Page 18 of The Holy Grail

Richard and Edie

“Hey, Freckles,” Richard Shaw greeted Jules as he accepted her FaceTime call.

“Hey, Dad,” she replied back.

He looked slightly flustered, making her immediately suspicious that she’d interrupted something. It was basically confirmed when Richard said, “Your mom is around here somewhere … hang on.”

A moment later, Edie appeared onscreen, smoothing her hair a little. “Hi, honey.”

“Hi, Mom. I can call back if you two are in the middle of something …”

“It’s nothing we can’t get back to later,” Edie said with an assuring smile.

Jules wasn’t surprised. Her parents always seemed to drop what they were doing to talk, as if they were afraid it would be the last time they’d have a conversation with their daughter and didn’t want to miss it.

“So, what’s going on?” Richard asked.

“I just wanted to let you know how my first date with Malcom went.”

Edie perked up at that. “You went on a date?”

Jules took a few minutes to update them on what had been happening since their last conversation, starting with the flowers she’d sent Malcom. When she got to the part where she’d almost been stood up at dinner, Richard’s eyes narrowed with fatherly anger.

“Take it easy, Dad,” Jules admonished. “Don’t polish your Louisville Slugger just yet.”

She then went on to tell them about the end of the dinner date and her talk with Malcom. “He really did like the flowers, by the way. ”

Richard immediately took credit for the idea to send them, at which point Edie chimed in. “It was obviously the choice of flowers that made the difference.”

When Jules told them about the evening at Malcom’s house, they peppered her with questions.

“He cooks?” Edie looked both impressed and intrigued.

“He does. Like restaurant-quality food.”

“I cook, too,” Richard broke in.

“No, you grill ,” Edie corrected him. “Big difference.”

“He even makes great salads,” Jules added.

Richard looked amazed. “He’s got you eating salads?”

“And carrots.”

“I knew you’d become an adult some day,” Richard mused, as if savoring a proud moment.

“Do you have a picture of Malcom?” Edie wanted to know.

“Not yet,” Jules answered. “But there is a picture on the Schmidt & Klein website if you want to give it a look.”

Edie immediately went to get her phone to ostensibly pull up the picture, and when she did, her eyes widened. “Oh, he’s very handsome,” she gushed. “Look at him,” she told Richard, tilting the phone toward him.

Richard took the phone and gazed at the picture for a moment before commenting, “He’s not bad looking.

” He then proceeded to scroll a little, obviously reading Malcom’s job description at the law firm.

“Contract law? That sounds incredibly boring. Is he boring? Because my daughter doesn’t settle for boring—and I don’t care if he looks like Rock Hudson. ”

“She probably doesn’t know who Rock Hudson is,” Edie pointed out.

Jules made a face. “I know who Rock Hudson is, Mom.” Then addressing Richard’s comments, Jules answered, “No, Dad, he’s not boring, but he did say his job was,” before filling them in on why Malcom chose that particular specialty.

“His father sounds like a bit of an asshole,” Richard observed.

“I haven’t met him yet, but he does seem like a bit of an asshole,” Jules agreed.

“So, when are you going to meet his parents?” Edie inquired.

“Well, we just had our first date, so …”

“So … next week?”

“Yeah, Mom, next week. ”

“Don’t wait too long,” Richard advised. “In-laws can be deal breakers. It’s better to know sooner, rather than later.”

Edie nodded, then teased, “That’s right. I almost didn’t marry your father because of his parents.”

“I almost didn’t marry your mother because of hers,” Richard teased back.

“Well, I’m worried no one will want to marry me because of you two,” Jules said.

Richard scoffed, “Are you kidding? We’ll seal the deal for you.”

“So, when do we get to meet Malcom?” Edie asked.

Jules made another face. “Well, we just had our first date, so …”

“So, next week?”

“Yeah, Mom, next week.” Then, because she knew she’d interrupted something romantic, Jules brought the conversation to a close so they could get back to it.

Even though it was a little awkward knowing her parents had been getting frisky, at the same time it was a gift having parents who were still married and in love with one another, so …

good for them. “I’ll let you two get back to whatever you were doing. ”

“Okay. Bye, Freckles!”

“Bye—”

That’s all she got out before the call was disconnected.