Dandelions on the Road (11 page)

Eva took a deep breath. No more stalling. “Mike assured me we could stop half way to Des Moines so I’ll be spending time with more than one of you today. But I would really like it if you would join me first, Steve.”

Steve’s eyes widened as the grin on his face burst through. “It would be my honor.” He placed one arm behind him and rolled a hand in front of his face as he bowed.

The group laughed as Steve stepped to Eva’s side.

“I’ll see the rest of you in an hour or so.” Eva turned to the vehicle and Brian opened the door for her. She hopped in and Steve followed. Brian closed the door soundly, rushed to the driver’s side, and climbed in.

BRIAN LOVED STEVE, that was all there was to it. If the show could center on a bromance, he’d pick Steve hands down. The guy was hilarious. His stories and antics kept Eva laughing the entire hour. Though Brian wasn’t directly involved with most of the conversation, he appreciated the guy’s personality. He was high entertainment. Eva had to keep him…for Brian’s sake.

Brian shook his head as he followed the other station van into a rest area in Walnut, Iowa. They were halfway to Des Moines and Steve’s time was up. Eva had to exchange him for someone else in the group…at her request. Brian half hoped she’d keep Steve. He was a hoot.

As Brian pulled up next to the station van, Steve hung his head out the window and hollered. “I’m in love, folks. No one can touch me now!”

Eva giggled as she pushed the side door open, swinging it out with Steve still hanging from the window. “You’re something else.”

“That’s right and don’t you forget it.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t!”

Steve strutted to the other vehicle. He made a lasting impression. Brian wasn’t sure it was a romantic, sentimental one, but Eva would remember him.

Mike shouted for the rest of the men to exit the van and line up beside it. “Anyone need a break?” he asked.

“I do.” Eva indicated with raised hand.

“Gather back here in five.”

Eva headed for the restroom and a few minutes later, the group gathered beside the van.

Brian stepped out of the driver’s seat and joined the group. “Thank you, Steve, for entertaining us on the first leg of our journey.”

Steve saluted Brian.

“Now our bachelorette would like to choose another man to accompany her on the second half of the drive. Eva?”

“I promised myself I’d think about who I would choose during the first drive, but there was a lot going on.”

Brian smiled. Steve kept things hopping, that was for sure. Whenever he left the show, Brian would have to get his contact information. He’d be the life of any party Brian ever threw.

“Harris, would you like to ride with me the rest of the way to Des Moines?”

“You better believe it.” Harris stepped forward with gusto.

“You missed the rest of the hiking date and I wanted to to make up for lost time.”

Harris beamed and scratched his neck. The poison ivy patches were receding, but his skin was still discolored in a few places. “As long as there aren’t any snakes.”

“There weren’t any on the last date,” Eva reminded him.

The group laughed and Mike directed everyone back to their vehicles. They had a schedule to keep.

Harris and Eva settled into the back of the vehicle and Brian adjusted the mirror. He needed to be able to see out the back window, but he wanted to be able to view the back seat too.

“I know you direct plays at the theater in Bellevue, but what does that entail?” Eva asked.

Brian eavesdropped and tried to judge how the conversation went. Eva seemed interested in what Harris said and she even allowed him to drape his arm over the back of the seat and around her shoulders, but Harris wasn’t nearly as entertaining as Steve and Brian didn’t think they had the right chemistry. By the time the group arrived in Des Moines, he was almost certain Harris would get the boot eventually.

But he was happy to learn more about Eva during the drive. Apparently, her father was a factory worker in Guatemala as a teen and had immigrated to the United States with his family. It would be interesting to hear how her father met her mother and what their relationship was like. Brian hoped to ask her another time.

The group climbed from the vehicles at the Radisson Hotel and Mike led everyone into a small conference room on the ground floor.

“This is where we’ll be staying tonight,” Mike began. “Since half the day is already gone, we’re going to send a few of you out on a shorter date tonight. Eva will choose three men to accompany her to a local comedy club. Then tomorrow, three of you will go to Adventureland Amusement Park with our bachelorette. That evening, Eva will take the remaining two gentlemen out on a surprise date. I have room keys for all of you. You’re separated into groups of two, except our bachelorette, of course.”

Because of his host status, Brian had a single room too. He wondered where the men were lodged in relation to Eva.

“We’ll give Eva a chance to choose three men for tonight’s date, then grab your bags from the van and head to your rooms. Everyone can freshen up and the men chosen for tonight will need to meet us back down here in an hour. Brian?”

Brian took his cue, stood tall and put on his hosting face. “Welcome to Des Moines, Iowa. This process is fast, but Eva truly believes she can find what she wants in one of you. There will be three dates available on this leg of the journey. We’ll reveal the details to you in due time. But for now, Eva, please select the men for tonight’s comedy club date.”

Eva glanced in his direction and sighed. “This is so hard. I want to spend time with all of you and it’s tough to make these decisions, but I have to pick Steve for tonight’s date. I don’t think anyone here would enjoy a comedy club as much as he would.”

Steve leaped into the air and pumped his fist. “Yahoo!”

Eva chuckled. “I’d also love to have Mitch along on tonight’s excursion.”

“Why thank you, little lady,” Mitch drawled.

“And the last man I’d like to invite is…Carlos.”

“It’d be my pleasure.”

Mike clapped his hands together. “All right, it’s settled. Go to your rooms and relax a while. Carlos, Steve, Mitch, meet us back here in an hour. Brian, you too.”

Brian felt his face fall as the group dispersed. Carlos. He had no reason to feel anything toward any of the men, but something about Carlos rubbed him the wrong way. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

STEVE KEPT EVA, Carlos, Mitch and even the crew members laughing all the way to the comedy club. Once inside, Eva took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. The dimly lit room smelled of peanuts, but the atmosphere was somewhat romantic.

A small stage sat at the front of the room with neon lights behind it and a lone microphone in the center. Tables and chairs were scattered across the room, but the establishment was empty.

“Tonight, you’ll have the club to yourself. There will be several comics as well as a few other entertainers. Between acts, order some meals, get some drinks and have a good time.” Brian gestured into the room, inviting them in. “I will be around to do interviews on the side.” He glanced at Eva and gave her a wink. She understood his intention. He was there to help her out.

“Eva, keep in mind there is a dandelion available to hand out on this date if you feel so led. Have a good time, everyone.”

Eva grabbed Brian’s arm and gave it a gentle squeeze on her way by. She and the men chose seats near the front of the club. They chatted and ordered drinks when the waiter appeared.

The first act was a local comic who told jokes about Iowa and the Midwest in general. Since Eva and the men all lived in the area, they laughed heartily. When the comic stepped down, Eva saw Brian appear at the side of the group and pull Mitch away for an interview.

The next act was a juggler and the group was amazed at the items the man balanced and threw around, including three chairs from the club.

The third act was not quite as awesome. “My name’s Jimmy and I tell jokes,” he said by way of introduction. “Do you know what you get when you turn a hot dog inside out? A hallow wiener. Get it?” Jimmy guffawed.

Eva giggled politely.

“Do you know what the orange said to the banana at breakfast? Orange you glad you’re not me? This lady likes juice.”

Steve shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. Eva laughed with him all morning and she knew he could do a better job than the comic on stage.

“Where’d they find this guy?” she whispered to Steve.

“Probably Canada,” Steve answered.

Eva choked and covered her mouth as the comic glared in her direction.

“I know why the chicken crossed the road.” Jimmy began another joke. “Because he knows how much the people on his side of the road like chicken for dinner.”

“Enough of this.”

Eva heard Steve’s mutter, but wasn’t sure what he meant until he leapt to his feet and charged the stage.

“Hey there, Jimmy is it? Do you mind if I cut in? You see, I’m on a date with this girl. See her down there? Her name’s Eva and I really want to impress her. Do you think I could try a few jokes?”

“Good luck, man.” The deflated Jimmy shrugged. “It’s harder than it looks.”

Eva sat up and leaned forward. She didn’t want to miss a minute of Steve’s act.

“Have you ever played around with the emoticons on your phone?” Steve asked as he grasped the microphone and took charge. Mitch and Carlos nodded. “I got to wondering the other day, what do people
use
some of those for? I mean, the smiley face, the winking face, the laughing face, those are all great. They give another layer to the whole text-messaging world, right? But I noticed a diamond ring emoticon among the options in my phone. A diamond ring,” Steve paused for dramatic effect. “I promise you, Eva, if I ever propose to you, it will
not
be via text message.”

Eva bit her lip and let out a loud laugh.

“There’s an emoticon that looks like an alien too. You get that one in your inbox and you run, right? The aliens have landed! My text message says the world is coming to an end!” Steve hid behind the microphone and shielded himself.

Carlos erupted into a fit of laughter. Eva liked to watch the men laugh. She enjoyed having fun and she wanted someone who could let loose.

“There’s also a whole bunch of hand signals. It looks like sign language or something. Are you telling me it’s politically correct to send text messages in sign language if you have a friend who is hard of hearing? What if I say something wrong? What if I tell a guy I’m in love with his cooking on accident instead of asking him if he wants to grab a bite? Talk about embarrassing!”

Eva applauded and stood. Mitch whistled using two fingers.

“Thank you, thank you.” Steve did his signature dramatic bow. “I’ll be here all night, I hope. But I guess that’s up to you now, isn’t it?” He gave Eva a telltale look and she laughed again.

Steve hopped down from the stage and the dejected Jimmy took the hint and climbed down the stairs on the side.

“Steve, that was amazing. You’ve missed your calling.” Eva pictured the alien emoticon. If their relationship progressed to text messages to each other, that alien would become an inside joke between them.

“I don’t want to interrupt, but Steve, could I steal you for an interview?” Brian interjected. Eva wanted to talk to him further as well, but she understood Brian needed to get him on camera while he was pumped from his performance.

Eva turned to the other men. “Mitch, do you mind stepping away for a moment?”

“Not at all.” Mitch took her extended hand.

“We’ll be right back, Carlos.”

Eva led Mitch to the bar area in the back of the club. “Are you having fun?” she asked.

“Most fun I’ve had since I won that line dancing competition.”

“You line dance…competitively?” she asked.

“Wouldn’t brag on it if I didn’t.” Mitch jumped from the stool he occupied and gave Eva an example of his skills.

Eva watched in awe. Mitch wasn’t the type she normally went for, but something about a man in tight jeans and a cowboy hat doing a line dance made her swoon.

“That’s impressive,” she said once he re-joined her on the stools.

“I’d be happy to teach you sometime.”

“I’d like that.” She smiled. Mitch had warm, genuine eyes. As he would probably say…he was good people.

Eva chatted with Mitch for another ten minutes and then returned to the center of the club. Steve was back and he was on a roll telling Carlos a story. The waiter interrupted and they ordered chicken wings, nachos and a few other appetizers and snacks.

Next, the group enjoyed the ventriloquist and his puppet. Before the food arrived, Eva wanted to spend a few minutes alone with Carlos. She’d gotten to talk to Steve quite a bit already that day, so it was only fair. Plus, she wanted to be alone with him.

“Carlos, do you want to go chat?”

“Of course.” He stood and placed his calloused hand inside her soft palm.

Eva could have taken him to the bar where she and Mitch chatted, but she wanted to differentiate the conversation so she headed to the back corner of the club where a table sat alone in the shadows. Except for the cameras, they would have privacy there.

BRIAN WAS GETTING good interviews at the comedy club. Steve was so keyed up from his performance that Brian was fairly certain he’d given the camera an even better show. And Mitch’s southern drawl and cowboy appearance put an extra twist on his unique personality. Both of the men had kind things to say about Eva and Brian couldn’t blame them. She was one of a kind.

He squinted into the dark club. Eva laughed and her hair shook around her. She had half of it back in a barrette and the ends were slightly wavy and loose around her neck. He wondered if it felt as soft as it looked. He still needed to interview Carlos, but Eva was leading the bachelor to the corner of the club. Brian followed them with his eyes.

He needed to get closer to judge what was going on between them. If Eva crossed her fingers and wanted out of the situation, he needed to be able to see. He edged around the wall until he was close enough to spot them in the dark corner. He couldn’t hear their conversation, but he saw enough to know she was happy where she was.