Head over Stilettos for my boss...

Chapter Twenty-Nine

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Maxine’s POV

The dinner that Rita had made was absolutely divine. She had made lasagne and mixed veg with mashed potatoes. Although I had tasted different kinds of lasagne, none had ever made my taste buds dance with happiness like this lasagne had. It was just beautiful.

‘Rita, I’m going to have to steal the recipe for this lasagne from you. It’s beyond amazing. Honestly.’

‘So you cook?’ Rita asked.

‘Yes. Whenever I can. But I do enjoy my pizzas as John will happily tell you.’ I laughed.

‘Take away and all that junk food are good once in a while but nothing is better than a home cooked meal.’ She smiled at me.

I nodded slowly taking in what she said. For some reason, I felt like everything she would now be saying would have some sort of double meaning to it. Did I have reason to be worried?

‘So Maxine, tell me about you?’ She suddenly asked.

‘Well, there’s nothing much to tell. I’m just a simple girl, living on my own, working as a solicitor and living life as it comes.’

‘You’re the first girl who’s ever said that when I ask them to tell me about themselves. They usually tell me their life story or their hobbies, and sometimes even their troubles. You certainly are different aren’t you?’ Rita smiled hugely.

I laughed nervously.

Oh my goodness! What could I say to such a reply like that? Was she trying to say that I wasn’t good enough for her son? Or was she saying that it was a good thing that I wasn’t like the rest of the girls he had brought home? Why didn’t I buy a dictionary or guide book for this particular meeting.

‘So how did you two meet?’ She asked.

‘Well, uh, we work in the same building.’ John said.

He sounded a little nervous and my eyebrows crinkled together. Had he not told his mother that he was literally my boss? well technically, I couldn’t really speak could I? I hadn’t yet broken the news to my dad.

‘The same department?’ Rita asked.

‘Sure.’ John said.

‘Same boss?’

There was a short silence in the room and I sneaked a glance at John who looked a little nervous.

‘I am her boss.’

Rita nodded.

‘Johnny boy. Why do you like I’m about to bash you across the head with a pot?’

‘Because I’m a just a little worried as to what your reply will be. This is the first time I’ve ever dated a colleague and I guess I’m just worried at your response.’

‘If you really like her, there’s nothing I can really say or do is there?’

‘I guess. But I would still like your approval or something.’ He said looking like a small boy as he confessed this.

I made a mental note to once again remind him that he really was a Mummy’s boy. If took a picture or even videoed this conversation and showed it to another person, they would definitely conclude that John was definitely a Mummy’s boy.

I noticed how there was silence as Rita said nothing in reply to what John had said and felt the tension in the room increase and strengthen. This was not heading in a good direction.

After that little conversation, Rita asked me questions about my family, my siblings, my work, and so much more. She cleverly engaged me in a nice conversation that I only realised by the end of desert that she had basically given me the third degree and managed to find out almost every detail about me and my history.

I sat there stunned a little as she took our desert plates away, that had been filled with upside down pineapple cake. She was good. She was really good. She certainly must have quite a bit of practise.

As she walked out of the kitchen, I noticed that she looked just a tiny bit different. There was this mischievous glint in her eyes that made me wary of tonight’s events. What was Rita planning on doing?

‘I think it’s time that I embarrass your boyfriend over here and whip out some of his baby pictures? I like to look at them once in a while when I feel that he’s growing up too fast for his own good?’

I laughed at that. What an awesome way to embarrass your son, show his girlfriend his baby pictures.

‘Yes please. I so want to see what he looked like as a baby.’

‘Well then, let’s go and see them shall we?’

I got up excitedly as Rita led the way to the living room. She ushered me to the three seater couch and then walked over to the shelf that was positioned at the far front of the room.

‘Here’s my stash,’ she said as her hands dug in to a rectangular area within the far corner of the shelf only to produce five stacks worth of photo albums.

I laughed once again as I heard John groan somewhere within the room.

‘This should be fun.

‘Mum, can we please do this another time. I’m sure Maxine wants to go home now.’

‘Says who? I definitely want to stay for this.’

‘Fine. Mum, I’m going to the guest room then.’ John waved off before disappearing down the hall.

For the next hour or so, Mrs Grays took me down memory lane with the glorious amounts of pictures she had of her baby boy. She introduced every single individual in every single picture to me, told me every story there was to tell about the picture, all the background I needed to know and made me laugh so hard, I was scared for the food in my tummy.

‘And that’s it’, she sighed after the very last picture of the very last album, ‘that’s my baby boy Johnny in pictures. He’s gone from hiding in the dustbin to wearing designer suits. They grow up fast.’ She smiled at me.

I beamed back and nodded like I had experienced what she was saying before.

‘I quite like you Maxine. You seem like a very genuine person which is something I can’t say for a lot of the girls John has brought home.

‘I like you too.’  I replied.

‘Jonathan is a very good man. I raised him well; not trying to toot my own horn or anything like that as you young people say, but he’s a good person. He deserves a good girl. I think you’ll be good for him.’

I laughed a little in embarrassment.

‘You’re blushing my darling. How adorable. Wait, there’s only one thing that would cause me to dislike you right now? You haven’t slept around have you?’ Rita questioned me.

‘No I haven’t. In fact, I haven’t slept with anyone.’

‘I beg your pardon?’ she asked in surprise.

‘I’m still a virgin.’

‘Well that’s beyond rare. It’s almost unheard of with girls of your age.’

‘Well I guess I must be different.’ I smiled.

‘Does John know about this?’

‘I think I might have told him at some point. I’m not too sure.’ I said, trying to search my memory to see if I had told John about my virginity.

‘Maxine, please marry my son.’

I literally burst out in laughter at that remark.