“Yes, Miss Jones.”
She walked Michael into the kitchen. “The kitchen is fully functioning. We provide snacks and occasional meals. The truth is, there are plenty of kids out there who don’t get a solid meal at home. Every one of them knows they can find something here. Most are too embarrassed to say they’re hungry.”
“How do you get past that?”
“We let them know when we’re providing meals, and none of them miss that day.”
“Why not provide a meal every day?”
Karen met Michael’s eyes. “Funds.”
“Oh.”
He held the door to the back open and she walked through. Jeff had fallen behind with Tony, who was asking about details of what it cost to run the club.
“There’s a basketball court and a yard where the kids play. We try to organize scrimmage games for them. Seems the only way to get them off the video games.”
He watched her now, and she was highly conscious of the smile on her face.
“Sounds like you love it here.”
“The kids are great. Not all of them are disadvantaged. Just misguided. I like to think we keep them off the streets and away from drugs and gangs.”
He placed his sunglasses over his eyes. “Do you have a lot of that here?”
“We’ve had a couple of problem kids. But we deal with them as soon as we know anything about it. Two or three times a month a youth counselor is available. I think of this place as a safe haven for these kids. We have no tolerance for bullying and don’t judge.”
“Interesting.”
Jeff stood several yards away, well outside of hearing range. The teens lingering in the yard talked among themselves.
She lowered her voice. “Kid charities to spend your money on?”
Michael looked behind them. “Worked, didn’t it?”
Karen laughed. “So, what do you think?”
He shook his head. “I think Gwen was wrong. I think you are a saint. You do all this for free?”
“That would be the definition of volunteer.”
He chuckled. “Oh, a smart-ass…you’ll fit right in.”
She pointed a finger to his chest. “Saintly smart-ass. Get it right. Does Tony know why you’re really here?”
He shook his head. “Only you and I…and Gwen.”
Jeff and Tony were walking their way so Karen quickly changed the subject. “Well, what do you think?”
“I like it. There are plenty of youth charities out there helping kids after they’ve fallen down the wrong path. This one seems to want to get a hold of at risk kids before they tumble.” Even if Michael was acting the part, he did it successfully.
They walked back into the main room, where none of the kids had moved.
Michael leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Time to turn on the charm.”
And he did.
Karen found a stool for him to sit on as he encouraged the kids to ask questions. “Where do you guys go to school?” he asked them, helping to break the ice. “What do you like most about school?”
Several kids told him they liked going home.
Amy told him she liked coming to the club after school.
“What do you like least about school?”
“Algebra!” Juan said from the math table.
“Just think pizza party, Juan. Makes solving for x easier,” Karen called from the back of the room.
Several kids laughed.
“Pizza party?” Michael asked.
“Miss Jones bribes us with pizza if we do good on our tests.”
“Do well on your tests, Steve,” Karen corrected him.
“If I had a tutor as stunning as Miss Jones when I was in high school, I would have had straight A’s.” Michael kept eye contact with her throughout his exchange. “No bribes needed.”
The kids around them hooted and whistled.
“It’s been a long time since you were in high school, Mr. Wolfe. Things have changed.” She was teasing him, making him work a little harder.
From the playful expression on his face, he enjoyed the banter.
The kids were laughing and at least one had a cell phone out as he took pictures.
“I tell you what, guys…if someone here can convince Miss Jones to go out with me, I’ll do better than pizza.”
The kids were eating this up.
“Oh, my God, Miss Jones, Michael Wolfe just asked you out!”
“You’ve got to go, Miss Jones.”
Michael chimed in. “Yeah, Miss Jones.”
“Does it always take a room full of kids to make women go out with you, Mr. Wolfe?”
Michael cocked his head to the side. “No. But it helps.”
There were no less than four cell phones out. She was going up on YouTube before she managed to get home. She just knew it.
“C’mon, Miss Jones.”
“I tell you what. Why don’t I give you my number and we can talk without an audience?”
“I can live with that.”
She looked around the gawking eyes in the room. “Can I borrow someone’s pen?”
Someone shoved one in her face. She walked up to her future husband, grasped his hand, and did what she was sure no one had ever done to him before. She wrote her number on his palm. When she finished he took her hand in his and kissed the back of it.
His eyes were laughing.
Something told her that the next year of her life was going to be a boatload of fun.
And if the kids could get more than pizza out of the deal…she was all in.
“This was exactly what I needed,” Karen said from across their table.
Gwen smiled and lifted her drink into the air. “Might be the closest thing you get to a bachelorette party if Michael moves as fast as I think he will.”
Karen and Gwen sat across from each other at the Hard Rock Café on Sunset. Gwen had decided to take Eliza up on her suggestion. Put yourself out there. Date. Meet someone.
If she wanted to meet someone other than a boring, responsible man who could be counted on to show up on time but never make her feel excited about his presence. She’d had predictable and utterly dull men in her life before, she needed to look outside of the ballrooms where she conducted her business.
The bar was packed. The patrons were all drinking, laughing, and forgetting about their problems.
“He’s really a nice guy. The kids loved him.”
Gwen glanced around the room, but didn’t notice anyone watching them. “I’m sure his celebrity status will make the kids look up to you even more.”