Joneses – 6.5 Date Night

Jared was a bit annoyed after Asia told him Breanne Pancakes was coming over to spend the night. She waited until he got home to tell him which was only two hours before her arrival. He didn’t appreciate the short notice, and he definitely did not appreciate Asia setting the whole thing up without his input. It was hard enough handling his own young ones when she wasn’t around. Adding another to the mix who didn’t even belong to him was going to be an even bigger challenge. However, he tried to remain calm and think of it as dress rehearsal for when they had their next child; they had been discussing it lately. He was calm, but he was still annoyed.

When the time came, Jared went outside to wait for them on the sidewalk. The only thing he and Eliza had in common was their promptness. They were walking down the sidewalk as he was coming outside. Hmph…they clean up nicely. They must be going somewhere fancy. 

“Hello, Jared,” Eliza said. “I’m so sorry this seems to have fallen in your lap.”

Asia and Eliza were talking on Saturday, and Eliza was telling her about their plans for the week. They didn’t want to go away for just two days, so she planned a nice little staycation for them. Wednesday was the waterpark day, and Thursday was supposed to be a family dinner out, but Asia began to meddle and suggested they turn it into a date night. Naturally, Eliza wondered how they were supposed to go on a proper date with a child eavesdropping. That was when Asia suggested that they dropped Breanne off at their house. She said it would be fun for Breanne and her boys. “Hmmm…it couldn’t hurt,” Eliza said. Now, Asia was supposed to be off work that day, but she got called in. That’s how Jared ended up on sleepover duty.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said hoping his tone was decent.

Oh boy, he thought. I hope this kid won’t be a problem because she definitely doesn’t look too happy about this. 

“Are you ready to go, Robert?”

“…yeah…yeah.”

“What’s the matter?”

Bob nodded his head toward Breanne as slyly as he could.

“Oh dear,” Eliza said. “Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, Robert.”

Jared watched as Eliza had her first experience with mommy guilt. As much as the situation annoyed him, he felt sorry for her. He always thought she was so cold. The tenderness of the moment was surprising.

Usually, Bob would go with whatever Eliza said, but he had plans for later, and no one—not even his precious Bre—was going to ruin them.

“Hey…she’ll be ok.”

“But, we’ve never left her before,” Eliza said. “What if she’s not ready? And Jared wasn’t prepared for—

“She’ll be fine, Li—uhh Eliza.”

Jared wondered what he was about to call her.

“She’ll have fun,” Bob said. “Kids always have fun at sleepovers. She can’t always be with us. We need this.”

Jared smirked. Heh, I didn’t know he had it in him! He must be trying to get lucky tonight. Do what you gotta do, bruh!

Eliza sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

“Our reservation is in 15 minutes…”

She nodded and turned toward her daughter.

“Ok, my dear…we have to go now. You’re going to be on your best behavior, correct?”

“Yes, mommy.” She sounded so glum.

“Come now, dear. You’re going to have fun with Kolby and Kaiden. And you’ll tell me all about it in the morning, ok?”

“Ok.”

“Come here.

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

“Mommy,” Breanne whispered, “What if bad people come to get me?”

“Mr. Pruett is an astronaut,” Eliza whispered back. “He knows aliens!”

Breanne’s face lit up.

“Goodnight, Bre,” Bob said. “Be good.”

“Thanks again, Jared for doing this,” Eliza said. “We’ll be sure to return the favor.”

Oh yes you will! “It’s not a problem. You guys run along now. You don’t want to be late.”

“Welcome to Chez Llama! Your name, please?”

“Pancakes.”

The host typed in their name and scrolled through her list on the POS. “Ah, yes. Just in time! We were getting ready to let go of your table.”

“Oh? We’re,” she checked her watch, “only three minutes late.”

“We only have a five minute allowance. Right this way.” She showed them to their seats. “Here are some menus. Your server will be with you momentarily.”

Bob began to peruse the menu while Eliza scanned the venue. It was so fancy. Perhaps the fanciest place she had ever been in her whole life. From the lights to the linens, Eliza was pleased. “Oh, Robert! This place is marvelous!”

Bob would have been content with a greasy spoon. That’s how she knew he had selected this restaurant for her benefit. After she was doing drooling over the scenery, she took a look at the menu. The first thing she noticed was there were no prices on the menu. She secretly always dreamed of dining at a restaurant with no prices on the menu. Secondly, she barely recognized any of the entrees. She was even more excited.

“Robert, I trust you will order something nice for me.”

“Of course.”

“Good evening. My name is Franz. I will be serving you tonight. May I make a recommendation?”

“No, thank you,” Bob said. “I’ll have a space taco with pearled egg core and a glass of Monte Vista Reserve Renoit. She’ll have the cubed Ahi with veggie wasabi matrix and a Simsmapolitan.”

“All good choices, sir.” He took the menus and disappeared to the kitchen.

Eliza was impressed with Bob. “You ordered so well, Robert.”

“If there’s one thing I know, it’s food.”

“You know me…”

He grinned. “I do know you.”

“I’m sorry I was such a ninny earlier. I don’t know what came over me. Of course this was an excellent idea.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Lizzie. It’s natural for you to be worried about her.”

She knew he was right but still was upset with herself. “Hmph. Well, it was still quite silly. The Pruetts are our most trusted friends. I shouldn’t worry about her when she’s with them.”

Bob knew he wasn’t going to be able to convince her otherwise and did not reply.

“But, you, Robert… You were so…firm!”

Bob tensed up. He rarely stood up to her because he was afraid of rocking the boat.

“It was attractive. You should be firm more often.”

Well dag! I would have put my foot down long time ago if I knew she’d like it.

“Robert! It’s too early in the night!”

Heh, just warming up the kettle, baby!

“Excuse me,” Franz said. “Here are your whoooooooa!

“Oh! I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!” He scurried away to go reorder their food.

“Hmph. I’m glad we’re not starving,” she said. “I thought people in places like these were highly trained.”

“Everyone has to start somewhere.”

“Hmph. Well, perhaps he should have started at a less prestigious restaurant.”

Bob sat there shaking his head at her.

“Oh! What happened to you the other night, Robert? You came to bed so late. I tried to wait up, but you were taking so long.”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh…” Think, Bob, think!  “I, ummmmmmm…Bre grabbed me when I was coming upstairs. She said there was a monster under her bed. I stayed with her until she fell asleep, but I fell asleep too.”

She was touched. “You’re so good with her.”

Bob breathed a sigh of relief. Another 20 minutes went by, and Franz returned with their meals.

“Here you are,” he said. “Once again, I’m very sorry about earlier.”

“It’s ok,” Bob said.

“Oh, Robert! This food is beautiful! I’m not sure if I’m supposed to eat it or look at it!”

“That’s why I’m taking a picture of mine.”

They ate, drank, and were merry.

They talked and laughed…

…and flirted.

Eliza was usually not very keen on public displays of affection, but this night was different. Bob definitely knew what he was doing when he selected this restaurant. Everything was perfect, and she felt so loved by him. She simply could not wait to express her gratitude. As they were walking out, she grabbed him by the waist and kissed him deeply.

He couldn’t wait to get home and couldn’t keep his hands (and lips) off her. Somehow, they did manage to get home although they barely made it inside.

“Robert! People might see us!”

Score! Congrats on a successful evening, Bob. 😛