Just One Look (11 page)

Depressed at her thoughts, she decided to go on home as she'd intended and enjoy the evening with her parents for their weekly dinner together. She looked at her watch. They'd probably already arrived and used the house key she'd given them to let themselves in to her condo.

"Goodnight, Cathy." She turned and walked away. Before she got to the elevator, she halted. Damn. She whirled and raced back to her office. "If Matt calls back, give him my cell number," she told her surprised secretary.

She didn't wait for Cathy's incredulous reply. She felt enough like a fool without seeing that thought written on Cathy's face.

Jennifer drove straight home. Maybe her parents would take her mind off Matt. Almost every Monday night during football season, her mother showed up with dinner packed in a big picnic hamper, as if Jennifer only ate a good meal when she brought one. Jennifer grinned fondly. They'd eat then she and her Mom would talk while Dad watched the game on television.

Sometimes her mother brought dessert. Other times she whipped something up in Jennifer's kitchen. Then at half time, they'd eat the sweet concoction.

Maybe her mom had brought her special pound cake. She could use a big slab of cake tonight. With a scoop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream on top and a big drizzle of chocolate syrup. Jennifer sighed. Alva was right. She was in a rut, a comfortable rut. But suddenly, the sameness of her days made her restless for more in her life. Even comfortable ruts could be claustrophobic.

When she finally pulled into her parking lot, she saw her parents white Chevy Suburban SUV. With resolve, she consigned her discontent to the back of her mind and hurried in.

The smell of fried chicken greeted her when she opened the door. "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. I'm home," she called, locking the front door behind her.

"Jenny, come give me a hug," her dad called from the couch.

She removed her black coat and hung it in the small closet by the door then walked into the living room.

Ed Monroe was stretched out on the sofa with the velvet throw pillows beneath his head.

Jennifer bent down and kissed him on the cheek. "Looks like you've settled in for the night." Fondly, she tweaked his nose.

"He has," Ronnie Monroe said, wiping her hands on a dishtowel as she came in from the kitchen.

Jennifer hugged her mother. "Is that fried chicken I smell?"

Her mother nodded. "Dinner's ready. Do you want to change first or go ahead and eat?"

"I think I'd like to put on something warm and comfy. Give me a few minutes, okay?"

Her mom nodded and settled on the edge of the couch next to Ed. "Take your time, Jenny. I'll pester your father for a while."

Jennifer grinned when she saw her mother lean down and kiss her father. Her dad reached up and cupped her mother's face. That's what she wanted, she thought wistfully. But true love had eluded her so far. She'd only found tepid relationships that ended with the same whimper with which they'd begun.

Her mother hadn't found lasting love the first time around either. Instead, Ronnie had found herself seventeen and pregnant. The boy, Jennifer's father, refused to acknowledge that he'd fathered Ronnie's baby.

Once again, Jennifer thanked the powers that be for Ed Monroe. He'd fallen in love with Veronica Thornhill and hadn't minded that a precocious teenager came with the attractive blonde. He'd never pressured Jennifer to accept him as a father. He'd just tried to be a friend to her. In so doing, he'd become the best dad any girl could ever have.

Jennifer kicked off her black ankle strap heels and peeled off the sheer black hosiery. Then she traded her black skirt suit for an old pair of gray sweat pants and one of her dad's old chambray shirts. She pulled on a pair of thick white athletic socks and grinned at herself in the mirror. What a different ensemble from yesterday's seduction outfit.

"Okay, let's eat," she said, walking toward the kitchen. "I'm starved." Though she'd seen her parents last week, she still found plenty to talk about with them. The one thing she omitted though was her run-in with Matt Penrose.

"Pass the mashed potatoes, Jenny," Ed said.

Jennifer handed him the big bowl full of buttery potatoes. "Dad, are we all set for the weekend?"

"You bet. Your mom and I are going down to the lake house Friday. I need to pick up the boat motor at the shop in Mabank. They worked on the carburetor and said the old Evinrude is like new. Maybe we won't get stuck out in the middle of the lake this time."

"Well, I hope they're right. The water's a bit cool to be swimming to the bank this time of year," her mother said.

"If we get stranded again, I'll let you swim for it this time, Veronica," Ed said, a twinkle in his eye.

"Shoot! Not me. I'll sit there until someone comes looking for us."

Jennifer listened to their good-natured sniping and again thought about what was missing in her life. Affectionately, she grinned at them. "Did you enter the tournament again, Dad?"

"Well, I didn't want to, but your mother made me."

Ronnie hit him on the arm. "Made you? Why, you liar." To Jennifer, she said, "He entered you too, dear. He's positive one of you can land that striped bass you tried to catch last summer and win the trophy."

"Hey," Ed said, "They can keep the trophy. It's that ten thousand dollar grand prize I want to come home with. There's a motor home I've got my eye on. That prize money will be a nice down payment."

Jennifer patted his arm and started clearing the table. "Well, you might win this time, Dad. I'm going to ask Alva and her friend Bill Dixon to come up for the weekend if that's all right?"

"Sure. We always enjoy seeing Alva. She and your mother can keep each other company."

Jennifer smiled. "That's what I thought too. And her friend Bill is a fisherman so he'll go in the boat with us."

"Sounds good." Ed rose and finished clearing while Jennifer and her mother began loading the dishwasher. "Bring anyone you want, Jenny. You know we've got plenty of room."

After they'd finished, Jennifer and her dad went to the living room while her mother looked through the pantry and refrigerator for ingredients to make dessert.

Jennifer started to sit on the floor next to the couch when her eyes fell on the books on the coffee table. She'd forgotten to remove them yesterday. Peering at her dad from the corner of her eye, she wondered if he and her mother had looked through them. She hid her smile. She'd be willing to bet they had.

Without saying anything, she left her dad to the pre-game program and picked the books up. She carried them to her book-lined study and stacked them on the table next to the sage green damask chaise. Sighing contentedly, she climbed onto the chaise and plumped up the fringed pillows and lay back.

She chose the book on erotica and began looking through it. Before she knew it, she was turning the pages until she found chapter nineteen. Her face grew warm as she read the passage.

Whew, she thought, fanning her cheeks. She turned a few more pages and began reading about all the creative things one could do with a silk scarf. When the doorbell rang, she laid the book face down.

Before she could answer the door, she heard her mother there.

"Jenny, you have company," Ronnie called. "A gentleman."

Jennifer hurried out in time to hear her mother say, "Please come in, Matt. I'm Jennifer's mother Veronica Monroe. Most people call me Ronnie."

Jennifer watched in horror as Matt walked in. Her dad rose and introduced himself. The two men shook hands.

"Matt!" She couldn't think of anything else to say. She noted how pleased her mom and dad looked. Well, they could just get that look off their faces, she thought. "May I take your coat?"

"Thanks," he said, speaking to her for the first time. "I hope you don't mind my stopping by tonight. I didn't know you had company."

"No, not at all," she said, flustered. Of all the old comfy clothes she could have changed into, why had she chosen the baggy pants and oversized shirt? She took his coat and stood there holding it.

Her mother came to the rescue. "Sit down, Matt. And, Jenny, put his coat in the closet."

He chose one of the club chairs in the living room. Hastily, Jennifer hung his coat and kept one ear tuned for her mother's voice.

"What did you say your last name was?" Ronnie asked, sitting on the couch next to her husband.

"Penrose," he replied, smiling at her parents.

Jennifer saw the puzzled look on her mother's face. She knew her mother remembered. "Matt Penrose," Ronnie said as if awestruck.

Jennifer stood behind Matt and shook her head violently at her mom. Her dad frowned. Ronnie opened her mouth to speak but closed it abruptly when she saw Jennifer place her index finger to her lips to caution her mother to silence.

Ed's frown deepened. "What kind of business are you in, Matt?"

Matt smiled, not uncomfortable with the fatherly question at all. "I'm a doctor."

"GP?" Ed asked.

"Obstetrics and Gynecology," Matt answered, figuring the gruff Ed Monroe would be nonplussed by the answer. He was right. Ed didn't say a thing, but his frown turned to a scowl. Jennifer's mother blushed.

"Have you and Jennifer been seeing each other long?" Ed asked.

"Dad," Jennifer protested at the same time that Ronnie scolded, "Ed!"

"What? What did I do?" Ed asked, looking bewildered.

"No, not long, Matt answered easily. "I thought I'd stop by and see if she wanted to go to this exhibit at the Institute for Feminist Studies tonight. You and Ronnie are welcome to come along, Ed,"

"Feminist studies, huh?" Ed remarked gruffly. "Thanks, son, sounds real fascinating, but I think I'll stick with my football game."

Matt looked longingly at the television. He'd have preferred that to the feminist thing at the museum. But when he looked at Jennifer, he decided he didn't mind missing another football game. She looked adorable in the baggy sweat pants and the man's shirt that reached her knees. He hoped the shirt was her father's.

Jennifer smoothed the collar of the chambray shirt and wished she had kept her work clothes on.

"So how about it, Jennifer?" Matt asked. "The exhibit is called Enslavement: A Woman's Perspective."

Jennifer stared at Matt in amazement. He wanted to take her to see that exhibit of women and sexual bondage? Except this exhibit had a different slant on the subject. Did he know?

"Oh, isn't that the one that, oh!" Ronnie's mouth snapped shut at the warning look Jennifer aimed in her direction.

"Jen and I saw it last month," she mouthed to her husband since Matt's eyes hadn't strayed from her daughter.

Ed patted Ronnie's hand and whispered, "There, there, dear, you're having problems finishing those sentences, aren't you?"

Ronnie playfully slapped his hand away. She looked from her daughter to Matt.

Jennifer had never suspected that she had such a streak of perversity in her soul. She couldn't wait to see the look on Matt's face when he saw that exhibit.

"I'd love to go with you, Matt. Can you give me about fifteen minutes to change?"

"Sure. I'll visit with your parents while you get ready."

Oops, she thought. That could be a problem. "Mom, could you help me a minute, please? And, Dad, why don't you get Matt something to drink?"

"No need," Matt said. "I'm fine."

"No, you look thirsty," she insisted.

Ronnie followed Jennifer to the bedroom and quickly closed the door. "What is going on here, Jennifer?"

"Well, it's a long story, Mom." Jennifer stripped the shirt and pants off and dived into her closet.

"Is he the same Matt Penrose?"

"Yep. Small world, isn't it?" Jennifer slipped into a pair of gray wool trousers and topped it with a red sweater. Then she stepped into a pair of red pumps.

"Does he know that you're little Jenny Thornhill?" Her mother asked, eyes narrowed shrewdly.

"Mother. I was never little."

Her mother dismissed her comment with a wave of her hand. "He doesn't know, does he?"

"No, and I want to keep it that way. So don't say anything. And please go keep Dad from making any reference to Michigan either."

Ronnie sighed. "Okay, but I don't like this. Why haven't you told him?"

"Like I said. It's a long story."

"And why haven't you told him you've already seen that exhibit? How can you think of going to that with a man?"

Jennifer grinned. "Mom, I'm a psychologist. I know all about stuff like that."

"I know, dear, but you could at least pretend you don't. Especially around your dad. You should have seen his face when he saw those books on your coffee table." She chuckled.

"Sorry, Mom," she said and added, tongue in cheek, "At least I put away the whips and chains this time."

"Jennifer! Really. Sometimes I think you have a warped sense of humor."

"Sometimes, Mother, I do." Jennifer kissed her on the cheek and rushed out.

"I'm ready. We'll be back around ten, I imagine." She looked at Matt for confirmation. He nodded. "And Matt can have dessert with us. Mom always fixes something scrumptious for halftime," she told Matt. It would be interesting to see if he had the guts to stick around for dessert with the parents.

"Great," he said, "I'll look forward to it."

"What is it tonight, Mom?"

"Strawberry shortcake. I'll use those luscious strawberries in your fridge."

Matt tripped over his own feet, and Jennifer bumped into him. She dared not look at him for fear she'd burst into laughter. Oh, no. Strawberries. Of all the desserts her mother could have mentioned.

"Oh, dear, are you all right, Matt?" Ronnie asked.

"Uh, yeah. Fine," he said.

Jennifer looked everywhere but at Matt. She hoped her mother didn't wonder why she blushed so hotly.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I thought I'd make strawberry shortcake. How does that sound?"

"Wonderful," Matt and Jennifer mumbled in unison.

"Well, we really need to go," he said.

"Yes, we don't want to be late for the exhibit," Jennifer said. "See you later."

Matt didn't say a word as he escorted her to his car and opened the door of the Jaguar for her.