Chapter 23

Saturday afternoon Ron arrived and a few minutes later Sally and Billy turned up in a taxi, good idea I thought, if Billy was having a drink he shouldn't be driving, especially with Sally and expected child on board. I then thought that I didn't remember Billy with his own car anyway.

I had received my birthday kiss and cuddle from Jen as soon as we awoke, yes we were sleeping together, Jen had informed me that she would be sleeping with me for the rest of her life.

Jess had excelled herself; she had steaks and snags for the barby with potato salad, coleslaw and a tossed salad. She had bought several bottles of wine, some sweet some dry and a dozen bottles of beer. I was in charge of burning the meat with Jen closely supervising me.

"Those sausages are just about done Jimmy; do you want me to put them in the warmer?"

"Yes Jen that would be a good idea, the steaks and the onions are just about ready so why don't you let Jess know it's time to plate up."

I noticed Jen had poured herself a generous glass of wine so I warned her to take it easy.

"Don't be a wet blanket Jimmy, this stuff is nice and I feel great."

"It has a nasty habit of catching you unawares Jen so just take it easy OK?"

"OK spoil sport."

We all sat around the big outdoor table and eating and talking, Jess had put the stereo on and the soft music coming through the window added to the atmosphere. No birthday is complete without a cake and Jess had done me real proud, a double layer chocolate cake with butter icing and eighteen candles on top.

We all sat around talking, Jess and Sally hit it off and of course the subject had to be the forthcoming baby, Jess gave her several hints of what to expect, also telling her she could call on us if she needed help. I could see a firm friendship forming there and was glad, Sally was a lovely person.

After our meal had settled down Jess brought out the finger foods, she had made fried cheese fingers, Sally asked for the recipe.

"It's an easy one Sal, I just cut a block of cheese into one inch lengths and force it through the chip slicer to make the fingers, I roll them in seasoned flour then dip them in an egg mix then coat them in corn meal and deep fry them 'til they're golden brown then sprinkle them with paprika."

"They taste great Jess, I'm sure I'll be making them at home sometime in the near future."

Jen had eased off on her wine drinking, she looked a little woozy so I suggested she start to drink a lot of water otherwise she would be suffering in the morning, she had the sense to listen to me.

"You're right big brother it does catch you when you're not looking, I'll be a lot more careful the next time."

The afternoon blended into the evening and I fired up the barby again to make tea, This time we had meat patties that Jess and Jen had made earlier with crispy rolls from the bakery. Later in the evening the taxi arrived to take Sally and Billy home, a quick round of goodbyes and they were gone.

Jess took Jen and I aside while Ron was taking the used plates and dishes into the kitchen.

"Ron and I will be sleeping in my room tonight, please do not chiack him about it, he's very nervous about the whole thing."