The Marriage Portrait

He wanted to refuse. Going to dinner with seven strangers who were looking for love through a dating service was not how he wanted to spend a Saturday evening. Yet Tessie never asked for much. She’d raised him ever since he was a small boy, giving him the love and care his own mother hadn’t been able to give to him. How could he say no?

“I really wish you hadn’t spent your money on this,” he said, tapping the side of the invitation against the table.

“It’s worth it if it makes you happy,” she said, coming over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Only it didn’t make him happy, yet he couldn’t tell her that. She’d been so excited to give him the gift. She had no idea how much he disliked the idea.

“You are going to go to the dinner, aren’t you?”

Every instinct inside him wanted him to say no, but before he could say another word, there was a knock at the door.

“I wonder who that could be?” Tessie said aloud, looking as if she knew exactly who was at the door.

Michael’s glance flew to the sideboard. “Probably someone who heard you’d baked two pies.”

She flitted out of the room. When she returned she was accompanied by half a dozen gray-haired women. The Mums had arrived.

To Michael’s dismay, they came with a gift. After greeting each of them and receiving more birthday hugs, he opened the package. Inside was a shirt and tie.

“For your dinner on Saturday,” Louella told him with a twinkle in her eye.

Michael almost said, “I’m not going to dinner on Saturday,” but the group of women gathered around him were the dearest ladies he knew. They’d been mothering him almost as long as Tessie had been.

So instead of telling them he could get a date without their help, he simply said, “Thank you. This will make me look like a man about town.”

They all smiled and ate their lemon meringue pie. Michael knew his chances of getting out of the dinner were between slim and next to none. But Lynn was going on vacation, which meant he’d be the vet on call next weekend.

Maybe there was hope.

Chapter Two

Normally the clinic was open until three on Saturdays. Oftentimes that wasn’t near long enough. Pets—like humans—frequently needed treatment on weekends after the office was closed and Michael did his best to accommodate them.

Only on this particular Saturday, business was very slow. As the hands on the clock moved toward closing time, he knew that unless an emergency arose, he wasn’t going to be able to use work as an excuse for not going to the dinner Tessie had arranged. Nor could he say he lost track of time and forgot. His mother called him at least four times to remind him of her birthday gift.

“It’s certainly been a quiet Saturday, hasn’t it?” Tabitha commented as she sprayed disinfectant over the surgical table. “Hope that doesn’t mean you’re going to have a crazy night. You are on call, right?”

Michael nodded. “Lynn’s out of town for the weekend.”

“Well, let’s hope you’re lucky and you can enjoy what’s left of yours without any interruptions.”

Little did she know that an interruption was exactly what he needed. Unsure of how to approach the subject, he said, “I was wondering if you could do me a favor this evening?”

“What kind of favor?”

“Could you page me at eight o’clock?”

“I guess, but why?” She fixed him with a perplexed stare.

“Let’s just say I’m in a bit of a predicament that I need to get out of without hurting anybody’s feelings.”

“Oh, I get it. I’ll page you and you’ll go to a phone, pretend to call and then announce to whoever it is you’re with that you have to leave. Is that it?” A sly twinkle danced in her eye.

He felt like a fool for having to ask, especially because he could see by the look on her face that she thought he’d gotten himself involved with a woman and didn’t know how to extricate himself.

He debated as to whether or not he should tell her the truth. Tabitha had been a loyal employee for six years, yet he was not naive enough to believe she didn’t talk with the other women in the office.

“That’s it. And it’s not what you’re thinking.”

“It isn’t?”

“No. It’s…” He paused, then finally decided to take the risk, and said, “The only reason I’m asking you to do this is because of Tessie.” He went on to explain her birthday gift to him, expecting her to find it amusing.

“What a sweet thing to do. I hear dating services are very popular and a great way to meet people.”

“Then you don’t see anything wrong with using one?”

“No, not at all.” She smiled. “Although I have to admit in your case it is kind of funny that Tessie thinks you need help getting a date. Obviously she doesn’t know about…”

“No, she doesn’t. So you can see why I need you to page me at eight. I really don’t want to go to anything connected with a dating service.”

“But you can’t hurt her feelings.”

“Exactly.”

“Very well, boss. At eight o’clock I’ll ring your pager. Anything else you want before I leave?”

“I would appreciate you not mentioning this to anyone else…for Tessie’s sake, of course.”

“Of course. It’s our secret.” She made a gesture as if she had an imaginary key locking her lips.

Michael didn’t like secrets. They had a way of slipping out when one least expected it, but he was relieved he’d talked to Tabitha. Now he could put in an appearance at the dinner and make Tessie happy. He smiled to himself and patted the pager he had clipped to his belt.

Later that evening as he parked his Ford Explorer outside the popular five-star restaurant, it suddenly occurred to him that he was going to be in a very public place and might be recognized. He groaned silently. What he didn’t need was for his friends to learn that he’d gone to a dating service dinner.

He decided to stay in the car for as long as he could to avoid that possibility. He sat listening to the radio, watching other patrons go inside. Every time he saw a single man or woman, he wondered if they were one of the hopeless. For that’s how he viewed his dinner companions. Despite Tabitha’s assurances that dating services had changed and were now an acceptable option as a meeting place for singles, he couldn’t help but regard them as playgrounds of the hopeless.

He watched as the numbers on the digital clock continued to change with each passing minute until he knew he could put off the inevitable no longer. Reluctantly he climbed out of the car and went inside.

At the hostess stand, an attractive blonde wearing a very short skirt and a glittery tight top eyed him with obvious interest as he approached. “One for dinner?”

“Actually I’m meeting some people. I believe the reservation is under Claudia Dixon,” he answered, wishing he could say he was alone. Even eating alone in a fancy restaurant on a Saturday night was preferable to the ordeal he was about to endure.

“You’re with Dinner Date?” The blonde lifted one eyebrow with definite interest and her smile became even friendlier. “Claudia said she had a unique group coming in tonight, but she didn’t tell me it would have so many attractive men in it.”

“You want to join us for dinner?” Michael asked, not one to pass up an opportunity to flirt.

She gave him an equally flirtatious grin as she said, “Wish I could, but duty calls. However, maybe if you’re still here when I get off…” She let the sentence dangle.