Operation Date Escape

state when she called.”
    “ She closed on the Danver place today.”
    “ House hell. That place is a mansion,” Nanci said excitedly. “No wonder she was in such a good mood. That place has been up for sale forever.”
    “I know. There aren’t that many people around with that kind of money to shell out.”
    Nanci whistled. “Yo ur mom must have made a killing on that deal.”
    “No doubt.”
    “Pull over,” her friend said as they drove through town.
    “ What for?”
    “I want to pick up a bottle of wine for t onight’s celebration.”
    Kelsie pulled up in front of the liquor store and waited while Nanci ran inside to make her purchase. Five minutes later, her friend was jumping back into the car, smiling and clutching a brown paper bag.
    “Mission accomplished,” Nanci announced.
    “You look like a wino, holding onto that bag like that,” Kelsie noted with a grin as she pulled back out onto the main street.
    Nanci set her purchase on the floor by her feet. “I’ll have you know I went for the good stuff this time around. Not the usual chug-it-down-in-a-back-alley kind of wine.”
    “ Meaning the bottle has a cork instead of a screw off lid?”
    “Exactly .”
    “I’m impressed. ”
    A few blocks later they pulled up to her mother’s condo.
    Nanci leaned her head out the open passenger side window and inhaled with a groan. “Mmm...I can smell the garlic bread from here.”
    “Homemade lasagna and garlic bread,” Kelsie said, her stomach growling in anticipation. “Doesn’t get any better than that.”
    Her friend reached for the wine she’d purchased and pulled the bottle from the bag before following Kelsie up the flagstone walkway.
    The front door to the condo swung open and her mother stepped out to greet them. “Come on in. You two have perfect timing. I just took the garlic bread out of the oven.”
    “ We know. We could smell it from the car.” Kelsie exchanged smiles with Nanci as they stepped inside.
    “This is for you,” her friend said, handing her mother the bottle of Chianti she’d purchased.
    “What’s this for?”
    “To help celebrate your big closing today. Thought it would go well with the lasagna.”
    “ Well, aren’t you a sweetheart?”
    “I drove her to the wine store to get it,” Kelsie cut in with a grin.
    Her mother laughed. “Well, thank you both. Come on,” she said, motioning for them to follow her. “Dinner’s ready. I hope you’re hungry.”
    “ Starving.”
    “ I’m glad to hear it,” her mother said as they followed her back to the kitchen.
    “I need a corkscrew,” Nanci said, setting the bottle of wine on the counter.
    “Top drawer by the dishwasher,” her mother called out as she placed a piece of lasagna onto an empty plate. “Kelsie, honey, you know where I keep the wineglasses.”
    Kelsie grabbed three crystal wine glasses from the cupboard and carried them back to the table where Nanci was opening the wine. This night was just what she needed to get her mind off of Cole. Off of men in general.
    “Honey ...” her mother called back over her shoulder in that tone Kelsie had come to know all too well.
    “Yes?”
    “I have a favor to ask.”
    She was afraid that was what her mother was going to say. She turned to Nanci who was pouring the wine. “Fill mine to the top.” Then she turned back to her mother. “What favor?”
    “There’s this really nice young man I met the other day. ”
    Kelsie rolled her eyes. “Not again.” There went any hope for a night a complete relaxation.
    “Honey, just hear me out,” her mother said as she carried the plates over to the table. “I really think you’ll like this man. He’s perfect for you.”
    “Mom,” she pleaded as a dull throbbing began at her temples. She had seen firsthand the kind of men her mother thought were perfect for her.
    “Trust me, honey. You’ll like this one.”
    No, she liked Cole. Too much.
    “Nanci, help me out here,” her mother said as she took her place at the table.
    Nanci held up a hand. “Uh-uh. I’m remaining neutral in this one. Unless, my doing so means I won’t get dinner. In that case, I’m on your side.”
    “Nanci!” Kelsie exclaimed. The traitor. She reached for her glass of wine, taking several long swallows.
    “Sorry, Kels, hunger calls.”
    She watched her best-friend-turned-traitor dig into the piece of lasagna her mother set on the table in front of her. Unfortunately, she’d lost her appetite the second her mother had