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“No, we can wait,” Michael said.

“Or we can come back another time,” Charlotte said cheerfully.

“I can give them a tour if you want,” I said to Helen. Even though I was there to see my dad, I wanted to be able to help Michael.

“That would be wonderful, Maggie,” Helen said. “Charlotte, when you’re done, come back here, and I’ll answer any questions you have.” Helen leaned into me and quietly said, “Thank you. I have to impress upon Miss Murdock that she can’t keep smoking pot in the ceramics room.” I nodded, and Helen hurried away.

“I’ll show you my favorite parts of Brooklawn first,” I said to Charlotte. As we headed down the hall, I kept the same pace as Charlotte and her walker. Michael stayed a step behind us.

When Charlotte stopped for a moment to catch her breath, he whispered in my ear, “I owe you for this.” His minty breath made my neck hairs tingle.

“There are so many things to do here,” I said to Charlotte. “It’s like summer camp for adults.”

“I hated summer camp. Too many bugs,” Charlotte said. Michael crossed his hands tightly across his chest.

“Well, this is a bug-free environment,” I said. I took them to the activity room, where residents were playing bridge and bingo and board games. “My dad loves this room. There’s always someone to play cards with.”

Charlotte turned away as if she’d seen something distasteful. Next, we went into the television room. “Those couches look comfortable, don’t they, Mom?” Michael asked.

“I don’t like sharing a television with a lot of people. I don’t want to fight over the remote when my favorite shows are on.”

“You can have your own television in your room. This one’s for residents who enjoy watching together,” I said. “They also have movie night.” When I showed her the workout room, she said they didn’t make cute workout pants for the elderly. When I showed her the dining room, she didn’t like the blue dishes they used. I talked about Brooklawn as if it were a Four Seasons resort, but I understood it wasn’t anyone’s dream to wait out the rest of their life in an assisted living facility. I tried to look at this place from the perspective of the residents. Some looked happy, others looked lost. Getting old scared the hell out of me. Would Gia someday drag me to a place like this and tell me I had to move in? Would Jim notice I was gone?

We made our way back to the main desk, where Helen was waiting for us. “Why don’t we go in my office so we can get to know each other?” she said to Charlotte, who followed her as if she were being led to a room that she’d never come out of.

Michael collapsed into a chair along the wall, I sat down next to him. He was radiating stress. “My mom would find something to complain about at the Sistine Chapel. Thanks for trying to help me.”

“Asking your parent to give up their independence is huge. You have to be patient with her,” I said.

“You’re right. If someone wanted me to move here, I’d be more resistant than she is. I’m glad I ran into you. I hope I can take you out for a drink soon to thank you.”

A few days ago, he’d given me his phone number; now he wanted to go for a drink.Is a drink another way of saying sex?I knew I should pull back, but he was keeping me sane and happy, so what was the harm? It wasn’t as if we were getting physical. As I was willing my cheeks to stop blushing, one of the nurses wheeled my dad toward us. He looked sharp in a white polo shirt and brown slacks.

“There’s my beautiful girl,” he said. I stood up and kissed him on the cheek. Dad looked at Michael. “Is your husband … uh, uh… ?” I knew he was struggling to remember Jim’s name, but with Michael there, I pretended not to know what he was talking about.

“Dad, this is Michael. His mom’s thinking about moving to Brooklawn.”

Michael jumped up from the chair and shook Dad’s hand. “Nice to meet you, sir,” Michael said.

“So nice to meet a friend of my daughter’s,” Dad said. Did I say he was a friend? I purposely didn’t say he was a friend.

“Maggie’s told me so many wonderful things about you, Mr. Rubin,” Michael said. Why did he say that? Was Dad going to wonder how friendly we were?

“You remind me of Maggie’s husband,” he said. “Jim’s a big guy also. Isn’t he, Maggie?” Terrific, now he remembers who Jim is.

“I guess so,” I stammered.

“Mr. Rubin, we better get to the dining room. They’re serving your favorite dessert,” the nurse said as she released the brakes on his wheelchair.

“I’ll come find you in a little while,” I said, squeezing his hand. I hoped his confusion would kick in and he wouldn’t remember meeting Michael today. Now I had another thing to worry about.

“Maggie, what’s my favorite dessert?” Dad called as he disappeared around the corner.

“Cheesecake,” I said under my breath as my heart split in two.

“He seems like a nice man. If my mom moves in here, maybe they can be friends.” Right, just what I needed, my dad to be friends with my crush’s mom. Maybe we could all go on a double date.

Michael and I sat back down. We continued talking quietly about what it was like to have aging parents. Twenty minutes later, Helen and Charlotte approached us. Michael and I had our heads close to each other. “I hope we’re not interrupting you two,” Charlotte said. “You look like you’re in the middle of something important.”