Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“I hear you,” he told her.
She gave him a twenty-dollar bill.
“No, you pay when you leave,” he explained.
“That’s just for you,” she told him. “I’ll pay for the valet when I leave.”
He thanked her, and we headed for the doors.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were a Rockefeller,” I teased her.
“Eww, no,” she said quickly. “But Uncle Aaron says that you should follow up whatever point you made with a tip when possible, and you say to always be nice to everyone. So I was a blend of you both there.”
“I see.”
“And if anything, I mean anything is wrong with my car when we come out, then they get to see me channel my inner Sam Kage.”
I was laughing as we walked into the restaurant where everyone else was.
Sam looked stunning in a suit and tie, which was fine because his father was wearing one as well. Kola, Harper, and Jake had skipped the tie like me, and all looked amazing. It was always fun to see everyone dressed up.
Regina, as usual, stole the show. People turned to see her. Easy to be reminded that she’d been a movie star back in the day, and of course, Hannah was stunning. She took a seat next to Sam and had Regina on the other side of her while I had Sam to my right and Kola on my left. I was hoping that Hannah hadn’t told the restaurant we were celebrating anything, as Sam was not a fan of that, but I shouldn’t have worried, as she knew her father.
Immediately, Thomas began asking Jake and Harper how they liked being home, Regina told her grandson how good he looked, and Sam, with the menu in hand that the waitress delivered, said that yeah, it was going to cost an arm and a leg.
“So what,” I scolded him. “Your daughter wanted to bring you, so let her.”
He ordered an old-fashioned, because he liked them, as did his father, and everyone but Kola and Hannah ordered something from the cocktail menu, myself as well. Hannah ordered appetizers and got a seafood tower that everyone could enjoy, as she ordered the big one, and the Caesar salad that she’d had before. Kola followed his sister’s lead, and thanked her for inviting him.
“Why wouldn’t I invite you, weirdo?”
“I’m trying to be nice, so accept the damn gratitude,” he warned her.
She laughed and said she was going to be making way more sabbat candles from now on and told him about her idea to make them to sell and give the money to animal shelters. He liked the sound of that.
“You should come with us tomorrow when we start moving stuff into the condo,” he suggested. “Then you can see it and then explain to Jake, because both Harp and I have tried and it’s not getting through, why he has the smaller room.”
“Why does he have the smaller room?” Thomas wanted to know.
“Because Jake has lots of lady friends over,” Regina replied kindly.
Sam turned his head so he wouldn’t laugh.
Jake looked at Harper and Kola and put up his hands in horror.
“It’s all right, Jakey,” Regina assured him. “You’re young, and there are lots of oats to sow, my darling. No one is shaming you for having a libido.”
Sam had to cough to cover up his chuckle.
“Right,” Hannah agreed. “No shaming, but that’s why you’ve got the smaller room on the first floor so your guests can have some coffee in the morning and then go right out the front door. No muss, no fuss.”
“And we don’t have to have a meet and greet,” Harper chimed in.
“Make sure you’re using a condom,” Thomas said cheerfully. “I can’t imagine you’re ready to be a father quite yet.”
“Fine,” Jake grumbled, arms crossed.
“Oh,” Kola said quickly, gesturing at his sister. “I was right, not bees.”
“Really?” She sounded unconvinced. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Remember it this way, bees are orange and fluffy and they have rounder bodies. Yellowjackets, which is what you have next to your herb garden, are bright yellow and have smooth, shiny, thin bodies.”
“Oh man.”
“So now, so they don’t hurt you or Dobby, I have murdered them all.”
“You’re sure they’re not bees?”
“I am, but because I knew you weren’t gonna believe me, I killed one and showed it to Mrs. D’Angelo across the street.”
“Okay, then.”
“Who is Mrs. D’Angelo?” Thomas asked.
“She’s an entomologist,” Hannah told her grandfather. “She works at the Field Museum. She would be the person to ask.”
“She told me to rain death on them.”
“That’s charming,” Hannah groaned.
“The good news is that now there will only be bees in your bee watering station,” he apprised his sister. “I mean, now you’re not consorting with the enemy.”
She glared at him as drinks showed up.
Glancing around, I saw people looking over at our table, and had a surreal moment of seeing my kids through the eyes of strangers as the adults they were. They were both grown up, and I had no idea when that had happened.