Chapter 17 – Family Dinner
October 9, 2039
"Hello Kate. How are you and Carina? How's school going?" Jane asked after she pushed accept on her tablet as she saw Kate's face appear. She loved being able to facetime with her family members, especially with Kate as she was at school in Paris for so long.
"Ma, we are fine, school's great. Carina is loving her courses that she is taking. She is so happy she decided to go ahead and take some cooking classes while I am busy with my classes. She just signed up for an art class also. Hey, I called because we have a little wager going on and would like to know how many pairs of shoes Mom took on your five-day four-night trip to Toronto? So can you spill?" Kate and Carina were very competitive with one another and they couldn't pass up the opportunity to wager on this.
"What do you win if you are right?" Jane was curious to see what Kate might say. She had a feeling it was something of a sexual nature knowing her daughter. She is so much like herself in that regard. Matter of fact, she always thought of Kate as her mini-me. Even Kate's girlfriend was blonde, intelligent, beautiful and voluptuous like Maura. Their tastes in women were so similar.
"Ma, I am so not going to tell you what the winner will get." Kate was a little embarrassed. She didn't want her ma to know what she had wagered. She figured she knew her mom well enough to guess how many pairs of shoes she would take on an almost week-long trip.
"Oh, no you have to spill or I won't tell you what you want to know." Jane was adamant. She wanted to know what the wager was.
"Ma, please just answer the question." Kate tried her best puppy dog eyes on her Ma. Jane wasn't falling for it thought so she had to try harder. "Ma, it is personal, I would rather not tell you."
Jane thought about it for a minute and then said, "How many pairs of shoes do you think she took?"
"I say she took at least three pairs of heels and three pairs of some sort of flats, maybe boots or running shoes."
"What did Carina say?" Jane asked, knowing that Carina liked to wear heels as much as Maura did.
"Carina, thought she would take at least three pairs of heels and one pair of hiking boots, and one pair of runners."
"Wow, Carina is a little more descriptive in her selection of shoes. Well, she did bring three pairs of heels, two pairs of boots and two pairs of running shoes. So does that mean you are both right?"
"Well, I don't know, I must discuss this with Carina. I think we are both right because both of us … well, on the other hand we are both wrong also as Mom brought more than either of us predicted. I guess it might be a tie."
"Did you plan an alternative reward for a tie?" Jane questioned her youngest child.
"No, I hadn't thought about that." Kate admitted. Now seeing how an alternate reward should have been agreed upon before she called her ma to find out the result.
"Well mini-me, you must always think of all of the outcomes. In this case your mom exceeded both of your expectations so in my humble opinion you can both claim a victory." Kate smiled at that. She just might have to convince Carina of that fact so they both can be victorious and claim their reward. Kate let a huge smile appear on her face at that thought.
"Thanks, ma." Kate said as she gave her ma an air kiss and hug.
"You're welcome, Kate. Wait, so aren't you going to tell me what you wagered?" Jane inquired.
"No way, ma. Just think about what you would've wagered and that is probably what I wagered. I gotta go. Tell mom I love and miss her." And with that Kate hung up leaving Jane with a questioning look on her face. Jane thought to herself what would she have wagered. Then Jane smiled thinking of something she would have wanted Maura to do in the bedroom for her enjoyment and figured her mini-me might have wagered the same thing. When Maura entered the room a few minutes later Jane still had a shit eating grin on her face.
"What are you thinking about Jane that has put such a huge smile on your face?" Maura was curious as Jane was deep in thought and that look on her face, she knew it had to be something that Jane thought was pleasurable. Knowing her wife it was probably something of a sexual nature. Even after all these years they enjoyed a very active sex life and Maura loved that.
"Come to the bedroom with me and I will show you." Maura just smiled and followed Jane to the bedroom where Jane proceeded to show her over and over for the next few hours. At times like this Maura loved being retired. They could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, and this was a very enjoyable activity that she had just participated in with her wife. She would have to remember that look on Jane's face and see what she could do to bring that look about more often.
Maura had set an alarm as it was Sunday and they would be having Rizzoli Family dinner later that day. Angela was probably well into things already. Chrissy and Anna had taken to assisting Angela as Angela was not able to stand for long periods of time but she still wanted the family to get together whenever they could, especially on Sundays for dinner. The young Rizzoli-Isles women loved the kitchen at the Isles' house and Constance's chef loved cooking with them.
Constance and Arthur loved having the kitchen so alive almost every Sunday. They had told their chef that he could have the weekends off but he loved the family cooking adventures too much, so he came back every Sunday afternoon to participate in the cooking. He also loved that they let him participate. His family wasn't into cooking so to work with young family members that loved to cook was enjoyable. His children were all grown and didn't come by that often. His wife had passed away years ago so he enjoyed his time with the Rizzoli and Isles family.
Jane and Maura were just happy that the family didn't gather at their house anymore for Rizzoli Family dinner. They had hosted the dinners for years and they were enjoying having the house to themselves. They missed their children but they got to see whoever was in town every Sunday that they were in town.
With MJ and AJ living in the Boston area they got to see them and their wives almost every Sunday. Lilly tried to make it to Boston whenever she could but her life in New York City was fast paced and she would face time right before dinner to say hello to everybody if she wasn't able to make it. The flight to Boston from New York wasn't long but she couldn't make it every weekend. She tried at least once a month to make it for dinner.
Kate and Carina were busy with school in Paris so they tried to face time also, but with the time difference it was a little difficult sometimes. The family had to settle for a voice message some weekends.
Around dinner time Maura always thought about her girls. Her recent thoughts lent towards when they might get married. Both of them were in loving committed relationships. She and Jane really liked their significant others. They both called and sent pictures frequently but it wasn't the same as having them at home.
Maura was sitting on the couch with a sad expression on her face when Jane spotted her. "Hey, what's with the sad face. We are going to see our family soon, you should be happy."
"I know, I just miss our children living here with us. They grew up so fast. I was fine until Kate moved out. Now it is just so different around here. I mean I love the time we spend together, especially like what we did a little while ago." Maura's face lit up with a huge smile.
"Yeah, that was nice. I enjoyed that also. But we knew the children would grow up and move out and have their own lives. We planned for that and we said we would travel and see the world together and visit with them whenever possible. That is what we are doing. We just spent weeks with Kate and Carina in Paris a few months ago. We see MJ and AJ and their wives almost every Sunday and we see Lilly at least once a month sometimes more. You should be proud of our kids. I know I am. Sure I miss them but they are grown up now and they still want to spend time with us and that says something. I know lots of people that hardly hear from their children after they fly the coop."
Maura tightened her grip around Jane and just nestled into her. "Yes, I am proud of all four of our children. We raised four outstanding children."
"Yes, we did, so let's go visit with at least two of them." Jane said as she leaned over and gave Maura a kiss on the crown of her head.
"Okay, that sounds great." Maura replied as Jane stood up and held out her hand for Maura so she could help her up. Jane drove them over to the Isles' house where they joined in the excitement of the afternoon.
About half an hour after they arrived, Frankie and Nina arrived followed shortly by Tommy, TJ and Alessandra. Chloe was working and would join them later. Once dinner at her restaurant was in full swing, she would leave and go to the Isles' house to join her family.
Sundays at the Isles' house were always a huge family meal and fellowship and Constance and Arthur have always loved being included in the festivities. Since their reconnection with their daughter, they have lived a better life. They had enjoyed their travels and work during the first thirty years of her life but since Jane confronted Constance their life had improved drastically.
The main topic of conversation for this Sunday was Jane and Maura's recent trip to Toronto. Nina sat beside Jane and Maura and quietly asked, "So did you knock another item off of your goal list?"
"Well of course we did." Jane proudly exclaimed.
Nina winked at Jane and then reached out for Maura's hand and asked, "Maura, did Jane at least let you see some of the items on your list?"
"Yes, we spent time at Niagara Falls and saw the falls as well as the museum and the aquarium. We also saw the CN Tower as well as three Red Sox games, so I would say we both got to cross some things off of our lists. We also met a nice couple that were Red Sox fans that sat by us at the game and were camped near us in the campground. Jane made sure that we had s'mores."
"Sounds like you had a great little road trip." Nina added.
"We did, the RV handles nice and Jane is a pro at driving it now."
"So, you had room for all your shoes in the RV?" Nina smirked at Maura as she asked.
"Well, my shoes didn't travel in the RV, they traveled in the back of the Jeep in their boxes."
"Oh, was the RV all full already?" Nina asked curiously.
"No, I just didn't want to have to remember which pair I put where so I put them all together in the back of the Jeep. They were in their plastic shoe boxes so they were protected." Maura acknowledged.
"How many pairs of shoes did you take?" Nina asked.
Jane answered, "I had this conversation with Kate earlier today. She took three pairs of heels, two pairs of boots and two pairs of running shoes. As for me, I took no heels, and one pair of boots and one pair of running shoes."
Maura was curious, "Why were you discussing how many shoes I brought with Kate?"
"Oh, Kate facetimed me earlier and she and Carina had a wager on how many shoes you brought. She told me to tell you that she loves and misses you and that she will not be available to facetime with everybody tonight."
Nina was curious now, "Jane, what did you wear when you enjoyed the nightlife in Toronto?"
"I had a nice pant suit and was able to wear my boots."
"We took quite a few pictures which we will be showing some of them after dinner." Maura told her. "Jane shot some videos but we haven't had a chance to edit them yet."
Nina responded, "It sounds like you guys had a nice time and I am sure Jane was stoked to see three Red Sox away games and start working on that goal."
"Yes, she was. She is really looking forward to seeing each stadium that the Red Sox play their away games at." Maura replied.
Angela interrupted their conversation to announce that dinner was ready. They got up and went to dish up the dinner. They long ago had gone to a buffet style of dinner and there were multiple tables set up throughout the living room and dining room areas. The three Rizzoli children always sat together unless Tommy or Frankie bounced themselves to the children's table. It became a joke for a while before Tommy and Chloe got married because Tommy always put himself at the children's table. Jane only sat at the table before she started bringing Maura to the weekly dinner.
Angela, Chrissy and Anna cooked enough food for an army. They had lasagna, chicken parmigiana, gnocchi, spaghetti and meatballs. Chloe had made a few pans of her mac and cheese for the children. They also made cannolis. Angela took great pride in her granddaughters taking an interest in the family recipes like the previous generation of wives had. In the earlier years, Maura and Nina always cooked with Angela while Jane and Frankie watch sports with Tommy.
Gen and Steve arrived right after dinner had started. Jane knew they were coming so she saved seats for them. Gen brought some wine with her so they immediately opened it up and poured it while they were greeting everybody. Jane had told her that they would be sharing their photos from their Toronto trip so she wanted to be there to see the photos. Maura took beautiful pictures and Gen was always amazed when she viewed the pictures that she had taken.
Maura had taken over one hundred pictures everyday so she had to pick her favorite pictures. She selected about fifty pictures to share with the family. It had only taken her and Jane about two hours to put them into a slide show to share.
Dinner was a joyous event. You could feel the love in the room through the laughter. The stories were shared of workdays and school events of the past weeks. The children were anxious for dessert. They all loved Angela's cannolis.
While the dinner mess was cleaned up, Jane set up the slideshow so it could be shown on the TV. Frost had shown Jane how to set things up years ago and Jane after a few attempts finally felt comfortable setting things up by herself. Frost and Susie were not able to make it tonight as they had other plans. They would share the photos at a later time with them.
Everyone gathered around and for the next hour Jane and Maura shared pictures and stories of their trip. They were both laughing and having a great time. Jane only paused the slideshow once, when a picture from their boat ride appeared of Maura getting drench by water at the falls. Maura had no idea that Jane had this picture.
They had just left the inside portion of the boat as they wanted to get some pictures of the waterfall. Right as they opened the door to go outside Maura was the first to step out as Jane was holding the door for her, the water splashed up into the boat. Jane had her video camera filming and she was facing the falls and Maura had been soaked as the water hit her. Jane barely got any water on her as she was being blocked by Maura. The look on Maura's face was priceless as she turned to face Jane. Jane had captured the photo from the video and inserted the picture without Maura's knowledge.
The family loved hearing their antics about their trip. Before Gen could even say it, Jane looked over at her and said, "I know you want to experience this and Maura and I have talked about it and we would love to complete this trip again with you and Steve. So just retire already so we don't have to take trips without you and then have to listen to you whine about how you want to do that."
"Hey, don't rush her retirement, I want to do a few things before I take over for her." Nina stated.
"Your free time is going to be limited once you take over for Gen." Jane replied.
"I will still try and be here every Sunday for family dinner, especially when you guys are in town." Nina said as the family conversed for a little while and then said their goodnights to each other and headed their separate ways.
Maura grabbed Jane's hand and started to leave the house telling Jane, "So, I think we need to talk about you inserting embarrassing pictures of me like that into our slideshow."
When they reached the car Jane, "What it wasn't that embarrassing. I thought you looked rather cool in that picture."
Jane opened Maura's door for her and as she sat down, she said, "Yes, because the water was very cold Jane."
Jane laughed as she ran around to the driver's side of the vehicle and entered. "I won't do that again babe, I promise." Jane looked at Maura with a devilish smile, "Does that mean I am in the dog house? If so, what is my punishment?"
"Oh Jane, I guess you will just have to wait and see." Jane couldn't drive home fast enough she wanted to see what Maura had in store for her as punishment. Maura just shook her head, Jane really was so child-like at times but she loved that about her. She would never be bored with Jane around.