Page 21 of Putting Out
“I’m telling you right now,” Kenny warned the table. “Erica is on her way and there can be absolutely no talk of marriage.”
“Good point, Kenny,” Reilly agreed. “You don’t want to give her the idea that there may be any kind of future with you. That’s a sure-fire bet to keep a girlfriend.”
Underneath the table, Reilly felt her brother’s foot slam down on hers. She yelped but then tried to pass it off as a burp.
“Excuse me.”
“You kids.” Pop took another bite of his pie. “It never changes.”
Reilly considered pointing out the kids in question were in their thirties.
“You know I saw Tessa in town the other day,” Grams mentioned over the rim of her coffee cup.
“Oh, Grams don’t start,” Kenny moaned.
“She’s such a nice girl. Still single, too. Although I hear she’s dating someone now. Who was that?”
“Tessa is with someone? Really?” Kenny asked. “Good for her, I guess.”
“The high school principal. That’s right. She teaches there now and the two of them started dating about a month ago. She still always asks about you. Then she asks about Reilly, but she always asks about you first.”
“Tessa,” Luke repeated the name as if struggling to place it. “Oh, that’s right. Tessa, the old high school girlfriend. You were a senior, she was a sophomore. It was like robbing the cradle.”
“She wasn’t my girlfriend. She had a crush on me and I … indulged that crush. That’s all.”
“She wrote to you in college. If I recall, you wrote back.”
“We’re friends. We were friends. I haven’t talked to her in years.”
“You saw her this last Christmas,” Reilly pointed out.
“That was in the street. That doesn’t count,” Kenny muttered. “Oh, by the way, did I mention I have another girl coming to see me. Hello! Erica is nice.”
“Erica is not nice,” Reilly laughed.
“She’s your best friend,” Kenny charged.
“I know. She’s fierce, she’s funny, and she’s competitive. But she is not nice. Why do you think we get along so well together?”
“I think you would do better with a nice girl,” Grams pointed out.
“Grams, I’m not going to marry Tessa. Get over it.”
“Don’t use that tone with your grandmother,” Pop ordered.
Defeated, Kenny fell back against his chair and looked across the table to his friend for support.
Luke held up his hands to suggest Kenny leave him out of it. After all, he was hoping for another piece of pie with his coffee later.
The rumble of a car could be heard outside. Kenny stood up.
“That’s probably her right now. She said she was flying out after her final round today.”
“How did she do?” Reilly asked. “Twenty-sixth.”
Reilly could see Grams fussing with her silk top making sure it was devoid of crumbs. She also reached inside her pocket for a compact and a lipstick. Grams never went anywhere without a compact and some lipstick. Satisfied with the touch-up, she put a deliberate smile in place.
Pop fidgeted in his chair a bit as if readying himself to stand. It was just about the cutest thing he did, stand every time a lady walked into a room. Reilly wondered if maybe she should warn them now Erica wasn’t what Reilly would call… a well-mannered lady.
