“Works for me. See you then,” he whispers, lightly brushing his lips across my cheek before he heads to the truck, and hops inside. As he’s backing out of my driveway, he lightly beeps the horn as if to tell me to head inside. I wave at them both before going back inside, and locking the door behind me.
Time to fill Bria in on my current status.
Chapter Eight
Jett
I wasn’t surprised when Dusty was enthusiastic about my date with Sunday. What did surprise me were all the questions he’s asked in the ensuing days. Does she like kids, or was she just pretending? If we got married, would we stay in our house, or move into hers? Would we have more kids? Does she like dogs, or only cats?
His list of inquisitions was endless, and since I had no answers, I finally told him when I knew, he’d know, which seemed to satisfy him, at least temporarily. Now, as we go through the grocery store, I watch as he adds some odd things to the cart.
“What are you doing?” I question, glancing at the list on my phone.
“I noticed Sunday likes these when we were over there, Dad,” he replies, his hands now hovering protectively over the drinks he put in, guarding them so I don’t put them back on the shelf. “She’ll be coming over at some point, right? We need to be ready.”
“She will, yes, but I don’t think we need two twelve-packs, Dusty,” I gently tease. “She can only drink one at a time.”
“I know, but if she likes us a lot, then she’ll be at our house more often, so she’ll drink them then.”
“Eventually.”
“Dad.” He draws my name out as only a kid can do, causing me to chuckle.
“It’s fine, Dusty,” I say. “Now, how about you go and grab the cereals while I pick out the meat packs?”
Divide and conquer. It’s the only way I can handle coming into the grocery store. I’m just glad my son is still willing to be seen in public with me. I remember once I hit my teen years, I did whatever I could to avoid ‘hanging out’ with my own parents. Now, of course, I wish I had spent more time with them, considering they’re both gone, but they understood.
“What do you say we make sure you’ve got everything gathered that you’re going to need to take to your aunt’s tomorrow?” I ask once we’ve gotten home, and put the groceries away. “I’ve got pizza and wings ordered, so we should have enough time to do that before we settle in for a movie.”
“I wish I could go with you tomorrow night,” he complains as we head to his room.
“Yeah, not happening on the first date, bud,” I retort. “I’m sure if things go the way I want them to, we’ll do things together.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, you know, the museum, botanical garden, maybe the center for puppetry arts?” I tease.
“How about the amusement park, zoo, or the arcade?” he counters, giggling.
“Let’s see where things go. Now, while you’re grabbing your clothes, let me have your hamper. May as well get ahead on the laundry.”
He snickers as he grabs his duffel bag from the floor of his closet, and tosses it on his bed. “Can I take my game?”
“You know your aunt will probably have things planned to do for you guys,” I warn, since my sister is notorious about scheduling ‘fun activities’ for the cousins to do when they’re together. Since that happens frequently during football season, and it keeps me from having to go to every small-town carnival or pumpkin patch, I don’t put up much of a fuss. I love spending time with my boy, but prefer sports instead. It works for Dusty because he gets the best of both worlds; physical activity with me, fun stuff, and occasionally things that are educational with his aunt.
“I know, but she usually gives us an hour before we go to bed.”
“Just don’t forget it when you come back home because I’m not going out at midnight to pick it up. If you do, you’ll have to wait until the next time you go over there to grab it.”
Not really, but I know he tends to forget his stuff over at her house, and with school starting back up on Monday, I want an early night for the both of us.
“I promise,” he replies, crossing his hand over his heart.
“Don’t forget your toothbrush. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Later that night, lying in my bed, my thoughts drift to the next night and my planned date with Sunday. I know for her it may seem soon, but I hope I’m able to lay out what I foresee for the two of us, and our future.
A future that includes more kids, lots of laughter, and more love than either of us have ever known.
“Patience, Jett,” I mumble to myself while watching the day’s highlights in sports. Not like Dusty and I didn’t spend several hours in front of the television seeing them in real time.
As I feel sleep beckoning, I smile, knowing that in less than twenty-four hours, I’ll be with her.
Chapter Nine
Sunday
Bria was absolutely no help whatsoever when I called to give her the latest news. I’m still experiencing a bit of hearing loss from her shrieks of excitement, quite truthfully. At the same time, she did come over while I was working, and brought several shirts she thought would work with my jeans and low-heeled boots. As I stand in my bathroom waiting for the water to heat in the shower, I mentally go through everything I need to do in order to get ready before he arrives.
“You’ve been out on a date before, silly,” I say out loud. “Granted, it’s been a few years, but the concept’s still the same. If you like someone or they like you, you spend time with each other, and go from there.”
But I like him so much, always have, even as a teenager when he was out of reach because he was dating Stacey. Plus, even though I’m scared to talk about my scars, they are a part of who I am now, and I need to know right from the start if they’re going to be an issue or deterrent for him or not. When Jonas broke off our engagement, I was devastated because I knew it was due to my injuries, and the fact that even with extensive surgeries, my body would always reflect the damage. However, looking back with clearer eyes, I now realize we probably wouldn’t have even made it to the altar.
Jonas expected perfection in every little thing, from my appearance, to what I did for a living. He never made it a secret that he didn’t think much of my career in the Navy; but those years, regardless of the outcome of my last mission, not only helped pay for my degree to become a nurse, but they also forced me to grow up and mature.
Because the day I stepped foot on the grounds at NAS Great Lakes up in Illinois, Uncle Sam owned me. I’m proud I served my country and was able to work with such a wide variety of people. I developed solid communication skills, which definitely helps me when I’m at work in the challenging, often exacerbating, emergency room in our little town of Possum Run.
Sighing, I push thoughts of Jonas into the abyss of my mind, determined that he will not be a dark cloud on something I’ve longed for. Stepping into the shower, I shampoo my hair then put conditioner on the layers to keep my hair from tangling, while at the same time, making it appear shiny, and feel smooth by leaving it in for three to five minutes as the directions state. The next step in my routine is to start the process of carefully washing and gently debriding the healing area on my thigh. The initial grafts done after my injury got infected, which caused my body to reject them, so once I was home, my parents sought out the best plastic surgeon they could find to treat the damage.