get to know her. But what have you got to lose?” I asked. “This is what dating is all about.” God help us all, I added to myself.
“You’re right!” he said banging his fist on the table. “I have to take a chance if I want to meet the woman of my dreams. Ms. Hudson, please allow me a few moments alone. I think I had better place this call privately.”
I wasn’t so sure that it was a good idea. But who was I to say? Look at my current love life. I took his manuscripts down to the hotel office and started to work through the last couple of days. Thirty minutes later the desk manager came over and told me that Mr. Pyres would like me to return to his room.
This time Mr. Pyres didn’t open the door before I could knock. In fact it took a couple minutes for him to come to the door. The door swung open and, in a flurry of black cape, The Count announced, “I have a date in an hour, Ms. Hudson. You must help me prepare.”
C HAPTER N INE
GETTING MR. PYRES ready for his date was easier than I thought it would be. He was so excited about the prospect of meeting the lovely Betty that he seemed almost normal. Or maybe I was just getting used to him. I hoped Betty would be as open to his eccentricities. I tried to get him to ditch the cape, but it was a no go.
"It's a cloak, Ms. Hudson," he said haughtily. "I have no intention of catching my death traipsing about without a cloak."
"How about a jacket instead," I suggested. "You know something that looks normal."
"I assure you that I look perfectly normal for where I come from," he huffed.
And that would be from among the living dead? I muttered to myself. I tried another tactic. "Don't you want to make a good first impression on Betty?"
"I believe the best first impression I can make is to be myself." Okay, he had me there. I shrugged. Maybe Betty was into guys in capes. Hey, stranger things had happened, right? I tried to pull a little more info out of Mr. Pyres after his conversation with Betty. All he said was that her name was Betty Getty, she sounded lovely, and that they were both looking forward to participating in the Annapolis Renaissance Fair in a couple of weeks. They were meeting at a cozy little restaurant near Dock Street for drinks. I gave McGlynn’s a plug in case they wanted to go someplace afterwards.
I left Mr. Pyres’ hotel at four with an armload of manuscript pages. I was now two full days behind and would need to work this evening to catch up. Thankfully, there were no new messages on his accounts at the three dating sites. I didn't realize that helping him find love would be quite this time-consuming. I was shocked at the success he was having. It had me thinking about my own love life. If I guy in a cape could find someone, maybe I could too. I paused in mid-thought. Strike that. If that were the case, I'd be on my way to meet a guy in a cape. No thanks. Not worth the risk. I had enough man problems. I didn't need any new complications.
I piled the manuscripts in my car and rolled the windows down. I loved the spring. Anything was possible. Everything felt fresh and new. I flushed thinking about last night. Man, that whole scene had come out of nowhere. What are the chances of running into your high school sweetheart recently off a bad relationship? Not to mention, looking like the world's hottest lumberjack, all hard, chiseled, and grizzled. I had a hickey on my neck and whisker burns on my unmentionables. Damn that dog! It would have been better to just do it and get it out of my system. Put it behind me and move on with my life.
Don't get me wrong. I haven't spent the last decade asking myself what if. Just an occasional fleeting thought when I heard an old song or went somewhere we used to hang out. Sometimes I'd hear about him through friends. It always sounded like he was doing great and I was happy for him. Now I didn't know what to think. I knew I had to deal with this. I didn't see a future for us, but it would
“You’re right!” he said banging his fist on the table. “I have to take a chance if I want to meet the woman of my dreams. Ms. Hudson, please allow me a few moments alone. I think I had better place this call privately.”
I wasn’t so sure that it was a good idea. But who was I to say? Look at my current love life. I took his manuscripts down to the hotel office and started to work through the last couple of days. Thirty minutes later the desk manager came over and told me that Mr. Pyres would like me to return to his room.
This time Mr. Pyres didn’t open the door before I could knock. In fact it took a couple minutes for him to come to the door. The door swung open and, in a flurry of black cape, The Count announced, “I have a date in an hour, Ms. Hudson. You must help me prepare.”
C HAPTER N INE
GETTING MR. PYRES ready for his date was easier than I thought it would be. He was so excited about the prospect of meeting the lovely Betty that he seemed almost normal. Or maybe I was just getting used to him. I hoped Betty would be as open to his eccentricities. I tried to get him to ditch the cape, but it was a no go.
"It's a cloak, Ms. Hudson," he said haughtily. "I have no intention of catching my death traipsing about without a cloak."
"How about a jacket instead," I suggested. "You know something that looks normal."
"I assure you that I look perfectly normal for where I come from," he huffed.
And that would be from among the living dead? I muttered to myself. I tried another tactic. "Don't you want to make a good first impression on Betty?"
"I believe the best first impression I can make is to be myself." Okay, he had me there. I shrugged. Maybe Betty was into guys in capes. Hey, stranger things had happened, right? I tried to pull a little more info out of Mr. Pyres after his conversation with Betty. All he said was that her name was Betty Getty, she sounded lovely, and that they were both looking forward to participating in the Annapolis Renaissance Fair in a couple of weeks. They were meeting at a cozy little restaurant near Dock Street for drinks. I gave McGlynn’s a plug in case they wanted to go someplace afterwards.
I left Mr. Pyres’ hotel at four with an armload of manuscript pages. I was now two full days behind and would need to work this evening to catch up. Thankfully, there were no new messages on his accounts at the three dating sites. I didn't realize that helping him find love would be quite this time-consuming. I was shocked at the success he was having. It had me thinking about my own love life. If I guy in a cape could find someone, maybe I could too. I paused in mid-thought. Strike that. If that were the case, I'd be on my way to meet a guy in a cape. No thanks. Not worth the risk. I had enough man problems. I didn't need any new complications.
I piled the manuscripts in my car and rolled the windows down. I loved the spring. Anything was possible. Everything felt fresh and new. I flushed thinking about last night. Man, that whole scene had come out of nowhere. What are the chances of running into your high school sweetheart recently off a bad relationship? Not to mention, looking like the world's hottest lumberjack, all hard, chiseled, and grizzled. I had a hickey on my neck and whisker burns on my unmentionables. Damn that dog! It would have been better to just do it and get it out of my system. Put it behind me and move on with my life.
Don't get me wrong. I haven't spent the last decade asking myself what if. Just an occasional fleeting thought when I heard an old song or went somewhere we used to hang out. Sometimes I'd hear about him through friends. It always sounded like he was doing great and I was happy for him. Now I didn't know what to think. I knew I had to deal with this. I didn't see a future for us, but it would
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