Scoop by Rene Gutteridge Page A

twelve-year-old had a parent present for nearly every activity.
    “We make the most of our weekends,” Hugo said. “Now, is everything set? Are we sure we’ve got all our ducks in a row?”
    “Yes sir. Everyone is ready to go.”
    “All right.” Hugo checked his watch. Fifteen minutes. So this was what euphoria felt like.

    Ray had tried several times to maneuver his way next to Hayden throughout the evening. He had little to do at work other than meander around and answer one question after another about the incident. His head was throbbing a little, but that didn’t deter his mind from plotting how he intended to ask out Hayden. He was going to have to be really smooth about it since he’d witnessed Sam Leege crash and burn. He didn’t want that to happen. But he also didn’t want to give Sam an opportunity before he got his chance.
    Nothing was panning out. Every time he got close to her, something happened to thwart him.
    Time was ticking by. Soon the news would be over and his chance would be gone. Perhaps he was rushing things, but he knew the look in Sam’s eye. It was a look that told him Sam wasn’t going to go home to study the weather tonight.
    Ray had to get in while he still had a chance. Sam would be back, and there was something about meteorologists in this part of the country that made women swoon. Maybe they knew something about the barometric pressure that other men didn’t.
    Ray stood at his desk and scanned the newsroom for her to no avail. She was probably in the control room with Hugo, and there was no way he was going to try his moves inside a dark box with a crowd and a bunch of open mikes.
    He decided to get a cup of coffee. He hated coffee, but it was a nice excuse to leave his desk for a few minutes. He’d been taking coffee breaks for years and had yet to actually drink the stuff. As he turned toward thebreak room, he almost ran over Hayden, who was about to place a piece of paper on his desk.
    “Hi,” Ray said. “Sorry. Didn’t know you were there.”
    “My fault,” she said, grinning. “I should’ve made some noise or something.”
    Ray was already disgruntled at his inability to sense the woman of his dreams nearby. Even the smallest animal could smell the opposite sex from yards, sometimes miles, away. What was wrong with him?
    And now he was caught off guard. He’d had so many lines prepared, so many openers, and now he was just staring at her. She started to look uncomfortable, as she should, because he was making a perfectly awkward moment worse.
    So he started to say something about how beautiful she looked. He’d hoped to go for a more creative angle, but at the moment, nothing else was coming to him. He figured,
What woman doesn’t like to hear how beautiful she is?
She looked down, shaking her head. “Is it that obvious?”
    Not only could he not sense her presence, but now he couldn’t follow the conversation. This was the reason he was single and probably would be for the rest of his life. He was stuck between nodding and shaking his head, and it was making him dizzy.
    “I know, I know. It’s making me so upset. I’m trying to hide it, but it’s just getting to me.”
    Ray tried his best to follow. “I…well, I would be upset too.”
    “You would? Really?”
    “Sure,” Ray smiled. “Wouldn’t everyone?”
    She frowned. “I don’t think so. I mean, this sort of thing is accepted as the norm. But it’s so sad. I’m really sad for her.”
    Ray followed her gaze as she looked toward… “Gilda?”
    Hayden turned to him. “Who did you think I was talking about?”
    Swallowing, Ray tried to play it cool again. He wished he had a cup of coffee to pretend to sip. “No, yeah. Of course, Gilda.”
    “I really tried to talk to her about beauty, what it means to be beautiful. How beauty comes from the inside. But at the end of the day, the lies of Satan won out.” Hayden’s shoulders slumped.
    Ray wasn’t exactly sure how to turn “lies of Satan”