“It’s okay, Mom, really. It was no trouble at all. I thought this might be a little more intimate for you to meet Justin and Margie anyway,” I said.
My mom smiled. “You must get that from me.”
“I must,” I said.
Everyone took a seat. Ally at one end, me at the other, Justin and Margie next to me with Margie sitting between us, and my dad and mom sat on the other side; my mom was next to me and across from Margie.
“How old are you, Margie?” my mom asked.
“I’m four,” she said and held up four fingers on her left hand.
I helped Justin scoop food out onto her plate, and then everyone else moved on to serve themselves.
“I don’t think I’ve had this before,” Margie said.
“You haven’t. It’s just like spaghetti but with a piece of chicken,” Justin said.
Margie looked at me. “What if I don’t like it?”
“That’s okay. As long as you try it for me, I won’t be upset. But I promise you; it’s really yummy.”
I caught Justin staring at me as I talked to Margie about the food on the table. I smiled at him, and he mouthed the words “thank you” to me. I nodded at him.
The conversation flowed around the table. Everyone participated, and I pictured Thanksgiving and Christmas just like this.
Ally told a funny story about her roommate. It seemed so foreign to me. Having a roommate and hardly any responsiblities.
“Have you found a new job yet?” my dad asked her. He had always been so hard on us about getting our lives together. I was surprised that Ally wasn’t more settled down by now.
“Yeah, I have an internship,” she said.
“I meant when you are done with it,” he said.
“Well, more than likely I’ll have a permanent position at the company. The boss thinks I’m great and said that he sees a lot of potential in me,” she said.
“That’s good to hear, dear,” Mom said to her.
The rest of dinner went smoothly. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and I felt like I succeeded. I caught Justin staring at me more than a few times, and I had to admit that it felt good. I felt butterflies every time I caught his eye.
When dinner was over, my parents and Anna went into the living room. Justin and Margie stayed in the kitchen with me.
“Can we help you clean up?” Justin asked.
“Thank you for offering, but I’ve got it,” I said, stacking everyone’s plates.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“We want to help,” Margie said and then added, “Please?”
I knew I couldn’t say no after that.
“Okay, just grab the dishes and come set them on the counter. I’ve got containers for all the left-over food on the counter. Put the food in there. Margie and I will rinse the dishes and put them away.”
“Okay,” Justin said with a big smile. Then the three of us got to work. Once again, we were working in a swift motion, just like a real team, and it felt so good.
Chapter Seventeen
Justin