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“Did the new guy pay?” Don asked.
“Sure did.” I would forever be the new guy.
As soon as everyone had their cards, Carmen put the extras back and shooed them out of the line. “Go before Edna gets you. And you can’t have three cards, Uncle G. You’ll get disqualified in front of everyone.”
“Counting on it,” he called back.
She gave up that fight when she spotted Edna making her way back with an irritated Titan by the elbow.
“I am so sorry,” I told her.
Carmen pinched my side. “You should be. You told her to bring him again. This is going to be awful.”
“We could make a run for it.”
“Nah. It will just hold up the line longer while she hunts us down. But for the record, you’re my boyfriend. There’s no getting out of it this time.”
I put my hand to my heart. “I will do whatever is necessary.”
Carmen eyed me. “I was afraid of that.”
Edna took her seat again and elbowed Titan when he didn’t speak right away. She glared up at him. “Well?”
Titan, trying to look as dignified as a person could while being kidnapped by their arthritic grandmother, said, “Gran asked me to come over and apologize for my behavior on our date several weeks ago. I get a bit of tunnel vision when I find people who enjoy discussing Robert Frost poems.”
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and you chose the Robert Frost people?” Carmen asked, smiling in a good-natured way that was too forgiving, in my opinion.
Titan nodded. “Exactly. I’m so glad you get it. But I’d like to give you another chance.”
“You’d like to givemeanother chance?”
“That’s what he said.” Edna frowned at her. “What do you say, Carmen? One more date to see if the two of you hit it off?”
“Actually I’m—”
“She’s taken,” I said, lacing our fingers together and lifting our hands up to demonstrate.
“Oh.” Titan frowned. “I didn’t realize the two of you were....”
“Oh, not by me.” I gave an airy laugh, as if the idea was preposterous, despite the fact that we were currently holding hands, we were always together, and anyone with eyes knew I had it bad for her. “She’s dating a celebrity. I’m not allowed to name names, of course. I’m just her bodyguard tonight. Come along, Carmen. I must protect you from any other unwanted suitors who think they know more about Robert Frost than you.” I kept her hand and pulled her out of the line, weaving us through the tables until we reached the safety of the refreshment table in the back.
Carmen tugged me into her and stared up at me. “What was that?”
“I call it confusing the enemy. They were so busy taking it all in, they had no time to ask questions.”
“Oh.”
“Also,” I leaned down until our noses touched, and then moved to speak softly in her ear. The shell of it was like velvet. “You don’t owe him a thing, not even a good excuse. He has no idea what he’s missing. Which is sad. For him.”
“Isaac.” She said my name on a whisper that just about undid me.
“Hey, are you gonna open those cookie packs or leave them in the grocery sacks over there?”
We both turned to look at the disgruntled man looming over our empty refreshment table.
Carmen started to apologize, but I put both my hands down flat on the table and leaned in to meet him man-to-man. There was a time to be meek, to deflect, to keep the peace, but this guy hadn’t brought the cookies, and he could find a way to ask nicer. I was starting to feel a little bit like Carmen’s actual bodyguard.
“Sir, we were having a moment here.” I turned to look at Carmen. “Although, I don’t know that it was working.”
