Chapter 7: A Hot Date

Daniel had a wicked idea. He explained it to Emmie and Ernie first. With their approval, he called his father.

“Dad? It’s Daniel. Listen, you busy Sunday night? Good. I got you a hot date. She’s a little older than you, born in 1964. Trust me, though, you won’t see anything to show how old she really is. And she’s very stylish. But Sunday will be casual, just wear ordinary clothes. Please meet us at Ernie Fontana’s house Sunday at 5:00. Yeah, Emmie’s grandfather. Maybe bring a bottle of red wine? I’ll text you the exact address.”

“One more thing, I’m spending the night here, so don’t wait up, and don’t worry. Yeah, Ernie is here. Yes, don’t worry about that. I’ll be home tomorrow before noon. Love you too. Bye, Dad.”

Ernie regarded them, crossly. “Spending the night? You might have mentioned that earlier, Emily Grace Thomas.”

“Ooh, all three names. Maybe I shouldn’t stay.”

Ernie growled, “Shut up, Daniel. I’m not done with my snit yet. And if you go, who’s going to guard my Impala?”

“Emily, I think Frank and I have similar concerns. You two aren’t going to create a bunch of little brown mechanics, are you?” (Daniel is African-American.)

“Grandpa, we are being extra careful. We both know how to avoid pregnancy. I’m just starting college, and I don’t want motherhood for years yet.”

“As long as you’re quiet. He’s a big guy, but no Tarzan yelling in my house, understand? And there’s only one bathroom, so let’s be polite about sharing it. Am I clear?”

“Crystal clear, Mr. Fontana.” “Yes, Grandpa.”

“Ernie, your TV is hooked to Comcast, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Emmie’s going to need the internet for her college and schoolwork. I would like you and her to call them Monday and upgrade your cable to have Wi-Fi. It’s probably a small monthly fee, especially in the first year. In the meantime, we can connect using my phone.”

“Grandpa, my dad is going to pay for our internet out of my college fund. It’s not a problem.”

“I’m going to do some research tonight—don’t give me that look—research on Impalas, and I’ll let you know at breakfast what I find out.”

“OK. Speaking of youth and inexperience, I’m going to watch the Phillies in Miami. It’s never good to play ‘race to the bottom’ with a bunch of fish.”

“Em, let’s put your laptop on the kitchen table. I’ll help you connect it to my phone’s hotspot. I’ll get my bag and the second a/c unit from my car.”

Back in the kitchen, Daniel sat to the side. “Em, you drive, so you remember how to do this. Here’s my phone; you have the same model, but I have an unlimited plan so there’s no limits on my data. Go to settings, connections, and turn on the hotspot. See, there’s the wi-fi network name and password. Put the phone down and go to ‘network connections’ on your laptop. Yeah, that’s the sad-looking globe down in the tray. Click that wi-fi name and type in the matching password. You’re good to go!”

“Now, let’s look at your wireless plan. Go ahead and pull up your account, and then, ‘see my plan.’ So, that all looks good, unlimited data. You can use your phone next time until your Comcast is upgraded. (Because the cable box will have faster wi-fi.) Log out from your account.”

“Cool. I was missing my internet link at home.”

“Well, now this is your home. Let’s go to search and put in ‘1964 Impala.’ Oh, too much. How about, ‘1964 Impala value.’ That’s more like it. Oh, I see now. These Impalas are the original ‘low-rider’ cars in California. Look at them, they have fantastic paint, crazy little wheels, and they can hop up and down like bunnies.”

“Your grandfather’s car could be transformed into a classic ‘low-rider.’ Or it could become a collector’s car, since everything about it is so pristine. The interior is perfect, the paint looks new, and I didn’t see any rust. On a 58-year-old Pennsylvania car!”

“I think my dad would pay Ernie just for the privilege of working on this car. I would too, except I don’t have as much experience on reviving cars of that era.”