Page 140 of Mr. Picture Perfect
I did notice she said “special someone”. Not “special lady”.
I might be reading too much into that, but after learning quite recently about TJ and being sworn to secrecy with Cole about it, I can’t go assuming anyone plays for any team.
Especially after hearing whatreallyhappened with Anthony and the lovely lady who won a date with him. “Seriously,” says Malcolm, who catches me by the hotdog condiment station to spill his own tea. “I heard Anthony broke down and took her out on the date, and they totally hit it off—as friends. Apparently he confided in her about all of the terrible stuff he’s been going through, and she confided in him about her own skeletons in her closet, and the two completely became besties overnight, zero romantic interest in each other. And did you happen to see her? She’s abombshell. Now I’m not gonna draw any conclusions here,” Malcolm insists with a lift of his hands, “especially since he still insists that she ‘just wasn’t his type’, but I’m not convinced that’s the reason. I think there’s more to the story …waymore.”
“Y’know, I gotta agree,” says Vince, my favorite movie theater manager, who caught onto the tail end of Malcolm’s speech. “I saw the rage in Anthony’s eyes firsthand, years ago back when Bobby worked at the cinema and Jimmy came to throw a punch. That was the rage ofjealousy, my friends. Anthony’s got surprises tucked away in that angry, beer-chugging face of his, I just know it.”
“You want to talk surprises?” Malcolm chuckles. “How about the fact that apparently Cole Hardingcansing? Samuel and I both watched the live stream from home. Believe it or not—Noah, don’t you dare tell Cole I said this—but Sam and I once put money down that Cole was aterriblesinger. That was before we heard his voice. Remind me to smack Cole over the head when he gets here, will you? He lied to me. That guyisperfect ateverything.”
While Malcolm and Vince go back and forth, as if to outdo one another on who’s the bigger gossip, I decide to keep my opinion to myself about what I may or may not think about Anthony Myers and what happened at the pageant months ago. No matter what the actual truth about him is, I hope the best for that guy, whether his happy ending is with a group of pals in the guest wing of the McPhersons’ estate, or with a fun-loving woman who just bought him as a best friend for $1,075, or with Cole’s dog Porridge.
Who am I to judge anyone else’s happy ending?
I certainly can’t judge Burton’s. He’s standing by the hotdogs, too, and from the looks of it, he appears tostillbe attempting to muster up enough courage to approach his lifelong crush Cindy, who stands mere feet away from him, her arms crossed, bored, and likely just waiting on him to finally speak up.
I’m sure he’ll find that courage someday.
Speaking of happy endings, the last I heard about Dean, he has been back and forth between here and Austin to visit his girlfriend Candace. Rumor has it he’s considering moving there, since she’s got a business to run and can’t be too far away from the office for such long stretches of time. I heard through Tamika, who heard through Tyrone and Omar’s daughter Kelsey, that Dean’s in Austin today with Candace and plans to stay through the weekend. One day when Nadine dropped by the Spruce Press building to check on something, I heard she was “so totally over the moon” that the pageant resulted in Dean King finding happiness again.
I also heard she’s totally taking credit for me and Cole getting together at the pageant, too. “No, really,” she was telling Burton’s father in his office, the door wide open, “I knew Cole had his eye on someone. I just couldn’t fathom who. And what better way to push two lovebirds together than to throw a bunch of other birds in the cage and shake it up a bit? No, it was definitely part of a … of a very intricate plan to get them boys together, yes it sure was. Andno,” she then added with sudden vigor, “I am officiallyretirin’my role asmatchmaker, thank you very much. No more.”
Whether it was part of Nadine’s “intricate plan” or just a part of her usual delusion and denial, I’m sure thankful for it.
Cassie Evans, who is known for graciously helping fund Lance Goodwin’s fashion business a couple of years ago and getting it off the ground, is also here with her adorable-yet-cocky son Fabian and sweet daughter Vanessa. It’s no secret that Vanessa is dating Robby, one of Burton’s friends from the choir, but apparently her mother isn’t that thrilled about it. Robby has a past of “running through women like jellybeans”, according to Tamika and Frankie, both of whom are friends with Vanessa’s younger brother Fabian and, I’m told, got the scoop from him. Even after over three years of dating, Robby doesn’t know what else he can possibly do to convince Vanessa’s dear mother that he’s right for her—especially considering that rumor has it he’s been thinking of popping the question, despite Vanessa warning him to never do that without her parents’ approval.
“I think it’s sweet that Robby wants the approval of Vanessa’s parents,” says Bobby thoughtfully when a number of us are sitting around the far end of the Strongs’ swimming pool. He’s kicking his legs in the water. “I mean, they might be his in-laws someday.”
Behind him from an umbrella-covered lounge chair, Jimmy snorts. “You think everything’s sweet.”
“Itissweet. You know,” says Bobby, twisting around, “I askedyourparents for their approval before I did my big proposal to you at your dance show in Arizona.”
Jimmy opens his mouth to retort, then twists his face. “You did? Why?”
“Because it was the gentlemanly thing to do!”
“But they love you. Maybe even more than they love me. In what universe would they have said no?”
“I asked because it’s respectful and I wanted to.” Bobby shrugs and continues swirling his legs in the water, then smiles. “Your mamadidmake me feel silly for asking, but boy, I wouldn’t trade the tears she spilled for the world. Nadine was so happy. I’m quite surprised she didn’t spill the beans, to be honest, considering—”
“She sorta did.”
Bobby spins around. “She what?”
“Hey, don’t get mad, I didn’t know it was aproposal. She just said … well, shehinted… that you always got tricks up your sleeve, and she thought it’s why she liked you so much—yourflair.”
Bobby doesn’t seem able to make heads or tails of that. He looks back at the house where Nadine and Cissy—who’ve become much closer since their joint efforts on the pageant—are too busy chatting and laughing away on the porch to notice anything else. For a moment, it seems like he’s considering going up there to ask her himself, but keeps throwing his eyes back to the water, talking himself out of it with a pensive frown.
“I learned a long time ago, ya can’t wait on anyone’s approval for nothin’,” states Hoyt, a guy Cole and I went to school with, two years behind us, who sits next to Bobby with his knees hugged to his chest. He also works at Strong Fitness Zone with Cole, full-time now that he’s home for the summer from Fairview Community. He runs into Tamika now and then on campus, I hear. “The minute you decide to wait on other peoples’ approval, you’re puttin’ the person you love in second place, and that ain’t right.”
“You’re just talkin’ outta your butt,” calls out Jimmy. “How long did it take before you and Harrison became a thing? And was it not ‘cause you two were afraid of not havin’ anyone’s approval? So what if Harrison’s twelve years older than you? I had a friend in college whose girlfriend wassixteenyears older. Doesn’t make any difference, man, age is just a number.”
Hoyt blushes and shrugs him off. “But it’s different with me and Harrison. Your friend probably sure as shit don’t live in a tiny Texas town with eyes all over ‘em.”
“Don’t talk to your boss with thatsassin your voice,” Jimmy teases. “I hear it. You think I don’t, but I do.”
“Hey, that ain’t fair! We’re not on the clock right now!”
“I just realized it waslastFourth of July that you two made a big show of comin’ out to everyone.” Jimmy laughs. “Time really flies, huh? I’m happy for you, but don’t go makin’ lectures about not needin’ approval when you’re just as guilty as any of us for—”
