Four Keeps

The next day there’s another group date. We gather in a theater, where the ten men on the date will participate in a talent show, and there’s a surprise: Rebecca Hixon, the star from two seasons ago, is here and will be helping judge the show.

I’m excited to see her, because she married Justin, the man she ended up choosing on the show, and they’re still a happy couple. She gives me hope that I’ll be equally lucky. In person, she’s warm and genuine and easy to like.

Blake Barrows comes up to us while we’re chatting for the cameras. “Rebecca, I understand you have some news to share.”

“I do.” She offers him, me, and the cameras a radiant smile as her hand drifts down to her midsection. “Justin and I are expecting.”

“Rebecca! How exciting!” I don’t have to feign my enthusiasm. This makes me even happier for her, not to mention even more hopeful about my own journey.

Blake talks with her a bit more, and then Rebecca and I take our seats in the theater, while Blake goes up onstage to kick off the talent show. Focused on him, I’m surprised by Rebecca’s gentle nudge. She hands me a folded-up slip of paper.

I open it to read, I need to talk to you before I leave.

Wow. Why the secrecy? We’re both wearing mikes, so whatever it is, she doesn’t want the producers to know.

I’m dying of curiosity now, but I have to content myself with glancing at her sidelong and giving her a faint nod to show I understand. A moment later, Blake joins us and the talent show gets underway.

James comes out on stage first, bringing a small table and a few props with him. “I love magic,” he says, “and I believe in the magic of love.” I can’t help but smile at his gift for cheesy jokes as he goes into his magician routine.

Magic isn’t usually my thing, but James makes it interesting. His tricks are clever and impressively well done, and he keeps up a charming, self-deprecating patter during the whole thing that’s the antithesis of the faux-dramatic persona so many stage magicians adopt. I can’t help but picture him performing for a wide-eyed child or two.

Gerard goes next, lip-syncing a recent hit song and dancing to it. It should be corny, but his moves are actually really good, and I can picture us coming together on the dance floor – and off of it. He definitely has potential.

My list is supposed to be getting shorter, not longer. What am I going to do?

18

I’ll give them drama

Brad M. is the next to take the stage, and the celebrity impressions he does could possibly give away the fact that he’s actually an actor, not a lawyer as he claimed to be on the first night of this show. He’s super talented and very funny, and has us all in stitches.

Christian follows him, and to my surprise, he has an easel set up. He calls me up on stage with him. “Please hold a pose for me, standing or sitting, your choice.”

A few deft strokes later, he’s produced a painting. When he shows it to me, I’m amazed and impressed. He’s captured not only my features, but my expression, and a bit of my personality. “That’s incredible work for something you did so quickly,” I tell him.

He gives me a modest half-shrug, but I can tell he’s pleased. “Just something I have a knack for. I’ve been sketching people since I was a boy, and you were a very appealing subject.”

I get a warm glow and can’t ignore the fact that once again, my list is getting longer.

Next, Caleb walks out with a guitar, and I’m instantly filled with nervous anticipation, excited to hear his performance.

He chooses a slow, romantic ballad, and sings it so beautifully I get tears in my eyes. It’s all I can do not to jump up and applaud wildly when he finishes, and then run up on stage and throw my arms around him. There’s a brief break after his song to resolve some technical issue, and I’m relieved; I need time to recover my emotional equilibrium.

The next two men don’t do anything to disturb my newfound calm. One of them beatboxes; he’s good, I suppose, but I’m not really a fan. The other one does a comedy routine, but his jokes don’t quite land, and I feel bad for him.

Sean livens things up with a juggling routine. He’s quite good at it, and I find myself plotting a cheesy joke about how many things he can keep in the air in the rest of his life.

Marcus is next, doing a martial arts routine with a prop sword. His moves are skillful and powerful, and I can’t help but wonder if they’re a reflection of how he’d be in bed. He’s a gentleman when we’re together, but I sense a fire deeper down that I’d like to unleash.