“Do you mind if I have some?” I ask, motioning at the coffee machine.
“I need all of it,” he says simply, and then takes a massive gulp from his mug.
“Okay, sure.” Guess I’ll just have tea.
I start moving around the kitchen, filling the kettle and digging around for tea bags. Jonah and I keep bumping into one another, awkwardly unsure of how to move around with the other so close.
“Sorry,” he says. “I’m not used to having anyone in the kitchen with me.”
For the first time, I realize what an imposition I am in Jonah’s life right now. Before me, he lived alone, and probably did whatever he wanted in his own home. Now, he’s sleeping in a smaller bed and running into me in the kitchen.
“Oh, no worries,” I say, moving out of the way and sitting at the island instead. I make a mental note to do something nice for him, like cook him dinner. I also make a note to learn how to cook something else aside from avocado toast.
“Here.” Jonah places a cup of coffee in front of me.
I bring it to my lips and take a sip, closing my eyes as I savor the taste. It’s delicious and immediately makes me forget all about tea. Clearly the man knows how to brew good coffee and must buy fancy-ass beans as well.
I open my mouth to tell him thank you, but find that he’s already gone, the bedroom door closing behind him. I take another sip of the coffee, and smile. Jonah is just as Candice described: rough around the edges, but kind.
That evening,Jonah and I head to his parents’ house for dinner. I spent an hour getting ready to meet them and still managed to wear the wrong thing. I’m in a turtle neck cream sweater dress and brown boots, and put makeup on for the occasion. I also did my hair.
Meanwhile, Jonah’s mom Meg is wearing a pair of cargo pants and a simple long sleeve shirt, and his dad, named Jack, is wearing coveralls. Perched on the edge of the sofa, watching the three of them banter back and forth, I somehow stick out like a sore thumb and fade into the background all at once.
I take a sip of the beer they poured for me and try not to down the entire thing in one go. I feel like I need the liquid courage,even if I’ll regret it tomorrow. The movement catches Jack’s eye and he shoots me a smile. I can already tell that he’s going to be the easier one of them to win over.
“So, Winnie, what do you do for a living?” Jack asks, throwing me a bone.
Jonah’s mom glares at him sideways, as if she’s annoyed he’s so much as talking to me, and I swallow. Meg is a tough cookie, though I don’t begrudge her for it. I’d also be suspicious if my son got married to a woman he barely knows and didn’t even invite me to the wedding.
“Well, until I moved to Star Mountain, I did pageants,” I tell Jack.
“Winnie won Miss Alabama,” Jonah says helpfully, and I smile at him. He’s playing the proud husband well.
“And now?” Meg is clearly unimpressed by my former career.
“Now, I, uh, well I guess now I need to figure out what to do with the rest of my life,” I say honestly.
Meg doesn’t respond, and just picks up the pile of bright blue knitting beside her.
“You knit?” I ask, before I can stop myself. “What are you working on?”
She unfurls the top half of a sweater. I reach out and touch the yarn gently, rubbing it in between my fingers.
“It’s alpaca,” she says. “My friend has a herd and I spun and dyed this wool myself.”
“Amazing. I’ve always wanted to learn to knit.”
“Winnie can sew,” Jonah interjects. “Maybe you two could uh, teach each other or something.”
“Maybe,” Meg says, her knitting needles already clacking. But the look in her eye is softer than it was when I arrived and I can tell I’ve made progress with her.
“She’d knit even if she was stranded outside in a hurricane,” Jack says, looking at his wife fondly. “So Winnie, why don’t youtell us about those pageants you did. I’ll be honest, everything I know is from Miss Congeniality.”
“Well I definitely like doughnuts as much as Gracie does.”
This gets a big, booming laugh out of Jack, and a chuckle from Jonah. Meg just raises her eyebrows and keeps her eyes on the knitting.
“But honestly, parts of that film are spot on. We do have a talent round, and an evening gown round,” I add. “And I did become friends with a lot of the other girls, just like Gracie does.”
