Chapter 29
Before I knew it, it was the day before Thanksgiving. I had to pick Jim up at the airport in the early in the afternoon, and Jonathan and Amir expected to arrive in time for dinner. Jonathan had already told me not to make dinner because he was hoping we could go to Our Place with Jim and Amir. That was fine with me.
Jim and I had a blissful few hours together. He brought the Indigo Girls’ CD and we instant replayed our first time listening to it. It was a wonderful way to begin our Thanksgiving weekend. Afterward, he laughed as I tried to cover our tracks, just like teens try to hide it from their parents. I was busy remaking the bed.
“How are you going to hide that “I just made love” look on your face?” he teased. When I looked in the mirror, I hoped the reflection was magnifying the radioactive glow I had. I turned to look at him, and complained, “Why don’t you have it, too?”
He stopped smiling and became very serious. “Oh Mara, don’t you know I do? It’s just in the inside! I am crazy about you!” And tenderly, he gave me another passionate kiss.
Then he told me he had received a great offer to start in January, just as we were hoping. We had to find him a condo that he could move into by January. What a great way to begin the weekend!
Jonathan and Amir had gotten a ride with a student a few years older than Jonathan who had been on the track team with him. He dropped them off about a half hour before our dinner reservations, so there was little time to show Jonathan the condo or to get to know Amir. I wanted to make this young man feel welcome.
My first look at him revealed skin the color of caramel and shiny black hair pulled back in a short ponytail. His physique was on the slender side, and he seemed to be a pleasant, outgoing young man. Something about him seemed more effeminate than Jonathan. He wore a diamond earring in his right ear and numerous leather bracelets. He told Jim and me he had grown up in New York City but his parents were from Pakistan. That was all I learned from him before we drove to Our Place.
I was disappointed that we barely had time to show Jonathan all of the condo, since he had not been home since I had moved. I had set it up quite similarly to the house, but it was still new for him. He was really enthusiastic and seemed really happy with our new home, and said he’d have all weekend to become familiar with it.
In the car, I asked Amir if Jonathan had told him anything about the restaurant or that he had a summer job there.
“Oh yes, he told me the food was amazing, and that it was the most fun summer job I could imagine. I’ve been working in my parents’ store since I was old enough to stock the shelves, so any job seems fun comparatively.”
Jim began asking them if certain restaurants and landmarks were still near the university, and before we knew it, we were parking the car.
Once inside, tall, regal Keyonna gave Jonathan a bear hug, and greeted me so warmly I felt like family. R.J. was working and would be our waiter. He, too, gave Jon a bear hug, and I thought I saw him ask a question with his eyes as he looked over at Amir. Immediately, Jonathan introduced him and explained, “Amir was going to stay in the dorm for the long weekend, but I thought he’d enjoy coming home with me. This is R.J., you remember I told you about him?”
Amir nodded and smiled as he shook his hand, and it again was left to my imagination to try to figure out the relationship between my son and our waiter. Regardless, R.J. certainly was a fine waiter and we had our orders almost before we asked for them. If possible, the quality of the food was even better than my last visit. We tried to order on the light side since it was the night before Thanksgiving, but it was hard to do because the food was so delicious. On this night, the restaurant was not overly busy. Occasionally, a member of the staff, including Dage at one point, would pull up a chair to chat with our table and ask about our food, but mostly they wanted to talk with Jonathan for a few minutes. Amir found that really special and commented as we drove home, “What a great place! It was so obvious how much they all like you, Jon!”
Jonathan didn’t really say anything, but I was sure he was smiling. I thought he must be thrilled to show his college buddy a different side of his life.
When we got back to the condo, we had more time to walk through and show him our new home. It seemed strange for me to show my own son our house this way, but he seemed genuinely at ease. We sat in the living room for just a little longer, as I tried to make sure Amir felt comfortable in our home. I was so surprised at how at ease Jonathan felt with Jim. They again talked about places on campus and even referred back to their first meeting at the old house. Amir joined in now and then, but he was on the quiet side.
It was awkward, at least for the two of us, when Jim and I decided to call it a night, but at that moment, I really appreciated the layout of the condo. From the front door, the foyer opened to the living room, which led to the dining area and kitchen. To the left, a hallway that led to the master bedroom suite and to the right, another hallway led to the other two bedrooms. Marshall and Bob had used one as an office, but I was using the small built-in office area in the kitchen instead of one of the bedrooms. That way, both Gabby and Jonathan each still had a room of their own. Now, the layout gave Jim and me privacy and distance from the other bedrooms, which was certainly nothing I had considered the first time I had come to the visit Marshall and Bob!