Hank #AtoZChallenge

Alice flounced into the room, spinning in her sundress, trailing a pale cardigan over her shoulder. “You look nice,” said Carissa from her spot on the couch, one foot propped on the battered coffee table as she painted her toenails. 

“Thank you.” Alice turned to test a lipstick in the mirror by the front door. “I have a date with Glen tonight.” 

Mara was coming through from the kitchen with a bowl of ramen. “Ugh. Spare me more stories of your ‘charming Irishman’."

“Give her a break,” said Carissa, her attention on her toes. “She’s in Lo-o-ove!” The last word came out in a sing-song lilt. She was almost teasing but softened it with a wink toward Alice. Alice considered the concept, then gave a non-committal shrug. “Maybe.” 

“You always think you’re in love, if the guy has an accent.” Mara talked through her mouthful of noodles, leaning against the kitchen doorway. “But accents can be faked, ye wee lass.” She couldn’t do Irish, but Mara gave a decent imitation of a Scottish accent. “Give me a guy who speaks my language. And anyway why haven’t we met Glen yet? What’s he hiding? If he’s as ‘charming’ as you say, shouldn’t he walk you to the door?” 

Carissa blew on her toenails and commented, “Mm. Point.” 

“It’s not just his accent. But for your information, I don’t invite him in.” Alice had her hands on her hips. “You two are awful about him. Why would I bring him up just to be ridiculed?” 

Lifting her other foot to the table, Carissa said, “Point, Alice.” 

“Carissa, are you in this, or just keeping score?” Mara asked. 

“I am Switzerland. Carry on though. I love it.” There was a pause while she situated the bottle of polish between her feet and adjust her angle to the second foot. With a mischievous smirk she added, “I notice you haven’t brought ‘Heartland Hank’ up to the apartment, either. Just sayin’.” 

Alice pounced on that. “That’s true! ‘Hello, Pot? Hey, it’s Kettle!’” 

Mara just shook her head. “That’s ‘cause we’re usually sharing an Uber. Or I’m staying overnight at his place.” 

Alice looked at the clock and picked up her purse. “If you guys are so hot-to-trot, why aren’t you getting ready for a date?” 

Mara turned into the kitchen to throw out the noodle bowl, calling over her shoulder, “We’re going out tomorrow.” As she returned, Carissa was nodding at her toes. “Fair enough. You each have a date this weekend. No point given.” 

As Alice opened the door to leave, Mara called after her, “Beware of men bearing fake accents!” 

The next day was Saturday, and Mara was preparing for a fun afternoon. She and Hank were going to meet and walk through the big park, seeing a new outdoor art exhibit before going out for dinner. Alice came racing in with grocery bags, pushing past her into the bathroom. “Let me through! I saw Glen in that juice bar down the street. He turned this direction out the café door, with TWO to-go cups. I have to fix my hair before he sees me. Maybe you guys’ll get to meet him!” 

Mara gave up the bathroom so Alice could meet Glen without crazy hair. “I’m so sorry I can’t stick around for your fake Irishman. I’m off to meet Hank, my heartland-bred American.” She grabbed a jacket to go over her jeans and sleeveless top and left. At the corner of the block, she met Hank, who offered her one of the two clear plastic to-go cups he was holding. 

“Hey, babe! Lookin’ good! Want a fresh cherry limeade?” The plastic cup bore the name and logo of the juice bar down the street. 

Thank you for visiting my #AtoZChallenge! My theme is "Audience Participation" (read about it, here) and now it is your turn. Each day will be a new story based on suggestions from your comments. Suggest anything: a word, scenario, character, location... I will be keeping a list of suggestions, so if yours isn't used tomorrow, it may show up later. 

Today's post was inspired by the prompt "charming Irishman", suggested by Debs Carey (of Debs Despatches), given in comments on my G post (here).