The 2014 R.L. Mathewson Chronicle Collection (12 page)

Sunday Dinner

 
Sunday Dinner: Part I

           
“Your wife’s here.”

            “Tell her I’m on a run,” Eric said, throwing an arm over his eyes, hoping that the lie would buy him a few hours.

            “On a run, huh?” Joe suddenly said, sounding amused as he noted the sounds of the bunkroom door closing with a soft
whoosh
and a
click
.

            He sighed heavily, lifting his arm and cracking open one eye in time to see his beautiful wife climb onto the small bunk and straddle his lap, something that he normally fantasized about during his long shifts, but not today. Today, he just wanted to close his eyes and pretend that it wasn’t Sunday, the most fucked up day of the week.

            “What are you doing here?” he asked, reaching over and placing his hand on the swell of her stomach where their baby was hopefully taking it easy on his mother.

            “I came by for a ride,” she said with a coy little smile that had him chuckling.

            “A ride, huh?” he asked, chuckling as he sat up to wrap his arms around his wife.

            “Mmmhmmm,” she said with the mischievous glint in her eyes that he loved.

            “Well,” he murmured, leaning in to steal a kiss, “I’m afraid that you’re going to have to get that ride from Nathan, because I’m still on duty.”

            Her grin became devious as she slowly shook her head, looking oddly triumphant. “No,” she said, leaning in to kiss him, “you’re not.”

            “Fuck,” he groaned, closing his eyes in defeat, because he knew there was no point in arguing with his wife or bitching about the fact that she’d clearly went over his head, not unless he wanted to take the chance of making his hormonal wife cry.

            “You can take a shower at mom’s house,” she said, quickly disengaging herself from his limp arms and climbing off his bunk as he desperately tried to come up with something that would save him from spending another Sunday at his mother’s house and the annoying women that his mother kept shoving towards Nathan.

            When she’d first shifted her attention from him to Nathan and began shoving all of the annoying and desperate women at his brother instead of him, he’d been content to sit back and laugh his ass off. Now he wasn’t sure how many more Sunday dinners he was going to be able to deal with before he lost his goddamn mind. His mother was clearly becoming desperate, very desperate, to get her oldest son married and it was showing.

            “Or we could just go home and share a shower,” he suggested, sounding hopeful, not just because he really didn’t want to go to his mother’s house, but because he wouldn’t mind spending a day alone with his wife in bed.

            She laughed as she picked up his overnight bag and tossed it on the bed. “We have to pick the kids up.”

            He shook his head, reaching for her with the hopes of using the small bunk to convince her that spending the day with him in bed was a better decision. “Mom wouldn’t mind watching the kids for another day.”

            “True,” Joe conceded with a nod as she allowed him to pull her back on his lap. “But, then we’d be leaving poor Nathan to suffer alone.”

            He chuckled as he wrapped his arms back around her. “He’d probably appreciate not having an audience for once.”

            “Probably,” Joe agreed on a murmur, absently shifting on his lap and making him like the idea of spending the day in bed with her more and more.

            “But?” he asked, ducking his head so that he could nibble on her throat.

            She tilted her head to the side to make it easier for him to kiss and nibble on her neck as he snaked a hand beneath her shirt. “But, if we don’t go-”

            “I’ll be able to do all the naughty things that I’ve been fantasizing about all night,” he finished for her, moaning against her neck as his hand slid beneath her bra and filled his hand with her breast.

            “And what exactly did you fantasize about?” she asked, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as she shifted on his lap, teasing his rapidly growing erection.

            “Everything,” he admitted, suckling gently on her neck.

            “Everything, hmm?” she asked, threading her fingers through his hair and encouraging him to continue.

            “Mmmmhmmm.”

            “And how exactly does ‘everything’ start?” she asked, rolling her hips as far as her baby bump would allow, which was thankfully far enough to give him some relief.

            “Sorry, sweetheart, I can’t tell you that,” he said, pressing one last kiss against her neck before he turned his head and captured her lips with his own.

            “What can you do?” she asked, nibbling his bottom lip.

            “I can show you,” he offered, running his thumb over her nipple.

            “But, if you do that, then we’ll miss dinner at mom’s house,” she pointed out, sealing the deal for him since he’d much rather spend the rest of the day making his wife scream his name than watch his mother try to play matchmaker.

            “And wouldn’t that be a shame?” he said against her lips, placing his free hand on her bottom, encouraging her to move against him.

            “It really would,” she agreed, moving against him harder, but something in her tone caught his attention.

            “And why would that be?” he asked even as started to shift so that he could lay his wife down on the small bunk and get an early start on their day in bed.

            “Because, your mother invited your new partner to dinner today.”

Part II

            “Please tell me that mom isn’t trying to set me up with a lesbian,” Nathan mumbled wearily as he rubbed a hand roughly down his face.

            “Well,…………” Eric said, letting his words trail off meaningfully.

            “She just wants what’s best for you,” Joe said, biting back a smile as she gave his arm a reassuring squeeze while she reached over with her free hand and plucked the large fast food cup of out of his hand.

            A sigh escaped her as the sweet nectar hit her tongue. This was the best part of being pregnant, she thought taking another long pull on the straw. There really was nothing like the men in her life bending over backwards to anticipate every single one of her needs out of fear, she thought as she spotted the second cup waiting for her on the kitchen island. She was so lost in the intense flavor from the Milky Way shake that she almost forgot that she was supposed to be messing with Nathan’s head for her own enjoyment.

            “This has got to stop,” Nathan said, shaking his head in disbelief as he watched their mother fuss over her latest victim.

            “You know what you have to do to make this stop,” Eric said, reaching over to pick up that second Milky Way shake, but one glare from her had him quickly dropping his hand away and taking a step away from the kitchen island.

            Nathan snorted at that. “I’m not getting married.”

            “Then tell her that,” Eric simply said as he turned his attention to the food his mother had spread out on the counters and kitchen table.

            “Because it worked so well for you when you told mom that?” Nathan shot back, a muscle working in his jaw as he watched his mother and the woman that she planned on shoving his way set up the grill.

            Eric chuckled at that as he grabbed a plate and began loading it up with potato salad. “And maybe if you had backed me up back then, she wouldn’t have turned her attention on you when I finally gave into Joe’s demands and married her.”

            “My demands, huh?” Joe said, smiling fondly as she remembered things a little bit differently.

            “More like begged,” Eric said with a shrug as he added another large scoop of potato salad on the plate.

            “It was pretty pathetic,” Nathan agreed with a solemn nod, his attention still on the two women talking outside.

            “Nathan?” Alice called, waving her hand to get his attention. “Could you bring out the burgers?”

            “
Shit
,” Nathan hissed, backing away from the counter and the window where the women could see him.

            “The burgers are in the fridge,” Joe told him helpfully, gesturing with the second milkshake towards the fridge.

            “I’m not doing it,” Nathan said with a rebellious shake of his head.

            Eric chuckled as he moved on to the pasta salad. “There’s no point in running.”

            “She’ll only hunt you down,” she pointed out, her attention shifting to that plate in Eric’s hands, overflowing with potato and pasta salad.

            “Not if I change my name and leave the country,” Nathan said, moving towards the living room.

            “She’ll still find you,” Eric said, reaching over and taking Joe’s hand in his. With a slight tug, he led her to the table. He placed the plate on the table, sat down and pulled her down onto his lap.

            Sighing with pleasure, she shifted on his lap and picked up a fork and took a bite, noting that Alice had definitely outdone herself today. Then again, according to the woman this one was definitely the one for Nathan. Although she’d heard Alice make that claim a few hundred times over the past couple of years, she’d never seen Alice this determined before.

            Unfortunately for Alice, this probably wasn’t going to end well since Nathan had a tendency of hating all the women that she shoved his way on sight. Out of all the women that Alice had thrown towards Nathan, she would have to agree that if any woman had a chance to bring Nathan to his knees it was definitely Tara. She was a funny, smart and kind woman who would keep Nathan on his toes and if he had met her in any other way than having his mother shove her at him, he probably would have fallen hard for Tara once he got to know her.

            But now……

            There was no chance in hell that Nathan was going to give her a chance.

            It really was a pity, Joe thought, accepting a bite of potato salad from Eric.

            “Where are you going?” Eric asked, watching his brother with a mixture of pity and amusement.

            “Home,” Nathan said, grabbing a plate of chocolate chip cookies on his way to the door. “I’m done with this shit.”

            Eric chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. “Coward.”

            “Damn straight,” Nathan said with a wink as he headed for the door, but Joe couldn’t just let him leave, not when she looked forward to these Sunday dinners every week.

            “You’re leaving?” she asked, making sure to sound hurt.

            “Yeah,” Nathan said, still heading for the door, but the nervous look he shot Eric said it all.

            “You’re going to leave without seeing the kids?” she asked, worrying her lip as she allowed her chin to tremble….just a little.

            “Well,” Nathan said, shuffling his feet nervous as he shot the door behind him a look of longing, “they’re still sleeping and I-”

            “I understand,” Joe said, dropping her gaze down to her lap and let her shoulders sag.

            “Joe-”

            “No, it’s okay, Nathan,” she said, adding a little sniffle at the end even as she was forced to poke Eric who’d started shaking with silent laughter. “I’m sure the kids will understand.”

            Nathan sighed heavily as he reluctantly took a step towards her. “She’s not even my type,” he argued.

            Well, that was true.

            Tara was definitely not Nathan’s usual type. Not even close. Nathan liked his women sweet with a touch of innocence, long beautiful flowing hair, and a motherly disposition. Tara…..

            Had none of that going for her.

            Although she was nice, Tara was not what Joe would call “sweet.” There was also nothing innocent about her, not with her “I could give a fuck” attitude. Her hair was cut short, shorter than Nathan’s and Eric’s and with her tattoos she didn’t exactly come off as maternal. Still, beneath that tough exterior and sarcastic attitude, Joe knew that the woman underneath all that…

            Would drive Nathan out of his mind, which of course would entertain her and really, at this stage of her life that was all that mattered.

            “You won’t stay for me?” she asked, biting back a smile as Eric snorted out a laugh.

            “Joe, I-”

            “I thought,” she said, choking back a strangled sob, “that you loved me.”

            He didn’t respond, and she didn’t expect him to. She’d won and they both knew it. As much as Nathan wanted to leave, he would never leave now and risk a hysterical phone call at three in the morning, not after last time. She could feel his glare as he stormed over to the refrigerator, yanked it open, grabbed the platter of burgers and stormed off towards the backyard where the main event would be taking place.

            She waited until the door slammed shut behind her before she quickly got to her feet and headed for the backyard, determined not to miss a single second of today’s entertainment.

            “You,” Eric whispered by her ear as he reached past her and opened the door, “are an evil woman.”

            “Damn straight,” she said with a satisfied sigh as she stepped outside just as the festivities began.