The Romance Report (9 page)

Chapter seventeen

http://theromancereport.blogathon.com

The Romance Report

A blog dedicated to the pursuit of love and happiness.

Sunday, September 22, 11:55 p.m.

What a beautiful night dear readers! Who needs
True Hearts? Not this girl! I had a great date with an old friend from college
who I haven’t seen in a few years.

D. and I ran into each other in the supermarket
the other day. He asked for my number and a few days later, voila! We had
dinner then went to the theater. It was comfortable. Like your favorite pair of
jeans that fit just right even on your most bloated days.

So, dear readers, if you’re looking for romance,
don’t go spend money on an online profile or dare to
 
speed date with your local parolees. Pick a
produce aisle and cruise. Lettuce all look for the one who makes us bananas
next to the fresh tomatoes.

Signing off to enjoy some sweet dreams about D.
McDreamy. Good night, dear readers, and good luck.

Comments:

IndigoRainbowUnicorn: I take it the date went
well?

QuinnieBee: It was awesome sauce!

Dreambuilder: The problem with old jeans is that
they are too comfortable. A little spark. A little pizazz. That’s what I want
in a girl.

QuinnieBee: Who asked you, anyway? Spark, shmark.
I just want a nice guy who doesn’t empty my bank account.

Dreambuilder: Comfortable jeans wear out and then
what do you have? Holey pants.

         
QuinnieBee:
Grrr…

Chapter Eighteen

Quinn sprang out of bed the next morning. She
should have been exhausted given the late night, but she felt strangely
exhilarated. She, Quinn Daniels, went on a date with a guy who had a real job
and was normal. Better yet, Doug asked her to go to a movie on her next day off.
Quinn practically pirouetted into her kitchen to start her coffee. “Good
morning, Fat Panther,” she sang as she gave him an extra spoonful of his
favorite canned food.

The day flew by at the restaurant. She made a
simple peach pie with a side of homemade vanilla ice cream and a more elegant
crème brulee for the second dessert choice. Her uncle had asked her opinion on
the evening’s menu choices and incorporated her idea for a simple roasted root
vegetables as an accompaniment to his main dish.

“I’m still thinking about culinary school,” Quinn
told him.

“You have time. The next semester of classes
doesn’t start for a few months, but you don’t want to wait too long. If you
decide to go, we’ll need to get your application in and your spot reserved.
Fortunately for you, I happen to know someone at the school.” Uncle Pat winked
at her.

“I want to go, but I still have bills to pay. I’m
not moving back in with Mom and Dad.”

“Let me worry about that. I have a few tricks up
my sleeve yet.”

“I don’t want to take money from you. Tuition is a
big enough gift. I can’t ask you to do anything else.”

“It’s not a gift, QuinnieBee. You will be my
indentured servant for at least a year afterwards which guarantees me a
successful restaurant with you on my staff.”

“Hmm…I don’t know about all of that. I got lucky
with a reviewer who liked my cake. It doesn’t make me a chef.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. There’s more to you
than meets the eye. Hanrahan blood runs through your veins. Hanrahans are fighters
and survivors. Look at Ma and all she went through with Da,” Patrick said.

“All she went through?” Quinn was confused. Her
Grandma Rose had nothing but the highest praise for Quinn’s grandfather.
Although she didn’t remember him, Quinn could picture him in her mind from all
of the stories she’d been told growing up in her grandmother’s kitchen.

“Ma lived through some hard scrabble years. We all
did. Why do you think your mother’s such a pain in the…well, so uptight? We
lived off free cheese and baloney many a night while Da was out of work.”

“I thought Grandpa worked on the railroads and
made good money.”

“He did when we were older, but when we were
little, he worked as a bartender and musician. Ma used to take in ironing and
clean other ladies’ houses in order to make ends meet. Your mother wore hand me
downs from some of her classmates. Clothes given to Ma when she cleaned houses.
Your grandmother never complained, but I remember her sitting up at night
sewing in her favorite chair. She would try to alter the clothes for your
mother so the other girls wouldn’t know they were hand me downs.”

“I never knew,” Quinn said softly. Her grandmother
had never said one unkind word about her husband.

“Well, now you do. We Hanrahans come from the best
Irish stock. We’re strong and smart. We don’t always start out okay, but in the
end, we always survive. A little battle scarred and tired but that’s part of
life.”

Quinn thought about what her uncle had told her as
she boarded the bus for home. She decided to hop off the bus and take a detour
to visit Grandma Rose.

Quinn found her grandmother in her small
apartment. She was fixing herself a pot of tea and grabbed another cup for
Quinn.

“Two visits in less than two weeks! I must be ill
or something,” Grandma Rose joked.

“I hope not,” Quinn replied. “Uncle Patrick and I
were talking about Grandpa today. How come you never told me how tough it was
when you were first married?”

“It wasn’t tough. We had some tight times, but we
had each other. We knew that no matter what happened, the two of us would stand
together and face whatever troubles came.”

“Uncle Patrick said Grandpa used to play music and
tend bar.”

“He did. He played guitar and could sing the pants
off an angel,” Grandma Rose said.

“Grandma!” Quinn laughed.

“It’s true,” Grandma said. “He was talented, but
not good enough to really do it professionally. I thought it would break his
heart to quit playing, but he said as long as he had me and the children, he
would always have a song in his heart.”

“Why did he stop playing?” Quinn asked.

“One night he came home from the bar and found me
crying. I didn’t have enough money to pay the gas bill and buy food. I couldn’t
decide whether to make sure my children weren’t cold or make sure they had
food. Your grandpa went the next day and pawned his guitar and applied for a
job on the railroad. Anne and Patrick had heat and food that month.”

“Did he ever get his guitar back?”

“Aye, he did. He never knew, but I went and
borrowed the money from one of the nice ladies I cleaned houses for. I promised
to bake her dessert every week for a month in exchange. I went and got his
guitar out of the pawn shop. He didn’t ask where the money came from, and I
didn’t tell him.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have sworn completely off
musicians and artists. Grandpa turned out okay.”

“It’s not what they do for a living, dear, that
makes the difference. It’s how they do their living that’s important.”

“Huh? I don’t get it.” Quinn’s face screwed up in
confusion.

“Your grandpa made home and family the priority.
We could have stayed poor as church mice the rest of their lives, but we would
have still be happy because we treated each other with respect. It’s when the
person you’re with doesn’t value who you are and what you stand for as a person
that it falls apart. You could be a Rockefeller with all the money in the
world, but if you’re poor in spirit, then you aren’t worth a plug nickel as far
as I’m concerned.”

Quinn sat quietly and thought about what her
grandmother had said. “I guess you’re right. It wasn’t so much that Johnny was
a guitarist that was the problem. My hard work and my time weren’t important to
him. My feelings and my time didn’t have value to him. It’s probably why he
didn’t think twice about taking my stuff. Thanks, Grandma.”

“You’re welcome. My old bones might not be as
tough as they used to be, but I still know a few things.”

Quinn stood up and kissed her grandmother on her
cheek. “I think you know a lot of things, Grandma. I’d better get home. The
jungle cat I live with will be squalling at the door for his dinner if I’m too
late.”

“Come see me again anytime, sweetheart.”

Quinn left and headed towards home. Her head was
spinning from the night before and the revelations from her family. She
realized life and love weren’t quite as easy as they appeared on the thirty
minute sitcoms she’d watched growing up. If she lived to be one hundred, she
might just figure out life and men.

Chapter Nineteen

http://theromancereport.blogathon.com

The Romance Report

A blog dedicated to the pursuit of love and happiness.

Monday, September 23, 3:37 p.m.

  
Hello,
dear readers. No, I haven’t gone on another date. I just wanted to share what I
learned from the wisest woman I know, my grandmother. A guy is a keeper if he
remembers that you take two spoons of sugar and a little cream in your coffee.
A guy is a keeper if he gives you the last bite of his favorite piece of pie. A
guy is a keeper if he’ll put your needs in front of his wants. Now notice what
I said, dear readers, your needs in front of his wants. That means sacrifice.
It’s a hard thing for any person to do sometimes, but if he’s the one, he will
be willing to sacrifice. Now this doesn’t mean he’ll give up his existence to
make you happy. It also doesn’t mean you don’t have to be willing to do the
same for him. Grandma taught me that when you love someone, you make them a
priority in your life. I’ve decided to listen to my beautiful Grandma because
she is the wisest woman I know. I want to be a priority in someone’s life, not
an afterthought. Wish me luck, dear readers, as I look for the guy that thinks
I’m number one.

Comments:

Sleepingbeautiful89: I know just what you’re
talking about, girl. I dated a guy that put his pet ferret before me.

QuinnieBee: Wow! A ferret. Really? At least it’s
alive. My last guy put a guitar on my side of the bed because he didn’t want it
to get scratched leaning in a corner. I slept on the couch.

Sleepingbeautiful89: Ouch!

Chapter Twenty

Quinn was disappointed that she hadn’t heard from
Doug yet. She knew he taught school, but she had to admit that she secretly wished
he’d taken a moment and texted her. She sighed and decided a quick bike ride at
the park would get her blood flowing and her energy level back so she could
start painting her bathroom. She’d chosen a pale dove gray for the walls with
pale lavender towels and vanity set to offset the gray. She loved the color
combination, but she dreaded taping all of the bathroom fixtures to keep from
getting paint on them. It was her least favorite task. Now if she could get a
guy to do that for her, she would have it made.

Quinn walked into the backyard to the small shed
where she kept her bicycle. It was a turquoise Schwinn with a basket on the
front and she had named it Maddie after her favorite doll as a child. Quinn was
a firm believer in naming cars and bicycles. She thought it made the car more
likely to start and the bicycle less likely to get a flat tire. She wheeled it
to the back gate.

“Hey! Quinn! Where are you headed?” Quinn whipped
her head around and saw Zach leaning out his apartment window waving to her.
“Hold on a second. I’ll be right down.”

Quinn parked her bike and waited until Zach came
running through the backyard to where she stood. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“I need the biggest favor in the world. If you do
this for me, I’ll owe you for the next year. I’ll wash your windows, fold your
laundry, anything.”

“Help me paint my bathroom?”

“If you do this for me, then yes,” Zach said
earnestly.

“Oh boy. This must be huge. I won’t help you
dispose of a body or anything illegal,” Quinn warned, only half in jest.

“No. Nothing like that. I need you to go with me
to a dinner party at my buddy’s house on Wednesday,” Zach said.

“A dinner party? Is that all? Shoot. You could
have gotten me to do it with a cheap cup of coffee,” Quinn said with relief. “I
thought it was going to be something awful.”

“Well, I haven’t gotten to the favor part. I need
you to pretend we’re a little more than neighbors, a little less than
girlfriend and boyfriend.” Zach gave her a rueful look. “I begged off another
date with Cindy’s friend by telling them that you and I were kind of starting
to see each other.”

“You lied,” Quinn said flatly.

“Well, yeah. But this girl was circling me like a
shark around chum and I panicked. I told her I was interested in somebody else
because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She told Cindy, Cindy told Jeff and
now I’m toast if I don’t produce a living, breathing female. Please. I’ll paint
your kitchen, too.”

Quinn narrowed her eyes. “I want kitchen, bathroom
and living room painted or I will throw you under the bus, my friend.”

“Deal. You drive a hard bargain,” Zach held out
his hand. Quinn took it and shook. She felt a slight shock when his hand closed
around hers. Static electricity, she thought. I need to start using fabric
softener on my laundry.

“So how many dates have we gone on?” Quinn asked,
crossing her arms and leaning against the fence.

“Only two official dates, but we talk all the time
and hang out in each other’s apartment every evening. We went for coffee and
then I took you rock climbing,” Zach said.

“Rock climbing? Are you out of your mind? Do I
look like I’ve ever gone rock climbing?” Quinn sputtered. She uncrossed her
arms and grabbed her bike. “I don’t know if you should take me as your alleged
“dating friend” or not. I’m not a very good liar.”

“You won’t be lying.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said. I’ve never climbed a
rock in my life. A tree, yes. A cliff, not on your life.” Quinn put her bike
helmet on and fastened the clip under her chin.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a lie if you went with me
today,” Zach replied. “If you wait ten minutes, I’ll grab my bike and we can
ride down to the park. They put in a climbing gym a few blocks away from there,
so after we do a few laps through the park, we can go climb a wall.”

Quinn shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve never
done it before. I’m a little scared of heights.”

 
“Weren’t
you the girl that just underwent Operation Quinnover or Quinn 3.8 or some such
thing the other day? You can spread your wings a little more and come climbing
with me. If you hate it, I’ll buy you dinner,” Zach offered.

“How about you buy me dinner whether I like it or
not?” Quinn shot back. Quinn straightened her shoulders and met his gaze. “The
new Quinn wants a little more pampering and a lot less pandering in her life.”

“You really are a tough negotiator, but alright.
Give me time to make a quick call to Jeff and Cindy and confirm that we’ll be
there and grab my bike. I’ll be back.”

Zach sprinted back inside the brownstone. Quinn
couldn’t help but notice his tanned legs and the way the afternoon sun glinted
off his hair. She shook her head. “I want a nice, normal guy with a normal job.
Plus, what kind of guy climbs rocks for fun?”

Less than ten minutes later, they were biking
their way down a side street to the nearby park. Quinn raced ahead of Zach and
when she thought she had a solid lead on him, she slowed her pedaling only to
have him zip by on his ten-speed.

“Pedal, pedal, as fast you can. You can’t catch
me, I’m a ten-speed man!” Zach called over his shoulder.

“My Maddie might be slower, but I can haul a snack
in my bike basket. Guess Mr. Ten-Speed Man didn’t count on that!”

Zach skidded to a stop and waited for Quinn to
catch up. Once she neared him, she circled his bike around her. “So, Miss
Quinn, what kind of snacks did you bring with you to the park?”

“Chocolate chip cookies with cherries. I might
have brought an extra one that I’d be willing to share with the right person.”

“Hmm…and what makes this person worthy of said
cookie?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Quinn said with a coy smile.
“Can you let me look through your telescope one night?”

“Not on a second date! What kind of guy do you
think I am?” Zach pretended to be shocked. He gave her a sly look. “Maybe on a
third date.”

“I’m counting that dinner party as a third date.”

“Fair enough,” Zach said. “But I’m still not
letting you beat me.” He zipped ahead of her again. Quinn laughed and pedaled
faster.

They spent the next twenty minutes circling the
park. On their final lap, Zach took a side path and led Quinn to the
newly-constructed climbing gym. She took off her helmet and fluffed her
flattened hair.

“I must have helmet hair,” she said, running her
fingers through her waves again.

“It’s a look. You’re pretty enough to carry it
off,” Zach said.

“Ah, thanks. Every girl wants to know she looks
gorgeous with hat hair.”

Zach paid their entrance fee and picked out their
equipment. He spent several minutes going over safety and showing Quinn how to
attach herself to the safety line. The staff person working the wall made sure
they were both securely attached.

“You want to look up, not down. If you look down,
you’ll get scared and it might make you lose your grip,” Zach explained.

“Keep my eye on the prize,” Quinn nodded. “Got
it.”

“I’ll go a little bit ahead of you, so you can see
how it’s done.” Zach stepped to the wall and grasped the small handholds
jutting from the wall. “I try to look and see what the best direction for my
reach and height is. The best way to climb isn’t always straight up. Sometimes
you have to make a little side journey.”

“Are we talking about climbing or life?” Quinn
called after him. She watched him crabwalk his way to the side and held her
breath as he leaped to the left and swung on his rope to reach a handhold.

“Both!” He called down to her. “Okay, now your
turn to start.”

“Here goes nothing,” Quinn muttered to herself.
She reached out and grabbed a small handhold and pulled herself up. Soon she
found her rhythm and started to grasp and pull herself upwards. “I’ve got it!”

“Great job! Now the goal is to reach the top. Then
I’ll show you how to get down.”

When Zach said the word “down” Quinn made the
mistake of looking down at the ground. She froze. She hadn’t realized how far
up she was. The ground seemed to roll and sway underneath her, but she realized
it was her head that was swaying back and forth as dizziness took hold. “Zach!
I looked down!” Quinn shouted, fright causing her voice to crack. She squeezed
her eyes shut.

“Hold on! I’ll come down to you.”

“You guys okay?” The young guy manning the wall
called up to them.

“She’s fine. I’m going to help her out,” Zach
called to the staff. The guy responded with a thumbs up.

Quinn clung to her small handhold, but her fingers
started to cramp. After what seemed hours, but was probably only a minute, Zach
zipped down next to her. “I want you to look at me, Quinn. Open your eyes and
look at me.”

Quinn opened her eyes and her gray eyes met his bright
blue ones. “I don’t want to fall,” she squeaked.

“Listen to me, Quinn. You’re not going to fall.
You and I are going to climb to the top of this wall together. I won’t ever
leave your side,” Zach said with a reassuring smile. “Just do what I do, and
you’ll be fine. I promise.”

“I’m scared.”

“There’s nothing to be scared of, Quinn. I’m right
here. I’m going to start climbing and you’re going to put your hands and feet
where I put mine. Okay?”

“Okay.” Quinn sniffled a little.

“Hey. The new Quinn is tough and can do anything
she wants.”

“New Quinn. Tough. Gotcha.” Quinn screwed up her
courage and as Zach climbed in front of her, she followed behind him. A few
minutes later, he stopped. “What did you stop for?”

“We’ve reached the top,” Zach grinned.

“Really? I made it all the way to the top?” Quinn
gasped. She was too scared to look down, but when she looked up, she realized
that she was out of wall. “Alright! Now how do I get down?”

Zach laughed. “Getting down is a whole lot easier
than getting up. You’ll rappel down. First you call down to the guy holding
your safety line to let him know you’re heading down. Belay!”

Quinn watched as Zach pushed himself away from the
wall and quickly let out some of his rope as he rappelled his way down the
wall. Soon she spotted him on the ground.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and pushed
off. Miraculously, she didn’t plummet to her death and after a few bad starts,
learned how to push herself off the wall while slackening her rope. Eventually,
her feet touched the ground.

“I did it! Oh my gosh! I really did it! I climbed
all the way to the top and then I zipped myself all the way back down!” She
jumped up and down excitedly, clapping her hands.

Zach hugged her and smiled. “Yes, you did. I’m
proud of you. It’s a little intimidating climbing for the first time. Your arms
and legs are going to hurt tomorrow. It takes muscles you don’t realize you
have.”

“I can’t believe I went climbing. The old Quinn
wouldn’t have done it. I’m shaking!” Quinn laughed and held her hand out and
showed Zach.

“It’s your muscles. I tell you what. Instead of
going to dinner, why don’t we stop by Salvatore’s Deli on the way home and pick
up some food. We can eat dinner on the rooftop and I’ll show you my telescope.”

“Why, Zach, are you showing me your telescope on a
second date? The neighbors might talk!”

“I’ll risk it,” Zach winked at her. “Come on,
Mighty Quinn, let me feed you. You earned dinner and dessert.”

“I most certainly did,” Quinn agreed. She hopped
on Maddie and led the way home.