Fools Rush in(67)

“I can’t believe you two are sisters,” Joe said, apropos of nothing, but mercifully changing the subject.

“Why not, Joe?” Trish asked, turning her attention to him.

“I guess I didn’t know you had a sister, Millie,” Joe answered. Trish’s smile faded.

“Well, she’s much older than I am,” I murmured, earning a venomous glare from said sister. I smiled back.

“So how long have you and Joe been seeing each other, Millie?” Trish asked.

“Just a few weeks, I guess,” I answered cautiously.

“Really. And how did you hook up?” she asked.

“Huh, let’s see,” Joe said, taking my hand. “How exactly did it start, Millie? Seems like we’ve been together forever.” He smiled at me.

“Well, we’ve known each other since high school,” I answered.

“That’s right!” Joe exclaimed. “I wonder how come we didn’t hang out then.”

I closed my eyes with dread. Sure enough, Trish’s fake smile grew maliciously genuine. “Well, of course Millie looked a lot different in those days….” she began.

“Oh, yeah? I can’t seem to remember,” Joe answered. “I wonder how I missed you?”

“That’s a great question,” Trish answered. “Poor Millie was hard to miss, huh, Millie? You must have been fifty pounds heavier back then! And oh, God, remember those braces? And that perm? Oh, that was rich.” She laughed merrily at the memory of my horrible adolescence.

My face flushed as helpless anger rushed through me. Joe looked at me, surprised, and I felt a little flash of fury toward him, too. Did he have to set Trish up so perfectly? Carol politely looked out at the water, and Pink Pants stared at his drink.

“Well,” Sam said, rising and taking my empty beer bottle. “I always thought you were adorable. You’re a lucky man, Joe.” He gave me a grin, and I smiled gratefully back at him.

“I sure am,” Joe said, kissing my hand. Trish’s eyes narrowed, I noted with satisfaction. I didn’t have to be jealous of Trish’s high-school success when I had the two nicest guys around defending my honor.

“Avery, it’s time for us to go,” Trish announced, unfolding herself from the chair. “Sam, we’ll be back tomorrow to take Danny to brunch. And if he wants to come back with us to New Jersey for a visit, please don’t discourage him. Bye, Millie. Happy birthday.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

THE SUMMER UNCURLED and stretched like a sated, sleepy cat. Day after day, the sky glowed blue, the air was clear and dry. We didn’t get much rain, and every passing vehicle stirred eddies of dust along the roads. By the end of July, the leaves were grayish green, the ocean a balmy sixty-two degrees, and Joe and I were a couple. An official couple. We got together three or four times a week, and every time I saw that incredible face smiling at me, I shook myself mentally. It was real. I had done it.

Curtis and Mitch came down from Provincetown and gave him their four-star approval rating. They flirted mercilessly with him, but Joe didn’t seem to mind. But when I called Curtis and Mitch later to get the inside skinny, they didn’t say much other than to wax poetic about Joe’s beauty, leaving me with a slightly empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Another night, we went to my parents’ house for dinner. They knew Joe, of course, and Joe and my dad had even played poker a few times, so it wasn’t as uncomfortable as most of those “meet my parents” situations. Joe happily wolfed down three helpings of ham and scalloped potato dinner, much to Mom’s delight. He and Dad talked about potholes and traffic.

“Nearly got sideswiped by a goddamn minivan yesterday in Ben & Jerry’s parking lot,” my dad said through a mouthful of green beans.

“What were you doing at Ben & Jerry’s?” my mom asked suspiciously.

“Say, Joe,” my dad said, pretending not to hear Mom. “They’re taking bids on the library renovation. Gonna put one in?”

“Oh, yeah, thanks, Mr. Barnes, I did hear about it.” I smiled at my guy for his good manners. “But no, I’m not bidding on that one.”

“Why not?” my dad asked.

“Well, I’m pretty busy as it is,” Joe said. “Plus I’m working on my own place.”

“Which I’ve never seen,” I murmured.

“You will, you will,” Joe smiled. “But anyway, the library project is kind of a bi—I mean, you’ve got that whole board to answer to, and there’s a ton of paperwork you’ve got to fill out, cost estimates and schedules and stuff, so I just figured I’d pass. This ham is great, Mrs. Barnes.”

“Call me Nancy,” my mom sighed dreamily.

“Still, Joe, it’s indoor work over the winter,” my dad went on. “Guaranteed money, too, working for the town. Seems silly to pass up the chance.”

“I guess so,” Joe said mildly, winking at my mom. She sighed again.

I didn’t want to gang up on Joe, but Dad had a point. Carpentry was seasonal work on the Cape, and it did seem that Joe was a little remiss in not bidding for the library job. Still, maybe he had other projects lined up.

As Mom and I cleared the dishes, the guys went out in the yard to admire the new pile of topsoil Dad had ordered.