Fools Rush in(57)

Joe was gone when I came home, his coffee cup in the sink next to mine. I gave Digger a long tummy rub, cleaned up his mess on the kitchen floor (hoping he hadn’t pooped while Joe was still in the house) and wandered around. Peeking in the bedroom, there was absolute proof that I had indeed accomplished my mission…rumpled sheets and a condom wrapper in the wastebasket. And oh, hooray! There was a note on the pillow!

Millie—See you soon.

Joe?

A man of few words. The smiley face was cute. A little dopey, but cute. I gave the note a kiss, then lay back on the bed, grinning like an idiot. Complete and total satisfaction radiated from me. Joe had spent the night. I grabbed the pillow on which his perfect head had rested and inhaled. After a few minutes of reverie and self-congratulations, I rose, poured myself a glass of water and went out on the deck. The phone rang the instant my bottom touched the seat.

“Hi, Aunt Mil! It’s Danny!” my nephew barked into the phone like the Irish setter that I suspected he was.

“Hello, Danny,” I grinned.

“Wanna go to the movies with my dad and me?” he asked. Now granted, most seventeen-year-old boys would not be caught dead going out with their dads and, God forbid, their aunts. But Danny was exceptional. He would probably start a new teenage trend in airing out aging relatives.

“Sure,” I answered, feeling a sudden bittersweet rush of emotion. A year from now, Danny would be getting ready for college, and an evening like this one would be a thing of the past. I could hear Sam’s voice low in the background

“Dad wants to know if you’d rather see Sisters Forever…the new Jackie Chan flick…Star Fighters or…what was that last one, Dad? Guerilla Politics, ‘an important documentary from one of America’s finest filmmakers.’”

“Jackie Chan,” I answered immediately.

“Whoo-hoo! Jackie Chan it is, Dad! We’ll pick you up in half an hour, okay?”

They arrived shortly, and I squeezed into the pickup’s front seat between them like a giant toddler. Once at the theater, Danny bounded to the concession stand while Sam paid for all three tickets.

“You don’t have to buy my ticket anymore, Sam,” I protested.

“Years of habit, Millie.” He smiled down at me as Danny returned, carrying a bucket of popcorn the size of a silo and a vat of soda that contained enough fluid to hydrate a human for a week. We found our seats, me again in the middle.

“So what made you boys think of old, decrepit Aunt Millicent tonight?” I asked as Danny waved to three girls a few rows in front of us. They giggled in response and began whispering furiously, casting playful glances back at Danny as he devoured the popcorn with shocking speed.

“Oh, well,” Sam said, looking a little bit embarrassed. “I just thought maybe you felt a little, uh, down after Friday night.” At my blank stare, he said, “You know, your friend canceling on you and all.”

“Oh!” I said. “Actually, we saw each other last night.” At the words, a blush warmed the tips of my ears as I remembered making out on the couch with the lovely and delicious Joe Carpenter.

“Millie’s got a boyfriend, Millie’s got a boyfriend,” my nephew chanted, tossing some popcorn at the girls, who shrieked obligingly.

“Children should be seen and not heard, Daniel,” I said, smiling as I said it.

“Really?” blurted Sam. “You’re seeing someone?”

“Try to conceal your surprise, Officer,” I said sharply.

“No, I just…you didn’t say anything, that’s all. So who is he?”

“Never you mind, Sam-I-Am,” I replied, enjoying my moment of mystery.

“I’m gonna say hi to those girls,” Danny announced as he unfolded his lanky frame from the seat. As soon as he was out of earshot, I turned to Sam.

“Did you talk to him about Rich Guy Prep?”

“Yup. He doesn’t want to go,” Sam answered, the relief clear in his eyes. “Doesn’t see any point in it. I did try to put it in terms of being an opportunity and all that crap.”

“Which he saw right through,” I surmised.

“Yup. Trish wasn’t happy, but I sure as hell was. I can’t imagine why she thought he’d want to leave his senior year, but he talked to her.”

“I’m glad,” I said, patting Sam’s arm. “We can’t have you rattling around in that house alone.”

“Well, it would have been okay, if Danny had a real reason for going, not just some new idea of Trish’s.” Sam smiled. “But, yeah, I was glad.”

“Good thing Danny’s so sensible.”

“Yup. Always been a smart one,” Sam agreed, nodding.

“And handsome,” I added.

“Just like his old man,” Sam said. I laughed. Danny returned to his seat and the previews started.

About halfway through the movie, which, I must confess, I was thoroughly enjoying, Sam got up and climbed over Danny and me, presumable to hit the loo. Danny leaned over to me.

“Can you keep a secret?” he whispered.

“I hope so,” I whispered back.

“It’s important.”

“Okay. What is it, big guy?”

“I need help on a college application,” he whispered, taking a quick look around.