Hi! :-) Thanks so much for the great reviews! So, what will Taylor's reaction be to Jack??? (grin) Hope you enjoy Chapter 9!

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Chapter 9

Jack called Saturday afternoon to confirm their plans for dinner.

"Why don't you come to the house around 5:30 p.m.?" Janet suggested. "That way, you and Taylor can get to know one another before we leave for the restaurant."

"I'd like that. I'll be there at 5:30 p.m."

"See you then."

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"Mommy, you look so pretty," Taylor said, as she sat on her mother's bed and watched with fascination as Janet applied the finishing touches to her make-up.

"So do you," Janet returned.

Taylor wore a red and blue dress with navy blue tights and black shoes while Janet had decided to wear a dark teal dress, black pumps and a black jacket. Pearls decorated her earlobes, matched by a string of pearls adorning her neck.

"I wish Uncle Nick were coming with us," Taylor said, swinging her legs back and forth.

Janet turned from the vanity mirror to face her daughter. "You heard what Uncle Nick said, right?"

Taylor gave her mother a solemn nod. "He said Jack was being nice to us, and that I should try to like him."

"I'm sure you will like him. Just give him a chance."

Janet knew she needed to heed those words herself. From out of nowhere, gigantic butterflies had taken up residence in her stomach. She had to keep reminding herself that there was to be no pressure between them tonight. This was just going to be a friendly, celebratory dinner. That's all.

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When the doorbell rang, mother and daughter were ready to greet Jack. Taylor stayed close to Janet's side as her mother welcomed him into their home. After closing the door, Janet ushered him into the living room and told him to make himself comfortable on the couch. Janet took a seat next to him; Taylor attached herself to Janet and stared at Jack, who smiled at her.

"You must be Taylor," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake. "It's very nice to meet you."

When she didn't move or say anything, Janet prodded her. "Shake his hand, Taylor. You know how to introduce yourself."

"Hi," she finally said, limply shaking his hand. "I'm Taylor Matthews."

"I'm Jack Tripper. I'm happy we're going to have dinner tonight."

She nodded but didn't say anything.

"I like your pretty dress," he said.

"Thank you," she said shyly.

"Taylor, honey," Janet said. "I'm going into the kitchen for that pitcher of lemonade we made earlier. Jack is going to help me. We'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay."

With curious eyes, Taylor watched her mother and Jack walk into the kitchen. As soon as they were gone, she jumped off the sofa and ran into her room. She picked up Mr. Thomas, her bear, and hugged him as she whispered in his ear.

"Mr. Tripper is cute," she said, and then giggled into her beloved bear's face. "I like him already. Uncle Nick was right. I hope we have fun at dinner."

She returned Mr. Thomas to his place on her bed.

"I'll tell you all about it tonight," she promised.

Her petite legs carried her back into the living room where she waited anxiously for Jack and Janet to reappear. After getting settled on the sofa, they drank the sweetened lemonade and made small talk. Jack asked Taylor about school and about her friends. She liked his questions and the funny facial expressions he used when he pretended not to understand something she said. He made her laugh. She answered his inquiries enthusiastically, which helped all of them to feel at ease with one another.

By the time they returned from eating at the restaurant, Jack had completely won over Taylor. She had made an indelible impact on him, too. He hadn't realized how nervous he had been about meeting Janet's daughter until she began to warm up to him, and he found himself breathing normally again. He hoped the opportunity would be there for him to spend more time with Janet and Taylor.

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"You're still quite the charmer," Janet remarked, not unkindly, to Jack, when they were alone in the living room.

"You mean Taylor?" Jack asked coyly.

Janet smirked. "Yes. You know you had my daughter eating out of the palm of your hand before dessert had been served."

"She's great," Jack said, a fondness present in his voice. "I mean that."

Janet smiled. "Thanks. I'm trying."

"You're doing a fantastic job. I know it can't be easy to raise her alone, especially when you don't have any family in the area."

"Todd's two sisters are here," Janet pointed out. "We're not real close, but they make time for Taylor. She gets to see her cousins. That's important to me."

Jack nodded. "And you and Taylor have Nick."

He spoke the words so softly, Janet wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly.

"Did you say Nick?"

"Yeah. I did."

"How did you know..."

"Taylor mentioned him to me when you had excused yourself to go to the ladies' room."

"What did she say?"

"She just told me that he was a great guy, and that you all liked each other. A lot."

Janet shook her head. "Taylor has built him up so much in her mind. We are good friends, but that's all it is, Jack."

"I believe you. Even if more were going on, it's none of my business. To be honest, I envy the guy."

"You envy him? Why? You don't even know him."

"I envy him because he has what I want. We used to be best friends, Janet, before we were anything else. Do you think we'll ever have that again?"

Janet looked thoughtful. "I think we did pretty good tonight."

"So, you wouldn't be opposed to more outings like this one?" he asked hopefully.

"No. I think we could have a good time together. The three of us, I mean."

Jack moved slightly closer to Janet on the sofa. "Me, too. As I take on this new and exciting, but at the same time scary, adventure, it'll be nice to know I have friends in the area I can spend time with."

"I think I'd like Taylor and me to be those friends, Jack. Just because we couldn't make it as a couple doesn't mean we can't give friendship another try."

"I have to admit I'm relieved to hear you say that, but you know what, Janet? If we are going to try to be friends again, we should talk about what happened to us, so that we can truly move on. Don't you agree?"

"Yes," Janet said, knowing the time had come to clear the air once and for all. "I agree. If we're going to move on as friends, we need to close that part of our lives. Forever."