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Mom and Dad had been helping me out since Rebecca took off. I’d gotten so used to them being around that it had been a major adjustment when they’d left. I was still adjusting.
“No, of course not. Quinn is great. I didn’t do a background check like Mom would have done, but I trust her, and Gio likes her. That’s all that matters.”
“Did you know the wolf is the national animal of Italy?” Gio interrupted, and for once I was grateful for my son's inability to keep himself from blurting things out.
“Where did you learn that?” Mom asked.
“Quinn. She knows a lot of stuff.”
“I can see that,” Mom said.
“She took me to the nature preserve yesterday, and then we got tacos from Maria with Dad.”
“You took the nanny out for dinner?” Mom asked.
“Don’t start.” I knew where she was going with this, and I was not in the mood. Gio fought me to get out of bed this morning, and I had to go in his room three times before he begrudgingly got in the shower. I wanted him dressed and ready before we called Mom and Dad.
Mom held her hands up. “You never took Margie out for tacos.” She looked at Dad, then back at the screen. “So is this Quinn pretty?”
“She’s beautiful,” Gio said before I could put an end to Mom’s questions.
“I see.”
“No, you don’t see. I hired her as Gio’s nanny, and that is all she is. Gio’s nanny. That’s it.”
“I don’t understand why you’re getting so upset, then,” Mom said.
“I’m not getting upset.” I thrust my hand through my hair again.
“You’re getting upset,” Mom reiterated, and like the sixteen-year-old boy I sometimes still felt like whenever Mom was around, I grunted my frustrations.
“Donna, leave him alone. He has a lot of pressure on him.”
“Sounds like he wants the nanny on him.”
“Mom!” That damn infectious smile blossomed onto her lips, and she held her hands up like she was the poster child of innocence.
“How are the interns this year?” Dad asked, and this was a topic I could deal with.
“Great. They all seem eager to learn, and I’m letting Rhone have more responsibilities and fingers crossed it doesn’t turn into a clusterf…fu…funk.” I eyed Gio to make sure he didn’t notice my slip.
Dad laughed. “Good catch.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to give Rhone more responsibilities?” Mom asked.
“He’s thirty-three, Mom. He has to grow up sometime.”
“The boy is right, and you know it,” Dad said.
“Can I talk now?” Gio sighed.
“Sorry, bud. Dad, we’ll talk more about this later.”
Dad nodded, and I handed my tablet off to Gio.
“What a clusterfunk,” Gio said, and I turned to him, ready to correct him, but it was early and tension was already tightening my shoulder blades. With a shake of my head, I left, leaving him to entertain my parents. He would probably go right into some unknown facts he learned since the last time they spoke anyway, completely forgetting the word in a few minutes. I hoped.
