Her Heart's Desire
Charles took a few minutes to ask Ivan and Tiffany some questions, then he turned to a few membe
rs of the Ivan’s class before following up with a few digital pictures.
“I’ll have these up in a few days, and I’ll email you both the link to the magazine and my social media sites.”
“Great,” Ivan replied. “I’ll have my community-outreach team add them to my company’s website, as well.”
“Thanks again,” Charles said. Suddenly he leaned forward. “I’m not supposed to tell, but my grandmother is friends with one of your students, and she insisted that I interview you. She couldn’t sing your praises enough, and now I can see why. What you both do is important to our seniors and our community.”
“It’s our pleasure,” Ivan said sincerely.
“Yes, it is. I know I’ve enjoyed being Ivan’s assistant. It’s a great feeling to empower others to have confidence in their abilities and feel safe,” Tiffany added.
He shook Ivan’s and Tiffany’s hands and then left.
“That was fun,” she said to Ivan.
“It actually was,” he admitted. He leaned in and kissed her. “Thanks for insisting I do the interview. I was surprised how much fun it was, and you’re right, our group really did enjoy it.”
“Oh, yeah? I think I’m ready to bring the pain, Mangum.”
A loud rumble echoed around their lane as everyone resumed their bowling match.
*
“What happened to bringing the pain?” he asked Tiffany that night on the phone. “I’ve just loaded up the pictures so now all our friends will know how bad I kicked your heinie in bowling.”
“Hey, I broke seventy so I’m happy.”
“That’s true, you did. The only person who did worse than you was the guy who had a cast on, and he wasn’t even playing.”
Tiffany gasped. “Hey, I was kicking butt and you know it. I won for best improved, didn’t I?”
“That’s because everyone felt sorry for you.”
“That may be true,” she said with a chuckle. “I had a great time tonight, Ivan. Thanks for taking me.”
“You’re welcome, and it was my pleasure. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten out and just enjoyed myself like that. It was nice.”
“I agree. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day that you forget to go out and just enjoy yourself sometimes. You know, throw caution to the wind and just act silly and not care who sees you, or what other people think.”
“Well, I’d say we did that in spades tonight,” Ivan added.
“Yes, we did.”
“I’m looking forward to our date.”
Tiffany smiled. “Me, too.”
They spoke on the phone a few more minutes, and then said goodbye.
After Ivan hung up, he glanced at his cell phone. He had loaded their pictures on his social networking sites, and he checked out the comments. He smiled. He felt incredibly happy when they were out together, and he always looked forward to seeing her. He was truly dreading his business trip, but he had decided to get Tiffany something beautiful for her birthday while he was gone.
He had not thought about what he would do for her yet, but he knew it would be special.
His last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were of Tiffany—what he was going to get her for her birthday, and what he planned on doing with the leftover icing.
*