"Do you mind if we stop at my house?" Jesse asked. "I promised I would call Pablo today and since we left Long Beach early, I'll have to do it at my place."
"Sure."
"Thanks." He took the next off ramp.
Jesse had been telling her about his experience in New York most of the way. Pearl could hear the excitement in his voice when he spoke of his field of interest. She asked a lot of questions about the facilities and research programs available in New York and that kept him talking for a while. She didn't mind that at all. He had a nice voice.
As he stopped the car in front of his townhouse apartment, he looked at her apologetically. "I promise to listen to whatever you want to tell me about your week on the way to Nana's barbecue and onwards."
Pearl smiled. "It's okay. I'm not bored."
Jesse looked at his passenger, enjoying her smile, "Yeah?"
She shook her head.
Jesse got out of the car and went around to open the door for her. "I still want to hear about it."
"Okay. Then I'll tell you."
"Great. Come on in." He pushed the door open and let her go in first.
Jesse offered her a drink and then headed to where his computer was set up.
"You can join me, if you like," he told her, holding a hand out to her.
At first she hesitated, but Jesse liked the idea so he cajoled her into sitting in the chair and he sat behind her on a bar stool.
Seeing the both of them made Pablo incredibly happy.
At one point during the conversation, he called her mama Pearl through a fit of giggles. And later on, Pablo asked if he would see her when he came over.
Pearl replied with a smile, "If you come here I'd love to see you, little one."
"But," Jesse added softly, "we don't know when that will all happen… I don't want you to be disappointed Pablo."
Pablo smiled. "I know, Papa, but I'm still praying," he said in his childish Spanish.
That made Jesse's throat close up. While he cleared it, Pearl asked him about his prayers.
The little boy animatedly told her that he prayed for people like his biological mother, that he might 'grow up to be somebody', that he gets to have a papa one day and maybe even a mama. He wanted to be Jesse's little boy.
Pearl was glad Jesse was behind her so he wouldn't see the tears glisten in her eyes. "I hope your prayers come true, Pablo."
Pablo beamed and then asked a question about New York, which Jesse was able to answer.
Before they all knew it, it was time to say goodbye.
"He's such a sweet boy," Pearl said, as they got ready to leave.
"He is," Jesse agreed. "I just don't want to hurt him. He deserves a great future. A trip out here might change his life."
"He can still have one, a great future, I mean."
Pause. "Yeah, he can. I guess I want him to have the best and most preferably from me. He's stolen a part of my heart, Pearl."
Pearl reached out and squeezed Jesse's hand. "I can tell. And that's okay."
They headed down the stairs to the car.
"Thank you for saying that," he said, as he opened her car door.
She smiled up at him. "You're welcome."
Getting into the driver's seat, he said, "Now I'm all ears."
So she told him she'd had lunch with his family, skipping over the details and then moved on to tell him everything about camp for a girl's hockey team from South Dakota.
As he drove up the driveway to his grandmother's large house, Pearl mentioned having to reject Richmond Grett.
"The Canadian rep?" Jesse said with a little surprise.
"Yeah. Him."
"Why'd you turn him down?"
"I'm not interested in him."
"Really?" he looked interested in her answer.
Her brown eyes met his green ones and she said, "Really."
Jesse smiled. "That's good." Pause. "Good for you."
For the first thirty minutes, Jesse was surrounded by his cousins' children because they all wanted to hear his cool accent.
He indulged them for a while and then Rebecca called out to him, scolding him for ignoring his beautiful date.
"Come over and bring her with you, baby. I've heard a lot about the Pearl," she said, her eyes twinkling.
Jesse stood up and cocked his head to one side. "Your reputation precedes you," he said to Pearl. Placing a hand on the small of her back, they headed toward Nana.
She didn't seem bothered. "It seems so. I guess I have your brother to blame…"
He laughed. "Probably."
Rebecca hugged Pearl and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"She's very pretty, Jesse."
"Yes, she is, Nana. She can also hear us talking about her," he chuckled.
The older woman winked at Pearl. "I want her to know."
"Why's that?"
"Because I'll bet you haven't told her before."
"I'll bet I have." He glanced at Pearl. "Haven't I?"
"I don't recall," she said nonchalantly.
His eyebrows went up. "You're kidding."
"Am I?"
"You see!" Rebecca said smugly. "You should tell her, Jesse."
"I have!" he protested mildly. "I am pretty sure I called her beautiful every day in Brazil."
"That was a while ago," Pearl said lightly, enjoying the way he was almost serious.
"Okay, beautiful, I'll be sure to say it more often," he promised, eyes twinkling happily.
That made Pearl smile. "Good. I might like that."
All in all, the barbecue was a lot of fun. The two of them participated in the silly games, doing considerably better at Heads Up than the rest of the family, staying until Jesse said they had a long way to go to return home. Everyone was sad to see them go and so Jesse promised they would do it again soon. It was clear that he loved spending time with his relatives and Pearl really enjoyed seeing him interact with them. She was also grateful for the way he had included her at every turn.
As they drove back to Long Beach, Pearl thanked him for inviting her.
"Thank you for accepting. I couldn't think of anyone better to invite."
That made her smile.
At some point, after chatting about work and family, they fell into a companionable silence.
She hadn't forgotten her prayer but she was hoping to get that answer without asking directly-
Her thoughts were interrupted when the car stopped outside her house.
"I don't actually want the night to end yet," she heard him say.
Looking at him, Pearl realised his eyes were already fixed on her.
"We could do coffee at a nearby café," he suggested. "If that doesn't work for you, I'll settle for dinner tomorrow night. I'm staying at Mom's this weekend."
Her almond eyes held his hazel green ones. "We could do both."
His eyebrows went up a little but he didn't give either of them a chance to back out. Jesse gunned the engine and drove away from her house. She gave him directions to a great hole in the wall that served the best coffee and played nice music.
When they were seated in a quiet corner, Pearl started to feel a little nervous. She knew what she'd asked God for could come any moment and all of a sudden, she wasn't ready.
Jesse was looking at her closely with a slight smile on his face. A waiter came and took their orders. As soon as he was gone, Jesse spoke.
"You know, you asking me not to treat you like a patient has only left a lot more room for me to think of you in other ways."
"You think about me a lot?" she teased.
He answered seriously. "Yes."
"Want to tell me what you think about?" she asked casually.
"Not all of it, no." His eyes shifted for a moment.
"Why not?"
When his gaze met hers again, it was on fire. "Because," he began huskily, "some of it is entirely indecent and I'm not trying to offend you or scare you away."
Pearl's eyes widened and her face went hot. Seeing that, Jesse couldn't help smiling. "You are so cute when you blush."
She covered her face with her hands. "Stop, Jesse."
"It's the truth!" he chuckled, reaching a hand around one of her wrists. Tugging her hand away from her face, he said, "I didn't ask you to stay out with me so you could hide. Let me look at you, Pearl."
Her other hand fell away and after a moment her eyes met his.
He was serious but he had a gentle look on his face. Still holding her one hand, "You're beautiful whether you're sleeping or awake, blushing or laughing or upset. We joked about it at Nana's but every time I've said it, I've meant it. I really like looking at you. Being with you."
Pearl nodded, her cheeks still a little warm. "Thank you, Jesse. I could say almost the same thing about you. I love spending time with you, too… I've actually missed you these past weeks."
It was a moment before Jesse dared ask, "You have?"
"I really have. And your face isn't even the half of it."
He had time to fully absorb her statement because their coffee came right at that moment. Then the waiter placed a large piece of cake between them, with two forks on the plate.
They both looked at him, surprised.
"Compliments of the house. Enjoy, folks."
"Thank you," Jesse said. He looked back at Pearl before the man had fully turned away. "Back to us." Pause. His green eyes burned with an intensity she'd never seen. Mesmerised, Pearl waited for him to speak.
"I would love it if there was an official 'us', Pearl."
Her eyes widened yet again and if she hadn't already been sitting down, she might've fallen. He had just stated that he wanted to be with her. Asked her to be with him.