Mom?â
âBaileyâs right. Thanks, Went.â Mom put her hand on his shoulder.
Went smiled over at her. âMy pleasure, Mrs. Daley.â
âHe canât keep calling you Mrs. Daley,â I objected.
âSome of Baileyâs friends call me Big D.â Mom elbowed Amber, who was silently sanding. âYouâd have to ask Amber where they came up with the name, though.â
Went shook his head. âI donât think I could call you Big D. How about âDâ?â
The rest of the day, it was âDâ this and âDâ that, as Went fixed the broken furniture. He stained the garbage-pick table, two other tables, and an oversized dresser. We worked and talked and listened to the radio count down the top singles.
Mom dashed into the house and came out with her own CD player. âMy turn,â she announced.
âNot the Beach Boys, Mom,â I complained. Her player held five CDs, and four of the slots always went to the Beach Boys.
âAre you kidding?â Went put down his rag and wiped his hands on his jeans. âI love the Beach Boys!â
âMakes sense,â Amber commented. âVery California.â
âI wore out my Pet Sounds album,â Went said.
âNo way!â Mom punched on her first CDâ Pet Sounds .
âGo to track seven,â Went commanded.
Mom did. After two notes, she shouted, ââSloop John Bâ! I love this one.â Mom started snapping her fingers and tapping her feet. Went danced up and took her hand. Then, as if theyâd rehearsed it, they broke into this cool rock ânâ roll routine, with Mom twirling under Wentâs arm, then both of them making a bridge and spinning under it.
âGo, Big D!â Amber shouted.
I clapped. Adam barked. Our neighbors across the street looked up from lawn trimming to see what was going on. Went and Mom danced the whole song, finishing with a dip that had Mom inches from the floor.
âWhoa,â Mom said. âThat was fun. But it used to be a lot easier.â
âYou are one terrific dancer, D,â Went said, shaking his head. âIt was a privilege to rock with you.â He bowed and went back to refinishing. But they both sang along with the Beach Boys for the rest of the album.
Mom brought out sandwiches. Then we went right back to work and sanded or stained all afternoon. Finally she called it quits. âStep away from your brushes. Iâve had it for today. I canât believe what a terrific job you guys did.â
Amber stretched. âI think Iâll call Mom to come get me. Iâm pretty beat.â
âIâll take you home, honey. Itâs the least I can do.â Mom turned to Went. âWent, you were a huge help. I really appreciate it.â
âAlways a pleasure to help out another Beach Boys fan.â He glanced around the garage. âWhereâs Adam? I better get Dadâs car back before he has a fit.â
I was lodged behind the dresser with the little dog sleeping peacefully on my lap. âAdamâs here, Went. Are you sure you have to go? We could order pizza.â
âTempting. But I told the guys Iâd hang tonight.â He called our dog. âAdam!â
Adam didnât budge.
âWhy donât I keep Adam overnight? You wonât be home anyway.â
âFine with me.â Went walked over and kissed me goodbye on the forehead. I got to my feet and carried Adam toward the house. âBye, Went,â I called again.
âBye, Bailey,â he called back. He was still talking to Mom.
I couldnât help watching the two of them together. If you hadnât known better, you could have thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend.
I set Adam down by his water dish and let him drink. Then I hurried back to the garage, in case Went was still there. I got there just in time to see Went whisper something to Mom. And as he did, his hand slipped around her