Page 75 of Size King

“I think maybe we should go have dinner, mister.”

It’s clear to me that we both want it. But instead of misbehaving, I decide to get on the same page. I hit the gas, and we take off.

I decideto take us to Bellefontaine’s, a restaurant on the outskirts of downtown. We sit; we eat; and we get to know each other a little more. It’s going great.

I tell her what a typical day for me is like up in the mountains, and what it’s like to run a delivery company. I can’t know for sure, but it seems like I’m boring her after a while. It may be my imagination, or perhaps her mind is racing. Mine has been racing nonstop since I learned that I am going to be a dad.

When the waiter comes back to refill our glasses, I take the opportunity to turn the conversation over.

“So, where do your parents live?” I ask. “New York?”

“They mostly live in Connecticut now,” she answers. “My dad owns a couple of banks on the east coast. His biggest one is in New York, so they spend a lot of time there, too. He’s fixing to retire soon, I think.”

“When do you think you’ll see them again?”

“I just moved out here, so probably not for a few months at least,” she answers.

“Well, longer than that,” I speculate. “After a certain point in a pregnancy, they don’t let you fly on airplanes.”

“Oh, well, there you go,” I say. “It’s just as well. Besides, my dad works most of the time, and my mom and I don’t really have much in common. It honestly got kind of annoying after a while—being around them. They’re both really snobby, and a bit self-obsessed. You’d know after you met them.”

“Well, if you become a rich banker, I think being a little snobby goes along with that,” I quip.

“They’re so arrogant sometimes, though,” I tell him. “You have to see it to understand. They think they’re better than everybody. I’ve never thought I am better than everyone. Most are surprised to find out that I’m their daughter. I wouldn’t consider myself snobby. I’m pretty mellow.”

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I ask. “I’m an only child. Well, basically. I have a younger stepsister, but we don’t really consider each other siblings.”

“Aww, why not?”

“She’s too much like her mom, and her mom is awful,” I say.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” she says. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I give her a brief history lesson on my dad and stepmom finding each other. I leave my mom out of the conversation. I’m not ready to tell Jillian much about her yet. I can rant about my stepmom all night, but I don’t want to come off like an angry, brooding mental patient.

“Believe it or not, I can relate,” says Jillian. “I have an older brother. We’re not close, and he married this—” Jillian chuckles to herself, clearly recalling a horror story from the past. “My brother works in banking with our dad. He makes a lot of money. He married this one girl, Kathy.”

“Do we not like Kathy?”

“We do not,” she affirms. “She came from nothing and had a reputation for dating older guys with lots of money. After she turned thirty, she started looking for someone with money she could settle down with and leech off for life. So, she married my brother, and she’s really hot, so she gets away with whatever she wants. She’s only with him for his bank account and what all can be bought with it. It makes me sick.”

“Too bad he doesn’t recognize what’s going on,” I add.

“Yep, that’s my sister-in-law, the total bitch. I’m kind of hoping he wakes up soon and finds someone different. Know any cute, single girls in Wrightwood?”

“Afraid not,” I say. “We could send her a special delivery, courtesy of Dunn Deliveries.”

“What, like send someone to poison her?”

“No,” I say, laughing uncomfortably. “I meant more like send her a flaming bag of dog poo or something, one of the classics. Glad to know where your mind’s at!”

“I would never poison my sister-in-law.” She laughs. “Emma might, though. Shehatesher—for what she did to me and my brother and everything.”

“That makes sense.”

“She’s in Vegas right now for a shoot,” says Jillian. “I’m sort of jealous. I’ve never been to Vegas, and I’ve always wanted to go.”

“Maybe we’ll have to go on a road trip sometime,” I say. “I’ve only been once, and I had an amazing time.”