24. Sunday, July 8, 2012
SUNDAY, JULY 8, 2012
T he next evening over dinner, Paige and Robert hounded William for intel on Kevin’s job performance. Alison, who had joined them as usual for Sunday dinner, eavesdropped in rapt attention, as did Julia.
“He did great,” William reported. “He showed up early, and I barely had to train him. It’s like seafaring and boats are second nature to him.”
“They are,” Julia confirmed. “I told you, he grew up crisscrossing the globe on his parents' yachts. That’s yachts, plural.”
“He was also a great back-up for Izumi, on the interpretation side,” William added, and Julia didn’t miss the meaningful look gave her. There was a twinkle behind it, and she tipped her head in question before he tore his eyes away.
The moment the kids left the table, Julia pounced on him. “Okay, spill.”
William’s hand froze in mid-air, still holding the plate he was clearing from the table.
“You’re clearly brimming with gossip,” she said, “so cough it up.”
Chuckling, he resumed his seat and glanced back into the garden to confirm Robert still harvested bell peppers with his grandmother. “I don’t think it's exaggerating to say Kevin and Izumi hit it off. ”
After a loaded beat, Alison clarified, “You mean that super-pretty, super-young naturalist? The one I saw on the pier when you took Paige and Robert whale-watching?”
“Not as pretty as Julia,” William hedged, to which Julia responded by singing the chorus of Smooth Operator. “But yes, you saw her on the pier that day.”
“And when you say ‘hitting it off,’ I assume you don’t mean as professional colleagues, right?” clarified Julia.
“I will neither confirm nor deny,” William replied with an exasperating smirk. “I’ll only say that when I introduced them, they sized each other up like tourists in Vegas size up an all-you-can-eat buffet. And at the end of the day, Izumi left in Kevin’s car.”
Julia and Alison exchanged slack-jawed looks, and then Alison grinned like the Cheshire cat. “No fucking way.”
Julia jabbed her sister with her elbow, craning her neck to make sure her mother and son hadn’t heard. “Maybe he was just being nice? Driving her home?”
Alison barked out a laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”
Still in denial, Julia blinked repeatedly. “Izumi? And Kevin ?”
“Oh, come on, Julie,” Alison said, “it’s not like he’s hideous.”
Fair enough, but he was no William. Then again, Julia had always been biased, where William was concerned. Meanwhile, thinning salt-and-pepper curls crowned Kevin’s five-foot-ten-inch frame. On land, he looked every bit the California professor, with heavy black-rimmed glasses, a full beard, and a slightly rumpled business-casual wardrobe. When hiking or camping, he played the hipster-mountain man hybrid to a T; and while carving the slopes, his pronounced canine teeth gave off distinct yeti vibes.
But she had to admit, after a summer at sea, his skin tanned to a nice golden-brown. And when the weather was warm enough to go shirtless, his chest and biceps spoke to the hours he spent tending aquariums, with all the heavy lifting that entailed.
Besides, he could be charming and charismatic, when he wanted to. It was how he lasted at his father’s venture capital firm for seven years. It was also how he first lured Julia into his bed, even though she was still in love with William .
Julia found William studying her closely. Mortified, she snapped her eyes back to her sister. “I just mean Kevin is forty-two and average, while Izumi is twenty-three and gorgeous.”
“He’s also loaded,” Alison pointed out.
“He’s not that loaded. Not since the Great Recession.”
Alison scoffed. “The dude has his own private plane. I think it’s safe to say he’s loaded.”
Julia scowled, flaring her eyes to drive the point home: Drop it.
William cleared his throat. “To be fair, I get the impression Izumi has a thing for older guys. I don’t know exactly how old her last boyfriend was, but he was divorced with kids, so he probably wasn’t young.”
In spite of herself, Julia frowned. She harbored zero romantic or sexual feelings for Kevin, and certainly no regrets. So what was her deal?
“Sounds like you’ve got another impending human resources problem,” she said, just to say something. “Sorry I made that happen.”
Alison’s eyes bounced between Julia and William. He, in turn, tipped his head, staring a question at Julia. Alison apparently took that as her cue, hopping up from her seat. “I'm going to help Dad with the dishes.”
Julia waited until she was out of sight, and then William reached across the table for her hand. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’ll keep a close eye on it, and if I need to intervene, I will.”
Julia stared down at their clasped hands, nodding slowly. “I guess I've been worried about what would happen when Kevin started dating again. You know... how any new girlfriend would fit into the kids’ lives, and our family dynamic. And to imagine him dating such a young woman...”
He smiled. “First, we don’t even know that they’re hooking up. And since they just met today, I think it’s far too soon to speculate on dating.”
She frowned, considering. “Fair point.”
“Besides, don’t borrow trouble. Like everything else, we’ll cross those bridges when we get there. Yes, Izumi is young, but she’s also a bit more mature than your average twenty-three-year-old. ”
Julia lifted her eyes to his. “Maybe that’s why she goes for the older guys.”
William gave a noncommittal shrug, but kept his tender gaze glued on her, his eyes making a circuit of her features. “Are you sure there’s nothing else bothering you?”
“You mean jealousy or regrets about Kevin? No. Just worried I may have brought you more problems, instead of solving them.”
“You didn’t,” he reassured her, petting her hand with his free one. “Kevin is a great deckhand – better than Stephen. And great with the passengers.”
“He can schmooze with the best of them, when needed.”
William smirked. “Then they’re well-matched.”
Julia’s brows lifted almost to her hairline. “Are you actually rooting for them?”
“No, you dope,” he laughed. “I was teasing, lamely. I just don’t want you stressing so much about it.”
Grinning, she leaned across the table to reward him with a kiss.