Page 13 of Pity Parade

“Then how do you know her?” Tim asks.

Trina arrives before I can answer. Her eyes bug out at the sight of me, and she looks like she’s going to turn around and run in the other direction. After what appears to be much consideration, she stays put. “Heath. What are you doing here?” She is clearly not happy to see me.

I stand up and pull out her chair for her. “Tim invited me to join you.”

Her gaze lands on the country club owner in shock. “How do you know Heath?”

“I don’t,” he answers her. “I just met him tonight.”

“What are the chances?” Trina mumbles under her breath.

“How do you know Heath?” Paige asks Trina. This whole evening is turning into something of an old-time comedy sketch.

Trina smacks my hands off her chair before taking her seat. Then she addresses the table. “Heath lives in Chicago. I live in Chicago. People meet.” She glares at me like she’s daring me to contradict her, but I have no desire to irritate her more than I already have.

“Where was that?” Teddy asks. “I don’t mean to be nosy, but it feels like there’s a story here.”

I decide to take Trina off the hot seat and answer, “We met at a charity event.”

“Childhood diabetes,” Trina clarifies. And then we all sit quietly for a few moments.

The table is so full of unspoken questions, it starts to get awkward, so I announce, “My niece has diabetes.”

Trina looks surprised. “Really?”

“Yes. Why else do you think I was there supporting the cause?”

“I don’t know any children with diabetes,” she responds. “Why do you think I was there?”

“Probably because you’re a local celebrity and you were trying to bring some awareness to the event.”

Her chin bobs up and down. I seem to have hit the nail on the head, and she doesn’t seem too pleased about it.

Sammy asks the question everyone else seems to be wondering. “Did you go together?”

“No,” Trina tells her curtly.

Smaller groups break off to chat while Trina and I sit as uncomfortably as if one of us had just pooted and we’re trying to pretend we didn’t. She finally leans toward me and hisses, “Do not tell them that I bought a date with you.”

“Never,” I assure her. Although I do wonder what the big deal is. So, I add, “But you’d think you’d want them to know how generous you were with your donation.”

“How much did you donate?” She demands this like I’m some kind of cheapskate.

I don’t normally go around bragging about how much money I give to charity so in lieu of answering, I gesture around like I’m spokes-modeling myself. “I donated all of this. You can’t put a price on that.” Then I nudge her playfully. “But then again, maybe you can.”

“Oh, for the love of …” She’s clearly not impressed.

I’m about to make another joke when an older gentleman arrives at the table. He kind of looks like my dad. He taps Tim on the shoulder and greets, “Tim, my boy, it looks like another successful fish fry.”

Tim jumps up excitedly. “Jeffrey, I was hoping I’d see you here.” He looks at me awkwardly before gesturing toward Trina. “I wanted to introduce you to our new friend Trina Rockwell. Trina is in town for the summer.”

Trina’s face turns beet red like she’s just spent five hours in direct sunlight. She forces a smile, before saying, “It’s nice to meet you, Jeffrey.”

Jeffrey stands up straighter and throws his shoulders back like a prized peacock preening for a mate. He asks Trina, “Would you like to join me for a drink?”

She shakes her head. “No, thank you, I’m eating with friends.”

Paige interrupts, “Surely, you have time to enjoy one drink with Mr. Halloway … er … um … Jeffrey … before our food arrives.”

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