No Matter What

Chapter Nine

Misty:

When Misty finally broke down and called her mother to ask if it would be all right if she and J.D. came for dinner next Saturday, Angela had been thrilled. Her mother didn’t even mind when Misty asked if Caitlyn could join them.

            Misty and J.D. were the first to arrive. As soon as Angela spotted him, she was clearly pleased with Misty’s choice. In his usual charming manner, J.D. was polite to her parents, calling them Mr. and Mrs. Freeman, even after Angela tried to insist he could call her by her first name.

            “So, tell me, what does J.D. stand for?” Angela asked as she hooked her arm through his and led him to the back yard.

            “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” J.D. answered, sounding as if he’d used the same line many times before. “If you play your cards right, I might let you in on the secret someday.”

            “I like your style,” Angela said with a wry smile.

            “Is Evan coming?” Misty asked.

            “He couldn’t get the day off work from the hospital,” Tom answered. “I guess the sick don’t care about family barbecues.”

            “Speaking of barbecues,” Angela said and nodded her head toward the smoking grill. “Don’t you think you should check on those?”

            Misty had to laugh when she saw her father was grilling several large T-bone steaks. At least she knew for certain J.D. liked steaks.

            “Do you need any help with anything, sir?” J.D. asked.

            “Of course he doesn’t,” Angela answered for Tom. “After all, you’re a guest here. Just pull up a chair and talk to me for a while. Misty can help her father.”

            Misty made sure to give J.D. a smug look when she heard her mother point out he was a guest. The grin he gave her in return let her know he understood the look.

            “Whatever you say, Mrs. Freeman,” J.D. agreed, still grinning as he obliged her request.

            “I see your mother is pulling out all the stops to impress your date,” Tom teased Misty when she joined him by the grill. “Obviously she wants to keep this one around.”

            “So do I,” Misty admitted before she could stop herself.

            Her father gave her a kind smile. “I’m glad to hear that, Misty. He seems like a very nice young man.”

            “I think I hear the doorbell,” Misty said, excusing herself to answer the door while leaving J.D. in her mother’s hands.

            “Okay, where is he?” Caitlyn demanded.

            “You mean my dad? He’s outside manning the grill.”  

            “I mean the hot coffee boy.”

            “Oh, Caitlyn, please don’t call him that to his face.”            

            “Don’t worry. I’ll be my usual sweet self.”  

            “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Misty sighed as she slid open the patio door so that they could join everyone else outside.

             “Caitlyn!” Angela cried. “How lovely to see you again! I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages. Where have you been keeping yourself? Not working too hard, I hope.”