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“Let’s go after dinner,” Candy said, walking him to the door. “I’ll shoot you a text when we’re about ready.”
After kissing his niece and nephew goodbye, Jake dashed out to his truck. Now he couldn’t wait to tell his parents. They were in the kitchen as usual, drinking coffee and talking.
“Hey, I’ve got news,” Jake announced without saying hello.
“God, I hope it’s good,” Roberta said with the ever-present cleaning cloth in her hand.
“I got an apartment over by the park.”
Big Mike put his cup of coffee down, and Roberta stopped wiping off the counter.
“It’s time I get out. I can get the key now and want you guys to come with me to see the place. Pop, you’ll have to climb stairs.”
“Stairs I can climb. Ladders, not so much.”
“Wait. Can I let this sink in before we go run off to my next-to-last son walking out on me?”
“Ma, it’s not like that. Come on. I need to get it before five, and Candy invited me and Geri to get a Christmas tree with them.”
“Right, because next week is Thanksgiving. Oh Lord, Mike, we have so much to do.”
“Don’t worry, my dear, we’ll get it done. We do every year. Let’s go. I want to see this place now.”
“Is it furnished?” Roberta asked.
“No, Ma, so I need any hand-me-downs you have.”
“We still have a bunch of furniture from your grandmother’s house. Are you interested in any of that? Tony took stuff I never thought anyone would want.”
“Yes! But I heard through the grapevine that you were getting new furniture here. Can I have the old?”
Roberta and Big Mike exchanged glances. “We were going to wait until after Christmas,” Roberta said. “Give it a year before it’s destroyed by the grandchildren.”
“Ha! I can definitely wait. Can I take my bed?”
“You can take your bed. Let’s get going while it’s still light.”
They drove the few miles in separate vehicles.
“I like this development,” Roberta said. “Lenny was over here for a while.”
They called their middle son Leonardo, or Leon, by the name Lenny.
“He still has a place, but he sublets it,” Big Mike said.
“I’ll get the key,” Jake said. He ran around to the office while his parents waited.
“Only one kid left,” Big Mike murmured. “What will we do?”
“It’ll be the same, honey. Until you retire, we’ll just keep doing like we do. Friday nights and Sundays will be family days.”
“I don’t have a hobby. Maybe Charlie will let me hang around the firehouse.”
“He will. Don’t worry about that now.”
“Do you want to travel?”
“Ugh! No. I like my house. What about making wine? You put those grapes in so you could make your own wine someday.”
