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that bad, she decided with almost clinical detachment. For once her hair was willing to conform, falling softly to her slender shoulders.
    She had prepared her family as best she could. Luck was on her side. Grandpa had decided to return to the basement right after dinner, and though she felt a little guilty, she sighed with relief. There was no telling what her grandfather would do in front of David. And if he was in one of his teasing moods…She shuddered to think of that possibility.
    “Mother, I’ll wait up here. Remember, you let David in and then call me, okay? And don’t forget you’re going to ask Dad not to talk to the plants.”
    “Yes, dear, I’ll remind him. My, don’t you look lovely,” her mother said. “And don’t worry. We’ll all behave.” She turned to leave and then stopped. “Oh, by the way, dear, I was getting ready to bake a cake a few minutes ago and the phone rang. Now I can’t seem to find my measuring spoons. Let me know if you see them, will you?”
    “Sure, Mom,” Summer answered, shaking her head.
    A short time later the doorbell chimed. Summer stood on the landing at the top of the stairs, carefully concealed behind one of her father’s jungle plants, and waited. She didn’t want to appear overly eager. She would wait until her mother called her, then count to ten, and then she would slowly descend, her head held high, her eyes…
    “Michael, tell this young man what you would be if you weren’t Irish.”
    “A-a-a-shamed,” squealed her little brother.
    The alarm bell inside Summer’s head rang loud and clear. Her grandfather was entertaining David!
    She automatically responded. She almost tripped over her own feet in her haste to get downstairs, sounding very much like an elephant in tap shoes on the uncarpeted steps, and unfortunately, David saw and heard the whole thing.
    “Hello, David,” she rushed. “I see you’ve met the family. Well, we better leave now?”
    “Summer, where’re your manners?” her father said from behind. “Ask the young man to sit and talk for a few minutes.”
    It couldn’t be avoided. She led David to the sofa and sat down next to him. Grandpa perched on the arm of the chair her mother was sitting in, and her father gave her a smile of encouragement before taking his seat in his worn leather recliner. He didn’t seem to notice that he was holding a potted plant in his lap, but she was sure David must have thought that a bit strange.
    “Michael tells us you’re a fine swimming instructor,” her father began.
    “I did not,” Michael interrupted, but quickly fell silent when he caught Summer’s glare.
    “Of course you did, son,” her father continued in a smooth voice. “Do you enjoy teaching, David?”
    “Oh, yes, sir,” David replied. “And Mike is going to be a great swimmer, aren’t you?”
    “Yep,” Michael responded.
    “Well, I best be getting back to the basement, now that I’ve met your young man,” Grandpa bellowed. “I’m just putting the finishing touches on my latest invention,” he confided to David in a conspiratorial and very loud whisper.
    Don’t ask, oh, please, don’t ask
, Summer prayed.
    “What is it you’re working on, sir?” David asked.
    “A remote-control car-wash system. When I get all the bugs worked out of the motor, I’m going to hook it up in the garage.”
    David, bless him, didn’t even blink. “Sounds like a useful gadget,” was all he said.
    “What time are you planning on bringing my little girl home?” her father asked. Summer hated it when he called her his little girl, and almost screamed in frustration. She moved slightly and became aware of a bulge under her right leg. It was most probably a toy or her mother’s keys…or maybe it was the missing measuring spoons. Summer didn’t want to know. Slowly sliding her hand along the side of her skirt, she pushed the item between the cushions and only then let out the breath she was holding.
    “The movie gets out at ten,