“What are you talking about?!” Her voice rose as her hands flew up in the air. “He’s your best friend.”
“Oh, do you mean Caleb?”
“That’s what I said, Pastor Harrison.”
Oh, for the love... This was ridiculous. “Nonna, you’ve known him his whole life. You caught us smoking behind the bleachers at the football game when we were twelve. You can call him Caleb.”
She wagged her finger in Josh’s face. “No, no. He’s a pastor. Pastor Harrison. You show respect.”
Josh still couldn’t get used to people calling him that. Pastor Harrison was Caleb’s dad and forever would be.
He took his phone back and scrolled through until he found his friend’s contact then pressed the call icon and handed it to her.
“Hello, Pastor, this is Nonna. I have a favor I need for you. You need to go to the community center tonight to dance with Audrey. My Vivi hurt her back, povera bambina, and now Audrey needs you to dance with her.”
Audrey?
Dance with her?
“Okay, you call me back.”
Nonna handed the phone back to Josh. He opened his mouth to say something but was stunned speechless. Why hadn’t Nonna asked him to go to the community center? Why had she asked Caleb?
An image of Caleb and Audrey dancing together flashed in his head and an emotion dangerously close to jealousy filled him. In the back of his mind, he’d always been a little scared that the two of them would end up together. And if Josh was being honest, they deserved each other. Most of the time that phrase was being used it had a negative connotation. But not this time. Caleb was the best man that Josh knew. He was kind, funny, caring. He spent his free time volunteering and serving the community. Just like Audrey did.
The two of them would actually be perfect together. Which was probably why the thought of Caleb showing up at the community center tonight made Josh want to puke.
“Why did you ask Caleb to go and not me?” Josh blurted out.
“I already ask you too much.” Nonna waved her hand dismissively. “You eat with no lights on and have to go and do the yoyo.”
“Yoga,” Josh corrected her as his mind raced to figure out how he could fix this. “Caleb’s busier than me. I’ll go.”
She looked over her shoulder and looked at him like he’d just escaped a mental institution. “You want to go to the dance? You don’t do the dancing.”
It was true. He didn’t “do the dancing.” The only time he’d been on a dance floor was with Nonna when she’d guilt tripped him into dancing with her by saying things like, “I’m not going to live forever?” and, “When I die, won’t you be so sad you didn’t want to dance with me?”and, “I wish I had a grandson who wanted to dance with his Nonna, but I guess he’s too embarrassed because she is too old.” Or some other guilt trip. But those occasions had been few and far between, and ninety-nine percent of them had been at family members’ weddings.
Josh looked down at his phone and sent his friend a quick text.
Josh: Don’t worry about the message Nonna just left. You don’t need to go to the community center. I’m going.
As he typed the message he noticed that his hands had grease stains on them and he probably smelled like a grease trap as well.
“What are you doing?” Nonna asked as he hit the button to lower the bay door.
“Closing up.”
“Why? You’re not finished working.” Nonna motioned to the parts that were laid out on a rag on the cement floor.
“I’ll finish later.”
“Why? Why you don’t finish now? Where are you going?”
He didn’t know if she was being intentionally clueless to prove some point or if she really didn’t know what was going on. If he had to guess, he’d go with being intentionally clueless to prove a point.
“First, I’m going home to take a shower. Then I’m going to the community center.”
“First you get a scowl and make bulldog face when I ask you for help, now you go when I don’t ask you. This is what is wrong with young people. You are all crazy people.” She threw her hands up in the air.