“Oh, well isn’t that lovely!” the woman exclaimed, taking Jacob’s hand in both of hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Well, I’m Iris, dear. It’s a pleasure. Any friend of Jenny’s is welcome here any time,” she smiled, the radiant white contrasting her dark skin and pink-painted lips.
“The pleasure’s all mine,” Jacob replied, returning her contagious grin.
“Ooo, girl, he’s a charmer, I can tell,” she giggled, nudging Jenna with her elbow. “What can I get y’all today?”
“The usual,” Jenna answered quickly. “He’ll have the same.”
“Comin’ right up, baby,” Iris said, waddling off to the kitchen. “I’ll let Al know you’re here.”
Jacob widened his eyes and gave Jenna a mock gasp.
“The Al?” he asked, pointing at the “Big Al’s” logo on the little plastic menu card on their table.
Jenna giggled. “Yeah, he’s my uncle.”
“Wow,” Jacob let out an impressed whistle. “You never told me your family was famous.”
“You never asked,” she quipped.
He laughed as a jovial, large-bellied man walked up to their table with two vanilla milkshakes.
“There’s my girl,” he said, setting the shakes on the table and planting a kiss on top of Jenna’s head. “What’s this I hear about you making the honor roll?”
“Oh, geez,” Jenna rolled her eyes. “Iris exaggerates. It was one B on one test.”
“Eh, well, that’s good, too,” he winked at her. Turning to Jacob and extending a hand, he said, “Al Johnson, good to meet ya.”
“Jacob,” he replied with a firm shake. “And you, too.”
“Jacob’s the one who helped me study for that test,” Jenna announced.
“Oh?” Al raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah. He’s really smart. Especially with math,” she continued.
Jacob blushed.
“Is that right?” Al said, his round, rosy cheeks glistening under his smile. “Well, it sounds like he’s a good friend to have around, then.”
“Mhmm,” Jenna murmured around the straw of her shake. “Hey, speaking of math,” she interjected in a conspicuously innocent tone, “did you ever find anyone to replace your bookkeeper?”
Al shook his head with a frown. “Not yet. It’s tough, you know, finding someone you can trust with your finances,” he lamented. “Been looking for someone stable ever since your Aunt left us.”
“Well,” Jenna shrugged in an overstated gesture. “I mean, I’m just thinking of this now, but… you know, Jacob is looking for a job, so, maybe…,” she trailed off, leaving the idea for Al to finish, as if it were his own.
Jacob tried to suppress his smirk at her devious plan. She gave him a covert wink, and he shook his head at her.
“Oh, well I’ll be darned,” he said. “Maybe he could come work for me! What would you think of that, Jacob?”
Jenna sported a proud grin, and Jacob put on his best surprised face.
“Wow, what a great idea, sir,” he answered.
Al smiled, proud of himself for coming up with it.
“Although, I have to say, I don’t have any experience in bookkeeping,” Jacob admitted.
“Eh, that’s alright,” Al dismissed with a wave. “It’s pretty simple stuff, really. I just need someone I can trust, who can take some of the weight off me. Been spending too many late nights here, not that I have anything else to get to,” he snorted a laugh. “But still, it’s nice to be home before bed time. Catch up on them Dancing with the Stars folks.”
Iris was returning with two red baskets of food, and Al stepped out of her way.
“I’ll go grab you an application,” he said, heading back to his office.
“Alrighty, here we are,” Iris declared, setting the baskets in front of them. “Anything else I can get you two?”
“I’m good,” Jenna said, already dipping a thin, crispy fry into her milkshake.
Jacob appraised the thick, juicy burger in front of him. “Looks great,” he said. “Thank you.”
“No problem, sugar,” she said. “Holler if you need me.”
Jenna bit into her burger, meat juice dripping down onto her fries.
Jacob shook his head at her as he popped a fry in his mouth. “So that’s why you wanted to take me here,” he said.
She chewed, putting on an innocent expression. “I don’t know what you mean,” she took another bite, and he smirked.
“So, is your uncle the reason you came to Ohio?” he asked.
“Sort of,” she replied, wiping the grease from the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
He was expecting her to continue, but she picked up a fry and used it to stir her slowly melting milkshake instead.
“Cool,” Jacob said, not sure what else to say to that. “So… mom’s side or dad’s side?” he nodded toward the office door where Al had disappeared.
“He’s my mom’s sister’s husband,” she explained. “My aunt – his wife – died a while back, but he’ll always be part of the family. We’ve been close ever since they got married when I was ten. She was always my favorite aunt,” she mused, still stirring her shake with a new fry, now. “She was kind of the only one in my family who actually believed in me.”
Jacob stopped chewing at that. “Really?”
Jenna looked at him blankly for a second before snapping out of her musings. She blushed at the accidental admission, and said, “Pretty much,” with a flippant shrug, popping another fry in her mouth.
He wanted to ask, but it seemed best to avoid that subject. He was just trying to think of something to say when Al clomped up to their table with a freshly printed application in his hands.
“Here you are, son,” he offered, handing it over.
“Thanks for this,” Jacob said, glancing over the application. “I’ll bring it back tomorrow, after class.”
“Why don’t you just fill it out here?” Jenna suggested.
“Um,” Jacob stuttered, his eyes landing on that one question that seemed to ostentatiously jump off the page. “Well, I don’t have my references with me.”
Damn it. He cursed himself for saying that in front of Al, who would soon see that he didn’t even have any references to have to retrieve.
“Oh, no need for that,” Al waved off in a low voice, to keep their conversation private from the other guests in the restaurant. “Honestly, this stuff is just a formality,” he gestured to the paper. “If Jenny says you’re trustworthy, then I’m willing to give you a shot. Just gotta have something official on file, for the suits.”
“Oh. Okay,” Jacob replied, fidgeting with the paper.
“Here, I have a pen,” Jenna offered, reaching into her purse.
Before he could find a reason to object, she was handing a pen over, and Al gave him a pat on the back.
“Just fill out what you can,” he said, heading back to his office. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Jacob stared at the application, and Jenna leaned forward to look at the page.