Page 38 of Mia Amata

Jacob was coming over tonight at 6. I had offered to cook for him, it was the least I could do since he was helping me out.

Jacob knocked on the door, pretty much right on time. I opened the door. “Hey, Mia,” he said smiling.

“Hi,” I said, letting him in.

“Hey, Lucky,” Jacob scratched his head, looking at me. “I’ll get the planters on the deck rails for you, then hang your planter basket on the front porch.”

“Jacob,” I said as he walked to the doors to the back deck. He turned, looking at me. “I appreciate your help. I’m sorry to have to take up your time. I’m sure you have more important things to do or someplace else you would rather be.”

He paused with his hand on the door handle, ‘Mia Amata’ clearly considering what he wanted to say. “There is no place I would rather be.” He went out on the deck to work on the planters.

I watched Jacob as he went to work, pondering what he meant. I shrugged it off and went to the kitchen to start supper for us. I got the hamburger patties ready, then went out to start the grill. Jacob finished the two planters while I was out there.

“There you go. It just took a little bit of extra hardware to get these to stay on your rails. They do look nice there.”

“Thank you. I love them. They really do look nice. I hope burgers are good for supper.”

“Sounds good,” he replied. He headed around the front to hang the baskets, I went back into the kitchen to work on supper. I was pulling the burgers off the grill when Jacob came into the house.

“All done,” he said.

“Perfect timing. Supper is done too.” I smiled at him. I put everything on the table while he washed up, then we sat down to eat.

“Did you and Randy have a good time last night?”

“Yes, she is super nice, a lot of fun. We seem to get along really well.”

He nodded. “She is great. Josh is a lucky man.”

“They really do seem happy together. She misses him a lot when he is gone.”

“What about you?” he asked, looking at me.

“What do you mean? Do I miss Josh?” I was confused.

His intense blue eyes were staring into mine like he was trying to read my mind. “No.Do you miss the father of the baby?”

I shook my head. “No, I haven’t given him much thought really.”

We finished eating, and Jacob insisted on helping me clean up. “It’s pretty early,” he noted. “How about we go to a pub, maybe play some pool, listen to some music?”

I hesitated, “I don’t know. You don’t have to keep an eye on me anymore. I’m fine. It’s OK if you want to leave.”

“Mia Amata,” he said, reaching out and taking my hand. It was all I could do to not yank my hand away. “I’m not asking out of obligation. I think it would be fun, I like spending time with you.” I still was hesitant. “I won’t hurt you, Mia Amata.”

Finally, I nodded, “I don’t know how to play pool though.” He said he would enjoy teaching me.

Trying to pick something to wear to the pub turned out to be a little bit of a challenge. I wasn’t showing a lot, but the only pair of jeans I had were getting a bit snug. There was no way I could wear them all night and remain comfortable. I finally grabbed the short skirt and a different T-shirt, along with the only lightweight jacket I had. Looking in the mirror, I thought I looked OK. I had my sandals on, completing the outfit with some hoop earrings.

I got Lucky all set for the evening with food and water. When I walked out to the front porch where Jacob was waiting, he gave a low whistle, “You look great,” he said.

I smiled shyly, “Thanks.”

He walked me around to the passenger side, helping me into his truck. He closed the door, walking back around to the driver’s side.

We had a nice time at the pub. He said hi to a couple of friends, giving them a brief introduction, but not moving to sit with them. I thought that was a little odd, but didn’t question it, figuring he wanted to sit by the pool table, so we could play. He taught me how to play pool, he did seem to enjoy teaching me.

After a couple of games, we sat in our booth talking.

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