Page 58 of A Really Bad Idea

I’ve been incessantly talking to my dad about today’s op-eds as he bounces his knee. Brian ignores us as he sits in the corner on his iPhone.

Dad takes the New York Times from me and skims over the front page, his eyes unfocused. I try to put him at ease.

“It’s a routine ablation. Thomas does them all the time.”

He folds the paper in half and rolls it up in a tube. “I know. I worry.”

Seeing my typically calm father look at the clock has me a little anxious myself.

“I wish he’d let me in to observe.”

“Thomas thinks you’ll be too bossy and tell him what to do.”

“I would never.” I blanch as Dad tilts his head down with graying eyebrows. “Okay, fine. I’d ask him a few questions. But I’d never tell him what to do. Thomas is brilliant. Mom’s in the best hands.”

He nods. “She wouldn’t dream of being seen by anyone else.” The paper in his hand is now being tapped into his other palm. With a deep sigh, he looks up at the television that’s playing Live with Kelly and Ryan and notions toward the screen. “She looks like a mom, don’t you think?”

I glance at the pixie of a talk show host. She has a wide smile and vibrant blue eyes, just like my mother. Her hair is also a similar style with Mom’s being a touch shorter.

“Mom could have been a TV host. She loves to tell stories.”

“People gravitate to her. Makes it easy to go places. She holds court, and I sit back to enjoy the food and drink.”

“Has she always been this charismatic?”

“Always.” He leans back and crosses his arms in front of his body, looking down toward the floor, as if recalling a memory. “On our first date, she spent the entire time telling stories about her coworkers. She was a coat model back then and has some colorful tales from the Garment District.” He laughs to himself. “I was enamored, but I wasn’t the only one. By the time dessert came, the hostess was in the seat next to me, the waiter was hovering over my shoulder, and the owner was bringing over cups of espresso because he wanted us to stay all night. Well, not me. She was the magnetic one.”

“That never bothered you? Being with someone who requires so much attention?”

A slow smile builds on his face as he looks back with a sheen to his eyes. “I’m honored just to be sitting in her presence.”

“That’s sweet. A little lame, too,” I say honestly.

“Love makes you lame.”

I let out a sigh and rest my head on his shoulder. “You set the bar high, Dad. It’s probably your fault why she’s so determined to marry me off again.”

Brian makes a grunting sound from his throat. Dad and I look over to him as he thumbs through his phone, not looking at us as he answers e-mails, I presume.

“My fault, huh?” Dad asks. “Maybe I should be a jerk every once in a while.”

I nod against his shoulder. “That would be helpful. Maybe cool it down with the love notes on your anniversary. When she wants to play cards with her friends, tell her she can’t because a woman’s place is in the house. Oh, and say her cooking sucks.”

He laughs. “I could cancel movie night. She looks forward to our popcorn dates on the couch.”

I shake my head. “Dad, everyone knows you’re the romance junkie. You cried during The Notebook.”

“Everyone cries during The Notebook.”

“Something’s Gotta Give?”

“He had sex three days after having a heart attack! It’s beautiful,” he jokes.

I hit him in the arm just before he raises it and wraps it around me, pulling me into his side. “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too, Meadowlark.”

Brian rises from his chair as he shakes his head with a grimace. “How much longer will she be in there? I thought he said it was a quick procedure.”