"Oh, wow, Aunt Linda, you look so glamorous," Lily said admiringly, sitting straight up.
"Whoa," Jake announced loudly. "Gran. You look like a movie star."
"I agree with Jake, Aunt Linda," Toby chimed in. "You look like a movie star tonight."
"Where are you going?" Emma asked, eyes bright.
"Just to have dinner with a friend," Linda answered, suddenly feeling like she was sneaking around with Emma’s great-uncle. Which realistically she was, as she hadn’t told anyone but Maggie about the date.
"What friend?" Sophia pressed.
"A grown-up friend," Linda replied. "You don't know them."
"So it's a date?" Jake asked.
"I..." Linda didn't quite know what to say. "It's..."
"A dinner with afriend," Maggie answered, stressing the word friend.
"Is your friend a movie star?" Sophia pressed.
"No..." Linda started to answer.
"Is it Dr. Messing?" Lily asked. "I know he likes you. He always rushes to say hi or hold the door open for you when we bump into him in town."
"Why would it be Dr. Messing?" Sophia asked. "My gran doesn't need plastic surgery." She glanced at her gran, her eyes widening. "Gran, are you getting plastic surgery? Is that why you're going on a date with Dr. Messing?"
"Why would she go on a date if she's meeting Dr. Messing about having plastic surgery?" Jake asked his sister.
"Your gran didn't say it was a date," Emma reasoned. "She said dinner with a friend." She looked at Jake. "So, she's meeting with Dr. Messing as a friend to discuss surgery."
"Hey!" Maggie put her fingers to her mouth and gave a hailing-a-taxi-cab whistle that blasted through Linda's eardrums. "All of you. Good grief."
"I'm not having dinner with Dr. Messing," Linda said, not knowing if she should feel honored, as their resident celebrity plastic surgeon was really good looking and one of Sanibel's most eligible bachelors. Or insulted that they thought she was having plastic surgery. She gave herself a mental shake. "And I'm not having plastic surgery."
"Phew, that's good, Gran," Jake said. "Because you're beautiful as you are and don't need it."
The rest of the kids agreed.
"Thank you for that," Linda said, shaking her head. "Now I have to go..."
"Who is fetching you, Gran?" Sophia pressed again.
"Stop interrogating your grandmother, all of you," Maggie ordered. "She's going to dinner with a friend and that's all you need to know."
"Well, that's not fair," Jake reasoned. "Whenever we want to go anywhere we have to basically give Gran a list of who, where, when, why..."
"That's because you're nine," Maggie pointed out. "Your grandmother is a grown-up and is responsible for herself."
"But what if this friend kidnaps Gran?" Jake challenged. "How will we know what to do or tell the police if we don't know who it is?"
"I'll know," Maggie told him, and Linda hid her smile at her grandson's reasoning.
She stepped in to save Maggie. "Okay, that's enough," Linda told them, then blew kisses. "I will see you all later. Be good for Maggie."
She left to a chorus of byes and have-a-lovely-nights. Jake added, "Don't get kidnapped, Gran, and remember your self-defense lessons."
"Jake," Maggie admonished.
