your father needs a hearing aid. The TV volume is up so loud I worry it’ll crack the windows. When one of his racecars go by the screen, it sounds like thunder. There are a lot of racecars!”
I sighed. “He’s hard of hearing. It’s only for a week or so. We can tolerate it for that length of time.”
“And your mother clangs and smashes the pots and pans off each other. I had to take over and set them out for her so she wouldn’t deafen me. I can only imagine all the chips and scrapes we’ll have on the dishes.”
“It’s only a week or so,” I repeated. “It’ll be fine.”
Rigid, he left the room, leaving me to get ready.
After a shower, I checked my phone and noticed a missed FaceTime from Austin. My hair was still wrapped in a towel, my body encased in a robe, but I shrugged and took the phone over to the window. Looking down at the beautiful gardens, more flowers popping up every day, I hit the button and waited for it to connect.
The picture clicked on, showing a bare chest ripped with muscle before the image swung dizzily, giving me a peep of Austin’s nude package, what had to be his bedroom, the ceiling, and then his ear. “Hey,” he answered.
I froze. I’d seen Austin naked a good few times—bouts of semi-public nakedness were inevitable for anyone who changed form—and it stopped me short every single time. His perfect body was hard to look away from, rendered even more pleasing by his confident grace, and the sudden heat dripping through parts of my body was equally as hard to ignore.
“It’s FaceTime,” I said to his ear, a little rougher than I’d intended. “You FaceTimed me. I FaceTimed you back.”
After a beat, the phone pulled away from his head and his confused face filled the screen. “Oh. Sorry, I must’ve hit that by accident. I didn’t notice.”
“Clearly, yes. You gave me a peep show.”
He glanced down, and a sly smile tweaked his lips. He shook his head and looked away.
“You’re trying not to make a dirty joke, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Busted.” He laughed, thick and deep and pleasing. “How are your parents settling in?”
I pulled the towel off my head and headed toward the bathroom, where I grabbed a brush. “They went to bed shortly after you left for the bar.”
“Wow. That early, huh?”
I sat at the little vanity desk I never used so I could prop the phone up on the shelf that was probably intended for skin care products or something. Thank you, Ivy House, for making sure I didn’t need any. Not that I’d use stuff like that, anyway. Beauty was such a hassle. I’d rather not bother.
“Yeah, I’ll probably have to keep different hours for training for the week,” I said.
“Assuming it is just a week.”
“Don’t remind me. My mother had very little to say about the time frame, and my dad just grumbled about the new toilet. They’re playing it off like this is our substitute Christmas celebration, since I didn’t get down to them this year. Don’t worry, the clam dip and deviled eggs weren’t touched. You can try them when you come for dinner tonight.”
He laughed again, sounding more buoyant and carefree than usual. “Yeah, your mom cornered me yesterday with the invite. It was like she didn’t hear me when I said I’d probably have to work. She just kept telling me what time it would be.”
“She didn’t hear you. She doesn’t often listen to the answers to her questions. Then she delightedly asks the questions two or three more times because of it.”
“What are we having?”
I put the brush down and used my fingers to shake my hair out. “I don’t know. It depends on who wins the fight between her and Mr. Tom. Of course, she won’t know it is a fight, and that will enrage him. There was already a scuffle regarding breakfast.” I told him about my mom trying to get Mr. Tom’s cape so she could wash it. By the end, Austin was bent over laughing.
“Classic.” He wiped his eyes. “I might be around more this week. This is some good entertainment.”
I laughed and shook my head, picking up the brush again. “You only say that because you won’t have to be the referee.”
“Yes, exactly. Hey, listen…” His voice drifted away as he watched the brush glide through my hair.
“What?”
His eyes fluttered. “What?”
I stopped brushing for a moment, leaning toward the