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The elevator doors open and Mrs. Robinson pulls free from my help before stepping inside the metal box. “You’re forty-nine years old, honey. Maybe it’s time to ask God for another path.”
“We’ll talk about that later. Right now, we’re going to get you to your room.”
She slaps me away. “You willnotkeep that woman waiting! I’m old, not incapacitated. I can find my way to my room. You go show that woman a good time and think about what I said.”
I’ve been thinking about what she’s said for as long as she’s been saying it, but nothing changes my mission. I’m meant to be a priest. There’s a spiritual calling, a desire to help people, and a sense of purpose that I can’t walk away from.
The elevator doors close, and I turn back, heart pounding. I’m used to helping the guys with all their relationships. Putting any of that into practice is another story.
I drag in a deep breath and turn toward the statue at the door. This close, the woman waiting simply isn’t beautiful, she’s stunning. Long blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes, a thick curved frame, and pouty pink lips that drive daggers straight through every moral I hold.
Ignoring the tightness in my chest, I step forward, holding out my hand. This is like any other meeting. She’s just a woman, and I’m just a man. That doesn’t mean anything, exactly how it hasn’t meant anything the million other times I’ve met women.
Yet somehow, my body says it does.
“Hey. I’m Chap. I, ugh, I guess you’ve won a date with me… if that’s a thing. Seems you may have overpaid, though.”
She smiles wide and bright. “Well, it was my friend that bid on you… not that you don’t seem worth it. I just… I’m awful at this.” She reaches her hand out, sinking into mine. “I’m Lily. I’m also totally inept when it comes to dating or holding basic conversations. I figured you should know that up front. Also, I have a seven-year-old son. A terror. So, if you’re not into that, you should go now.” Her eyes widen. “Not that this is a real date. It’s not, and it doesn’t matter that I have a son, but you should know. Right? I don’t know. I’m bad at this.”
I can’t help but smile as she speaks. “Thanks for the heads up. I think all boys are terrors for a while. It’s in their code or something. I know I was a piece of work growing up.”
“Ever play the‘Floor is Lava’during math class?”
I drag in a deep breath. “Nope. Can’t say I have, but I did the whole underwear on a pole thing in fifth grade. The underwear wasn’t mine.”
“Oh God. Whose were they?”
“Would it make you feel better if I told you it was a real jerk of a kid?”
“Maybe.” She bites back a smile.
“Me too, but they were a pair I grabbed from a random locker in gym class. The kid was humiliated. I still feel bad about it.”
She smiles, this time wider, and I realize now this is what I’m working for. That smile that lights something I haven’t been aware of in a while. “I guess it’s good that you feel remorse. Where is the kid now?”
“No clue. He moved off Rugged Mountain.”
“Probably from humiliation.” She laughs. Pretty and a sense of humor. I should leave now. “So… how does this whole thing work? The date I mean.”
“We can go out now if you want, or if you’d rather we go later, that’s good too.”
“No. I mean… now is good if you’re free. My friend disappeared right after the bidding, so I’m sure she’s found someone to entertain her for the night.”
“Are you hungry? We can head to the dining hall, or we can take a walk down to the river. There’s a little waterfall and a path that’s real pretty this time of night.”
A walk.I haven’t taken a walk with a woman who isn’t Mrs. Robinson since junior high, and even then, I think I was being escorted to the principal’s office.
“A walk sounds great. I’ve been stressed all day.”
“What about?”
“Oh,” she leads the way out the front doors, “I don’t want to bore you with all my life’s details.”
“It’s not boring. The details of life are what make people interesting.”
She brushes her hands over her shoulders as though she’s cold and I take off my jacket, wrapping it around her frame. There’s a light breeze tonight, and the scent of her floral perfume blows back toward me.
“Oh, thank you. I, ugh, no one’s ever done that for me before. Well… not that I don’t go on dates… because I do.” She pauses and laughs nervously. “I’m lying, I don’t. I don’t go on dates. I’ve literally been tied to my house for the last eight years.”
