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Mrs. Owen patted Maizy’s arm. “Of course I know about them. Lucy told me. But don’t be mad. When you looked so sad the last time I saw you, I sat Lucy down and grilled her.”
“That rat—”
“Oh, don’t be mad at her, Maizy. I wouldn’t take no for an answer. I caught her in a weak moment and she told me over a piece of turtle cheesecake. Did they make you unhappy?”
Maizy looked at him and sighed. “Mom, it’s complicated but no, they didn’t make me unhappy.”
Maizy’s mother turned to him and patted his arm, squinted at his tattoos, and said, “Why…that’s some rather extensive ink you have there, Spencer? That’s the proper lingo nowadays, right? ‘Ink’?”
Spencer grinned, liking her more all the time. “Yes, ma’am.”
She looked more closely and said, “I fail to see why so many people get their garters in a twist over such things. If it makes you happy and doesn’t hurt anyone else then they should suck it, right?”
“Mom!” Maizy went bug-eyed and put her head in her hands.
“What? Is that not the right terminology?” she asked her daughter and then turned back to him. “I’ve been through some health challenges recently, and realized that I’ve been living my life like a ghost in my own home and my community. I decided it’s high time that I got out here and seized the day with the rest of you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I love your nice manners. I’d like to meet Cody and Heath sometime too, if they’re as nice as you. Lucy says they are, and that they’re also quite large, like you. I suppose that’s why she calls you the bears.”
Mrs. Owen’s eyes twinkled as she talked to him and he was struck once again by the family resemblance. “I suppose so, ma’am.”
Spencer escorted Maizy and her mother up the walkway, paying attention to the areas that were cracked and making sure that Maizy and her mom didn’t trip or lose their footing.
Clouds moved in front of the sun and Mrs. Owen looked up and said, “As hot as it’s been lately, we may be in for some storms. The weatherman said last night that there was a possibility all week so you two be careful tonight.”
At her car, she hugged Maizy and then shook his hand again and said, “You should come to dinner next Sunday night, Spencer, and bring Cody and Heath as well. Patrick, Lucy, and Beck will be on their honeymoon and it’ll just be me, George, Rhonda, and Roberta. The shock would be good for George—that’s Maizy’s father—and for Roberta, too. Maizy’s father and sister both have sticks up their ass about some things but I’m still hopeful they’ll come around.”
Maizy choked on her spit and walked away, leaving him to stand there chuckling with her mother.
What could he say to that? “Yes, ma’am…I mean no, ma’am.”
Mrs. Owen laughed and said, “I like you, Spencer. Take care of my daughter.”
Once she’d kissed Maizy good-bye and was in her car and on her way home, Maizy said, “I’m sorry, Spencer. She assumes a lot.”
“I like your mom. She’s funny. I can see where you get your good looks.”
She crossed her forearms under her breasts and scuffed her sneaker toe against the cracked asphalt. “Think so?”
He kissed her temple and said, “Let’s swing by your place and then grab supper at Rudy’s. I want to get you home and into that antique tub. You’re going to love it.”
A little while later, they slid into the corner booth at Rudy’s. It was still early for supper, so the restaurant wasn’t that busy yet. Rudy greeted them and offered them menus and said, “Miss Owen, I hear wonderful things about you from my granddaughter.”
Maizy grinned at him and said, “I love having Amber in my class, Rudy. She’s smart as a whip.”
Rudy nodded in agreement and since they both already knew what they wanted, they placed their orders with him.
Maizy sighed and rested her feet on the booth next to his thigh and said, “My feet still hurt from last night.”
Spencer scoffed and decided to give her a hard time. “Oh? Danced the night away, did we?”
