Chapter 26

PRESTON AIR-BALLED his shot and Gene grabbed it on the bounce.

“What happened to you, sharpshooter?”

“I didn’t get much sleep last night,” Preston laughed.

“Up late planning a new magnificent project?” Gene asked.

“Bowling.”

“Wait. What? You were bowling?”

“There aren’t too many people at the bowling alley at one in the morning.”

“I don’t remember you ever bowling before.”

“It was my first time since high school. Remember when I took Sue Williams out? Not only did she cream me at the alley, she humiliated me at school by telling everyone how bad I was.”

“I think you’re the only person in Jerico City who remembers that. How did you do last night?”

“Better than you can ever imagine.”

“What was your score?” Gene asked.

“I have no idea.”

“Preston, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Maizie ... Erin was there. We sort of had an impromptu date.”

“You dog! You didn’t leave her in bed to come and play basketball, did you?”

“Oh, geez no! We didn’t ... We each went to our own homes after the bowling alley. We just talked,” Preston said.

“I hope you were more erudite than you’re being with me.”

“We really had a great conversation. I went bowling so I could decide if I could ask her on a date to bowl. I wasn’t expecting to see her there. She ended up on the lane next to mine and started with a strike. Then we realized we were next to each other and got to talking. We bowled some, too. It just wasn’t as important as talking.”

“She goes bowling at one o’clock in the morning?”

“Not usually. She said she was there to work out her frustrations by throwing a heavy ball at inanimate objects.”

“Frustration?”

“That’s what we talked about. It was all kind of cool. She talked about liking a guy who she thought liked her but she didn’t know what to do about it,” Preston said. He grabbed the ball from Gene and tossed it at the rim. Swish!

“And she was talking about you?”

“I didn’t realize it at first and thought I’d blown my chances with her. But as we talked, it became more and more obvious we were talking about each other. We went through a long list of things we could do together and set up some ground rules about dating,” Preston said.

“So, what are the rules?”

“Take it slow and easy, first. But we agreed we wouldn’t be secretive about dating. We wouldn’t make any display of it in the office, but if we saw someone we knew while we were out, we wouldn’t try to hide that we were with each other. It makes a lot of sense.”

“That’s incredible! What did your family say?”

“God, Gene! I haven’t told them yet!”

“Wait. What about this not being secretive?”

“It’s not about keeping a secret, but trying to manage my mother. If I told her I was dating Erin, Mother would want to invite her over for dinner and immediately show her the wedding step. She’d assume we were getting married tomorrow.”

“That does sound like your mother.”

“G-Pop would draft a prenup before we saw each other this afternoon.”

“You’re seeing each other this afternoon?” Gene asked.

“Just going for a walk along the river to look at the leaves.”

“Hmm. Right.”

“I know she has a standing Sunday evening get-together with her former boss,” Preston said. “It’s the same thing as me coming to play basketball and have Sunday dinner with my family.”

“I’ve got to tell you, pal, I’m really happy for you. You know she’s been vetted and approved. We wouldn’t have nominated her to run the company otherwise. I don’t think even Jerico will have a background check run. Your mother did that before she was first hired.”

“Just be cool, okay?” Preston said. “Remember, I said our first rule was to take it slow and easy. Don’t go getting us married before we decide if we like each other.”

“Yeah. I’ll do my part. Sometime, though, we’ll need to double date so we all get to know each other better. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“Guess who I ran into in town this week!” Jacqueline said at the Sunday dinner table. “Jordan Malone. I know you liked her in high school. The first thing out of her mouth was to ask how you were doing. She’s still just as sweet as she was when you were kids. It’s sad that life dealt her a bad hand. You know she married Ron Taft and he planned a career in the military. He was killed in Afghanistan or Iran or somewhere in the desert and left her with two little ones. So sad. She’s just moved back to town so the children are closer to their grandparents. I suggested that you should get together next weekend and she said she’d love to.”

“No,” Preston said.

“Preston, you liked Jordan. And she was never mean or rude to you.”

“No, Mother. You’ll have to call and explain to her that I can’t see her next weekend.”

“Why ever not?”

Preston took a deep breath. This was exactly what he was afraid of, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

“I’m seeing someone.”

There was silence at the table. Lawrence and Jacqueline sat open-mouthed. Gina grinned.

“That’s wonderful news, Preston. I know your mother and grandfather are thrilled. They are just too surprised to speak,” Gina said.

“Yes. That’s right. Who?” demanded Jacqueline.

“Just don’t make a big deal about it, okay?”

“About what?” Lawrence asked.

“We just decided it would be okay to see each other last night. Kind of in the middle of the night.”

“You slept with her before you decided it was okay to see each other?” Jacqueline asked. She was more than a little dumbfounded.

“Mother, we aren’t sleeping together. In fact, we want to take it slow and easy so we can see how things work out. There’s no rush. We just want to see each other.”

“Who?” Lawrence asked.

“Ms. Scott,” Preston said.

This time Gina spit tea out her nose. Jacqueline made an audible gasp and Lawrence started to laugh.

“What is the problem?” Preston asked. “I know you two like her and she’s been vetted six ways till Sunday. You should have no objections to my seeing her socially.”

“None at all,” Lawrence said. “Absolutely none at all.”

“What about all your protesting about dating an employee?” Jacqueline said. “I’d given up on her as a possibility.”

“We had a little encounter after the shareholders’ meeting Friday. It got us both thinking and we ended up both going bowling at one this morning. We didn’t intend to meet, but once we were both there we got to talking. We set up some ground rules that would enable us to date. And one of them is that I shouldn’t be late to pick her up. We’re going for a walk this afternoon. Please excuse me from cleanup today. I’ll make it up next time.”

With that, Preston pushed away from the table and left his flabbergasted family sitting in silence.

“I don’t like this! I don’t like it at all!” Jacqueline said as she stared at her father and his girlfriend.

“And why is that, dear daughter? Are you shocked that Preston managed to do for himself what you’ve been frustrated in for so long?” Lawrence asked. “She’s perfect for him.”

“Too perfect! I should have seen it from the start. A perfect assistant in the office. Dutifully taking care of the menial tasks. Resetting his Rubik’s Cubes. Able to make a presentation on the spur of the moment. A perfect candidate for CEO. There must be something wrong with her. She’s competent, beautiful, creative, smart. What does she see in Preston? Is she just after the business after all?”

“My how the leopard has changed her spots,” Gina chuckled.

“You stay out of this. Whatever she takes is something you won’t have access to,” Jacqueline barked.

“I already have all I want, Jackie,” she answered. “What is it that you want? If he’d taken your hints to date Erin when you made them, would that have made it better?”

“He did it without me!” Jacqueline sobbed. “Oh, I’m a stupid mother. I only ever wanted him to be happy, but I always thought I’d have to provide that happiness for him—even if it was in the form of another woman. My baby is all grown up!”

“He didn’t stutter or stumble once when he was telling us about her,” Lawrence said. “We might be seeing a whole new Preston emerging.”

“We held hands,” Erin said to Dolores. “That can’t be considered too much for what has to be really our first date, can it?”

She sat with her friend Sunday evening, having rushed there after her date with Jerry to walk by the river. When they were together or she was talking about her date, they were still Jerry and Maizie. It was what had enabled them to communicate so easily early Sunday morning.

“I think after nearly a year, you know each other well enough to hold hands on a first official date,” Dolores laughed. “I’m so happy for you!”

“I am, too. I think. What if this is a big mistake and I’m messing up my whole career at JeriCorp. Or his. What if his mother and grandfather don’t like me? His family is so close. And I don’t have any!”

“You’ve had family you were close to,” Dolores soothed her younger friend. “I know you still think of them.”

“Yes, and I think they would have been so disappointed in my first choice for a husband,” Erin sighed. “Back then, I was still trying to replace them. Do you think I’m trying to replace my family with Jerry? Or that I’m trying to make up for the mess of my first marriage? I never intended to get married again, but I can’t stop thinking of the possibility when I’m with Jerry.”