Grandma Nancy starts humming that Beyoncé song about shoulda put a ring on it, and the two of them giggle. Okay, they’re not the only two.
“She says they can stop by. Jackson and Dove will be with her.”
Grandma Nancy’s eyes go wide. “I do not know what got into that boy. If I’d been there when he socked you, I would’ve gone over there and boxed his ears!”
“She’s not the only one!” Grandma Donna pipes up. “I know I’m all for peace and love and whatnot, but that was out of hand.” Her eyes brighten. “See if they wanna stay and eat!”
“What’s all the commotion in here?” Dad walks in, smiling.
He comes over and hugs me, jabbing me in the side where he knows I’m ticklish.
“Had to hear it from the town Facebook page about my son,” he says, shaking his head.
“Sounded like you heard it from the source herself,” I say.
He laughs. “If you could’ve seen her face when she realized I was standing behind her.” A loud laugh bursts out of him, and my grandmas cackle.
I swipe my hand down my face and try to hold in the laugh, but it’s pointless.
“What exactly did you hear?” I ask once we’ve calmed down.
“Oh, something about Camden Whitman’s dirty mouth and you wanting her all to yourself.” Dad holds up his finger. “Oh…and the best part…she said if you were there, she’d pull you into the walk-in cooler and teach you a lesson.”
“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” I jump in.
My grandmas trill like little birds.
“Oo-hoo-hoo,” Grandma Donna says, wiping her eyes as she laughs.
“Good gravy, that sounds hot to trot!” Grandma Nancy adds.
I shake my head. “No. I can’t. I cannot,” I say, covering my ears. “My sweet, innocent grandmothers…”
That just makes them laugh harder.
“We are gonna have so much fun with our little Cammie and Juju being lovebirds,” Grandma Donna says. “I’ll have to knit you matching sweaters. With cute mittens and scarves…I can’t wait. When will she be here? I’ll measure her. I think I know her size pretty well without, but…”
“We’ve had kids. We know all about being lovebirds,” Grandma Nancy says. “And the way you two are in the kitchen…oh!” She points at me. “And the way the two of you used to bicker something fierce.” She waggles that finger. “Watch out, chemistry. It is going to be sizzling hot.”
“Grandma!” I groan. “Uh. I––” I look at my watch helplessly, and Dad puts his arm around my shoulder.
“Don’t worry. We’ll settle down eventually. Give us time to celebrate, and we’ll slow our roll,” he says.
I smile at him. “It’s okay. I’m pretty excited about all of this too.”
“If we’d had the energy to stay up after you got off work last night, we would’ve,” he says. “We tried, but since we couldn’t, you’re getting it all this morning.”
“There’s that lover boy!” Goldie sings as she comes dancing across the kitchen.
“See what I mean?” Dad chuckles.
“Everyone’s so…cheery today,” I say.
“Don’t act like you’re not,” Goldie says, smirking as she points at my face.
“Couldn’t if I tried,” I say.
“What did I miss?” Milo asks when he walks into the room. “I miss one day at Kitty-Corner.” He holds up his finger and frowns at me. “One. Day.”
