Belle hesitated, and then said, “Um,” in such a way that Joey already knew what would come out of her mouth. She waited anyway, because if they wanted to know what was going on with her and Adam, theydidhave to say it out loud.
“Harry said he saw you and Adam last week whenMorris and Leigh were moving, and…and I guess we’re just wondering what’s going on there.”
Joey sighed. “Yeah, I guess I’m wondering that too.”
“So you’renotseeing him?” Harry asked.
“Am I on speaker?”
Harry only chuckled, and Joey laughed too. “You’re supposed to tell someone when they’re on speaker, Harry.”
“You’re on speaker,” Belle said.
Joey looked out her side window and then through the windshield again. “I don’t really know if I’m seeing Adam or not,” she said. “I definitely wouldn’t say we’re dating, though….”
“Oh, boy.” Harry chuckled. “There’s athough?”
She smiled at the incredulity in his voice. “We got coffee last week. He said he was going to explain about how he came to be the band manager, but he never really did, and then Grams got her hooks into him and invited him for dinner.”
“Oh, Grams will do that,” Harry said with a chuckle. “That’s not really a date.”
“That’s whatIsaid,” Joey said, feeling vindicated. “He did ask me out for brunch on Saturday. And I said yes, but I obviously haven’t gone yet. So seeing him? Dating? I would have to say no to both of those.”
“But you have a date with the man,” Harry said, and he sounded pretty happy about it.
“I have a date,” Joey said.
“Do you like him?” Belle asked.
“Would I go out with him if I didn’t like him?”
“She’s not like that,” Harry said. “That’s exciting, Joey.”
“Is it?” she asked. “Are you okay with me going out with him?”
Harry full-on belly laughed, and the longer it went on, the more foolishness Joey felt. “Why are you laughing like that?” she asked.
“Adam’s a grown man,” Harry said. “He can do whatever he wants. He doesn’t need my permission to go on a date.”
“Even if it’s with me?” Joey asked.
“Even if it’s with you,” he said. “You’re my cousin, not my sister.”
She smiled and ducked her head. “How many dates have I told you about?”
Silence answered, and Belle finally giggled. “I’m guessing none,” she said.
“Zero,” Joey said. “I have told Harry exactlyzero timesabout the men I go out with. I just want you to know that that tradition is going to continue.”
Harry huffed, clearly not happy with that answer. “Okay, fine,” he said. “But cousin movie night on Wednesday?”
“Cousin movie night on Wednesday,” Joey confirmed. “Thanks for asking me first, Harry. I really do like coming.”
“I know,” he said. “I like having them.”
“We’ll talk to you later,” Belle said, and she and Harry started a mini-argument about whether they should have asked Joey about Adam at all before they managed to hang up.
Joey giggled to herself, looked out the windshield, and with a much lighter heart, continued to her mother’s. She’d recently turned fifty, which wasn’t that old, and yet she’d been chronically ill since Joey was eight years old. She didn’t leave the house, and her own mother had moved in to help care for her about a decade ago now.
