Page 2 of A Summer Mismatch
“Take a deep breath,” Rosa advised before Winnie could speak, and she realized that she was still winded. Perhaps she wasn’t in quite as good of shape as she’d thought. Winnie followed Rosa’s advice, and forced herself to bite back the second apology she wanted to give. Rosa took Winnie’s purse from her lap and tucked it under the table at their feet. “What can we do to help?”
“Horace needed to talk, but we’re all fine.” Other than retirement being ruined. “I don’t want to keep you much longer after you’ve all been waiting already, so shall we jump right in?”
“What have you got for us?” Walt asked eagerly. He was still basking in the success of his own matchmaking efforts. His granddaughter, Avery, and her beau, Tucker, were a delightful couple, and very happily in love.
“Or who?” Rosa shimmied her shoulders suggestively, which made Winnie relax a fraction more. The Secret Seven were brought together by one of the oldest residents at The Palms, Betty, and she couldn’t imagine a smarter group working together than them. They all had their strengths, from tactical experience to romance experts, and Winnie only hoped that she’d helped everyone as much as they were going to help her.
From her large envelope, she pulled out a glossy 8x10 picture of her granddaughter and held it against her chest so no one could see the image. She looked at each of the Secret Seven in turn, unsure of how they were going to react.
Don rubbed his hands together, visibly excited for the new challenge.
Rosa patted Winnie’s arm in comfort, though she didn’t know what was wrong, but she was committed to be there with Winnie through it.
Harry tipped up the brim of his tartan pageboy cap, and his mustache twitched with his expectant smile. His granddaughter, Landry, had recently fallen for Ty, a physical therapist at the Palms they all adored. That match had required extra creativity to pull off.
Samantha, the young activities director of The Palms, leaned forward eagerly. She might pretend to feel reluctant about getting involved with their matchmaking schemes, but she loved the challenge just as much as everyone else.
Polly’s face shined brightly, and Walt’s calm presence helped her take another deep breath.
Nancy’s eyes narrowed at Winnie’s hesitation, like she knew something was up.
Before Winnie could talk herself out of it, she turned the picture over so everyone else could see it.
“Julia?” Polly gasped, and tension seemed to fill the air. It took all of Winnie’s willpower not to thrust the picture back into the envelope and bail. But, no. She was determined this was the right thing.
Don rapped his knuckles on the table. “She’s dating Dr. Harris.”
“They’ve been together a couple of years, right?” Walt added. He particularly liked Dr. Timothy Harris, the memory care on-call doctor whose father had worked for NASA with Walt, and the two often grabbed a round of golf.
“So we’re helping them get engaged?” Rosa pulled her shoulders back as if readying herself for the task.
“No.” Winnie gathered her courage. “We’re going to find someone else for Julia.”
All of the anticipatory excitement drained from the room.
Harry cleared his throat into the weighted silence. “Winnie, we’re not in the business of breaking people up.”
“Julia and Timothy are on-again, off-again, correct?” Nancy’s no-nonsense tone helped Winnie to straighten her spine and nod.
“Though they’ve been dating for a couple of years, they’re still not serious. Their entire relationship is on Timothy’s terms, on when he wants it, off when he doesn’t, and Julia gets yanked about every which way.” Winnie didn’t know what kept Julia interested in Timothy—but she worried it came from a place of not wanting to rock any boats. She’d given Julia a book on codependency to read, but she didn’t ever follow-up with her on that. She made a mental note to do so.
Nancy nodded slowly. “I’ve seen them together. They’re missing something.”
“Passion,” Don said decisively. He folded his arms, putting his muscles at highest advantage. “Their relationship is like freshly-made bed with military corners, but when it comes to love, maybe Julia needs something a little messier and unkempt.”
Winnie might not have put it exactly that way herself, but Don was right. Winnie could see by everyone’s nods that they were coming around. She shot Don a grateful smile. “Timothy has requested they take a relationship break the last two summers, and I suspect he’ll do so again.”
Walt shook his head. “I wouldn’t be so sure. I ran into them at Tucker’s helicopter tours, and they were looking at times to go out together this summer.”
“Did they schedule, though?” Nancy asked.
Walt frowned. “Timothy said he needed to double-check his schedule, and they’d call back.”
Nancy tapped her chin with a pen. “Why does he want a break from Julia in the summer?”
Winnie had asked Julia the same thing, and though she thought the reason was flimsy, it was the only reason she had. “That’s when he focuses on his career, since it’s less busy in The Palms with people going up north to see family and hit the cooler weather.”
Harry pulled his hat off and relaxed deeper into his chair, as if settling in for a long afternoon. “Who do you have in mind for her?”
