On one side, there was the cute, witty, and knowledgeable John. On the other, the strong, affectionate, and energetic Ira.
Both men had made quite a favorable impression on Meemaw.
"Mike, who do you say I should pick?" Meemaw asked, walking back into the room.
Despite her rich history of romantic experiences, now that it came down to the wire, she felt a bit out of her depth.
Feelings, after all, could be incredibly complicated things.
"You mean between Mr. Rosenbloom and Dr. Sturgis?" It was rare for Mike to see Meemaw so distressed over a decision. He offered his thoughts, "I think you should just follow your heart. Or, you could always take a page out of my book..."
Meemaw had Mike's private life pretty well figured out by now, so he didn't bother pretending to be a saint.
Hearing his shameless suggestion, Meemaw—who had been hoping for actual constructive advice—shook her head in disgust and walked away.
She really needed to cool off and think...
However, Mike was right about one thing. At Meemaw's age, material conditions weren't the priority anymore. She had every right to follow her heart and seek a purer kind of happiness.
In her heart, Ira felt like a strong bear, while John felt like a... cute little potato.
If she were twenty years younger, Meemaw might have chosen the strong bear. But right now, she was leaning heavily toward the "little potato."
Thinking back on her time with Dr. Sturgis, a smile involuntarily crept onto her face.
Yeah, who could refuse a cute little potato like him?
With that, her heart gave her a clear direction. Having made up her mind, her mood instantly brightened.
Just then, the house phone rang again.
"What is it, Ira? ...You want to take me to dinner tomorrow? ...Okay, see you tomorrow..."
Meemaw wasn't a little girl anymore. Since she had made her choice, she decided she needed to be straight with Ira.
And tomorrow would be the perfect opportunity.
---
The next day, feeling a bit guilty, Meemaw patiently sat through a big lunch with Ira.
Ira wore a blissful smile the entire time, even while driving her home. Meemaw's willingness to go out today made him feel like his happy ending was just around the corner.
Seizing the momentum, Ira spoke up, "Connie, neither of us is getting any younger. If you're willing..."
Just as Ira was preparing a heartfelt confession, Meemaw cut him off.
"Ira, I think you might have the wrong idea," Meemaw confessed. "There's already someone I like. Please, don't come looking for me anymore..."
As she rejected Ira, her thoughts drifted to the adorable Dr. Sturgis, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled into a sweet smile.
However, for Mr. Rosenbloom, who had been seconds away from pouring his heart out, this was simply too cruel.
Hearing the bad news, he froze for a moment, his expression turning to one of utter devastation. "We went bowling together... we watched movies... I thought you understood my heart..."
Ira recounted the happy times they had shared, and the realization that he was about to lose her hit him hard. Unable to control his emotions, he started wailing like a child.
---
Meemaw thought that was the end of it, but she had underestimated Ira's resolve.
That afternoon, a delivery truck pulled up in front of the Cooper house.
"Excuse me, is this Connie's residence?" the delivery man asked.
"That's me, but I don't recall buying anything," Meemaw said, puzzled.
Watching piece after piece of expensive new furniture being unloaded, Meemaw realized what was happening.
"Wait a minute, these things aren't mine. Please take them back to Ira." Meemaw wasn't one to take advantage of people. Since there was nothing going on between her and Ira, she certainly couldn't accept his charity.
"Sorry, ma'am, we're just responsible for delivery." The movers continued unloading the furniture.
Estimating the value to be over ten thousand dollars, Meemaw couldn't sit still. She immediately called Ira.
"Ira, what is the meaning of this?" Meemaw demanded as soon as the call connected.
"Connie, I know you don't like me, but you can't stop me from liking you..." After delivering that surprisingly manly declaration, Ira immediately hung up the phone.
"Hello? ...Hello?" Listening to the busy signal, Meemaw found Ira's behavior both hilarious and infuriating.
One thing was certain, though: this stunt didn't win back her heart.
The following weekend, having clarified what she wanted, Meemaw's relationship with Dr. Sturgis progressed rapidly.
Since the feeling was mutual, and taking advantage of Mike being out of the house again, the two finally took their relationship to the "next step."
During a break in the action, a very satisfied Dr. Sturgis noticed the new furniture in Meemaw's house.
"Connie, your new furniture is quite nice," John complimented.
Meemaw's expression became complicated at the praise. After a bit of internal struggle, she decided to tell him the truth about where it came from.
She thought John would be angry. Instead, he smiled. "How interesting. Having someone compete for you actually makes me even more excited."
Dr. Sturgis, experiencing love for the first time, paced around the room a few times before asking with genuine interest, "Connie, could you give me his contact information? I'd like to go meet him..."
Strictly speaking, Dr. Sturgis was a genius in terms of IQ. And the way geniuses thought was often baffling to everyone else.
That afternoon, Dr. Sturgis followed the address Meemaw gave him and found Mr. Rosenbloom's furniture store.
"Are you here to gloat?" Ira's face looked grim when he saw John walk in.
"Not at all. I just wanted to understand more about Connie's life before me..." John said with a smile.
Then, ignoring Ira's angry glare, John obliviously started browsing the furniture in the store.
"This chaise lounge is excellent," John said, finally stopping in front of a chair with a look of pleasant surprise.
Ira, who initially thought the guy was there to show off, saw John talking about his area of expertise and immediately got interested.
"Of course, that piece is the work of a master craftsman..." Ira began to explain.
From there, the two men started chatting about chairs, hit it off, and eventually ended up drinking beer together in the store.
In the end, Dr. Sturgis bought the chaise lounge he liked.
After their conversation, Ira actually felt that this Dr. Sturgis guy was... kind of nice.
However, before they parted ways, Ira still laid down some "tough talk." "Don't think this means I'm giving up on Connie."
"I accept your challenge," John smiled, striking a pose like a medieval duelist accepting a match.
Honestly, after their pleasant chat, John thought Ira was a pretty good guy, too.
It wasn't until that evening, when John returned to Connie's house and couldn't resist calling her to recount the entire story of befriending Ira, that things went sideways.
John expected praise. Instead, he got an earful from Meemaw.
In her eyes, the childish behavior of these two men was just embarrassing.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sturgis remained blissfully unaware that he had made a major tactical error.