Sweet Misfortune: A Novel by Kevin Alan Milne

beyond that, you’ll just have to wait and see.”
    She frowned, but he saw that her eyes were still smiling. “Fine. But at least tell me if I’m dressed too warm.”
    He scanned her once more from head to toe. “You’d probably be safe shedding a layer or two, but it’s completely up to you.”
    Sophie chose to swap the parka and scarf for her peacoat, but kept the mittens just in case. A few minutes later they were on the interstate heading back across the Narrows Bridge toward Tacoma, and a few minutes after that they were on I-5 heading north toward Seattle. Along the way, Sophie kept digging for hints about where they were going or what they’d be doing, but Garrett repeatedly dodged the questions.
    “All right, I give in,” he said, after her third attempt. “I didn’t want to ruin the surprise, but we’re going back to the Seattle Center for corn dogs and laser tag.”
    She knew he was bluffing.
    The next time she probed about it he told her they were doing dinner and a movie.
    The time after that he said they were taking a dinner cruise.
    “Really?” she asked excitedly.
    “No,” he said cheerfully. “Not really. Sorry.”
    After taking an exit just north of downtown, Garrett slowed the car, retrieved a solid black sleeping mask from his glove box, and handed it to her while he continued driving. “Would it freak you out if I asked you to put this on?” he asked. “If you see where we’re going it’ll spoil the surprise.”
    She looked at him very skeptically. “Yes, as a matter of fact, it would freak me out. I think I’ll pass.”
    Garrett grinned playfully. “You don’t trust me?”
    “Trust isn’t one of my strong suits. And I barely know you. Besides, I’ve already been your blind date once, and that was enough, thank you very much.”
    He kept smiling as he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a cell phone, then flipped through a series of menus to get to a number he’d dialed recently. He pushed Send to place a call. “I wouldn’t expect you to put it on without some assurance that it’s safe,” he said, handing the phone to her. “Here. It’s for you.”
    She looked at him like he was crazy. “Huh?”
    “Just say hello,” he whispered.
    “Uhh… hello?”
    “Sophie, is that you?”
    “Ellen?” Sophie shot Garrett another questioning look. “What’s going on?”
    “Oh, don’t worry, Sweets. Garrett’s mom gave him my number, and he and I spoke earlier. He seems very nice, by the way. Is he as cute as he sounds on the phone?”
    Sweets was a nickname that Ellen had given to Sophie as an affectionate reference to her love of candy. She couldn’t always afford to buy sweets for the girls when they were younger, but that didn’t stop Sophie from asking for them every time she saw some at the store as a child. The name officially stuck when Sophie was a teenager, and her fascination grew from eating candy to making it. By the time she graduated from high school and started college, she already had an index file full of recipes for her own unique confections, which she later used to open Chocolat’ de Soph.
    Sophie paused and looked at Garrett again, hoping he didn’t hear the question. “Maybe.”
    “Good! I can’t wait to meet him. Anyway, he said he’d probably be calling right around now. You can rest assured that I know exactly where you guys are going, and there’s nothing to worry about. Okay? Just enjoy yourself.”
    “And the blindfold? You know about that?”
    “Yes, ma’am. Put it on. The unknown can be an adventure.”
    Sophie paused again. “Thanks, El.” She ended the call, then turned her attention back to Garrett. “We’re not going anywhere creepy, right?”
    “Trust me,” he said reassuringly.
    Sophie sighed, then reluctantly pulled the mask over her eyes and fastened the Velcro strap in the back.
    “Can you see?”
    “Not at all.”
    “Excellent.”
    They were only a few minutes from their destination, but