Carefully, I sit down on the couch, trying my best not to spill any of my wine. I bring the glass up to my lips, and before I can take a sip, my cell phone rings.
“Seriously?” I groan, slowly setting my glass down on the coffee table. I reach into my back pocket for my phone. When I see who it is, I pick up quickly. “Hey, Jeremy,” I answer, hoping nothing is wrong. Jeremy Wilcox is my partner. We’re both paramedics, and we work well together, much better than the partner I had in Baltimore. Jeremy is four years older than me and married with twin sons who play football with Logan. It gives us a lot to talk about in our downtime.
“Hey, do you mind bringing a few extra bottles of water when you come to the station today?”
“Today?” That doesn’t make sense. “I’m off today, Jeremy. What are you talking about?”
In the background, I can hear papers shuffling around. “We’re working at the Turkey Festival today. I saw your name on the sign-up sheet, so I thought we could go together and set up our tent. Someone always has to cover the Turkey Trot.”
I get to my feet. “I didn’t sign up for that.” There’s no way in hell I would have volunteered.
“Well somebody put your name down. I’m sending you a text to prove it.”
My phone beeps, and when I click on his text, I can see my name clear as day. I also happen to recognize the handwriting. “I’m going to kill her.”
Jeremy chuckles. “Who?”
I roll my eyes. “My mother. She’s the one who volunteered me.”
“That must be why she stopped by the other day when you weren’t here. Why would she sign you up without your knowledge?”
I have an idea, but I’m not going to bring it up. “There’s no telling,” I reply.
“Does this mean you’re still coming? You and I are the only ones on the schedule today.”
As much as I hate the idea of going to the festival, I can’t let him do it on his own. “I’ll be there. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be on my way.”
He blows out a sigh. “Thanks, Maeve. See ya when you get here.”
We hang up, and I quickly change my clothes into my uniform and throw a bunch of water bottles into a grocery bag. When I get outside to my car, my parents are in their front yard with Logan, my father tossing the football back and forth with him. I drive over and roll down my window as I pull into their driveway. My mother walks over and smiles when she sees me in my uniform.
“When were you going to tell me I had to work today?” I say, trying not to sound salty even though I am.
She pats my shoulder. “Jeremy’s name was the only one on the list. I felt bad for him.”
For some reason, I don’t believe her excuse. Especially with the way her eyes twinkle with mischief. “What’s the real reason, Mom?”
Her grin widens, and then she sighs. “Okay, fine. I want you to get out of the house and mingle with people. It’s time you meet a good man. There are plenty in town.”
Mouth gaping, I stare at her, clearly letting her know I’m not excited about that in the least. “Seriously? Have you forgotten I probably already know most of those men in town? I did grow up here. And let me tell you, I wasn’t impressed then, and I won’t be impressed now.”
She waves me off. “Oh honey, people grow up and change. You need to make some friends.”
“Jeremy and his wife are my friends. Plus, I have Logan. That’s all I need.”
“That’s not enough, Maeve. No one needs to be alone.”
There’s no sense in arguing with her. Little does she know, I’m happy being single. “Whatever you say, Mom.” I blow a kiss to Logan. “I’ll see ya at the festival, sweetheart.” He waves at me and gets back to passing the football with my dad.
My mom winks at me. “You’ll have fun, I promise.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I can’t blame her for trying. However, it would’ve been nice to have a day off.
When I get to the station, Jeremy is outside by the ambulance, waiting for me. Time is running out, so I grab my bag of waters and hop into the passenger seat since Jeremy likes to drive. The festival is only a few blocks away.
“Did you ask your mom why she signed you up?” Jeremy asks.
One thing I love about being around Jeremy is that he’s easy to talk to. I can be honest with him. We’ve only known each other a month, but I feel like I’ve known him for years. “Well,” I begin, “she’s dying for me to meet the love of my life. Guess she thinks it’ll be at the festival.”