“Hey, Jordaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan,” Carmine called out as he finally came back to the lobby two hours later. “So, a friend of mine happens to be in a quaint little Kenti village and got some people I think you want to talk to.”
“What?” Jordan blinked as he looked up from the video game he was playing with the teenaged boys and Nero.
“Do I need to spell it out for you?” Carmine laughed. “I have your parents on my satellite phone.”
Jordan nearly pitched the game controller into Nero’s head as he vaulted over the couch and nearly tackled Carmine in his attempt to grab the phone. It was harder to tell who was more surprised at Jordan’s actions: the men on the couch or Jordan himself. He had not spoken to his parents since they had gone off to that backwoods tribe in the middle of no where. Letters were few and far between and there was no reliable phone service.
“Hello?” Jordan asked.
“Oh, my baby,” his mother’s voice squeaked over the phone. “How are you? Are you getting enough sleep?”
“Mom, Mom,” Jordan interrupted before his mother started chattering away. “I’m great and great and more than great. In fact, Mom…”
“This place is just delightful,” his mother interrupted. “It’s so green and the children here are just delightful.”
After several attempts to get a word in edgewise, Jordan gave up and let his mother ramble on about her life in the village. Apparently his father was in the best shape of his life now and his mother no longer compulsively swept everything. After ten minutes, Jordan looked apologetically at Carmine since he knew satellite phone bills could be pretty expensive. Carmine grinned and quickly signed that Jordan could take all the time he wanted to, saying that he had enough minutes to cover over an hour.
A half hour later Jordan still had hardly said more than a ‘yes, Mom’ the entre time. His mom loved talking, and now Jordan had been told all about the village as if he had actually lived there. Ever since he was a teen, he had taken a cue from his father and just smiled and nodded while his mother rambled on. Carmine had signed again, reminding Jordan that his parents still had no idea about his upcoming wedding and trip. Part of him wondered if he should just give his parents a heart attack with the news, and another part of him wanted his mother to give his ear a break.
“Did I mention I’m getting married?” he asked the moment his mother took a deep breath.
“WHAT?!”
Even though he had the phone held at arms length, he still heard her loud and clear. In fact, judging by the laughter from everyone else, the entire lobby could hear his mother’s freak out. After several minutes of his mother yelling, his father got in on the conversation and worked on calming his ecstatic wife down. After a moment it was safe to bring the phone to his ear again.
“I did send a letter,” Jordan told his dad. “It probably did not make it.”
“Last letter we got just asked us if we remembered some of your neighbors,” his father explained.
“Oh,” Jordan said. “Well, you’ll get to meet my wife and stepson in a little over a month.”
“Wait, you mean I won’t be at my own son’s wedding?” his father snapped.
“My friend assures me that you’ll be able to participate over the phone,” Jordan said slowly as he watched Carmine sign. “Oh, wait. He actually says that he’ll, um, just a second…”
“I’ll get live video streaming available,” Carmine said.
“Seriously?” Jordan asked. “It’s the middle of no where.”
“Hey,” Carmine grinned. “It’s my sister’s wedding. I can make anything happen.”
“You hear that dad?” Jordan asked.
“You’re mother is never going to forgive you until you bring this new grandson for her to fawn over,” his father observed.
“Hey. Once I visit that place I’ll stay in touch.”
Hahaha, loves.
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