Читать книгу The Perfect Spouse: A Novel - Sioux Dallas - Страница 12

Chapter Four

Jason’s clientele grew so rapidly they were all busy Monday through half day Saturday. Jason was grateful for the confidence shown in him by the people in town and in surrounding areas.

He was so busy that he shoved his joining the dating agency into the back of his mind. He was jolted four days later when Grace called him to say there was a Dottie Fingar on the line, but she didn’t know what she wanted. Jason thanked her and waited until he saw her light go off to start talking to Dottie.

“Jason, we have a request from a lady to meet you. How soon can you get here to view her video?”

“This is most unexpected and my office is so busy.” He hesitated. “Maybe I can get there for a few minutes around two. Will that be all right?”

“Certainly. We’re here for your convenience.”

Nervous spasms hit Jason’s stomach. Will I like her picture? Will she like me in person? What can we talk about? Should I take flowers this first time? He decided to wait and let nature take its course.

Jason stayed in the office and let the three go out for lunch. Grace brought him a Ruben, a latte and an apple pie. He ate quickly and donned his overcoat. Walking to the front he told Grace he was going out for a brief time on personal business. He placed a Stetson on his head as he walked out of the door.

* * * * *

“Hello, Jason.” Corella greeted him as he came in the door and removed his hat. “I think Dottie is waiting for you.”

“Do I have to make a decision now?”

“No, Jason,” she assured him. “You’ve paid good money to be a member and it’s up to you what you want to do, or how often you want to meet ladies. If you’d rather wait until after your first get together and then decide, that’ll be your privilege.” Dottie walked to them.

“Let me think about it. Remember I told you how apprehensive I am.”

Dottie laughed. “I’m familiar with the feeling. You’re not the only one who has been unsure. Put your coat and hat on the rack over there and come with me.”

He saw a polished copper rack with crooked arms reaching from it. The end of the arms had round copper balls to keep from damaging clothing. He placed his overcoat and hat on the rack and followed Dottie. She took him to the end of the long, open room where two thick books about fourteen inches by ten inches were on a table.

“The green book has the ladies pictures and the blue book has the gentlemen. Let me see.” She read off a paper in her hand. “Oh, yes. The lady you want to check on is number 4352.”

She opened the book for him and showed him the picture of a woman, possible in her early thirties. She had strawberry blonde hair, green eyes and a sweet smile. The name under the picture was, Rose, and she stated that she loved the outdoors and music. He read through and then asked to see the video. Out of curiosity he looked for his own picture and smiled to see he was number 4896.

“May I see her video now?”

“You certainly may. Come with me to the video room.”

They walked out into the hall and down two doors where they entered a room with comfortable padded chairs. There was a small table to the right of the door which held water, coffee, sugar, cream and swizzle sticks. There were also a variety of pastries, paper cups and napkins.

“Jason, if you wish, you may use these little pads and pen to make notes or write questions you might like to ask later. Would you care to get coffee and a Danish first?”

“No, thank you. I don’t think my stomach would appreciate anything now because I’m nervous about this.”

She smiled. “Don’t feel badly. You’re just experiencing what the majority of people feel when they start. It is a big step to take and we understand that. All of you are strangers to each other and there has been horrible publicity about other dating agencies. The owners, the Harpers, are extremely careful about whom they allow to participate. You probably were not aware of it, but everyone is checked out by our police chief. If the person has a questionable record, or suspiciously no record at all, that waves a red flag and they are not encouraged to continue.”

“Really! Was I checked out? Now that was silly. Of course I was.”

“I’m positive you were. But to ease your mind, the chief hasn’t given any warning about you, so that means you’re A okay. If you attend the party on Saturday week, you’ll meet the owners, staff members and some of the agency members. Not everyone attends.”

“But it isn’t required to attend.”

“Oh, no. Please consider it though because you’ll meet new people and have a chance to get acquainted. You may even meet the lady who asked to see your video.”

“Do we have to tell our names and about ourselves at these parties?”

“No. We go on first name only unless you wish to tell more.

“Do the staff personnel ever date the members?”

“No. It’s against the rules. Now have a seat. Did you get your pen and paper? I have the video and will put it in the machine for you and you may view it as many times as you like. I’ll leave you in here and will return in a few minutes. I hope you enjoy this experience.” She walked quietly out.

“Hello. My name is Rose. I’m twenty-eight years old and single, meaning I’ve never been married. I’ve been too busy getting an education, working in a bank, caring for elderly, sick parents until their death, and keeping up with a few social obligations. My parents came to Maryland from Hungary in 1927. They proudly became citizens and taught my two older brothers, one older sister, me and one younger brother to take pride in our citizenship and be patriotic Americans.”

“After they died, I left Maryland and journeyed to Indiana to take some classes at the DeVry University for a Business Degree. I have a Masters in Journalism and have been working for The Blade. I also have sold some news, and my own short stories, and doing freelance work to other papers in other cities. My roommate was from Fayette, so I decided to visit her home, fell in love with the place and people, and have been here for four years.”

“I’m five-seven and I’m not telling my weight,” she laughed. “Not that I’m overweight, but a girl needs to have a few secrets. As you can see, I’m a strawberry blonde and have hazel-green eyes. My eyes change color according to the color of clothing I’m wearing, although they’re mostly green.”

“My hobbies are reading, baking, golf, traveling and meeting people. I like people just because they’re people, although I’m sometimes shy or hesitant about meeting new people. I do attend church but haven’t joined one. I dislike too spicy foods, being out in cold weather, people who are often late and loud, rude people.”

“I would like to meet someone who also likes and accepts people, who is not quick to judge, does not have a temper and likes music. I play a little piano and like to sing, but it’s questionable whether other people like to hear me sing.”

“I grew up in Maryland in a warm, loving family. My siblings and I keep in touch on a regular basis. My parents expected good behavior, good effort at whatever we were doing, good manners and to accept responsibility for our actions. I hope this tells you enough about me until you want to get better acquainted. Blessings.”

Jason sighed and looked at the notes he had jotted down. Would he need to see the video a second time? He didn’t think so, but still wasn’t sure what he would do about contacting this lady. She seemed nice and had some of the same likes and dislikes that he had. While he was sitting and thinking, Dottie came back into the room.

“Do you need to view the video again or do you have any questions?”

“No, thank you. I think I’ll just go home and ponder what I’ve seen and heard. I’m inclined to wait until the party to make any decisions.”

“That’s fine, Jason. We start at seven and dismiss at nine. Not everyone stays the full time. Some of our members come from nearby areas and we don’t want to keep them on a winter night. In the spring, when the days are longer, and the time changes, people have a tendency to stay later.”

“Thank you for helping me. I guess I’ll wait for the party.”

“That’s your privilege. I’ll see you out. I’m sure there’ll be requests from other ladies to meet you. Why don’t you take the time to look through the book of ladies and see if you’d be interested in asking to meet any of them?”

He hesitated. “I’d like to do that. They returned to the first room to look through the book out of curiosity. After he had looked through the book, he told everyone goodbye and thanked them for their assistance.

Jason said nothing to his staff about joining a dating agency. He was a little embarrassed about it and basically was a private person. Not so secretive, just private.