Savanna, the girl in charge of all the student volunteering events, walked up to Linda and her group of friends. "Hey, ladies."
"Hi," Linda smiled at her. She had gotten to know Savanna two Saturdays ago when they braved the daycare together. This school had a lot of volunteer opportunities, a lot of fundraisers. Linda tried to sign up for every single one, and so far, she had an excellent track record.
"We need volunteers for the Christmas For The Less Fortunate event this Saturday. I can count on you, right, Linda?"
"Oh yeah, definitely."
"Fantastic. Now I can wrangle Reagan into it."
"Danny?" Linda asked while her friends tried and failed to stifle giggles.
"Mhmm. He'll do it knowing you're on the list. What about you girls? Want to volunteer?"
"How long is it?" Cherry asked.
"Long day. 8:00 am to 4:pm. You'll have to be here 7:45 at the latest."
"On Saturday? No thank you."
The others girls declined, giving reasonable excuses. Savanna knew they would say no, "looks like it's just you an' me then, Linda. And anyone else I can get to do it."
"Get the Reagans. My understanding is that their mother would skin them alive if they said no to orphans and Christmas cheer."
Again the friends laughed, and Linda shot them a look. Why did they find her budding romance with Danny Reagan so amusing?
"Put the fear of Mother Reagan in them. Excellent idea." She wrote all their names down, then went to track each one down.
**********
"You look nice," Nonna told Linda, a knowing smile on her face. "A little dressy for a school volunteer job, though."
Linda looked down at her outfit. She wore a nice, cropped baby pink sweater with high waisted, velvet black pants. She paired it with her new chunky heeled black boots. "I'd wear this any day."
She brought her coffee cup to her lips, "Mhmm."
Linda payed her no mind. She would wear this everyday... maybe the pants would be jeans, but that wasn't the point. "I'll see you later, Nonna."
"Don't forget to eat!"
"They feed us, don't worry."
She smiled as Linda closed the front door. Whether her granddaughter knew it or not, it was obvious to the rest of the world. Linda Rose O'Shea was in love!
***********
Linda found Savanna, who smiled widely. "Wow, you're here early!"
"I hate being late. I think five minutes early is late."
"Wish I could say the same thing about other people... First come, first serve. Where you wanna go?"
Linda surveyed the gym. She picked a table that was for wrapping presents. Until her lunch break, she worked at the table. During lunch, she sat with the Reagans and a nice girl named Suzie. Linda didn't talk much- mainly because Danny, Erin, and Joe continually argued about a football team... or was it hockey?
"Where's Jamie?" Linda quickly asked when the siblings took a break to eat.
"At home. He's got a bad cold," Joe explained with a wave of his hand. "So Whaddaya think?"
And then they were talking about sports again. Linda rolled her eyes and started a conversation with Suzie about traditional Christmas food for their respective families. (She'd have to make a point to talk to Suzie more often. She seemed lonely).
After lunch, a boy begged Linda to swap places with him by the door. He gave a hurried explanation, Linda only catching a few words here and there. She agreed, and soon found herself with Savanna, organizing.
********
"Hey," Danny came up to Linda and Savanna.
"Hi! Having fun?" Linda noticed the two coffee cups in his hands.
"Not really. Uh... here." He held the coffee cup in front of him.
"What?" Her brain malfunctioned.
"It's for you." He put it on the table in front of her. "It's gas station coffee. Sorry."
"Will it rot my teeth?" She peered into the cup- not a trace of dark brown or black. It was a nice light brown- just the way she liked it, color-wise.
"If you mean if there's a ton of sugar, then yes."
Savanna's eyes darted between the two. She knew they had been on two or three dates, but they were so spread out, she didn't think Danny and Linda were an item. But apparently they were? He brought her coffee after all— he knew her coffee order!
Linda took a sip- it burned her tongue and her throat. She felt it warm her insides. It was a tad too sweet, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "It's good, thank you. You didn't have to do that."
He only shrugged, "you're sitting by the door, and every time it opens, cold air comes in—" he stopped talking abruptly. "Uh, you want something, Savanna? I can go back, or you can have this. It's black though."
He offered up his cup, and Linda's heart melted.
Savanna smiled, "I'm okay. But thank you."
He smiled at Linda, then bid the two ladies goodbye. Savanna immediately leaned towards Linda. "He knows your coffee order!"
"It's too sweet- even for me."
"Whatever. The point is he knows your coffee order! He just put too much sugar in it."
"What's the significance of knowing someone's coffee order?"
"Hello? It means he's totally into you! You lucky duck! He's a catch."
"
*********
"So, apparently, you're a catch," Linda told Danny after the event.
"Really?"
"Mhmm. 'Cording to Savanna, that is."
"And why does she think that?"
"Oh come on, Danny. You're hot and you know it." Linda looked surprised as a blush came to her face. Obviously, that wasn't supposed to be said. She slowly moved her eyes to look at him, and then smiled awkwardly.
"Word on the street is you're pretty hot yourself."
"I am not- who's saying that?"
"Me."
She blushed harder, "one person's opinion is hardly word on the street."
"And why not? I'm a person with words coming out of my mouth, and I was on the street when I came to that conclusion."
Linda snorted and whacked him on his shoulder. "Come on, Romeo. Let's go get something to eat."
