Family Ties

Part 32

"Papa, where are we going?" Skye asked while he was strapped into the backseat.

"Kelley has invited us out for cake, remember?" He smiled, looking at him in the rearview mirror. Skye perked up at the idea, sitting up straighter to look out of the window.

Raymond thought it a bit odd that Kelley wanted them to meet at Asuka's restaurant. He couldn't remember her going anywhere near it but didn't think much of it. When they stepped into the shop, the smell of warm cookies immediately made Raymond take a deep breath, walking to the nearest free table, with Skye in tow.

Looking around, the little restaurant and shop seemed much busier than he remembered it. He was quite surprised by the mix of people sitting down happily chatting away. There was a loud outburst of giggles from a nearby table, that sounded like a gaggle of geese.

"What do you want, Squirt?" Raymond leaned over to help him read what was on the menu.

"HI, I'm Jackson and I'll be..." Jackson's voice died away when he realised who was sitting at the table. There was no way to mistake the two in front of him.

"Jackson?" Raymond looked him over in surprise. He was still dressed in his waistcoat and tie, with an apron around his narrow hips. He looked good Raymond thought, looking around in surprise when he realised what could have been the change in foot traffic. Jackson dressed to the tee in an apron was a sight for sore eyes. He could understand the loud giggles now.

"Hey, Cook." He looked as if he was glued to the spot, slightly uncomfortable. "Hey, little man!" He leaned down to ruffle Skye's hair.

"Mister!" Skye's face lit up. "Can I come to your office again?" He asked hopefully, with an excited smile on his face.

"If Papa says it's okay, then you can come any time." How could he stay angry with Raymond, when he had such a cute kid, he thought, automatically smiling at his apparent excitement? His eyes drifted to Raymond again who was now looking at the menu.

"Um, eh... Can I get you anything?" He asked uncomfortably. There were a lot of things he wanted to say to Raymond, but he didn't want to do it in front of Skye. It seemed as if Raymond was going to spend the rest of his time with his head in the menu. As he was taking their order, Asuka appeared next to Jackson.

"Oh, this is a nice surprise!" she smiled warmly, her eyes darting between the two men, who seemed to be lost looking at each other. When neither of them said anything, she reached out her hand to Skye.

"How would you like to help me decorate a birthday cake?" She smiled when Skye immediately bounced out of his chair.

"I can go, can't I Papa?" He waited for Raymond.

"Of course, you can squirt. Behave, okay?" He watched as the two disappeared to the back of the shop. "Do you want to have a seat?" He awkwardly asked.

Taking the seat opposite him, Jackson's eyes roamed over his face, tracing every feature, finally landing on his lips. Now what, he wondered. He didn't expect Raymond to turn up here and really had no idea what to say or do.

"Since when have you been working here?" It was good to be near Jackson again, even if it felt slightly awkward.

"For the past month." He ducked his head as if shy to admit it. "I was trying to get over you..."

"I thought you didn't want anything to do with me?"

"I was angry about the whole thing, you know? And then everything sort of spiralled out of control from there." He admitted.

"So, now what? Where does it leave us?" Better to be a straight shooter than play this guessing game of, does he like me back, or not.

"I, er... I..." He scrambled around not expecting Raymond to be so direct. Not even the usual pleasantries. Okay, maybe this wasn't the time to start picking at things. "Well, I thought we could give it another go, what do you say?"

"And are you okay with my job and that there'll be times that I can't tell you anything about what I'm doing?"

"As long as you tell me when I'm being investigated, then I don't think there'll be a problem." He shrugged, looking a bit more hopeful. "Sorry for being a dick about it" he mumbled, blushing slightly.

"Jackson, it would be great to start dating again, but if you're going to run off and ghost me at the slightest incident or disagreement, then you'd better stop here. I'm putting my family at risk by letting someone in who may disappear the next day or interfere with my work." He made it clear.

"I'll do my damnedest to always hear you out. This is also very important to me Cook. We can take things as slow as you want, although, neither of us is getting younger, I'd suggest a little haste." His grin was back in place, he felt a little more relaxed now that he knew they still had a chance, elated even if he had to admit it.

 "Ray!" Kelley entered the restaurant, making her way to him, arms laden with designer bags. "Hey, CEO!" She stopped in front of them. Jackson immediately got up to offer her his seat.

"Hi Kelley, it's nice to see you again." He said sincerely. They'd only met once, but her peppy outlook on life was so infectious that it was hard to forget her. That and the fact that she was part of Raymond's crazy family, made them all unforgettable.

"It's a nice surprise to see you here." She observed, throwing a quiet glance in Raymond's direction.

"Yeah, well I help out sometimes," he responded, then realised that Skye hadn't eaten yet, so he took their order and rushed toward the kitchen.

"Well, that was a nice surprise, wasn't it?" She smiled, while she fussed with the bags at her feet.

"You can give up now already. This wasn't so much as a nice surprise, as it was a set-up, right?" He could tell from the way she carefully avoided his eyes and the shy smile that crossed her face that he was right. He reached over to grab her hand.

"What are you talking about?" She asked in surprise. This was all a coincidence. I merely got the time wrong, that's why I'm so late."

"You're lying." He smirked, letting go of her hand.

"What did I say about using your tricks on me!" She snapped. "Okay, it was a set-up. I supposed this is what I get for trying to fool the Inquisitor." Her face softened into a smile. "It looked promising though. Did my interfering help?"

"You're as bad as the rest of them," he said sourly. "But it did help, thanks."

"All you Priestly men are the same." She observed. "Useless when it comes to romance and always trying your little tricks to take shortcuts that always blow up in your faces. Trust me, I have enough experience," she laughed.

"Okay, okay. I get the picture. He grinned back. "So, you don't normally go designer shopping, what's the occasion?" He gestured toward the bags she'd brought.

"Oh, these? They're not for me. Lord, I already have to fight with Gillie against buying me things. These are for you. She said that she couldn't watch you walk around in rags anymore." She was trying very hard to suppress her laughter. Gillie never needed an excuse to buy them things and it was generally best to accept them graciously, lest all hell breaks loose in the house.

"That woman is going to be the end of me. She buys me new clothes every year because I keep wearing rags! At this rate, the charity store will have more designer clothes than the boutiques she shops at!" He moaned. There was no way Gillie would take the clothes back, he sighed.

"That aside, call her later otherwise she's going to mope."

When Jackson arrived with their food, he had Skye in tow, who was gingerly carrying a basket of bread.

"Look Papa, I'm a waiter!" He exclaimed in delight, putting the basket on the table before stepping into Raymond's open arms for a hug.

"He's already eaten with Asuka, but asked for a dessert." He said while placing the food on the table, smiling at Raymond. "Well, it was really good to see all of you again, but my shift is over. I'll talk to you later Cook?" He asked, smiling wider when he nodded in agreement.