9.47 A Date for Juliette

“So, my dears, what are you going to be up to now that you’re out of school,” Viviana asked.

“Well,” Janessa began, “Today we’re going to catch up with some of our friends who graduated before us. As for my life, well, I don’t quite know yet. I’m just focusing on getting my body in tip top shape…like you!”

“Oh, aren’t you sweet. Just make sure you working out for the right reasons. Vanity is a slippery slope.”

“I know, grandma. I just enjoy anything related to health and fitness.”

“Good. Glad to hear it. What about you, Juliette? Do you have any plans?”

“Why yes I do. I’m going to make delicious food! I gonna apply to work in a restaurant tomorrow.”

“Oh that’s great! Maybe you and Jonathan can work together in his restaurants,” Viviana gushed.

“Ehhhh…maybe. We’ll see if I’ll have time to help him when I’m busy with my own family,” Juliette said.

“Ohhh, are you dating anyone,” Viviana asked.

“No. That’s been a bit of an issue. No one likes me!”

“Oh I’m sure that’s not true, honey. There is someone out there for everyone. You just have to be patient enough to wait for him. Well, you ladies have fun with your friends. I’ve gotta get to the hospital.”

“Bye, grandma,” they said.

Viviana left, the girls finished their breakfast, and got ready for the day. They were going on a not-so-secret mission to find Juliette someone to date. To begin, they were going to catch up with their old high school crew. Juliette knew this mission was going to be a bust because the guys that Janessa hung around really liked Janessa, and she liked them too; they were off limits. That left Juliette with the leftovers.

Before their birthday, Janessa was in favor of not being tied to one person, but it wasn’t necessarily her goal to purposefully date several people. She only wanted to spread love and happiness to those who needed it. But, now, she was more interested in getting love for herself.

Janessa called the guys and had them meet at the museum. First, there was Aldo Gyles.

He was the geeky bro who loved Janessa quietly…until now. Becoming self-assured and wanting a large family made him more vocal about his feelings for her. In school, they liked each other, and of course she shared a kiss with him, but nothing ever progressed from there.

Salvatore Macias was Janessa’s favorite friend. She never had feelings for him although she kissed him too. He was an outdoor enthusiast, but they clicked the most with their love for fitness. But now Salvatore had a soft spot for family and was anxious to see if anything more could come out of their friendship.

Finally, there was the kid whose name doesn’t matter, but, for the record, his name is Clarence Irvin. In school, they knew him as being a materialistic geek who wanted to be friends with everyone. Now he was just mean. It’ll be quite interesting to see how he and Juliette get along.

There was one more person in their group, but Juliette didn’t want him invited because they never got along. His name was Arjun Gunter. He was always very mean toward her. Julian told her that it was because he liked her, but she believed that he was truly evil. He’s actually just hot headed…and also childish and ambitious!

When all the guys arrived, they went to the courtyard and split up. Juliette reluctantly sat with Clarence, and Janessa sat with her friends to catch up.

“So, guys, what have you been up to since leaving school,” Janessa asked.

Aldo jumped in before Salvatore had a chance to consider an answer. “Well, I had interests in the body…and how to relax it. So, I studied reflexology. I have contracts with several spas around town that I work from, so uhhhh…if you ever need a massage, these hands work wonders. I’ll be honored to put them on you, he he.”

“Oh my,” Janessa said. “Ummm, heh, I will remember that! S-so what about you, ummm…”

“You have no chance, Salvatore. She doesn’t even remember your name,” Aldo taunted.

“Well, ahem, I may not have a fancy job that involves feeling up women all day, or any job for that matter…but I know Janessa better than you ever will! So…so there!”

“Smooth, bro. That was real smooth,” Aldo said.

Meanwhile, at Juliette’s table, things were going well for a little while, but then the inevitable happened.

“So…you like money and want to make a lot of it, but you have no job? Yeah, that’s real smart,” Juliette said under her breath. Naturally, he still heard her.

“What did you just say about me?”

“I think you heard me. Are you deaf now too?”

“You Pruetts just think you’re so great! You’re all a bunch of snobs!”

“And your mother is a llama!”

[gasp] “Don’t talk about my mother!”

“You always go for the jugular first! You play dirty, Juliette. Reeeally dirty.”