you.”
“We can talk on Sunday night when you bring the girls to dinner. I’ll send a car for you.”
“Thanks Gram, that’ll be great.”
“Bye, now. Have fun with your girls.”
“Thanks, I will. Bye.”
Soon Anne was immersed in the presentation again. Time flew by until Sam and Tanner stopped by her desk. “I figured you wouldn’t stop working if we didn’t come get you,” said Sam.
“Ready for lunch already?”
“It’s after noon, sweetie.”
Anne picked up her cell phone. “You’re right.” She hit save and closed her laptop. “Let’s go. I want to hear everything that’s happened between y’all. And I want to hear both of you admit I was right.” She began singing “Matchmaker” from Fiddler on the Roof.
Gherring’s voice came from his doorway. “I didn’t know you could sing.”
Anne choked as she twirled to face him. “Mr. Gherring, I didn’t know you were there.”
“Don’t stop on my account; you have a nice voice—”
“We’re going to lunch. Would you like to come?”
“No thanks. I think I’m going to take a nap. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
Anne felt the blood rush to her face. Sam and Tanner were staring at her. She escaped to the elevator while they trailed behind her.
“Wait up. Why are you so embarrassed? You actually sing really well,” said Sam.
As the elevator doors closed, Anne saw Gherring chuckle before giving an exaggerated yawn.
After lunch, Anne called Jared and Jeff to make sure they were on schedule with turning in their PowerPoint data. Both agreed to bring up what they had before five o’clock.
She wondered what it would take to do something more than being a secretary. Perhaps if she went back to school and got an MBA, she could have a job like Jeff’s. It would be exciting to have an important job and travel around the world. She didn’t regret the decision she’d made to pursue motherhood rather than a career. But what was to stop her from doing something different with her life? With the confidence she gained from taking on this job and moving to New York, something entirely out of her comfort zone, maybe she could do something really interesting. Maybe after she found Mr. Gherring a wife, she would check into night school.
