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it.
    “Yes, it is. My sister Selene and I built it two years ago. It looks a little ostentatious doesn’t it?”
    I supposed it was the perfect word for it. “Yeah, well, no, it just seemed so remote, I mean, it’s in such a desolate area of the coast.” I looked down and picked at my jeans, wishing I could escape. What had possessed me to ask about the house? It only prolonged close proximity.
    “ She had a hand in that. She has a particular interest in the area. She loves the ocean.” Feeling the heat of his eyes, I looked up. He watched me pick at my jeans with an odd look on his face. I stopped and smoothed my hands nervously down my thighs.
    I reached for the door handle. “Well hey, I should be going. Thanks again for your help. See you Wednesday.”
    “You're welcome and I’ll see you then.”
    I got out and forced myself to walk casually up to the front door. I stole a quick glance behind me. He’d already gone. I let out sigh of relief and walked inside.
    I pulled out my laptop and skyped my grandma Ione for a face-to-face.
    She picked up on the first ring. She was a cute eighty-year-old in her carefully coiffed white hair. She looked “dolled-up” as she would put it. Her wizen ed face crinkled into a happy smile. “Liz. How are you sweetheart? How’s life in St. Germaine?” She had a light German accent. She’d come over from the old country when she was a child and still hadn’t lost it. It was a source of pride and she laid it on thick when she could.
    “Wonderful. I love it here Grandma. It’s like I always pictured it. Lots of trees and fog. The ocean is just beautiful, absolutely unbelievable. You can’t imagine the air, it’s heavenly.”
    She chuckled. “I knew you would love it. So tell me, anything interesting going on?”
    “I got a job on campus. I’m an assistant to one of the art professors. I just started today. I think it’s going to be pretty easy.”
    She looked interested. “Oh, so tell me about him.”
    “He’s great. Everyone’s in love with him. Long hair, you know how I love long dark hair.”
    Her face lit up. “He sounds like a dish. Is he married?”
    I scowled. It was just like her. She’d married off all of my sisters with her machinations.
    “I’m sure he’s got a slew of girlfriends. My next-door neighbor Jen and I went for a drive around Cape Breton today. On the way back our car broke down. Guess who helped us out?”
    “Hmmm, let me guess. Your professor?”
    “Yes.” I heard the hint of a squeal in my voice and pulled it back. What the hell was wrong with me? I frowned. “I know you Grandma. Don’t even think about telling anyone. They’d be throwing parties thinking I might even have the slightest interest in dating, when there is absolutely none whatsoever. And never will be.”
    She pursed her lips as if trying to hold back a smile. “I swear. What’s his name?”
    “Marcheon … Dr. Marcheon.”
    Her eyes widened and she grinned. “Really,” she said, dragging out the word. “It sounds French, is he?”
    I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, he grew up in France.” My sister Jules pinged me an instant message. I sent her back a quick note that I was on video with Ione. She sent me back a yellow unhappy face. I blew her a raspberry.
    “He sounds interesting. I’m looking forward to hearing more about him. I won’t tell a soul. God forbid I create uproar and everyone starts planning your wedding.” She saw my face and laughed.
    I glared at her. “God Grandma.”
    She gave me a broad smile. “God has everything to do with it my dear.”
    Yeah, well, whatever the hell that meant.
    I heard the doorbell to her apartment. “Got to go sweetheart,” she said with a breathy gush. She leaned close and winked. “My hot date is here.” She might be in her eighties but she was a feisty gal, making the rounds in her assisted living complex. Behind her back we called it her hobby. Never a dull moment, my grandma Ione. Her door opened and an