Page 6 of A Very Merry Matchup
“Can I ask you something? What exactly is it about this Ivy girl that makes her so special? I mean, you’re obviously nowhere near as good-looking as me, but you should be able to find someone without too much issue. Why are you so hung up on Ivy?”
Good question. “You know that feeling you get when your bat connects with the ball and in that split-second crack you know—you just know—that you’ve already hit a home run? I don’t know how else to explain it. There was just this moment when Ivy was standing in my hospital room talking to my mom one evening and I felt that same sort of connection. I looked at Ivy and knew I was looking at a home run.” I sigh as a jalapeño slips out from the bottom of my sub. “But apparently I struck out.”
“So now it’s you and Pinky Collar, huh?”
“Me and Pinky Collar. I’m supposed to pick her up from the breeder back in Des Moines here in a bit.”
“And then I assume you’re taking her with you to Nolly Grove to visit your parents for Christmas?”
“Yeah, figured I’d head that direction tomorrow before the weather gets worse. Hope my new pup doesn’t mind a road trip right off the bat. It’s only a couple hours, though. Shouldn’t be too bad.” I offer a humorless laugh. “Mom’s justgoing to be thrilled I’m finally bringing a girl home with me for Christmas.”
I go to finish the last bite of my sub and freeze. “Actually...” I start laughing for real. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“What?” Carson says, slurping on his fountain drink as I continue cracking myself up.
“My mom’s always trying to set me up with someone, usually the neighbor girl, anytime I’m home. She and my cousin Janey are like a couple of bloodhounds when it comes to sniffing out a potential love interest for me. Maybe I’ll just go ahead and let Mom know I’m off the market this Christmas.”
Carson’s eyes bug out at me when I pull out my phone. “Are you crazy? You can’t play your mom like that at Christmas. And isn’t your dad a preacher? You can’t lie to a man of the cloth. Where’s your dignity?”
“Trust me, they’ll think this is hilar—Hey, Mom,” I say when she answers. “How are you?”
Carson is giving me the nix signal across his neck as my mom responds with a cautious, “Fine. Why? Please don’t tell me you can’t make it for Christmas.”
“Of course I’m making it for Christmas.”
“Good,” she says with a loud sigh of relief. “They’ve beenshowing big snowflakes on the weather forecast all week, so I was a little worried.”
“Wild reindeer couldn’t keep me away at Christmas. You know that.”
“So then why are you calling? You never call—unless it’s to tell me you’re in the hospital. Are you in the hospital again?”
“I’m not in the hospital. Don’t worry, this is good news. If we’re going to get as much snow as they’re saying, I wanted to let you know I’m thinking of coming in early. Hopefully tomorrow.”
“Oh! Yes! Please do! That’d be great!”
Hang up,Carson mouths at me.
Wipe your face,I mouth back, shoving more napkins at him. “Also, Mom, I wanted to, uh... give you a heads-up about something else, too.”
“End the call,” whispers Carson.
“I know this is last minute,” I say, grinning at Carson, “and you can say no if you want, but... I’d really like to bring someone special with me.”
Carson rolls his eyes. Good. Maybe he’ll spot the sauce on his forehead.
“What do you mean byspecial?” I can hear the hope in my mom’s voice.
“A girl.”
She gasps. Carson shakes his head. I grin harder. “Does that sound okay?”
Carson closes his eyes.
Mom is squealing. “Of course. Yes! You know I’ve been praying this would happen. I’m almost too scared to ask, what exactly is this special girl’s name?”
“Her name?”
Now Carson is pointing at me with a you-better-tell-the-truth-mister look. I clear my throat and say, “What would you say if I told you she goes by the name Ivy?”
