SugarCOAT

12. Scripted 🎬

Zeke and I arrived at dinner to see his parents sitting next to one another at the 10-chair table. His mom was laughing. "That's when I brought up having a stay-in nurse to help her out around the house."

Zell chuckled, "I told you she will never be satisfied until she's buried next to her husband."

"Don't say that, Zell! She's just stubborn and hardheaded. She needs help. Could you imagine the amount of pain her body goes through at her age?" Cathy took a sip of her water.

Zeke pulled a chair out for me. 

I didn't want to be rude, so I spoke. "Hello, again," I waved at his mom.

She smiled at me. "Hello, pretty girl. Please remind me of your name."

"J-"

"She goes by Jae," Zeke told his mom.

"Does Jae have a last name?" Zell asked his son.

Zeke looked at me, "Sawyer."

Zell stood up and held his hand out to me. "It's a pleasure, Miss Sawyer."

I shook his hand. "Thank you so much. Pleasure meeting you, too." I finally sat down.

Zeke sat next to me. "What we eating tonight?" He asked his parents.

"You will find out soon," Cathy responded.

Zell said, "Jae, tell us about yourself."

My eyes bucked. I clasped my hands together as I looked at Zeke. "Umm... Well, what would you like to know about me?"

"Where are you from? How did you two meet? What do you do for a living?"

Time to recite my lines. I replied, "I'm from Jesterville. It's a small little city, but it's home. A month ago, my family and I came here on vacation and that's when I ran into Zeke. I had no idea who he was, but he asked for my number and we continued to talk." I glanced at Zeke for approval.

He nodded his head.

I continued, "I told him I've been wanting a career change, and Zeke said he could help me. I'm trying to get my foot in the door to work on movie sets, because I just love movies."

His dad asked, "You sure you don't want to be an actress?"

I quickly laughed to hide my nervousness.

Cathy smiled, "She could be a model, too." She winked at me.

I don't know if Mr. Rivers is buying it, but Mrs. Rivers is really nice. Why couldn't I be honest with them? 

"Good evening, Rivers Family!" Warren and Bridgette each carried two plates of food.

Warren placed a full plate of fish, broccoli, and mashed potatoes in front of me before leaving. Bridgette gave us optional gravy, salt, and pepper. Warren returned with drinks like water, lemonade or wine.

I leaned over and asked Zeke, "What kind of fish is this?"

"Salmon," he told me.

"I've never had that before. Is it good?"

"Try it. If you don't like it, we can get you something else."

I took a deep breath before taking a small bite. I slowly chewed, and I wish I hadn't. 

"You like it?" Zeke asked me.

I nodded my head, "Uh, yeah." The taste was not to my liking. I would rather have fried fish. 

As dinner progressed, I realized that Zeke's parents talked more to one another than they did to Zeke and me. I wasn't mad, but I expected his dad to be more chatty toward me. Maybe, Zeke was overly prepaid. After dinner, he and I said goodnight to his parents. Then, we went outside by the pool.

"You did good. Just next time, let the story flow. It sounded a little rehearsed."

I sighed, "I was nervous."

"It's okay." Zeke took a seat in a chair and pulled out his phone.

I remained standing. "Your dad wasn't grilling me like you said he would."

"This is just day one. Don't think he's not looking for a moment to talk your head off."

I hope that isn't true. Subject change! "What are we doing tomorrow?"

"My assistant is coming over. You can meet her. I have a few meetings in the morning, but tomorrow night, we're going to get into your songwriting."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What am I gonna do all day by myself?"

"Anything you want. You have my number." If he thought I was going to explore L.A. like a tourist, he forgot who I was. I'd rather stay in my purple room and write. 

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I sadly spoke.

Zeke stood up. "Follow me." He led the way to the front of the house.

A car was parked with the engine running. Zeke walked to the rolled down window. He reached inside and grabbed a plastic bag. What was happening here? The car dove away. Zeke walked back over to me. "Here's something to get you full for the night." He handed me the plastic bag.

I arched a brow. "What is..." The smell hit my nose before I could finish the sentence. I quickly  peeped inside the bag and opened the white foam container to see fried fish. I jumped for joy. "Really?" 

How did he know? He has to be reading my mind.

"It's Alaskan Cod. On almost every street in East Grove, I saw a fish restaurant. Thank you for eating the salmon even though you didn't like it. The other women I dated would've left it on the plate or complained and asked for something else." 

"I keep forgetting I'm your woman," I joked.

He took my hand in his. "Let's go inside, Jae."

I playfully rolled my eyes. "You are more of a character than me. And why didn't you tell me my new name is Jae?"

"It's your nickname from me," Zeke smiled at me.

This man is something else.