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| "He fainted?" Harriet asked with a laugh. The two were enjoying a quiet lunch on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Mac nodded. "I knew he was going to be against her dating at 14, but I really didn't expect him to faint." "How long was he out?" "About one minute, two seconds," Mac replied. "He asked me if he had been dreaming. I told him no such luck and helped him up." "Has he talked to Evie yet?" Mac took the last bite of her fettucini alfredo. "This morning. He told her she could go out with Tony, but he wanted to meet him first." "Ah, that will go over well. I remember when Bud meet Haley's first boyfriend." She shook her head at the memory. "He fired question after question at the poor boy. I thought he was going high-tail it out of the house." The women laughed as the cleaned off their table. "Why is it that men get so protective at the first sign of a boy being interested in their daughters?" Mac asked. "Easy," Harriet said. "They knew what they were like when they were that age." *********** "14, Bud! Evie is only 14! She can't be going out on dates!" Bud smiled. "Sir, I thought the same when Haley started dating. Evie's really not that young. I mean, Juliet married Romeo--" "Married?" Harm asked, eyes wide. "I don't want to hear about that, she's not even 18 yet!" Sturgis walked into Harm's office. "What's all the yelling about in here?" "Evie has her first date tonight," Bud replied calmly. Sturgis laughed. "Pay up, Harm." "What?" Harm looked up from the file on his desk. "What are you talking about, Sturgis?" "Lets see, I think you said you were 15 at the time. You asked Suzy Jenkins for a date. Her dad chased you from the yard with a shotgun." Harm groaned. "The bet." "What bet?" Bud asked. Harm chose to ignore him, so he turned to Sturgis. "Well?" "Harm said he would never be against his daughter dating when she was old enough. I bet him he would be. He owes me 20 bucks." Harm shook his head. "This is different!" "How so?" Harm glared at him. "I can take a hint. If you're not going to give me the money, you could at least treat me to lunch today." Harm stood up and slapped a 20 into the man's hand. "Here you go. Paid in full, now leave my office." Sturgis grinned. "Thanks! Maybe I'll take Evie out for dinner tomorrow night." Bud wondered if Sturgis had a death wish. ************ "What about this one, Rena?" Serena stuck her tongue out. "That's ugly!" "Ugh!" Evelyn cried, pulling off the offending shirt. "I can't find one that's perfect for tonight!" "This one, Evie!" Christiana ran up to her. Evelyn rolled her eyes. It was a yellow-green shirt Uncle AJ gave her. It was the most hideous shirt she had ever seen. Evelyn shook her head. "No way, Christy, I only wear that when I see Uncle AJ, remember." "Oh yeah," Christiana replied, throwing the shirt on the floor. Trisha came running in clutching a light blue shirt in her hands. "Here, Evie!" she exclaimed. Evelyn held it up to survey it. It was a baby tee and it had silver lettering across the front that said 'Angel' on it. "This is great, Trish, where'd you get it?" "Mommy bought it for you after work. She just got home." "Awesome!" She pulled it on and surveyed herself in the mirror. Her new shirt, khaki capris, and white tennis shoes looked great together. Evelyn grabbed a brush and put her hair in a braid. Aunt Harriet had taught her how to do that. "Rena, where's my lip gloss?" Serena tossed it to her. "Thanks." A few minutes later she faced her sisters and twirled around. "Wow..." they said. "Evie, you look really pretty!" Serena whispered in awe. Evelyn blushed. "Thanks," she said again, looking at her watch. "Tony will be here soon. I guess I should let Dad approve this, huh?" Christiana giggled. "Maybe you can make him faint again." |
