The truth was, Jill already knew exactly what ‘OK boomer’ meant. It had been explained when she’d heard it on the radio. Some shock jock had been lamenting the fact that kids these days had no respect for their elders. But Jill disagreed. Kids these days were just trying to navigate life in an online world. And she knew it made Callie feel good when she got to explain new things to her grandmother. Kids liked it when they got to feel wise . . . smarter than their elders. Too many adults seemed to think they had to remind kids about all the things that they didn’t know yet. They felt like they had to bring them down a peg or two, that they had to prove they didn’t have all the answers or life experiences yet, that they weren’t wise, that they had so much more to learn.

But as far as Jill was concerned, they already knew that! They might not act like it, but deep down, they did. They knew that they hadn’t seen it all or done it all. They weren’t idiots! And they were insecure about the things they didn’t know yet. Insecure and scared. So why not let them feel like they had it all figured out sometimes? Why not give them that boost they needed to feel smart, to feel valued?

Obviously, there were some teens who could use the odd take-down, but not Jill’s granddaughters.

*

Eventually, as Jill finished their third round by placing her last two tiles on the board, she asked carefully, ‘Callie, is there something else that’s upset you? Something apart from the stage fright?’

Callie stood abruptly. ‘I better go. I told Dad I wasn’t going to stay long. He wants me home in time for dinner.’

Jill hesitated. Should she keep pushing, try to find out what else what upsetting Callie? But if she pushed too hard, then she might push her away. Maybe it was better to leave it at that, so hopefully Callie would feel comfortable coming back and chatting again.

‘All right, darling. I’ll give you a lift home.’

*

Darren

Darren was hedging his bets. He was sitting in a booth at The Oaks Hotel, keeping an eye out for any single girls while simultaneously swiping through Tinder matches on his phone. He needed a date for tomorrow night. Charlotte and Steph wanted to take him out for dinner to say thank you and it was also going to be the opportunity for them to get into the details of how this would all work. Bring the new chick, Charlotte had added to the end of her last message. It was likely a hopeless mission. Even if he did manage to pick up, the chances of convincing someone to join him on a double-date tomorrow night were slim. But he had to at least try.