Page 22 of Merry Little Midlife Matchmaker

Hazel had been castas one of the candy canes in the school’s holiday play, and I’d volunteered to help with the production. The director had asked me to help with set design and costumes, so after work, I headed to the school to do my time. I was neck-deep in red glitter and cardboard when Hazel came running over to me, a bright smile on her face.

“Mom! We learned the candy cane dance!”

Kneeling on the hard linoleum floor with the beginnings of a piece of decor in front of me, I leaned back on my heels and smiled. “What’s the candy cane dance?”

“This.” Hazel demonstrated with a series of wiggles and hops, and I couldn’t help but grin.

“Very nice,” I said, then nodded to the director. Astrid, the art teacher, had volunteered to direct the play while the regular theater teacher was on maternity leave. Astrid was an exuberant woman who always had a smile on her face. She came over to compliment Hazel on her hard work, which I appreciated.

“Should be a good production this year,” Astrid said with a bright smile. Her dark-blond hair curled in ringlets, and her blue eyes sparkled under the auditorium lights. “And I so appreciate you helping out with the set.”

“I do what I can,” I told her, stretching out my back as I heaved myself to my feet.

“Hazel is a hoot.”

“You can say that again.”

“She’s whipped the candy canes into shape without me having to say a word,” Astrid admitted. “And the candy cane dance?”

“What about it?”

“She came up with it,” Astrid said, laughing. “Choreographed the whole thing, taught the other kids, and then pitched it to me today.”

I couldn’t help the smile that bloomed over my lips. “Sounds like my daughter. She doesn’t take no for an answer.”

We exchanged a few pleasantries as Hazel chatted with her friends, and I let my shoulders relax. Astrid was exuberant and funny. She talked with her hands and wasn’t shy to give me a quick hug and a squeeze on my upper arms as she told me goodbye.

I liked her, and she was kind to Hazel. Ever since Thanksgiving, it felt like I had to keep reminding myself of all the good things in my life. The people that made my life better, the teachers that cared, the family that stuck around when things got tough.

But I still felt tired.

I gathered my things, trailing red glitter everywhere. My entire body ached. I couldn’t wait to get home, get dinner done, and collapse on the couch. It had been a long day, as most days seemed to be.

Laurel had told me that Sean finally texted her this morning. Pretending to be excited for her had sapped my energy, and it hadn’t even been ten o’clock in the morning when she’d told me about it.

Hazel hummed and hopped beside me as we made our way out of the theater room. Zach had joined a computer club, so Hazel and I picked him up from the classroom where the club was held and headed out. The end was nigh. It was only Tuesday, but every minute I spent on my feet felt like an eternity. I was digging through my purse for my car keys when my phone rang. My brother’s name flashed on the screen.

“Hey,” I said, pinning the phone between my shoulder and my ear while I hunted for my keys.

“Hey, Lizzie. Are you busy tonight?”

The movement of my hands stilled. I blinked at my distorted reflection in the car windows and bit back a groan. “Why?”

“Emily has a work thing, and I’ve got an appointment. You mind watching the kids for an hour or two?”

Visions of a quick dinner and a leisurely hour spent zoning out on the couch disintegrated. For a brief moment, I considered saying no. Aaron did this kind of thing all the time. He’d call me in an emergency and expect me to drop everything to head over and babysit for him. Most days, I barely got a thank you from him, never mind reciprocity.

Up until that exact moment, I hadn’t realized how much that bothered me.

My fingers finally wrapped around the hard plastic of my car fob. “Your babysitter can’t make it?”

“It’s not enough notice,” he said, which wasn’t exactly an answer, and didn’t address the fact that he was callingmeon short notice too. I’d probably been his first call. “Please, Lizzie? I’m supposed to head out and Emily said she won’t be home until eight. You can bring Zach and Hazel.”

I rolled my eyes. That was generous of him. “Fine,” I said. “Be there in a few.”

Pressing the button to unlock the car, I called the kids back over from where they’d wandered to the playground and loadedthem into the car. My lower back ached something awful, and my head had begun to pound. But the kids were in good spirits and when I told them we’d be seeing their cousins for the evening, their smiles eased some of the mounting bitterness that had crept into my mood.

When I got to my brother’s house, there was a familiar truck parked in the street. I slid in behind it and quickly glanced at myself in the visor mirror, sighing. I had glitter all over my face, and my attempts to wipe it off only smeared it further. Once again, I’d be seeing Sean looking like a mess.

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