Author's Note: Jenny Prezzioso, next apparently I like the characters that most people don't for some reason. Anyway this was supposed to be about Jenny introducing her boyfriend to her parents and sister but I figured that would be the Jamie chapter. So some sisterly bonding type of story instead. Everyone I pulled from this story was introduced in the books at some point including Jenny's boyfriend.
T rating for a few things here and there.
Please enjoy and let me know what you think!
Jennifer, or Jen, Prezzioso slammed the ball across the court making it bounce again the polished floors. Her dark hair slick against her face and smiled as the next person couldn't hit it back. It was the sweet smell of victory a proud smile on her face. The tennis ball hit from one end of the court to the other with ease she watched it soar.
"Oh, come on Jen," shouted her sister, Andrea, across the court struggling to get the ball. She was terrible at sports. "This is the reason why I don't play with you anymore!"
"Just send the ball back," she called readying her racket to launch it back.
"Can't! It's time for us to go. I'm supposed to be meeting with my friends."
Jen hesitated a second and bounced the racket against the bottom of her shoe. She couldn't help but wish her sister would stick around sometime for the summer. She had hardly seen Andrea since coming home from school. She currently went to some fancy art college, the Rhode Island School of Design, taking tons of photography courses and learning about that kind of stuff. She even bragged about having Claudia Kishi as a guest lecturer in one of her classes. Wait until she figured out who baby-sat her as an infant.
"Just remember to be back by five," she said running to catch up with her.
"Can't," she said again. "We're going out to an early dinner and then I'm baby-sitting with Laura and Lucy. We're going to do a neighborhood group thing with the Gianelli, Pike, and Stevenson-Cohen kids..."
Jenny just stared at her sister for a minute and started to laugh. This had to be a joke right? Then again Andrea looked dead serious and looked concerned for her. They were quiet for a second as they rounded the corner from the tennis court and then she stopped.
"Wait you're serious? Andrea tonight's moms and dad's wedding anniversary, we promised that we'd make dinner for them," said Jen panicking.
She was not going to make dinner and decorate the room by herself, no way. Her twenty year old sister's face drained of color for a second. Apparently while home from college she had managed to double book herself. Again. The first time when she had this modeling gig at the same time, she had taste testing for her wedding.
That's right Jennifer Prezzioso was getting married. The wedding wasn't until next year, but her mother was insisting on doing everything early. She had her wedding dress appointment at Laced With Grace, a wedding shop in downtown Stoneybrook, with the owner Grace Bruno tomorrow. Her fiancé thankfully not having to deal with this tonight.
"Oh geez, um, Jen," stuttered Andrea and gestured to who was walking down Burnt Hill Road and saw her friends.
Lucy Newton, Laura Perkins, and Hope Felder waiting for Andrea for their early dinner. Andrea could spend her time with whomever she wanted. Plus, all the girls went to different schools and didn't see each other much at all. That being said, she had to be there for her parents wedding anniversary. She could forgive her for the taste testing since it took forever but she couldn't get out of this.
"What are we going to do?" shrieked Andrea as Jen just shook her head. They did not have time to clean up the house and make it look nice.
"You have to tell them you can't baby-sit," said Jen. "That or pray that mom and dad will want to have dinner alone."
"Okay I'll have to tell them. Then call Anna and Levi Stevenson-Cohen to let them know I'm not coming," said Andrea going up to her friends.
Jen let herself in through the garage and grabbed the stuff for their dinner. She tried her hardest not to spy on her sister and friends. Instead she found her ingredients and stuff that she stored in the spare refrigerator. They were going to recreate their parents first date complete with decorating the living room up to look like a banquet hall.
See her mom went to school on a soccer scholarship and played all four years. Madeleine met Nick at the end of the year banquet they held. He was one of her teammates brothers who had come when her boyfriend got sick. It was kind of a matchmade in heaven as Jenny sighed pulling out old soccer trophies that she had found in the attic. It's a shame that her mother didn't get to play pro.
She heard the front door open and Andrea sigh in relief from the front hall. Jen strung the paper mini soccer balls on the crepe paper and taped it up in the corner. An a tape player was playing the Whitney Houston version of I Will Always Love You and other songs from the early 90s.
"Okay what do you need help with?" asked Andrea.
"Finish decorating, I'm going to check on the dessert and start the dinner."
She had paid Byron Pike thirty bucks to make her parents mango sorbet and the berry sauce. It looked great but all she had to do was fry the chicken, toss the salad, and make the mashed red skin potatoes. Sounded easy enough and fried up their gas stove stop.
Finally, about half way through making the dinner did Andrea join her, and started to slice the potatoes.
"This is nice, we haven't done this in a long time together," said Andrea sitting down at the table. "Make dinner together that is."
"Yea, it's nice that you get to see your friends," said Jenny lamely not really understanding that. Her friend Claire Pike had moved a long time ago, but Sophie Craine, Nina Marshall and Patsy Kuhn still lived in town. They were some of the people she was still friends with and part of the wedding.
"True, but I don't get to spend a lot of time with my sister," she mumbled.
The two girls shared a grin and broke out laughing a little at that. It was kind of hard for Andrea to admit that since she liked to think that she was on top of things. At least most of the time.
"So how's Stephen?"
Right her fiancé as Jen flushed at the mention of his name.
"He's doing good, he's running the country club now that his mom stepped down." Her fiancé's parents ran the local country club that his mom inherited. Now he was and it was nice to see him more often. "And work is good too."
"Geez I never pictured you as a doctor growing up," said Andrea rolling her eyes. "But then again you didn't go down the surgeon path mom and dad wanted you to do."
"Hey being a cardiologist is just as much work," said Jen grinning at her. "I do have to admit that this is a little awkward though. You've only been home for a week. Spill give me everything that you've been up to."
"Okay so there's this class that I wish I didn't have to take."
With that Andrea told her everything from the parties, teachers she hated and loved, and the cute boy in her class that sat next to her. She even modeled nude for one of the classes, which was not to leave this room . Which by the way her modeling career was sort of getting off the ground, but she loved the photography portion of it too. She was thinking of combining the two somehow.
They glanced at the clock to see that her parents were going to be home soon. They were being kept out by her aunt on her father's side. This was going to be a surprise when they got home. Jen had lowered the lights and Andrea light up some of the candles. The garage door opened, and they raced up the steps to change real quick.
She fingered her silk pink dress with the plunging neckline wondering if that would be appropriate. The coolness of the material felt good against her skin. Sighing she slipped it off the hanging and put it on pairing it with gold colored ballet flats and a simple gold necklace. Her curls swept into an updo. Andrea had changed into something just as nice.
"Wha?"
"What's this?"
They bound down the steps behind their parents and smiled. The look on their faces looked to be of surprise and her mother hugged both of them tight against her. It was awesome that they had surprised them.
"Happy anniversary!" shouted Andrea and Jenny group hugging their dad.
"Instead of giving you the gift of our presence," teased Andrea, "We decided to recreate your first date together."
"Including the meal," said Jen. "May I have your coats?"
They grinned and passed her their coat and Andrea showed them to their seats that they had set up. She winked at her sister and went off to the kitchen. They had some work to do to create the best anniversary dinner.
