It was a pleasant day although a chill blew over the streets. I wore trousers for the first time in months and a long-sleeved t-shirt that came up high around my neck. I had made it to the mall with Rodger and Oscar in tow.
"Why are you two following me still?" Rodger grinned.
"Because my office is this way." He gave me a kiss. "Fine, I'll run up ahead." He quickly hastened his speed and left up the escalator then looked back. "Are you coming?" Oscar nodded and chased after him.
"Why…" but they were gone. I narrowed my eyes and focused.
'What are you two up too?' I heard a chuckle come back from Rodger.
'You'll see.' Oscar giggled.
'Nothing that'll upset you… much.' I rolled my eyes then heard my name being called. I turned to see Aden and Kaden running in through the doors from the carpark. In a few bounds they came rushing over to me and one jumped into my arms while the other wrapped his arms around my waist. With a yelp I steadied myself then watched as Mathew ran over and sighed.
"I thought you were going to topple over." He pulled Aden off me and placed him next to his brother.
"Why didn't you come back after you finished classes?" Kaden looked up at me. "We missed you." I patted his head.
"I went to the gym. I needed a workout." Aden grinned.
"You can fight?" I nodded.
"Yeah, I've been taking Kung-Fu and self-defense classes since I was ten." The two beamed up at me then frowned as Dean came close. He sniffed and frowned.
"Rodger and Oscar are not around?" I shrugged.
"They went to get things ready for you guys." He nodded and put an arm around me.
"Let's get food." He looked to the boys as they each grabbed one of my hands then dragged me forward away from him.
"BOYS!" Derick called. "Stop pulling her around and behave. It's not too late to take you home." There little faces went white, and they hesitated. "Now get over here." Kaden looked to me then to his father and ran over to him. Aden on the other hand, held on tightly and reached to take his father's hand as he offered it.
There was some tension as Derick and Dean both stared at Aden. Derick reached out and took his hand as Dean placed his arm around me. I ignored the looks the others were giving me.
"So, more goat head?" I looked to Derick hoping my words would break the tension. He shuddered and shook his head.
"Absolutely not…" Mathew grinned.
"Oooh there's a story here…" He looked to Derick. "Please explain."
"No." He stated then looked up. "There's a good place over there." Mathew let out a chuckle as we began to walk towards Papa's Italian bistro.
We were seated in a large booth where the smells from the kitchen drifted into the room the strongest. Somehow, I ended up in the middle with Dean to one side and Aden to the other with Kaden then Derick on the outside. I saw the looks the others were giving us and I began to feel uncomfortable. Something seemed to have changed but I could not figure out what.
"So, Danica, tell me about the goat head?" Derick shot Mathew a frown as he asked with a smile.
"Not much to tell," I took a sip from my water glass. "We went to Mama's and that's what she was serving. Along with sweet potato pie." The two boys looked around.
"You know where to get more?" Kaden asked with a grin. I saw the look on Derick's face a mix of despair and hopelessness.
"I do, but I don't think you two will like Mama's style of food. I mean you never ate anchovies before." Derick shot me a look.
"You did that to the boys?" I shrugged.
"They wanted to try my pizza." Aden nodded.
"It was so gross it's good." He looked at the menu and pointed "I want to make my own pizza." All heads turned to look at the normally quiet Aden.
"What do you want on your pizza?" I asked not sure why everyone was making a big deal out of it. He grinned.
"Pepperoni, anchovies, olives, extra cheese, peppers, tomato and spinach." Chad pulled out a note pad from his pocket and jotted down what he had just said. Kaden nodded.
"Me too but no spinach I want rocket instead." I watched as Mathew and Derick seemed to be discussing something between themselves and their eyes kept flashing between Aden and me.
"Sounds good." Dean grinned.
"So do you know what you want?" I nodded.
"I'll go for the spaghetti." He grinned.
"Extra garlic bread?" I nodded.
"Always."
We ordered and had a pleasant conversation about the upcoming match. Before the doors opened at seven the group was going to get some shopping done and meet up at the fountain. I texted Rodger about the location of the meet up and he had responded with a thumbs up.
"Rodger will meet us there with the passes." I saw Chad frown. "He said he's got you VIP passes." The twins giggled and whispered between themselves.
"I hope I'm not dreaming." Jeff said and sighed happily. "This still feels like a dream." I smirked and gave a frown.
"Why?" He shrugged
"Don't know. There's always something that… ruins… the… mood…" He closed his eyes and put on a forced smile. "Oh look! Lisa's here!" Derick turned and waved.
"Hay Babe, you got my message." She nodded and Derick shifted over to allow her to sit on the edge of the bench. We all shifted slightly. She looked around the table then shot me a glance.
"Yeah. But why are you here tonight?" He smirked.
"We have tickets to see the Banshee fight the Bulldog." She seemed flustered.
"Oh, that's awesome news." He nodded.
"Do you want anything to eat?" She shook her head.
"Babe…" She lent closer "I can't eat such heavy food before... It's not good for you." I frowned as she muttered and the first of the order was brought out.
Aden beamed as he looked to the pizza and pulled the plate over. He looked to Kaden as he too pulled his plate forward.
"What the fuck is that smell?" Lisa looked around then to the pizza in disgust. "When did you two start eating anchovies? Only idiots eat those." Aden snorted.
"Danica eats them and she's smarter than you." I stuffed a slice of garlic bread into my mouth and hoped no one else heard that comment but the table had become quiet. Derick frowned at Aden.
"Don't be so rude?" Aden frowned.
"Me or Lisa?" Mathew grinned.
"She started it." Derick gave Mathew a glance then sat back as more food was brought to the table.
"Aden apologize." He stuffed the pizza in his mouth.
"If she apologizes first. She called me an idiot. I just stated that Danica is smarter than her because Danica's doing two Uni classes at once." Derick frowned as he looked to Aden. I sighed and lent closer to whisper.
"Sometimes it's just better to apologize to an idiot because they don't know any better." I saw Derick craning to hear what I had said then frowned at the look on Aden's face as he thought about what I said. He leant over to whisper into my ear.
"Who's the idiot dad or Lisa?" I gave him a look and he nodded. "Dad is thinking with his dick again, isn't he?" My face must have been a picture or somehow Mathew heard him because he burst out laughing.
"Aden…" I managed and he nodded.
"Ok…" He took a breath and looked to Lisa. "I'm sorry." He took another slice of pizza. Derick frowned as he cast a glance around the table. Even I could tell he was asking if anyone had heard what we had whispered but a round of head shakes was all I could see.
My food had finally arrived being the second last plate put onto the table. I began to eat as the others spoke avoiding looking at Lisa as she made funny giggly noises and sat on Derick's lap as she fed him.
Kaden shifted uncomfortably then slipped under the table. With a frown he popped up next to Mathew and reached for his food. I handed him the plate and looked to an uncomfortable Aden. I waved a hand to one of the waiting staff. The woman approached and I looked to the booth behind me.
"Is that booth free?" She nodded keeping her eyes away from Lisa and Derick. "Can we…" She nodded even before I could finish speaking.
"Please." I grabbed my food and stood up on the booth's seat then stepped over the back of the seat and into the other booth. In a flurry Mathew, Aden and Kaden were there followed closely by the others. Dean cursed as both Aden and Kaden took up the seats on either side of me.