Jacob took an open seat next to my dad, which put him directly across the table from me.
“Thanks for coming,” I said, shifting in my seat. “I wasn't sure if you'd make it, but I'm glad you did.”
“Thank you for inviting me, Hannah,” he said. “It's nice to see you outside of the office once in a while.”
I swear I thought he did an up and down of me with his eyes and then smile. But, there was no way that my boss would do such a thing. Still, it made me glad I'd worn the cute dress today, even if the once-over was all in my imagination.
It didn't take long before the rest of the table started talking to the doctor. I'm sure it was a common occurrence. Being one of the two doctors in town meant that he was bombarded with health questions constantly. I admired his patience, though, as he spoke with everyone there. His demeanor was so relaxed and happy, which was pretty much the opposite of how I had been feeling before he'd shown up.
I watched him dreamily as he spoke and only stopped when my mom nudged her elbow into my side.
“Hannah,” she said. “Earth to Hannah.”
Embarrassed for my staring, I turned away from Dr. Matthews and faced my mom.
“Hey, sorry, I was just listening to the Doctor,” I said.
She glanced across the table to Jacob and then back to me with a frown. “I can see that.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” I whispered.
“He's practically engaged to Katie,” my mother whispered. “At least according to his mother.”
“Practically isn't actually,” I reminded her, repeating back a phrase she used to say to me all the time. “And he and his mother don't exactly get along.”
“What makes you say that?” Mom asked, a frown creasing her brow.
I thought back to our high school days and just how much Jacob hated his mother. I wasn't going to tell my mom about that time though. She'd just say it was too long ago to count anyway.
“In the month I've worked at the office, I haven't seen Katie once. I haven't even seen things from her bakery, or even heard him mention her or the bakery,” I told her. “If they were practically engaged, don't you think she'd have stopped by at some point?”
“Dr. Matthews is a busy man, and love works in mysterious ways,” my mom replied, raising her chin. She looked over at Dr. Matthews talking to another guest and shook her head. “I love you, but he's not the man for you.”
I sighed and picked at my corn. “Thanks, Mom.”
My dad came back from the grill with a plate covered in food. He set it down in front of Jacob.
“Now this looks incredible,” Jacob said, eyes widening. “Thanks, Frank.”
“Of course,” Dad said. “Anything for the Doctor. We're just glad you made it to the party. Eat quick, though, because after this we're playing tag football. Aiden's on the other team, so we need a good quarterback, too. You in?
“Most definitely,” he said. “Under one condition.”
“What's that?” Dad asked.
“I want Hannah on my team,” he said casually.
My eyes lit up. “Really? I'm not that good at football.”
“It doesn't matter,” Jacob said. “We make the best team ever at the clinic. I think that would apply to a football game as well.”
“Alright, I'll play,” I said, excited to spend some more time with him that wasn't in the clinic. “Count me in.”
“Omaha, Omaha,” Jacob called out as he stood behind me. “Blue forty-two...”
I was bent over in front of him, holding the football to the ground. My legs were parted just slightly, enough for me to crane my neck and look between them. I saw Jacob's hands hovering between my knees, waiting to accept the football from me.
I'm enjoying being bent over in front of him right now way more than I should be, I thought. I'd borrowed a pair of my mother's shorts, so I wore the dress like an over-sized shirt. Even though I was bent over in front of him, there wasn't anything to see. It was too bad.