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“It doesn’t mean anything,” she dismissed lightly. Jack looked down on her with a half smile. “Anyway, I have some news about the interview.”
Jack brought his free hand up to his forehead and squeezed, thinking himself a fucking idiot. “I can’t believe I forgot to ask you about that. I’m so sorry, Ade, how did it go?”
Smiling, Adrianna informed, “I got the job.”
Elated at her news, Jack pulled her up to kiss her firmly on the mouth. “That’s fantastic! Now will you tell me what it is?”
“I am the new school nurse at Oakwood Elementary school. It’s near Glenview, not too far from the city.”
Grinning widely, Jack kissed her again. Her news really did lift his spirits. He was so proud of her and relieved that she had found something that would make her happy. She wasn’t a pediatrician but she’d be working with and taking care of children. He listened while she told him about meeting the principal of the school who was a young man with small children of his own. Adrianna shared the information that she had taken the last four years to recover from her accident and Mr. Wendrick had listened with a sympathetic ear. He liked Adrianna’s enthusiasm about caring for children and he told her so. Then he said that as long as her personal references checked out, the job was hers. Adrianna had listed Heather and Jack on her resume so there wouldn’t be any problems.
“The pay sucks but the hours are great and I’ll have summers off,” Adrianna revealed happily. “And I’ll get to work with kids.”
“That’s wonderful, Rizzo,” Jack beamed. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Kenickie,” she grinned back, feeling a little like she was a child and Jack was an adult. But Adrianna guessed in ways she was immature. She did just land her first job ever. And Jack was six years older than her. Now she worried if Jack felt like he was often taking care of a child. Not wanting to damper the mood, however, she dismissed the idea quickly.
“What was Rizzo’s real first name?” she challenged with a wink.
Jack thought on it for a minute and then shrugged in defeat. “I have no idea.”
“Oh, bonus point goes to me,” Adrianna crowed. “It was Betty.” When Jack smirked down at her she noticed he still looked a little sad. “Are you okay?” she asked, reaching up to caress his jaw. Jack just nodded.
“What time is the funeral?”
“Eleven,” Jack told her. Stretching for his cell phone next to the bed he looked at the time. “Which means we have enough time to get ready and then go out for breakfast to celebrate your new job. Come on, let’s get up.”
Chapter 13
Adrianna shifted in the passenger seat of Jack’s Challenger, her back stiff from being seated for almost three hours. It was late Wednesday night and Adrianna had dropped her car off at the rental company close to Jack’s father’s house so that she could ride back to the city with him. They had attended the funeral on Tuesday and then Jack spent the day searching through his father’s papers for things that needed to be handled right away. He had the utilities switched into his own name, got fax numbers to send copies of the death certificate to, and spoke with his dad’s power of attorney to go over death benefits. Jonathan Senior didn’t have much of an insurance policy but it would be enough to cover the expenses of the funeral.
Adrianna didn’t leave Jack’s side once on Tuesday, holding his hand during the service and at the gravesite at the cemetery. It was the first funeral she had attended; she had still been in the hospital when Rachel was buried, and Adrianna was extremely uncomfortable but she showed no signs of it, determined to be strong for Jack’s sake. Though he didn’t cry, she could tell he was full of grief by his posture, his expression, and his silence. Only when he was greeting a relative or introducing them to Adrianna did he speak more than one word at a time.
Adrianna had met Jack’s mother, who was a lovely woman. She hugged Adrianna warmly and when they said goodbye she made Jack promise to bring her back for a proper visit soon. In his mother, Adrianna saw where Jack had gotten his kindness and good heart from. His looks, too. Roseann Lokinski had the same blue eyes and dark hair as her son.
