The Magnolia Story(6)

“Hey, sweetheart, how are you? I saw your latest commercial. Tell your mom and dad I said hello, okay?” They talked for quite a while, and my mind started turning, like, Wow. This girl is a local superstar.

Dinner was perfect. We were both comfortable with each other for some reason, and the conversation came easy. When the bill came, Chip quickly popped up and took a big roll of cash out of his pocket. I don’t think I’d ever seen anyone carry that much cash. My dad was successful, but he kept his money in a bank. Seeing that, I thought, Oh, that’s why he stayed in Waco. He’s doing really well for himself!

You thought I was rich. Ha! What you didn’t know is that was probably all the money I had in the world. I always carried cash. I’d carry, like, $1,000 on me in those days. I just loved the way it felt. Plus, I worked with a lot of rough dudes, and some of them expected to be paid in cash.

It’s funny because I went to Baylor, where I was surrounded by all these rich kids from rich families, and for whatever reason I was never drawn to that. I was much more comfortable hanging out with the guys who dug ditches. I lived like them, too, whether it was carrying all my money around in my pocket or sitting under some shady tree at lunchtime while they laughed at me trying to eat jalape?os.

After dinner the two of us went and sat on that grand front porch for a while. It was a beautiful night, and I could have just sat there and listened to the silence. But Chip, of course—he had other ideas. I just looked at him until I couldn’t even hear him anymore. I remember thinking, Nope. This guy isn’t even close to done.

In my head, I started to go down the checklist we women put together in our heads and our hearts. I’d always been attracted to people with dark hair. He was blond or redheaded or something in between—it was too short to tell. I would have preferred hair, period.

I’d always been attracted to quiet guys, too, which I knew was a problem because the quiet guys never had the nerve to ask me out, and they certainly never drew me out the way this guy did. Still, he was all over the place. He was talking about the businesses he’d started, and these ideas he had, and how he was buying up little houses and flipping them and renting some out to Baylor students, and I was wondering if he was just a bit crazy.

I liked stability. I liked safety. I liked traditional and I liked being on time. And this Chip with the beet-red face wasn’t any of those things. I did think he was kind of fascinating, though.

I know this is going to sound strange to some people, but right in the middle of that—right in the middle of me trying to figure this guy out—a little voice in my head said, That’s the man you’re going to marry. I swear to you it was clear as day. It seemed like the voice of God, or maybe it was some deep intuition, but I heard it. In fact, I heard it so loudly that I completely tuned out our conversation and lost focus.

My roommates asked me a million questions after he dropped me off that night: “What was he like? Did he try to kiss you? How was the date?” And my response was that it was good. We had fun. He was a good talker. And no, he didn’t try to kiss me. I didn’t tell them about that voice in my head. It seemed far too ridiculous. But honestly, if it wasn’t for that voice, I’m not sure I would have stuck it out through all the ups and downs of dating a guy like Chip. I was spinning a bit, but I certainly didn’t fall instantly head-over-heels for him or anything like that.

It wasn’t exactly a love at first sight for me, either. It was a fun date, but I’d been on lots of fun dates. Something was different, though. Joanna impressed me. I couldn’t stop thinking about that owner coming up to talk to her. I was honestly the one who normally got the attention. She was totally different from the typical blonde-haired, blue-eyed cheerleader type I tended to date. But the more I thought about her, the more I knew I wanted to see her again.

We made plans to go get coffee the following week, but I had to cancel. I hurt my back. In fact, I needed to go into the hospital for surgery, and I let Chip know that. He seemed real concerned and wished me luck—and then he didn’t call me again. He didn’t send flowers to the hospital. Nothing.

Flowers to the hospital? After one date?

Yes! That would’ve been the chivalrous thing to do. Everyone thought it was rude that you didn’t call after that.

Huh. Well, I apologize, Jo. I didn’t even think about that.

It’s okay. I forgive you. I think it turned out okay in the end.

Even though he wasn’t what I’d pictured as the type of man I might be interested in, there was just something about Chip Gaines that I couldn’t get off my mind. I kept thinking about him—and thinking about just how weird it all was.

Our first date happened at the end of October, and it wasn’t until after the turn of the New Year—early January something—that I finally got another phone call from him.

“Hey, Jo, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed our date, and I think we ought to stop playing all these games,” he said.

I was sitting there thinking, What games is this guy talking about?

I’d made a bet with Hot John to see who could hold out the longest before calling our dates back. I really wanted that fifty dollars from John! That’s the only reason I didn’t call.

I think Chip was still dating a few girls off and on then.

Yeah, I think you’re right. But I did want to win that fifty dollars, and it was killing me because I kept thinking about you and I really did think you were going to call any day now!