Dad's "angry knock" is as distinctive as Jonathan's "iambic hello." But it's been a very long time since I've heard Dad knock this angrily. I'm tempted to go get Val, to win some sympathy, but I woman up and decide to face him on my own.

When I told Jonathan that I'd see him at dinner, I had a hunch that Dad would be making his feelings known before dinnertime. As soon as I heard the Jeep pull up, I braced myself. Knowing Jonathan's tendency to blurt things out, he would not waste a lot of time on small talk before dropping his bombshell. And Dad would explode right after that.

"SAMANTHA!"

"Just a minute, Dad," I say as calmly as I can. "Mama," I whisper, still seeking her guidance and help as I have since last summer, "please keep your widower from going too crazy over this news. And please get me through this." Then I go to the door and say, "Hey, Dad." I don't add, "What brings you by?" or "I thought you'd be dropping by." There's no need to antagonize the charging Taurus.

"Sam, what the hell is going on here?"

"Dad, come on in. There's no need to give the neighbors something to talk about."

"Funny you should say that!" But he comes in and I close the door.

"So I guess you talked to Jonathan."

"Yes, I talked to Jonathan! Is it true?"

"Can you be more specific?" I don't mean to be cute or sarcastic, but I'm not admitting to more than I have to.

"Is it true that you two want to date?"

"Yes, it's true."

"GODDAMN HANK!" Dad shouts and punches a wall. Not hard, I mean he doesn't leave a hole. It's a mild punch, just like that was a milder swear than it could've been.

"Hank?"

"If he hadn't left you and messed up your head, you wouldn't be on the rebound for your stepbrother!"

"OK, Dad, first of all, it's been almost a year and I'm not on the rebound. And secondly, I really like Jonathan and, crazy as it may sound, I would like to go out with him."

"Your stepbrother? Your younger stepbrother? Your geeky, younger stepbrother."

"Yeah."

"You two grew up together!"

"Well, I didn't like him in this way when we were growing up. But I do now."

"Why? Because he was nice to you when Hank left? Let you cry on his shoulder a few times? Listened to your problems?"

"Well, that's part of it, yes."

"Sam, that's just common human decency."

"Is it? Chad wouldn't have done it, or Todd. Probably not Matt because he had that jealous streak, even though he was the one who ended up cheating. Jesse might've but he would've given me a bunch of pseudo-intellectual b.s. about how Hank needed to be free to define what he needed out of our relationship."

"So Jonathan's a nice guy. That doesn't mean you have to date him!"

I take a deep breath. I didn't want to have to say this to my father, but it looks like I have to. I'll at least try to put this as delicately as I can. "I want him as a boyfriend."
"A boyfriend?! Sam, you just got out of a marriage and had a baby! I thought you were finally being sensible about men. And now you've actually topped the cowboy and the puppeteer!"

"Thanks, Dad. I didn't know you had such a low opinion of your stepson."
"Low opinion? I love Jonathan! Jonathan's great! Nerdy and a little wimpy and apparently crazier than I ever realized, but he's great. If he were four years older and not Angela's son, you could do a hell of a lot worse."

"That's what I figure."

"Samantha."
"Look, Dad, I told Jonathan you wouldn't go for this, but he wanted to ask you anyway. So let's just drop it."

"Just drop it?! You two say you want to commit incest—and, yes, I know you're 'not really related,' but it's still a sin—and then you just shrug and say, 'Oh, well, can't blame us for trying?' And me and Angela are just supposed to chuckle and say, 'Oh, those kooky kids of ours!'"

"Kooky?"

"And then, what? You two are going to pine for each other all summer? Or maybe the rest of your lives?"

"Dad, I want to date Jonathan. But I have other things going on in my life." I hear Val cry. "Like your granddaughter. Excuse me." I go upstairs, wondering if Dad will follow me, but he just stands there, as if the anger has faded and he's in shock.

I change Val's diaper and then decide to take her down with me. "Look who's here! It's Nonno!" I started calling him that as a joke, when he told me about my little cousin Rosita in Rome, Maurizio's daughter. (He and Lina have since had a son. We've sent each other pictures of our babies.)

Val smiles. She's just recently started really smiling. She has a beautiful smile. I can't wait till she has teeth! Well, actually, yes, I can, since I haven't weaned her yet.

"Qual è il mio bambino grande?" Dad cries. He slips into Italian sometimes since his honeymoon with Angela. But he now switches to baby-talk that isn't in any recognizable language. Well, not recognizable to me. Val looks like she understands perfectly. He takes her from me and coos and babbles, and she grins like he's utterly charming. They really are adorable together.

"Are you and your mommy coming to Uncle Jonathan's welcome-home dinner tonight?"

"Are you still having it?" I ask, since Val doesn't respond.

"Of course. It won't be as fancy as if he hadn't shown up a day early, but, yes, come over in an hour and we'll have a nice meal."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Of course, Great-Grandma won't be there, because she's got a hot date, but otherwise it'll be a nice family dinner."

I swallow. "Right, Dad." He's apparently going to pretend, at least tonight, that this never came up. I sort of wish Mona would be there for support, since she's the only one who knows about the fling. But on the other hand, she has a way of subtly teasing (and sometimes not so subtly) and I don't know if I'm ready for that. She's promised not to ever reveal the fling, but I'm guessing this is going to be awkward for her when Angela tells her about me and Jonathan wanting to date.

"Dad, how did Angela take it?"

"I don't know." He's still looking at Val, not at me. "She didn't really say much."
"Oh." Probably not a good sign. Angela tends to bottle things up more than Dad, which I would say is due to her being a WASP, but Mona and Jonathan don't hold back like that. When Dad broke her heart over Kathleen, she did her best not to reveal the pain she was in, but that just made it worse, because no one could comfort her. Finally, I couldn't take being around the three of them anymore, which is why I fled to New Mexico. And then, yeah, I tried to convince myself that I'd found true, eternal love.

I don't want to be that stupid about Jonathan. Last year, I probably went too far in the other direction, telling him it was doomed from the start, but we could have a fling. And I ended up getting attached to him anyway. I was jealous of Susan, even though I'd told him to date if he met someone. It wasn't his fault that we couldn't be together. And it wasn't his fault that I couldn't exactly go find someone new myself, not with a baby on the way and then in my life. I told myself I'd wait till Val was older, maybe in kindergarten, or at least preschool.

And then he asked me out. I knew Dad wouldn't approve, and I figured Angela wouldn't either. But I can't help wishing that Jonathan and I could have a nice low-key relationship. Even if it was just someone to snuggle with on the couch while watching movies, that would be really nice.

Dad hands the baby back to me. "I'll go start dinner."

"OK, see you in an hour."

"Yeah, see ya." He leaves. No hug or anything. But what did I expect, really? And it could've gone worse I guess.

Still, this is going to be the awkward dinner to end all awkward dinners. I kind of wish I didn't have to go, but I can't do that to poor Jonathan. It was really brave of him taking the first step, and he's the one who has to sleep down the hall from them, while I at least have some space here in my apartment.

I play with Val a little and then nurse her, and then put her down for another nap. The phone rings and I pick it up with what I now think of as mother's reflexes. When I'd grab the phone five or ten years ago, it was because I hoped it'd be a boy, or one of my friends wanting to talk about boys. Now I just answer quickly so my baby won't be disturbed.

"Hello?" I hope it isn't Dad or Angela. Somehow, talking on the phone would be worse.

"Hey, Sam." I'm not too surprised Jonathan is whispering. He probably has to sneak in this call so they won't hear.

"Hey. How are you?"

"OK. Um, how are you?"

"Been better. But I survived phase one."
"Yeah, me, too. Um, I'm not going to be at dinner tonight."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I'm hanging out at Steven's. I figure let's give them some more time to adjust."

"So you're moving in with Steven's parents?"

He laughs. "No, it's just overnight."

"You didn't tell him what's going on, did you?"

"No, we're just catching up, on school and that kind of thing I mean. I said I'd do the family stuff tomorrow, as planned."

"Oh. So you left me to face Dad and Angela with only a baby for protection?"

"What about Grandma?"

"She's got a hot date."

"Oh. Well, can't you just not go? I mean, they're probably not desperate to have dinner with you now, are they?"

"Well, no, probably not. Yeah, I'll just bail. Say Val is fussy or something."

"OK. Um, do we have a game plan for tomorrow?"

"You're asking me? This whole dating thing was your idea!"

"I know." He sighs. "Let's just play it by ear. I mean, they may not even say anything, especially not in front of Grandma, since they think she doesn't know."

"Right. Should we warn Mona?"

"How?"

"You talk to her when she comes home."

"That might not be till tomorrow's dinner."

I know he's not joking. "Jonathan, are we really going to try to get them to accept this?"

He sighs. "Look, Sam, I see two possibilities. One, they never come around to us dating, but they know that we want to. That can't be undone. And, two, maybe they're not crazy about the idea, but they realize that they need to let us live our own lives."

I start laughing really hard, even though I know I shouldn't because I might wake up Val.

"What?"

"When have our parents ever let us live our own lives?"

"Well, there's a first time for everything."

"Right. Maybe we should wait seven or eight years like they did."

"Measuring from last summer or this one?"

I see his point. "Oh, right, we didn't exactly wait, did we?"

"A first time for everything, Sam," he teases.

"Yeah."

"Listen, I've got to go. Steven's parents want to hear all about MIT and he wants to hear about the hot chick I've been dating."

"Meaning Susan?"

"Yeah."

"Was she hot?"

"Not as hot as you, Sam. Not even close."

"Oh."

"Goodnight."

"Yeah, buonanotte." My Italian is obviously more limited than Dad's.

"Adieu, ma belle amie."

"You didn't tell me you've been taking French."

"Oh, I've learned a lot of things while I've been away." Then he hangs up.

As I set down the phone, I say, "Val, your Uncle Jonathan is proof that good boys are more trouble than bad ones."