Dinner Date

Saturday Before the Previous Chapter

*Jimmy*

Grace and I have been dating for five weeks now. It�s actually going well. We call each other every week. We have lunch on her off days. We been out on many dates. I can see us going far for many years. (That�s if� Well, you know.)

Tonight, Grace has a surprise for me.

�There�s someone I want you to meet,� she told me.

�Oh?� I asked. �Who?� She smiled as she waved her finger at me.

�I can�t tell you yet,� she said. �You�ll have to see.�

�Oh,� I said. Grace gave me a little smile.

�See you tomorrow night at my house,� she said. I smiled at her.

�Yes ma�am!� I said. My girlfriend gave me a little smile. I smiled back as I watched her walk away. I�m going to miss that bouncing red hair for a while. Oh well, I have tomorrow night to look forward to. Until then, keep counting down.

Saturday night came and I picked up Grace from the restaurant. She waited outside for me.

�Hi,� I greeted her.

�Hello,� she said back.

�Ready to go?� I asked. Her face lit up with her smile.

�Yeah!� she cheered. I chuckled at her.

�Okay,� I said. �Lead the way!�

�Yes sir!� she said. Then, we headed out. Now, Grace lived in a big house. No, this wasn�t a house. No, this wasn�t a house. This was a frickin� palace! My jaw just dropped at the gate.

�Wow!� I gasped. I turned to my girlfriend.

�You live here?� I asked.

�Yeah,� Grace said with a nod. I stared on still.

�Really?� I asked.

�Yes,� she said again. I looked through the gate again. Castle white walls, mother fucker! I don�t mean to be blunt, but you should see this place! Grace led me to the front door and unlocked it.

�We�re home, mom!� she called. I looked at her.

�Oh, so I�m meeting big mama tonight, huh?� I asked.

�Uh-huh,� Grace said. She looked around the vintage gold living room. Ah, so I�m meeting her family. I smiled a little bit. Well, this is a step up. Suddenly, an older woman came out into the living room. I quickly pick up where Grace�s pretty red hair came from. The older woman fixed her navy-framed glasses. Grace stepped forward.

�Mom, this is Jimmy,� she said. Mrs. Forrest looked at me with a hard look in her eyes. I gave her a little wave.

�Hello Mrs. Forrest,� I said. Her face didn�t change.

�So you�re James,� she said.

�That�s right,� I replied. Silence. Her face didn�t change. Uh-oh, I�ve got a tough one here.

�So nice to meet you,� I added. �You have a lovely daughter.�

�Really?� she asked.

�Yes,� I replied. Silence again. Mrs. Forrest still kept the same face. Damn, she�s tough. The older woman turned to the dining room.

�Dinner is almost ready,� she said. �Gracie, come help set up the table.�

�Yes, mom,� she said. They both disappeared into the dining room.

�Hey, I could help out,� I offered them.

�No, we got it,� my girl�s mom said. �Sit around until we call you.� I nodded once.

�Okay,� I said. I gave a little smile to myself as I sat down on their couch. Looks good so far�