COPYRIGHT 2023 | DJ JAMISON 

Author’s Note: This was a scene that didn’t quite fit into the finished version of Don’t Date A DILF, but it delighted me anyway. I hope it makes you smile as well =)

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“Clark Kent Fletcher, you stop right there!”

I froze on the sidewalk in front of the diner, conditioned by years of childhood scolding to obey that tone.  

Beside me, Beckett muffled a laugh into his scarf. It was a crisp January day, one of my last days of vacation before school resumed–though vacation was a bit of a loose term since I’d been up at the school every day this week to get plans in place for my after-school program,GrasshopPeers.

“Clark Kent?” Beckett mouthed, and I rolled my eyes. 

Yes, my parents chose Kent as my middle name because they thought it’d be funny. No, it was not actually funny, but that had never stopped my parents. Not that I had to worry much about them these days. They’d divorced, then moved their separate ways–both out of Granville–when I was a pre-teen. 

Nana, recently widowed, had raised me.  

She darted around me and poked a finger into my chest. She was five-foot-nothing, making even me feel tall, though I topped out at five-eight. Still, looming in front of me with a scowl on her face, she seemed larger than life.

For an instant, I thought she was going to call me out for daring to eat pie made by someone other than her. Beckett and I had met for lunch at the diner to discuss some landscaping projects my kids could do for the town’s 150th birthday this spring, and I’d snuck in a few bites of a delicious lemon meringue. 

But Nana had something else on her mind.

“You have been dodging my calls, young man.”

“I wouldn’t do that.” 

I widened my eyes, hoping to look innocent, even as guilt flooded me. Nana had been my port in the storm of my parents’ divorce. She was the one and only family member who truly loved me. I could never say no to her, but that made life…complicated when she was determined to find me a boyfriend. Each time I tried to tell her I didn’t want to be set up, she got this sad look on her face and I caved.

She harrumphed, not buying my lie for a second. “I want you to come to dinner Friday.”

“I’ve got an after-school event.” 

“Saturday, then.”

I winced. “My coworker, Maisie, and I are ordering tacos and catching up on grading.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Are you avoiding me, Clarkie Pooh?”

Beside me, Beckett snickered, and her gaze shot to him. Instantly, a change came over her. She smiled and dropped the bony finger that had been digging into my breastbone. “Well, aren’t you a handsome one? Beckett Monroe, isn’t it?”

Beckett looked startled to be called out. “Yes, ma’am. I stopped by your house on Christmas. You put out a lovely spread.”

I had no idea Beckett knew how to be polite. But then, he was probably angling for an invitation to more home-cooked meals. He and his step-brother Wes lived like a couple of frat boys rooming together in a mobile home behind the Potter Landscaping greenhouse, even though they’d long left behind their college-aged years.

“Well, aren’t you a sweetheart?” Nana patted his chest. “I don’t suppose you’re seeing anyone?”

I inwardly groaned. Now I understood why Nana suddenly looked like a cat who had gotten the cream. She’d set her sights on Beckett as a potential setup.

“Uh, well, here and there,” he said awkwardly. 

“But no one special?” she pressed. “Because you two would make the cutest–”

“Nana, no!” I blurted, already knowing I was never going to live this down the next time I met up with Beckett and our other friends for trivia. “Beckett is just a friend.”

She huffed. “So? The best relationships start as friendships. Your grandfather was just a friendly neighbor boy for most of my life.”

“You started dating when you were fourteen,” I pointed out.

“And we were friends before that!” She stamped a foot, looking annoyed now. “Beckett, you seem like a smart boy. Tell Clark he’s being obstinate.”

Beckett turned to me. “Uh…”

“Tell Nana she can’t just magic up a  love connection that doesn’t exist!”

Beckett nodded. “Clark has got a–”

“Well, you tell Clark that a love connection doesn’t happen unless you at least try!”

Beckett held up his hands and took a step back. “I think you two should really talk to each other. I’m gonna–” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder, mumbled a few unintelligible words as an excuse, and turned and ran the other way.

“See what you did?” Nana demanded. “You just chased off a good man.”

“Me?” I gaped at her. 

She sniffed and shook her head sadly. “You sure do have a lot to learn about love, Clark. But don’t worry. We’ll figure this out together.”

“Nana…”

She patted my arm, giving me a smile. “I remember when you were just a stick-thin boy who was half-afraid of his own shadow.”

“Yeah, Nana, I remember.”

“You never were the most social butterfly, but you’ve come so far. Do you know how proud I am?”

And this was the power Nana wielded over me. She knew me better than anyone. She cared about me more than anyone.A few matchmaking attempts was a small price to pay for the unconditional love of my grandmother.

I bent down to kiss her cheek. “I’ll try harder.”