The Matchmakers

Chapter Eight: Dreams and Plans

The Book Cafe

Fancy closed her eyes for a moment as she thought about Theresa's words. Then she opened them, looking straight into her friend's eyes. "I love Luis. I want to be with him. If he really can put me first and let any remains of his love for Sheridan go, then we can be together. I want that so badly. You're right, Theresa. I'm not quite convinced that he can do that, but I'm not going to give up trying."

Theresa smiled. "That's what I want to hear. We've got a lot of planning to do. Luis needs to realize that he's been taking you for granted, and that he could lose you if things don't change. We're going to make sure that he comes to see that sooner rather than later."

"So what do you have in mind?" Fancy asked curiously.

Theresa hesitated as she saw her mother exit the kitchen and start sorting receipts at the register. "Hold that thought, Fancy. I want to go say hello to Mama. I'll be right back and we'll map out our strategy."

Theresa walked quietly behind her mother and tapped her on the shoulder. Pilar turned with a shadow of her usual smile. "Oh, hello, Theresa. How are you this morning?" Her voice sounded sad, lacking its usual warmth.

"Well, I'm fine, Mama, but now I'm starting to wonder about you. What's wrong?" Theresa looked at her mother with concern.

"Oh, it's nothing, Theresa, I'm just fine. It's sweet of you to ask though." Pilar looked distracted. "I'm sorry, I wish I had time to catch up but we're in the middle of our breakfast rush here. Why don't I give you a call tonight?"

"Sure." Theresa scratched her head as her mother walked away without a backwards glance. 'That was odd. I wonder if she's upset with me about something.'

She turned to walk back to Fancy but her progress was waylaid by Gwen, who had appeared from seemingly nowhere, grabbing Theresa's elbow and steering her to a corner.

"Theresa, we need to talk."

"What?" Theresa yanked her elbow out of Gwen's grip. "A little pushy, aren't we? I don't want to talk to you. Having an in depth conversation with you right before a meal always puts me off my food."

"Oh, you're so mature, Theresa. Stuff it for a minute. I want to talk to you about Pilar." Gwen's voice was impatient.

"What about Mama?" Theresa frowned. "She seemed upset just now. Do you know what's bothering her?"

"Yes, actually, I do, and if you ever paid attention to anyone besides yourself you'd know too. It's Sam." Gwen put her hands on her hips. "Don't you remember your wedding, when I pointed out that your mother has feelings for him?"

"Yes." Theresa said slowly. "But she's never said anything about it."

"Well, of course she wouldn't. He's with Ivy, and Pilar's too honorable to interfere with that. She does though, and I think he's starting to care for her too. You know, they've been having breakfast together here each day. I got an eyeful this morning and there was definitely some sparkage." Gwen smiled at the memory.

"Hmmm." Theresa said. "But then, why is she upset?"

"Why else? Poison Ivy, of course. She got an eyeful too, and the Ice Queen wasn't pleased. Poor Pilar got run off, and from the looks of it, Ivy was giving Sam an earful of what she thinks of him and Pilar getting chummy."

Theresa's eyes narrowed. "Do you think Ivy was insulting my mother?"

"Do birds fly? Of course she was!" Gwen folded her arms.

Theresa let out a sigh. "Well, this is very interesting but what was so urgent that you needed to talk to me about? I need to get back to Fancy."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Why, so you can waste your time trying to pull some pathetic stunts with Luis? Give up now, Theresa. Sheridan and Luis are going to be together. You're just going to put Fancy through a lot of unneccessary strife. I suggest you save your matchmaking skills for a relationship that might actually work, and that is Sam and Pilar."

Theresa bit her lip. "I don't know, Gwen. I just think Mama would have a fit if she knew I was trying to manipulate things for her."

Gwen snorted. "When did you become such a wimp, Theresa? Don't you want your mother to be happy? And your father in law, for that matter?"

"Since when do you care, Gwen?" Theresa's voice was puzzled. "What's in this for you?"

"Excuse me, but who said this was about me? I happen to care about Pilar. She's always been very kind to me, and she's so wonderful with Sarah. She doesn't treat her as any less important then EJ or Jane, even though Sarah is not related to her by blood, and I appreciate that. In a way, we're family, and I want to do something nice for her."

"Uh huh." Theresa looked at Gwen skeptically for a moment, then shrugged. A year ago, she wouldn't have believed a word out of her former rival's mouth, but Gwen had astounded her more than once this past year. If she could put months worth of effort into getting Theresa back together with Ethan, she was more than capable of genuinely wanting to help Pilar.

"Alright, Gwen. Look, I have to get back to Fancy, but I think you might have a point. If you have a plan, I want in. We'll talk soon." Theresa's expression was decided.

"It's about time you came around. I'll call you." Gwen shrugged on the jacket she'd had draped over her arm and with a final nod at Theresa, headed out the door.

'I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner.' She smiled to herself as she got in the car. 'Not only will Theresa and I be doing the right thing by getting Pilar together with Sam, but I almost forgot that she has as much reason to be wary of Ivy as I do. If that witch really is planning something, Theresa may just be the person I need to help take her down once and for all.'

xXx

"Who are you talking about?" Ivy asked Fox. "Who is it that you want to take to the dinner party?"

Fox said nothing, but a smile stayed on his lips as he watched Rina chat with the elderly couple. Ivy followed his gaze and then her mouth opened in surprise.

"Rina? Fox, what are you thinking?"

"Mother, what do you mean? Rina is a sweetheart, and kind, and polite-she'll be an excellent date. I'm sure she'll make a good impression." Fox looked at his mother, struggling to maintain his temper.

"Fox, Rina is a waitress-hardly a suitable date for a Crane! She's a lovely young woman, I'll give you that, but she is not in your social class. Now a few years ago I would have said take her out of the gutter for the night and show her a good time, but I did that with Ethan and a certain golddigger and I've regretted it ever since. Rina doesn't need to get ideas about getting her hooks into a Crane. That sweet disposition of hers will disappear in a heartbeat, and we'll be stuck with another scheming social climber before we know it." Ivy's voice was acidic.

Fox looked at his mother in disbelief. For a moment he didn't trust himself to speak, he was so angry. Finally he manged to get out the words without yelling them. "Mother, I can't believe you. First of all, Theresa is now a member of our family. Not only that, but she's my friend, and I've had my fill of you insulting her every chance you get. If you don't learn to accept her, Ethan will cut you out of his life, and you'll miss out on seeing your grandchildren grow up. As for Rina, that girl has never done a thing to warrant what you just said about her. I can't get over what an unbelievable snob you can be. If she accepts my invitation, I'm taking her to the dinner party, and you can keep your unwanted opinion about it to yourself, or Ethan won't be the only son turning his back on you."

Ivy's mouth fell open at her son's cold words. What a day she was having! First Gwen, then Sam, and now Fox and it wasn't even ten in the morning yet. She might as well go home and put a cold rag on her head because it seemed like every single person in town had something unpleasant to say to her. Her children-they were just too stubborn for their own words. Couldn't they see that she just wanted the best for them? They all seemed to think that because she'd fallen in love with Sam that it was OK for them all to follow suit-to rush over to the wrong side of the tracks and carry home some low class trash that would just wreck their lives. Sam was different. She'd fallen in love with him, and she'd seen so much potential for him. He wasn't meant to be an underpaid, overworked police chief. His place was in high society, by her side. He might not accept that at the moment, but once they were married, he would. And Fox belonged there too, as was his birthright, with a wife who would raise his position even higher, not some dirt poor foreign girl who waited tables and washed dirty dishes for a living. Still, it wouldn't do to alienate him at this point. Ivy was smart enough to know when to retreat. Forcing a smile, she turned back to her son.

"I'm sorry, Fox, I'm just having a terrible day. I didn't mean what I said. Taking Rina is a lovely idea. Why don't you go over and ask her?" She gritted her teeth at the thought, but for one night, it wouldn't be so terrible, she supposed.

Looking mollifed, Fox's expression lightened, and he looked back at Rina with a smile. "Not just yet. I want to do this just right." He turned toward the door. "Rina did something for me. She made me feel special. I'm going to return the favor." He nodded towards the door, and Ivy allowed him to escort her outside, wondering what in the world her youngest son was planning.

xXx

A few minutes after Fox and Ivy had left, Kay Bennett strolled inside, having no idea how close she had been to an awkward face to face encounter with her ex, something they'd both been avoiding for months.

"Hello, Kay!" Pilar was back at her post, greeting customers, and she shot her son's girlfriend a bright smile. "How are you doing?"

"I'm great!" Kay smiled. "I actually came in to give you this." She handed Pilar a small, brightly colored card. "It's an invitation. Tabitha and I are having a barbecue at the house tomorrow at twelve. I'd love to see you there and I know Miguel and Maria would too."

"Oh, thank you, Kay. I'll have to make sure someone can take over for me for a few hours, but I will do my best to make it." Pilar pocketed the card. "That's very kind of Tabitha. I really never thought of her as the hostess type. Before you moved in with her, she was so reclusive. What inspired her to do this?"

Kay grinned. "A hundred pounds of steak that had nowhere to go."

"What?" Pilar looked bewildered and Kay shook her head, chuckling. "Nothing. Anyway, try to come. Oh, look, there's Theresa and Fancy. I want to invite them too. I'll see you later, OK?"

Weaving her way through the crowded tables, Kay started to make her way over to Theresa and Fancy, who were deep in conversation, barely touching their food. Before she did though, she saw her sister Jessica sitting at a nearby table with Paloma and Simone. Smiling, she walked over to them.

"Hey, you guys! What's up?" She asked.

Simone returned her smile. "Just having breakfast. Jessica showed up and it was really a nice surprise." She turned to Jessica. "I mean it, Jess. We missed you."

"Thanks." Jessica smiled. "I missed you guys too."

"So what's up with you, and why do you have a stack of envelopes in your hand?" Paloma asked, gesturing.

"Actually, these are invitations." Kay extracted three from the stack. "One for each of you. Tabitha and I are having a barbecue tomorrow afternoon. Can you all come?"

"Sure!" The three of them chorused. Then Paloma leaned forward. "Kay, do you know the girl who's living with Pilar now? The one who came back from Jesenik with Ethan? She's right over there-Rina."

Kay looked. "I've seen her around but we've never really talked. Why?"

"Well, she hasn't really gotten a chance to get to know many people yet, and it must be lonely for her to be in a strange country with no family. So maybe you-"

Kay held up a hand. "No need to say more, Paloma. Of course I'm going to invite her. I've got her invitation right here." She tapped the stack. "I'll go ask her now. But hey, I might not get to everyone personally, since this was kind of a last minute idea. So if you three could spread the word, that would be great. It's going to be a lot of fun." After a few more pleasantries, Kay moved away.

"Oh, excuse me!" Rina nearly bumped into Kay as the other woman stepped into her path.

"Oh, that was my fault, and not an accident. I actually wanted to talk to you." Kay quickly explained about the barbecue, and handed her the invitation. For a moment Rina looked surprised and then a happy smile broke out on her face.

"Thank you, Kay. It sounds like it will be very much fun. I would love to go." She smiled sweetly.

"Great, see you there then." Kay gave her a quick wave. Yes, Rina seemed nice enough. Might be interesting to get to know her a bit better. Moving on, she finally reached Theresa and Fancy's table.

"Kay, hi! Have a seat. What's up?" Theresa looked away from Fancy, smiling at the woman she suspected would one day be her sister in law. "

"Hello, Kay." Fancy forced herself to smile, trying her best to be polite. Kay wasn't very high on her list of favorite people at the moment, being the cause of Fox's shattered heart. Still, last thing she was interested in right now was a public catfight.

The fading smile on Kay's face testified to the fact that she felt just as awkward as she slid in next to Theresa. "I can only stay a minute. Lots of errands to run today. I just wanted to let you both know that Tabitha and I are having a barbecue tomorrow afternoon. Family friendly, so Theresa, you and Ethan bring the kids. Can you both make it?"

"Oh, I don't know-" Fancy started to say but underneath the table Theresa's foot pressed down on top of hers.

"Of course we'll be there, Kay. That sounds like a lot of fun. Um...have you invited Luis, by chance?" Theresa asked sweetly.

"Oh, he's definitely on the list. Dad said he'd ask him for me today at the station." Kay confirmed.

"Great." Theresa beamed. A moment later Kay had said her goodbyes and headed out the door. Theresa turned to Fancy, her eyes sparkling. "Did you hear that? This is perfect. I'm going to make sure that Luis shows up at that barbecue so you'd better be there. Let the games begin."

TBC

Coming Soon

Much more sinister plans are being hatched in Harmony

Theresa and Fancy put their first plan into action

Tabitha drops a bombshell on Kay