Chapter 24 – Jennie
The morning after her harrowing escapade, Granny is starving when she comes to the kitchen for breakfast. The three of us eat together, and as we’re cleaning up, Dawn arrives.
Dawn seems a bit subdued after the events of yesterday, but Granny is absolutely fine. She doesn’t mention anything about wandering away from the house. I suspect she doesn’t even remember doing it.
Chris drops me off at the diner at six-thirty, and I get started on pies and donuts. I’m still trying to catch up after the fire.
Thursday and Friday are very routine, and it looks like we’re getting back to normal. Chris is still on limited duty because of his shoulder injury. He has a doctor’s appointment in Estes Park coming up soon, and he’s hoping to be cleared to return to full duty.
On Friday evening, Chris comes to the diner at seven, just as we’re closing up, so we can join our friends next door at the Tavern for our weekly meet-up. Mrs. Robinson is on Granny duty this evening.
As we walk into the tavern, I realize it’s the first time we’re socializing with our friends since Chris and I became a couple.
I mean, they already know because they saw us together during the search for Granny.
They saw us holding hands and hugging, but we really didn’t have a chance to talk about it. It wasn’t the priority at that moment.
But now… as we walk into the tavern, all eyes are on us.
They’ve pushed two large tables together so we can all sit together for a change—the guys with us women.
Everyone else is already here, and they saved two seats for us, side by side.
We take our seats, and Chris puts his arm along the back of my chair. His thumb brushes my shoulder.
“All right, spill the beans!” Maya says. “I saw you two holding hands the other night. So?” She gives us a coaxing grin. “Come on! Spill the tea.”
I can feel my face heating up, like I’m in middle school again, and the other girls just found out I have a crush on one of the boys. I shrug because there’s no point in drawing this out. “We’re together.”
To emphasize the point, Chris leans in and kisses my cheek.
Everyone at the table cheers. Jack wads up a napkin and lobs it at Chris’s face. Chris tosses it right back.
Micah, who’s on Chris’s other side, smacks him on the back. “It’s about time, Sheriff! I told you to go for it.”
I look to see Chris’s reaction to all the teasing, and he’s sitting there with a big grin on his face, clearly unfazed by the attention.
Jack jumps up and runs to the bar to grab a tray of pitchers.
Ruth follows carrying glasses for everyone. “Drink up!” she says. “We have a lot to celebrate tonight—Rosie is safe and sound, and these two lovebirds finally got their act together. Food is on the way.”
Owen goes to the bar to get a Coke for Maggie. Ruth, Gabrielle, and Maya fetch platters of hot hors d’oeuvres for everyone to share.
Chris and I field so many questions.
Who admitted their attraction first?
When was our first kiss?
And then the questions get far more personal, leaving me in tears of laughter.
The evening is absolutely perfect, and I can’t imagine anything better. That is, until Chris holds out his hand to me and says, “May I have this dance?”
Ah, yes. This is the better part. “I would love to.”
We receive lots of hoots and hollers from our friends as we walk onto the dance floor.
“I’ve been looking forward to this,” Chris says. “All the times we’ve been here, I wanted you to be mine. I wanted the right to hold you, touch you, kiss you. Dance with you, not as your friend, but as your boyfriend.”
I blink back tears. “You’re going to make me cry.”
He cups my face. “I hope they’re tears of joy.”
Sniffling, I nod. “They are.”
We dance several dances before we return to the table for a cold drink and more teasing.
* * *
On Saturday, when I work a half-day, Chris stays home with Granny.
On Sunday, we spend the day together, the three of us. Early afternoon, Chris runs back to his house to get his mail and check on things. When he returns, he brings more clothes and his laptop.
After dinner, Chris makes popcorn for us, and we watch Mary Poppins—the original Disney classic. It’s another one of Granny’s favorites.
Granny’s in her recliner, covered with her favorite crocheted throw, Pumpkin napping on her lap, happily munching on her bowl of popcorn. Remarkably, she’s no worse for wear after her walkabout adventure.
Chris and I are stretched out on the sofa, his arms are around me, his nose is buried in my hair.
This is heaven.
Originally, Chris said he wanted to stay here with me because of David, but now that David seems to be behaving himself—I haven’t seen or heard from him since Chris served the notice of the restraining order—does this mean Chris will go back to his own house?
I’m afraid to ask him. I’m afraid of his answer.
Because I don’t want him to leave. But I also don’t want him to feel obligated to stay.
I’m amazed at how easily we’ve fallen into a comfortable routine living together. His shoulder is doing much better. It still bothers him, but not nearly as much. We’ll find out more at his doctor’s appointment coming up.
Everything’s perfect.
* * *
Chris invites me to go with him to his orthopedic appointment in Estes Park on Monday. We leave around noon. I’m driving so he can give his shoulder a rest.
His doctor checks his range of motion during the appointment and asks what his pain level is. Chris says he’s healing well, and the doctor seems to agree.
“I’d say you’re fit to return to work, but please take it easy for a couple of weeks. Let the other officers do the chasing and the heavy lifting, all right?”
As we’re leaving the doctor’s office, Chris says, “We have some time before we have to be home. How about a dinner date?”
“A date?” I smile. I realize we’ve never gone on an actual date. I mean, we do things together all the time now, and we eat meals together. We even sleep together. But we haven’t gone on a date. “I would love that.”
“What sounds good?” He rattles off a list of popular local restaurants, everything from American cuisine to Italian to barbeque to a steakhouse.
“How about the Italian restaurant?” I suggest.
“Mama Rose’s, it is,” he says. He pulls up directions on his phone.
We arrive at the restaurant at an odd hour, 3 PM, so there’s no wait. We’re seated by a window overlooking the riverside patio.
I order fettuccine Alfredo. He goes for the lasagna. Our server brings us breadsticks and salads to keep us busy while we wait for our entrees to arrive.
“How’s your food?” Chris asks right as I’m taking a bite.
I chuckle as I chew, holding up a finger. Just a minute. “It’s delicious,” I finally say. “How’s yours?”
Our meal is relaxing. I keep catching Chris watching me, to the point I start to feel self-conscious. “Why are you staring at me?”
He laughs it off. “I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Maybe it’s because I like looking at you.” He holds his hand out, and I give him mine. “And maybe it’s because I still can’t believe this is real.”
“I know what you mean. It does seem unreal sometimes.”
“When you want something so badly, for so long, and all of a sudden you have it, well, sometimes it feels too good to be true. I keep expecting to wake up and find it’s all just a dream.”
I squeeze his hand. “It’s not a dream, Chris.”
He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a small square box. “Now, this isn’t what you think it is,” he says, clearly cautioning me.
I grin. “And what would that be?”
He offers me the box. “This is something practical. Open it and see.”
I take the small box from him and pry the lid open. Inside is a gold chain with a silver pendant attached. “What is it?”
He takes the chain out of the box and opens the silver pendant, revealing a small button. It’s clearly not a jewel or any type of decorative ornament. It’s something else. Something practical.
“This is a panic button,” he says. “If you push this button, it sends an alert to my phone, letting me know you’re in trouble. It’s got GPS, so it will give me your exact location. I’d be able to track you.”
I’m a bit stunned. I mean, I wasn’t expecting jewelry or anything like that. It’s way too soon. But this—this means he’s worried about my safety.
“Look,” he says. “Braggart is still out there, a free man. And a restraining order can do only so much. If he refuses to honor it—well, I’d feel a lot better if you wore this. Please, Jennie, for my peace of mind, will you wear it?”
I nod, suddenly all choked up. I’m touched that he took the effort to get me something like this. It’s even more meaningful than a ring. He wants to keep me safe.
Chris leans close, holding out the chain. I meet him halfway so he can slip the chain around my neck. “If you don’t want anyone to see it, you can slip it beneath your top. Just please, promise me you won’t go anywhere without it.”
A knot forms in my throat. “I promise.”
He wipes an errant tear from my cheek. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“It’s okay,” I say as I glance down at the pendant, which rests between my breasts. The truth is, this feels a lot more personal than something as simple as a ring. This is about my safety.
This also tells me he doesn’t have much faith in the restraining order, and that scares me.