Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

MOLLY

I spend the morning nosing around the lodge, trying to put myself in the place of the average guest. The problem is, I can't quite pinpoint who that is. Not only are there a lot of families here, there's also a sizable singles' event about to take place. I open my notes app and write down mouthwash. That's something everyone can use.

Sitting in the great room, I noodle around on my phone to find out more information about Trina's new matchmaking endeavor. I discover there will be thirty women and thirty men. While that feels like a big number, it's probably better than too small of a group. How horrible would it be to get here and find out in the first two days that no one was right for you? Then you're stuck for days on end without any other options.

As I continue to read about the event, I learn that it's specifically for singles in or around the Chicago area. That's smart because if they were from farther away, it would make it difficult for couples to continue to see each other after the two weeks are up. It's hard enough to make a go of things when you're based in the same town .

I eat a late lunch in the dining room where I further observe the lodge guests. While the room is mostly full of families—strangely, a large number with disabled children—there are also a few singles which leads me to believe more people have started to arrive for the big event.

Taking a bite of my club sandwich, I once again consider whether I'll go tonight. Even though I occasionally watched Midwestern Matchmaker , I never considered auditioning for the show. In retrospect, I guess I was a bit judgy about the whole thing. It's one thing to be entertained by other people's struggles, but it's another to make yourself vulnerable and be the one everyone is watching. Having said that, this gathering won't be televised, so that alleviates some pressure.

After signing the check for my lunch, I go upstairs to look at my wardrobe to see if I brought any clothes that might be suitable for a mixer. I mostly have pants and sweaters, but only one dress. It's my emergency black dress that never leaves my suitcase. It's not the height of fashion. It's more of an all-purpose number that can be worn to a meeting, a funeral, or if I don't mind looking borderline Amish, a party.

Picking up the phone, I call the front desk. "Are there any shops in town that carry nice dresses?"

The woman on the end of the line answers, "There's Bride's Paradise."

I unsuccessfully try not to laugh. "I'm not looking for a wedding dress."

"They carry a lot of other dresses, too. You know, for going to weddings, proms, and such."

"Do you have a shuttle I can take into town?" I ask. I normally stay at the hotel I'm working for and don't visit the actual town it's in, but I don't want to go to a mixer in pants, and my emergency dress is not going to attract the kind of attention I might be looking for. I'm still not fully committed here.

"We have a shuttle that goes into Elk Lake every hour," she says. "They should be leaving from out front in five minutes. "

I'm not sure I can get there that quickly but I'm going to try. After thanking the clerk, I hang up the phone before running out of my room and practically sprinting down the hallway toward the elevator. The doors miraculously open on my approach, which is why I don't slow down right away. As a result, I practically run over Blake.

"Hey." He grabs my arms to stop the momentum that might have otherwise thrown us both to the ground.

Disengaging myself from his grasp, I tell him, "No time. Gotta go." Then I hustle into the elevator and hit the button for the lobby.

"What's the emergen …" The doors shut right in his face, which I find particularly gratifying.

When they open again, I dash through the lobby and out the front door in time to see the same SUV I took from the train station pull away from the curb. Throwing my hand up in the air like I'm hailing a taxi in the middle of Times Square, I shout out, "STOP!"

The car turns toward the curb and stops. Opening the door, I discover Paul, the same driver I had last night. "Going into town?" he asks.

"I am," I tell him while getting inside. There's no one else here. "Why are you going alone?"

"I'm picking up some people who went earlier," he says with a smile. "Come on then."

Once I'm nestled inside the warmth, I tell him, "I'm going to a shop called Bride's Paradise."

Paul nods his head but doesn't offer any comment. As we drive through Elk Lake, I once again find myself totally enchanted. One thing this town has in common with all those Hallmark-style Vermont towns is the unparalleled charm. Elk Lake's downtown is decorated for Christmas like it's the North Pole. Almost every store has a Christmas tree in the window along with wrapped presents and other assorted festive decor. There are even a couple with blue and silver menorahs. I still find those festive, even though I'm not Jewish.

As Paul pulls off the road, he announces, "Will an hour be enough time for you?"

"It'll have to be," I tell him. "I need to be in the great room by five tonight."

With a twinkle in his eye, he says, "I expect you'll have a wonderful time."

"Maybe." Getting out of the car, I tell him, "Thanks for the ride, Paul."

From the outside, the store appears to be nothing more than a bridal shop. I would have never suspected they would carry other kinds of dresses. Walking in, I'm greeted by a beautiful woman with red hair and a noticeably pregnant stomach. "Hello, welcome to Bride's Paradise," she says. "I'm Melissa."

"I'm Molly," I tell her. I'm immediately put at ease by her welcoming demeanor. "I'm looking for a cocktail dress to wear tonight."

Melissa points toward the back of the store. "We keep those in the far corner. Are you going to a wedding?"

I decide to come clean. "I'm going to a mixer up at the Elk Lake Lodge."

She claps her hands enthusiastically. "Trina's big do?"

I nod my head but remain mute.

"Trina's a good friend of mine. She set up my best friend Paige with her husband, Tim."

"Really?" I suddenly feel less awkward about confessing to being part of a dating mixer.

"Paige and Tim were on the last season of Midwestern Matchmaker . They caused quite a stir."

"I must have missed that season," I tell her.

"Paige will be delighted to hear that," she laughs. "Trina really saved her bacon by making sure a particularly embarrassing scene didn't get aired."

"I could never go on a dating show," I tell her .

"I was going to go on with her," Melissa says. "But I met my husband right before we applied."

I point to her stomach. "It looks like things are going well."

"So well!" she exclaims proudly.

A girl who looks a lot like Melissa walks out of the back room. She must have overheard what we were talking about, because she says, "I'm going to be a big sister."

"You've got quite an age gap there, huh?"

Melissa answers, "This is Sammy. She's my husband's daughter from his first marriage."

Sammy adds, "But I consider Melissa as much of a mom as my birth mom." That's a sweet sentiment you wouldn't necessarily expect to hear from a teenager.

"You must be thrilled to have a sibling on the way."

"I can't wait!" Sammy says.

"I already know we couldn't do it without her," Melissa adds while giving her stepdaughter a loving smile. I'd never considered the idea of marrying a man who already had kids, but I have to say, these two make the possibility seem kind of appealing.

"Molly is going to Trina's mixer at the lodge tonight," Melissa tells Sammy.

"Oh, fun! What are you going to wear?"

"That's why I'm here. I'm in Elk Lake to consult with Trina on the gift shop at the lodge. I didn't even know there was a singles' event going on until I got here, which is why I'm not prepared."

Melissa and Sammy share a mysterious look before Melissa announces, "That sounds like a premise for a romcom movie."

"I want to hear all about your ‘meet cute' when it happens," Sammy announces.

"I'm not sure real life is anything like the movies," I tell her. "At least that hasn't been my experience."

"It isn't, until it is," Melissa says before explaining, "My dating life had to be the most boring in history until I met Jamie. Then it was straight out of a Julia Roberts flick from the nineties!"

"I suppose I can dare to dream," I tell her. "But so far, if my social life were a movie, it would get record low scores on Rotten Tomatoes."

"Trina's going to change that," Sammy says. "And when she does, you have to get your wedding dress here."

"At cost!" Melissa adds excitedly. There's something about Melissa that makes it feel like we've been friends our whole lives.

"I promise that if I meet the guy I marry here in Elk Lake, I'll not only buy my wedding dress at Bride's Paradise, but I'll pay full price for it."

Melissa beams. "Not if, but when, and we'll discuss pricing later. For now, we need to make you feel like a million bucks."

I spend the next forty minutes trying on several dresses. Each one makes me feel more glamorous than the one before and I have a hard time deciding which to buy. As a Christmas gift to myself, I pick my favorite three. My reasoning is that if tonight goes well, I'll surely need other dresses over the course of the next two weeks.

As I'm checking out, Sammy calls out, "Paul is out front!"

Melissa hands a shopping bag over the counter. "Come back and tell us how it goes."

"Please!" Sammy adds enthusiastically.

I don't know why, but I agree. "I'll come back in a couple of days." Then I take my purchases outside and get into the SUV.

If I were prone to flights of fancy—which I'm not—I might confess to feeling optimistic, which I haven't felt in a very long time. If I let my imagination go, I might even confess to feeling like a heroine in her own romcom. One who's about to find everlasting love.