Chapter 3

Hours passed and Reba was in her room getting ready for the family dinner, Cheyenne texted Reba and said it was going to be at this fancy Italian restaurant near their house. She also said to 'dress up'. Why? Reba didn't know. The redhead walked into her closet and gazed at the clothes she has. "Wow, I don't have many dressy things here." she mumbled to herself. After minutes passed, Reba finally picked out a dress. It was a black, thin-strapped, dress that came right up to the knees and hugged her body in all the perfect places. She found some black heels to go with the dress and a black shawl. She decided to curl her red hair and leave it down, it looked better that way anyways.
"Ooooh! Mom you look HOT!" squealed a voice from the bedroom door. Reba turned around from doing her makeup and looked at where the voice came from. Cheyenne was wearing a short, emerald green dress that barely came her hips and hugged her backside. "Wow, where did the rest of the dress go?" Reba said as she raised her eyebrow. Cheyenne frowned. "What do you mean? This is the full dress."

Reba rolled her eyes. "Okay, are you ready to go? Dad said he'll meet us at the restaurant with Barbra Jean and Henry. Surprisingly he is going to pay, I don't think he knows how much the restaurant costs." laughed Cheyenne.

"Why are we going to such a fancy place to eat anyways?" asked Reba transferring her belongings into a smaller purse. "Oh, because it's been awhile since everyone's was here for a family dinner. It's amazing we could get Kyra to come."

"That's true." Reba muttered. "Okaayy let's go!" Cheyenne squealed as she dragged her mother down the stairs. "Wow, Mrs H. You look amazing!" said Van as he saw his mother-in-law. "Thank you, Van." Reba said smiling.

"Alright, Kyra and Jake are with dad so we can leave." said Cheyenne and opened the door.

The drive to the restaurant was short and surprisingly calm. When they pulled up, Reba automatically could tell Brock was going to be paying some big bucks. As the five of them (Cheyenne, Van, Elizabeth, Emerson, and Reba) walked into the place, Kyra spotted them and waved them over. Reba didn't make eye contact with Brock, but she could see he was staring at her.

"Hey Mom, you look really nice!" Kyra said as she hugged the red-head. "Thank you, sweetie." replied Reba as she sat down. "Well, this is nice. What a fancy restaurant"

"I know right. When me and Van drove past it, I thought it would be a great place to have a nice dinner with the family." beamed Cheyenne. "Van and I, Cheyenne." corrected Reba over the top of her menu. "No mom. I'm sure it was me and Van who drove past it. You weren't even with us!" explained Cheyenne. Everyone shook their heads and went back to their menus.

"Good evening. My name is Andrew, and I will be your waiter for this evening. Would you like to start off with drinks first? We can start with you Miss." said a tall, blue eyed, brunette man pointing to Reba. He looked around to be in his late 40s. "Oh, I'll have sweet tea please." Reba answered with a smile. Andrew smiled charmingly and jotted down the rest of the drink orders in his little notepad. "Okay, I will be back in a few minutes. Take your time looking at the menu." said Andrew with a slight bow. Everyone echoed their 'thank-you's and went back to looking at their menus.

"Oooh mom, he was totally checking you out!" squealed Cheyenne. Brock looked at Cheyenne as if she had two heads. "He wasn't checking her out." he scoffed as he folded his hands against his chest. Reba rolled her eyes. "Cheyenne, he wasn't checking me out. He was doing his job by getting our drink orders."

"No mom, he asked your order first, and then he couldn't take his eyes off you. Especially at what you're wearing, all guys love that."

Reba suddenly felt self-conscious and looked down at her dress. Cheyenne saw the uneasy look on her mom's face. "Oh no, mom. No, you look amazing! I was saying that all guys like that... you what never mind." she chuckled nervously.

"Whatever you say, Cheyenne. I agree with Reba; he was just doing his job. Besides, why would anyone flirt with Reba?" Brock laughed. The family became quiet. Barbra Jean shot Brock a death glare. "What do you mean by that, Brock?" whispered Reba, her voice dangerously quiet. Brock's laugh wavered and he immediately felt bad.

"No honey, that's not what I meant. I meant that he-" Brock stammered.

"Oh, forget it." snapped Reba.

Everyone was silent and tried to make small talk as they waited for their drinks.

"So, Kyra, how's the band going?" asked Barbra Jean uneasily as she tried to start a conversation. Kyra's eyes lit up

"It's going great! We're traveling to Canada next and then around the European area. The band is really excited."

Reba smiled at her youngest daughter. Kyra had finally convinced Reba to allow her to tour with her band, as long as she calls her every-day.

The rest of the dinner ran smoothly. Everyone chatted with each other and the food was great. Brock payed without an argument (surprisingly). As they waited for the waiter to come back with the bill, Barbra Jean shared a look with her husband and cleared her throat.

"We have something to tell you guys, but please don't talk until we finish." she said. Everyone looked at Barbra Jean and waited patiently for her to continue, confusion written on their faces. Reba could sense what was going to be said next, besides, the Orange Manatee already told her earlier today.

"Barbra Jean and I decided that we've been working on our marriage and it's just going nowhere. Therefore, we decided to get a divorce. The papers have been shipped and it should be finalized by next week."

The kids sat there, open-mouthed. "You're kidding." Kyra scowled. "Don't be upset, guys. Your Father and I agreed that we get along better as friends anyways. Everything's fine between us. I'm going to take that job in Little Rock and take Henry with me, but we split the custody so Brock can see him still. Yes, I'll be gone, but that doesn't mean I won't call you and email every day!" Barbra Jean explained quickly. "Oh wonderful. Just when I thought I'd get a break from you, you decided to continue talking." Reba sighed. She wanted to try and ease the tension that was at the table. It seemed to work because everyone laughed a little.

"We know it's a big shock to you guys, but we wanted to tell you before the divorce was officially finalized. So, when Cheyenne suggested we should go out for dinner, BJ thought that this was the time to tell you." Brock said as he looked at each person's face. He stopped at Reba and they shared a "look", as Cheyenne would like to call it.

"Well, I am little shocked, but I kinda saw it coming. I am happy that you guys are agreeing on this together; however, I'll miss you Barbra Jean." Cheyenne said with a sad look.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be visiting as much as I can." Barbra Jean said excitedly. Reba rolled her eyes, again. "Yeah, I agree with Cheyenne." was all Kyra said. Cheyenne looked at her sister with a shocked and happy look. Kyra just glared right back at her. Gotta love sisters. Jake didn't say much either, but he said "it was cool with him".

"Alright, sir. Here's your credit card and the receipt for the bill. I hope to see you back and have a great night." Andrew said as he handed the bill back to Brock. Reba noticed when he said, "I hope to see you back", he was looking directly at her. She blushed and looked down while her ex-husband was glaring at the waiter.

"Will I see you at the house, Reba?" Brock asked as they all walked out of the restaurant. "My house?!" she exclaimed.
"Well, yeah. BJ and I are almost divorced. I have to sleep on the couch and I found out our couch is more comfortable."

"It's not your couch, Brock." scoffed Reba. "But fine. You better not overstay your visit though; I want you out as soon as your divorce is final."

Brock smiled at her stubbornness and got into his car. Reba hopped into the driver's seat and sat there while she waited for the rest of the 'crew'.

That waiter was staring at me a lot. He's pretty attractive. Boy, it was a hoot when Brock became jealous of him! Reba chuckled to herself. She started to notice that she would get a weird feeling every time she saw her Ex. It wasn't a bad feeling, yet it scared her. She shook her head and started the car. No way I'm falling for him. That's just too funny to believe.