Page 22 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“And exceshory?” He mispronounced the word and his lisp came through.
I smiled and nodded. “Yes. It’s something you wear to spice up an outfit. To make it look a little nicer. Does that make sense?”
Asher’s face scrunched together in thought. “The same as cufflinks?”
“Yes, exactly the same.”
I was buttoning up my black shirt as Asher entertained himself with going through the rest of my things. The suit I was wearing was black and perfectly tailored to fit me. My tie was dark purple, picking up on the color in the pattern of the pocket square. Once I had everything on, I stood back. “What do you think, Ash?”
He looked me up and down. “It’s very fancy.”
“Yeah, it should be,” I said, straightening out my jacket.
“Then it looks good, Dad.”
“Right answer, kiddo,” I said, ruffling his hair as I walked past him and out into the hallway. He followed after me.
“What time do you have to leave?”
I glanced at the watch on my wrist. “Pretty soon. About ten minutes.”
“What time will you be home?”
We started making our way downstairs. “I’m not sure. Probably after you’re in bed, though. But I’ll see you in the morning. You and Grandpa get to hang out tonight. Maybe you could go easy on him and not force him to watch that cartoon with the genie in it?”
“Aladdin?”
I nodded. “Yeah, that one. You’ve watched it with him a thousand times.”
“Because it’s good.”
I chuckled, and we moved into the kitchen. “Sure it is. But it loses its appeal after the hundredth time you see it.”
He made a face. “Not for me.”
I shook my head to myself. No matter how successful I was in the courtroom, this clearly wasn’t an argument I was going to win. Aladdin was a household staple.
My father came into the kitchen from the living room. “Nice suit. Looks sharp.”
“Thanks,” I said, straightening out the jacket and giving it a tug forward. “You’re sure it’s not too much for a silly high school reunion?”
“There’s nothing silly about it. And no, it’s not too much. You look great.”
I appreciated his compliment. “And you’re still good spending the night with Asher? I asked him not to force you to watch Aladdin, but no promises that’ll pan out.”
Asher smiled up at me.
My father laughed. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll be just fine on our own. We always are, aren’t we Ash?”
“Yep!”
“Okay. Good.” I glanced at my watch again. Might as well head out now in case there was any traffic. “Well, I’m gonna get out of here. You two have fun. Don’t do anything crazy. And I’ll see you in the morning.” I bent down and gave Ash a hug and a kiss on the head.
“Bye, Dad! Have fun!”
My father walked me to the front door. He and Asher stayed there on the front stoop as I reversed out of the driveway. Then we waved, and I hit the road, heading to my old school.
It loomed before me when I took a right on Old Smithe Road. The school was old, fully brick, and trimmed in white paint, which was new. It looked cleaner than I remembered.
