“I’d love one, are you kidding? My favorite.”
She served him a thick piece with a fat dollop of butter on top, and he dug into it, laughing as he tasted it. “I swear, everything you make is better than everything else I’ve ever tasted, and if you tell my mother or yours that, I’ll deny it.”
“Your secret is safe, but why are you visiting out of the blue?”
She sat with her own dainty piece of banana bread and nibbled it, letting Sage taste a little while she waited for Herb’sconfession. “Okay, Mom, well…I have something to ask for a favor and…ask your advice.”
She smiled knowingly and asked, “Can I finally babysit my grandson for longer than an hour?”
“Mom, you have.”
“Not much longer. Okay, is that it?”
“Yes. Christmas night.”
He expected her to scoff, but she actually said, “Good time, okay. And?”
“It’s for a romantic night, so I’m trying to make it perfect. So, should I cook? Should I…I don’t know. I made a thousand lists, and all seem silly now.”
“Nothing you do for him will be silly. And as for the food, yes, cook something nice but light. A candlelight dinner is terribly romantic. What else?”
“Having this little one here is going to be the biggest thing, and Basil is going to have a fit. You know he hates Sage being away.”
“Oh, my son who insists that taking him off his routine is abuse? I know this, Herb. Don’t worry, leave it to me.”
After sighing, he said, “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome. You know, I had a bunch of kids. Let me tell you, dear, the second and third and so on only came into the world because my husband and I learned to take a break from the kid or kids we had to make some more.”
That made him uncomfortable. “Too much, Mom.”
“Why? We’re all human; we all want time with the people we love, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“So, you both need this, but you need it more than once. Make a date night, and your mother, me, Lila, and or your sister, we’d watch this little one for you. It’s important.”
“Yes, ma’am, it is. I’m sorry it’s taken so long to realize that.”
“No, that’s bullshit, honey.”
Sage wasn’t listening, as he was trying to get more of the banana bread, but Herb felt Basil heard the curse word said in front of their son.
“Oh, like he knows what I’m saying.”
“How the heck did you know?”
“You looked like you saw seven ghosts coming into the room! Is my son that much of a tyrant? I’m going to have to smack that kid.”
“No, he’s not, he’s just a passionate father, who wants Sage to have…what he has. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah, well, wait until the second one comes along. He’ll get over that quickly. Anyway, what else do you have planned?”
“Lila gave me some things: mood lighting, music. I am making a playlist as I think of songs we like, but I need help there too. Lila said I should use Spanish-speaking love songs, at least in part. Do you have some romantic ones?”
“I will send you an email with all of them. That’s actually sweet of you. Basil loves Spanish-speaking music, or English-speaking ones from crossover musicians.”
“I know, because of you and Dad. Your…lasting, beautiful romance. I can only hope we are the same, that we’re still dancing in the living room when our kids are grown.”
