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he’s a good boy, but he’s obviously lost his way. I’m still his father, and I can’t let him start his married life outside the church.”
    “You’re preaching to the choir, John,” remarked Virginia. “Maybe what you need to do is—”
    Sensing that Virginia was on the verge of giving John some advice on being proactive and possibly intervening in Johnny’s affairs, Phil quickly stood and approached his guest, standing next to him and putting his arm around his friend’s shoulder. “You have to remember that children don’t come with an owner’s manual,” he said. “We teach them as best we can and then send them along, like a kid on his first two-wheel bike.”
    Virginia rolled her eyes and took a sip of wine, knowing that she’d been pre-empted.
    “You’ve got two great kids,” Phil continued. “Phoebe is distinguishing herself in her fellowship in interventional cardiology at New York Hospital. And Johnny has done well at the House of Cirone. Give yourself a little credit. You’ve obviously done a great many things right.”
    “Yeah, I know,” John sighed. He moved to his left, absentmindedly running his index finger along the spines of leather-bound volumes in one of two built-in bookcases in the den. “But lately I’m reminded of Matthew and Dana and how well they turned out. I’m a bit envious, I suppose. I shouldn’t have to deal with Johnny possibly making the biggest mistake of his life.”
    Matthew Martignetti was Dana’s younger brother. A champion surfer who’d mastered the Banzai Pipeline, he was in a graduate program in marine biology at the University of Hawaii.
    Virginia rose from the couch and poured herself another glass of wine. She had a few things on her mind and wasn’t going to be interrupted again.
    “We’re certainly fortunate,” Virginia said, her voice adopting a more reflective tone. “Dana has made us exceedingly proud, but that doesn’t mean we’ve never had any concerns.”
    John frowned. “Oh, come on, Virginia. She and Brett have led a fairy tale existence.”
    Phil knew what was coming. He also knew that it wouldn’t be wise to censor his wife a second time, so he, too, poured a second glass of wine and returned to the couch. “Just make it the short version, okay , honey?”
    Virginia winked at her husband and nodded. Despite their different temperaments, Phil and Virginia had learned over the years how to make their respective styles complement each other.
    “You might remember, John,” Virginia began, “that I thought Brett was a bit too spoiled and pampered. I also thought he pushed Dana into marrying him before she was ready. His mother was never really friendly to us, and his father blamed Dana for Brett’s decision to take a job on Wall Street after graduating from Penn Law, rather than accept a clerkship in D.C
.
He thought Dana had coerced Brett to move to Manhattan because of her professional aspirations. You know she would never do something like that. So you see, their marriage didn’t begin without considerable friction between the families.”
    “And then there was the beautiful wedding,” Phil said with a smile, as if he were wrapping up a long tale. “Today Brett and Dana have been happily married for eight years.”
    Phil was aware that Virginia could have added to the history of Brett and Dana, all of which might make Uncle John feel even more frustrated than he already was. In point of fact, Brett had shocked everyone, and infuriated his parents, when he’d sold shares of IBM stock to buy Dana an expensive engagement ring while still a student. Virginia felt that Brett had been like a kid in a candy store, spoiling Dana by throwing around his money. She knew that he had needed to grow up, and marriage was not the place to do that. As for church attendance, Brett went to mass very seldom these days, and the altar at which he now worshipped seemed to be his desk at Davis, Konen and Wright. Most disturbingly, Virginia, never