AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t do it,” Geri whispered to Jake. “They’ll take revenge in the kitchen.”
“Let’s just forget it. Eat what you can and let’s go,” Joey said. “I’m not sitting around here waiting for them to reheat my food after someone spits on the plate.”
“Geri just said the same thing,” Jake said, laughing, as moans rose.
“Oh God, you’re right. That’s disgusting,” Roberta said. “We can just get boxes and take the food home to heat. Call the server over. Maybe she’ll give us a reduction on our bill.”
More chaos as the food was all transferred to take-out containers. The exodus from the dining room commenced, and Geri waited to help Bridget with her children. In the lobby, Bridget acknowledged her before she left.
“I’m glad we talked. I’ll see you on your next workday.”
Hugging Geri again, Bridget left with the rest of the family while Jake and Geri hung back.
“What are you going to do now?” he asked. “You’re welcome to come by early. Dinner is at four. I can pick you up.”
“I think it’s hysterical that they’d eat a meal like this and then have dinner in three hours,” Geri said. “Not that I’m criticizing your family.”
“Wait till you see the food, too. My dad cooks. It’s enough for an army.”
She hesitated, wanting to see him but maybe needing a break from his family. “Are you going to the apartment?”
“I’ll get a load of clothes to take over first. Want to come along?”
“I really do want to see it,” she replied. “I’ll meet you, okay?”
“Ah! I get it. You’ve had enough Saints for a while.”
She laughed, but denied it. “Not at all. I need to run up north and say hi to my family. What time shall I meet you?”
“I’ll see you in an hour, okay?” He took her hand and guided her over when she didn’t reply immediately. “You seem a little standoffish.”
“I’m sorry, Jake. Maybe it was a little overwhelming today. I talked to Bridget.”
“Is everything okay now?” he asked, concerned.
“It might be, but I don’t know. I don’t really trust her. And that’s making me paranoid. It’s not like me to be weird about people.”
“Could it be coming into my family cold turkey? All of these people you think are sizing you up? Because if that’s it, I’m sure I’ll feel the same way if I ever meet your family.”
“Oh, God,” she said, laughing. “That’s it exactly. I don’t even know you yet, and I have to deal with all of your female relatives. If it was just your brothers, it might not be so bad.”
“Okay, enough of my family, then. You and I will spend the rest of the day and tomorrow together with no family members.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to cause trouble with Roberta.”
“Roberta is my biggest fan,” he said, laughing. “I’ll meet you at my apartment in an hour.”
So that was how the rest of Sunday went. In an hour, she arrived at his apartment just as he pulled up.
“Since we didn’t eat breakfast, I brought food,” she said, holding a cup holder full of coffee and soda and a big bag.
“Thank you. Let’s eat now and then I’ll unload this stuff. Come with me and I’ll take you on a tour.”
“It’s really fall out, isn’t it?”
The few trees that shed their leaves were in the process of doing so. Clouds scuttled across the sky and there was a hint of rain in the air. After crunching through the leaves that had fallen, and following Jake up the staircase, Geri had a moment of excitement. She loved autumn, and here she was at the most exciting time of her life with a dream job and, it appeared, a dream guy, too.
“Was it a coincidence you moved out of your mother and father’s house the same weekend we started to date?”
