Page 39 of A Tinsel Tale

“I mean it. I feel like a different person from the one who got here.”

“Don’t you miss the excitement of city life?”

“I’m not sure. I mean, I love Chicago. There’s always something interesting to do, but I work so much that it’s not an advantage. I love my condo. It has a fantastic view of the city and Lake Michigan. I have a few friends I met through work. We do the occasional girls’ night out that must be penciled in a month in advance and subject to change.”

“Sounds like a nightmare to me,” he says.

“Maybe. I thought I’d be bored to death stuck here for six weeks but time is flying by. I love being able to mess with my horses again. Muck stalls, trail ride, spend time with Dad… and you,” I add. “And there’s always bowling,” I say as he pulls into the parking lot.

We walk in, and the first person I see is Tank. I clutch Jamie’s arm and point. “Look who’s here!”

Jamie waves enthusiastically. Tank motions us over.

“Did you just get here?” Jamie asks.

“Finished our first game. Casey is in the bathroom,” Tank shares.

Jamie’s brows shoot up in surprise. “Ooh. Big date?”

“I wish. Pretty sure she’s relegated me to the friend zone.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure.”

Tank scratches his blonde buzz cut. “You want to join us or is this,” he sizes us up, “private.”

“I’d love to hang out with you guys,” I burst out.

“Me too,” Jamie says. “We’ll go get our bowling shoes, pay, then meet you back here. Need anything from the bar?”

“Casey’s got it covered.”

“Be right back,” Jamie says. He takes my hand, interlacing our fingers and I’m transported right back to high school. Tank, Jamie, Dee and I used to bowl together all the time. Now I’ll be able to size Casey up and see if she’s interested in more than friendship with Jamie. She seemed nice, but I was too into my feels to get past the jealousy the other day. Plus, Jamie and I are in a totally different place now. A pleasant warmth envelops me as I’m thinking that. I start hunting for the right ball while Jamie pays. I find a light-weight ball with the perfect finger hole size just as Jamie walks up. “Found one,” I crow.

“Here are your shoes,” he says his fingers dangling them by the heels.

I take them and snicker. “Some things never change. Am I a weirdo for taking comfort in the ugliness of bowling shoes? Same design, same two-tone.”

He holds his up with a wry expression. “I mean I knew my feet were big but…” I double over laughing because his size twelves look like banana boats.

“I’m going to find my lucky ball after I put these on.” He sits down on a bench and toes off his Nikes before slipping into the lace-ups. I sit down next to him and follow suit, then wait until he selects his ball. We join Tank and Casey, and her greeting is warm and sincere.

“This is great!” she exclaims. “I was hoping to get to spend some time with you while you’re home.”

My jaw drops. “You were?”

She chuckles. “Why are you so surprised? You’re pretty famous around these parts. Plus,” she jerks her thumb toward Tank, “he’s quite a fan.”

I go over and hug Tank. He’s so big and solid I can’t even get my arms around him. “Did you miss me?” I ask.

He hugs me back. “You know it.” My heart swells. I always loved Tank. Healwaystook my side whenever Jamie and I bickered. He’s a big teddy bear.

“Girls against guys?” Casey challenges.

“That’d be like taking candy from a baby,” Jamie trash talks.

“Oh really?” she scoffs. “We’re not afraid, are we Evie?”

“Nope.”

---