Page 94 of The Fix-Up

“Nice one, Mom.” Chris patted his wife’s back. “Good thing she’s not about to have a baby any day now.”

“Mae, you’ll be fine,” Margot said, gentling her voice. “And it’s all worth it. Every second of it so you can meet your child. At least until they start to have opinions. Things go downhill from there.”

“Girls, listen to your mother,” Dad said, sounding almost bored. Mostly because this was a regular occurrence at any Sterns family meal, not just special for the holidays.

Mom turned back to Gil. “Now, Gilbert, where are you from originally?”

“Fort Worth, but I live in Austin now.”

“Oh, I love Austin. It has flavor,” Mom said, her dark eyes sparkling. “And what do you do?”

“I taught elementary school for a few years and then worked as a youth counselor at a community center.”

“Oh, you like kids.” Mom sent a pointed look in my direction. I smiled uneasily. I’d told her before they’d even arrived that Gil was more of a business partner than anything else. Don’t get any ideas, I’d told her. That look was filled with ideas though.

“Mr. Gil knows everything about dinosaurs,” Oliver said. “And he teaches me how to fix stuff. We’re in the Man Club together.”

“The Man Club?” Millie shot Gil an assessing look.

Gil’s cheeks pinked. “It’s nothing. Just a…a…”

“It’s the best. We fixed all the windows in the house and the leak under the sink and made the door on the dryer stay shut without tape, and next week, Mr. Gil said we’re going to figure out why the floor in the living room is soft when you step on it.” Oliver stuffed half a roll in his mouth.

“You didn’t tell me you had all that work needed to be done,” my dad said quietly. “You know I can come help you any time.”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” I said quickly. “We’re doing fine.”

“You’ve never even let us come and see the house.” My father was a patient man—five kids and my mother would do that—and it took a lot to get him worked up. But I could see he wasn’t happy with me at all. “You said Ollie didn’t like visitors.”

“That’s true, he didn’t.” He hadn’t. I mean, if I’d asked, he probably wouldn’t have had a problem with my parents stopping by.

“Did you know about this?” Dad directed this question to Chris.

Chris shifted uncomfortably. “A little. I helped whenever she’d let me. You know how she is.”

“I’m sitting right here,” I snapped. “I just don’t want to bother anyone and besides, I can figure it out on my own.”

With a scowl, Dad crossed his arms. I imagined my brother would look like him in twenty-five years’ time with his salt-and-pepper hair and deep laugh lines. “We’re going to talk about this later, young lady.”

“We’ll see,” I said. “And I’m not such a young lady anymore. I’m an adult and I’ve been one for a long time now.” I set my fork down, my eyes bouncing between my parents at either end of the table. A hand landed on my knee and squeezed gently. I side-eyed Gil, but he was looking my father square in the face.

“I’ve been helping where I can,” he said. “She’s done a good job with the place. Put a lot of work into it.”

“Thanks,” I whispered.

“It’s true,” he said. “I know what that place means to you.”

I turned my head sharply and stared at him. He’d been quieter than usual since our night in Ollie’s room. Everything seemed so complicated at the moment. Worse, my heart was involved, although I’d only admit that to myself. And Sunny.

Why couldn’t I meet a nice, emotionally available guy who wasn’t trying to sell everything I’d worked for and fall in love with him, get married, and live happily ever after?

“You two are so sweet together. Luke, aren’t they sweet?” Mom smiled widely and I could already see her planning a wedding in her mind.

“Thank you for helping out,” my dad said to Gil. “I appreciate it.”

“No problem, sir.”

Sir, I mouthed. Gil looked down at his plate but not before I saw a smile curve his mouth. He was enjoying this.

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