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“I’d love it if Candy will.”
“I shouldn’t, but I will.” She turned to Bridget. “I’m always dieting. My hips, oiy.”
“Love those hips,” Joey said, reaching out for her.
“You two and your PDAs. Knock it off in front of guests.”
“Aw, I think it’s sweet,” Bridget said sincerely.
“Tony’s a hugger,” Candy said.
“I wouldn’t know. We’ve only been on one date.”
“Well, you’re in for a treat,” Roberta said. “All my boys are horndogs.”
“Mother, for God’s sake!” Joey said, laughing.
“It’s true,” Candy said.
“Let’s go eat,” Joey said, shaking his head. “I’ll help you with your stuff, Bridget, to make amends for my mother. My brother is going to flip out when he hears that our mother outed us.”
“Tony loves me the way I am,” Roberta said. “He accepts that we’re one big happy family.”
“That’s bullshit,” Joey said.
“I know. But let’s pretend on Sunday.”
They laughed and chattered on the way out to the car. They’d take a huge SUV with eight seatbelts. Joey got the car seat out of Tony’s truck and set it up for Flynn. Candy drove, Joey saying he was a danger, he was so tired.
They arrived just as the next wave of church attendees were released, the throng of diners packed into the front vestibule of the diner. Roberta beckoned two young men to get up so Bridget could sit with baby Flynn, and she sat down next to her.
“I’ll text the men to meet us here if they get done.”
“I don’t think they’ll be coming home for a while,” Joey said.
“Do you mind waiting? Because I do not. Big Mike won’t, so I take advantage of it when I dine without him.”
“I don’t mind waiting either. What about Tony? What does he say?”
“Tony takes after me,” she said, pleased. “He’s long suffering.” Here, Roberta studied Bridget’s face. “I don’t imagine you’ll make it difficult for him though. It’s so nice to see him smiling again! He was so unhappy last year. Patty, that’s his old girlfriend’s name, Patty betrayed him with someone Tony knows. It was like she went out of her way to seek this person out, because he isn’t even from this area. Then she made sure to leave evidence around. I believe it was her phone, with a text from the guy right where Tony was sure to see it.”
Like she’d been splashed with a bucket of cold water, Bridget cringed. The time frame fit when Tony said they had broken up for a while and he dated another girl.
“Did they break up over it?” she asked, knowing they had, but wanting to get the whole story. “I won’t say a word to Tony.”
“Yes, let’s keep this private. He broke up with her and dated Katherine. Do you know Katherine? She’s a volunteer firefighter over at #34.”
Bridget couldn’t help herself, she said, “Ugh. That’s probably why Katherine is so unfriendly.”
“Probably so. They were mismatched from the beginning. After Patty’s indiscretion, as we shall call it, there was a summer party at the firehouse, and Katherine and Tony left together. It lasted about a week. Less than a week. He said her house was a pigsty. ‘She’s a hoarder, Ma.’” Roberta laughed out loud. “My boys are very particular. When Tony came home to change for church, he said, ‘Bridget is just like me, Ma. Not a thing out of place. You could eat a meal off her bathroom floor.’”
“Oh my God, he’s nuts,” Bridget said, laughing out loud. “I cleaned it when I knew he was going to come by, but it wasn’t that clean.”
“Well, he’s been impressed from the get-go. Charlie and Big Mike, too. Not many young people make an impression on my husband. He’ll be the first to say he hates millennials.”
“That’s pretty funny,” Bridget said. “I didn’t do anything special. Getting to work on time is about it.”
“It’s more than that,” Roberta said, looking at her sidelong. “You’re nice and pretty; you do a good job at work. And you were honest with my son. He really liked that. ‘Open and honest, Ma,’ he said. We have our share of pink elephants in the Saints family. I’m a recovering alcoholic. I don’t look too bad now, but I’ve had work done. I hated that people could see it on my face. My boys have been through a lot because of me. I do penance.”
