Jessica's Fate

Chapter 59

Tony was brilliant. Answering her questions without hesitation and reassuring her that he honestly had the best of intentions towards me. She smiled and glanced at me. "He's a good one, Jess." She said softly, scraping her fork against the plate lightly and popping the last bite of her lasagna into her mouth.

"I know." I said as I finished the last of my salad and glanced at Tony, smiling when I found him watching me. "Need another helping?" I asked.

"Oh no, it was great. Thanks, Erica." He said, setting his fork down.

"Not too full?" I pressed softly.

His eyes flashed over my face. "I probably have more room." He allowed. "What are you thinking?"

'I have dessert." I said, smiling as I got up and cleared the table, making mom stay seated with a hand on her shoulder. "I've got it, mom." I said as I went around the counter to put the dishes in the sink. "I'll load the dishwasher later."

"Of course, you have dessert." Tony chuckled, taking a long sip of his ice tea. "I'd be worried if you didn't." he teased. Mom laughed.

I rolled my eyes at him and pointed. "Yeah, that would totally be a North move and I'm not going to switch to all veggies all the time anyway." I said as I got the flan out of the fridge and plated three portions onto dessert plates, adding a spiral of whipped cream on the side. I spooned a bit more of the caramel sauce that had pooled on the bottom of the serving platter over the flan itself as well as a spoonful over the whipped cream before I delivered the plates to mom and Tony. "My attempt at the last dessert you told me about." I said, setting the plate down in front of him and bending to kiss his cheek. "Flan a la Jessica." I smiled and set one plate in front of mom before I hurried to grab my own and sit back down at the table.

He stared at it for a long moment before looking at me. "You made this for me." He said solemnly.

"Absolutely." I said, eyes locked on his as I held my breath. All the sudden, I wasn't so sure that flan was a good memory for him and it made me nervous. Mom was starting to eat hers, savoring the flavor as the creamy texture of the flan burst on her tongue with a sharp caramel accent. I kept my eyes on him as I put a bite into my mouth, doing the same thing I knew my mom was.

We'd always evaluated desserts.

It had been a passion for me long before I voiced my ideas to her, Kota, Sang and Owen last spring.

He blinked slightly before turning his gaze to his dessert and taking a bite. "Oh... Jess." My name came from his lips on an exhaled breath. "This is amazing." He said, looking up at me.

"As good as your mama's or abuela's?" I'd swallowed my bite while he was taking his first bite and was anticipating his response.

He smiled. "Better, love. It's really good." He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Thank you for making it."

"You're welcome." I said.

"He's right." Mom smiled. "it's fantastic."

I beamed at her. "Thanks." I said. We finished the flan in silence – too distracted by its excellence to bother talking.

Mom got up and cleared the dishes. "I'm going to go get a couple things done before I have to get ready for work." She said, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "Tony... it's been lovely having dinner with you. I can see that I was right in trusting both of you from your first date. I know you won't let me down. Either of you." She smiled as Tony stood up. She gave him a quick hug and kissed his cheek. "you're welcome at the house any time."