Page 54 of Savannah Sweethearts

“You also make jewelry?” For some reason, this was the only question in my head.

“I do. Custom silver pieces with semi-precious stones. I can show you once we’re done with this interview.” Amaya’s face was animated and her smile genuine.

The green-eyed monster who had apparently come with me for this piece was tucked away in my giant bag as I pulled out my notepad and recorder. “Great. Let’s get started.”

She was one of those people you wanted to hate but couldn’t. Amaya the bridesmaid was just too nice. There was no other way to say it. She was flawless on camera, and I was thankful to be off camera while I interviewed her. I was much taller than her and my tailored dress looked like a gunny sack. After answering several questions, we set up for my opening shot.

I fluffed my hair and reapplied my lipstick while Amaya brought us both bottles of water. She and Alonso chatted and I tried not to let jealousy back out in the open. Why did I feel this way? Alonso and I were not a couple. I barely liked him. Okay, I really liked him, but still, I had no ownership of him. And I didn’t want it. Did I?

We decided I would walk into the frame in front of the dresses, holding a bouquet of fake flowers. When Alonso gave me the signal, I walked in front of the camera. “We’ve all heard the phrase ‘always a bridesmaid,’ but Amaya Journet takes that to a whole new level as a professional bridesmaid here in Savannah. Serving dozens of brides every year, Amaya has made a career of being best buds with brides all over the city.”

We recorded it again just in case, and Alonso took some B-roll footage because you can never have enough footage.

“This is so much fun. You must love being a reporter.” Amaya sat back, her eyes wide with fascination.

“Stories like this are fun. I love bringing good news to people.” I took a sip of the water she had brought out.

“That’s why I do this. Weddings are happy and I want to be around happy people. There’s enough strife in this world.” Amaya was beautiful, friendly, and wise, it seemed.

“That’s a beautiful sentiment.” I checked the clock on my phone. We had time for those shrimp and grits if Alonso would just hurry.

“Are you two together?”

The question caught me off guard. “Um. No. Just co-workers. We’ve known each other a long time, though.”

She leaned in close and kept her volume low. “He keeps looking at you.” Her voice was even and matter of fact.

“I’m the one on camera. He gets paid to look at me.” I shrugged, ignoring the implication of her comment. He had said the same thing about getting paid to look at me on our first day together. Not that I remembered.

She leaned in closer to me. “You know what I’m saying. I can see it in your eyes, too. You both keep stealing glances when the other isn’t looking. If you ever need my services in the future, I’ll give you a discount.”

Alonso turned to us. “Ready, Piper?”

I jumped up from where I was sitting. “Absolutely.” I turned to Amaya. “It was a pleasure. Thank you so much for meeting us on such short notice.”

After our goodbyes, we loaded back up in the car and I thought over what she had said. We both stole glances at one another. So while I was checking him out, he was checking me out. But the decision to keep things platonic has been made. Nothing can happen aside from friendship.

We stopped to eat, but I was too busy mulling over everything to enjoy my shrimp and grits. Things were moving too fast and I had no idea where they were going. And I had to figure out if I wanted things moving at all. On one hand, this was Alonso, the guy I had hated for years. On the other hand was Alonso the thoughtful co-worker who had a mile-wide smile and dimples for days.

After we finished, Alonso looked at me and frowned. “Was your shrimp and grits not up to par? You didn’t look like you enjoyed them.”

I shook my head. “Oh, no, they were excellent, actually. I just have stuff on my mind.”

“Anything I can help with?” He opened the car door for me and allowed me to slide in. After running around the car, he got into the driver’s seat and looked at me expectantly.

I tried to smile. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. I’m fine. Thank you for buying.”

With a nod, he started the car. “Any time, Piper.”

Alonso

“We’re sad to announce that Karry Draper will be leaving us at the end of the month.” Mr. Andrews smiled as he held out his hand to Karry at the budget meeting. “Karry, you’ve been a part of the Action News family for twenty years. I can’t imagine this place without you.”

A round of applause for Karry began and I watched as she wiped tears carefully under her eyes. I didn’t understand why women did that. Why not just wipe your whole eye? I looked to Piper and wondered if she did the same thing.

Standing, Karry addressed the room. “Mike and I have decided to retire early. And since our daughter is in Nashville, we’re heading that way. I will miss you all terribly.”

Mr. Andrews leaned into the table. “This means we’ll have an opening for an anchor. We like to promote from within, but we’re open to bringing in someone from the outside as well. It’s an exciting time at Action News. Now, let’s get rolling for the day.”

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