Julian tucked that bit of information away in his brain for contemplation later, and continued.
“Yeah? That’s pretty cool. You can tell Statler that Vince is still in the Navy, based in California, but he actually may not be for much longer.”
It was almost unbelievable that Vincent, the last of them still serving Uncle Sam, was contemplating separation.
Petula dipped her chin in acknowledgement. “That will be nice for you, even if he is still a prankster,” she posed. “I’ve also never met your youngest brother. Uh, Seifer, you said?”
“That’s right. Good memory. And Seifer hasbeen a total ghost lately. Nobody knows exactly what’s going on with that kid. Well, other than my mother, and she’s not saying.”
Now Petula’s smile was genuine. “Your mother. She’s such a wonderful woman. Do you guys know how lucky you are to have grown up with her at the helm?”
“We do,” Julian stated with certainty, warmth filling his chest. “She’s the best. But have you met my father?”
“No.” Petula shook her head.
“He’s also amazing, and has always been our role model, but in a different way. He’s steady, even-keeled, thoughtful…”
“So you take after him the most.”
Julian had never quite thought of that, but it was true. “Yeah. I guess I do.”
“So what was his role in the family?” she asked.
Julian chuckled. “At those rare times when my mother couldn’t control us, or she’d find herself out of her depth after some horrible childhood infraction or another, my father would be the one to talk it out with us; make us see the error of our ways.”
Petula got a melancholy, far-off look in her eyes. “It all sounds so marvelous.”
That seemed downright…sad.
Julian intuited that Petula’s upbringing must have been far different.
At that juncture, he knew better than to ask about her parents.
Instead, he lightened things up. “Oh, it wasn’tallhearts and flowers at the Sothard home,” Julian chuckled. He launched into some of the pranks and mischief he—and especially Kyle andVincent—had perpetrated that had gotten them in some serious hot water.
Julian wasn’t even aware of time passing. As he talked, he realized he could easily watch the expressions crossing Petula’s lovely face for hours.
Before he was ready, Petula put down her empty cup and began shuffling in her seat.
Julian was shocked that forty-five minutes had gone by.
“I really have to go,” she told him.
Did he see regret in her face?
“That’s too bad,” he told her, dropping his filters for a moment.
“Packages don’t deliver themselves,” she added with a shrug.
“Until the drones take over,” Julian quipped.
She scoffed. “Right.ThenI’ll have to learn to operate a joystick, which might not be a bad thing when I’m old, but for now…” Petula pushed back her chair. “…I hope that technology advances very slowly.” She stood, twisting her hands together, suddenly looking unsure again. “Well, I’m off then.”
“I should get to work, too,” he told her regretfully, also standing. But he’d be damned if he let her go without trying to set something else up. “Can I see you again? For coffee, maybe? Someplace where we aren’t getting leered at?”
Yeah.Nate had been checking them out and smirking, nonstop.
“Heisa little over-the-top. He tends to notice everything,” Petula huffed amusedly. “But if there’s ever a crime committed in town, Nate will have everything instantly laid out for the chief of police. I’ve told him more than once he should take the civil-service exam and join the police academy, and he actually seems eager.”
