Who Needs Cupid, Anyway?

Jane tapped her pen against the legal pad on her desk, half-listening to the soft rock station that played on a constant basis in the reception area. The quiet secretary batted at a strand of her warm auburn hair that insisted on falling into her face. She'd tried in vain to get it to stay back in the ponytail she wore almost every day, but not even the strongest of hairsprays worked.

Jane had 45 minutes left on her hour lunch break, and nothing to do. No one else was in the office and she was all caught up on work, for the moment. As she shuffled papers around on her desk, the radio host's voice caught her attention.

"Since Valentine's Day is coming up, we're giving away romantic prizes all month long. Since the big day is only a week away, today we're giving away two tickets for an ocean view room on a seven day cruise to Cancun. The caller who can identify the song that I'm going to play a three second clip of wins, so be ready. We're going to play the clip at 12:30. For now, enjoy the set of ballads coming up."

Jane rolled her eyes and gave a derisive snort. "Ridiculous. Valentine's Day is such crap." Still, she couldn't resist listening for the three second clip at 12:30.

"Okay, folks, here's your chance to win a romantic cruise for two to Cancun. I'm going to play a three second clip of a song, and the person who can identify the song will win our most decadent gift yet. We'll throw in $500 as a bonus if you can also identify the artist. Here it comes."

She knew the song instantly. The drum beat was so unique that she was sure the first caller would get it. After three people called in and guessed wrong, Jane started getting annoyed. How can they not know this? What kind of music do these people listen to, anyway? She snatched up the office phone and dialed the station. Her stomach clenched when she realized she'd actually gotten through.

"Hi, caller! What's your name?"

"Jane." She swallowed, noticing that her mouth felt as dry as sandpaper.

"Welcome to the show, Jane. So, can you tell me what song I just played a clip of?"

Jane smirked. "Yeah. It's 'Tusk' by Fleetwood Mac." She heard a ridiculous trumpet fanfare and arched a brow.

"Congratulations, Jane! You've won two tickets on a deluxe cruise to Mexico, and the $500 bonus for identifying the artist, too! Stay on the line so I can get a few details from you, and you can pick up the tickets at the station as soon as this afternoon!"

Jane was sitting ramrod straight in her desk chair and her brown eyes were wide with shock. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights when her boss Alice walked in. The tall graceful blonde touched her secretary's shoulder and Jane jumped. "What's wrong, Jane?"

She shook her head dumbly, but managed to choke out. "I won two tickets on a deluxe cruise and $500."

"And you're not jumping up and down screaming with joy why?"

"Alice, you know I haven't had a boyfriend in over three years. It's supposed to be a romantic vacation to Mexico for Valentine's Day. Who in the world am I going to get to go with me? I don't think I'm going to go. Probably I'll just give the tickets away."

Alice narrowed her sharp green eyes and planted her hands on her hips. "No, you're not. You're going to take this vacation. You've earned it, and it doesn't really matter who you ask to go with you! Be spontaneous for once! Just grab a guy and offer him the other ticket for the cruise. Any guy would have to be nuts not to accept."

Jane chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before replying. "Well...I could use a vacation. I hate this city in the winter, anyway. It gets cold, but it never snows. What's the point in that?"

"Exactly. Take the rest of the day off, and go pick up your tickets!"

A few hours later Jane was staring down at two cruise tickets in her hand and she had five crisp, new $100 dollar bills in her purse.

Wow...how the heck did this happen to me? I never win anything, and now I'm going on a deluxe cruise with $500 to spend however I want without having to worry about blowing my paycheck.

She started walking back to her car, eyes still on the tickets, when she plowed right into someone. Jane tumbled backward onto the sidewalk, and she dropped the tickets. Her eyes watered, and she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that her backside was going to bruise. "I'm so sorry! I was so stunned that I won these tickets...I wasn't even watching where I was going."

"It's okay. I wasn't watching where I was going, either." He picked up the tickets with one hand, and extended the other to help Jane up.

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Agatha Christie

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