indulging in knock-down-drag-outs while the child got so tense she lost her appetite the way Alicia had last spring. Parents simply shouldn’t do that to their children.
“I don’t believe I’m going to marry Kim,” he said, then drank some beer.
The plot thickens , Gina thought. “She told me you two were engaged.”
“Well, we haven’t…” He exhaled. “She assumed we came down here to plan our marriage. I assumed we came down here to see if we had what it takes. I don’t think we do.”
“You’d better clue her in.” Gina felt a twinge of sisterly loyalty. Men who kept women in the dark about their intentions lost points in her book.
He nodded. “What’s you opinion, Gina? Should I tell her now, when we’ve still got four days left in our vacation? Or should I wait until we’re heading for home?”
“If you tell her now, you’ll ruin the vacation,” shepointed out. “On the other hand, dishonesty isn’t a good policy.”
“Still, her parents are here. If I break up with her, her father might come after me with a golf club.”
“He’s probably already pissed because he had to pay for a hotel room.”
“Yeah. Although his wife was pleased about that. She likes room service.” He gazed out at the water. “They say women turn into their mothers. I wonder if in twenty-five years Kim will be demanding room service.”
“If you want to find out, you’re going to have to marry her.” Gina sipped her beer, the cool curve of the bottle pressing against her lower lip. “But I don’t think that’s true—that women turn into their mothers. Some, maybe, but there’s no guarantee. I haven’t turned into my mother—who happens to be a really terrific lady—but I’m not going to turn into her.”
“How are you different from her?”
“By the time she was my age, she’d been married six years and had three kids—me and Ramona and my brother, Bobby. Her whole life was running loads of laundry, cooking, dragging us kids off to church and sitting around the kitchen table with her girlfriends, gossiping and drinking lemonade. She loved that life, never felt her horizons were limited, never missed the nightlife. All she ever wanted was to make a good home for my dad and us kids, and she did. I’d go crazy if I had to live that kind of life, but it was right for her.”
“But now, with her kids grown and gone, doesn’t she want more?”
“No. She and my dad still live in the row house I grew up in. She still cooks for him and goes to church and gossips with her friends. Of course, she’s a grandmanow. That’s as much fun as being an aunt. Maybe even more fun.”
“Alicia is your sister’s child?”
“Right.”
“Does your brother have any kids?”
She shook her head. “Bobby is the baby of the family. He’s twenty-four, a New York City cop and a devout bachelor.”
“A cop? Wow.” He looked impressed. “That’s dangerous work.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She chuckled. Bobby was hardly the fearless macho type. He was an energetic guy, funny and talkative, a toucher like Ramona and Gina and their mother. “He walks a beat, does a lot of community outreach, gets homeless people into shelters and picks up shoplifters. About the most dangerous part of his job is all the women throwing themselves at him. Women seem to think cops are heroic studs. Especially when they’re young and have a few dimples.”
“I don’t know about the stud part, but they are heroic,” Ethan argued, his eyes remaining on her. “How about you? Are you a devout bachelorette with men throwing themselves at you?”
She snorted. “The only thing I’m devout about is being Ali’s aunt. As for men throwing themselves at me, sure, it happens all the time. Sometimes there are so many I have to beat them back with a stick.”
His smile lingered, but he didn’t laugh. “I’m not surprised.”
That he took her seriously was flattering, but it also made her uncomfortable. Never in her life had she
“I don’t believe I’m going to marry Kim,” he said, then drank some beer.
The plot thickens , Gina thought. “She told me you two were engaged.”
“Well, we haven’t…” He exhaled. “She assumed we came down here to plan our marriage. I assumed we came down here to see if we had what it takes. I don’t think we do.”
“You’d better clue her in.” Gina felt a twinge of sisterly loyalty. Men who kept women in the dark about their intentions lost points in her book.
He nodded. “What’s you opinion, Gina? Should I tell her now, when we’ve still got four days left in our vacation? Or should I wait until we’re heading for home?”
“If you tell her now, you’ll ruin the vacation,” shepointed out. “On the other hand, dishonesty isn’t a good policy.”
“Still, her parents are here. If I break up with her, her father might come after me with a golf club.”
“He’s probably already pissed because he had to pay for a hotel room.”
“Yeah. Although his wife was pleased about that. She likes room service.” He gazed out at the water. “They say women turn into their mothers. I wonder if in twenty-five years Kim will be demanding room service.”
“If you want to find out, you’re going to have to marry her.” Gina sipped her beer, the cool curve of the bottle pressing against her lower lip. “But I don’t think that’s true—that women turn into their mothers. Some, maybe, but there’s no guarantee. I haven’t turned into my mother—who happens to be a really terrific lady—but I’m not going to turn into her.”
“How are you different from her?”
“By the time she was my age, she’d been married six years and had three kids—me and Ramona and my brother, Bobby. Her whole life was running loads of laundry, cooking, dragging us kids off to church and sitting around the kitchen table with her girlfriends, gossiping and drinking lemonade. She loved that life, never felt her horizons were limited, never missed the nightlife. All she ever wanted was to make a good home for my dad and us kids, and she did. I’d go crazy if I had to live that kind of life, but it was right for her.”
“But now, with her kids grown and gone, doesn’t she want more?”
“No. She and my dad still live in the row house I grew up in. She still cooks for him and goes to church and gossips with her friends. Of course, she’s a grandmanow. That’s as much fun as being an aunt. Maybe even more fun.”
“Alicia is your sister’s child?”
“Right.”
“Does your brother have any kids?”
She shook her head. “Bobby is the baby of the family. He’s twenty-four, a New York City cop and a devout bachelor.”
“A cop? Wow.” He looked impressed. “That’s dangerous work.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She chuckled. Bobby was hardly the fearless macho type. He was an energetic guy, funny and talkative, a toucher like Ramona and Gina and their mother. “He walks a beat, does a lot of community outreach, gets homeless people into shelters and picks up shoplifters. About the most dangerous part of his job is all the women throwing themselves at him. Women seem to think cops are heroic studs. Especially when they’re young and have a few dimples.”
“I don’t know about the stud part, but they are heroic,” Ethan argued, his eyes remaining on her. “How about you? Are you a devout bachelorette with men throwing themselves at you?”
She snorted. “The only thing I’m devout about is being Ali’s aunt. As for men throwing themselves at me, sure, it happens all the time. Sometimes there are so many I have to beat them back with a stick.”
His smile lingered, but he didn’t laugh. “I’m not surprised.”
That he took her seriously was flattering, but it also made her uncomfortable. Never in her life had she
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