Page 34 of The Game Changer

Jill

“Hello!” I call out as I push the door open. The aromas from John’s cooking hit me, and my stomach starts to growl as my mouth salivates just thinking about tasting whatever it is that he’s cooked up for us.

“We’re in the kitchen!” he calls out, stepping out slightly, a whisk in one hand. I set my bag down on the floor as I slip my sandals off, then place my keys down on the little table I put next to the door a few weeks ago.

I make my way into the kitchen, finding Cindi and Mason sitting at the counter as they watch John cooking. “Hi! I’m so glad we finally get to meet in person!” I officially introduce myself to Cindi. We’ve met via FaceTime, so we already kind of know one another.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you face to face!” she exclaims, hopping down from her stool to pull me into a hug.

“And you must be Mason!” I say to him. He looks at me kind of shyly, before his face breaks out into a huge smile.

“Ms. Jill!” he exclaims as he scampers off the stool and runs around to hug me. He wraps himself around my legs, so I bend down to be at his height.

“It’s nice to meet you in person,” I tell him. “Did you have fun at the park with Uncle John?” I ask him.

“How’d you know about the park?” he asks me.

“When you were sleeping, he sent me a text message,” I explain.

“Oh, yes, it was so fun! We went down the big slide, and climbed the tower then went on the monkey bars and swings,” he rushes to get out all in one breath.

“Sounds like fun!” I tell him as he pushes out of my embrace. “How was your flight?” I ask Cindi, standing back up to my full height.

“It was okay. My back was bothering me, but other than that it wasn’t bad. A pretty quick flight in the grand scheme of things. Only about an hour long.”

“That’s not bad,” I agree with her. “Anything I can help with?” I ask John.

“If you want to get the table set, the food should be ready in about five minutes.”

“Will do,” I tell him, pushing up on my toes to kiss him. With an audience, we keep it PG.

“Missed you today,” he says, just above a whisper and only for me to hear.

“I missed you, too,” I whisper back.

I get the table set, Mason helping me with the forks and spoons.

“All set,” I tell him once we’re done.

John carries the dish with homemade lasagna. The cheese and sauce is still bubbling hot around the edges and the smell is almost overwhelming. He goes back to the kitchen, coming back with a plate filled with garlic bread and a bowl of salad.

“This looks amazing, John,” Cindi praises him as we all take our seats. John helps everyone dish out a serving of the lasagna, while we pass around the plate of bread and bowl of salad.

“Damn, baby brother. Who taught you to cook?” Cindi asks him.

“Mostly self-taught, although, I did have one billet family I lived with for a portion of a season and the mom would try and teach us guys things. Said one day we would need to fend for ourselves and an important skill in life is knowing how to cook yourself a healthy meal. The basics she taught me are still ingrained in my mind,” he tells us.

“I’m impressed,” she says, taking another bite.

“How’s yours?” John asks Mason as he shovels his food into his mouth, hardly stopping to breathe between bites.

“So good, can I have more?” he asks, holding up a nearly cleared plate.

“You’re going to have to share your secret with me. It is almost always a struggle to get him to eat dinner each night. I can’t tell you the last time dinner was this easy with him,” Cindi tells us.

* * *

“So, Jill, while my brother is occupied putting Mason to bed, let’s have some girl chat.”

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