This is a work of fiction. If you're not old enough... Or if it's illegal to read this type of story in your area... Please don't... Or at least don't get caught...
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When You Least Expect It
By: B J
Chapter 11
I sat on the plane with a smile on my face.
"I think you coming to see him helped Jeff a lot." Kathy said hugging me as I got into the rental car.
"I hope so. I'd do anything for him." I said returning the hug.
"I know you would sweetie. And I couldn't be happier with his choice of a partner." She said. I smiled.
"So, maybe we'll see the three of you at Christmas." I said hopeful.
"You'll definitely see Judy and I. Jack, we'll see. I'll keep working on him." Kathy said.
"Tell Judy I'm sorry I didn't get to see her."
"I know she'll be upset that she missed you. By the way, does Jeff know you flew out here?" She said.
"No, he doesn't." I answered. Kathy nodded, hugged me again, and backed away. "Have a safe flight sweetie. And give my grandson a big kiss from me."
I smiled.
"I guess you can give my son a kiss from me too." She laughed. I laughed and drove off.
As the plane finally took off I smiled at the morning and early afternoon I had.
"Hi, can I get you anything to drink?" The flight attendant asked once we were at cruising altitude.
"Some water would be great." I answered.
He poured a glass of water for me and went on to the next passenger.
Jeff and Marcus weren't home when I got there so I started dinner and had a glass of wine. The guilt started to set in as the chicken cooked. I felt guilty for lying to Jeff. For not telling him that I was flying off to see his parents.
"Dad's home," Marcus said as he ran in the door. I smiled.
"I'm in the kitchen making dinner." I called. Marcus ran and threw his arms around my waist. "Hey Kiddo,"
"Glad you're home safe Dad." He said. I smiled and hugged him tighter.
"Hey babe," Jeff said coming into the kitchen and kissing me.
"Hi sweetie, did everything go okay today?" I said returning his kiss.
"Yeah, everything ran smoothly. Practice was good. The kids are all doing better." He said happily.
"That's good." I said.
"How was your meeting?" Jeff asked.
"It was a long meeting but it looks promising." I smiled.
With everything cleaned up we headed to bed. I tossed and turned with Jeff's arm around me.
"Babe, are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah... No... Yeah..." I said. He laughed.
"Which is it?" Jeff said.
"JeffIflewouttoseeyourparentsandmetwithyourdadandI'mfeelingguiltyaboutitbecauseIdidn'ttellyouthetruthaboutwhatmymeetingwas." I blurted out quickly.
"Whoa there cowboy, I didn't understand a word you just said." Jeff laughed.
"The meeting I had today was with your parents. I flew out to talk to your dad. I thought that maybe if he met me it would maybe change his mind." I said.
"Did he hit you?" Jeff asked.
"No, he didn't touch me, other than shaking my hand." I said.
"What did he say?" He asked.
"I just basically told him who I was and what I was doing there. And I told him that we wanted him here at Christmas time so he could see our family for himself." I said. Jeff pulled me tighter.
"I love you so much Colin." Jeff said.
"You're not mad?" I asked.
"Why would I be mad? You were trying to help me and my family." He said.
"I love you too Jeff." I said.
The week before our Christmas party I was looking over the potluck list to see what everyone was bringing. I laughed when I saw that Danny was bringing a surprise dish.
Michael walked into my office.
"What up biatch?" He said. I looked up and smiled.
"Do you know what Danny's bringing to the potluck?" I asked.
"Nope," he answered.
"Well, we'll all find out next weekend." I laughed.
"He's working out really well in the kitchen." Michael said.
"I think so too!" I said.
The week flew by. Our families were coming in for Christmas. I had invited them all to come in for the Christmas party we were having at the restaurant. My family said they'd come in early as did Kathy and Judy. I asked Kathy if Jack was coming with them. She said that she wasn't sure. She told him about it and said he'd been spending more and more time in his garage.
On the twentieth I woke up early and headed over to the restaurant after starting breakfast and putting it in the oven. Our families were on their way.
My cell phone rang as I cooked along side Michael and Danny.
"Hello?" I said.
`Colin?' The man asked.
"Yes, who's this?" I asked.
`It's Jack Marshall.' He answered.
"Morning Mr. Marshall." I said.
`Call me Jack please.'
"Okay Jack. What can I do for you?" I said.
`You did say the name of your restaurant is The Currents didn't you?' He said.
"Yeah, it's on Paradise and Harmon." I answered.
`From the outside it looks like a nice restaurant.' Jack said.
I looked at Michael and Danny.
"What?" They both asked.
I covered the mouthpiece.
"I think Jeff's dad is here." I answered.
"When did he get in? Who's picking him up?" Michael asked.
"No, I think he's outside the restaurant." I said walking out of the kitchen to the front with Michael and Danny following me.
I unlocked the front door and looked outside. Standing there with a couple of suitcases and a couple of large boxes was Jeff's dad.
I smiled at him.
"It's good to see you Jack," I said.
"Same here Colin," He said with his hand outstretched.
I pushed his hand away and pulled him into a hug.
"It means a lot to me and Jeff to have you here with us." I said sincerely.
"I hope my son will forgive me for the way I treated him." He said.
"Why don't you come in for some coffee, I've got a few things to finish up and get into the oven and then I can take you to our place. They should all be having breakfast by now." I said. Jack nodded as we carried his stuff to my car. "Jack Marshall, I'd like you to meet my business partner Michael Norton and one of our chefs Danny Harris."
"It's nice to meet you gentlemen." Jack said shaking their hands.
"It's great to finally meet you Mr. Marshall." Michael said.
"Pleasure to meet you," Danny said.
The four of us walked back into the restaurant with Jack looking around and nodding.
"Very nice place," He said.
"Thank you," Michael and I said.
We talked as we went back to work with Danny still being secretive about what he was making.
"Come on Danny, what are you making?" Michael whined. Danny laughed.
"I told you. I'm making something for dessert." He said. Michael rolled his eyes.
"Just let him make his dessert." I said with a laugh. "We'll find out later tonight."
"Well, I know what kind of dessert you're making. I know what kind of dessert I'm making." Michael said.
Danny and I laughed.
"Are you three just making desserts?" Jack asked.
"Well, Michael and I are making a dessert, a side dish, and a main course just in case." I answered.
"So, that's two main courses, two side dishes, and three desserts?" He asked. I smiled.
"Plus whatever the other employees said they were bringing." Michael answered.
"Oh okay." Jack said. "There's going to be a lot of food."
"There should be quite a few people here tonight." I said.
Once I had everything in the oven I told the other two that I'd be back after I dropped off Jack at the house.
We left the boxes in the car and carried Jack's suitcases to the condo. Everyone was laughing and talking as I opened the door. Jeff looked at me holding the suitcase.
"Hey babe, what are you doing?" He asked walking over to me and kissing me.
"I'm just dropping off a special package." I answered, moving out of the doorway.
Jack walked in behind me.
"Dad," Jeff said.
"Morning Jeff," Jack said as tears fell from his eyes. "I'm sorry son,"
Jeff stopped him with a hug.
"I'm glad to have you hear Dad. There are a few people I'd like you to meet." Jeff said as his own tears fell.
"You've got a wonderful partner here Jeff." Jack said.
"I know I do. He really loves me." Jeff said looking at me. I smiled and winked at him.
"Did you know he was here?" Kathy asked as she came over and hugged me.
"Not until he said that the restaurant looked really good from the outside." I answered.
Jeff introduced my family to his dad. Kathy and Judy snuck in a hug and a kiss.
"And this is Marcus, our son." Jeff said.
"Come here and give Grandpa Jack a hug." His dad said.
"Dad's showed me pictures of you Grandpa Jack." Marcus said.
"He has?" Jack asked surprised.
"Yeah, he said that he hoped you'd come around one day so I could meet you." Marcus smiled.
My parents came up to me and wrapped their arms around me.
"That was a good thing you did." Dad said.
"It shows how much you love Jeff." Mom said.
"I'd do anything for him. If it made him happy I would do it." I said.
"We all know as well as he does." Mom said.
"I've gotta get back to the restaurant." I said loud enough for everyone to hear.
I hugged our families.
"Do I need to bring clothes for you babe?" Jeff asked with a big smile.
"No sweetie, I brought some clothes with me this morning." I said kissing him.
I kissed and hugged Marcus before leaving.
"I'll see you all at six tonight." I said walking out the door.
There were more people in the kitchen when I got back to the restaurant.
"We figured it might be easier to make our dishes here since the restaurant is equipped to cook for a lot more people." Rachel said. I laughed.
"I'm done. Mine are in the cooling box." Danny said.
"I've just got to finish these potatoes." Michael said.
"Mine are still baking." I said.
"The cake's done and cooling." Danny said.
"You've got another few hours on the turkey and the stuffing is in the warmer." Michael said.
"Thanks guys." I said.
The others took over our spots.
"What are you going to do with the rest of your day?" I asked Danny as he sat down in one of the chairs.
"Hang out here. Seth and Lance are coming by later. Lance dropped Rachel off." He answered.
"With everyone here we should do lunch probably." Michael said.
"Sounds good, do we want to make something or order from somewhere?" I said.
"Let's order something." They both said.
"Mexican food," I said.
They both agreed. I called and ordered a bunch of tacos, enchiladas, burritos, rice, and beans. They said it would be ready for pick up in an hour. The three of us sat around and talked until it was time to pick up the food.
"We'll be back." I told Danny.
"Okay." He said.
Michael and I left and headed over to the restaurant. He filled up some containers with salsa and some plastic bags with cucumbers, radishes, limes, and jalapeno peppers. I walked up to the register and paid for everything.
"This is a lot of food for just two people." The man behind the counter said.
"There are more than just the two of us eating." I laughed.
We left with boxes and bags filled with food. We carried everything back into the kitchen.
"We've got lunch." Michael said.
We ate lunch and watched everyone else cook in the kitchen.
"You three could help some of us." Rachel said.
The three of us laughed.
"We'd rather watch." Danny said.
"Yeah," Michael said.
"How do we want to do the tables?" I asked.
"Family style," Michael answered.
After eating the three of us headed out to the dining room to set the tables for dinner.
To be continued...
Hey guys!
Hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter. Let me know what you guys think at Scroo_Yoo89081@yahoo.com
I'm also looking for an editor... If you're interested let me know at Scroo_Yoo89081@yahoo.com
Take care B J