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“Put that away,” their mom said. “No phones at the dinner table. You all know the rules.”
It was Scott and Grace’s turn to exchange amused looks. She’d barely seen her little brother all summer. A lot of that was her fault – she knew that. She’d spent so much of her time with Michael there hadn’t been space for anybody else.
But Scott was busy, too. He’d been working as a lifeguard at the local pool during the day and in the evenings he worked at the concession stand at the local drive-in movie theater, owned by one of their uncles. And when he wasn’t working he was hanging around with his friends or working on his car.
Luckily, Ethan hadn’t been back again to help. According to Scott, he’d left town. She assumed he’d gone back to wherever he’d come from.
“I’m just trying to show Dad something,” Scott said. “Give me a break.”
The way he rolled his eyes reminded her of Sabrina. She and Scott were the same age. In a few weeks they’d both be heading back to college and the town would feel a little quieter.
They were both little punks, but she’d miss them.
“Look,” Scott said, holding his phone so their dad could see the screen. “You can use this app. Type the phrase you want to use and it’ll translate it.”
Her dad took Scott’s phone and did as he was told. His lips twitched as he typed into it.
A moment later, a digitized voice spoke out of the phone speaker.
“Ta mère est la femme la plus sexy que j'aie jamais vue.”
Grace coughed out a laugh.
“What does that mean?” Scott asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Grace told him.
“Yeah, I do.” He took his phone back and looked at the words their dad had typed in. “Oh Jesus, that’s disgusting.”
“Well she is.” Her dad shrugged. “There’s no denying it.”
Her mom smiled at him softly. She’d understood the translation the same way Grace had.Your mother is the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.
It was kind of sweet. Or it would have been if it hadn’t been her parents doing the flirting.
It made her feel wistful, too. Thinking about how Michael flirted with her in French. How he whispered soft words into her ears when they were together.
One more day. That’s all she had to get through.
“I try to help and this is what I get,” Scott said, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “You’ve ruined my appetite.”
“That’ll never happen,” Grace scoffed. Pot roast was Scott’s favorite, and he’d never turned down second or third helpings.
“Let’s change the subject, shall we?” her mom suggested. “How did Presley and Marley do last night?”
Grace smiled. “They were so good. Reminded me of the old days. Presley sounded better than ever.”
“I’m so pleased.” Her mom nodded, her eyes shiny. “He deserves some happiness. Did you see anybody you knew there?”
“Only half the town,” Grace said.
“She meansguys. Did you meet any hot guys? Anybody ask for your number?” Scott rolled his eyes, though she could tell he was happy she was getting some heat, too.
“No, I didn’t.” Grace wrinkled her nose at him.
“She doesn’t need to. I’ve heard she already has somebody.” As soon as the words left her mom’s mouth, her eyes widened. “Oh, shit.”
“Mom!” Scott’s mouth dropped open. Their mom never swore. Well,almostnever. The last time Grace could remember her saying anything like that was when her mom had driven her car into a pole in the grocery store parking lot.
