by Marie Astor
***
Jon Bostoff looked at his watch. Candace would be getting back any minute now. They were supposed to have barbecue for lunch.
At the sound of a car pulling into the driveway, Jon hurried down the stairs. He was surprised to see two cars parked in the driveway. He was even more surprised when he saw that the second car was his brother’s.
“Jon!” Candace smiled at him as she got out of the car. “I ran into Paul and Lisa in town, and I thought it would be wonderful to have them over for barbecue.”
Of course you did, Jon thought. He loved his wife, but at times her overly good manners drove him mad. God knew he saw plenty of his idiotic brother at work. There was no need to see him over the weekend, not to mention his girlfriend. “Wonderful.” Jon kissed Candace on the cheek. “What a splendid idea.”
“Hi, Jon.” After helping Lisa out of the car, Paul joined his brother and sister-in-law.
“I’m glad Candace ran into you. The kids will be glad to see you,” Jon managed. “Lisa, always a pleasure,” he added, nodding at his brother’s pesky girlfriend.
“Hi, Jon.” Lisa ran her hand through her hair.
At first, Jon thought he had imagined it, but as he took another look, he knew that he had been correct. The glint on Lisa’s ring finger was unmistakable. It was his mother’s sapphire ring.
“Is there something you want to tell us?” Jon eyed his brother.
“Lisa and I got engaged. I proposed to her last night.” Paul placed his arm around Lisa. “I was going to tell Father once we got back to the City.”
When were you going to tell me? Jon felt like exploding, but managed to squeeze out of himself a polite, “Wonderful, congratulations to both of you.”
“Paul, Lisa, congratulations!” Candace exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Lisa and kissed her on both cheeks.
“We’ve got to celebrate.” Jon slapped Paul on the shoulder. “Well, let’s get the barbecue started and give the girls a chance to catch up.” As he turned on the grill, Jon made a mental note to talk to his father first thing in the morning.
Chapter 9