Dinner Part 1
+36 Bonus
By the time they arrived at the restaurant, after an hour and fifteen minutes in the back seat of a car, wedged between her daughter and mother, January was feeling incredibly on edge.
Her mother was a hopeless romantic. Despite the fact she was a tough nut with a strong constitution who would never take guff off anyone, the woman devoured romance novels, holiday movies, and a happy ending. She’d been trying for years to get her daughter to date again. The sudden reappearance of Gulliver in January’s life was making her mother be starry eyed, especially since she was believing his story.
“I’m just saying,” her mother whispered trying not to wake up the child who had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the restaurant, “is that he seems apologetic and I could tell he wanted very much to be in this car with you two.”
“He also lied to me deeply.”
“To protect you.”
She shot an annoyed look at the back of her father’s head for sitting up front and staying silent. She knew he was more like her. There was a fear in him about who Gulliver Raptis really was, based on his brother’s old stories and his friendship with a man who may have deceived them. Yet, she knew even he was second–guessing the situation. However, he, like her, wasn’t one to jump to forgiveness with a few pretty words. Yet, he was being annoyingly silent while her mother gushed about how good Gulliver was with Kaylee already
13:00
Dinner Part I
+36 Bonus
She couldn’t get out of the car fast enough, nearly climbing over her mother to circle around to the other side and open the door to get Kaylee out.
“Kaylee, honey, wake up. We’re at the restaurant.” It was coming on five o’clock and all January wanted to do was smash her face into a giant burger and slurp back a milkshake and then sleep on the way home. She needed this child alert so they could get in, order and go home.
The second of the cars pulled up behind her and she wasn’t surprised to see Gulliver alighting as quickly as she had.
“You should have waited until we all arrived.” He chastised her. “If I thought for a moment you forgot what the protocol was eight years ago, I would have explained it to you before we left. You don’t get out of the car until everyone is in place and security is prepared to cover you into the restaurant.”
She froze at the scolding and felt immediately horrible for potentially putting Kaylee at risk. “I’m sorry. I forgot. I was just thinking how much I wanted to get inside.” She was feeling overrun with her emotions. Her mother laying it on thick about how much he clearly cared was now mixing with her own feelings and him telling her off was making her weepy.
“Kaylee,” she caressed the child’s face again, her back to the larger–than–life man, “we’re here at the restaurant and your dad is here. He wants to have dinner with you. Why don’t you open those pretty eyes, and we can go in and have dinner?”
Kaylee slowly opened her eyes, her cheeks flushed and her eyes Struggling to focus around her.
13:00
Dinner Part I
“Hey pretty girl. We’re at the restaurant.”
“Is my dad here?”
+36 Bonus
January felt a tug in her chest at the question. “He’s right behind me, actually.”
“Can he carry me into the restaurant?”
“You’re a big girl,” January protested but then Gulliver’s voice cut her off.
“Of course, I can carry her into the restaurant.” He put his hands on January’s waist and pulled her backwards and pushed her in the direction of one of his security agents. “Take her in and get her seated. We’re right behind you.”
“Her car seat,” January started to speak.
“Again, I have a nephew her age. I’ve spent enough time with him to know how a car seat works, January. Get inside out of the open parking lot please. It’s not safe.”
“Yes Gulliver,” she muttered meekly as she noted her parents were already entering the restaurant under the protection of a couple of men.
Entering the restaurant, she looked at the agent at her side, “I need the washroom. Can you clear it please?” Memories of such events needing to take place were flitting to her mind and she waited while he waved another person to check the washroom, make sure it was clear and then allowed her to go in.
3/4
13:00
Dinner Part I
36 Bonus
By the time she exited the washroom, her parents were seated at a table at the far side of the restaurant with Thisbe, Gulliver, and Kaylee. They were all smiling at something Kaylee was doing. She stood there staring at the group. They looked like a happy family. She was standing in her melancholy, heart ache, with an anger and a fury inside her that wasn’t jiving with the group sitting in the corner. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she didn’t belong.
“Ma’am,” one of the guards was edging her back to the table and she shook her head and made her way to the group, her feet feeling leaden. The desire to simply go back to the car and pretend none of this was happening was welling inside her and she wasn’t sure she was strong enough not to snap and freak out.
It felt all too much, too familiar, and too normal on the outside but inside, it felt contrived and painful. The question was, could she tolerate the pain to blend in with the crowd.
Second Chance for the Mafia Prince
