Synergy (27 page)

Jason,
Dee, Joy and Paul sat around the table for a good hour chatting
with a jug of lemonade making plans for the rest of the night. They
mentioned Jason’s grandparents wanting to meet Dee and the bump,
and while Dee felt a bit like a sideshow attraction, she tried to
remember that these people were only excited, and it was her that
was making it a negative. Her grandparents had moved to the
Carribbean when she was nine, so she’d never had them around for
very long. Sadness at home had meant they weren’t happy in Detroit
anymore, and while they still sent Christmas cards, they didn’t
speak to them very often. She thought it was nice that Jason was so
close to his grandparents, and when she found out they only lived
down the road, she found it crazy. They all agreed that maybe it
was best for them to go round now so they could relax for the rest
of the night.

It was
still nice outside, and the sun was shining bright. Dee had put on
her sunglasses before they left the house but the sun still warmed
up her skin. They walked slowly hand in hand in the sun, and Dee
admired all the houses they passed on the way. They all had a front
garden, filled with flowers and benches. Some had the sprinklers
going, and some had dogs or cats lazing in the grass. Some people
were sat outside on their patios, soaking up the sun. Of those that
were, Jason waved and greeted them as he passed, and everybody
spoke to him by name. It was clear to see he was a local celebrity
to everybody here, but it was a world away from getting mobbed by
the paparazzi.

“
You love it here,
don’t you
?” Dee asked, seeing how his
demeanour had changed since they’d arrived.

Jason smiled. “
I really
do.”

“
Don’t you ever
think about just quitting music and living out here? Like, you must
have enough money right
?”

Jason chuckled and squeezed her hand affectionately.
“
Yeah, I guess I do have the money, but, I
love it still.
”

“
You love it more
than here
?”

“
That’s a hard
question
” he said, as they crossed over
the road and stopped outside a house with another white picket
fence. As he unlocked the gate, he turned to her.

“
I love them
both
” he said, and he kissed her on the
neck. As he opened the gate, and let Dee go first, she smiled. In a
weird way, she thought some of that conversation was aimed at
her.

Chapter 24 – Family

Jason
had opened the door to his grandparent’s house and let them both
in. He’s shouted their names as they entered, and instantly they
both smelt baking. Dee felt like she’d just entered a bakery by the
smells that were coming from inside. It smelt really good whatever
it was, and it made her mouth salivate.

“
Uh oh, I think
Grandmas been baking
” Jason
chuckled.

“
Why’s that a bad
thing
?”

“
Just wait till
you see
” He said, as they both made their
way down to the right of the house, passing a living room and study
on the way. Dee could tell they were getting closer to the kitchen
as the smells increased.

“
Grandma! It’s
Jason
!” Jason yelled as they made their
way into the kitchen, not sure if she’d heard him the first
time.

“
Come in baby, I’m
in the oven
” she announced, and Dee and
Jason frowned at each other before chuckling at the weird sentence,
hoping she wasn’t actually in the oven. As they made their way in,
it was clear to see she had been baking as the kitchen table was
full to the brim with plates of desserts and pastries. Dee realised
Jason wasn’t joking when he said ‘uh oh’, this woman had really
gone all out.

Once
they were in the kitchen, they saw Jason’s grandmother stood at the
oven taking a baking tray from it, which was full of cookies. She
was an elderly lady with grey hair in a perm hairdo, and she was
dressed in traditional old lady clothes; a long skirt with a
blouse. Though her appearance was old, watching her move across the
kitchen it was clear she wasn’t frail by any means. She stood up
straight, and her hands didn’t shake. She moved with ease, and on
her face sat a pair of designer glasses.

“
Two minutes my
darlings
” she said, as she picked up a
pair of tongs and individually picked up the cookies, placing them
onto a serving plate on the table, the last one by the looks of it.
As soon as she finished, she put the baking tray to one side and
took off her oven mitts, before taking off her glasses which hung
by a string round her neck. She took one look at the both of them,
and started to coo, as she made her way over.

“
How are you my
baby
” she asked Jason, as she grabbed his
face and began to plant kisses on him. She clearly wasn’t concerned
about embarrassing him and though Jason looked slightly
embarrassed, he didn’t protest.

Once his
grandmother was finished planting him with kisses, she turned to
Dee and took her hands in hers, taking a step away from her to
check her out fully.

“
Now let me take a
look at you
” she said, as she admired her
body from head to toe.

 “
Aren’t you
beautiful
” she admired, and Dee laughed
out of embarrassment. It was weird to hear somebody say that,
especially when they didn’t know her.

“
How are you my
darling
?” she asked, as she let her hands
go.

“
I’m good thank
you, how are you
?” Dee replied in the best
voice she could muster.

“
I’m great now my
grandbabies are here
” she announced. Dee
thought it strange that she said ‘grandbabies’ and not ‘grandbaby’
as if she was already accepting her into the
family.

Jason
piped up then, realising they hadn’t been formally
introduced.

“
Oh. Dee, this is
my grandma Lily, and grandma, this is Dee
.”

“
And who is this
going to be
?” Lily asked, putting a hand
on Dee’s baby bump. Though this was Dee’s second pregnancy, and she
was used to people wanting to touch her bump, she didn’t
particularly like it. She felt it was a slight invasion of privacy
but she was just that kind of person. However, in situations like
these she just had to grin and bear it.

“
We haven’t
actually thought about names yet
” Jason
told his grandmother, as he eyed up the goods on the
table.

“
Oh, but you
must
” Lily said. “
It’ll be here before you know it, and you don’t want to be
stressing yourself out in the hospital, you’ll have enough on your
plate
.”

“
We really should
start thinking
” Dee
agreed.

“
Anyway, I can see
Jason eyeing up the food
.” Lily said,
changing the subject. “
Take whatever you
want; I’ve made pie, cookies, cheesecake,
brownies...everything
.”

“
Whatever we don’t
eat, we’ll take home
” Jason told Dee,
winking at her.

As Dee
made her way over to the table to inspect the food, she couldn’t
believe how much this woman had baked for them coming over. It must
have taken her all day, and considering she could barely make a
cupcake, she was impressed. As she watched Jason digging in to a
corned beef slice, she picked up a chocolate brownie, and took a
bite. Unintentionally, she made what she would consider a sexual
noise, and Jason looked at her and smiled.

“
Good,
right
?”

“
How are you not a
chef
?” she asked his grandmother, and she
laughed, waving away her compliments. Honestly, Dee wasn’t just
being complimentary; it was the best brownie she had ever
tasted.

It
wasn’t long before the chatter coming from inside had attracted the
attention of Jason’s granddad, who was sitting outside in the
garden.

“
I thought I heard
voices
” he said, as he made his way into
the kitchen. Despite the warm weather, he was dressed in long
pants, a short sleeved shirt and braces. He looked like a typical
old man, and to Dee, she thought he moved a little bit more like
one too. He definitely moved slower than his wife, and he had a
slight limp to one of his legs.

“
Hey
granddad
” Jason greeted him, and the two
men hugged. “
Been out in the garden
again?”

“Yeah, you know, this lawn won’t mow itself
son
.”

“
You should get a
gardener”
 Jason told him, but the old
man scoffed.

“
Gardener? That’s
plain lazy
”

His
attention turned to Dee then, and as the two made eye contact, Dee
put down the cookie she was eating onto a plate and finished off
what she was chewing.

“
Granddad, this is
Dee
.”

“
Oh yes, the young
lady you’re starting your family with
” he
said, and as Dee came closer, he held out his hand to
her.

“
This is my
granddad, Bob
” Jason told
her.

“
How do you
do
” he said, and Dee
smiled.

“
Nice to meet
you
” she said, feeling awkward all over
again.

“
It’s about time
Jason found himself a beautiful lady.
”
 

By the
time they had left Grandma Lily’s, the pair had made their way
through pies, quiche, brownies, cookies, and they still had a plate
of cupcakes to eat later which they were carrying back to his
parents. Dee had never felt so fat, but it was all worth it. She
felt like she’d just been let loose in a bakery, but she didn’t
regret any of it. She’d never had anybody that could bake in her
family, so this was a treat. She could see why Jason loved to come
home when he was greeted by this reception. She could tell by the
way his parents and grandparents greeted him that they absolutely
worshipped the ground he walked on. Dee thought about what people
back home would be like if she’d ever made it big. She knew there’d
be some shady characters who would want to milk her for everything
they could get, but seeing him walking around these streets, people
respected him. Though people greeted him and chatted to him, nobody
was up in his business; they didn’t ask for anything or make him
uncomfortable. It was crazy to see, but in a way, she felt sort of
proud to be walking with him, knowing that somebody that had
entered her life was being respected in the way he was.

By the
time they’d gotten back to Jason’s parents, the pair of them were
stuffed, and were ready for their relaxing night. Joy and Paul had
suggested a DVD that night with a pizza, but now, as the pair
thought about more food, they definitely decided against it. While
they explained how much Lily had baked for them, Joy
laughed.

“
I should have
known
” she remarked, as she poured them
all a drink to head into the living room with.

As Dee
stood in the kitchen with the rest of them, she screwed up her face
and held onto her chest for a moment as she felt the burning
sensation of heartburn hit her. She should have known all that
pastry and sugar wouldn’t agree with her when she was pregnant. She
had suffered with indigestion and heartburn when she was pregnant
with Tushaun, and at one point, she was constantly popping lozenges
to soothe it. While Joy made her way to the fridge to put the juice
back, she noticed Dee holding onto her chest and stopped to check
she was ok.

“
You ok
sweetie
?”

“
Oh, yeah. Just
heartburn
.”

“
I got that all
the time when I was pregnant with Jason. You want something for
it
?”

“
Um, yeah, if you
don’t mind
.”

“
I’m sure we’ll
have something in this box of tricks
” Joy
said, as she pulled out a box from a cupboard in the kitchen which
was filled with an assortment of pill boxes and plasters to name a
few.