“Mom, do you need some help?”
Rory gaze moved to her grandmother, who seemed to be having a hard time moving the fork with food to her mouth. She stopped struggling and slowly lowered her fork to look up at the occupants at the table, her brown eyes filled with embarrassment.
“I…a-am…f-f-fi-ne.” She lowered her gaze to the plate before her as her family stared helplessly back at her.
“Wow. You look…amazing.”
Rory’s lips curved into a smile as she watched the tall, blond firefighter greet her mother with stars in his eyes as he gazed at her.
“Thank you,” Andrea returned demurely with a shy smile. “You look quite dashing yourself.” She turned to Rory and beckoned with a slight nod for her to join her by the front door. “You remember my daughter, Rory,” she said, moving to the side to reveal her fully.
“Of course,” Donny responded. “Rory, it’s nice to see you again. I’m glad you were able to join us this evening,” he spoke with a genuine smile on his lips.
“Thanks. I’m honored to be joining you guys for dinner,” she returned with a smile of her own.
Donny stepped to the side, revealing a young man with the same sandy blond hair only longer, nearly brushing the tops of his shoulders. He was tall, too— maybe just an inch shorter than Donny.
“This is my son, Trey,” Donny introduced.
“Hi, Trey. It’s nice to meet you,” she greeted the young man, who also sported a slight scowl.
“Yeah. You too,” he responded.
Rory drew back, surprised at his dry, uninterested tone. Donny glared at his son, who paid him no attention, and she looked over at her mother to see her with a small unsure smile.
“Hi, Trey. How are you?” she asked pleasantly.
“Hi. I’m fine, thanks,” he replied, his voice dismissive. “Can we go now?” he asked, turning to his father, his gaze tight.
Donny gave the women an apologetic look before replying, “Shall we?”
Andrea reached out to take Donny’s offered hand but quickly dropped it and shook her headnoat the annoyed look from his son. Rory noticed the exchange. A surge of protectiveness overwhelmed her. Her mother had always been sure of herself and confident, but one look from Donny’s son, and it felt like she was acting scared. She knew that it might take some time for Trey to warm up to her, but he was outright being mean to her mother, and she didn’t like it.
The four walked silently to Donny’s SUV and then entered it before it pulled out of the driveway. “Bruce and Janice are gonna meet us at the restaurant,” Donny spoke into the silence.
He received a simple “Okay” from Andrea, who stared ahead. Rory saw Donny release the steering and reach across the console to hold her mother’s hand, intertwining their fingers. Her mother, in turn, squeezed his hand.
“So, Trey do you go to college here or back on the mainland?” she turned to ask the young man brooding across from her.
“Skagit Valley College.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Rory answered.
Trey simply grunted his replying and opted to turn his attention to the passing objects outside the moving vehicle. Rory took that as her cue to end her attempts at small talk with the moody young man.
The car pulled up to the restaurant. Donny got out and opened the door for both Andrea and Rory before handing the key to the valet. Rory took the time to admire the building’s exterior. It was certainly ritzier than Willberry Eats with its sleek finish. The building was shaped like a boat with glass all-round displaying the interior that was lit by low-hanging lights. She could see the patrons inside enjoying their dinner and conversations. As open as it was, it still felt like she was looking in on their moments of intimacy.
“Welcome to Batten.”
“Hi, we have a reservation under Hasgrove,” Donny informed the smiling maître’ d.
“Ah, yes. Here you are. Two members from your party have already arrived,” he informed them. “This way, please,” he directed, leading them to a table closer to the back where a woman and man were already seated.
“Dad, Andrea,” the man happily greeted the minute they were standing before them.
“Hi, Bruce,” Andrea greeted, smiling. She accepted the hug from the gentleman who also bore an uncanny resemblance to the older Hasgrove.
The woman was the next one to hug Andrea affectionately. “I’m happy you’re here.”
