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“Yet so many are.”

“Most people do their best, of that I’m convinced,” I say.

“Not Juan’s mother. Not Imani’s, either.”

“Are you okay, Nora?” The dog stirs in her lap, picking up her sudden agitation, no doubt.

“I am.” She calms Izzy down. “I know I’m one of the lucky ones. The stories I’ve heard from some of the people at the LGBT Center.” She shakes her head.

“Yeah.” I can only imagine.

“And age is hardly an excuse. You’re what? In your fifties?”

“A lady never tells.” I wave off my own comment. “Actually, I’m not one of those women who is hung up over her age, just because the patriarchy tells me to be.”

“You’re not past your sell-by date just yet.” Nora’s smile lifts the mood instantly. “As we established last Saturday.”

“Hell no. I’m sixty-five, by the way.”

Nora just nods in response, then she breaks into a grin again. “I’m not going to lie, that was the first time I’ve tried to kiss a woman in her sixties.”

“How about a man in his sixties?” Maybe Nora referring to that non-kiss a few times has thrown me.

Nora’s eyes go wide, but then she regroups. “Can’t say I’ve tried that either.”

“I’m sorry. The kids were grilling Juan mercilessly about you when he came to brunch. He didn’t give much away, just so you know.”

“I’m bisexual, but I haven’t been in a relationship, by choice, for years.”

“Okay.” Nora trying to kiss me, albeit under the influence, was already quite flattering, but hearing it’s such a rare occurrence, feels like I just sprouted a set of wings. “Austin did say that you might be a bit like Jennifer.” If she’s really like Jennifer, I’ll know not to expect any more attempts at kissing me ever again.

“Oh, yes, your self-partnered daughter.” Nora nods. “I told you, didn’t I? The other night? Being single is so underrated.”

“Hm. I can’t say I fully agree.”

“Oh, yes. You’relooking. Did you talk to Imani about any of those apps?”

Does Nora know she’s driving me a little crazy with this? Referencing the kiss that never happened one minute while alluding to her firm choice of being single the next? Maybe she’s so out of practice with flirting, she doesn’t even realize she’s doing it.

“Not yet.” Izzy heaves a big sigh in Nora’s lap, adequately expressing how I’m feeling right now. But I’d be a fool to expect anything from Nora. Maybe it’s me who wants her signals to be mixed. But what if I hadn’t stopped her from kissing me? What would we be doing now?

“I’ll nudge her tomorrow,” Nora says.

“Please, don’t. You don’t have to do that.”

“Oh, you’re not looking anymore?” Izzy has suddenly had enough of her nap and jumps out of Nora’s lap. She joins the golden retriever on the floor by Nora’s feet.

“One of the reasons I asked you for coffee was because I thought we should talk about the other night,” I say. “I don’t want you to feel bad about it. That’s not what I’m after. I just want to… know, I guess, if it was all because of the wine or if there was something more to it than that.”

Nora looks away briefly. It’s getting darker but I can tell her cheeks have pinked up. “I’m very bad at this,” she whispers, so I can barely make it out. “Which is why I prefer to simply stay away from romance. I’m really bad at all of it. Luckily, I’m very fond of my own company. I’m not looking, like you are. I—um. Yeah.” She runs out of steam. “Earlier, when I said that everyone in my family sucks at communication. This is exactly what I meant by that.”

Having raised four children through the big and small dramas of adolescence, I happen to know a thing or two about flawed communication. About words that come out all wrong and about saying the opposite of what you really want to say.

“I don’t think you’re bad at communication at all, Nora. You did a pretty good job of conveying to me that almost-kiss was a mistake.”

“No,” Nora says. “You’re jumping to conclusions.”

“Okay. I’m sorry about that. So you did really want to kiss me?” I’ve always had a special talent for coaxing secrets out of my children—and I’ve had plenty of time to practice. Although I don’t want to compare Nora Levine to any of my children when they were teenagers and their brains weren’t fully formed yet.