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  Sofey shifted her weight on her feet, feeling the pizza box getting hot on her palms and making it uncomfortable to hold onto. “Yeah, that’s what my friend said. She said he’s from Caraway.”

  “I’m sure all the girls will be after him now that the show has aired, huh? Pretty girls like you always fall for those celebrity types.” He winked at Sofey.

  Sofey’s face got hot. “Uh, sure. Well, thanks for the pizza. Have a good day.” She shut the door before the pizza guy had a chance to say another word and leaned against it, rolling her eyes. What is wrong with me? Was he flirting? Geez, maybe I should’ve flirted back?

  “Are you comin’ in here or what? The show’s back on and they’re showin’ clips from when they paired up the guys and girls in the first episode.”

  Sofey took the pizza in and set it on the small metal TV tray between them. Grabbing a piece, she watched the cheese stretch, still attached to the rest of the pie. “So, what’s this show about anyway?”

  June got cozy on the couch, putting her feet under her and grabbing a throw pillow to lean on, “I’ll fill you in.” She took a piece of pizza, licking the grease off her fingers. “Oh, I love cheese pizza with pineapple. Barney used to always have to have those dang hot peppers on it.” June squished her face at the thought, then the lines softened, “But I’d take the hot peppers if it meant him being here.” She waved her hand in the air, “So, the show! You saw how they took one girl and one guy from each runway and paired them up. Well, they say it’s random but I was reading in Rumors, you know that smut magazine you buy at the checkout in Marty’s, that they actually pair them up by who they think will argue the most.”

  Sofey nodded, “Linda said the same thing. She said they want them to cause drama and if they don’t make their own drama the show will create it by spreading rumors throughout the cast.” Sofey took a big bite of gooey pizza and wiped sauce from her mouth, “Anyway, that’s why she says she’ll never ‘watch that horrible crap.’”

  June’s mouth dropped, “No, no, this is reality TV. Sofey, it’s real. These are real people, doing real things. Just watch, you’ll see.” June pointed at the nervous looking singles, dressed-up in their finest clothes.

  “Wow, they all look the same.” Sofey took another bite of pizza, she was kind of enjoying the ‘Television Trash’.

  “Yeah, yeah, so anyway, after they do a wonderful job of pairing these kids up, they send them off to find apartments.”

  “Apartments? They have to live together? How many in an apartment?”

  “What do you mean how many? This is a wholesome show!” June grabbed her drink and settled back. “The couples each get their own apartment in the same apartment complex.” Her eyes glued to the television, June grabbed two pieces of pizza and put the tops together like a sandwich. She took a big bite, leaving sauce on her chin.

  “Sooooo, that’s it? That’s the show? They get paired up and get an apartment?” Sofey flopped back on the couch, disappointed.

  June rolled her eyes, “No, you really think that’s how folks fall in love? I mean. The show is called Jury of Love for a reason…the reason being they have to FALL IN LOVE.”

  “Oh yes, that makes total sense.” Sofey rolled her eyes back at June.

  June grinned, “Oh, that’s right, you don’t believe in L-O-V-E.” She laughed as she continued, “OK, Dolly. After they got matched up and got their apartments they had challenges each week, and each week they had to convince the other couples that they were in love. If others didn't believe one couple was in love, that pair would get voted off. The last couple left had the choice to leave single, with $2,500 each, or get married.” June slapped her knee, “Now where we are in show is the last episode. If they decide to get married and if they stay married for a year, while convincing the producers they are in love, they get a million dollars!” June took a big bite of her pizza sandwich and before swallowing all of it she continued, “Ew-whee, if Barney and me had a million dollars for being in love...well…,” June looked off into space, “Well...it would have been easy for us to be millionaires!”

  Sofey raised her bottle to cheers on that. “What if they don’t stay married for a year?”

  June gave Sofey a disgusted look, “If they don’t stay married, they don’t get the money. Plain and simple.”

  “Seems like all these popular TV people are way too self-absorbed to stay married.” Sofey frowned. “Actually, in my experience, most popular people are self-centered. They just think everyone is in love with them. It’s annoying. All the people on these shows act like they’re still in high school. They talk behind each other’s backs, they make fun of-”

  “That sounds like a bunch of malarkey to me, Dolly.” June interrupted. “You can’t really think that just because someone is popular they are a self-centered jerk. You need to give people a chance on an individual basis.”

  Sofey rolled her eyes and glared at the TV.

  June suddenly jumped up from the couch, rushing toward the TV, pointing, “I know that boy! Dolly, I know that boy!” June clapped her hands together and hopped up and down.

  “What? What do you mean?” Sofey’s eyes followed June’s finger pointing at the stocky, dark haired young man on the TV. “The guy from Caraway? You know him?”

  “Yes!” June’s eyes were wide and her smile, huge. “That boy is Barney’s good friend’s grandson.” June sat down slowly on the couch, watching the TV. “Well, I’ll be.” As the reality that she knew a celebrity sunk in, June giggled like a teenage girl. “And now we can find out what he’s really like.” She took a big bite of pizza and washed it down with her pop. “You know, these tell-all reunion finale shows are where you really get to know people.”

  Sofey smiled and picked up another cheesy slice of pizza from the plate, dipping it in marinara, “I don’t know, I think sometimes these shows try to make everyone look like jerks.” She took a bite and continued talking with a mouth full of food, “They love the drama, you know?”

  June shrugged. “Maybe. But I don’t think television has ​that much power.”

  “Well, I guess we’ll find out since they’re showing clips from the past episodes.” Sofey turned the volume up and settled in to watch the cast reveal their truths from the season.

  The show’s producers had the guys and ladies who had been paired up during the premiere of the show sitting next to each other to increase the drama for the couples that did not even try to get along. They sat on the stage on elaborately decorated bleachers facing a large screen. Most of the women looked uncomfortable, and all of them were dressed in sparkly formal dresses. There were blondes with big bouncy curls, brunettes with shiny straight locks, and one gal with the most beautiful red hair Sofey had ever seen cut in a pixie style. All of the ladies’ eyes were lined in jet black liner with heavy mascara on their lashes and blood red lipstick on their pouty, full lips. The men were all in slacks and button up shirts, with gelled hair, and five o’ clock shadows. Sofey was sure they all had a slight dusting of mascara on their lashes too, but June scoffed at the idea that any man would be willing to put on makeup, even for television.

  “Well, here we all are! So great to see all of you!” The show’s host, Greg, seemed a little too enthusiastic to have them all assembled for the finale. “Let’s get the scoop on what in the world you all have been up to behind the scenes!” The couples chuckled, looking at each other while squirming in their chairs. “Let’s start with Chloe and Samson. You two were the first to be booted off by the other couples! Chloe, how did that bummer move make you feel?”

  “Well, Greg, I’ve mov-”

  “Oh! Chloe, I have to stop you there for just a sec, sweetie!” Greg patted Chloe on the knee and smiled his big, white, toothy smile at the camera. “I need to remind our viewing audience that one of these couples can still become millionaires or even multi-millionaires! We will soon find out if Riggin and Rita, our winning lovebirds, will choose to stay single,” Greg gave the camera a disgusted
look as if he, himself couldn’t believe those words came out of his mouth, “or...GET MARRRRRIED!” The audience lost it, screaming and whistling while Greg raised the roof with his hands high in the air.”

  Sofey looked at June, “Did they just give the audience a million dollars each? Seems like a lot of celebrating for people possibly trying to be in love.”

  June shrugged, “I think they get the studio audience from the streets. They’re happy to get lunch from the deal, is what I heard. Maybe the producers told them the louder they make a scene the better food they’ll get.”

  “Now,” Greg continued, looking at the camera as if he was looking directly in Sofey’s eyes, “if for any reason Riggin and Rita, can’t convince our, oh so wonderful producers,” Greg smiled, raising his shoulders to his ears, and gave a quick wave in the direction of a couple of casually dressed men and a chicly dressed woman, sitting in director chairs, “that they are actually in love, then they will not win the million and the chance will go to runner-up couple...Oh, my goodness…” Greg covered his mouth with his opened hand, “Minnie and Nico!” Greg dropped his hands to his side and looked straight at the camera with an open mouth as the audience went wild once again. “And, since they would be the second couple to try, the stakes go up. If they can manage to last for one full year, while convincing our producers that they are actually, truly, deeply, madly, in full-fledged llllooooove, they will win TWO MILLION dollars!”

  Greg smacked his lips together and put his finger to his mouth, “Now, I’m sure ya’ll are wondering ‘how in the diddley dee world are the producers going to know if the lovers are in love?’ Well, I have this itsy bitsy secret...and here it is...hidden camera peoples are going to be following the couples and filming their everyday lives.” Greg made the ‘shhh’ sign with his mouth and finger while the audience obediently gasped, “From those videos, the most excellent producers will make their decision on the trueness of love portrayed there within.”

  Greg turned to Riggin and Rita with his hands on his hips, “Now, before we ask for your decision on whether to stay single or get hitched, we have some film to watch.” Every couple squirmed in their seats. “We all know you two little turtle doves had a few problems during the season, don’t we?” Greg asked in a condescending tone.

  Rita sat with her arms and legs crossed, nodding as she watched her top leg swing back and forth in front of her. Riggin stared at the screen, arms crossed, with a satirical grin on his face.

  “Well, my producers are urging me to get to the videos and get all of your reactions! So, let’s get to it!” ​ Greg turned and pointed at the large screen. Videos of fighting couples, and laughing couples, and women gossiping, and men gossiping, and couples kissing, and the wrong couples kissing, and both girls and boys crying played across the screen and stopped at just the right moments to let the contestants comment on what had been happening - how they felt at the present moment.

  “Ohhhhh, look at thissssss, Riggin, how could you?” ​ Greg covered his mouth, giggling, “Rita, sweetie, tell us, how did that make you feel watching Riggin texting the ENTIRE TIME you were talking to him?” Greg’s face sympathized with Rita.

  “Well, Greggy, it was awful.” Rita dabbed at her heavily mascaraed eyes with a white hanky. “It made me feel unimportant and like...like…” Rita was trying to be so strong as she pushed a stray blonde strand of hair from her face. Greg touched her knee, “Like he didn’t care, sweetie?” Rita nodded, unable to speak.

  “Now, Riggin, what on earth were you thinking when you clearly showed Rita you didn’t care one ounce what she was talking about?”

  Riggin squirmed in his seat only slightly. “Greg, I was not attempting to be…”

  Greg’s hand went up to stop Riggin from talking. “And what about this time?” Greg played a video of Riggin walking out of a door, while texting, and not holding the door open for Rita. Rita made no effort to catch the door before it hit her in the face. Holding her nose, she stomped her feet, in her pink coach pumps, until Riggin turned around. Greg’s face fell in mock surprise​, “What happened there, Riggin?”

  “Greg, in this instance I was inquiring about-”

  “You were too self-absorbed to even know Rita existed!” ​ Greg pursed his lips and shook his head with disgust. “Rita, baby, what’s going on here?”

  “It’s just like you said, Greg, he really didn’t even know I existed. He just always had something more important than me to tend to. It’s obvious that the television audience saw the true love I have for Riggin.” She reached over and laid her hand on Riggin’s thigh. “I know some of the videos shown earlier seemed to show me flirting with some of the other guys, but-”

  “SEEMED?!” ​Chloe was unimpressed with Rita’s recounting of events.

  “How would you know?” Rita screeched back at Chloe. “You weren’t even there! You got voted off early, if I remember correctly! YOU have no idea what happened!”

  Snickers were heard from the back row. One of the guys was heard saying, “Trash.”

  Greg smirked and turned back to the screen. They were now playing scenes showing Rita shamelessly flirting with three other guys and kissing one who wasn’t Riggin.

  “Oh my, my, sweetie. What do you say about this?” ​ Greg wouldn’t take his eyes from Rita.

  She let out a huff and slumped in her seat. “Greg, it’s like this, I just fell so hard for Riggin that his coldness to me made me feel so alone and, well,” ​ Rita wiped her eyes again with her white hanky, “abandoned.”

  “That is sad, sugar.”

  More snickering from the other contestants echoed through the group. Greg sat with his legs crossed and his hand to his chin, shaking his head with mock concern. “Riggin, do you have anything to say about this?”

  Riggin cleared his throat, “Yes, I do. I know everyone sees me as cold and rude but, this is all taken out of context.”

  “Really? Well, let’s run another video, shall we?” Greg waved his hand at the giant screen.

  Riggin and Rita were there, in their cozy apartment, sitting in front of the fireplace. They sat on opposite ends of the red leather couch each holding huge platinum gray coffee mugs, wrapped in lush faux fur blankets.

  “So,” Rita’s voice was clear as she looked around, “what are you in this for? I mean, are you truly here to find love? Or do you just want the money?”

  Riggin took a sip from his mug, a thoughtful look on his face. “I don’t really believe in true love. I just wanted something to do.”

  “Oh! I totally believe in true love,” Rita said unnecessarily loud, looking at the corners of the ceiling. “I bet if you’ll give it a chance, you will see that true love is real.”

  Rita sounded like she was reading from a script. Riggin, following her glances at the ceiling, guessed she must be looking for the speakers the producers had installed in the apartments. Not seeing them, he shook his head and laughed, “Doubtful.” Swallowing his drink he added, “Hey, sorry if this was like a real thing for you.”

  The giant screen went blank as Greg turned toward the camera and raised his brows. “I guess we should find out why the two of you were chosen by your peers, eh?”

  Sandy raised her hand, “Greg, I think poor Riggin and Rita have really gotten a bad rap on here. I mean, off camera, they were so loving and sweet to each other.” She looked around for agreement from the others. “They actually made the rest of us jealous!”

  A few positive grunts could be heard from the back of the bleachers as Rita turned and winked at Sandy.

  “Well, that’s great to know, Sandy.” Greg clapped his hands together, “It’s time now for Riggin and Rita to give us their answer!”

  Rita, jumping up, yelled, “We do! Uh, we will! We’re getting married!” She grabbed Riggin’s large hands, yanking him up. She draped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to her, kissing him passionately.

  With a flicker, June’s TV went blank.

  The two women looked at each,
wide eyed. Sofey jumped up and ran to the TV, grabbing the antenna. “June! Why haven’t you gotten a new TV? One that doesn’t need an antenna. We’re gonna miss the wedding! I guess we could run to my hou-”

  June let out a disappointed sigh, “Well, ain’t that somethin’! And it happened at the most exciting part of the whole show!” June leaned back in her seat. “I think they played dirty pool with poor Riggin!”

  Sofey rolled her eyes, “He seems pretty arrogant and rude to me. I mean, really? He looked at his phone every time Rita tried to talk to him. Then he said he doesn’t even believe in love! I wouldn’t date that Riggin guy if he was the last guy on Earth to choose from.” Sofey looked at the clock, “Did you want to go to my house and watch the wedding?”

  June waved her hand in the air as if she were shooing Sofey’s words away. “Ah, I don’t believe a word of it. He’s a good boy.”

  Linda Welc had her headphones on, bouncing around the kitchen piling food on trays for the clients. She smiled at Sofey when she saw her walk in.

  “HEY GIRL!” Linda didn’t bother to take her headphones off. “HOW’S IT GOING? READY FOR A NEW DAY? I BET THE SENIORS ARE READY TO SEE YOU! THEY LOVE YOU!” She smiled and kept bee-bopping around the kitchen, gravy in hand, pouring it in every tray with rice.

  Sofey started putting the lids on the trays that were already full of food and arranging them into groups by who they went to.

  “Well hey, you.” Beau came around the corner, his red hair escaping from under his chef’s hat. “Are you ready for a full day’s work after a relaxing weekend?” He winked at her. “I’m sure Edith will have a ton of things to complain about to you, again, right before you leave today.”

  “Yeah,” Sofey smiled. “And don’t forget Joe. He’ll have to tell me the same stories he told me a week ago, to remind me where we were, then add some new ones just as I’m trying to leave.”