Page 37 of Rebound With Me
My mother’s mouth is gaping open. “You had sexinthe shower?”
“Linda.”
“That doesn’t sound very safe. What if you slipped?”
“It’s a small shower stall, there’s no way we could have slipped and hit our heads. Can I get you guys something to drink? Water, coffee, lemonade?”
“Please tell me you didn’t meet him on an app.”
“I didn’t, Mom. We met the old-fashioned way. In a neighborhood liquor store.”
“What?! Nina!”
“It’s fine Daddy, he’s kind of a friend of a friend, sort of. He’s a commercial real estate broker in the area and we just…hit it off.”
“You certainly did,” my mother says, before exploding in a fit of giggles that I can’t help but join her in.
My father is not quite so amused, but he is a thousand times cooler about this than I’d ever expect him to be.
When Vince walks out in his commercial real estate broker apparel, my mother instantly stops giggling and her hand goes to her lungs, as if she’s having as hard a time breathing when she sees him in it as I did. “Oh, what a lovely shirt.”
“Thank you, ma’am. It’s one of my favorites.”
“It just complements his eyes so nicely, don’t you think, Nina?”
Down, Mom.I remember what Marnie had said about why she wouldn’t bring Vince home to meet her mother, and I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing.
“Vince Devlin,” he says, shaking my father’s hand and looking him straight in the eyes.
“Arthur Parks. Nice to meet you.” My Dad studies him.
“Linda Parks, hello.” My mother studies him in an entirely different manner.
“Very nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Such a nice firm handshake,” my mother giggles.
“Devlin, eh? You a fan of Yeats?”
“I don’t know,” he looks at me. “Am I?”
“Dad,” I say, rolling my eyes. “My Dad is a professor in the English Department of Indiana University, and William Butler Yeats is his favorite poet.”
“Ah, well, if he’s the guy who wroteThere once was a man from Nantucket,then yes I am a big fan, and I also keep all my cash in a bucket.”
“Hah! He was actually a bucket drummer when he was in high school.”
After a two second beat, wherein my father’s face is blank, it suddenly erupts in a smile and then a laugh, and I am just a little bit in love with this guy right now, because very few people can make my father laugh. It’s pretty much Bob Newhart, David Letterman, and Vince Devlin. “You’re very quick-witted. That’s impressive.”
“Nina tells us you’re in commercial real estate. This is such a big market, it must be very exciting work.”
“It is, yes, it’s a family business, actually. I grew up around it.”
“Oh how wonderful, you know, I don’t know if Nina told you, but I’m a residential realtor. In Bloomington.”
“So you also have a need forclosureandlotsto be grateful for.” He winks at my mother, then smiles at my Dad so he’s included in the flirtation, and I think it may be one of the high points of my mother’s life.
She giggles so hard. “Oh Arthur! Another word-player!”
