Chapter 11
"Are you ready to go honey?" Brock hollered upstairs to Reba. He had arrived back a few minutes ago from taking Jake to school. He had left Reba here for the purpose of giving her more time and checking to make sure she had everything she needed for the trip. He remembered what it was like traveling with her and if he remembered correctly she always took her sweet time when they were about to walk out the door. It was a good thing he told her they needed to leave half an hour before they actually had to or they would probably be late but she didn't need to know that.
Reba appeared on the stairs with a bag in her hand. "Wait…" she said dropping her bag. "Give me two more minutes."
Brock rolled his eyes and moved toward the sofa knowing it wouldn't be another fifteen until she come down those stairs. He sat next to Barbara Jean who was currently flipping through the channels. "So you will be okay with picking up Jake after school?" he questioned, trying to make conversation with his ex-wife. It was always surprisingly easier to talk with her than it ever was with Reba but he guessed their feelings for one another were the cause of that. "Kyra has some school thing after and so she will be getting a ride back here at five o'clock."
Barbara Jean sighed and nodded. "Yes Brock it will be fine. I'll take care of them." She said giving him a reassuring smile. "You just enjoy your weekend with Reba."
Brock smiled and nodded. "We need this weekend. There has been a little tension between us since Bobbi. And I think getting away is exactly what we both need."
Barbara Jean nodded and looked at Brock for a moment, thinking. "About this Bobbi…" she began.
Brock sighed and he rubbed his neck, knowing what was to come. "What is it Barbara Jean?"
Barbara Jean could hear the annoyance in his voice but he needed to hear this. She had her talk with Reba about trusting Brock and now Brock needed his talk about being faithful. "This Bobbi…" she said with a sigh, "Are you sure you gave her a chance because you thought she would be a good worker?"
"Barbara Jean…" he said, not really wanting to hear this.
"No Brock…" Barbara Jean said turning to face him completely. "You need to hear this because I know Reba. She may seem strong but she came to me worried about Bobbi."
Brock shook his head. "There is nothing to worry about."
"Are you sure?" Barbara Jean asked giving Brock a look. "Because…"
"There is nothing to worry about." Brock said looking straight into Barbara Jean's eyes. "I swear to you Barbara Jean that I am not about to screw up this second chance I have with Reba. She means the world to me. There is no way I would want to jeopardize what we have."
Barbara Jean smiled and nodded. "Good." she said turning away. Brock nodded and thought it was over until he felt his head jerk and his eyes widened when he came face to face with the look of anger in Barbara Jean's eyes. It was a look he never liked and was scared of. "Because if you hurt my best friend I will hurt you…slowly and painfully, you got me?" Brock gulped and nodded. Barbara Jean smiled and patted his cheeks. "Good. Now have a good time on your trip."
"I'm ready." Reba announced coming down the stairs.
Brock shot up off the couch like a jack-in-the-box and walked over to Reba with a smile. "All right…" he grinned. "You are going to love this. Let me take that." He said sweetly taking her bag from her.
Reba smiled and kissed his cheeks. "Thanks sweetheart."
"I'll meet you outside." He said walking out the door.
Reba nodded and turned to Barbara Jean. "Thank you so much for checking on the kids every once in a while, now Cheyenne and Van should be able to handle it but you are welcomed over here anytime…stay here all weekend if you want, in fact that would make me feel much better if you did because well…" Reba chuckled. "You know Van and Cheyenne."
Barbara Jean nodded. "I will make sure everything is fine. You go and have a good time now."
Reba smiled and nodded. "I plan to." Barbara Jean walked Reba out the door and they shut the front door behind them walking to the driveway, talking and laughing the whole way. They stopped dead in their tracks when they arrived. Reba couldn't help but grin. "What in the world is this?"
Brock chuckled as he spread his arms out in a gesture to the car. "A 1966 mustang convertible, exactly like the one my father used to drive before he gave it to me on my 16th birthday and the same one I took you around in during our college years. What do you think?" he asked placing his hand on the black convertible that already had the top down.
Reba laughed and stepped toward it. "It's a beautiful car but…" she said placing her hand on top of it, "Where did you get it and why?"
Brock smiled and ushered her over to the passenger side of the car. "Well…" he said opening the door for her. "I borrowed it from a buddy of mine and I did it because this is the first surprise of your fun filled surprise weekend. You like it?" he asked helping her into the car.
Reba hopped in and sat down on the black leather seats. "This is so great Brock! I can't believe you did this."
He chuckled and went around to the other side of the car. "I thought it would be nice to take a trip down memory lane." Reba smiled and she rubbed the leather seat and Brock tried to be cool and jump into the driver's seat but one leg missed and he fell to the ground.
Reba gasped and moved to the other side looking over. Barbara Jean couldn't contain her laughter. "Are you okay?"
Brock groaned and nodded as he got up. "I'm fine." He said rubbing his backside a little.
Reba nodded and then started to laugh now that she knew he was okay. "You can try the door." She said chuckling.
He just glared and opened it before getting in the car this time. "All right…" he said reaching over and opening the glove box. He pulled out two pairs of sunglasses and handed one of them to Reba. "There you are."
Reba laughed and put them on. She turned and checked herself out in the mirror smiling. "I love it."
Brock grinned and moved his hand to the ignition. "I knew you would." He then turned on the car. "Listen to that baby purr." He said pressing on the gas a little.
Reba giggled and nodded. "Now let's go I'm starving."
Brock nodded and slipped on his sunglasses. "You will remember Jake right?" he asked Barbara Jean who had stepped up to the driver's side door.
Barbara Jean rolled her eyes. "Yes…I will remember. Now go have a good time. Everything will be fine here. Enjoy your weekend."
"All right, bye then." Brock said shifting the car into reverse. Reba smiled and waved to Barbara Jean as they backed out of the driveway and started down the street. She then giggled and scooted closer to Brock, resting her head on his shoulder. Brock smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Just like college."
Reba smiled and snuggled closer. "Yup…now are you going to tell me where we are going?"
"Breakfast." He said turning right.
"Well I know that…" Reba said a little annoyed. "But where are we going for breakfast? Where are we going after? What's going to happen this weekend!" she yelled sounding completely frustrated.
Brock chuckled and kissed her forehead gently without taking his eyes off the road. "Just relax. We will be there soon. Can you wait?"
Reba sighed. "I guess." She snuggled up against him and stayed quiet most of the time during the ten minute ride to wherever they happened to be going that morning.
But Reba didn't have a clue to where Brock was taking her. She couldn't even make a guess. Her mind had been going over every memory, every special moment they had in their lives but Brock would never get that romantic with her, would he? She wished she could say he was finally giving her, her trip to Italy she always wanted but by the time they would get to Italy they would only have a few hours to spend before they would have to get right back on a plane to go home. But other than that nothing really came to her mind.
She had to wonder since when did he become good at keeping secrets? Reba glanced at Brock and he had a small smirk on his face. She wondered what in the world he was thinking? It really was driving her nuts that she didn't know. Sure, she would find out in only a couple of hours but that was what made it worse. She was so close but yet she still had to wait.
"You won't find out by staring at me." Brock said as he turned another corner.
"Huh?" Reba asked being snapped out of her thoughts.
Brock chuckled. "You keep looking at me with this curious face. I know what you're thinking and you're not going to find out where we're going by staring at me. Besides, you'll find out in a couple of minutes where our first stop is and then I will take you to the highlight of the day."
"We're just going to breakfast." Reba said still staring at him. She then saw the small smirk creep into an even bigger smirk. "Wait…" she said smiling. "Is this place where we're eating some place special?"
Brock shrugged as he turned down the final street. "It might be." He said with a huge grin.
Reba beamed. "It is! I can tell…hmm…let me think…some place special where we used to eat." She took a moment to think about it. There wasn't really any special place they used to eat. They used to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese all the time but he wouldn't take her there…at least he better not. There was the nice Italian restaurant they had been going to lately but that place didn't have breakfast foods so where could he be going?
Reba took a moment to look around her and it seemed familiar. She knew this place so it had to be somewhere they visited. Reba sighed and turned to Brock. "I know this place but…" she said looking around again and shaking her head. She just couldn't…wait… "Brock…" she said smiling big as she saw the big diner sign come into view. "We're eating here?" she asked with a chuckle. Brock nodded. Reba leaned over and gave Brock a big kiss on the cheek as he pulled into the parking lot of Joe's Diner.
Joe's Diner was a place they used to go to when they were dating in college. They would always come here on Saturday nights…take the booth in the back…get a burger, fries, soda, and split a sundae. It was very rock around the clock but it was their thing and they always enjoyed the time alone. Back at school the only time they were without their friends was if they took the risk of staying in one or the other's dorm rooms, which was against the rules. It really was their sweet alone time.
But they hadn't been there in years. They did go back once they were married and Brock was finished with dentil school but shortly after they re-started their tradition Cheyenne arrived and with a new baby it was hard to get away. They just lost that little time to themselves and she certainly missed this. It was so sweet of him to think of it!
"I can't believe you thought to bring us here." Reba said with a huge grin as they entered the diner.
Brock chuckled. "Well, I figured it would be nice to reminisce and it looks like…" he said pulling her quickly towards the back. "We can get our old booth." Reba couldn't help but squeal a little and that caused Brock to chuckle. He kissed the back of her hand and let her slide into the booth first before joining her. "Do you remember when we first came here?"
Reba chuckled and nodded as she took a menu that was sitting up against the wall behind the ketchup/salt and pepper stand. "Our first date…I almost said goodbye to you after that night." She said with a giggle.
Brock frowned. "Why?"
Reba raised an eyebrow. "You tried so hard to put the moves on me. Just because I was Lori Ann's friend didn't mean I acted like her."
Brock laughed. "Well I'm sorry about that but I was a college guy and you know what all college guys think about."
Reba rolled her eyes and put the menu back as she decided what she wanted. "That's not college guys that's all guys." She said with a laugh. Before Brock could respond back to her the waitress came up to take their orders and fill their coffee cups. Once she was gone Reba couldn't help but stare at a spot in the dark corner of the booth.
Brock noticed this and it caused him to smile. "Wondering if it's still there?" he questioned.
Reba's head snapped up and she blushed, nodding. "Yeah…" she said shrugging. "It's probably not though. I mean…it was about 23 almost 24 years ago we put that there and I am sure they have washed it off or painted over it."
Brock shrugged and leaned over to the dark corner. "Only one way to find out." He pushed the moveable table over just enough to let the light shine on a certain spot they were looking for. He smiled when he saw it. "It's still there." He said turning to her.
Reba grinned and leaned over. "It is."
"Yup…right there." He said pointing to the very spot they had written BH + RH in a heart almost 24 years ago when they first got married, when they left Houston to go to dentil school. They thought they would never come back to Houston and they would never come back to their favorite restaurant so they wanted to leave their mark on their spot.
Reba smiled and sat back up after she stared at it for a little while. "I can't believe they haven't painted over it."
"I'm happy they didn't." Brock said taking her hand into his. "I know it was kind of cheesy to do but I like being able to look at it. We loved each other then and 24 years later we're still in love." He kissed the back of her hand.
Reba smiled and clutched tightly to his hand. "I am so happy we are able to have these next three days alone. I really can't wait to see where we are going."
"I can't wait for you to see where we're going. I know you are going to love it…especially since you're into the whole romantic thing." He said in a joking matter.
"So it's romantic huh?" Reba asked with a sly smile and playing with his shirt collar. He nodded. "Hmmm…" she said leaning in towards him. "Then I really can't wait to be truly alone with you." She kissed the side of his neck gently and she chuckled deeply when she felt his breathing become hard to control. She loved to torture him.
Brock cleared his throat nervously and she felt his hand that she was holding sweat just a little. "R…r…re…really?" he stammered nervously.
Reba chuckled and continued to tease him at his collar. "Hmm…mmm." She said kissing his jaw line.
Brock couldn't help but shiver as her lips trailed up his jaw line and down his neck a little. "Wha…what do you plan on happening?" he asked in a high voice.
Reba gave him a kiss on the cheek before she pulled away. "You will just have to wait to find out." She said laughing.
Brock pouted. "So I'm keeping you in suspense so you're going to do the same to me?" Reba just shrugged. "What if I was to tell you where we are going? Would you tell me then?" he asked hopeful.
Again, she shrugged. "Maybe." She said with a smirk as she sipped at her coffee.
"Eh…" he said with a shrug. "I can wait."
Reba scowled thinking she finally got him but he still wouldn't tell her. "Mean." She stated.
"You can wait too." He said wrapping an arm around her.
Reba sighed and groaned softly as she took another sip of her coffee. "I'm not sure if I can." She mumbled, not exactly sure if she meant where they were going or for what might possibly happen that night.
The waitress arrived with their breakfast a couple of minutes later and they both let go if wanting to know what would happen during their day. Instead they discussed the old times, their dates at the diner, their college years, married years and they just skipped the last couple of years they were divorced. It always brought up hurtful things and this weekend wasn't exactly the time to discuss the bad times. They were on their little vacation to have a good time and to be alone for once, not to fight.
"So…" Reba said when they left the restaurant and was on the road toward wherever they happen to be heading. "Are you going to tell me where were going or are you just going to keep me in the dark."
"I think I might keep you in the dark." Brock said firmly.
Reba scrunched her face up. "I don't like the dark. You know I am afraid of the dark." She said giving him the lip.
He chuckled and patted her knee as he turned a corner. "But only fun things can happen in the dark." He said wiggling his eyebrows a little.
Reba rolled her eyes and pushed his hand off her knee. "Just drive." She said smiling a bit.
Brock nodded and took the hand she pushed off of her knee and wrapped it around her shoulder for the rest of the short drive. He knew she was going to appreciate this. He couldn't wait. It was going to be a great weekend and he was so happy he had Reba to share it with. Well…it was their memories…he couldn't exactly share it with anyone else. It was just so happy he was able to enjoy it with Reba. Three months ago before they started dating again they could never enjoy sharing the things they had been talking about. The tension between them over the divorce was just too much but now…now they could laugh, be happy, and love together again. Brock wanted to keep that going and he figured this weekend would bring them even closer.
"Are we almost there?" Reba asked a little impatient as she looked around. She had been trying to figure out where exactly by surroundings where he was heading but nothing was coming to her mind.
Brock chuckled and removed his arm and turned one last corner. "Almost…anything coming to mind yet?" he asked smiling, hoping she would remember. She should. She spent a few years there.
Reba sighed as she tried to think, still nothing…but then she saw a few large buildings and students and the big sign sitting there on the corner that it had for the past 77 years. She gasped as Brock went by. "Oh my God." She said turning to Brock with a huge grin and tears in her eyes.
End of Chapter