Goody Two Shoes (Invertary 2)
Page 58
“Ha! She hasn’t been social for years. Why start now?”
“What do you mean? Mom’s always been the centre of a crowd.”
“Boy, that was before you went to college. Things calmed down when you weren’t trailing that harem of girls everywhere you went.”
“What about her own friends? The old crowd.”
His dad looked at him like he was an idiot. “It’s a long way to travel from Atlantic City to Fort Lauderdale just for a barbecue.”
Josh sipped his coffee while he watched his mum. She was in her element, fussing over the men. “You two never joined any groups in Florida?” He suspected he already knew the answer.
“Not my thing.”
“No, but it’s Mom’s thing.” Josh put his mug on the table in front of him and watched his dad. His face was twisted into a disapproving look, but his eyes were hurting. “Maybe that’s your problem right there? Maybe Mom’s been bored?”
His dad’s eyes turned hard. “Are you saying I bore my wife?”
Josh cocked an eyebrow at him. They stared at each other for a minute. “She’s social. You aren’t. Where’s the compromise?”
“I compromise.” His father shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I don’t stop her going out.”
Josh couldn’t believe his ears. The man was a bigger idiot than he thought. “That’s it? That’s your compromise? You really don’t have a clue about women, do you?”
His father sat back in his seat and folded his arms. “More than you, boy. At least I hooked mine the old-fashioned way.”
“By getting her pregnant?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them.
His father’s face turned purple. “If you weren’t my son, we’d be outside right now.”
Josh held up his hands in a peace-making gesture. “Women need finesse. They need romance. They need conversation. And Mom needs a social life. Not just sitting in silence with you all the time. Take her out for a nice dinner. Let her meet people. Give her some romance.”
His father leaned forward. “Is that right?” His voice was a hiss. “Well, if women need romance so bloody bad, how come you’re marrying one that you have an agreement with?”
“That’s different.” Josh folded his arms and frowned.
His dad sat back, triumphant. “You don’t have a bloody clue either.”
They glared at each other.
“Do you two want a muffin?” his mother called over to them.
From the look in her eye, she hadn’t missed a thing that had gone on between them.
“I’m good,” Josh told her.
“If the muffins come with flirting, then I’ll have to decline,” his father said.
And for the first time ever, Josh badly wanted to knock some sense into the man.
The four workmen mumbled something then fled the room. His mother folded her arms over her new pink blouse. “Did I hear you right, Andrew McInnes? Did you accuse me of flirting with those men?”
His father scowled at her. “You heard me.”
“You are an idiot.” His mother read Josh’s mind as she slapped her palms on the counter in front of her.
“I’m just calling it how I see it.” His father sounded pompous.
Josh tried to shuffle away from him in the hope that he wouldn’t be tainted by association. His mother kept glaring at his father, and then she nodded as though deciding on something.