TITLE: Matchmaker Lane (Chapter One)
AUTHOR: Dream Catcher
DISCLAIMER: I do not and never will own Sailor Moon. As much as I would love to own it there are some dreams that will never become a reality. However, this story line is mine.
SUMMERY: Serena moves to a new neighborhood and meets some new friends. Her new friends are trying to hook her up in subtle ways without her knowing it. Every guy they introduce to her is rejected. Then Raye's older brother, Darien, comes to town for her birthday. Darien had somehow slipped the girls' minds as a possible hook-up for Serena. But, at Raye's B-day bash it finally hits them. Have the girls found Serena's perfect match? Read and find out.
A.N.: I got the idea for this story while reading a short story in a woman's magazine. The short story is called "The Good Neighbor" and is by Sharon Irwin Diaz. I am NOT copying that story. I just got and idea while reading it. The only similar aspect is a neighbor tries to play matchmaker, or in my case, neighbors. There will be some dialogue that may seem like grammatical mistakes, but I'm trying to capture the way southerners talk. There will also be what some things that seem like grammatical mistakes and are grammatical mistakes. I'm horrible in grammar when it comes to my work. (Don't even get me started on spelling.) I also want to thank the people who are reading my other story "Love through Pain and Sorrow." I will now shut up because I know, Dear Readers, you are tired of my yakking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whenever life doesn't seem to give an answer, we create one.
-Lorraine Hansberry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER ONE
Serena sighed, as she finally spotted the street sign that read JUNIPER LANE, just as the sun was going down. After driving for four hours, she was finally happy to be able to rest. Who knew four hours in a car could actually make your butt fall asleep? Well if she had, she would have defiantly made more pit stops.
Finally, she would be able to move a few things into her new home. It had been a big step in her life to move from her hometown in Tennessee to South Carolina. She had never been this far away from her parents, and it was about time for her to spread her wings. She was twenty-five, after all.
She pulled into her new driveway and immediately got out and began to stretch, mentally making a note to get an appointment with the local chiropractor. She gazed at her new home. It was a small one-story white house, perfect for a single woman. Small rose bushes were planted along the front porch and the smell of them, mixed with fragrance of freshly cut grass coming from a neighbor's yard, filled the air. It was perfect for her.
She then popped the trunk of her car and retrieved the few possessions she brought with her and trudged up to the front door while fishing her key the real estate agent had given her out of her pant pocket. She pushed the door open and was greeted by an empty house. She shut the door behind her and sat her belongings down on the plush beige carpet. The movers wouldn't be by until tomorrow, which left her sleeping on the floor. Something that was not good for her already sore back.
She decided to wait until tomorrow to unpack the things she brought with her. So, instead, she grabbed the pillow and the blanket draped across her suitcase and headed for the master bedroom to take a nap on the floor.
Serena awoke the next morning, with the rising sun shinning in her face through the curtain-less window. She groaned and rolled over, trying to block the sun by placing her pillow over her face. Just as she was about to fall back into slumber her doorbell rang. She grumbled something incoherent before slowly rising to her feet.
"It better be Publisher's Clearing House," she mumbled before slowly opening her door to be greeted by a large man in a movers' uniform.
"Miss. Smith?" the man questioned.
Serena nodded her head and opened the door wider in an invitation for him to come in. She knew her long blond hair was in disarray and her blue eyes were drossy. But, did she care? Not in the least. What was the likelihood she would ever see this man again? Besides, he didn't look so hot himself.
The man left to go back to the truck after making sure he had the right house. His partner already had the back of the U-Haul truck open and was beginning to carry things towards the house.
In the mean time, Serena dug through her suitcase for her instant coffee and a microwavable bowl, two things she always traveled with. She then trudged into the kitchen and proceeded to heat a bowl of water in the microwave. Once completed, she consumed the drink in a matter of minutes.
She then went into the living room where she saw the movers bringing her couch though the front door.
"Where do you want this, lady?" asked a mover slightly younger than the first. She wanted to lecture the man on the proper ways to address a woman, but she was still too tired to ague.
"Over there, against that wall," she pointed out.
"Lita, look out your window. There's a moving van in number thirty-two's driveway. We have ourselves a new neighbor."
"Really? Hold on while I go look." Lita placed the phone down and raced to her living room window. Her gaze settled across the street where a moving van was parked, steadily unloading furniture. "Well, I'll be," she whispered.
"You'll be what, Honey?" asked a voice from behind Lita.
Lita turned to her husband Ken and stared into his brown eyes adoringly. Brushing a hand through his short brown hair she smiled and said, "We have a new neighbor." She giggled and returned to the kitchen and picked up the phone.
"Should I bake something, Mina?"
"Yeah, I'd think so. Gatta show our Southern hospitality." Mina giggled
"I'll back a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Do you know who our neighbor is?"
"Yummy, cookies sound great, and I have no idea who our neighbor is. Later you, Amy, Raye, and I can all go over and see once your cookies are done. How 'bout that?"
"Sure, sounds great."
"Well, I have to call Amy and Raye and inform them. Bye."
"Bye," Lita said and hung up once he heard the dial tone. She then began the horrendous task of trying to find the ingredients for the cookies.
Serena closed the door behind the movers. After two hours of moving her furniture and boxes upon boxes filled with her belongings in her new home, they were finally leaving. Now, the hard part came. Where in the world was she going to put everything?
Well you'll never get it done standing there, she thought. So, she sat down next to the nearest box marked "PAINTINGS," and began ripping the tape holding it closed. Luckily, the old paintings she had collected at various yard sales, would work well in her new home. She picked the painting on top up, a beautiful scene of a lake and the sun setting in the background, and decided where to put it. It ended up hanging above the mantle of the fireplace.
She worked her way though her living room until she decided nothing else should go in there. Serena determined it would be best if she worked on her bedroom for now. After all, it was where she slept. She had just finished putting her clothes in her closet, when the doorbell rang once again.
Still hopping it was Publisher's Clearing House, she answered the door. This time instead of it being a large man, it was four young women, all in their late twenties.
The one in front was a tall brunet with sparkling green eyes. She held out a plate of chocolate chip cookies towards Serena. A smile was gracing her features.
Beside the brunet, was a woman with blond hair reaching just below her butt. A red ribbon held back some of her golden locks, while blue eyes held mischief. She too was a smiling; in fact, all of them were.
Behind the blond there was a raven-haired woman. Her brown eyes seemed to be scrutinizing Serena and when the woman found Serena harmless, they became cheerful and matched her now genuine smile.
Beside the raven-haired woman there was a timid blue-grey (A.N. This is a hair color. I've seen it on a hair color ad on TV.) haired woman. She had a genuine smile and an apologetic look on her face.
The brunet began to speak, "Hi, I'm Lita Green-"
She was cut off by the blond, "I'm Mina Hart-"
Who was cut off by the raven-haired woman, "I'm Raye Davis-"
Then the blue-grey haired woman interrupted, "And, I'm Amy Anderson, and we're-"
"Your new neighbors," they all spoke at once.
Serena laughed and ushered them inside.
"I'm Serena Smith, and I'm sorry, but I'm not finished unpacking. I also haven't been to the grocery store, so I have nothing to offer you but a glass of water."
"Water's fine," spoke Mina. Once Serena left the room Mina turned to the group of women. "Did any of you happen to get a look at her left hand?" At the blank look on her friends' faces she continued, "She's single. No wedding band. She's new in town so I doubt she is dating anyone. I feel a matchmaking scheme coming on."
The other girls smiled in agreement. It would be fun. Serena seemed nice, and it had been a while since they had done any matchmaking.
Serena came back into the room and handed each girl a glass of water. She then grabbed a cookie from the plate Lita had set down on the coffee table.
"These are so good. You have got to give me the recipe."
"Sure thing," said Lita.
"So, tell us about yourself, Serena," spoke the quiet Amy.
"Well," and the conversation lasted for hours.
"Bye it was nice meeting you." Serena waved as her new friends exited her home. She closed the door and headed towards the bathroom to take a shower. Afterwards she planed on doing some grocery shopping.
Once she was out of the shower she rummaged through her closet for something to ware. She found some bootlegged jeans, some brown heeled boots, and a white tank top. She grabbed her purse and keys and headed out the door.
She rolled down her window while she drove, letting the country air whip at her blond hair, that thankfully for her, she had tied back in a ponytail. She headed towards the Bi-Lo she seen the other day while searching for her home.
She walked through the sliding glass doors and grabbed a buggy, which she pushed up and down every aisle only stopping to grab the things she needed. She left the store with a buggy full of food. She passed by a newspaper vender and decided to get one so she could look at the classifieds. Satisfied she could now leave, she loaded her car and headed home.
When she arrived home she grabbed a few grocery bags and carried them inside. She repeated the process until her car was empty, and once she had everything put away she ate a few of Lita's cookies and headed to bed. It had been a long, tiring day.
Darien Shields, an assistant prosecutor, sighed as he took off his gold-rimmed glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It had been a long and hectic day that, unfortunately, was not over for him. It was nine o'clock at night, and he was still stuck at the office with his secretary long gone. He and was still trying to figure a way to cross-examine the defendant of his latest court case.
Maybe I should go home and call it a night, he thought as he swiveled his chair around to look out the window of his office to the New York skyline. It was a beautiful night in New York. Few lights were seen in nearby buildings, but down on the street it was bursting with life.
He loved city life, but often he caught himself dreaming of his past in the country. Fishing in the nearby creek, playing football with neighbors from up the street, and hiking through the woods, were a few of his old favorite pastimes.
Times have changed- he had changed- since then. He was now a big city dweller, accustomed to tailored suits compared to his old attire of jeans and a T-shirt. And, gone was his southern accent.
He decided he had been at the office long enough and that it was time to head to his apartment in downtown Manhattan. After grabbing his jacket of the back of his chair, stuffing the files he had been working on in his briefcase, and turning off his desk lamp, he locked his office door and headed to the elevator.
AUTHOR: Dream Catcher
DISCLAIMER: I do not and never will own Sailor Moon. As much as I would love to own it there are some dreams that will never become a reality. However, this story line is mine.
SUMMERY: Serena moves to a new neighborhood and meets some new friends. Her new friends are trying to hook her up in subtle ways without her knowing it. Every guy they introduce to her is rejected. Then Raye's older brother, Darien, comes to town for her birthday. Darien had somehow slipped the girls' minds as a possible hook-up for Serena. But, at Raye's B-day bash it finally hits them. Have the girls found Serena's perfect match? Read and find out.
A.N.: I got the idea for this story while reading a short story in a woman's magazine. The short story is called "The Good Neighbor" and is by Sharon Irwin Diaz. I am NOT copying that story. I just got and idea while reading it. The only similar aspect is a neighbor tries to play matchmaker, or in my case, neighbors. There will be some dialogue that may seem like grammatical mistakes, but I'm trying to capture the way southerners talk. There will also be what some things that seem like grammatical mistakes and are grammatical mistakes. I'm horrible in grammar when it comes to my work. (Don't even get me started on spelling.) I also want to thank the people who are reading my other story "Love through Pain and Sorrow." I will now shut up because I know, Dear Readers, you are tired of my yakking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whenever life doesn't seem to give an answer, we create one.
-Lorraine Hansberry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER ONE
Serena sighed, as she finally spotted the street sign that read JUNIPER LANE, just as the sun was going down. After driving for four hours, she was finally happy to be able to rest. Who knew four hours in a car could actually make your butt fall asleep? Well if she had, she would have defiantly made more pit stops.
Finally, she would be able to move a few things into her new home. It had been a big step in her life to move from her hometown in Tennessee to South Carolina. She had never been this far away from her parents, and it was about time for her to spread her wings. She was twenty-five, after all.
She pulled into her new driveway and immediately got out and began to stretch, mentally making a note to get an appointment with the local chiropractor. She gazed at her new home. It was a small one-story white house, perfect for a single woman. Small rose bushes were planted along the front porch and the smell of them, mixed with fragrance of freshly cut grass coming from a neighbor's yard, filled the air. It was perfect for her.
She then popped the trunk of her car and retrieved the few possessions she brought with her and trudged up to the front door while fishing her key the real estate agent had given her out of her pant pocket. She pushed the door open and was greeted by an empty house. She shut the door behind her and sat her belongings down on the plush beige carpet. The movers wouldn't be by until tomorrow, which left her sleeping on the floor. Something that was not good for her already sore back.
She decided to wait until tomorrow to unpack the things she brought with her. So, instead, she grabbed the pillow and the blanket draped across her suitcase and headed for the master bedroom to take a nap on the floor.
Serena awoke the next morning, with the rising sun shinning in her face through the curtain-less window. She groaned and rolled over, trying to block the sun by placing her pillow over her face. Just as she was about to fall back into slumber her doorbell rang. She grumbled something incoherent before slowly rising to her feet.
"It better be Publisher's Clearing House," she mumbled before slowly opening her door to be greeted by a large man in a movers' uniform.
"Miss. Smith?" the man questioned.
Serena nodded her head and opened the door wider in an invitation for him to come in. She knew her long blond hair was in disarray and her blue eyes were drossy. But, did she care? Not in the least. What was the likelihood she would ever see this man again? Besides, he didn't look so hot himself.
The man left to go back to the truck after making sure he had the right house. His partner already had the back of the U-Haul truck open and was beginning to carry things towards the house.
In the mean time, Serena dug through her suitcase for her instant coffee and a microwavable bowl, two things she always traveled with. She then trudged into the kitchen and proceeded to heat a bowl of water in the microwave. Once completed, she consumed the drink in a matter of minutes.
She then went into the living room where she saw the movers bringing her couch though the front door.
"Where do you want this, lady?" asked a mover slightly younger than the first. She wanted to lecture the man on the proper ways to address a woman, but she was still too tired to ague.
"Over there, against that wall," she pointed out.
"Lita, look out your window. There's a moving van in number thirty-two's driveway. We have ourselves a new neighbor."
"Really? Hold on while I go look." Lita placed the phone down and raced to her living room window. Her gaze settled across the street where a moving van was parked, steadily unloading furniture. "Well, I'll be," she whispered.
"You'll be what, Honey?" asked a voice from behind Lita.
Lita turned to her husband Ken and stared into his brown eyes adoringly. Brushing a hand through his short brown hair she smiled and said, "We have a new neighbor." She giggled and returned to the kitchen and picked up the phone.
"Should I bake something, Mina?"
"Yeah, I'd think so. Gatta show our Southern hospitality." Mina giggled
"I'll back a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Do you know who our neighbor is?"
"Yummy, cookies sound great, and I have no idea who our neighbor is. Later you, Amy, Raye, and I can all go over and see once your cookies are done. How 'bout that?"
"Sure, sounds great."
"Well, I have to call Amy and Raye and inform them. Bye."
"Bye," Lita said and hung up once he heard the dial tone. She then began the horrendous task of trying to find the ingredients for the cookies.
Serena closed the door behind the movers. After two hours of moving her furniture and boxes upon boxes filled with her belongings in her new home, they were finally leaving. Now, the hard part came. Where in the world was she going to put everything?
Well you'll never get it done standing there, she thought. So, she sat down next to the nearest box marked "PAINTINGS," and began ripping the tape holding it closed. Luckily, the old paintings she had collected at various yard sales, would work well in her new home. She picked the painting on top up, a beautiful scene of a lake and the sun setting in the background, and decided where to put it. It ended up hanging above the mantle of the fireplace.
She worked her way though her living room until she decided nothing else should go in there. Serena determined it would be best if she worked on her bedroom for now. After all, it was where she slept. She had just finished putting her clothes in her closet, when the doorbell rang once again.
Still hopping it was Publisher's Clearing House, she answered the door. This time instead of it being a large man, it was four young women, all in their late twenties.
The one in front was a tall brunet with sparkling green eyes. She held out a plate of chocolate chip cookies towards Serena. A smile was gracing her features.
Beside the brunet, was a woman with blond hair reaching just below her butt. A red ribbon held back some of her golden locks, while blue eyes held mischief. She too was a smiling; in fact, all of them were.
Behind the blond there was a raven-haired woman. Her brown eyes seemed to be scrutinizing Serena and when the woman found Serena harmless, they became cheerful and matched her now genuine smile.
Beside the raven-haired woman there was a timid blue-grey (A.N. This is a hair color. I've seen it on a hair color ad on TV.) haired woman. She had a genuine smile and an apologetic look on her face.
The brunet began to speak, "Hi, I'm Lita Green-"
She was cut off by the blond, "I'm Mina Hart-"
Who was cut off by the raven-haired woman, "I'm Raye Davis-"
Then the blue-grey haired woman interrupted, "And, I'm Amy Anderson, and we're-"
"Your new neighbors," they all spoke at once.
Serena laughed and ushered them inside.
"I'm Serena Smith, and I'm sorry, but I'm not finished unpacking. I also haven't been to the grocery store, so I have nothing to offer you but a glass of water."
"Water's fine," spoke Mina. Once Serena left the room Mina turned to the group of women. "Did any of you happen to get a look at her left hand?" At the blank look on her friends' faces she continued, "She's single. No wedding band. She's new in town so I doubt she is dating anyone. I feel a matchmaking scheme coming on."
The other girls smiled in agreement. It would be fun. Serena seemed nice, and it had been a while since they had done any matchmaking.
Serena came back into the room and handed each girl a glass of water. She then grabbed a cookie from the plate Lita had set down on the coffee table.
"These are so good. You have got to give me the recipe."
"Sure thing," said Lita.
"So, tell us about yourself, Serena," spoke the quiet Amy.
"Well," and the conversation lasted for hours.
"Bye it was nice meeting you." Serena waved as her new friends exited her home. She closed the door and headed towards the bathroom to take a shower. Afterwards she planed on doing some grocery shopping.
Once she was out of the shower she rummaged through her closet for something to ware. She found some bootlegged jeans, some brown heeled boots, and a white tank top. She grabbed her purse and keys and headed out the door.
She rolled down her window while she drove, letting the country air whip at her blond hair, that thankfully for her, she had tied back in a ponytail. She headed towards the Bi-Lo she seen the other day while searching for her home.
She walked through the sliding glass doors and grabbed a buggy, which she pushed up and down every aisle only stopping to grab the things she needed. She left the store with a buggy full of food. She passed by a newspaper vender and decided to get one so she could look at the classifieds. Satisfied she could now leave, she loaded her car and headed home.
When she arrived home she grabbed a few grocery bags and carried them inside. She repeated the process until her car was empty, and once she had everything put away she ate a few of Lita's cookies and headed to bed. It had been a long, tiring day.
Darien Shields, an assistant prosecutor, sighed as he took off his gold-rimmed glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It had been a long and hectic day that, unfortunately, was not over for him. It was nine o'clock at night, and he was still stuck at the office with his secretary long gone. He and was still trying to figure a way to cross-examine the defendant of his latest court case.
Maybe I should go home and call it a night, he thought as he swiveled his chair around to look out the window of his office to the New York skyline. It was a beautiful night in New York. Few lights were seen in nearby buildings, but down on the street it was bursting with life.
He loved city life, but often he caught himself dreaming of his past in the country. Fishing in the nearby creek, playing football with neighbors from up the street, and hiking through the woods, were a few of his old favorite pastimes.
Times have changed- he had changed- since then. He was now a big city dweller, accustomed to tailored suits compared to his old attire of jeans and a T-shirt. And, gone was his southern accent.
He decided he had been at the office long enough and that it was time to head to his apartment in downtown Manhattan. After grabbing his jacket of the back of his chair, stuffing the files he had been working on in his briefcase, and turning off his desk lamp, he locked his office door and headed to the elevator.