Whispers that Scream

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jane

Sunday afternoon came around, and Jane was just about ready to go. She checked her makeup one last time, nodding to herself, satisfied with her appearance. When she had asked Adam what she should wear, he told her they all tried to dress nice for dinner, so she had donned a dress that she might have worn out to a nice restaurant with adjoining heels. The knee-length black dress was elegant without being too formal and should be perfect for a fancy dinner party. She wanted to look nice and make a good impression when she met the rest of Adam's family. They were supposed to leave for New Orleans at 5:00 pm, and she heard Adam walking up her steps at 4:50. He was a stickler about being on time. She heard the knock at her door with Adam's muffled voice coming through

"Jane, are you ready?" she heard him ask.

"Coming. One sec," she called out grabbing her purse. She was nervous about tonight, but not the normal anxiety she felt. She was excited to meet Adam's family and she hoped so badly they would like her. She was also secretly looking forward to seeing Adam in a suit. She flushed picturing it.

"Alright, let's go," she said as she opened the door only to find Adam's wide eyes on her, taking in her outfit. Against her expectations, he was wearing jeans and one of those golf shirts he liked so much.

"Wow, Jane," he said somewhat breathless. "You look so beautiful." He paused for a moment, pursing his lips. "Why are you so dressed up though?"

Her face started to burn at his question. "You told me that you and your family dress nice for dinner," she ground out, trying not to lose her temper on him.

He cocked his head and smirked. "Well yeah. I just meant we don't wear t-shirts and shorts normally. We aren't the Kennedys you know?" 

"Dammit Adam!" she yelled, slamming the door in his face. She raced back to her room and in a tornado of clothes being thrown off and on, she returned a few minutes later in a nice blouse with jeans.

She found him on the porch still with that annoying smirk on his face and she rounded on him. "Not a word. Do you hear me, Adam? Not a word. And this isn't discussed tonight at dinner."

"Okay, okay. It'll be our little secret." He held his hands up to placate her like she was a rabid animal. Her face still flamed from embarrassment as they got into the car in unusual silence. Adam started the truck but didn't back out right away. Jane was confused knowing they were a few minutes late at this point. He would normally be antsy by now and not waste any more time.

"What are we waiting for?" she asked curiously, looking around the truck. Eventually, she looked behind them to see if anything was blocking them in.

"I'm waiting for your order to get the carriage moving, my lady," Adam answered with a serious look on his face.

She snapped and shrieked, "Drive the damn car, Adam!"

"Yes, my lady." He smirked as he put the truck in reverse and backed out. Jane sat back and let out a small smile. She loved the way that Adam felt comfortable enough around her to tease her like this. Although, he still needed to work on his communication skills. Jeans and a shirt was not dressing nice in any sense of the phrase.

Around an hour later, they pulled into the driveway at Abby's house. Their house was located in a new subdivision that just screamed middle-class suburban house. None of the houses were large or had large yards, but they were all new and gave off the impression that the people who lived inside had some money.

Adam sighed. "Looks like Max and his family are already here."

"Why does that matter?" Jane asked, looking at the parked cars around them in the driveway.