When Friday rolled around, Gretchen was a little surprised at how much she was looking forward to the evening with Lincoln. It was almost like getting ready for a real date. She stared into her closet, willing it to toss out the perfect outfit.
Her phone vibrated with an incoming call from Jody that she immediately answered. "Hello to the world's most awesome coffee shop owner and most perfect bestie a girl could ask for. What's up?"
Jody laughed at the greeting. "I keep getting asked how you're feeling about tonight."
Gretchen cocked her head. "Who's asking? How did anybody hear about it?"
Jody snorted. "Oh, please. There are no secrets in Hickory Hollow. Corinne overheard Lincoln at Sonny's with the boys and told Derek, who told Rowan, who told Sarah, who confirmed it with Avery and then told Megan, who told Eric, who told Stewart, who obviously had to run home and tell me. Even the Ladies' Society caught wind of it. Ruth made a special trip in, pretending she was after lemon bars."
"Impressive game of telephone there. What other intel did you get?"
"Unfortunately there were a lot of men in the mix, so most of the critical details were dropped. Basically I heard you and Lincoln figured you might as well date each other since he sucks at it."
"That's… not too far off. I don't want to say he sucks at it—"
"He really does. Or shall we get Sue's unvarnished opinion?"
"Fair."
"Speaking of opinions, I still think this is a terrible idea."
Gretchen stopped flipping hangers back and forth. "I appreciate that, but it's going to be fine. We're just practice dating until New Year's. Then I can give him some feedback and he doesn't have the extra pressure of meeting new people over the holidays."
"That is a good point, I suppose. Who wants to have a second date the week before Christmas? Like, do you have to get them a Christmas gift then? How much do you have to spend on it? So messy."
"Exactly."
"Where are you going?"
"We're going to a movie and to Carmine's."
"Be careful. They're talking about a possible snowstorm blowing in, but I don't think it's supposed to start until late. We could see up to a foot of snow by morning."
"You're kidding."
"I wish. Hopefully they're overpredicting otherwise our Saturday morning crowd will stay home. It's too early for this crap."
"I'm not a fan of the slush and ice, but I do love a good snowstorm."
"And I love you despite that," Jody laughed. "On to important stuff. What are you wearing?"
"Probably jeans and a sweater."
"You should wear those tall black boots with the silver side buckle. They're cute with jeans. Ooh, wear those with your black jeans. Which sweater?"
"I hadn't gotten that far."
"What about that super cute soft gray sweater? Add some of those long silver chains and you'll be good to go."
"Perfect. Now stop by and organize the rest of my life, will you?"
"Ugh, Stewart's blabbing something about me going out to help make coffee. I'll organize your life later, okay?"
"Deal." As soon as she hung up, she opened her weather app. Sure enough, Jody was right. Incoming snowstorm, likely to start around midnight. To emphasize the forecast on her screen, a massive truck roared past the house, spraying pretreatment on the road.
She sighed and turned back to the closet.
"Walter, what do you think?" She held up the gray sweater Jody suggested and a pink one she hadn't had a chance to wear yet.
Walter looked up from his cozy dog bed and sneezed, then went back to sleep.
"You're not very helpful." She ignored Jody's advice and went with the pink sweater. She did, however, put the long silver necklaces on top of her dresser and pulled out the black jeans and tall boots before heading into her office to get some work done for the day.
Walter got up with a huff and followed her to the office, where he immediately plopped down onto his doggie bed. Yes, he had one in pretty much every room in the house.
She was in the middle of adding the first product to the client's website she was building when Walter waddled over and nudged her leg. That was his way of letting her know it was potty time. It also reminded her it was lunchtime.
"Alrighty, let's go for a walk."
For Walter, a walk meant a stroll around the back yard, where he investigated the same bushes and trees he'd been sniffing since he moved in. A cardinal squawked when Walter got too close to the bush his mate was in.
The air was chilly, and Gretchen bit her lip instead of encouraging Walter to stop dawdling. It wasn't his fault she hadn't grabbed her coat. Eventually he did his business and they headed back inside.
"I think it's a sandwich for lunch. What do you think?"
Walter snuffled and cast a longing gaze at the treat jar.
"Oh. Sorry." Gretchen tossed him a treat.
He flopped down on his kitchen doggie bed, right next to the heater vent, where he stayed for the rest of the afternoon.
* * *
Gretchen checked the mirror a thousand times. She snapped a selfie and sent it to Jody.
Jody's response was almost immediate.
A second later, Jody sent an eye-rolling emoji.
Gretchen ended her reply with a string of laughing face emojis. Jody adored her customers and loved every minute of interacting with them. Okay, maybe not every minute, but most.
She slipped her phone into her back pocket and checked the mirror for the zillionth time, then caught herself. It's not like this was a real date.
When he knocked on the door, she was ready to go.
"Hi." He thrust a fistful of flowers toward her. "I got these. For you. I figured I was supposed to…"
"Thank you. Very nice gesture. I'll put them in water." She carried them to the kitchen. Since she wasn't sure where there might be a vase, she trimmed the stems and stuck them in a big cup.
"You look nice." His voice was loud and high.
"Breathe. You look terrified."
He pulled in a loud breath and pushed it out. Then he did it again. And again.
Gretchen put a hand on his forearm. "That's what we call hyperventilating."
"Sorry. I'm not… I wasn't sure… I don't know how to act."
"Act like my friend Lincoln."
He choked out a humorless laugh. "Your friend Lincoln has issues."
She grabbed her coat and opened the front door. "Don't we all."