Is This Considered A Cliche?

Chapter Eighteen| The Brady Bunch

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by M-A-COYNE

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Chapter Eighteen

T H E B R A D Y B U N C H

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"They met eight months ago at Golden Heart Hospital," I told Natale, Sofia, and Haruka at lunch on Monday. "Andre was injured and mom was treating him. They hit it off and went on a date and soon they were seeing each other every other day. He proposed and she accepted." I let out a woeful sigh. "Now my mom wants the four of us to have a family dinner tonight." Natale, whose grin spread across her face during my story, finally burst into laughter. "What is so funny?"

"Clement is going to be your brother?" She laughed even harder. When she finally stopped she took a deep breath to calm herself and smirked. "Kinky."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh shut up." I turned my head to glare at Haruka. "You should have told me, Haruka! I could have done without walking in on the two of them doing the naked tango!"

Haruka shrugged. "Not my problem."

I stuck my tongue out at her and turned back to my other friends. "Anyway, I need an excuse to get out of tonight."

Sofia sighed. "Just go, Jackie. If they're going to get married, you'll have to get used to having dinner together anyway."

"So, you're mom's getting hitched. What about your dad? What has he been up to?" Natale asked.

I shrugged. "Not much." My father had called me last night to tell me that the artifacts were found. They were discovered on an abandoned ship at the ship yard in New York. No one involved in the crime was found, but my father was just relieved to have the artifacts back. I made a mental note to ask Alphonso if he had anything to do with it.

"So, where are you having this dinner?" Natale asked in curiosity.

"We're going to that fancy Italian restaurant Joseph's. I never got that name. It's an Italian restaurant, give it an Italian name. Joseph makes me think of some Jewish guy with a mule."

"...Because of the story of Joseph and Mary?" Sofia asked.

I shook my head. "No, because in Egypt there was this guy who helped with the dig named Joseph and he had a pet mule name Sissy and the mule would always follow me around and try to eat my hair."

"We should have known it wouldn't be biblical," Haruka sighed.

The bell rang and the other students in the cafeteria started to gather their things and leave, our group soon joining them.

Sofia shrugged. "I'm just happy we finally know what's been bugging you. You've been acting weird lately and we've been worried."

Okay, I was just stabbed with the guilt sword once again. Right in the gut too.

"I'm so excited!" Natale exclaimed, pulling me into an embrace. "Jackie's going to have a big brother! That takes a load off my shoulders."

Sofia rolled her eyes. She grabbed Natale's other arm and started pulling her to their next class. "We'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I mumbled as I walked to my next class.

Joseph's was easily one of the most expensive restaurants in town. My mother and I followed the host out of the lobby and into the main dining room and gaped. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Small, intimate tables were scattered around the room with black table clothes and three sets of spoons, knives, and forks for each guest. A fountain in the middle of the room seemed to be a tribute to the sacking of Troy (though why anyone would want to see that while eating was beyond me.) I suddenly got the feeling that my black skirt and silk green shirt might not be suitable.