Chapter 11: The first kiss

The tiny peck on the lips Janet just got from Wes was her first kiss. That was the very first time a boy kissed her, EVER! A boy other than her dad anyway, but surely, that didn’t count. A kiss from your father wasn’t a real kiss, was it? 

Much to her surprise, she liked it. 

She gazed up at Wes, slightly dazed. She could see he was talking nonchalantly to his aunt and uncle, but she couldn’t hear any of it. For whatever reason, her ears simply were not working. She watched how his black curly hair would bounce as he moved his head and how his eyes would crinkle slightly when he laughed and his wonderful lips when he smiled. He always seemed to be smiling, too. 

Every time he turned to her with that sexy grin and he would squeeze her hand again, her heart gave a little jump. What the heck was that about?

She stood mutely by his side noticing how easy her hand fit into his and also how nice it felt and oddly familiar.  Her mind buzzed with unanswerable questions. Why had he kissed her? Why did he want his aunt and uncle to think she was his girlfriend? And why-oh-why, did she suddenly want to have him all to herself when moments before she didn’t want to be here at all….or had she?

“….. can’t wait for Billy and Rebecca to meet her. They’ll love her,” Wes was saying, flashing another grin at Janet. “You’ll love them too, Janet.”

“Huh?” Janet said. She heard her name and that was it.

“Our son and daughter would love to meet you, Janet,” Beth said.

“Why?” Janet asked, stupidly.

They burst out laughing.

Wes again squeezed her hand. “Because you’re my first girlfriend and they won’t believe it until they see you are real and not some story Uncle Rob made up,” Wes said.

 “Oh… yes…yes sir, Wes is my boyfriend, best boyfriend I ever had. Actually, he’s the only boyfriend I ever had. Maybe I could do better. What do you think?” she asked smiling at them.

“You’re so cute,” Rob said with a chuckle.

“Adorable,” Beth agreed.

Janet gasped and turned to Wes. “Look at that, Wes. The second person to tell me that today. I’m gonna start believing it now,” she said.

“Well, you should,” Beth said. “Won’t you join us for dinner? We’d love to get to know you, Janet, and we haven’t seen much of Wes since… for such a long time.”

“I don’t think we should,” Janet said looking up at Wes. 

“Hmm, I think she wants Wes all to herself, Beth,” Rob said.

“That must be it,” Beth said, winking at Janet. 

“No, it’s…you’re celebrating something special, aren’t you?” Janet said.

“Oh, man. Is it your anniversary?” Wes asked.

They both nodded. 

“Congratulations!” Wes said excitedly. “How long is it now?”

Rob thought for a while. “Only way I can remember is Karen’s age plus one. So… how old is she now?” he asked his wife.

“She’s...um...twenty-three or twenty-four…something like that,” Beth replied carelessly. 

“Well, have a lovely time figuring out which it is and happy anniversary,” Janet said giggling.

“But you must come over some time soon, both of you. Wes, please. Kidnap Donny and bring him over. Hog-tie him if you must, but make him come! We don’t even see him at church anymore,” Beth said earnestly.

“Sorry, Aunt Beth, but we’ve started going to the early service since he always makes appointments in the afternoon. I’ve tried to get him to go to your house, but all he does is work,” Wes explained grimly.

“You said he goes to your games,” Janet piped in.

“Yeah, but he’s constantly on the phone then, too.” he told her.

She made her funny face. “I’ll have to fix that.”

“Oh, really? How?” Wes asked.

“I can be very charming, you know,” she stated seriously.

“We can tell,” Rob replied.

Wes and Janet walked away and were soon seated across the room, with menus in hand.

Now that she had her hand to herself again, Janet felt back to normal. She thought that rather odd and wondered if holding hands somehow diminished brain capacity. It would explain the lack of brilliance in half the kids at school. 

“Now, explain to me why you wanted them to think I was your girlfriend?” Janet asked ignoring her menu. 

She stared at Wes as he made a point of not looking at her and instead seemed to read every single word on the over-large and cumbersome menu. 

“Hello!” she said, tilting her head to the side and blinking at him.

“Please, don’t be mad, okay?” he said anxiously.

“I’m not mad. I’m curious,” she replied.

He looked at her and saw for himself. She didn’t look remotely angry. What a relief! “You were great, Janet. They loved you. They’re totally convinced you’re my girlfriend,” he said, smiling. He reached out and grabbed her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it.

She instantly felt her insides do a flip. “What…why are you doing that?” she asked, nervously.

“What? Kiss your hand?” Wes asked. “I’m sure they’re still watching us. It’s not a big deal, is it?”

“No, I guess not,” she said. “But why pretend at all?”

“They worry about me, almost as much as my dad. So I figured if they thought I was happily in love that they wouldn’t anymore.”

She stared at him for a full minute before she smiled. “Anything for my new best friend,” she said.

“You’re the best,” he said, flashing that sexy grin of his.

“Yeah, you said that already,” she said remembering the feel of his lips on hers and the achingly familiar touch of his hand over her own.

“Didn’t have to lie about that,” he said, shrugging. “Thanks for playing along, Janet. They really loved you.”

“Okay,” she said licking her lips. “So, can I ask you for a favor now?”

“Of course. What?” he said tightening his grip on her hand.

“Think I can have my hand back sometime today? I can’t eat left-handed.”

He burst out laughing, gave her hand one last squeeze and released her. “If I must, but I get it back later,” he said.

“Oh, really?” she said, opening up the menu. She tried to concentrate on the food but her hand felt strange, almost…lonely? Thoughts of her father crept into her mind, too. Did Wes somehow remind her of her dad? She gave herself a mental shake. That was absurd.

“Wanna share a pitcher of frozen strawberry Margaritas with me? They’re really good. I had them on a trip we took to Mexico last year,” she said, casually.

“Are you forgetting something? Like we’re underage and I’m driving?” he said, frowning.

She realized too late that drinking would be a point of contention for Wes being his mother was killed by a drunk driver. 

“Non-alcoholic, of course, Wes. In Mexico they wouldn’t care if you’re just ten years old. Can you imagine? My mother had to keep telling the waiters, ‘No tequila, no tequila’ which totally bewildered them. They never heard of such a thing, a Margarita without tequila.”

“That would be my mother, Margarita without tequila. She never drank but that’s her name . Go figure, huh?” he said sadly.

Janet didn’t like seeing him so miserable. “Really? What a pretty name.”

“Who is we?” he asked curiously.

“We?” she repeated, bewildered.

“You said we went to Mexico.”

“My family, of course. My mom and us kids. We had a blast. Went snorkeling and scuba diving, kayaking, horse-back riding, sight-seeing. We needed a vacation after the vacation,” she said happily. 

“Not your father?” he asked, only now realizing she never mentioned him.

She took a sip of water. “Good idea. You should get your dad to go on vacation. It was awesome. He’ll really like it. There’s lots of pretty senoritas there for the both of you. Just don’t get drunk or you’ll end up with a tattoo on your arm and not know how it got there. It happened to Jimmy Buffet so it could happen to you,” she said.

“You really are a nut,” he said.

“Well, just as long as you don’t try to crack me open and feed me to a squirrel, we’ll be fine,” she said casually. “These look yummy. I’m getting the enchilladas, how about you?”

Janet entertained Wes as they ate by talking animatedly about her trip to Mexico. “Well, a huge wave came at us and we were swept under. Well, we were half drowned but at least my swimsuit stayed in place. Jasmine’s didn’t. There were these guys that saw the whole thing and we could barely get away from them. I think they were hoping mine would fly off too.”

Wes had never laughed so much. “I’ll bet! I wish I had gone with you,” he said.

 “I’m not about to let you see my goods either,” she said, pouring the last of the frozen drink into his glass.

“That’s not what I meant. It sounded like a lot of fun. I wish I could get my father to go to something like that.”

“I’ll fix that too,” she said, lifting her glass in a toast.

Chapter 10: That's some car

“I must say, my yenta’s looking rather pretty,” Wes said as he held the car door open for her.

“You should thank Jasmine for that. She’s my stylist,” Janet said, stepping into the car. She took one close look inside and her eyes widened dramatically. She let out a low whistle. “She wasn’t kidding. This is some car. I’m surprised your dad would let you drive it.”

“He has no choice since it’s my car,” he replied smirking. He then starting up the engine and smoothly took off.

“You must have been a very good boy to have daddy buy you this,” she said, loving the luxurious interior.

“I was indeed a very good boy, but Daddy didn’t buy it for me. I did. Got the payments to prove it,” he said.

She gaped. “Dear God, Wes! How much money do you make?” she asked. “This must be... I don’t even know how much, but it must cost tons! It’s a frickin’ Jag!”

He laughed at her. “Don’t you know that’s not a topic of proper conversation?” he chided her mildly.

She made a funny face. “Since when do I know anything about that? You have me confused with Jasmine. She’s Miss Proper Decorum.”

He laughed again. “I had no clue that Wendy was your mom, but now I see where you get your sense of humor. You’re just like her.”

 “I’m nothing like her,” she said, her expression suddenly stony.

“You’re wrong , Janet. You may not look like her, but…”

“So, you do work for her cheap boss?” she interrupted quickly. “You really get around, don’t you?” 

Stopping at a red light, Wes frowned, wondering about the abrupt change in her. “I suppose,” he said cautiously, glancing at her. “Did I say something to upset you?”

“Me? I’m fine,” she said, giving him an obviously forced smile. “How do you get so much work? Advertising?”

He waited for the light to turn green before answering. “When you’re good at what you do, people hear about it. Of course, when you’re bad they hear about that too,” he retorted bracingly. “Luckily, I learn from my mistakes and I’ve perfected my craft. I see you doing the same in English class every day.”

Janet frowned at him. “Have you been spying on me? Those are confidential files. My clients would be pissed off if they thought just anybody was looking at their information.”

“I was just curious about your set up, not your client list. They are irrelevant to me,” he said, slowing down to allow a minivan in front of him.

“Well, they’re not to me. You shouldn’t have been looking. I didn’t ask you to,” she said heatedly.

“I’m sorry, Janet. I know you didn’t, but I was very impressed with what little I saw. You seem ambitious and I thought I could show you some ways of improving your system. Just a couple of small changes that might help your business. No harm listening, is there? And I’m not charging you anything if that’s what’s upsetting you.”

“Then why bother? What’s in it for you?” she asked suspiciously.

“You’re helping my dad, aren’t you? That means a lot to me. You’ll never know how much. I want him to live again. He pretty much died with my mother,” he said, his tone serious.

Her frown faded quickly. He loved his dead mother and his live father. That was obvious. She simultaneously felt envious and sorry for him. 

Jasmine’s words whispered in her head just then, “Be a friend and get him laughing again.”  Well, she had done the laughing part already, without trying. Now it was time to be a friend.

 “I was thinking about that, Wes. You said your dad wants you to have a girlfriend, right?”

“Yes,” he replied cautiously, as he looked both ways before crossing an intersection.

“Then do you think he would encourage it by, say, going out to dinner to meet her and perhaps meeting someone for himself?” she asked.

“I don’t think I follow,” he said.

“Okay, you need to get a girlfriend who has a single mom and then you can suggest that you all go out to dinner together. Your dad doesn’t have to know it’s a set up. It’s just a meeting of the parents and if they continue to meet and become friendly then maybe...”

“They might start to really like each other and start dating,” he said, grinning at her, but his smile faded. “But I don’t have a girlfriend, especially one with a single mother. Do you?”

“No, I don’t have a girlfriend, but unlike you I don’t get all insulted when people suggest that I’m gay. I just think it’s really funny,” she told him with a giggle.

“Who’s the wise guy now?” he asked smirking. “I mean, it would be a stretch finding a girlfriend that has a mother who might become interested in my father.”

She frowned in concentration. “Okay, how about this? My mom has a friend that’s looking for a house for her and her kids. She’s been divorced for a while and I can ask your dad if he can show her some houses and maybe...”

“Won’t work. He never mixes business with pleasure. He won’t ever date a client or an employee,” he said.

She made her funny face. “Then how did he and your mom meet?”

He smiled suddenly. He had heard the story so often he knew it by heart. 

“They met shortly after high school when they were both in college, but they actually got to know each other when they worked together at a fast food restaurant. They used to say it was a marriage made over the deep fryer,” he said with a laugh. 

“That’s romantic,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“It was. They married a little over a year after they met which didn’t go over too well with my grandparents, supposedly. Especially after my Uncle Rob did the same thing. He ran off eloping with his college sweetheart, but they had a good reason for their quick marriage. They had to get married, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, the scandal!” she said giggling.

“It was back then. I’m not supposed to know about it, but I heard them talking one day. My cousin Karen, Billy’s oldest sister is a love child.”  He looked sheepish all of a sudden and added, “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.”

“Because you know I love drama! You are so good to me, Wes. It’s like you really are my best friend now. Go figure. I lasted this long without one. I thought I’d never get one,” Janet said happily.

 “I’d be honored to be your best friend, but, really? You don’t already have one? How about Jasmine?”

“We get along fine, but isn’t that rather pathetic? Saying your best friend is your sister?” she said shaking her head in disgust.

He laughed. “You are too funny.”  

They had just pulled into the parking lot. 

“I hope you like Mexican,” he said as he unbuckled his seat belt and turned to undo hers.

“I love Mexican! You’re the best best friend I ever had,” she said, excitedly. “I’ve never been here before. Don’t tell me. Another client of yours?” 

“Actually, yes,” he replied. He moved around to her side and held his hand out to her. 

Once she placed her hand in his he grinned. He really did have a sexy smile, she thought.

He continued to hold her hand as they went inside which she thought rather odd, but at the same time nice. It was relatively dark inside the restaurant. Each table was lit by a colorfully painted luminaria and very faint lighting came from up above. 

Janet grabbed his arm. “Did you bring any bread crumbs, Hansel? We might get lost in the dark.”

He laughed. “You nut. This is what is called setting a mood,” he informed.

“Yeah, I know and I’m in the mood to hide under a table until they turn on the lights,” she countered.

 He laughed so loud several patrons turned around and stared at them. 

“Goodness, I can’t take you anywhere. You are so uncouth,” she said haughtily. 

He stared at her until she too started laughing.

“Wes!” someone called to him and he looked around.

“Oh, no, did I get you in trouble?” Janet asked nervously.

Wes looked up and waved at a very pretty woman with thick auburn hair. “Janet, you gotta do me a huge favor, okay? Whatever I say, just go along with it, please?” He grabbed her hand before she could answer and lead her to the table where the woman sat with a man.

“Uncle Rob, it’s great to see you. Aunt Beth, you look beautiful, as always. It’s so weird I was just telling Janet about you,” Wes exclaimed after hugging the both of them.

“It’s great to see you, Wes,” Rob said smiling broadly.

“Wes, is it possible you’ve grown again? You might reach Billy yet,” Beth stated patting him affectionately on the cheek.

“I don’t know about that. Billy’s huge. Um," he said, a bit nervously turning to Janet. "This is Janet Fummel. Janet, this is my dad’s brother Rob and my favorite Aunt Beth. She taught me how to dance,” he added conspiratorially.

“Janet? That’s funny, you look just like a girl I had in my ballet class a several years back. Gosh, what was her name?” Beth said frowning  in concentration.

Wes and Janet exchanged looks, grinned and simultaneously said, “Jasmine.”

“Yes, how did you know?” Beth asked amazed.

“She’s my twin. She loved your dance classes and bugged me for years to join her, but I’m too lazy and I’m clumsy as an elephant,” Janet said completely unabashed.

“Ah, but I could have helped with that,” Beth replied.

Janet shook her head tragically. “No, I would have just ruined your reputation as the fine dance instructor that you are.”  

They all laughed.

“Wes, you got yourself a very pretty and witty girlfriend,” Rob interjected.

“Uh…” Janet started but Wes squeezed her hand tightly and cut her off. She stared up at him questioningly.

“Yeah, Janet’s the best,” Wes said. 

Then he did something that shocked her to her toes. He kissed her. 

“The very best,” he whispered, staring into her large brown eyes.

Janet didn’t know what to say, but she knew one thing. She wanted Wes to do that again.

Chapter 9: I’m not going!

“I’m not going!” Janet shouted to her sister who had been cajoling her into dressing nicely for her date. “And stop calling it a date. We’re just supposed to be talking business… I mean… if I was going, but I’m not going!”

“Janet, you have to,” Jasmine whined.

“Give me one good reason why,” Janet said, her arms stubbornly crossed over her chest.

“Cuz Wes is a sweet guy and he works a lot,” she said.

“So what?”

“So much that he hardly allows himself time to breathe let alone to have fun. He’s becoming just like his father. Troy told me he started this computer business right after his mother died. To distract himself, you know?” Jasmine said, making a sad face. “But he takes it too seriously. Troy says he had a drag him kicking and screaming to play soccer with him. He agreed to stay on the team only when his dad threatened to confiscate his computers. Troy said it was the first time he heard Wes really laugh since his mother died when he was with you at dinner last night. You’re good for him. So, be a friend and get him away from work for a little while and get him laughing again.”

Chapter 8: Lunch with the genius

 “Anyway, my cousin Billy is Luke’s agent so maybe I could get us some tickets to his first show. I think Billy said he would be at Club Palisades. I’m not so sure I’ll like it but maybe you and Jasmine would. I don’t like concerts much. I like Broadway musicals…. but that doesn’t mean I’m gay!” he stated vehemently.

“You like musicals? No, you don’t,” she said making her funny face.

“I do. My mother always took me to see them. I grew to love them. Or maybe it was just because it was with her. Our special time,” he said, again shrugging. “Whatever. Haven’t been to one since she died.” 

“I’m sorry. Jasmine and I love them too. Maybe we can all go together sometime. Troy would hate it but who needs him?” she stated dismissively. She beamed at him. “Fiddler On The  Roof, that’s my favorite. That’s where I got yenta from, you know.”

“I figured that. Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch,” he sang.

“You sing so nice,” she said, her eyes wide in delight. She surprised him when she grabbed his arm, all excited. “Hey! You and I should go out for the class musical this year. Oh, it would be awesome if they did ‘Fiddler On The Roof’ but I think I heard it was going to be ‘The Wizard Of Oz’. You would make a perfect scarecrow. The one with the brains, you know.”