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I asked Sophia to knock on the door. My hands were loaded with bags of French bread, Anjou pears, and a homemade kale salad. I heard Max bark and then whimper as someone pushed him across the entryway. Jason’s four-year-old daughter, Grace, opened the door with a wide grin. She was dressed in a crinkled yellow Cinderella costume dress, her long shiny black hair combed into a pony tail. “Hewo Miss Samanta. Hi evwryone. Come in.”
My daughters returned her greeting.
Max wagged his thick Labrador tail nearly whacking Grace in the face while Gavin raised both his arms, jazz hand style. “Hello Grace. We’re here to play and eat dinner.”
“Come in den,” she said again. She was so tiny and adorable, she reminded me of when Savanna was that age. “My daddy is cooking dinnuh. I hab lots of toys to pway wid.”
“Cool.” Gavin strutted inside the house like a six-year-old version of a teen heartthrob. His sisters and I followed.
“Hey, come on in,” Jason yelled from the kitchen. “I can’t leave Andrew while I’ve got the stove on.”
“Isn’t that what the baby gate is for?” I asked, giving him a hard time.
“It doesn’t always work. I can’t trust the rascal. This two-and-a-half-year-old is far too smart for such contraptions.”
“Wait until he turns three. Then you’ll really be in trouble.” I set down my goodies on the bar in the kitchen. “I brought some extras for the meal.”
“Thanks. Bring Darby next time too. She can pester Max.”
“Maybe,” I said wondering how things would go this evening.
“I got a movie for the girls to watch. It looks like a good not too racy chick flick.”
Sophia rolled her eyes behind Jason’s back.
I shook my head at her. “I’m sure they’ll love it. Thank you for thinking of them.”
“We brought our iPads,” Savanna volunteered. “We’ll be fine.”
“And their homework,” I added. “Savanna still has math problems to get done. She can work at the dining room table while I watch over the little kids.”
Jason, dressed in the same maroon sweatshirt he always wore, turned away from the stove and looked at us for the first time. “Well, if you need any help Savanna, I’m pretty good with numbers. What grades are you girls in now?”
Savanna tucked a piece of her glossy brown hair behind her ear. She couldn’t look more like her father and her brother if she tried. “I’m in eighth.Sophia is a sophomore.”
“You got all your work done already Sophia?” Jason asked. “I hear they really load you down these days.”
“That’s for sure. I’m not done, but I’m taking a break. I can finish when we get home.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and lit up the screen to check the time. “We probably shouldn’t stay here too late. I do have a lot to get finished.”
I forced a smile, knowing she was eager to leave early so she could spend more time chatting with her girlfriends. “We wouldn’t want you to miss a minute of your study time, would we Princess?” I oozed sarcasm. “You can walk home as soon as dinner is finished.”
She scrunched her nose at me in irritation. I thanked God Savannah was more of a tomboy. Boys were so much easier than girls.
Jason broke into our conversation. “Great, I think you’re all really going to like what I’m making. I’m pan frying the lamb chops with rosemary and garlic, and I sautéed the green beans in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
“It smells delicious,” I inhaled. “All right Mr. Andrew.” He shot me a gap-toothed grin as I scooped him up and put him on my hip. “We’re going to watch Gavin and Grace play Candy Land.”
Grace’s eyes lit up with pride. “An-dwu is my broduah.”
“And what a nice little brother he is Gracie. You’re a lucky girl.”
When we finished dinner, Sophia said her goodbyes and took off for home, presumably to finish her homework. Savanna watched over the little kids while I helped Jason in the kitchen.
I scrubbed the plates under warm suds and set them carefully on the counter while Jason tossed them every which way into the dishwasher. “Thanks for having us over tonight. It was such a treat to be here.”
“So I’m not a bad chef after all?” He shoved another handful of forks into the utensil section. It was a good thing I rinsed them so carefully, otherwise they would never get clean.
“Dinner was good. I liked hanging out with you and your kids. Even Sophia seemed to have fun.”
Jason nodded. “Yeah, Sophia told me her boyfriend is a better cook than me, but I noticed she ate everything on her plate. I think she liked it.”
I grinned. “Her boyfriend huh? Did she tell you his name?”
“Adam I think.”
“She told me they were just friends. Thanks for the update.”
“What can I say? I’m good at extracting important information out of the ladies. They love to confess all of their secrets to me. I could be really useful to you.”
“Good to know. I might ask you to spend an entire day with her. You could gather intel and report back to me.”
I turned off the faucet and squeezed the steaming water out of his ragged sponge. “You know if you get the sponge wet and cook it in the microwave for three minutes it kills all the germs.”
He put a hand on his hip and gave me a half smile. “I did not know that.”
“You might want to try it. Anyways, dishes are done. I’ll wipe down the counters and then we’re outta here. Your little ones probably need a bath and I need to get Gavin and Savanna to bed.”
At the end of the evening, Jason walked us all to the door. Dinner was so much nicer than I had expected. On the short walk home, I caught myself mentally picking out potential entrees and side dishes for our next get together.