Goldie is Through! (with Ryan)

Romance by Design continues!

 Chapter Ten

Early Monday morning, Ryan walked out the side door of his house and down the driveway. It was time to tell Goldie the truth about the blind date mix-up. He would catch her before she left for work.

         He breathed in the warm summer air as he walked down the street. Birds twittered overhead in the oak trees, and the smell of fresh-cut grass lingered in the neighborhood. All seemed right with the world.

         If only his palms weren’t so sweaty.

         Just as Ryan reached her house, Goldie came out the side door by the driveway. She wore a festive-looking red and white checked blouse over a jean skirt. Her golden hair spilled over her shoulders.

         Ryan strode up the driveway, not realizing until this moment how much he missed her. He missed her smile, her chatter, her optimism.

         She glanced at him and her eyebrows shot up.

         “Hi, Goldie!”

         The look on her face took a dive, like storm clouds gathering. With a little “humph,” she turned her back on him and marched toward the garage.

         “Goldie?” He followed her. “What’s wrong?”

         She glared at him. “What’s wrong? What do you mean—what’s wrong?” She folded her arms. “It just so happens that my brother called me last night.”

         Oh no…

         “And he told me that Brian, the man I was supposed to go out with Friday night, had an accident at work. He was in the hospital all weekend! He’s still in the hospital.”

         “Goldie—” 

         “And you—” She stabbed his chest with her finger, “—let me think you were Brian Chod, Chodski—that other guy. You never told me you weren’t my blind date.”

         Frustrated, Ryan raised his hands in surrender. “I tried to—”

         “Don’t give me that! You had all night Friday, and all day yesterday to tell me the truth. But did you?” She barely paused before answering her own question. “No! Not one word.”

         Turning to the garage, she pulled on the handle to lift the door.

         “You don’t have a garage door opener?” Ryan hurried to help her. The wheels on the side tracks were well oiled, but they had to push to get the door all the way up. “Listen, Goldie. I tried to tell you when I took you home Friday night. Remember when that guy rammed into my car?”

         She dusted off her hands. “What about our ride to church yesterday morning? What about the lunch we shared? There we were, talking and laughing, and you never said one word that you were an imposter!”

         “Goldie—”

“We are through! Goodbye, Ryan!” Opening the driver’s door of her Volkswagen, she slipped inside and slammed the door shut.

         Ryan stood beside the car and spread out his hands. “Goldie, would you let me explain?”

         Without answering, she started the car and put it in reverse. Ryan jumped out of the way as she backed out the garage and down the driveway, the engine’s whir growing fainter as she reached the street. She shifted gears, then took off down the road.

         Ryan stood still, the sound of her car fading in the distance. Finally he heard nothing.

         With a sigh, he looked up. She had forgotten to put down the garage door.

         “I guess I could do that for you, Goldie.”

         Walking outside, he reached up to pull down the door when something caught his eye. With a frown, he walked inside the garage to the back. A potter’s wheel sat in the corner, and rows of shelves lined the back wall. Plates, cups, soup bowls—pottery of all sizes filled the shelves.

         Ryan picked up a plate that had been painted in shades of blue, then glazed. He rubbed his hand over the satiny finish, nodding his approval. “Nice work,” he muttered. No doubt about it—the girl had talent. Any big-city department store would take a line of Goldie’s pottery.

         Ten minutes later, after examining all the pieces on her shelves, he closed the garage door. He stuck his hands in his pockets and slowly walked back to his house.

         The long day stretched ahead of him. Since he wasn’t working, he planned to take his Sunfire into Stroudsburg and get it fixed. He had no hope that the police would find the guy who ran into his car, so he might as well pay for it himself.

         He also planned to look up Pennsylvania Dutch recipes on the Internet. He looked forward to the appointment with Dirk that evening. Beyond that, Ryan didn’t have much to do.

         His life had been reduced to his car and cooking food. Oh, and his cat, Archie. But no one to share his life with—especially not with Goldie.

         That thought depressed him.

         When Elisa walked out of his life, Ryan had survived. Somehow. After all, if she was determined to become a missionary, he was willing to let her go. The life of a missionary held no appeal for him. He’d grown up that way, and he didn’t want to be poor all his life. In college, he had discovered the American Dream, and he was ready to live it.

         For some strange reason, he wanted to share that dream with Goldie. Even though he’d only known her since Friday night. And even though she was mad at him.

         Her behavior reminded him of Archie, when Ryan accidently stepped on his tail once. The claws came out.

         Reaching the side door of his house, he stopped. What had the pastor said yesterday morning in his sermon? God was big enough to carry all his burdens. Ryan needed to take them to Him and leave them there.

         He bowed his head to pray—something he had neglected for too long.

Ryan laid his burden at the Lord’s feet, and peace seeped into his soul. He would trust God, praying that he and Goldie could work out their differences.

Hopefully she wouldn’t hold her grudge forever.

* * *

         Come back tomorrow as Goldie meets Brian.

         Until then, God bless!