Page 1 of Miles. Alton & The 9:04
Prologue
Las Vegas, Nevada
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SIX YEARS.IT HAD ACTUALLYbeen six years since Coraline Newair was in Las Vegas.On the last visit to the city of bright lights, she had attended a matchmaker's conference, the same conference where she sideways paired two of the Neary brothers with their perfect matches.Those marriages, she was proud to admit, were still intact and both men were currently fathers with radiant brides and stable lives.At that conference, she was simply an attendee.At this conference, she had somehow become the featured opening night speaker and the guest of honor.Honestly, she came to Vegas for the shows, the food, and to place bets on the potential couples who married at the Elvis Chapel.
Coraline, the owner of Perfect Match, a matchmaking agency in New York, had taken over the business from her mother once she'd completed graduate school at Columbia.Unmarried herself, she’d never truly planned to arrange a happily ever after for her own life since she was simply too busy enjoying pairing up others.She often stated, when others asked about her single life, that she'd find it difficult to secure an existence with a man who understood her life calling and not envy the time and care it took to ensure she got it right for others.Lord only knew the few times she'd gotten it wrong; it had gone horribly wrong.Maybe that is what she would speak about today.Sadly, she didn't have a prepared presentation or speech for the opening session of the conference.Her heart was elsewhere along with her head.
The elevator ride down to the main conference center went without a hitch.A person assigned by the conference was sent to her suite to escort Coraline to the meeting room, but she preferred to arrive without the fanfare.In the crowd, she could simply mill about, listen in, and hear what the attendees wanted to learn, not only about her, but also about the business of matching up love.
“Miss Newair, there you are!”Madelyn Prescott, the Director of MatchCon, called out.“Debbie came to your suite to collect you and said you refused an escort.This way.We have a green room for you.”
“Not necessary,” Coraline replied.“I want to walk the floor.”
“Let me get you an escort,” Madelyn said.
“Darling, I grew up and live in New York.I am perfectly capable of finding my way to the stage when it's time,” Coraline said, her green eyes nearly sparkling.
“Oh wow, your eyes,” Madelyn said, “such an unusual shade of green.Are you Irish?”
“I've had some Irish in me,” Coraline said, providing a smirk.
Debbie, the assistant, called for Madelyn, providing Coraline an opportunity to escape.She wanted to see the tables and displays provided by the other matchmaking agencies and services.Her business was simple.A single man wants wife, pays a fee, takes a test, has a physical, and they are matched.It worked for the business model and since the first wagon trains rolled West, the plan remained simple.Pair people with people who want to be paired.
A shift in the crowd's energy began as people started milling into the conference center.She watched joyful attendees take their seats, prepared to listen to her impart time-honored and proven wisdom.Coraline didn't feel like she had wisdom, but an understanding of life and people.She'd learned, the hard way, that neither was predictable.
A drink materialized in her hand, and she accepted it, smiling at Rudy, the indispensable assistant.She didn't know how she'd manage her day to day without the man, and thus far, he hadn't let her down.She offered a tight smile to him, knowing that she had nothing prepared for today, and she'd try her best not to make an ass of herself.
“Lively crowd,” Rudy said.
“Yeah, lots of competition in the room as well,” she replied.
“I can only imagine the Q & A session,” he said.
She loved that about Rudy.He provided a gentle guidance and prompting without seeming out of pocket.The energy in the room shifted again as the Madelyn woman took to the stage to a thunderous round of applause.Madelyn made the welcome address.Madelyn spoke of the events for the weekend.Madelyn thanked the attendees for their time.She inhaled deeply as she looked into the wings of the stage, searching for the guest speaker.Not seeing Coraline, she barreled forward.
“Our first speaker, really and truly needs no introduction, but hey, I'm paid to do it, and this woman is simply amazing,” Madelyn stated.
Coraline listened as a list of her accolades was rumbled off by the woman, her success rates of matches and the thousands of pleased clients.No one ever spoke of the miserable failures and heartbreaks of the business and the hard comedowns for when the matches fell apart.The people in the room didn't know about the lawsuits and the not so happily ever after’s, which were never mentioned.Everyone was chasing the fairytale and Prince Charming.
The applause continued as she was welcomed to the stage.Coraline adjusted the mic and stared into the audience.She offered a smile and began to speak.
“Sometimes a frog is just a damned frog, and no matter how many times you kiss that little green bastard, he simply will not transform,” Coraline said.
The audience burst into laughter.She took a moment to cradle the audience in her proverbial hand.There was information to share and she planned to clear the path for those who followed in her footstep, ensuring they understood the business wasn't all glass slippers and chirping birds at the windowsill.
“I had a bride who was catfished,” she said.“She packed up all her belongings and moved to Alaska to marry a cunning man, and he got mauled by a bear.”
A gasp went through the crowd.“Yeah, she cut up that bear and used his hide as a rug, so when you see the memes on social media of people wondering why the woman would choose the bear, best believe, she knows that bear will make a damned fine rug.Bear fat also makes really great greasy soap for dry skin when you live in harsh winter climes, like a bride found out who moved to the wilderness of Maine.”
The audience fell into a fit of laughter again.A few hands went up, but Coraline waved them off.“Yes, the Alaska bride’s story did have a happily ever after; the man, whose letters the cunning man stole to woo his bride-to-be, ended up being the groom after all.”
The hands in the audience went down.Coraline didn't want to talk for a long period.She didn't have that much to say.
“There is a science to what we do, but there also has to be an element of fantasy and a willingness to suspend belief that love is possible,” Coraline said.“Trust me when I tell you there have been women and men who have come through my doors and looked me square in the face and lied.They lied about their intentions and lied about who they were.However, they all failed to understand, you can never lie about who you are even to yourself.That is where love begins, in an honesty with ourselves.”
Hands were up in the air.Again, she waved them away.She didn't want to answer questions, and more than anything, she truly didn't desire to be pelted with mundane inquiries into her business practices.
