"Down the sh.o.r.e with her boyfriend," I say. "She left me a note that she's spending a few days in Cape May with Sid. They are staying in a Victorian bed-and-breakfast."

"Now that's romantic."

"Whatever. Can we talk about me and Joe?"

"Sure," Madeline says. "I think you've come down with a serious case of chast.i.ty, and I'm not sure it's healthy. Is it because you are living with your mother?"

"My mother is not chaste. She's probably having s.e.x with Sid right now."

"Ugh, gross."

"And so I repress," I say.

"Bobbi's dating bothers you?"

"I know it shouldn't," I say.

"How you feel is how you feel," Madeline replies. "You know what your problem is? Your parents never divorced."

"Having happily married parents is a problem?"

Madeline lowers the straps of her bikini bra. "I went through the whole 'This is Uncle Ted' or 'Meet my new daddy' thing when my parents divorced."

"I don't have a new daddy," I say. "Mom's not going to get remarried. She only just started to date."

Madeline smiles and backstrokes to the subject at hand. "Anyway, Farmer Joe is right that s.e.x is part of an adult relationship. You may want to wait, but he may not want to wait. It sounds like he's got his seduction routine down pat and another Jersey girl might go for it before you decide you're ready."

"You think the whole thing was a seduction routine?"

Madeline turns her cat's eyes to me. "You think he just happened to have a guitar?"

Watermelon vs. Potato Ah, the serenity of my restaurant mornings. Okay, midmorning. It's eleven o'clock. Cafe Louis is clean and the sun pours in through the windows. With x.x.x coffee in hand, I go into the kitchen. Aaron is standing there, talking with Grammy and Nelson.

"What are you doing here?" I blurt.

"I just came back from the sh.o.r.e," Aaron explains. "I had family stuff all weekend, which is why I couldn't call. So I thought I'd stop by and say h.e.l.lo in person. h.e.l.lo."

"Hi."

Aaron comes toward me. "How was your weekend?"

"Fine."

"What did you do?" Aaron asks.

"Do? Well, I worked. Of course."

"All weekend?"

"Yes. All weekend."

"Well, that's no good." Aaron puts his hands on my shoulders. "We have to get you some fun. Maybe we can get together one night this week?"

"Yes. Sure. Absolutely."

"Okay. I'll call you." Aaron leans forward and gently kisses me. "Bye."

"Bye."

Aaron turns. "Nice to meet you both."

"You, too," Grammy says, and Nelson nods.

When Aaron leaves the kitchen, Nelson says, "What's that all about? You didn't work all weekend. We were closed half of it."

Instead of answering, I open a newspaper. When I glance up at Grammy, she meets my gaze. Here comes a parable. But no. Grammy simply raises her eyebrows and shakes her head. She doesn't know what's going on, but she disapproves of it all the same. So do I.

On a slow Tuesday night, Fly Girl, Christopher von Hecht, and Bette decide to question me about my love life. I welcome the scrutiny, because I feel badly about seeing both Joe and Aaron. It feels as though I'm cheating on both of them, although I haven't made a commitment to either.

"You went out with both of them," Bette says.

"Right."

"You didn't have s.e.x with Joe or Aaron," Fly Girl says.

"Right."

Bette shrugs. "Then, no. I don't think you are doing anything wrong."

"Good." I put both hands around my coffee mug and lean back in my chair. "Then why does it feel like I'm cheating?"

"If you feel like that, then pick one," Bette says.

"I vote for Aaron," Christopher shouts.

"You don't get a vote, Chrissie. But I should pick Aaron. He's easy to get along with. Joe is sort of p.r.i.c.kly. Aaron is clearly interested in a long-term relationship. I think Joe just wants a fling. Joe might be watermelon. Good only in the summer. Aaron is like a potato. Good all year round. But when I'm with Joe, I turn into a big puddle of ish."

Fly Girl pops gum she's not supposed to be chewing. "I think you should keep dating both of them and see what happens. What's the rush to choose? You have time, Mimi."

"Not so much. I want to have kids and I'm not getting any younger."

"But you don't want to rush and make a bad decision," Bette says.

"Right. Because I did that already. Doing it again would be embarra.s.sing."

Allison calls. "I invited Sid and Mom to dinner at my house this weekend. To meet the family."

"Have fun."

"You're coming," Allison says in her mommy voice.

"I already met Sid. And anyway, I have to work."

"Oh, no, Mimi. You can't hide at the restaurant. You are coming. It's a family dinner. You're in the family, right?"

"For now. Did Mom ask you to do this?"

"No," Allison says. "I think it's a nice thing to do. To introduce Sid properly. Make him feel welcome."

I think of how Allison was introduced to our family. Not so properly. Maybe she wants to be the hostess because she sympathizes with Sid's newcomer status. But we knew Allison was staying in the Louis family when we met her. She was seeking permanent residency. Sid's on a temporary visa. Which, I guess, is all the more reason not to overreact.

"And anyway," Allison continues, "you and Jeremy need to stop this childish behavior. Maybe if you get to know Sid, you'll like him."

"Fine, Ally. I'll be there."

Jeez. I didn't know being a good daughter would be so difficult.

Promenade The afternoon before the family dinner, Aaron asks me to help him buy a birthday present for his sister. He picks me up at the restaurant and we drive to the Promenade, a shopping center that the Scheins didn't build. We browse the ladies of Lily Pulitzer, J. Jill, and Ann Taylor. Finally Aaron buys the newest Coach handbag.

"There's a Sur la Table if you want to look at cookware," Aaron says. We go into the store and I get a contact high from the Le Creuset pots and pans.

"There's a kitchen back there," Aaron says, and we walk to the back of the store.

"I guess they do cooking demonstrations here," I say.

"Look," Aaron says. "Here's the poster announcing the next one."

Smiling from the poster, looking tall and trim in his chef whites, is Nick.

"For the love of Emeril," I mutter.

The ghost of boyfriend past makes me cranky. When Aaron suggests lunch, I say, "I have to go to work."

"But you work at a restaurant," he says. "So that works out well."

Inside Cafe Louis, I lead Aaron to an empty booth. Christopher instantly materializes. "Lovely to see you, Mr. Schein." He nods at me. "Mrs. Schein."

Aaron laughs, but I don't. "Chrissie? Menus? Please?"

We order-Aaron the chicken salad sandwich and a side of fries, me a bowl of gazpacho-then Aaron says, "What's bothering you?"

To avoid telling him about my ex-boyfriend, I tell Aaron about my mother's current boyfriend. "Tonight my sister-in-law is having a dinner to introduce Sid to the family."

"What do you know about him?" Aaron asks.

"As little as possible," I say.

"Don't you think you should look out for your mother?" Aaron says.

"I am looking out for her," I say.

"A lot of scam artists use the Internet to get money from little old ladies."

"Bobbi Louis is not a little old lady," I say.

"Still," Aaron says. "If my father died and my mom started dating, I'd find out everything I could about her boyfriend. I would feel like it was my responsibility to protect her. Don't you think your father would want you to protect your mother?"

Our food arrives and Aaron eats with his usual gusto. I've lost my appet.i.te.

Interrogation "Sid will be here to pick us up in fifteen minutes." It's the night of the family dinner, and I have made up my mind to find out more about Sid. By asking Mom.

As I finish putting on makeup, I think of all the times Mom and Dad interrogated me about new boyfriends. Who would have thought that the tables would turn?

I know I'm not the only thirty-year-old who has a newly widowed mother diving into the dating pool. I know this because I've read articles about it. Swinging Seniors. Bada Bing Boomers. But what about us kids? How are we to deal with our parents' love lives?

"Mom?" I sit on her bed. "Tell me about Sid."

"What do you want to know?"

Where to start? "He was married?"

"Of course," Mom says. "For thirty years."

"Where is his wife?"

"Beth Israel Cemetery," Mom says.

So Sid is a widower. The death of a spouse. That's something they share. Common ground. Common burial ground. "What did she die of?"

"Cancer," Mom says.

Was it a long death or a short one? I don't need to know that. Moving on. "Does Sid have children?"

"A son." Mom turns to me. "He's single. I could fix you up with him."

"Right. That wouldn't be weird."

Mom laughs.

"What kind of doctor is Sid?"

"A dentist. He retired a few years ago."

There goes the free whitening. "So Sid is financially stable?"

"Yes," Mom says. "I don't know the specifics, but he's certainly comfortable."