Page 90 of Pity Parade

TRINA

The last two weeks have flown by in the blink of an eye. Paige and I have had an absolute blast planning our singles’ event. As requested, Faith made an extraordinary array of heart-shaped treats. She even dipped several dozen giant strawberries in chocolate. Our mixer tonight is sure to be a raging success.

Surprisingly, I haven’t seen Heath since our exchange outside of our cottages the day he came back from Chicago. I thought for sure he’d become a giant pain in my backside, but it’s been crickets. Which, if I’m honest, makes me mad. If he wasn’t going to pursue me, why in the world did he go out of his way to make sure Trent didn’t want to date me?

Yes, I told Heath to leave me alone, but if he were really interested, wouldn’t he have found a way to bump into me? Or at the very least, send more stupid flowers.

I’m meeting Paige down at the start of the parade route in thirty minutes. Prim and Trent have agreed to be on our float, and Tim asked some singles from the club to join us as well.

We bolt down a couple of bar tables on our flatbed and then decorated the rest with heart-shaped red and white balloons. Being that it’s a Fourth of July parade, and our decorations are white and red, I’m wearing a blue gingham sundress, so the overall feel is patriotic. Our singles are going to wear red, white, and blue as well.

I’m not sure the Founding Fathers ever worried about the future of singletons in the US, but I’m pretty sure they would have supported our endeavors. After all, the Declaration of Independence declares our right to the pursuit of happiness, and that’s all we’re doing—pursuing happiness.

Once I’m on my way, I see no less than a dozen posters advertising our mixer at the fireworks tonight. The closer I get, the more excited I become. There are several couples standing next to our float when I arrive. Prim and Trent are holding hands and are already acting like a duo. Score another point for the Midwestern Matchmaker.

Jeffrey, the older man I met the night of the fish fry, approaches me. “Trina, hello.” I smile at him, so he continues, “Tim asked me to come. I just wanted you to rest easy. I’m not going to put the moves on you.”

I’m not sure what moves Jeffrey thinks he has, but I’m happy there are some options for him. “I hope you meet some nice ladies tonight.”

He smiles enthusiastically. “I already recognize a couple who are going to be on the float with us.” He points to one who I assume is in her fifties. “That’s Gail Almstead. She and my wife used to play bridge.”

“She’s very pretty,” I tell him.

Paige spots me and waves. “Trina, over here.”

“Good luck,” I tell Jeffrey. Then I go over and join my friend. When I get to her, I gush, “Everything looks fabulous!”

“I’m so excited I can hardly stand it,” she says. She points at Tim, who’s walking our way. “Tim and I aren’t married so we thought we’d join you. I figure we can perform some light PDA to rally the crowd.”

“Light PDA, huh?” I can’t help but laugh.

She winks. “You know, some hand holding, a peck on the cheek here and there. We’ll keep it G rated for the kids.”

I gesture toward the float. “You’ve worked so hard to put this together.”

“I could have benefitted from a mixer like this in the past,” she says. “I guess I just wanted to pay back my good fortune to the singles I’ve left behind.” She sighs dramatically. “And thanks to you, I have definitely left them behind.”

I turn and call out to my patriotically-clad float mates. “Everyone on board! The parade starts in fifteen minutes.”

I wait until they all get on before joining them. That’s when I see Heath. He’s standing near the float, but not right by it. He looks great in his red, white, and blue Hawaiian shirt with white shorts. He’s tan like he’s been spending all his days in the sun, and he looks relaxed and happy. Which, quite honestly, infuriates me. How dare he be having a nice summer when I’ve been tied up in knots over him?

Turning my back on him, I address my singles. “All you need to do is walk around and mingle with each other. Remember, we’re doing this to encourage as many people as we can to join us at our mixer tonight. So, smile and have some fun!”

I spot a large metal tub full of water balloons at the back of the flatbed. Pointing at them, I ask Paige, “What are those for?”

“I thought we could have the singles play a game at the park later. The problem is, I filled the balloons right before they closed the street, and I couldn’t get them to the park. If I left them out, kids would have gotten into them, so I had a couple guys put them on the float for safety.”

“What game?” I ask.

She smirks. “I thought it might be fun to turn the tables and have a wet T-shirt contest for the men. The women get to throw balloons at the guy they want to win.”

“I like it!” I tell her. “I think the ladies will as well.”

The high school marching band starts playing “She’s a Grand Old Flag,” which is when we begin our slow and steady progression through town. I look out onto the crowd, and a sense of satisfaction flows through me. But then I see Heath jogging toward our float. He’s carrying a large bag I hadn’t noticed before as well as a wireless microphone. Dear God, what is he up to?

I wave to the crowd before turning around and focusing on the singles surrounding me. After a few minutes, I point to the signs advertising the mixer tonight. Then I repeat the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Paige and Tim look adoringly at one another while Jeffrey spends his time talking to Gail. Everything is going as planned. Or so I think. When the band finishes their first song, I hear Heath’s amplified voice call out, “Trina Rockwell, I can’t stop thinking about you.”

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