Chapter 08.04

On Monday morning, we headed to school, but I knew that during the week, I’d only see her in the evenings because of the shop.

“Where were you this weekend, Jay?” Phil asked before class.

“With my girlfriend.”

“You got a girlfriend pretty fast,” he laughed.

“Luckily, that’s never been a problem,” I laughed. I didn’t feel like telling them who she was.

Until midweek, our evenings together at her place were all we had. Once Paul returned, I usually slept at the dorm. A few more months, and we’d be together every day anyway.

On Friday, after school, I drove us home—we took one car, so we had time to talk.

“Babe,” I started, “we should stop by Tony’s on the way home.”

“Tony’s, Messyhair?” she asked, surprised. “Why do we need burgers tonight?”

“I want everyone to know that the woman who recently threw her drink at me—is now my girlfriend,” I said with a wink.

“So basically, you want to fix your image,” she laughed. “I don’t have much time, but we can grab a dessert. And after dinner, come over—Grandpa wants to talk to you. He mentioned it when we had lunch together.”

“He didn’t say what about?” I asked. “I hope he’s not planning to replace me.”

“I don’t think it’s anything like that. He actually seemed cheerful,” Jenny said.

I turned off the highway straight to Tony’s, holding Jenny’s hand as we walked inside. It was Friday afternoon, so the place was packed. As soon as we entered, hand in hand, the chatter quieted for a moment. Tony rushed over from behind the counter—there were no free tables.

“Beautiful,” he grinned at Jenny. “Blink twice if you’re a hostage.”

“I’d blink,” Jenny laughed, “but even that’s forbidden.”

“You gave him another chance?” Tony asked. Jenny just smiled and nodded.

“We’ll see if he deserves it,” she glanced at me, gently turned my face toward hers, and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. A few people started clapping.

“You’re not even going to ask if I’m a hostage?” I teased Tony.

“If you are, you wouldn’t want to escape anyway,” Tony teased back.

“That’s true,” I laughed. Jenny just smiled at me.

Tony wanted to find us a table, but Jenny ordered two desserts to go instead. After saying our goodbyes, I dropped her off at her house and drove home.

I arrived before dinner.

“You’re here?” I greeted Amber.

“Brad’s traveling, so I came home,” she said, clearly happy.

“Everything good with you two?” she asked over dinner. “Did she like the gift?”

“Finally, she was in my arms again last weekend,” I smiled. “She liked it—once we clarified that it wasn’t a ring. She was terrified I was proposing.”

“Give her time,” Dad said. “She loves you a lot—she’s just still scared because of last year.”

“I know, she told me,” I smiled.

“Dad,” I said, and he glanced at me.

“After Amber’s wedding, I’d like to move out of the dorm.”

“Well, son, this school is much cheaper, so it might be doable,” Dad said.

“What’s wrong with the dorm?” Mom asked.

“Nothing, I just want a roommate who doesn’t snore,” I smiled.

“I’ll talk to Adam,” Dad said with a grin. “We’ll see what we can do.”

“Thanks.”

After dinner, I went to Uncle Steve’s place. The family was expecting Daniel and his girlfriend.

“Come in, John,” Dr. Cox greeted me. “Who are you here to see?” he asked cheerfully.

“Uncle Steve,” I said, sitting down in the living room.

I greeted Mickey, and Jenny smiled at me from the kitchen, tapping her nose playfully.

“Ah, my apprentice,” Uncle Steve said as he walked in from the garden and sat beside me on the couch.

“My boss,” he nodded toward Mrs. Julie, who just smiled at him. “She’s letting me do house calls on weekends sometimes. For now, it’s just one weekend a month,” he explained. “Would you like to join me?”

“I’d love to, thank you.” That was good news—I was excited.

“But on those weekends, your personal life will have to take a backseat. We start early, finish late, but I’ll make sure you get back to the dorm on Sunday. Is that okay?”

“Your granddaughter is understanding,” I grinned.

“Janie, Julie,” the old man suddenly called out. “Could you come here for a second?”

Jenny and her mom walked over, followed by Dr. Cox and Mickey.

“Johnny will be spending the house-call weekends with me. Does that work for everyone?” he asked.

“Of course, I’ll plan around it,” Jenny said cheerfully, tapping her nose again.

“You were right—my girls really are perfect,” he laughed, kissing Julie and Jenny on the forehead.