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“No, I ordered it and put it on the platter. I wanted it to be edible. If I had made it… well, it wouldn’t have gone well,” he chuckled and stole another piece of bacon. “Knowing yourself and your limits is very important.”
“So true,” I picked up a fork and took a slice of the pancake. When I put it in my mouth to enjoy its fluffy goodness, Jimmy looked at me with a facial expression I couldn’t quite read.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said, but the look didn’t quite go away.
We ate together in silence for a few minutes until he finally cleared his throat, no longer able to handle my inquisitive stare.
“I want you to… When I go see my son next time, I want you to come with me. I would like for you to meet him. I didn’t go last weekend because his mother canceled on me, but… the next time, would you come with me? I think Casper would really like you.”
My heart hurt, seeing the hope and love on his face. No matter how cold and aloof Jimmy could be towards other people, he certainly had a soft spot in his heart for his son. To me, that spoke volumes, and I cleared my throat to speak after swallowing the bite I had been chewing on.
“I would love to meet him, Jimmy.”
He smiled and ate the last piece of bacon on me.
Chapter 19
Jimmy
Chapter 19- Jimmy
Nataliasatinthepassenger seat as I drove us to the beach for the day. The sun was high in the sky without any clouds in sight, and the wind was cooling but not overly so. People in bathing suits were strewn around the beach, and as I looked for a parking spot, I almost hit four people who weren't paying attention.
Normally, I avoided places like these, but I figured Natalia would like it. She had on a white bikini under a see-through white lace dress. She called it a “bathing suit cover”, but to me it looked like a dress. Apparently, I knew nothing.
There were food trucks lining the parking lot edge, a sandcastle competition going on and many vendors lined up in the sand along the fence under white and blue tents. In spite of it being a weekday, it looked liketheday to be there. Natalia was looking everywhere, her head nearly sticking out of the open car window to get a better view of the whole thing.
“Wow, this place is amazing!” she exclaimed, and her face lit up with excitement when she turned to look at me. I had never seen her so happy, and I was glad I had taken the day off.
After our breakfast in bed, we had gotten ready, and then I drove to the office to make sure the money I had for Ivar was all set. I left it with Aaron, who looked slightly terrified at my happiness, like my joy was threatening or something. I just patted him on the shoulder, told him to give the envelope to the giant man named Ivar who would be in at some point during the day, and left.
On the way to the beach, I told Natalia a little bit of what was going on with Ivar— seeing as her father was in on it too. I told her about how Daniel had gotten me to give him the initial eight hundred thousand but hadn’t used it to pay Ivar off like he was supposed to and how now I felt obligated to pay Ivar to keep my father, her father, and my brother out of trouble. I had even thrown in an extra twenty thousand for having to wait. Her eyes went huge with the amounts of money mentioned, and she shook her head in disbelief.
“And that was no problem for you? Just like that, you shell out over a million dollars to cover your brother’s mistake?”
“No, it wasn’t a problem at all. I don’t really spend money. I invest and I save. Until I found out about Casper, I really had nothing I wanted to spend money on, and things with him are… well, they aren't what I would like them to be, so I don’t spend much money on him. I buy the few things I really want, and that’s the extent of it. And it’s our money now, remember? I suppose I should have talked this over with you sooner, but I’ll get better at that in time.”
“Why didn’t you have me sign a prenup?” she asked, her voice a little higher pitched than normal. She twisted her hands in her lap, and she bit her lower lip.
“Because I will still have more than enough even if you take half, and you will need it more than me if you divorce me. But with how we got together, I didn’t even really think about it, to be honest.”
“That’s just…” she bit her lip again then looked out the window. She was going to a scary, far-off place in her head again. Determined to keep her out of it, I reached over and took her hand in mine. It was so small in comparison that my hand engulfed hers. She looked over at me and I smiled.
“Don’t worry about it, okay?”
“I don’t want you to feel like I am using you for your money or something.”
I laughed, squeezing her hand. She was adorable when she was concerned like that. I don’t think I have ever had anyone as genuinely concerned for me as she was.
“I don’t think that at all. Just relax and enjoy the beach!” She still didn’t look convinced. “If I ever feel like you are taking advantage of me, I promise to voice my concern, okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed and gave me a full-on smile again.
When I found a parking spot, we both got out and went around to the trunk where I had a cooler packed with food and drinks. If I had known there were going to be food trucks, I would have left the cooler at home.
“So, do you want to walk around first, or do you want to pick a spot on the beach and relax?” she asked me, and I shrugged.
