Autumn in Philadelphia Trilogy

The Return: Waging War

"The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other."- Mario Puzo

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Claudette was a fairly new restaurant in the center of Greenwich Village. It was a cozy, romantic bistro inclined to the food, wine, and spirit of Provence. At almost 6, the restaurant was beginning to fill up giving the place a warm, buzz from the people and their conversation.

Jon scowled at the print on the fancy, decorative paper in his hand. He hated French food. He found that out in his early 20s when he went backpacking through Europe and spent three very long weeks in Paris. The misery of that leg of his journey was largely due to the fact that he could never acquire a taste for French food.

Katherine was apparently oblivious to his displeasure as she leaned over the table unnecessarily to ask, "Have you decided on what you want, Jon?"

His scowl deepened. "Tell me again why couldn't we go to Topanga's?"

"Oh, come on, Jon," she sat back with an exasperated sigh. Sometimes, she thought he was far too attached to his former students and should put much more distance between himself and them. "Topanga's is so... so quaint. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's cute and all, but it just doesn't have any at atmosphere. It's pretty much a kid's hangout."

The page of his menu flipped forcefully against the cover. "It's not quaint," he grumbled. "It's great. We don't need atmosphere to work on the the budget report. There isn't enough light or room to work. Why are we here?"

She bit back another sigh. He was getting agitated and she didn't want to accidentally provoke him further. "Because you need to get away from work for awhile."

Jon rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Great. Are you gonna start on me about that, too?"

Although she wondered who he might be referring to as she was convinced it was not someone from his own family who cared enough, she ignored the comment. "Jon, I'm just worried about you. There's been a huge change in you over the last eight months and I'm very concerned," she told him with genuine care. "You're exhausted all the time. You have so much on your shoulders that you won't let anyone help you with. Then you have to go home to all those kids..."

"I'll have help next week," he said abruptly, still glaring at the menu.

Katherine looked surprised, especially since he said this as though he didn't already have help, namely her.

"What do you mean?"

"Shawn's going to be with me all week."

"You're kidding?"

At the tone in her voice, he looked up and frowned. "No. He texted me while we were still at the office. He's going to be doing a piece on me for his job."

That was just about the worst thing, Jon could have said to her. Having Shawn Hunter tagging a long for an entire week shifted her mood considerably and a dark cloud fell over her. "Just great," she muttered.

"What?" Her boss was frowning at her.

"Nothing," she said brightly, pointing to the menu. "Just trying to decide."

"Oh."

Their waiter arrived to take their order and Jon was no more in a mood to eat than he was when they first arrived, so Katherine ordered for them: gnocchi Parisienne, lamb kefta, oysters, and a chinon blanc. Jon thought the wine was excessive but said nothing. He just hoped she was really hungry because he had no intention eating anything other than the bread.