Silver Lining

"All three of them would be fine, but I don't think I'd wear this pink one," her mom said.

"Okay. So far we're in agreement. So...black or gray?"

Before she could answer Brianna said, "Wait. What are you wearing? That might make it easier."

"Ha! I have no idea. I've looked through everything twice, and I still can't decide!"

"Are you 100% settled on a dress?" Brianna asked.

"If we go to a nice restaurant, don't you think a dress is the only real choice?" her mom asked, loving how she could now talk to her daughter like an adult. "I don't think pants are acceptable."

"Maybe, but it's chilly outside, so you could wear a nice-looking sweater and skirt."

"I don't know, honey. A sweater? Really?"

"Mom? Is this dinner really that big a deal to you?"

Kellie looked at her daughter then realized she could tell her mother was overly concerned.

"It's that obvious, huh?" her mom asked.

"Yes, but I'm kind of glad it is, Mom," her daughter told her sincerely.

"But it's a little silly, don't you think? I mean, it's not even a date, so I don't know why I'm stressing so much."

"Well, maybe it's because you never go out, so when you do, it's a really big deal?"

"Huh. Yeah, maybe that's it," her mother readily agreed.

"Or..."

"Or?"

"Or maybe you kind of like Mr. Nash?" Brianna asked, her voice rising near the end.

"Well, of course I like him, honey. He's been so good to you since you started watching Mason. You're very fortunate to have such a steady job working for someone who's so..."

"Handsome?" her daughter suggested with a little bit of a wince.

"What? No! I mean, well, yes. He's obviously a very nice-looking man, but no. No, because he's...he's way too young, honey."

"Oh. Okay," Brianna replied, crestfallen at her mom's reply.

"Wait. Sit down for a sec, okay?" her mom said as she patted the bed.

"Don't we need to get ready?"

"We can take two minutes to talk this over," her mom said before trying to explain why there could never be anything romantic between her and Mason's father, the age difference being the main reason.

"It just seems so...arbitrary," her daughter replied.

"Arbitrary. Listen to you sounding all grown up."

Her mom put her arm around her daughter then said, "Your father would be so proud of you. Just like I am, sweetheart."

"I miss Daddy. A lot," Brianna told her mom.

"Me, too, honey. Every day."

"Mom?" Brianna asked as she looked at her mother. "Are you ever going to get married again?"

"Oh, sweetie. I'm not sure. It's just so hard, you know? I know it seems easy, but trust me, it isn't. Finding someone you share things in common with is hard enough. Then that person has to love you, too. And we can't have any huge differences between us that would make the relationship harder."

"Like not being the same age?"

"Well, yes. But more like having similar views on money. Or politics. Or religion. Lots of things."

"But you don't care about politics or religion."

"I know, sweetheart. But if the other person does, that could be a really big deal, right?"

"What if you agreed on everything except for the age part? Wouldn't that make it less important?"

Kellie could see that her daughter was pleading her case the way a lawyer might, and it was also clear she wasn't going to persuade her daughter that this big a difference in age was no big deal in just another minute or so.

"Tell you what? Let's just go have a nice time and...we'll see. Okay?" her mom suggested.

"So you'd at least think about, you know, dating Mr. Nash?"

"I didn't say that, honey. I just said we'll see. And I think the black dress is the better choice."

"Really? Me, too," her daughter said as she stood up, grabbed the dresses and went back to her room to finish getting ready.

Kellie had to admit she hadn't really given any thought to wearing a sweater, but it really was rather chilly outside, and she'd need a cardigan with a dress anyway so she opened a dresser drawer and took a look.

"Pretty in pink," she thought as she looked at a sweater she loved but hadn't worn in a very long time. It had been so long, in fact, that its ribbed-knit look had come back in style, and in spite of it being several years old, it hadn't been worn more than two or three times.

She held it up and liked the way the light-pink material looked against her blonde hair, and that was that. Along with a black skirt and matching heels, it would be more than enough for a non-date at any restaurant. And as she turned sideways and looked at herself in the mirror after pulling it over her head, she felt like she could still pass for someone under 40 even though she'd turned 42 three months earlier.

What she didn't think about was how her obsession with diet, nutrition, and fitness often allowed her to pass for a woman ten years younger than her actual age, and she had the pretty face and the hard body to prove it.

When the doorbell rang, Kellie asked Brianna if she could get the door. She didn't want to let her daughter know she was nervous, but her stomach was giving her fits, and although she blamed not having eaten anything since breakfast, it was clearly more than that.

"Mr. Nash! Hi! Please come in," Brianna said.

As he did she told him, "You look very handsome tonight!"

Steve thanked her just as she bent down and said the same thing to Mason who was wearing a green shirt and black pants and matching suit coat making him look like a little man.

He didn't hear a word she said because he was too enthralled with how beautiful his babysitter looked in a dress with heels and a strand of pearls.

"You look just like a princes!" he blurted out.

"Ahh! Thank you! Do you want to be my prince tonight?"

"Okay!" the little boy replied, a smile on his face from ear to ear.

"My daughter is right, you know," Steve heard Kellie say once she got a look at him in his dark-gray shirt, black pants, and black tie under a very dressy sport coat.

"Thank you, but...wow," he said with a smile as he looked at her.

"Thank you, but I feel like I'm underdressed now," she said as she looked at everyone else.

"No. You are definitely dressed...just right," Steve assured her, her fit, toned body on full display.

"Isn't my mom beautiful?" Brianna said to him while watching her mother's face for any sign of anger. Not...anger, per se. It was more that she knew she was meddling, and just as she expected, her mom gave her a subtle look Brianna knew all too well.

"She is. She's very beautiful," Steve agreed.

"Doesn't Brianna look like a princess?" Mason asked, causing the adults to try not to laugh.

The strand of pearls she was wearing added to her natural beauty, and the 15-year old really did look more like 18 than 15.

"I have to agree with you, champ. She's as pretty as her mom. That's for sure."

"Can I offer you something to drink?" Kellie asked, knowing they didn't have time.

"Oh. Gosh. Um...we uh, we should probably get going," Steve said after glancing at his watch. It was 5:50 and they needed ten minutes to get to the restaurant.

The Antiquity Restaurant was one of nicest places to eat in the city. It wasn't technically a five-star establishment, but it was pretty close. It offered American, international, and even vegan meals, and had been awarded The Certificate of Excellence each year from 2015 on.

"I thought we were going somewhere like Red Lobster," Kellie said when they turned into the Antiquity's parking lot.

"Mom, you look fine," Brianna said, knowing she might draw another look.

"I only promised no five-star restaurant, remember?" Steve reminded her with a smile.

He saw the look Kellie gave him and knew she wasn't upset but rather worried about not being 'properly attired' and Steve spending a lot of money.

The look disappeared and she told him, "Well, okay then. And...thank you."

"My pleasure," he replied as he found a place to park.

"Remember what I told you, buddy?" he asked his son.

"Uh-huh!" the little man said.

He looked up at Brianna who was next to him in the backseat then said, "I'll come around and open your door, okay?"

"Well, aren't you a little gentleman!" she told him as his father did the same thing for her mother.

"You really do look beautiful," Steve told Kellie as he helped her get out of the town car he'd taken from the dealership for the evening.

As a couple walked in, she saw the man in a suit and his wife in a very nice dress and felt even more uncomfortable.

"I really should have worn a dress, but I'm stuck with the choice now, huh?" she replied with a warm smile.

"Stuck? Hardly. Let me assure you it was a very good choice," Steve told her as he extended his elbow.

He looked over to see if his son had done the same. He had, but he wasn't tall enough to make it work, so Brianna graciously took his hand. The smile on his son's face was worth its weight in gold as the four of them walked inside.

"Oh, my. This place is very nice," Kellie said as they were met by the maître d.

"Good evening and welcome to Antiquity," she said. "Party of four?"

"Yes. Reservations under Nash," Steve told her.

"Yes, of course. Mr. Nash. If you and your wife will follow me?"

The young woman turned away before Kellie could correct her. Steve nearly said something about how young she looked, but he didn't know her well enough and couldn't be sure how that would go over.

Brianna heard, though. She leaned up against her mom and whispered, "She thought you guys were the same age!"

"She did not!" her mother replied much louder.

"What's that?" Steve asked, having only heard Kellie's reply.

"Oh. Sorry. My daughter has this...crazy idea...in her head," Kellie told him as she gave her daughter that same look without explaining the crazy idea.

Again, she wasn't upset, and Brianna knew it. In fact, her mom looked very happy, and when Brianna smiled at her, her mom smiled back. But this smile was different somehow. Brianna wasn't sure how it was different, she only knew that it was.

Just like his father, Mason tried to pull Brianna's chair out, but he couldn't quite make it happen. Brianna had just enough room to slide in without moving it, so she thanked her 'handsome gentleman' then moved the chair back herself as he climbed up into his own seat next to her and across from his dad.

"I have to say I'm very impressed, Steve," Kellie said as she looked at Mason. "You've done an amazing job with your son."

"Thank you, but I'd say that applies to you and Brianna even more so."

The teen girl was all smiles from both the compliment and watching her mom have such a nice time.

"I appreciate that, but Brianna's been the perfect child. She was such an easy baby and she never went through any kind of 'terrible twos', and now, even as a teenager, she's someone I not only love but respect.

Steve saw her daughter look away in embarrassment, but he could tell she was very happy to hear the praise.

"Brianna? Are you thinking about college yet?" Steve asked as a server filled their water glasses.

Before she could answer, the young woman asked Mason if he needed a booster chair.

"Uh-uh. I'm five," he informed her.

"Oh, I guess I should have known that," the girl said. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I don't look big, but I am," he also let her know.

"He's a doll!" Kellie said quietly enough so Mason couldn't hear.

"Careful. He'll be informing you in on uncertain terms he is not a doll if he hears you say that."

Kellie did the 'my lips are sealed' thing as though her lips were zippable then reminded her daughter she'd been asked a question.

"Oh, right. Um, yes. Well, I hope to, anyway."

"Oh, no. The only question allowed is 'where'. There's no 'if' or 'hopefully'," her mom then informed her daughter.

"It's just SO expensive!" Brianna reminded her mother who not only knew that but often wondered how she'd ever pay for school. Brianna was only halfway through her freshman year, so she had time to figure it out, but based on her income from the triplex, she knew roughly what she'd make in any given year, and that was something that would likely keep her up at night down the road.

"That's for me to worry about, honey. Your only job is to keep getting good grades."

"Brianna is obviously a very smart girl," Steve said.

"Had you not said so, I'd never say this, but she's a straight-A student."

Again, Brianna smiled then looked away out of modesty.

Kellie took a sip of water, leaving pink lipstick imprints on the glass then asked Mason how he liked school.

"It's just Kindergarten," he told her.

"Oh, right. So...it's not really school?" Kellie asked, trying not to smile.

"It's school, but it's really easy. We read stories and add numbers and color pictures and do stuff on the computers."

"You have computers in Kindergarten?" Kellie asked with surprise.

"Uh-huh. We have a pod."

"They have six of them arranged in a kind of circle they call a pod," Steve explained.

"So much has changed since we were..."

She stopped mid-sentence and just smiled.

"We didn't have computers in classrooms until high school," Steve told her, hoping that would 'even the playing field' a little.

"I will admit to having one Apple Macintosh in a science class when I was in high school," Kellie told him, also trying to minimize the age difference, knowing there was a huge difference between the very first 'computer' which didn't compute much of anything and those Steve Nash had used.

The age difference was still the same, but as she sat there with Steve and Mason, it just didn't seem to be as big a deal as she'd been making it out to be over the last week or so.

The server came back with their drinks and took their orders. When she left, Steve turned to Kellie and asked her a question.

"I haven't been able to get this tenant of yours off my mind. I was wondering if you know yet what's going to happen. If you don't mind talking about it, that is."

"No. Not at all. I uh, I'm not sure, of course, but the police detective who came by after the arrest told me it was very unlikely this guy would make bond because he had a prior conviction for assault. If he doesn't return, I can legally evict him without as much waiting time, so I'm feeling pretty confident now."

"But you're not bringing in any rent until you get another tenant though, right?" Steve asked, knowing that was true.

"That's true, and it's just one of the many 'joys' of owning an apartment complex. Making matters worse, once they hauled this...guy...away, I took a look inside, and well, let's just say the old saw about it looking like a bomb having gone off in there is very applicable."

"I'd be happy to help you clean up and repaint," Steve said. "Whenever you're allowed to go in."

"I think you spend enough time at work already, Steve," she politely told him, knowing how late he normally got home.

"Ah, yes. One of the many 'joys' of owning a car dealership," he said with a chuckle. "I could come home earlier each night, but I'd have to work at least half a day on Saturdays, so it would just be 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'."

"Dad? Robbing is the same as stealing," Mason said, as he munched on a cracker while waiting for his dinner.

"You see! He's adorable!" Kellie said before remembering he was 'big'.

"I'm not adorable," Mason told her. "I'm handsome."

Brianna covered her mouth and laughed while the two adults didn't bother hiding their laughter.

"And modest? Right, buddy?" his dad asked.

"Huh?" Mason replied before shaking his head and taking another bite.

"See what I mean, Mom?" Brianna said to her mother who was still smiling.

"I do, and you're a very lucky girl."

Brianna saw her mom laughing and told her, "I agree."

Dinner came and went, and Steve was more than a little surprised when Kellie ordered dessert.

"How many miles will it take to run off that piece of cheesecake?" he teased.

"I'm not sure, but it'll be worth every one of them," she told him as she took a bite then looked like she'd died and gone to heaven as she savored the rich taste.

"Do you ever go swimming?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could.

"I love to swim, but running is so much easier. No travel time, no worries about chlorine or wet carseats or any of that."

She then looked at Steve and asked, "Do you run?"

"No. Never. Not since high school anyway. But you should go swimming with us sometime."

He looked at Brianna then said, "Both of you."

"Yeah! Go swimming with us!" Mason told her. "We can play in the kiddie pool, Brianna!"

Not embarrassed at all, Brianna said, "Or I could keep an eye on you in the shallow end of the big pool."

Steve raised an eyebrow then asked Kellie what she thought.

"Oh, I don't know, Steve. That's your time to spend with your son. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Intrude? You wouldn't be intruding. Right, Mason?"

"Where's 'truding'?" he asked, causing another round of laughter.

"It means bothering us, buddy," his dad explained after emphasizing it wasn't a place.

"Oh. No, you wouldn't be bothering us at all, and that would be fun!" Mason said.

"Well, maybe we'll think about it," Kellie told him with a twinkle in her eye that only her daughter saw.

"Mom? What's to think about? Let's just do it!" Brianna suggested.

"Yeah, Mom. What's to think about?" Steve teased.

"Two against one. That's not very fair," Kellie said as though she was being ganged up on.

"Mason makes it three to one," Brianna correctly informed her.

Kellie set her fork down, threw up her hands in mock frustration and said, "Okay. Fine. We'll...we'll go!"

"Yeah?" Steve said.

"Yes. I do like swimming, so I can't see how going to the pool one time could do any harm. But if I do, you have to go running once," she informed him.

"Whoa! Running? Me???"

"Well, yes. It's only fair, right?"

"Not really," Steve told her.

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, anyone can jump in a pool and have fun. But unless you build up to it, running isn't easy. So if you mean slowly jogging maybe half a mile, then sure. But if you mean one of your marathons...sorry. That ain't happening."

"Okay. You have a point. I admit it's apples and oranges, but you really should try it again at least once."

The way she looked at him gave him goosebumps that popped up all over his arms, so Steve told her he would with the 'when' left up in the air.

They made small talk for another 20 minutes or so then reluctantly headed back home.

"Is it too late to ask you to come in?" Kellie asked when Steve and Mason escorted their 'dates' to the door.

"Can we, Dad? PLEASE???" Mason begged.

"I suppose we could stay for a few minutes," Steve said causing Brianna to say 'yes!' and high five with Mason.

"Hey. I just realized you've never seen my room. Come on. Let me show you," Brianna said to Mason as soon as they got inside.

"She just loves that little boy," Kellie said as they walked off, hand in hand.

"Mason adores her. She's as close to a surrogate mother as he's ever had."

"I don't know what happened, but I know you lost your wife, Steve. Please accept my heartfelt condolences."

"And please accept mine," he told her.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Kellie asked almost rhetorically before seeing if he wanted anything else.

Steve told her 'it was' and 'no thank you' in answer to both questions.

Kellie offered him the sofa and took a seat in an upholstered chair across from him.

"I know it hasn't been that long, but are you even able to think about...someone else?" she asked carefully and tenderly.

"It's been three years, and yes. Well, just recently, anyway."

"Really? My husband passed away three years ago, too," Kellie told him.

For the next ten minutes or so the two of them traded stories about the loved ones they'd lost.