Amy - Summer Begins: June Pt. 01-06

"I'll see you Thursday," I said.

"Nope. I'm able to leave right after the funeral on Wednesday. I'll see you Wednesday afternoon!"

"Sounds good. Love you, Sis."

"Love you, too Bro."

I went into Frank's and greeted Rose and Steve. Rose looked even bigger than she did a week ago, the poor girl. Steve looked...different. He looked like he found a little confidence somewhere and I was proud of him. When he called me "Pop" that night for the first time I thought Rose was going to go into labor from surprise.

Halfway through dinner Steve got up to use the restroom and Clare did, too, leaving Rose and I alone. "Alright, Daddy. I know what's going on."

Fuck. Rose knew, too? I braced for what came next.

"What do you know, Rosie?"

"They're planning a baby shower. When is it?"

Holly balls was that a double-barreled shotgun blast avoided. "I can honestly say I know nothing about a baby shower."

I don't know if she bought it (it WAS the truth) but Steve came back so the subject was dropped. Clare came back a few moments later looking at her phone.

"Mom says she's coming out Wednesday, now?"

"Ya," I responded taking a bite of my food. If my mouth was full, I couldn't say something stupid.

"Interesting," Clare said.

My phone dinged. I saw Lys looking at me from the foyer expectantly.

Lys: "What's going on?"

Me: "Rose thinks you're planning a baby shower and Clare asked me if I was sleeping with Amy."

Lys: "SHIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT!"

Me: "My thoughts exactly."

Lys: "We are planning a shower but not until after they get back from the honeymoon. What did you tell Clare?"

Me: "In the time-honored tradition of parents everywhere I changed the subject."

The rest of the dinner was a smattering of small talk. Lys sat with us for a bit clearly wondering how the hell I was going to extract myself from this mess. Towards the end Rose asked Clare to help her to the restroom and Steve and I went out to the cars to transfer Clare's baggage.

The ladies came out of the restaurant with Lys in tow. While Steve and I loaded his car Lys and Clare got Rose secured. It was a team effort. Lys said goodnight and that she'd see me when she got home. Clare came over to say goodnight to me and she gave me a hug and a thank you for bringing her.

As I turned to go to my Jeep Clare whispered to me, "If you two are doing it, don't worry. I can keep my mouth shut."

I turned in surprise and my feet tangled in themselves. With my balance gone I toppled forward and landed forehead first into one of those concrete stops for a parking spot.

Everything went black.