Jenny just watched him, wondering if he was putting in the correct answers. She turned to Bobby. He too was looking at John meticulously filling in the crossword puzzle.
“I didn’t see any vehicle outside,” Jenny remarked as she turned to Bobby.
“I’ve got to go out into the desert and pick it up tomorrow morning.”
Jenny pointed to Bobby. “You’re going to school in the morning.
Bobby raised his hands. “Okay. I’ll get Chet’s tow truck and get their car and drop it off here before school tomorrow.”
“You’ve got to graduate,” Jenny said. “I promised your mother that if she let you stay with Dad and me, we would make sure you finished high school.
“It’s so annoying,” Bobby argued.
“Well, your mother had you transferred here so that you can get the diploma. I don’t care how you get it, just get it.”
“It was all a misunderstanding, and you know it.”
“Yeah, right! You didn’t mean to blow up the west wing of the school. Just a slight miscalculation,” Jenny said, trying not to laugh. “What’s the matter? Didn’t you read the Unabomber’s manual correctly?”
John stood up and handed Bobby the crossword puzzle book with the page open to the puzzle he had just completed. Bobby and Jenny just stared at John in disbelief.
“That was good,” Bobby said, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Took you all of two minutes.”
“Where did you say they came from?” Jenny asked.
“With that brain, certainly not Vegas.
Jenny stared curiously at John and Jane as she put the spaghetti in a serving bowl and then set it on the table. She took the garlic bread out of the oven and put it on a platter. Bobby quickly walked over to the fridge, grabbed the pitcher of fresh lemonade, and set it on the table.
Elmer picked up the bowl of spaghetti and then dished himself up a big helping. He passed the bowl to Bobby, who in turn handed it to John.
John followed what Bobby had done with the food, and once the spaghetti was on his plate, he stared at the meatballs and long noodles. Bobby picked up his fork and slowly worked the noodles, with his spoon turning the fork. John mimicked him and then put the big ball of noodles into his mouth. His eyes bulged as his taste buds savored the food.
Jane was a little more reluctant to eat the strange-looking food. She moved the meatball around her plate with her fork as if playing with her food.
Bobby tapped her foot to get her attention and then he showed her how to cut the meatball with her fork and then stick the piece in her mouth.
Jenny just watched the exchange with curiosity. She looked at Bobby and knew there was something he was not telling her but did not have it in her to pry it out of him just yet. Once they were alone, she would find out the truth about these strangers.
After dinner was finished, John and Jane walked back into the living room. Both sat down on the couch with hands on their knees. Even though they had just eaten, they both stared at the empty candy dish but said nothing.
Jenny and Bobby finished cleaning up the kitchen and walked into the living room where their guests were sitting. Jenny turned to Bobby.
“How long are they staying?” she asked.
“Day or two,” Bobby said, shrugging. In all actuality, he wasn’t sure, and it all depended on what was wrong with their craft.
“If it’s any longer, they get jobs,” Jenny snapped.
“Doing what?”
“We could always use another waitress down at the Little A’Lee’Inn.”
“John could fly for Southwest Airlines,” Bobby quipped.
Jenny laughed and then moved closer to Bobby and looked at his pupils.
“Just checking. Where did you say the two broke down?”
“I didn’t,” Bobby responded.
“You get their vehicle in for repairs,” she said and then pointed to Bobby. “I want those two out of here.”
The door suddenly opened, and in walked Misty Drews, Bobby’s mother. Bobby’s mouth dropped. This only complicated an already bad situation. She has reddish-blonde hair piled high on her head, giving new meaning to the term “big hair.” Misty tried to strut with five-inch stiletto heels. Her black spandex slacks bulged at the hips, and the pink angora sweater only exaggerated a body badly out of shape. Jenny and Bobby appeared surprised, as Misty had not attempted to visit Bobby since he moved in with Jenny months earlier.
Misty strutted in with arms outstretched as she hurried over to Bobby. “No kiss for your dearest Mommy?”
Bobby just rolled his eyes. “What are you doing here?” he asked in a snippy way that surprised Jenny.
Misty quickly reached in her oversized shoulder purse and handed Bobby the stack of mail. “I thought you might want your mail. The SAT scores came in the mail last month.”
“I’ve been calling you all month looking for it.”
Misty tossed Bobby the envelope. He had been calling Misty almost every day and leaving messages to see if he had received his scores, and almost gave up on the idea of ever getting them. It angered him that she had been holding onto them for that long. Bobby quickly opened it and saw the score of 2400. Bobby raised his fist and then lowered it after looking at the perfect score.
“Life is good.”
“Maybe you can try to get into the community college,” Misty said as if trying to look as though she was saying something smart.
Bobby just laughed. “With this score, I’m a shoe-in for one of those Ivy League schools.”
“I always raised you to reach for the stars. But wouldn’t you learn more at a community college?”
Jenny looked at Misty as if not believing what she had just said. She turned to Bobby and took the sheet from him. She stared at it a moment and then shook her head.
“Answer me one thing. Did you guess at the answers or did you know the answers?”
“The questions were all so lame. Honestly, Jenny, I knew the answers, and I never guessed at any of them.”
“Then, now all you have to do is show up in high school so that you can graduate.”
While Jenny and Bobby were discussing his SAT score, Misty noticed John sitting on the couch. She walked over to where John was sitting and plopped down next to him. Misty put her hand on John’s thigh as she looked up at him longingly.
“And who do we have here?” she said as she wet her lips and twisted her shoulders as if to give John a better look at her heaving breast.
Bobby noticed the interest that Misty was taking in John. He quickly stepped forward and looked down at Misty on the couch.
“Back off, Mom. He’s a friend,” Bobby snapped.
“I was just being sociable,” Misty argued as she turned to John and smiled.
“We all know how sociable you can be.”
Misty squeezed the inner part of John’s thigh. John’s eyes widened, as he was suddenly aroused. Jane hit John on the back of the head.
“Why did you do that,” John said looking puzzled for a moment.
“Because of the look your facial muscles showed. It is unnatural.”
John was embarrassed while Misty continued to cozy up to him. Bobby just reached down, grabbed his mother’s arm, and pulled her up. He motioned her to sit on the chair on the other side of the end table, a fair distance from where John was sitting.
CHAPTER 7
Misty walked into the kitchen while Mario Lanza was playing loudly on a CD player on the counter. Elmer was at the table playing solitaire. Jenny walked over to the sink and picked up the dishrag while Misty walked over to the cassette player and snapped it off. Elmer just looked up and then continued playing solitaire.