Part 8: Chapter 3

Restaurant Date

Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash

Saturday, August 15, 2020
	I was cleaning our air conditioning filters in the sink, a job that, based on the amount of lint and dust accumulated on it, probably hasn’t been done in years. Steve dashes in, hardly able to contain himself. “Cherise just shaved off a patch of Jacob’s hair,” he says in between spastic chuckles.
	“What?” I ask.
	“He’s back there looking very put out, and she’s cracking up.”
	“Were you spying on them?”
	“I was just working at my desk!" Steve says, "And I heard Cherise burst out laughing.”
	We dash to our bedroom windows to spy on the newlyweds without looking like we're spying on the newlyweds. We're giggling and trying to shush each other when the children find us. 
	“What are you looking at?” they ask in loud voices.
	“What happened?” 
	“Mama, what’s out there?” 
	We shush them, certain Cherise and Jacob can hear through our single-paned windows, and then we corral them out of our bedroom like a herd of cats. Theo takes this as a challenge to find another way outside, but when he succeeds, he’s unable to understand what’s going on between Cherise and Jacob. Cherise is still laughing and Jacob is still looking very put out. They do not tell Theo what has happened.