“I want to see my son as well,” she chimes. “But yes, I’d like to meet my granddaughter. Can you do dinner tonight?”
If I say no, she’ll probably show up at the house anyway. It’s not unlike her to drop by unannounced. I’m lucky she hasn’t shown up already for a surprise visit.
“Yes, dinner tonight at my house. Can you come around seven?” I ask.
“Seven? Goodness, Levi. What time do you put the child to bed?”
Clare has been the one setting a bedtime and ushering Amelia to bed. I haven’t been around much with work.
“I’ll be there at five,” she says. “That gives you plenty of time to order takeout and give me extra time with my little grandbaby.”
“She’s five, Mom.”
We hang up, and I finish all I can at the office, grabbing my phone and dialing Clare. I don’t want to surprise her, although I usually text.
“Is everything okay?” Clare asks, answering her phone. “You don’t usually call.”
“My mother ambushed us into having dinner tonight.”
“Oh,” Clare says, her voice soft. “Do you need me to get lost for a few hours?”
I frown. Why would she think that? “No, she knows I have a nanny for Amelia. It’s fine. I’m going to order takeout. Is there anything that you’re in the mood for?”
I inhale a sharp breath, realizing my words could easily have another meaning.
She doesn’t take the bait, or else she lets it slide. “Italian, sushi, Chinese, anything is fine. Can you text me a link to the menu, and I’ll pick out something to eat?”
“You don’t like it when I order for you?”
“When you order takeout for me, you buy way too much food. Enough to feed the entire neighborhood, and it will go bad before we eat it all as leftovers.”
She’s right. “Fine, I’ll send you a menu as soon as I narrow down our restaurant options. I’m tempted to pick sushi because my mother refuses to eat raw fish.”
Clare chuckles. “You’re bad!”
“Hey, she invited herself over for dinner. I’m just the one picking up the food.”
“And ordering it,” Clare says.
We hang up and I text Clare the menu for a sushi restaurant around the corner. They have wonderful entrees as well as rolls. As it gets closer to five o’clock, I put in the order and have Douglas pick it up on the way home from work.
I stroll in through the front door. My mother has already invited herself in. It’s two minutes after five.
“Dear, you didn’t tell me your nanny was gorgeous and funny,” my mother says, giving me a hug when she greets me.
I smile and feign innocence. “I didn’t notice. She’s Amelia’s nanny, not mine.” I drop the takeout bag on the dining room table.
The table is already set, and I imagine Clare is responsible for helping. She grabs the dishes out of the bag, opening each one while I grab the proper utensils and hand out chopsticks.
“Raw fish?” my mother says, and clears her throat.
Amelia raises an eyebrow. “You forgot to cook my dinner?”
“No, sweetie, this is how you eat it,” Clare says, and breaks the wooden chopsticks apart. She grabs a roll and brings it to her plate before taking a bite.
I grab one piece of each for Amelia to try. I didn’t even consider that she might never have had sushi before. I can’t remember eating sushi with Katelyn, her mother, but it was such a long time ago.
Amelia pokes her sushi roll, deciding whether she wants to try it or not.