Choosing Happiness (6 page)

"Jake!" she cried, startled. "Don't pick me up. You'll hurt yourself."

"You think I'm not strong enough?"

"I'm heavy, Jake, and I know it." She frowned. "I don't want you to hurt yourself lifting my big butt."

"You're perfect." He laid her on top of her bed and ran his hand along her body until he cupped one breast, squeezing lightly. "From your full breasts, all the way down, through all your feminine curves." He slid his hands down her waist, over her hips and let it come to rest on her thigh, showing her how desirable he found every rounded curve.

~~~

A
ndrea looked down at her body then back at him, unashamed for the first time of the extra weight. In that moment she saw herself as he did. As something beautiful and desirable instead of something needing to be changed. The perspective gave her a sense of confidence and power she’d never felt before. She sat up suddenly, moved to her hands and knees and crawled toward where he stood beside the bed.

Jake lifted his brows and looked at her. "What's this?"

"Me turning the tables on you." She lifted up till she was standing on her knees, hooked her fingers in the belt loops of his jeans and pulled him closer. She looked up at him with half lidded eyes and a mischievous grin. "Let's see if I can do as good of job on you as we know you can on me."

J
ake woke reaching for Andrea, trying to pull her back against him. His searching arm found nothing but cold sheets. He opened his eyes and found nothing but early morning light. Confused, he looked around for a clock and found one on top of the dresser across the room. The glowing green digits read 7:15. Jake let his head fall back onto the pillow, knowing he wouldn't find her. She’d had to leave the house a little after three AM to make it to work on time. He’d planned to get up with her and go home when she left. Apparently, she'd woken before the alarm and slipped out of bed without him noticing. That in itself showed how deeply he’d slept with Andrea beside him. Usually, no one could move around the room without waking him, much less in the bed.

Groaning, he slid his legs off the side of the bed and sat up. He glanced around and found his clothes before making his way to the bathroom. After dressing, he headed for the living room only to find a post-it note stuck to the inside of the bedroom door. Jake pulled it down and read it as he staggered down the hall.

“Jake,

You were sleeping so peacefully I didn't have the heart to wake you. There's hot coffee in the kitchen and plenty of breakfast stuff in the fridge. Please make yourself at home. I don't get off until 4, but don't feel like you need to wait for me, just make sure the door latches when you leave.

XXOO,

Andrea”

He made a detour into the kitchen and found the coffee pot still hot. He opened the cabinet above it, found a cup, and poured himself some, then turned off the pot and sipped the hot liquid. After looking in the fridge to make sure Andrea hadn't left anything prepared for him in there, he rinsed out his empty cup and gathered the last of his things. He jotted down a quick note and stuck it to the TV screen before locking the door behind him as he left. He needed to get to home so he could get ready for his own day at work.

M
onday morning, Jake’s phone rang. He checked the screen and was surprised to discover it was Sophia. He’d programmed the number in when Ben had given it to him the week before.

"Are you working this evening?" she asked.

"No, my shift ends at five."

"Good," she sounded satisfied. "If you don't have other plans, we'd like it if you'd come over for dinner."

"I don't know." He hesitated.

"Nonsense. It's the family dinner. Normally we do it on Sundays, but with Ben and Jeanie out of town we shuffled things to be more convenient. Andrea worked yesterday and after a twelve hour shift she's just exhausted. Today is easier for her."

"I'm still not sure." He wanted to go but something held him back. He stared out the windshield at the gray clouds and couldn’t think of an excuse.

"Of course you are. Ben told me to treat you like part of the family, so that’s what I’m doing. Now, we generally serve around six-thirty, but come early and spend time with us. We'd love to get to know you better." She was cheery but insistent.

"All right, ma'am."

"What did I tell you about calling me ma'am?" Her tone turned stern.

"I mean, Sophia."

"That's better. We'll see you this evening. Do you need the address?"

"No, I have it." Ben had made sure he had that, too.

"All right then, we'll see you tonight."

"I'll see you then." He disconnected the call and dropped his phone back into the holster on his belt.

“Sophia?” His partner Ramon asked.

“My best friend’s mom.”

“Why are you going over there tonight?”

“Dinner. She’s invited me to the family dinner.”

“And you don’t want to go?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to go, but Ben’s out of town and I don’t know the rest of the family so well. I’m just hesitant.”

Ramon nodded, he didn’t seem to have anything to add but the look on his face said he understood.

***

J
ake showed up at Charles and Sophia's house a little before six o'clock. He wasn't sure what was expected of him, but he knew showing up was. Carrying the bouquet of flowers he'd brought for Sophia, he knocked on the front door and waited. The door swung inward, revealing Sophia. She was wearing an apron and carrying a hand towel.

"Jake." She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Come on in." She pushed the door open all the way and stepped back to make room for him to pass before closing it against the chill in the air. "Take your jacket off, make yourself at home."

"These are for you," Jake extended the flowers to her. "I didn't know what else to bring."

She took them. "You didn't have to do that. We want you to bring you, nothing more."

"I've never been to a family dinner. I didn't want to show up empty handed." He shrugged out of his jacket and looked around for where to hang it.

"That's the point of family, we only want you for yourself." She opened the door to the closet near the front door. "In here, dear."

"Thanks." He took an empty hanger and hung up his jacket, then closed the closet. Turning around he asked, "Do you need any help with dinner?"

"Oh, do you cook?" She moved toward the kitchen.

Jake followed. "Not really, but I'm good at following directions"

Sophia laughed. "It's good of you to offer, but I’ve got it handled. The lasagna is in the oven and the salad's in the fridge. We just have to wait for it to cook." She opened a cabinet on the far end of the kitchen from the sink and stove. "Could you hand me that vase, Jake?" She pointed to one on the top shelf.

"Sure." He lifted the vase down and handed it to her. Sophia carried the vase and flowers to the sink, added a spoonful of sugar to the vase and started filling it with water.

"Charles is in the living room. Why don't you go see what he's up to? I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm just going to get these taken care of."

"I'll think I'll do that."

Walking into the living room, Jake found Charles sitting in his recliner, a book open on his lap, but his head drooping as he dozed.

"Looks like retirement is exhausting," Jake said, hoping to wake Charles.

Charles jumped slightly, startled by Jake's voice. "It can be. I spent the morning at the shop, pitching in with the backlog of cars that came in over the weekend. The kid Ben left in charge is capable but they're still a man down with him gone."

"So you went down and helped out for a while to keep them from falling behind."

"I still like to get my hands dirty now and then, but I'm glad to be free of the day to day management. I like working with my hands, but I hate the paperwork."

Jake nodded, sympathizing. Paperwork had never been his favorite aspect of any job. He'd rather be out doing something than shuffling numbers and reports.

"So, how's your new job going? The city police force right?" Charles asked.

Jake nodded. "That's right. So far so good, but I've only been there a week. They've got me paired with an older officer and out on patrol. Not the most thrilling thing but you have to start somewhere."

"What do you have in mind, if you're not happy with patrolman? Do you want to move up the ranks, become the Chief of Police some day or do you have something else in mind?"

"Not sure how far up the line I want to go." Jake shrugged. "I want to make SWAT. Other than that, I'm not sure. I'll have to see how things go."

Sophia came in and sat in a recliner beside Charles. Charles nodded, considering Jake’s words.

"And how are you liking Hastings?"

"I like it. It's a good sized place, but not so big it's got an unfriendly city feel."

"That's part of why we like it. Plus, there weren't so many mechanic shops that I couldn't start mine. Once I established a reputation, I stayed busy."

"That's good."

"I'll be the first to tell you, you'll never get rich as a mechanic but if you do honest work for a fair price, you'll do all right.” He paused for a second. “I'm glad Ben's taken over the shop. He'll do well with it. But at the same time, I think he could’ve found something that pays a little better." Charles frowned.

"He probably could have, but it wouldn't have given him the same sense of satisfaction, or the connection to you, that taking over the shop he grew up in does. That's important to him." Jake watched the older man. Charles looked at him a moment, lips pursed, then nodded.

"I keep telling you, Charles, Ben's a grown man and knows what he's doing. He didn't take over that shop out of a sense of responsibility. He did it because he wanted to. Being in that old shop is like being there with you. Every time he picks up a tool and does something with it that you've taught him to do, it makes him feel close to you."

The front door squeaked open then closed again. A blast of cold air swept down the short hallway and into the living room, sending a shiver through Jake.

"Hello?" Andrea's voice came down the hall.

"In here, dear," Sophia called back.

A moment later Andrea appeared in the doorway. Her cheeks were red from the cold but a smile spread across her face as she spotted Jake sitting on the sofa.

"Hey, I didn't know you would be here." She went to her mother bent and hugged her briefly before moving to kiss her father on the top of the head. "How's your day been, Dad?" She sat on the couch, taking the spot right beside him rather than leaving a gap or sitting at the other end.

"Good, I went down to the shop for a bit and told them what they were doing wrong. Then I was sitting here warming up and reading, I'd started dozing when Jake here came in and woke me." He recounted his day for her.

"Sounds like a good day to me. I've spent mine with boring things that have to get done but no one wants to do, laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, that kind of thing."

They visited a while longer, catching up with what had happened since the wedding a couple days earlier. The timer in the kitchen went off and Andrea and Sophia both got up to get dinner on the table. Jake was amazed how easy going they all were. When he’d been a kid, no one helped or did anything more than they had to.

Charles looked Jake in the eye. "What exactly are your intentions toward my daughter?"

"Nothing but honorable, sir." Jake didn’t blink.

"I hope so. I watched the two of you dance around each other the last time you were in town. She may not have been here the whole time you were, but when she was there was a tension between you. Looking at the two of you now, it seems the dancing's over."

"It's not over, sir, we’ve just changed the music. The way I figure it, now I have a stable life and something other than myself to offer her."

"I'm glad to hear that. That girl in there is awful dear to me and I'd hate to have to hurt you for messing with her."

"No worries there, sir."

Sophia stepped out of the dining room. "Are the two of you gonna come eat?"

"Of course." Jake stood and waited for Charles to make it to his feet then followed the older man to the table. "It smells delicious." Jake pulled out a chair and took a seat beside Andrea.

Sophia scooped squares of lasagna onto everyone's plates, then passed around a large bowl of salad. They talked here and there through dinner, asking Jake about his family and where he grew up. He was honest but kept his answers short. He didn't want them drawn into the ugliness he’d grown up with or have them pity him for his childhood. He just wanted to move on and make a new life.

A
ndrea stood and picked up her purse. She was ready to leave when Jake turned to Sophia.

“Thank you for inviting me. You served a wonderful meal.” He looked at Charles. “I had a great time tonight, but I’ve got an early morning tomorrow so I should take off, too. Thanks again.” He followed Andrea out. He wanted to talk to her alone for a moment.

"You left me sleeping at your place yesterday," he said, as they approached their vehicles. The icy wind from earlier had calmed to a gentle, though still cold, breeze.

"You looked tired. You were sleeping hard and I didn't see a reason to wake you." Andrea rested her butt against her car and looked up at him.

"So you left a man you barely knew alone in your house?"

"No, I left a man I trust enough to sleep next to. I’m not talking about the sex here. Not to mention that he’s a man my brother trusts with his life, alone in my house."

Jake had no reply. He couldn't fault her logic but for her to put that much trust in him blew him away.

"Still, you barely know me. And you left me alone in your house. I could have robbed you blind."

Andrea laughed. "If you weren't safe to leave in my house, Ben would have never brought you home. I may not have known you all that long, but Ben trusts you and I trust Ben. If it makes you feel better, I wouldn't have left just anyone there. Hell, I wouldn't have gone home with just anyone after the wedding, either.” She looked down. “I've never done anything like that before."