“Ugh, don’t remind me.”
* * *
My parents bombardedme as soon as I walked into the kitchen. I had put it off as long as possible, but I was starving. I tamped down a smile as I remembered the workout I’d had with Grace last night.
“How can you force us to live like this?” my mother cried. “It’s uncivilized.”
“It’s ruined my appetite,” my father growled at me.
My mother poured brandy in her coffee and extended a shaking hand to the terrace.
“Honestly, what will your neighbors think?”
“I guess,” I said slowly, “they’re going to think I have a naked woman doing yoga on my terrace.”
“Someone could call the police,” my mom exclaimed.
Grace’s grandmother saw me through the glass, waved at me through her spread-eagle legs, then stood up and opened the glass door.
“She’s coming inside!” my mother screamed, fleeing to her bedroom.
“Man,” Gran said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Naked yoga is the bee’s tits. You really should try it out before the weather gets too warm.”
“I’ll pass,” I said.
She grabbed a bowl of yogurt and granola from the fridge then headed back outside with the parrot.
“You need to be more cognizant of the company you keep,” Dad said in a low voice. “You hang around trash, then your life will become trash. Ask me how I know.” He jerked his chin toward the hallway my mom had disappeared down.
“That girl, Grace, is no good. You should have divorced her when you had the chance,” he hissed. “She senses blood in the water, and she’s just waiting to go in for the kill.”
“I have a meeting with the Svenssons about it,” I assured him, starting to feel the old familiar clench of anxiety and paranoia. What if my dad was right and Grace was biding her time? I should have gone for the annulment.
No, she’s not going to screw you over. You need to stop listening to your father.
“I have it under control,” I said tersely.
“I’m coming in with you,” my father insisted, grabbing his coat. “This is too important to let you and the Svensson brothers fuck it up.”
* * *
Grace:I just heard you had a face full of my grandmother’s taint this morning.
Grace:I’m so sorry. I’ve told her to be respectful of your space, that she’s a guest.
Chris:Don’t worry about it. Though I’d rather have had a face full of your taint, as you put it.
Grace:*shocked face emoji*
Chris:She did scare off my parents, so I’ll keep her around!
Chris:Here’s to hoping she convinces them to move out.
And even ifthey didn’t move out tonight, I was going to be gone with Grace. I had a surprise trip for us planned. Hopefully by the time we returned, her grandmother would have scared my parents out of the house.
“There’s the man of the hour!” Josh announced when I walked into the Svensson & Svensson office.
“This is the first day of the rest of your life,” Josh said. “You, my friend, are almost at that magical six-week mark. A week and a half to go!”
