Page 41 of Reel Love

Dustin: Lighten up, bro. And yes, Mom. That’s a yes to dinner.

Mom: I’m stoked!

I shake my head.

Me: I can be there.

Mom: Yay! Mitzi?

Mitzi: Do you want me to just bring tacos from the shop?

Mom: Could you? Dad and I will reimburse you.

Dad: #facts

I laugh at Dad’s text. My dad is outgoing and a great host, but when it comes to Mom, he steps back and lets her do her thing.He’s probably at work. He goes into Ventura a few times a week to meet with clients. The rest of the time he runs his marriage and family therapy practice here on the island.

Mom: Peace out, fam.

All the heart and thumbs up emojis filter through, and even a GIF from Dad of a guy frantically waving from the back of a boat with the captionBON VOYAGE. The responses keep pinging until my family wears themselves out and gets back to whatever each of them were doing.

Peace out, fam. I chuckle. My mom. The thing is, she’s not trying to be something she’s not. She’s just prone to picking up the culture around her. And right now, that culture is high school.

I text Mitzi.

Me: Let me know if you want me to bring anything to dinner.

Mitzi: Just yourself. Unless you want to bring a date.

Me: Ha. I’ll be solo.

Mitzi: Me too. Seems to be a thing with us Stevens kids.

Me: We do single well.

Mitzi: Poor Mom.

I smile.

Me: She’ll survive. I’ve got a plan. Let’s get Dustin a girlfriend. Then Mom will leave us alone.

Mitzi: Bet.

Me: Did you just say, bet?

Mitzi: Hahahaha. Just playing with you. But I am down for fixing Dustin up so we can get off the “when are you going to start dating someone” radar. Let’s give this some serious thought.

Me: You know lots of people. All my friends are couples.

Mitzi: On it. See you tonight.

Me: See you. Love you, Mitz.

I set my phone aside, kick back and finish my book. After a light lunch, I head to the shack to meet the group I’m taking out for a dive in a cove just north of the resort. We use one of the Kodiak inflatable rafts provided by the Alicante for these kinds of tours.

Kai’s in the watersports shack with Jeremiah and Bodhi when I get there. I greet the three men.

“I’ve got your tanks out already,” Kai tells me. “Want to check them over and top them off?”

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