nook in the kitchen but since that table only has four seats, we have to eat in the dining room tonight. Paul is still in his navy blue scrubs from the hospital, Maddie is wearing only a diaper since she still hasn’t quite mastered the art of not getting food all over herself. Mom is in an old white t-shirt and faded mom-jeans. Her hair is pulled back in a messy bun at the top of her head and, as usual, she is covered in paint.
I’m wearing my Hello Kitty jammies since it seemed silly to get dressed again after my shower.
And Jacoby is sitting here in suit and tie. Well, not the suit part.
“ Why are you so dressed up?” I ask him in Mind-Speak as we sit down at the table.
“I wanted to impress your mom,” he answers back.
“ My paint-splattered mess of a mom ?”
He looks around the table, at the attire of each member of my family before laughing out loud earning peculiar looks from my parents. “I guess the tie was overkill,” he says as an explanation for his sudden burst of laughter.
Paul joins in the laughter before saying, “Yeah, I guess we don’t really dress for company.”
“Oh,” Mom gasps running her fingers through her hair. “I guess I didn’t even think about it. I must look a mess.”
“You’re beautiful,” Paul assures her. “I like you just the way you are, a paint-covered-hair-matted mess.” He kisses her sweetly causing her to blush. I clear my throat, loud and obnoxiously mocking embarrassment when really, I think they are kind of cute.
I often find myself wondering what it would have been like growing up knowing Alberico as my father. But when I see my Mom and Paul together, I’m torn because while I suspect that Alberico is still in love with my mom and that makes me sad for him, I can’t deny that Mom and Paul are happy together since they still act like newlyweds after all this time.
Dinner goes much better than I anticipated. I think Jacoby might have finally won my Mom over. I wasn’t too worried about Paul since Paul’s the kind of guy who acts like you’re best friends after knowing you for ten minutes.
It’s after midnight now and I’m wide awake . After today my brain is having a hard time shutting off. I flip through the TV channels until finding a documentary on European architecture during the Renaissance in hopes that it will distract me.
It seems strange to me that the 16th century produced ornate, complicated, well-thought out, highly-decorated buildings that remain standing even after hundreds of years yet now in the 21st century, with all of the technology we have at our fingertips, we build simple and boring rectangular buildings that Mother Nature has no problem knocking to the ground.
“Psst, Lark, are you awake?”
“Why are you whispering in my head ?” I giggle. “It’s not like anyone else can hear you.”
“Okay Sassy, so you’re still up?” Jacoby materializes in my room.
“Shh! You do have to whisper in here!”
He laughs softly to himself. “Wanna go somewhere with me?”
“Where?”
“It’s a surprise.” His eyes are smoldering. “Please say yes?”
How can I resist?
“Okay, are jammies appropriate attire?”
“Always. C’mon,” he says with a smile.
He holds my hand and a second later we are on top of the Manhattan Hill. The real name is Bluemont Hill, but
I’m wearing my Hello Kitty jammies since it seemed silly to get dressed again after my shower.
And Jacoby is sitting here in suit and tie. Well, not the suit part.
“ Why are you so dressed up?” I ask him in Mind-Speak as we sit down at the table.
“I wanted to impress your mom,” he answers back.
“ My paint-splattered mess of a mom ?”
He looks around the table, at the attire of each member of my family before laughing out loud earning peculiar looks from my parents. “I guess the tie was overkill,” he says as an explanation for his sudden burst of laughter.
Paul joins in the laughter before saying, “Yeah, I guess we don’t really dress for company.”
“Oh,” Mom gasps running her fingers through her hair. “I guess I didn’t even think about it. I must look a mess.”
“You’re beautiful,” Paul assures her. “I like you just the way you are, a paint-covered-hair-matted mess.” He kisses her sweetly causing her to blush. I clear my throat, loud and obnoxiously mocking embarrassment when really, I think they are kind of cute.
I often find myself wondering what it would have been like growing up knowing Alberico as my father. But when I see my Mom and Paul together, I’m torn because while I suspect that Alberico is still in love with my mom and that makes me sad for him, I can’t deny that Mom and Paul are happy together since they still act like newlyweds after all this time.
Dinner goes much better than I anticipated. I think Jacoby might have finally won my Mom over. I wasn’t too worried about Paul since Paul’s the kind of guy who acts like you’re best friends after knowing you for ten minutes.
It’s after midnight now and I’m wide awake . After today my brain is having a hard time shutting off. I flip through the TV channels until finding a documentary on European architecture during the Renaissance in hopes that it will distract me.
It seems strange to me that the 16th century produced ornate, complicated, well-thought out, highly-decorated buildings that remain standing even after hundreds of years yet now in the 21st century, with all of the technology we have at our fingertips, we build simple and boring rectangular buildings that Mother Nature has no problem knocking to the ground.
“Psst, Lark, are you awake?”
“Why are you whispering in my head ?” I giggle. “It’s not like anyone else can hear you.”
“Okay Sassy, so you’re still up?” Jacoby materializes in my room.
“Shh! You do have to whisper in here!”
He laughs softly to himself. “Wanna go somewhere with me?”
“Where?”
“It’s a surprise.” His eyes are smoldering. “Please say yes?”
How can I resist?
“Okay, are jammies appropriate attire?”
“Always. C’mon,” he says with a smile.
He holds my hand and a second later we are on top of the Manhattan Hill. The real name is Bluemont Hill, but
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