Dante

by J. S. Cooper

  3

  Dante

  Dante

  “I’m an old woman, Dante,” Nana Addie sounded feeble as she handed me a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits. “I would hate to die and never meet my great grandkids.”

  "Nana." I rolled my eyes as I placed the cup on the table in front of me. “You're far from dying.”

  "We never know what will happen in life, Dante. I mean, even if I don’t meet them, at least I would like to see you settled with a nice young lady. I don’t want you to end up like Blake and Steele.” She sipped on her tea delicately as she mentioned my two best friends and cousins. “I know the three of you are like brothers and are enjoying your lives, but you can’t be bachelors forever." She sighed as she placed her cup down and grabbed a piece of freshly made Shortbread. "It's just not done, Dante. People are going to start to talk.”

  "Talk about what, Nana?” I said trying to hold back a grin. We had this conversation every Sunday. I came to tea, she fed me sandwiches and shortbread and then she lectured me on my love life or lack there of. Well, to be fair, I wasn’t leading a lonely life, I just wasn’t looking for commitment.

  “I don’t want people to say things about you boys, you know?" She spoke lightly. "Not that there's anything wrong with it you hear? In my day, we had Rock Hudson and he was one, very handsome man, he was as well.”

  "He was one what, Nana?” I said as I grabbed a piece of shortbread.

  “He was a homosexual.” Nana gave me a death stare as I forced her to say the word. “They called them confirmed bachelors in my day, but now we know that they really meant gay. Now, I would still love you boys if you were gay, but you're not, so it's really time for you all to settle down.”

  "Shall I let Blake and Steele know that you think they’re gay, Nana?" I laughed at the expression on her face. “I think they’re coming over in a bit as well.”

  "Oh Dante…" Her face reddened. “I never once said I thought they were gay. You know that.”

  "I know that Nana.” I said teasing her. “But maybe I should tell them that, so that they can also find nice women?" I couldn’t stop myself even though I knew Nana hated for me to tease her in this way. She and I were extremely close because she had helped to raise me when I was younger. My mom had been a housewife, but she hadn’t really known how to look after kids. Blake and Steele had grown up in California and not Ohio like me, so they hadn’t gotten to spend as much time with Nana as I had. Though she was determined to match all of us up.

  “Dante, I'm an old lady." She started again feebly. “I would like you to humor me and go on a date with my good friends granddaughter.”

  "What good friend?” I knew all of Nana’s friends and I couldn’t think of one of them that had a single granddaughter I would like to take out.

  “My good friend, Louise.” She said and jumped up. “I want you to take her beautiful granddaughter, Sadie out.”

  “Sadie?" I said her name out-loud. "How old is this lady, Nana? Her name sounds like something from the 50s.”

  "Now now, Dante.” She started moving around little ornaments on her mantlepiece. “That’s not very nice. She's a lovely girl. A very lovely girl.”

  "Okay, well tell me more about her.” I said as I stood up and walked to the fireplace and stood next to her. I could see Nana moving around ornaments she hadn’t touched in years and I touched her shoulder. “You do know this girl right, Nana? This isn’t some blind date that you’ve found for me in the newspaper again, is it?”

  “No, Dante, of course not.” She turned towards me with an innocent look. “Her nana Louise is an amazing lady.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Well, you’d have met if you didn’t live in that cesspool.”

  “It’s called New York City, Nana and that’s where my job is.” I tried not to laugh at her dramatics.

  “I don’t know why you have to work there.” She sighed.

  “Grandad worked there as well, Nana. It’s his firm. And you know I’m a partner.” My voice trailed off. Nana hated the law, she felt like it was the stress of practicing that had caused my grandad to have an early heart attack and die. I was pretty sure it was related to his eating habits, but it wasn’t my place to argue with Nana.

  “You boys do love your jobs.” She made a face. “Always working. You barely have time for me.”

  “Nana, we come almost every weekend.”

  “But you never bring any ladies or any grandkids. I want babies in my life. Babies keep old women like me young.”

  “Well my friend Lila is pregnant now, so when she has her kid, I’ll make sure to bring them to visit.”

  “Is she your special friend?” Nana’s eyes widened at me and she placed her hand over her heart. Nana had always had ideas of making it in Hollywood as an actress, but she had married grandad before she ever had a chance to leave the State.

  “It’s not my baby.” I burst out laughing. “Trust me on this. Lila is a friend and a workmate and her fiance would kill me if he thought we’d even kissed.”

  “Hmmm.” She sighed. “Well, I’m sure Sadie will be the perfect girl for you.”

  “We’ll see.” I just smiled at Nana. I had no intention of having kids anytime soon. “But I will meet this girl, Sadie and I will take her out for a nice dinner, okay?”

  “Thank you, my dearest and most favorite grandson.” She beamed at me and I did my best to not roll my eyes.

  4

  Sadie

  SADIE

  “Five pounds, really?” I exclaimed to myself as I got off the scale and tried to erase the flashing numbers from my mind. “How the heck did I gain five pounds in one week?” I looked at my reflection in the mirror to see how evident it was that I was now gaining weight instead of losing it. My 5”8 height made it so that I could carry a few extra pounds without looking like I’d swallowed an elephant, but I could still tell that my stomach and thighs looked a little too juicy for my liking. I stared at my face and ran my hands down my long brown hair and wondered if I should cut it to a short bob. No, I thought to myself, not with my chubby cheeks. My brown eyes stared back at me, looking slightly tired and I remembered that I had a new cucumber facemark that I was going to try to see if they removed the dark circles. All in all, I didn’t look horrible; in fact, I was quite pretty. I just wasn’t as skinny as I wanted to be. “Ugh, I just can’t believe it.” I said as I got on the scale again to double check the scale had given me the correct weight. “Five more pounds. How? How?” I cried out dramatically, feeling sorry for myself.

  “Cupcakes.” I heard a giggle from outside the bathroom door and I frowned. I quickly walked to the door and flung it open. There sitting outside my bathroom door, playing with a toy truck was Dylan.

  “What are you doing, Dylan?” I frowned as I stared at his chocolate stained face. Though I knew he had a point. I had been eating far too many delicious cupcakes as of late. I put it down to stress; even though I knew stress eating was the worst for my body.

  “Playing.” He held up his small red truck as if to say duh.

  “Why are you playing up here?” I questioned him, not that I really minded. Dylan was like family to me. It was just sometimes I liked my privacy. Especially at times when I was in the bathroom weighing myself.

  “’Cause.” He shrugged his little shoulders and jumped up. “So you got any more cupcakes?”

  “No, I don’t.” I shook my head at him and tried to give him my sternest face. He really was the most incorrigible little boy.

  “’Cause if you give them to me that will help you with the extra pounds.” He grinned at me and I glared at him; even though I knew it was not really the right thing to glare at little boys, but I knew that Cara wouldn’t judge me for it. She glared at him like no one’s business.

  “Dylan, it is very rude to go around talking about a woman’s weight,” I chided him. “This is a lesson you should learn from a young age.” I felt proud of myself for introducing him to a life lesson instead of getting
mad at him like I wanted to. “You don’t talk to women about their weight. You don’t ask them how much they weigh or try and guess how much they weigh and you sure don’t tell them why you think they gained weight.” I paused then and considered something. “Unless, of course, you are a personal trainer or a doctor. Then you can because it will be a part of your job,” I concluded, feeling even more proud of myself. Perhaps, I should become a teacher. I seemed to have a knack for talking to kids. Maybe I was the kid whisperer or something?

  “But you asked how you gained five pounds,” he protested and he just looked at me like I was an idiot. Maybe I wasn’t the kid whisperer after all. I stared back and him and he started giggling and I could have sworn that he was staring directly at my stomach. Little bugger.

  “I didn’t ask you.” I made a face. “I was in the bathroom and . . .”

  “I’m thirsty.” He interrupted me. “I want milk.”

  “That’s not how you politely ask for milk.” I shook my head at him. I was going to have to talk to Cara about making sure her kids had manners and respected my privacy. This was getting ridiculous. “Maybe go back downstairs and ask your mom?”

  “Mom sent me up. She asked if you could babysit us tonight because she has to go into work.” He ran his truck across the floor. “Vrooom . . . vroooom.”

  “Tonight?” I groaned. “I can’t tonight. I have a date. She knows that.” I had finally told Grandma Louise that I would meet her best friend’s grandson and now I needed to look after the brats? What was Cara thinking? Had she forgotten?

  “That’s okay,” Dylan said as he held up his truck. “I’ll tell Mom that her boss will have to fire her after all because you can’t take care of us ’cause of your date.”

  “Dylan . . .” I stared at the little boy shrewdly. Was he really trying to pull a guilt trip on me? Was it even possible for someone that young to be so manipulative? He was only six after all. I thought back to an old movie I’d watched on TV called The Good Son and wondered if perhaps, Dylan could be a little psychopath, but then I just shook my head and rolled my eyes. Even I knew I was being overly dramatic at that thought.

  “Yes, Auntie Sadie?” he said in his most innocent voice, his big blue eyes shining at me as if he were a precious angel. I wasn’t deceived though. I’d known Dylan since before he was born and he was no angel. He was no psychopath, but he was no angel either.

  “Nothing.” I shook my head and sighed. “Let’s go downstairs and let me speak to your mom and see what I can do about tonight.”

  “Okay.” He jumped up and grinned. “Can we get pizza, please? Ham, pineapple, mushrooms, pepperoni, and extra cheese.”

  “Pizza?” I looked at his little face and shook my head at him. “There are no words, Dylan, absolutely no words.”

  “No words for what?” he asked innocently and then put his small hand in mine. “Do you know what I love most about you, Auntie . . .”

  “Nope.” I put my hand up. “You’re not going to guilt trip me into getting you pizza.” And then, because I couldn’t help myself, I gave him a quick hug. “You’re going to break a lot of hearts when you’re older, Dylan,” I said with a quick laugh as he grinned at me and then he pulled away from me and went running down the stairs.

  “Mom, Mom, Auntie Sadie said she can look after us and we can get pizza tonight.” He went screaming in excitement and all I could do was roll my eyes as I followed him down to the lower level of the house trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

  “Sadie, I know you have your date tonight.” Cara’s face looked despondent as we sat in her living room and chatted. The boys were playing in their bedrooms for once and I watched as she played with her fingers nervously. “And I wouldn’t ask, but Dad is out of town and I can’t find a babysitter that’s available.”

  “I know you didn’t plan this.” I sighed. “I’m just supposed to meet Dante in a couple of hours.” I ran my hands through my long, dark brown hair. “I don’t even have his number to call and cancel on him.” I bit down on my lower lip. “And Grandma Louise would kill me if I stood him up.”

  “You’re meeting him at the coffee shop, right?” Cara asked me thoughtfully.

  “Uh huh.” I nodded. “Grandma Louise wanted us to meet at some steak house, but I told her no way. I’ll meet him for a coffee and if I like him, I’ll casually suggest we can continue on for dinner.” I made a face. “No way, I’m getting stuck on a three-hour dud date with some loser just for a free steak.”

  “You’re going to the Peets? Next to Ice Cone King?” she asked me and I could see something was ticking in her brain.

  “Yeah?” I nodded.

  “So what if . . .” She made a face. “And I know this is not the ideal situation. But what if you took the boys. They could sit in Ice Cone King, they have seats at the front and you could sit outside the Peets. They have those nice Adirondack chairs now.”

  “Oh, they do?” I asked slowly, processing what she had just said. Could I really go on a date with three kids? Granted the kids wouldn’t be on the date with me, but they would be right there watching.

  “I know it wouldn’t be ideal.” Cara bit down on her lower lip and I could tell she looked stressed. “I hate to ask this of you, Sadie, and I wouldn’t go in if I thought I could get away with it.” Her voice sounded upset and I reached out to squeeze her hands.

  “Hey, it’s not a problem.” I gave her a wide smile and pretended that it sounded like a great idea. “It’s only a first date as well, so we won’t even be out long. I’ll be able to keep an eye on them. Don’t worry about it.” I didn’t want her to feel stressed. Cara was an amazingly positive and upbeat person, but I knew that it wasn’t easy being a single mother of three at twenty-eight. And her kid’s dad wasn’t in the picture at all. He was such a deadbeat. It made me mad just to think about how he’d just left and didn’t even see his kids. “It’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure?” Cara’s face still looked concerned. “I really don’t want to ruin your first date in ages.”

  “It’ll be fine,” I said to her. “Trust me. I’m sure it will be fine.”

  “What are you going to do with the drunken sailor? What are you going to do with the drunken sailor? What are you going to do with the drunken sailor? Early in the morning.” Dylan was singing loudly in the backseat, accompanied by Brody and Brandon.

  “Pull down his pants and suffocate the ants now. Pull down his pants and suffocate the ants now. Pull down his pants and suffocate the ants now. Early in the morning.” Brody was really getting into it as he wiggled around in the back seat. I peered in the rearview mirror of the car and sighed to myself. The kids were already super hyped-up and I didn’t think that they needed a sugar rush from the ice cream to come. It was going to be a long night.

  “Come on, Auntie Sadie.” Dylan tapped on my shoulder as he began another round of singing and I couldn’t stop myself from joining them.

  “Pull down his pants and suffocate the ants now, pull down his pants and suffocate the ants now. Pull down his pants and suffocate the ants now early in the morning,” I sang and then stopped as I noticed Dylan pretending to be drinking from a beer bottle and I started to feel guilty. “Hey kids, let’s sing something else. I don’t know if this is an appropriate song for you guys to be singing.”

  “Why not, Auntie Sadie? You’re the one that taught us the song,” Dylan said, ever the voice of reason. I swear he should join the FBI when he’s older with all his questions.

  “Well, I know I taught you the song.” I paused for a few seconds, but I don’t know that it’s appropriate for you guys to be singing it. And pretending to be drinking beer.” I looked at them and then just shook my head. “But I guess your mom already knows that I’ve taught it to you. So it’s fine.” They just grinned at me and I sighed wondering what sort of example I was to them. “Oh, shit,” I said, as I realized that I’d passed my stop on the highway. “Hold on, guys,” I said as I sped up to take the next exit an
d turn around. “Man. I’m going to be late,” I muttered as I looked at the time on my dashboard. I pulled up to the next exit. And then turned around so that I could pull off at the right exit. I made it to the parking lot within five minutes and breathed a sigh of release as I realized we were still early. I parked and jumped out of the car and then opened the backdoors to let the boys out. As we walked to the ice cream shop, I was happy to see that it was a nice day outside, and even though it was a Saturday evening it wasn’t that busy. If it had been raining or too crowded, it would have been a hot mess.

  “Okay, guys, so we’ve discussed the plan, right?” I stopped outside of the ice cream shop and looked at the three boys sternly. They all had looks of extreme excitement on their face. It wasn’t too often that they gotten taken out for ice cream treats where they got to pick whatever they wanted.

  “Yes, Auntie Sadie,” they chorused, looking cherubic, their chubby little faces beaming up at me. The three of them almost looking like triplets as they were so close in age.

  “So remember we’re going to go into the ice cream shop now. I’m going to be in the coffee shop right next door meeting a friend. I will also be sitting outside, watching you.”

  “You mean a date.” Dylan grinned.

  “Yes, Dylan.”

  “I want a chocolate fudge brownie,” Brody said, not caring to listen to me talk anymore. He just wanted to eat.