“Oh.”Jamie stiffened.“I shouldn’t have agreed to go to dinner with Mike.I’m not ready.”
“Yes, you are, and yes you will.”Joesph stood up and pulled Jamie up by the back of his shirt.“What are you planning on wearing?”
“No.”Jamie shook himself.“I’m going to call Mike and cancel.”
“You’ll do no such thing.”Joesph stood in front of Jamie and shook him, his hands on Jamie’s shoulders.“You need this, Jamie Throneaux.You need this more than you think.”He looked into Jamie’s eyes.“You need to get away from all this for a while.You’ve hardly left this place since your grandmother died, and then it was mostly to deal with...all the stuff you’ve had to do.”
Jamie took a deep breath.“I don’t know that I can.”
Joesph slapped Jamie across the face.Not a hard slap, but hard enough to stun Jamie.
“What the hell,” Jamie yelled, his own hand covering the spot where he’d just been hit.
“Time for you to wake up and smell the coffee, Jamie.Wake the hell up!”Joesph had his hands on his hips.Jamie knew that pose.Joesph was ready for a war.“You are going, and that’s final.Now, what are you wearing?”
Chapter Fifty
Jamie missed not havinga full-length mirror.He combed his hair for the umpteenth time.He’d changed clothes four times.“Why am I so nervous?”The first outfit he’d chosen, Joesph nixed almost immediately.He finally ended up choosing the green shirt and black slacks that he’d recently bought.
He drew a deep breath.“Okay.”Jamie took one final look at himself in the small mirror above his chest of drawers.Turned and went into the nearly cleaned out living area.
“Wow.”Joesph stood up from the table, inspecting Jamie.“Turn.”He motioned with his forefinger.
“Is this okay?”Jamie asked nervously.
“Superb.”Joesph brushed a piece of lint from the sleeve of the shirt.“Who bought this for you?I know you didn’t pickthisout.”
Jamie had to laugh.“When I went to get some new clothes, there was this woman who was a buyer from the store chain.She picked all this out.”
“Ha!I knewyoudidn’t choose that shirt.Bravo.You look absolutelyfabulous.Those slacksreallyshow off your ass.”
“Wait, what?”Jamie turned to look at his butt.“Is it too much?”
“No.”Joesph looked Jamie up and down one more time.“Honey, you really do lookfabulous.You’re gorgeous.”
“I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”As he was about to sit down at the table, but he reached for the martini glass that was almost full and took a big gulp and instantly regretted it.He started coughing, his eye watering.
