Bachelor Number Five (The Bachelor Series, Volume 1) (2 page)

“Thanks anyway.  I don’t think I’m up for it tonight.”

“Aw, come on!” said Piper.  “What if your prince charming is there waiting for you?!”

“You make sure to get his number for me,” Amanda laughed.  She’d spent enough nights hanging out at Rusty’s to know exactly what to expect.  It would no doubt be the same old cast of characters that was there almost every night, playing pool and listening to country music.  There was something to be said for the familiarity of the place, and the sense of community to be found there, but tonight Amanda couldn’t face it.  Maybe it was still that television show that was bothering her, but at the moment there was nothing she wanted more than to spend the night at home with ice cream and a rom-com.

“All right, fine…” Piper conceded.  “Don’t wait up for me!”

“I won’t,” said Amanda.  “Have fun.”

“See ya Lucy, see ya Floyd!” Piper added.

“You keep yourself outta trouble!” said Floyd.

Piper smirked at him and then bounced on through the door.  Amanda watched as she climbed into the truck on the passenger side and then slid across the bench seat to give her man a kiss.  Donny started the engine, turned the lights back on and then eased the truck backwards before heading off down the road.

“You all right?” said Lucy.

“Yeah, fine,” Amanda replied, snapping out of a trance.  “I’m fine.”  She headed into the back herself to clock out, trying to fight off the melancholy that seemed to be descending upon her.  Why couldn’t she be like Piper, she asked herself?  Piper was happy.  She had everything she needed; friends and family plus a boyfriend who took her out two nights per week to Rusty’s Road House.  Before long Donny would propose, they’d get married, have a few kids and that would be that.  Simple.  Easy.  Amanda was happy for Piper, but it wasn’t the kind of future she dreamed of for herself.  Maybe it was the knowledge that men like Bachelor Number Five existed out there in the world.  All she knew for sure was that lately, when Amanda pictured her own future, it took place somewhere else besides Quincy, Iowa.  She wasn’t quite sure where, but the prospect of spending a lifetime in this town seemed less promising every day.  If only she could summon the courage to make a change…

Amanda found her purse and jacket in the break room and then lowered her card into the time clock and punched out.  She moved through the kitchen where the cook was busy scrubbing the grill.  “Good night, Sonny!” she called out.

“You take care, now!” he called back.

Amanda pushed her way through the swinging door for the last time that night.  Floyd was gone and Lucy was at the front window flipping the “Open” sign to “Closed.”

“See you tomorrow, Lucy.”

“Have a good evening.”

“Thanks.”

Amanda walked out and across the parking lot to her faded green Ford Focus, illuminated by a single street light mounted directly above.  A chill was in the air with the arrival of fall.  Soon it would be winter, with the plains covered in a thick white blanket of snow.  Another winter stuck here in Quincy.  No love.  No life.  She tried not to feel sorry for herself.  She tried to take a lesson from Piper, to keep a positive attitude and be happy with whatever came her way.  Piper wasn’t a glass half-full type of person, she was a glass completely full person.  Life was simply what it was, with no time for regrets or second guessing.  One had to make the most of it, and that was all.  Amanda had a similar outlook once, but as the years went by she found it harder and harder to cling to.

Putting her purse on the roof of her car, Amanda slid into her jacket.  When she’d zipped it up, she lifted her purse again and searched through until her fingers found her keys.  She opened the car door and slid inside.  The starter struggled a few times before the engine turned over and Amanda headed home to the small house she and Piper shared; home to another night spent sitting on the couch, watching TV all alone.  She briefly considered joining Piper and the others, but decided against it in the end.  She just wasn’t in the mood, and besides, at least she had the cat to keep her company.  They didn’t make such a bad pair after all.

Chapter Two

When Amanda opened the front door and flipped on the light she was met by Whiskers, purring as he weaved himself in figure-eights around Amanda’s ankles.  “Hello Whiskers!” said Amanda, moving inside and closing the door behind her.  She put her purse on a small bureau and picked up the cat with one hand behind each of his front legs, holding his face up to her own and looking him in the eye.

“Meow,” said Whiskers.

“Meow to you,” Amanda replied.  She put the cat back down and went into the kitchen where she opened a cabinet and took out a can of cat food.  Whiskers couldn’t contain his excitement as Amanda peeled open the lid and then reached down for his dish.  Using a spoon she found in the sink, she scooped half of the can into the dish and set it back on the floor where he set to it immediately.  “I know, you only love me because I feed you.  That’s ok.  I don’t mind,” Amanda said, though her hint of sarcasm was completely lost on the cat.

Moving into her bedroom, Amanda pulled her uniform off over her head and tossed it onto the bed.  She went into the bathroom and turned on the taps in the tub, holding her fingers under the spout to test the water temperature.  When it was ready she stripped off her underwear and dropped it into a hamper before switching the water flow to the showerhead and stepping in under the warm, soothing stream.  It was her favorite time of the day.  Time to relax and wash away all of her worries.  Amanda closed her eyes and put her face under the steaming jets.

When she was showered and dry, Amanda threw on a sweatshirt, jeans and her favorite pink slippers.  The clock on her bedside table read 9:20 p.m.  Plenty of time for a movie and a big bowl of ice cream.  In the kitchen she went straight for the freezer and pulled the door open.  Amidst bags of frozen vegetables and frozen dinners was one carton of mint chip ice cream.  It felt conspicuously light when she picked it up.  Amanda pulled off the lid and looked inside to confirm her suspicions; but for a few small scrapings, the carton was completely empty.  She tossed the carton back into the freezer and swung the door shut.  She had eight minutes to get to the Quincy Market before it closed for the night.  Back in her room she dug a clean pair of socks out of her dresser and flipped the slippers off her feet.  She sat on the bed while she put on the socks and a pair of canvas sneakers, then stood again and moved back into the living room.  “See you in a few minutes,” Amanda said to Whiskers before heading on out the door.

But for one lonely cashier, the Quincy Market was completely deserted.  In the frozen foods aisle, Amanda stood gazing into the ice cream case.  She could choose peanut butter and chocolate, pralines and cream, strawberry cheesecake or one of twenty other flavors.  This was what her life had become; Friday night all alone with ice cream and her cat.  It didn’t escape her that this bout of depression might have something to do with that television show.  She felt the same way every Friday as soon as
The Bride
was over.  It was a nagging sense that everyone else in the world her age was out there living a life more glamorous and exciting than hers.  Amanda tried to push these thoughts aside.  She opened the case and reached for the peanut butter and chocolate.  Life was always better with chocolate.  And peanut butter.

The cashier was waiting patiently when Amanda got to the register.  “You find what you wanted?” the cashier asked.

“Yeah, thanks.”  Amanda put the carton on the counter.  Behind it was a row of tabloid newspapers and few glossy gossip magazines.  From dead center on the cover in front of her, the handsome, smiling face of Bachelor Number Five stared back. 
Bachelors of The Bride
read the headline. 
The Real Lives of 10 Hopeful Hunks
.

The cashier scanned the ice cream carton.  “Anything else?” she asked.

“Yeah, this.”  Amanda pulled out a copy of the magazine and tossed it onto the counter.  When she’d paid, Amanda took her ice cream and her magazine out to her car.  She sat in the driver’s seat and placed the ice cream beside her.  She turned on the overhead light and flipped through the magazine until she found the article in question: half a page devoted to each of this season’s last ten bachelors.

Amanda skipped through the first few pages and landed on number nine.  She gave a cursory glance at the tribal tattoo ringing his right bicep.  Piper would like that.  Amanda flipped the pages back until she found who she was really looking for.  The photo was taken on a beach with bright sun, pure sand and a tanned number five in red board shorts as he held a surfboard under his left arm.  Amanda’s heart raced as she saw his bare chest, smooth and rippled.  She took a deep breath.  Below the photo was a short bio followed by a Q and A.  Real Name: Grant Hutchinson.  Occupation: Entrepreneur.  Age: 26.  Birthplace: Houston, Texas.

Question:
  What do you consider to be your best feature?

Answer:
  I am very loyal.  I’d like to think that my friends can always count on me, and hopefully my bride, too.

Question:
  What is your worst?

Answer:
  I hate to admit, but I don’t always show up on time for appointments.  It’s why I have my own business, so I can be late if I want to and I won’t be fired!

Question:
  What is your business?

Answer:
  Online marketing and promotion.

Question:
  You’ve lived in LA for four years.  What do you like the most about the city?

Answer:
  I love the electricity of the place, and the club scene, too.  Ecstasy, The Snake Pit and Midnight Domino are some of my favorites.

Question:
  Are you willing to give up that lifestyle if you are the chosen one and agree to get married?

Answer:
  Hopefully my bride will want to come out with me.

Question:
  Last one, why appear on
The Bride
?  You must meet plenty of eligible singles in the club scene already.

Answer:
  I’m an old-fashioned guy at heart.  I’m looking for someone with more traditional values who is ready to settle down and start a family.  Hopefully the bride will choose me and we can start building a strong foundation for the future together.

Amanda closed the magazine and leaned back in her seat.  She felt as though all of her life energy was draining out of her body, as if she might just evaporate completely, leaving behind an empty green Ford Focus with a carton of ice cream melting on the passenger seat.  She might as well cease to exist.  It wouldn’t make any difference in the grand scheme of things.  How many people would even miss her?

Amanda fought against this instinct to have her own little pity party.  She knew that the key to happiness was to keep a positive attitude.  She’d read that before, in this same magazine.  It was what Piper understood intuitively.  What Amanda realized, though, was that ever since high school she’d been waiting for the love of her life to appear as if by magic and whisk her off to a life of joy and fulfillment.  Her subconscious was waiting for it, every day of her life.  She even thought she’d found it once, moving in with Adam a few years after graduation.  That was going to be the beginning of the rest of her life.  She’d been so excited then, sharing an apartment with a boy for the very first time.  Even the small things were a joy; sharing meals together or going to the grocery store to stock up for their week ahead.  There were warning signs, toward the end of their first year together, but Amanda ignored them, putting it down to Adam’s moodiness or perhaps to stress.  It was so very slowly that her life went from one of happiness and optimism to sadness and misery.  What was wrong she couldn’t even say, exactly.  All she knew was that he’d become surly, occasionally at first but then more and more often.   Whatever the cause, Amanda never gave up hope that she could fix it, all the way up until the day he dropped the hammer.  He didn’t love her.  He wanted to break up.  She’d have to move out.  The shock of it was debilitating.  Her heart was crushed.  Amanda retreated into her job at the diner and the people in her life who really did love and care about her; Lucy and Piper, her mom and her dad.  They provided the comfort that she needed to mend her broken heart, but Amanda still craved the love of a good man.

As she sat in her car reliving these past few years in her mind, Amanda understood with certainty that as long as she stayed in Quincy, falling in love was never likely to happen.  The time had finally come for her to leave this small town and venture out into the world.  She wanted to hang out on a beach somewhere with white sand and shimmering blue water.  She wanted to go to nightclubs with names like
Ecstasy
and
Midnight Domino
.  And she wanted to meet a bleached blond surfer boy from Houston, Texas. 

After tossing the magazine on top of the ice cream, Amanda started her car and pulled out onto Main Street.  She only had to drive a few blocks before she got to Rusty’s Road House.  She parked again and went inside, spotting Piper and Donny almost immediately by the pool table in back.  Amanda walked past the barstools filled with regulars, and the jukebox playing an old country tune.  Piper stood holding a cue in one hand, studying the table for her next shot.