Page 53 of Sharkbait
“Miss you too! But I’ll see you soon when I fly to Filthadelphia for Thanksgiving.”
“Oh no, are your grandparents still calling it Filthadelphia?”
“They are,” I answer for her.
Eva’s parents haven’t fully forgiven me for taking their daughter away for so many years. I’m thinking I deserve some major brownie points now, though, since she and Iris are back.
“Hey, Wally!” Eva shouts as she reapplies some sunscreen.
“Hey, Evie B! Our boy was just telling me about his lack of prowess with the ladies.”
“Oh, believe me, I know all about that!” she cackles.
I take off my sunglasses and glare at her. “Coming from the woman I’ve procreated with, I take offense to that.”
“Mommy? Can I listen toMagic Tree House?”
“Sure, baby.” Eva digs Iris’s waterproof iPad and pink headphones out of our beach bag and hands them to her.
Iris lays down on her mermaid towel and starts listening to her book.
I love what a beach kid she‘s become.
Eva sits beside me and rests a hand on my back. “Jay Bear, I mean no offense. But we both know you used zero ‘prowess’ on me. Our particular potion that night was Seagram’s 7 and sadness.”
She speaks the truth.
“Whoa,” Wally says. “You guys talk this way around your kid?”
“Relax, she’s got her headphones on,” I say. “But generally, yeah. Iris knows her parents have always been best friends, but never were and never will be a couple.”
Eva nods puts her head on my shoulder. “Modern parenting at its best.”
Eva and I grew up together here on the island until I was thirteen and moved to Philly with my dad. We stayed in close touch over the years, and when she visited me during a particularly sad and drunken time, well, the result of that visit is now lying beside us on a mermaid towel and licking a lollipop.
No regrets.
“So are you all caught up on the drama, Wally?”
I nudge Eva with my shoulder. “Drama? Come on, there’s no drama.”
“Says the guy who spouts off lines like ‘I assure you, we‘ll be making love.’” Wally laughs.
“Ooh!” Eva says. “Did he tell you he also said ‘Don’t kid yourself, Louise. There’s a little caveman in every guy?’” She’s literally rolling with laughter on the beach towel now.
“There’s a little caveman inside you, Daddy?” Iris pipes up from behind us. Her headphones are draped around her neck.
“Uhhhhhh.” I hesitate. “Sort of? How’s the story going, baby?”
“It’s okay, but I think I wanna switch to music now.”
“Go for it, kiddo!”
She pops her headphones back on.
“All busting on James aside,” Wally says, “from everything he’s told me and from the energy I observed between them at the bar the other night? Louise is not as opposed to him as he thinks.”
Eva takes the phone out of my hand and speaks into it directly. “So why shouldn’t they have some fun, right?”
