Suzie’s House 146: Introductions

“Vin!” Miranda took the remote control out of his hand and levered him to his feet. “Diane’s here. You haven’t meet Diane yet, have you? Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

“Diane?”

“Yeah. She’s a good friend of Suzie and me. She used to baby sit Ben when he was little. That’s why she’s here. She’s going to take care of Ben and Gene while the rest of us are gone.”

“No wild parties, huh? What if she likes wild parties?” He gave Miranda an appreciative swat on the butt as they left the den. If she was anything like Miranda, they might well come home to find a keg in the back yard.

Miranda laughed. “Wait until you meet her.”

They stepped into the kitchen, and might well have warped through time to the 1950’s. There was Suzie, actually wearing an apron, and a slightly younger woman who could be her sister in spirit if not physically.

Where Suzie tended to run to the thin side, with fine-boned, long-fingered hands and fly away redish brown hair, Diane had a heavy mass of shoulder length, dark brown hair and an average build. Miranda danced over to them, for once in low-heeled shoes. Now Vin could see other similarities, this time between Diane and Miranda, Miranda being more voluptuous. They made a kind of stair-case with Suzie being the shortest and Miranda the tallest and maybe only a couple of inches between.

“Hey, it’s the Betty Crocker version of the Three Graces,” Vin said with a grin.

Miranda, quite predictably, shot him a dirty look, which only made him grin more.

Diane gave him a worried glance. “You aren’t expecting me to keep an eye on him, too, are you?”

“No, Silly.” Miranda flicked her with the back of her fingers. “That’s Vin. He’s my…” Her brow wrinkled in puzzlement.

“Boyfriend,” he suggested dryly.

“Oh. Oh, that’s right.” Diane put her hand out for a handshake. “I did hear about you. Ah. You’re back.” She looked at someone behind Vin.

Vin pivoted to see Ben and Gene walk into the kitchen, and also to see Miranda look thunderstruck. He left Diane to the boys and went to see what was going on with Miranda this time.

“You got a problem with me calling myself your boyfriend?”

“Yes, actually. I do.”

“Then exactly what should I tell my parents when I introduce you to them? Should I call you my friend? My lover? What are you to me?”

“I’m nothing! We only did it a few times. And besides you’ll probably dump me soon…”

Not that again. Vin stifled a groan, then realized Miranda’s voice had trailed off as she stared fixedly toward the stove.

Suzie stared back at Miranda and did a slow shake of the head; something he’d caught her doing a lot of in the last couple of months. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on between those two, but he was grateful for the effects. Miranda always sputtered to a stop.

“I think maybe I should introduce you as my fiancé.”

“Your what?!” Miranda’s shout brought the house down.

Gene spun on his heel to check them out. Diane’s eyes went wide. Ben paused with an ice cube in one hand and the back of Diane’s collar in the other.

Vin rubbed his face. “It’s all right, everyone. Just a little marriage proposal.”

“Yeah, right,” Gene said. He turned toward Diane and shifted his weight like a tough guy trying to intimidate a small woman.

It worked on her. She frowned uncertainly and leaned away. Vin felt for her. Clearly she would be in for a rough time. Vin didn’t waste much effort worrying about her, though, since he suspected he was in for a rougher time himself.

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