Later, she was awakened by Leslie, who gently shook her shoulder. "It's time for dinner, love," he told her.
"It is?" She yawned and stretched. "For how long was I asleep?"
"A couple of hours," Leslie replied. "I would have let you sleep, except that my brother Clive and his wife Beatrice are here, and they're keen on meeting you."
"You have another brother besides Nigel? I didn't know that!"
Leslie smiled. "Two of them, actually. Clive is my older brother, and Trevor's a bit younger than Nigel. I have a younger sister as well, Nicola. She's at uni now."
"Uni?"
"University. She comes home every weekend."
Janet followed her new husband to the dining room, where the rest of the family were already seated around the table. Leslie made all the introductions. Clive had the same color hair Leslie had, but it was thinning at the sides, and Beatrice was very pretty, with curly dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. Their four-year-old son, Oliver, had light brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles.
"Your son is adorable," Janet said to Clive and Beatrice.
"Thank you." Beatrice smiled. Her teeth looked perfect. "We hope to give him a little brother or sister soon."
"I love babies." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Janet glanced at Leslie and was relieved to see that he was deep in conversation with his brother.
"So do I," Beatrice replied. "So how did you and Leslie meet?"
"He moved into my apartment building. One day, my room mate Terri dropped a pair of panties in the laundromat, and he brought them back to her."
Beatrice laughed. "I was so glad to hear he'd finally settled down. He was quite the lady's man before he left for America. I remember there was this one girl, Louisa, he fancied several years ago. She tried to trick him into marrying her, but it didn't work."
Clive, Beatrice, and Oliver stayed for an hour or so after the meal, and by the time they left, it was almost bedtime. "I still feel wide awake," Janet told her husband. "After that long nap I took before dinner, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight or not."
Leslie laughed. "That happens to me every time I fly over the Atlantic. Don't worry. It'll sort itself out soon."
That night, she tried to make herself sleepy by sitting up in bed reading, and after several hours, it finally worked. She didn't get up until almost noon the following day. Alarmed, she brushed her teeth and dressed in casual beige slacks and a maroon blouse, then went into the living room, where she saw that Leslie and his father were sitting together on the sofa.
Leslie looked up and smiled at his wife. "Good morning, sleepyhead. I thought perhaps we could take a walk to the park today, if you'd like."
"That sounds great!" Janet replied.
As they arrived in Bishop's Park, Janet was awed by its beauty. A winding path bordered by various types of shrubs lined the river, over which hanging vines that were clinging to trees were draped.
"It's just like a picture out of a book!" she exclaimed.
Once inside the rose garden, she was so enthralled she lost all sense of time until she heard Leslie's laughter. "There's lots more to see, you know," he reminded her.
They were walking along beside the Thames when Janet heard her stomach growl. Leslie laughed. "That's right. You didn't have any breakfast, did you? We'll go somewhere in a bit."
When they were done at the park, he took her to Burger King, where he bought hamburgers, fries, and soft drinks for them both. While they were eating, he excused himself to go to the restroom, and a few seconds later, a couple of young women with a boy of about two or three entered the restaurant. The child bore such a strong resemblance to Leslie that Janet had to gasp.
The toddler ran right up to her and stared at her food. "Want a french fry?" She handed him one, and he took it, grinning as he did so.
"Jeremy, you naughty boy! Come here this instant!" scolded one of the women, a petite brunette.
"Come on, Louisa," the other woman said to her. Janet almost choked on a bite of hamburger. Louisa took her son's hand, and the three of them walked away. A few seconds later, Leslie returned from the restroom and slid into the seat opposite his wife.
"What's wrong, love?" he asked. "You look as if you've just seen a ghost!"
"I just met your son!" she blurted out.
