Life and Other Inconveniences(36)

“Man. This is great, seeing them together,” Jason said. “I can’t believe it’s the first time. We should’ve made it happen sooner. That’s on me.” He sighed, then looked at me, smiling. “You look so good, Em. I’ve missed you.”

“Thanks. You too,” I said.

“Can we have our own booth?” Duncan asked, he of the mischievous dimples. “Please, Dad? We’ll be good.”

“I’d like to spend time with my girl,” he said.

“You can have her later,” Owen said. “We need her now.”

“They need me now,” Riley said, grinning.

Jason and I both laughed. “How’s this?” Jason said. “You can order milkshakes, but when lunch comes, Emma and I will sit with you, okay?”

“Yay!” the boys said. They dragged Riley to a booth by the window, chattering like blackbirds.

“What lovely boys,” I said.

“They’re great. Here. Let’s sit at the bar, where we can keep an eye on them. Want a glass of wine?”

“No, thanks,” I said. It was only lunchtime.

Jason perused the drinks menu. “I’ll have a Lonesome Boatman,” he said as the bartender came over. “Thanks, Jen. Hey, this is my . . . uh . . . my daughter’s mother,” he said. “Emma London, meet Jen, the world’s best bartender.”

“We went to school together, idiot,” she said, flicking the towel at him. “How you doing, Emma?”

“Great! It’s good to see you.” Jen Pottsman, salutatorian of our class, now bartending. If memory served, she’d gone to Amherst. “How’ve you been?”

“Not bad. Your daughter’s wicked cute.”

“Thanks,” Jason and I said simultaneously, then laughed. I guess I’d have to get used to sharing credit for her, at least for the summer.

“Anything for you, Emma?”

“Just seltzer water, please.”

“You got it.” She went off, and I watched as Riley ordered milkshakes for all three of them. You’d think she grew up with the boys, the way she was talking to them, laughing. She tapped Duncan on the nose, then proceeded to breathe on her spoon and press it against his, where it balanced for a few seconds.

I’d taught her that trick. Used to do it every time we went out, which, granted, hadn’t been that often.

“One seltzer, one Lonesome Boatman,” Jen said, setting down our drinks. “Want any food?”

“We’ll eat with the kids,” Jason said. “Thanks, Jen.”

“You got it. Well, I bet you have a lot to catch up on, so I’ll leave you alone. Good seeing you, Emma.”

“Yeah, you too.”

She went away, and Jason shifted so he could see me better. “You have not aged a bit,” he said.

“Since December?” The last time he’d been to Chicago.

“I mean, you look like you’re still eighteen.”

“Please. I don’t want to look like a dumb kid anymore.”

He smiled. “At least us being dumb made a great daughter.”

“There is that, yes.” I watched as he took a long drink from his beer. “Lonesome Boatman, huh?”

“It describes me these days,” he said with a wink.

“Except you’re not a boatman.”

“They didn’t have a Lonesome Carpenter.” Another grin. “Well, I guess I should tell you I’m not sure Jamilah and I are gonna make it.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“She’s changed.”

Oh, boy. The cry of the idiot husband. “I am a therapist, if you’d like to talk about it. You can have the family rate and everything.”

“No, no, it’s fine. We did try that. Counseling. Anyway. The boys don’t know yet.”

“Where are you living?” I asked.

“With my parents.” He grimaced. “It’s just kind of expensive. You know. Child support for you—”

“For Riley, actually.” My fingers tightened on the water glass. Every penny he’d ever sent went directly to Riley’s needs. I’d never used a single dime of it. Not a penny, unless you counted groceries.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry,” said Jason. “Of course. For Riley. But we have the mortgage, and the boys are in private school, all that stuff. If Jamilah worked a few more hours a month, she’d make more than I do, but God forbid . . . Anyway, I won’t bore you with that. The lowdown is I can’t rent anything right now. How about you? You staying with Genevieve?”

“Seems that way. Riley loves the house.”

“How is she, the old hag?”

“She’s good. Stuck-up as ever.”

“She always looks right through me when I run into her in town.” He grinned and took another pull of his beer.

Jason was handsome, to be sure. Big dark blue eyes, thick lashes, a huge smile. Right now, he looked rugged with a few days of stubble, and his hair was dark and curly. Riley, too, had those coarse, irrepressible curls, though the color had come from my mom, also a redhead. Her eyes were sky blue . . . stunning if I did say so, and while I understood genetics, I never could guess where she’d gotten that shade.