Resist Me Not

23

My parents, Eric and I spent all of Saturday morning lounging by the pool in the screened-in patio outside the back of my house. They kept making jokes about how pale I had gotten. But thankfully, I didn't mind. I was used to it. Though when my dad first came out and pretended to be scared that he thought I was a ghost, Eric gave him a disapproving look.

Even though he had been around my family several times over the years, he was still getting used to their sense of humor. I reassured him that my parent's jokes were never ill-intended. But since Eric's family was more reserved than mine, I could understand how he felt uncomfortable by some of the things my dad would say.

Though my dad was a business owner and knew how to present himself when it came to work, he was still a Floridian country guy. Occasionally his accent would even slip, and you would think he was from the Everglade swamps and not in a middle-upper class part of Naples.

My dad was wading at the edge of the deep end, having just completed swimming a few laps. "So do y'all have something planned for Valentine's tonight? I could call the restaurant for you and reserve you a special table on the beach. It's part of tonight's special 'Lovers' theme."

I smiled. "You're bringing that back this year?"

I had always loved it when my dad would do that on Valentine's Day. During my teen years, I would request to help out as a server just so I could see all the romantic couples showing nothing but love for each other. I was even part of a proposal once. The man handed me a velvet box and requested that I drop the engagement ring inside it, in his dates champagne flute. It was a beautiful proposal, and I was even more excited when his date accepted the ring.

"It was demanded to be brought back," my mother added as she climbed out of the pool and wrapped herself up in one of the beach towels. She sat down on the lounge chair on the other side of Eric. "There was such an uproar from folks when they didn't see it offered last year, that your father knew better than to not bring it back."

Eric looked over his sunglasses at my dad. "Why did you cancel it last year?"

"Someone the year before wrote the worst review on that stupid Yelp website. They called the experience the worst in Naples. It rubbed me the wrong way, so I canceled it. Then last year, I got multiple bad reviews on Yelp because I didn't offer a Valentine's Day dinner experience. We were open for everyone, and I guess several couples complained. I swear you can't make anyone happy." My dad huffed and kicked his feet against the wall, moving himself to the middle of the pool.

"That's why I will never take over the family business, Dad," I confessed. "I hated pretending to be nice to all those snooty customers. I don't know how you do it every day."

"Customer service is definitely a natural ability of your dads," my mom said with admiration. "As much as he complains, he'd pull his hair out, well what's left of it, if he had to sit behind a desk five days a week."

"It's not that bad," Eric defended. Then he laughed lightly. "Okay, it is, but at least the money's good."

"Son." My dad's eyebrows narrowed. "By the time you reach my age, you'll realize that money is as good as shit." Eric and I couldn't help but laugh at my dad's choice of words. "You see my house, right? It's decent, right? I have a nice truck and a well-oiled business. I make good money just fine. But if I spent my days grinding away to get that extra grand or so and miss all this." He raised his hand's palm up, out of the water, and gestured to his surroundings. "Then, I'd miss all this."

Eric nodded thoughtfully. "You've got a valid point, Larry. Even in the short day and some of being here, I feel nothing but free. But freedom comes at a price."