Danielle grabbed two bottles of water from her fridge and then walked over to the kitchen table and joined Brian. She handed him the bottle of water and sat down in the chair across from him. They were silent for a moment before Brian spoke.
"So, what does Richard do?" He asked. Danielle was reluctant to answer at first because the last person she wanted to talk about with Brian was Richard. After a moment she finally answered. "He's a psychiatrist." Brian rose his eyebrows. "Psychiatrist, huh? He must be what then...30, 31?" Danielle shook her head. "29. Why do you want to know all this?" Brian shrugged his shoulders. Danielle just figured he was trying to make conversation but she quickly changed the subject.
"You said you're staying with your parents for the next few weeks?" She asked. Brian nodded. "Yeah. I miss them both so much. I'm so glad to be able to spend all this time with them. I've missed my mom's cooking so much. Man, can she cook." Danielle smiled at him as he talked about his family. "You should come over for dinner some time this week." Brian told her. Danielle shook her head. "Oh, I wouldn't want to impose or anything." "What? No way would you be imposing. My mom loves company. She would love to have you, believe me." Danielle bit her lip as she thought over the invitation. "Well, how about you ask your mom first and get back to me." Brian nodded. "Okay, sounds good."
Brian stood, holding his bottle of water. "Well I should be heading home. It's getting late and tomorrow is a school day for you. You wouldn't want to show up to class all tired. What example will that set for those students." Brian said pointing his finger at her. Danielle smiled and stood with him. "Yeah. I had a lot of fun with you today Brian." Brian smiled. "Me too. I'll call you about this dinner thing. I know she will say yes though so leave a few days open." "Okay." Danielle said as she walked him to the door. Brian said good-bye and walked out the door.
The scent of pancakes hit Brian's nose and quickly woke him up. He smiled remembering how he used to love waking up to that smell. His mom made the best pancakes in the world and he would bet his life on that fact. He sat up slowly and got out of bed. He made a quick stop to the bathroom and then headed down to the kitchen. His mother stood at the stove and his father, Harold, sat at the table reading the newspaper and drinking coffee. It was a familiar scene to him. Brian sat down in the seat next to his father.
Harold put the newspaper on the table and smiled at his son. "Morning Brian." Brian smiled as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Good morning dad." Jackie walked over to Brian and gave him a quick kiss. "Sleep well honey?" She asked as she walked back over to the stove. "Of course. Pancakes ready yet?" He asked. Jackie nodded and walked over to the table. She set a plate of pancakes infront of him. "Just in time." Brian smiled widely as he looked at the golden hot cakes infront of him. He forgot how much he loved being home. Jackie sat down across from Brian. "Nick called earlier. I decided to let you sleep and told him you'd call him later." Brian nodded. "Okay. Thanks."
Brian hungrily shoved the pancackes in his mouth. Harold laughed. "Calm down. You'll choke." Brian swallowed then smiled. "I just really love mom's pancakes." "I know you do and thank you." Jackie said happily. Brian ate silently for a few minutes then Jackie asked, "So, how is Danielle?" Brian smiled. He had been talking about her a little with his mom. "Good. We had a lot of fun yesterday playing basketball." "It's good to meet up with old friends." She told him Brian nodded in agreement.
"Why don't you ask her out? The way you talk about her..." Brian interupted his mother. "I told you mom. She has a boyfriend. Besides, even if she didn't I don't think I would. She's my friend. I'm leaving soon anyway." Jackie sighed. "Well I still want to meet her." Brian smiled. "Speaking of that, do you think she could come over for dinner sometime?" Jackie nodded. "Of course. How about Thursday?" "Sounds good. I'll tell her." Brian said as he stood. "I guess I'll go call Nick back." Brian started to leave the kitchen then turned back to his mother. "And again, mom, the pancakes were great."
