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The Bachelor Auction Part III

by Mary Margret Daughtridge


Granbury wasn’t a large town. In years past the auction had always been held in the high school auditorium, where a family atmosphere and lots of good-natured teasing gave the money-raiser the feeling of a Sadie Hawkins Day joke. The town wasn’t long on eligible men, either. A couple of years, some of the bachelors had been teenagers, and once, the ten-year-old grandson of the president of the bank. His two grandmothers bidding against each other had been the highlight of the evening.

I had already guessed that by moving the auction to the hotel ballroom, its sponsors signaled they intended things to be different this year, but a Fantasy Man theme? Come on. Granbury wasn’t the kind of place where people had fantasies. Granbury was middle America at its most middle—a fact that had driven me to the big city as soon as I finished school.

I had wanted the kind of place where people dared to live large. I had wanted excitement, thrills, drama. Men in Armani suits and women in deep décolleté black dresses. Sports cars and limousines, and scintillating conversation with men who had mysterious dark eyes and an aura of danger.

At the door to the ballroom, Millicent Froedisher, in the same taupe suit she’d worn to church for years, took my ticket. Beside her, a man, in a formfitting cobalt jumpsuit emblazoned with racing sponsor logos, flashed me a daredevil grin. When I gasped, audibly, he winked. “My friends call me ‘Speedy’—but I’m not, if you know what I mean.” He dipped his head slightly causing a lock of black hair to fall over his eyes. “Buy me.”

Comments

  1. Nice characterization... of both the town and our heroine!

    I think things are about to heat up!

    And I'd definitely 'buy' Speedy.

    Cindy

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  2. MM-

    I love the way you built this up! So much fun :)

    -Danielle

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  3. Go Speed Racer, go!
    Well, our heroine wants life in the fast lane!
    Christina

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  4. Whenever I think handsome race car driver, I think Mario Andretti. (heavy sigh) Now his grandson is in the Indy 500. Makes me feel so freakin' old....

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  5. Hey Cheryl,
    I'm seen Mario and his son Michael, up close... well, within 3 or 4 feet close. Michael is VERRA NICE to look at!

    And maybe lil Marco will break the Andretti curse and actually WIN the Indy 500.

    Cindy
    the auto racing fan

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  6. Not interested in Speedy, but where's the guy in Troy toga??? Hehehe...loved how the town wasn't into fantasy--sounds like mine, and then have a fantasy bachelor auction.

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  7. Wilder and wilder. I'm going to the bank later today. Can't wait for the bidding to start.
    Michele

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  8. "Nice characterization... of both the town and our heroine!

    I think things are about to heat up!

    And I'd definitely 'buy' Speedy."

    Cindy, there's a racer-guy...I don't even know who he is but there's a life-size cutout of him in every supermarket, convenience store, and gas station. I saw him so many places I thought he was stalking me. Okay, I hoped he was stalking me.
    Needless to say, if the theme was 'fantasy men,' he had to be there.
    Mary Margret

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  9. Aunt Cindy,
    I haven't see Mario up close since he was verra young himself when I used to go to the track with my dad many long years ago!
    Michael isn't hard to look at, but I think Marco looks more like Mario. I guess the "pretty" gene must have skipped a generation.;-)

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