“You said I couldn’t go in your purse,” Dad complains.
“You don’t need money for anything.” Mom swats him with a towel.
“We’d all have all the money we could spend if Winnie here would go after this rich man,” Gran reminds them.
“Never. He’s a terrible person, and I don’t like him.”
“Let me see a picture of him.”
“He’s handsome, isn’t he?” Kathy giggles as she shows our parents the photo. “They were talking all night at the ball.”
“It was a cocktail hour. No one was in a ball gown.”
“Honestly,” my mom tsks. “You’re too hard on men, Winifred.”
“My Winnie has standards.” My dad beams. “Don’t let some man-child walk all over you.”
Mom shakes her head. “It’s like I’m finding men for you girls. Carolina, would you like a man too?”
“Yes, please!”
“It’s a low-quality man,” I warn.
“Your neighbor Mrs. Miller’s son is not low-quality.”
“Mom, no. And stop talking to my neighbors. This is Seattle, not Minnesota. You can’t just be friendly with people here. Haven’t you heard of the Seattle Freeze?”
“You’ve lived here for years. You should have them over for dinner. Don’t be antisocial.”
“How old’s his mom? He could inherit the house,” Carolina reminds me. “And with these real estate prices…”
“Who cares when there’s a billionaire who wants to get in Winnie’s pants,” Gran cries.
“He doesn’t want to get in my pants. He’s just controlling.”
“Yummy.” Kathy giggles.
“He stole my café out from under me.”
“He did what?” Gran sucks in a breath. “You let me at him.”
“No, Gran, leave him alone.”
“He’s just doing that because he likes you, Winnie.” My mom fusses with my shirt.
“Mom—”
“That’s how boys show they like girls.”
“By stealing their livelihoods?” Gran thunders. “You built that business from nothing.”
“She had a lot of money saved up, not to mention industry contacts in the development world,” Carolina mutters. “‘Nothing’ is a bit of a misnomer…”
“She worked hard, and some man is going to come by and steal my granddaughter’s hard work? I don’t think so. Fuck him.”
“See?” I point to Gran. “Thank you. Exactly. I’m not dating Fitz or asking him out.”
My mom sighs as she resets the table I already set. “I’ll never be a grandmother.”
