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“You said his name without tripping over it.”
I thought for a moment and nodded. “I did, didn’t I?”
“How are you feeling about the whole thing?” she asked.
“Each day I feel better, but mostly because I refuse to think about it.”
“Then I’ll stop asking about it,” she said with a smile.
We polished off the antipasti in record time. Mama Leonardi swept away our empty plates after she’d gotten Duke and Willa a round of drinks.
“I wonder what the next course will be,” Tavy said.
“I wonder how many courses there will be,” I said with a laugh.
The salad course came next and Mama Leonardi brought us four plates. She didn’t bother explaining what any of them were, but Tavy and I figured them out.
“The fig and endive is my favorite,” Tavy said.
“No way. The prosciutto and melon.”
Mama Leonardi came out with several to-go bags for Duke and Willa. Duke handed over cash and then they hugged the grandmotherly woman goodbye. They waved to us on their way out.
“Okay, now I can talk about my dad again,” Tavy said. “I didn’t want to say anything while Duke was here. Small restaurant, you know?”
“Oh. Right. Your dad…”
I’d hoped Tavy had forgotten about our line of conversation, but apparently, she needed to talk about it.
“So why do you think your dad is dating someone?” I inquired.
“He’s smiling. Like, a lot.”
“And he’s not a smiley kind of guy?”
“From what I’ve seen he is, but this is different. Like—I’m getting a steady supply of ass kind of smiley. And ew. Look, I can’t believe I just mentioned my dad and sex in the same sentence, but I’m telling you, he’s dating someone. Plus, he was singing Sweet Emotion under his breath.”
I had to force myself not to smile. “If that is the case, would that bother you?”
“No, of course not. I want him to be happy, and I was even going to set him up with a coworker of mine, remember? My mom remarried, but Dad has never had a long-term relationship as far as I know. Not after Mom, anyway.”
“No, he hasn’t.” I realized what I’d said and mentally cursed myself for my loose lips.
Tavy raised her brows. “And how would you know that?”
“We talked about it,” I said. “On our drive to Waco.”
“You did?”
I nodded and shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “I was talking about Knox, kind of purging everything, you know? Naturally your dad’s past came up.”
“Naturally,” Tavy repeated, but her expression told me she didn’t buy the explanation.
“Anyway. I think it’s good you want him to be happy.”
“I hope she’s not a twit,” Tavy said.
“You think your dad would date a twit?” I asked in wry amusement.
