Jennifer and I finished up our evening watching TV, snuggling on our sofa, and just enjoying each other's company. I love everything little thing about my wife, from the way she talks to the way she walks, her mannerisms, and her sense of humor. She is perfect, and I would let her know it every chance I got.
We would have to travel 50 miles back to Hillsberg, the town we lived in previously, to attend early morning Mass at 9 am the following day, which was a Sunday. We would be attending the Mass with Jennifer's parents, as we did every Sunday, our move 50 miles across the state wasn't going to change that, though I was dreading the idea of having to drive the distance there and back every week. I was also raised as a Christian, but it was very casual, we didn't regularly attend Mass or anything. Jennifer's parents, however, were very religious. Mass was an important thing for them, and so it was an important thing for Jennifer too. Sunday was Mass Day; we hadn't missed a Sunday Mass in years.
Jennifer had a good balance between religion and life in general. While she practically knew every verse of the bible, due to her upbringing in a religious family, she was never overbearing with it, and it definitely didn't make her dull. She knew how to have fun, while at the same time remaining respectful of the values Christianity embedded in her. I felt it gave her a good moral guideline to go through life with, the same such morals that I carried myself.
We woke up that following morning to my alarm clock, it was 6:30 am. Waking up earlier than necessary would give us enough time to have a nice breakfast, get dressed, prepare ourselves for the day ahead, and not be in too much of a rush. I slept like a baby again last night.
Shutting off the alarm clock, I rolled over on the bed and grabbed Jennifer, squeezing her.
"Good morning, beautiful," I smiled.
"Arrrhnnn", she let out a deep yawn, and had a big stretch, before smiling back, "good morning, hon."
I sat up on the side of the bed and slipped my feet into a pair of slippers that I wore around the house, turning my neck to look at Jennifer, "pancakes?"
She was already scrolling through her phone by the time I looked back at her, sitting upright against the headboard of our bed, "Mhmm, with honey, bananas, and strawberries pleaseee," she chirped back in response.
I headed downstairs and into the kitchen, still waking up as I got to work making our breakfast.
Around 15 minutes later, Jennifer joined me in the kitchen. Just as I was dishing out our breakfast and setting it on the table, she took a seat, as did I, and I poured each of us a cup of coffee.
"Looks great, thank you, hon," she said.
"You're welcome, babe." I sighed and continued, "Not looking forward to this two-way 50-mile trip."
"I know, but it's got to be done, it is Sunday tradition after all," she said, tucking into her pancakes with a knife and fork.
"I suppose", I agreed, it was Sunday tradition after all.
We both sat at the kitchen table eating our breakfasts, Jennifer was scrolling through her phone, and I was reading the local newspaper, getting some more insight into the area of Kingstown, the town we had moved to. On the front page, there was a story about a cat that got stuck up a tree, with a picture of three firemen standing around, one of them holding the cat that got rescued. When a story like that makes the front page of the newspaper, it's a safe bet to say it's a peaceful area.
I was finishing up my breakfast when I remembered that I forgot to mention to Jennifer about that man Harold that approached me yesterday. "Oh, Babe, I forgot to mention it, did you meet a neighbor of ours named Harold from across the way yet?"
She looked from her phone screen to me, "Harold? No, doesn't ring a bell, how come?"
I continued, "He approached me yesterday when I was in our driveway, he was really on edge, he was saying to me about how he used to be married to..."
***Baby, baby, baby, ohh, like baby, baby, baby***
That was the ringtone to Jennifer's phone, it always made me laugh, "When are you going to change that?" I chuckled. It was the lyrics of a famous song by a pop star a few years back.
She laughed too, jesting, "Oh, whatever! You looove it." as she looked back down at her phone, "It's mom." she said, and answered her phone.
"Hey, mom. Yeah, we just got breakfast, just about to get dressed then we'll be on our way. We won't be late, we'll be there on time." she looked at me, shaking her head and playfully rolling her eyes, as her mom seemed to be lecturing her about Mass punctuality. "There is no traffic on a Sunday. Ok, mom, I love you too, see you at Mass. I will."
She hung up and looked at me, "Mom says you have to be careful driving us to Mass, mister."
I laughed, "Sounds like Claudia!"
Jennifer's mother, Claudia, is a very religious woman, I don't think I've even once heard her say a cuss word. She dresses very elegantly, and always looks her best. Although in her fifties now, she could easily pass for a woman in her early forties. She has auburn hair too, like Jennifer, and although she never shows it off, it's evident she keeps her body in shape. Jennifer definitely got her good looks from Claudia, because her father isn't the most handsome man in the world, to put it politely.
George Stevens, Jennifer's father, is short in stature and has a bit of a belly on him. While not physically gifted, nor very handsome, he is very book smart, and he's a good honest man. Every time we go over to their house, he's in their basement engaging in his hobby of 'Model Building', Model Building is an activity that involves making scaled-down model versions of aircraft, ships, or anything really. He's fascinated with World War II, so most of the stuff he creates are models from that era. He's a patriot, and he loves his country, you only needed to see the flagpole with an American flag on their lawn to know that.
Getting dressed, I wore some nice tan checked trousers, with a belt, a beige shirt, and a brown leather pair of shoes. "Think I'll need a sweater too?"
Jennifer shook her head, looking at me in the mirror of her vanity, as she sat there doing her makeup. "I don't think so, it's going to be really hot again today."
Jennifer always looked beautiful for Church, she had her hair up in a French Twist and was wearing an elegant blue and white, flower-patterned frill dress, that came down to about knee length, complimented with a shallow pair of white heels.
"You ready, babe? We should probably get going, if we're late your mother will disown us." I joked.
"Uhuh, let's get going." Jennifer said, grabbing her purse, and we headed out the door.
