Page 35 of No More Heartbreakers

“Come on. Let’s find out.” Aric slammed the trunk and lifted the tripod.

I got my answer as soon as we turned the corner and saw the stadium gates. Everywhere I looked, people sported beards. Men, women, children, infants.

Beards made of construction paper, cotton, pricey costume-store pirate beards, one fashioned from what looked like dryer lint. One guy walked by with a post-it stuck to his face. On the paper he’d written the word “beard” in black marker.

“Okay.” Aric turned back to me. “I see the perfect people to interview. Come on.”

I followed as he forged a path through the crowd toward our target. It was obvious why he’d chosen them.

Aric approached the couple surrounded by their three adorable boys, all of whom appeared to be under eight years old. All wearing strap-on beards. In the mother’s arms was a baby girl.

She turned her head. There was a beard drawn onto her tiny chin. Man, I hoped that was washable marker.

Aric slid his beard onto his face, the plastic band depressing his hair in the back. “Excuse me. Hi. How are you all today? Great beards.”

“Thanks.” The dad’s eyes flicked to the camera equipment, to me, clearly wondering what Aric wanted.

“Would you guys be willing to talk to us for a minute? This is for the ten o’clock news tonight. I’m Aric.” The two false-bearded men shook hands as they agreed to the interview.

“This is Heidi.” Aric turned to look back at me. “Hey.” He tugged at his beard and raised a brow significantly, urging me to put mine on as well.

Oh well, while in Athens. I strapped on my silly beard and set up the camera. I’d learned to shoot in college and was pretty decent at it.

Of course, like reporting, it was so much easier when that was all I had to focus on rather than trying to do everything at once.

Once I indicated we were rolling, Aric asked the family questions, starting with the parents and moving to the little boys. He kept it very casual, setting the family at ease so their responses were funny and real rather than forced or nervous. I followed with the camera, slowly zooming in on each young boy as he responded, widening the shot again as Aric moved with his microphone to another family member.

Lastly, he pretended to interview the baby girl. “So tell me, Cassie, how long did it take you to grow this fine beard?”

He used the sweetest possible voice to talk to her, and she stared up at him with wide brown eyes that seemed to drink in every detail of his face.

Can’t blame you there, kiddo.

The baby reached out for the stick mic, grabbing a handful of the foam windscreen covering it. Her mom scolded her and tried to pry her tiny hand away. “No, no, Cassie.”

“It’s okay. She can’t hurt it,” Aric reassured.

He cupped the baby’s downy head, his large hand covering the entire back of her skull. As he cooed in her face, the baby gazed at him as if he was all that existed in the world.

“May I please have this back, Cassie? Can I? Are you going to let me have my microphone back?”

She released her grip and gave him a wide gummy grin dotted with two tiny front teeth.

“Oh, thank you.” Aric stroked her plump cheek.

Oh my God. I’m envious of a baby.I shook my head to clear it. I really needed to get a hold of myself.

Especially now that I knew Aric was involved with someone long-distance and he believed I was in a committed relationship. Ihadto work on my just-friends attitude and banish the improper thoughts that insisted on popping up every few minutes when I was with him.

We finished the interview, Aric thanked the family, and then we talked to a few students on camera, getting some good usable sound bites and some that would never make air.

One group of frat guys we met had clearly started the party early. They were loud and happy and flirted with me outrageously.

“You’re beautiful,” slurred a lanky guy with a mop of platinum hair and a red blazer. He looked like a freshman and teetered over me like a skinny tree that might go down with the next strong breeze.

“She is, isn’t she?” Aric said in a clipped, impatient way. “Okay guys, just a couple of questions—”

Another one of them, a stocky guy in a wrinkled button-down and crooked tie, ignored Aric completely and pushed things a step further.

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