Page 105 of Nuts

“We did,” he said.

“Did you get ice cream?”

“We did,” he said.

It dawned on me what she was talking about. Belmont Park.

“Did she offer you her ice cream?”

“We’re here, aren’t we?”

She smiled, and then looked at me. “I told him if you offered your ice cream that I wanted to meet you. If you didn’t, I said he could keep you a secret.”

“That wasn’t what she said,” Percy said. “Not exactly, anyway.”

“Close enough.” She glared at him, and then looked at me and smiled. “Where are you from, dear?”

“Southern California. I’ve lived in a few places. El Cajon. Lakeside. San Diego. I live in Oceanside, now.”

“Percy lives in Oceanside.”

“She knows, ma.”

“Hush, Percy. Go talk to Karen. She needs your help in the kitchen.”

Percy sat down beside me.

She narrowed her eyes and stared at him. “Haven’t you got something to tend to? Leave us ladies alone for a while.”

He let out a sigh and then stood. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Take your time.”

He kissed me and then walked away.

“He’s protective of me,” she said. “Always has been.”

“He’s protective of me, too.”

“As he should be. If Senior found out he wasn’t, he’d tan his hide.”

“His father?”

She nodded. “Percy Senior. He’s been gone now for some time. But. He raised those four boys right. They made him proud. Percy was going to play pro baseball. Did he tell you that?”

“He did.”

“The accident put a stop to it. It was an awful thing. He could hit the ball over the fence every time. After that happened, everything changed. Accidents will do that. Change things, you know.”

“They sure will.”

“He made the most of it, though. He played for a while, but the kids made fun of him. That’s when the fighting started. They kicked him out of that school, and we put him in another. Then, they kicked him out of it. He never cared much for the kids that bullied others, whether it be him or anyone else. He finally completed his schooling, but it was in a private school in San Diego.”

“How long have you lived here?”

“Since Patrick was born. All four of those little hellions grew up in this home.”

I smiled at the thought of Percy running around the home as a child. “I bet it was fun having four boys in the house.”