CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
Another reminder -This is a repost- This story is completed at 119 chapters and I am not editing it at all for the repost; if it's reported and removed it won't be posted again. It does contain sex, swearing, drugs, smoking, alcohol, fast cars, hot women, hotter men, guns, porn, cupcake, kids and all those other fun things.
Getting to the garage the following morning is pretty easy for me, with my house keys to be delivered, the insurance assessor due this afternoon and what could prove to be an interesting lunch with Luann on today's schedule I barely sleep past 6am. I'm up and in the kitchen playing with the new stove before Jax and Happy have even stirred. My hyperactivity leads to them waking an hour later to a full cooked breakfast of sausages, bacon, eggs, homemade hash browns, tomatoes, and toast.
While they're stuffing themselves I duck off to shower and dress. The black skirt and plain white t-shirt I dress in today aren't interesting, I do manage to make it a little more me by adding a pair of white and blue skull printed heels. I'm monitoring the healing of my tattoo on a daily basis and it's almost to the point I can wear trousers again, and I'm really looking forward to getting the keys for my house so I can start renovations and moving some of my clothes in from storage...my collection of corsets and heels must be feeling lonely as a standard outfit for me in New York had been corset, jeans (or skirt) and heels.
Gemma arrives not long after I finish dressing and I'm hurried out the door by Jax and Happy who want to finish their jobs from yesterday as quickly as possible.
Climbing into Gemma's car she nods, "Much better than the shorts and flats."
I stick my tongue out at her, "Can't help it, was stretching my skin with heels, its good now so heels back in the wardrobe."
We spend our drive planning another shopping trip to the clearance warehouse we'd been to, Gemma wanted to spend more time there as she'd not seen the whole thing. We agree that once Craig is dealt with then we'll spend a weekend shopping in San Francisco with at least a few hours spent in Stockton at the giant building.
The morning passes fairly fast, after sending Kip to the store with a very specific list I spent most of it in the kitchen making some meals to freeze for Wayne and Della, at 930 Mandy rings me to let me know she's on the way and at 945 she pulls into the lot and parks. Walking over to meet her I see Gemma sticking her head out of the office so I wave, "Just house keys Aunt Gemma."
She nods and goes back to her work as Mandy climbs out of her car, briefcase in one hand and coffee tray in the other.
I lead her over to a picnic table and she sets down the coffees and the case, lifting out one of the cups she hands it to me and then sits down.
It doesn't take long to get the final few things sorted, and in a matter of 5 minutes she's ready to go again, I'm left holding a list of the things she's organised for me, the plumber, an electrician, and a skip delivery for Friday. The 2 sets of keys in my hand make me grin, but I know the first phone call will be to get all the locks changed and a quote for an alarm system to be installed once the renovations are complete.
Walking back into the office I can feel the bounce in my step and the smile on my face, even though I knew that the money had changed hands and the contract was set in stone the feeling of being handed the keys to my own house is extraordinary.
Going back to the kitchen I finish assembling the lasagne and pop it in the oven. The chilli is bubbling away on the stove and the potatoes are boiling to make a cottage pie with some of the chilli when it's done.
Gemma comes in just before 12 to let me know we'll be heading for lunch in about 30 minutes, stopping in the doorway she inhales deeply a few times before looking at the containers I have stacked on the bench waiting for food. "Hope you're keeping some for yourself."
"Hmmm, maybe after lunch I'll start on stuff for Jax, he's a horrible cook."
Gemma nods, "As much as I love that boy he is. His idea of cooking is making toast."
"I heard that!" Jax's voice floats through the kitchen door and both Gemma and I erupt into laughter.
Setting all the dishes on the bench I grab some paper and a pen and start writing lists of reheating instructions. Tearing the instructions into a set for each meal I put them in airtight bags to be set on the top of the food when it's sealed.
Cracking open the oven I check on the cottage pie, everything was cooked it just needed to 'meld' together. Lifting it out I set it on the bench with the other meals and throw a cover over them all. Writing a quick note I place it carefully on the top and walk out of the kitchen. I'm pretty sure the 'Don't touch or Sarah will have you as a kitchen bitch' note will keep most of the Sons away, the ones I would be the most worried about are going to be with us at lunch, or with Clay.
Double checking my shirt that I haven't got any splatters on it I sign when I see a blob of chilli has landed on the bottom of one side, thankfully it's small enough to not been completely noticeable, I mentally slap myself for thinking I could get away with cooking while wearing a white shirt...I never understood why chef's wore white. I much preferred the uniforms I had which were black.
Stepping into the office I'm not surprised when the first thing Gemma notices is the red mark on the shirt. She looks at me "Did you not see the aprons in the cupboard?"
I shake my head, "Nope, but next time I'm cooking here I'll find them, or bring my own."
She shoves a few more bits of paper into a pile and plops it on the top of her 'to do' tray and stands up, lighting a smoke as she starts walking. Out in the lot the guys are all in the process of dropping cars down off hoists and moving them back to parking spaces so Gem and I sit down to wait, it doesn't take long before Juice jogs over and lets us know they're ready to go.
Climbing into the car we drive to one of the smallest cafe/restaurant in the world, it's only got 5 tables, each sitting 4. 1 of the tables is filled with a set of parents and 2 young kids; the other occupied table has 2 businessmen seated at it having what seems to be a very intense discussion.
Jax rushes ahead of us and opens the door, holding it open as we walk past and up the 2 steps into the tiny counter area I hear Opie as he harasses Jax.
"You only did that to look at her ass." His voice probably isn't meant to reach me but it does so I turn to look at them. Jax raises his eyebrows and doesn't say a word.
"Ewww, you wanted to look at your Mom's ass? That's just gross." Sounding horrified as I speak the expressions on their faces are priceless.
Jax climbs the 2 steps in one movement and I end up pressed against his chest, his hand goes round me and grabs my ass as he leans down and puts his mouth close to my ear, "The only ass I was looking at is this one." He squeezes his hand over my cheek and quirks an eyebrow.
"Uh Hem."
Jax shoots backwards and Donna hides behind her husband when the blue eyed glare fixes on her. She peers out from behind Opie's arm and grins at Jax who's still standing in the doorway. "Are you going to move or are we eating on the path?"
Jax jumps down and lets Donna through the door way with a mumbled apology which just makes her laugh; she steps up and shakes her head at Gemma who's waiting for us to sort out the entrance way issues.