“Blake.”
“It’s the least I can do. Humor me, so I don’t feel too guilty.”
Scanning the ceiling, she said, “Fine. Thank you. I’ll see you at the party Friday.”
When she returned to her office, he thought about what Priscilla had said. Accused Carli of being a gold digger and only wanting him for his prestige and money. The woman wouldn’t even let him get her an Uber after canceling out on her. No, nothing about Carli was selfish or self-centered in any way. It was one of the reasons he wanted to get to know her better. He had a feeling he’d like what he learned.
Chapter eleven
Canyouputtheham on the table, please? And make sure your brothers don’t eat it all while taste testing.
Carli chuckled, following her mother’s orders. She took a few nibbles of the spiral ham herself. Mom hadn’t saidshecouldn’t taste test. The parts around the edges that were soaked in glaze were her favorites.
Evan and Brian entered the dining room behind her, carrying a casserole and a gallon of milk. Her dad finished up setting the silverware on the table. Deanna had decorated it beautifully today. It could have ranked right up there with Mrs. Wentworth’s table, although it was doubtful these place settings cost anywhere near what the Wentworths had paid. But Deanna had made some of them herself, so Carli considered them far superior.
Milk?Brian signed as Carli shifted the platter into an empty spot.
Of course. Did he really need to ask? Her whole family loved milk and drank it for most meals when they were together. Her father used to joke that he should buy a cow since they had to buy it every few days, more when her brothers were teens and living at home.
Mom shuffled in with another platter and placed it on the table.Let’s all sit before it gets cold.Scanning the room, she signaled everyone to start filling their plates.
Once everyone had passed the food around and gotten what they wanted, Dad looked around and his face got solemn.We thank you, God, for bringing us here with our family and allowing us to have this food to eat. Thank you for bringing us health and happiness and prosperity. Amen.
Everyone signedAmenand dug in.
As she chewed her own food, she glanced around, and a pleasant feeling engulfed her. They may not have the biggest house with expensive furniture, and they may not wear diamonds and furs, but her family had each other. And they loved each other. They might give her a hard time about her CIs, but they’d never turn their backs on her if she needed them.
She’d left the CIs off today. It had been ten years, and it still took her by surprise at times how loud her family could get. Yet Brian never mentioned it. Being the only hearing one in the family must have been difficult.
Where is Mercedes today?her mother asked.You invited her along, didn’t you?
At the Cape with her family,Evan interrupted, not even slowing his chewing at all. Suppose that was one positive to not voicing as you signed. You didn’t have to stop eating.
I think she was asking me.Carli made a face at him.How do you even know where she is?
I know everything.Evan smirked.Like the fact she isn’t coming back until Wednesday.
Mercedes had only made that decision this morning. How the heck did Evan already know? And that made what she told Blake false. It didn’t really matter, though. She was excited to see his place. She’d never been in a Back Bay apartment, and this way she didn’t need to superclean her house…or be embarrassed by it.
How’s the job,Dad?Brian asked.Have you been busy lately?
It slows down around the holidays, but we’ve got a big order coming in the first of the year. Hopefully, we’ll get some overtime. Need to pay for all these presents for you rug rats.
Her father was a machinist who worked locally for a mid-sized company. Luckily, they had decent benefits, and it had paid for their modest house. Her mom did data entry for a billing service.
How’s work for you, Mom?
Her mother nodded her head and spent the next few minutes complaining about the computer she had at work that kept glitching.
Have you called anyone about it yet?Brian asked.I could come take a look if they don’t have a regular IT person.
Her oldest brother did something with computers, but she never really understood when he started getting technical. He was good with them, and that was all she needed to know. When her laptop had crashed, he was able to get it up and running again. Thank God, since she didn’t really have the spare cash to get another one. Any extra money she made went to paying for her graduate degree and the student loans she still had from undergrad.
Talk turned to Evan’s job and when they expected the construction on the tunnel and roadway to be done.
They’ll never be done fixing these awful roads.But it’s good job security. They need guys who have my skills and the license to operate the equipment I do. And I don’t complain about how loud some of that stuff gets. The bosses like that.
Deanna joined in with a story of her class and how they were sending packages to the troops overseas with items they needed.The kids were excited when they got a video of the soldiers saying thank you. Now, these guys want to learn sign language, so we’ll be doing regular video lessons to send to them.
