Chapter Fourteen
The next evening, Karen was cooking her mom's special recipe of chicken gumbo adding ham and veggies too in a one-pot casserole dish. She prepared a tomato, avocado and corn salad on the side and they had bought a pecan pie from a bakery in Austin, yesterday. She decided to serve it for dessert.
Suddenly the doorbell rang. Jayson had gone out to meet Chase to discuss a case while she cooked. He said he would be back in half an hour. She ran to open the door. As soon as she opened the door, she said excitedly, "You're in time, Jay. I've just finished making dinner."
Her breath however caught in her throat as she stared at the stranger at the door. He looked at Karen with amusement.
"I may not be your Jay, but I would love to eat what you've cooked," he said, striding past her into the house.
He was as tall as Jayson with a small salt and pepper coloured goatee. His receding hair was also of the same shade. His features resembled Jayson's.
Seeing her jaw-dropped expression, he introduced himself, "I'm Christopher Meyers. Jayson's dad."
"Oh, pleased to meet you, Mr Meyers, I'm Karen Richardson. Umm, I'm actually, " she stammered.
"Yeah, Jayson's fiancée. I got it. So, how a pretty girl like you chose my dumb son?" He enquired, glancing at her briefly before scanning the entire room.
"He's not dumb," she said, her cheeks coloured as he quirked an eyebrow at her.
He walked around the house and then went upstairs. Karen followed him. He straight went to their master bedroom and opened the door and walked in.
"So, when's the wedding?" He asked, casually.
"This Monday at the Sacred Heart Church," she informed him.
"I would be hosting the reception party in my backyard. Jayson's my eldest son. For six years I tried my level best to get him to settle down. He wasn't interested in any woman. So, I thought he wasn't straight. I lost all hopes of having a biological heir. So, tell him about the party. I'm sure he will listen to you, " said Mr Meyers.
He walked into the walk-in closet and smiling came out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him.
"So, what have you cooked my dear? Won't you serve me?" He asked, smiling at her.
"Yes, Mr Meyers, please come this way," she said leading him towards the dining room.
"Call me dad," he said and she nodded. He liked the young woman who had cooked for his son. Her wide brown eyes looked innocent and warm with lots of feelings for Jayson. He saw that they were together which meant that he would be getting his heir in the near future.
She served him dinner and he savoured the dishes, enjoying his meal. "That was delicious. Thank you. It seems I would have to come here regularly to taste your cooking, " he said, getting up.
"You're most welcome, dad," she said and he patted her head and left. What was that? Juliette might have informed him and he came rushing to meet them. Jayson's dad didn't look like a monster? Then why was Jayson so unhappy before? They might have had a misunderstanding. She would clear that now and he would be happy again.
So, when the doorbell rang, she rushed and happily opened it and pulling Jayson inside, quickly shut the door.
"Whoa, did you miss me so much?" He asked grinning.
"Shut up. Now guess what happened?" She asked, excitedly.
"You decide what you want me to do. Do I Shut up or guess?" He asked grinning more.
"Please, Jay, guess what happened, " she said impatiently.
"What happened? You fell in love with me?" he asked, pulling her into his arms.
"Your dad had come twenty minutes, back," she said and he froze. His arms left her and he just stared at her blankly.
When he came to his senses, he said,"Dad came here? Why? Did he shout at you? Insult you?" He asked in a worried tone.
"No, on the contrary, he ate my dinner, he checked our room and closet. He asked me to call him dad. He wanted to come regularly to eat what I cooked. In fact, he was so happy, he even declared that he would be hosting our wedding reception party in his backyard," she gushed and Jayson stared at her with wide eyes. How could this be happening? It meant his dad liked Karen. Well, hopefully this wasn't some kind of joke or test.
Karen couldn't figure out Jayson's quietness. He had suddenly become silent and in deep thought as if recollecting his life for the past six years without his family. She didn't disturb him. They ate dinner and she snuggled up to his bare chest at night,"Don't worry so much Jay, everything will be alright. Dad really was happy for us, so relax and enjoy," she said.
"Yeah, I think you are right. Thank you Karen. I think dad likes you," he said, smiling.
"And he loves you. He told me that he tried everything in his power to get you to settle down. When you weren't interested in any woman, he felt you were differently interested. He lost all hopes of a biological child from you. Now he's very happy that we're together," she explained and Jayson stared at her in disbelief.
"Dad said so much to you?" He asked. His dad was a man of very few words. He hardly spoke two sentences a day and here with Karen he spoke so much? It was unbelievable.
"Yeah, why?" She asked.
"He hardly speaks more than a sentence a day," he explained and Karen stared at him wide-eyed.
"Oh, maybe he missed you. So he spoke to me so much, " she reasoned.
Jayson smiled and kissed her forehead. She made him so happy. Her simple words drove out all his negative thoughts away and he visibly relaxed with a smile on his lips. "Ok, sleep now," he said and they cuddled to sleep.
