Page 56 of Second Dance
“Oh, it was. I was only nineteen,” I said. “And kind of a dummy when it came to anything practical.”
“That’s only three years older than me,” Peter said. “I will not be ready for a baby when I’m nineteen.”
“Which is why you have to keep it in your pants,” Bella said.
I almost laughed, but managed to stifle it by covering my mouth with my napkin.
“Bella, what in the world’s gotten into you?” Alex asked, clearly not amused.
Bella’s forehead creased, like she couldn’t understand what she’d said wrong. “Dad, you know it’s true. All these girls throw themselves at Peter. He has to remain strong. Teenage boys have a lot of hormones.”
Grace giggled . I shot her a look, which sobered her immediately.
“I’m sorry, ladies,” Alex said. “Bella doesn’t understand what it means to have a filter.”
Peter, who was now a bright shade of scarlet, stared down at his plate.
“My friend Tyler’s super popular with girls too,” Grace said, clearly trying to change the subject for Peter’s sake. “Mia and Annie and me constantly tease him about it.”
“Tyler’s cute,” Bella said. “And he seems nice too.”
“Oh, he’s the best,” Grace said. “Do you want to hang out with us sometime? We like to have bonfires on the beach in the summer, like every Sunday. Wanna come this weekend?”
“Can I, Dad?” Bella looked at her dad, who nodded his approval.
“You can come too,” Grace said to Peter. “If you don’t mind hanging out with a bunch of kids younger than you.”
“Tyler’s cool,” Peter said.
“We adore Tyler,” Alex said. “Great player and has the right attitude.”
“What kind of attitude is that?” Grace asked, wrinkling her nose.
“He works hard. Doesn’t complain. Has fun while maintaining a sense of competition,” Alex said.
“We’ve known him since we were all five,” Grace said. “Mom says he has an old soul. Right, Mom?”
I nodded in agreement. “He certainly does.”
Sonya reappeared with more wine and asked if we needed anything else.
“No, thanks, Sonya,” Alex said. “Everything’s delicious as always.”
“I do what I can,” Sonya said, grinning over at Peter. “There’s more potato salad if you’re still hungry.”
Peter patted his tummy. “No. Thanks, Sonya. I’m stuffed.”
“This boy eats his father out of house and home,” Sonya said, sounding quite pleased with Peter for his robust appetite, before heading back inside.
“Is it weird to have someone living with you that isn’t family?” Grace asked, salting her corn.
“Sonya is family,” Alex said. “We figured that out right away.”
“It must be nice to have someone to cook and clean for you,” Grace said. “Mom’s always complaining about having to cook dinner.”
“It’s just relentless—dinner,” I said, smiling. “Every single night.”
“Our mom loved cooking,” Bella said. “She was the best cook in the whole world.”
