I didn’t know what to say, but I slipped my arm behind him and placed my hand on his back in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. Then I turned to my parents. “Mom, Dad, this is Schwint.”
They both continued to stare, probably waiting for us to whip out a video camera and let them in on the gag.
Mom was the first to recover, and she walked forward to join us with an outstretched hand. “Hi, Schwint. It’s good to meet you. Thanks for helping take care of Finn while he’s been having to spend so much time at the Square.”
Schwint continued to stare at the floor. His embarrassment surprised me. I kinda thought he didn’t care what anyone thought. I nudged him.
“Nice to meet you too, Ms. de Morisco.” He reached out and shook her waiting hand.
Typically, Mom would hug whoever was dating one of her kids, but I couldn’t blame her for being hesitant with Schwint at the moment. “Please, call me Paulette.”
By this time, Dad had recovered as well and joined us, pulling off one of his oven mitts. “And I’m Wendell. Good to meet you.”
Schwint met Dad’s eyes as he shook his hand. “Thanks for letting me come over so late.”
Dad made a waving gesture. “Oh, no bother at all. We had a bunch of cookie dough we’d frozen just waiting for company.”
Schwint gave a smile that actually resembled one of his own. “Well, I really do appreciate it. I’m sorry about that a second ago. I thought it would be funny and break the tension.”
Mom gave him an encouraging smile but didn’t look any closer to being ready to give him one of her typical hugs. “I’m sure any other time, it would have been very funny. If Caitlin would have been here, she would have loved it!”
I gave her a confused look. “Are you talking about the same Caitlin I know? I bet she would have attacked.”
“I’m sure she’d love it. All her work with makeup and having to transform people for all those awful movies. Schwint was able to do that in two seconds flat.”
She had a point, actually. Of all my family, Caitlin would be the one who would be the most intrigued and find it the least strange. She’d probably be jealous. The most she’d been able to do is change her hair color, regardless of how much was from her power and how much of it was from a box. I glanced up the stairs. I doubted Caitlin would be here, but it was unusual for Mom and Dad to be home by themselves. “Where’s Cynthia?”
Dad’s face darkened. “Oh, she had a date tonight.”
“A date?” I couldn’t believe my ears. She hadn’t been on a date since… well, since all the drama six years ago.
“Yep.” Clearly Dad wasn’t happy about it. Not that I could blame him.
Mom gave him a dirty look. “You stop that! It’s about time she got out there again.” She turned to me. “His name’s Carl. A nice young man. He’s been coming into the shop for months. You’ve probably met him, actually. He only started making his interest in Cynthia known a few weeks ago. He’s been coming in every day. Tonight is their first date.”
One more thing I’d missed locked inside my own world, first refusing to come in and then because I couldn’t stay away from the Square too long.
Part of me echoed Dad’s feelings, as I wanted to protect her, but she was stronger than she thought she was. “Cool. I hope it goes well.”
Mom looked over at Schwint. “This probably makes no sense to you at all. All of us yapping away about Finn’s older sister going on a date, her being a grown woman and all. Sorry we’re talking in code.”
He waved her off. “Not at all. I’ll look forward to meeting her later.” He glanced at me, as if asking my permission for something. It was so unlike him that I didn’t have a clue what he was referring to. “Actually, maybe it’s good it’s just the four of us. We’ve got quite a bit of stuff to talk about this evening.”
Dad gave a nod of approval. “A man that gets down to business. I like that.” He gave a grin over his shoulder as he turned and headed back to the kitchen. “Even if he does wear flowered dresses.”
“Oh, stop it, Wendell. Don’t be rude!” Mom’s tone was scolding, but she barely concealed her own smile.
“Let me know if you ever need to borrow it sometime, Mr. de Morisco.” Schwint almost beamed, as if Dad’s teasing was the welcome to the family he’d been hoping for.
Dad’s voice sounded from the kitchen. “It’s Wendell.”
“Yes, sir!”
Dad continued, “I’m not sure you’d want me to borrow it. I go commando.” He waited for a moment. “Actually, might be a good idea, get some ventilation going on up in there.”
“Wendell! You are such a sick man!” Mom covered her mouth as she laughed.
Dad reappeared with the cookies arranged on a yellow plastic serving tray. “Don’t talk to me about being sick, sweetheart. It’s your son dating a guy wearing a muumuu.”
