“I made a new friend this morning,” Grandpa announced.
I bit back a smile, because this was nothing new and Mom had already told me. Still, I liked hearing Grandpa’s stories, so I encouraged him to tell me all about this new friend of his.
“Nice young man. He’s one of those exercise guys I see in the mornings, but he stopped to sit and look at the ships and we got to talking.”
“Oooo, an ‘exercise guy.’” Grandma smiled at me. “Like our Willa.”
Grandpa ignored her comment. “He was very interested in the container ships and the gantry cranes. Logistics. We had a nice talk, then he left and I went to the pub. I invited him to join me tomorrow morning.”
I quickly ran through my schedule for tomorrow morning, carving out some Grandpa-time, just in case. “I’m sure he’s got a lot going on with his job and everything. He might not be able to make it, but I could come by the pub at ten. We could have lunch.”
He waved my offer away. “No. I’m sure he’ll be there. I’ve already told the crew about him. The boys and girls at the pub are going to love this guy. He’s well-spoken and was very friendly. Name’s Enzo. Had an accent. Talked about shipping in his country.”
“Enzo? He’s Italian?” Grandma shot me a knowing glance. “Is he good-looking? Got a decent job? Not married?”
“I don’t know any of that.” Grandpa snorted. “Like I can tell if a man is good looking or not. And we didn’t talk specifics about his job. He does some kind of government administration work.”
“You should ask if he’s married when you see him tomorrow.” Grandma gave me another knowing glance.
I had to put a stop to this before she had me in a white poofy dress walking down the aisle toward some random Italian guy named Enzo.
“I had a promising date last night.” Why did my mind veer away from Dean and straight to me and Eng. Naked.
Grandma got out her yarn and crochet needle and settled back in her chair. “Tell me all about this date of yours.”
So I did. I mean, I told her about Dean and not the night of endless sex with Eng. Although knowing Grandma, she probably would have appreciated the other story too.
“Are you going to see this Dean again?” she asked.
“Saturday night,” I replied.
Grandma sucked in a breath and put her crochet down to lean forward. “Saturday night? When are we going to meet him?”
“Mom!” My mother protested with a laugh. “Don’t rush Willa. You know we’ll get an introduction if it’s serious.”
Grandma sniffed. “I’d like to get an introductionbeforeit’s serious. That way I can see if he’s good enough for our girl before we start planning the wedding.”
“It’s a second date, Grandma,” I reminded her.
“I knew after the first date that I was going to marry your Grandpa,” she countered.
“Yeah. I did too. Because she told me.” Grandpa teased his wife. “Not sure I had much choice in the matter.”
Grandma laughed and swatted at him. He easily evaded her hand, then leaned over to kiss her cheek. “It was love at first sight,” he said, his voice soft.
My vision grew misty and I blinked to clear it. I’d heard this story a million times. Ithadbeen love at first sight. Mom’s parents the same. Mom and Dad had a different story, where he’d been smitten and she’d been cautious, suspecting the fun-loving Polish guy she’d met at a party was a player. I loved hearing their romantic tales over and over as well as those of my brothers and sisters.
Maybe someday I’d have my own story to contribute.
Someday.
10
WILLA
At quarter to six I headed to Abbey Burger to snag a table and a beer. The restaurant was packed when I got there. By the time they called my name for a booth in the back, Jordan was coming in the front door. We’d just placed our beer orders when Abby squeezed through the crowd to slide in beside me and ask the waiter what local IPAs they had on tap.
“Mobtown and Peabody Heights this week,” he told her. “We’ve also got Troeg’s if you count Harrisburg PA to be local.”
