The two went to Home Depot and Giovanna had Cam's name added to her charge card, a relatively safe way to give him autonomy in his projects. A few days went by and he got a solid idea of what he would need for each project, but given the quantity of materials he would need, he decided to purchase for one project at a time. He started out replacing the old, rotted-out wooden banisters with iron ones, not a terribly difficult job, but certainly a time-consuming one given his lack of aptitude with tools. Much to his relief, Giovanna never pressured him; he would come to see why soon enough, but she was seemingly in no rush to have him out of her house.
As time went by, Cameron found himself reverting back to his former self. Thoughts of revenge had all but left him, and in their place he found his natural charm and charisma again. He and Giovanna talked while he worked on his projects, which were starting to occupy less of his time each day. He worked during the daylight hours so as to save on electricity, but it was winter and daylight was a precious commodity. There would even be a couple of days here and there where the sky would be particularly bleak, and she would invite him to join her on the couch and just chill all day.
Thanksgiving was approaching, and Giovanna asked Cameron one day if he had any plans. "No, most of my people don't even know I'm out of jail yet," he responded with a forlorn tone.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I'll be going to visit my family in Jersey... would you..." She hesitated before continuing. "Would you like to come with me?"
"Huh?"
"Come with me, you know, as a friend."
"Ohhh, so we're friends now," he retorted sarcastically. "I thought I was just your handyman?"
Giovanna looked at him for a moment, and then giggled. "What's so funny?" he said with a chuckle of his own.
"That's the first time I've seen you smile since you've been here."
"Huh, you're right... I can't say life has given me a whole lot to smile about lately. But, given the nature of the occasion, it would only be right that I show my thanks for all the help you've given me. If you would like me to, I will go with you."
"Thank you, I would really appreciate that." She turned to go into the kitchen, but stopped short. "Can I ask you something first, though?"
He laughed. "You just did."
"I know we've gotten to know a decent amount about each other since I've been here, but do you know how old I am?"
"Do I need to?"
"Need, perhaps no, but maybe I'm a little bit out of your comfort zone."
"All right, humor me: how old are you?"
"I'm forty-four."
"And I'm twenty-seven. Does that bother you?"
"Should it?"
"You asked the question. Besides, we are just friends, right?"
Giovanna shook her head. "Exactly, we're just friends." He might not have picked up on it, but she was trying to convince herself more than him. Somehow, some way, she had started having feelings for him, and his household chores had turned into more of an excuse to keep him around. She should have been pressuring him to find a job during all the free time they spent together, but she never did because she didn't truly want him to leave.
Finally Thanksgiving Eve came, and the two drove into downtown Philadelphia to catch a train to Cherry Hill, where her relatives would pick them up. They got off the train and were greeted by two women who Cameron guessed to be Giovanna's sisters off a glance, which she confirmed when she introduced him to them. "Michelle, Carla, meet my friend Cameron. He's helping me with some things around the house."
"Ohhhhhh," Carla cooed, "you went and got yourself a maintenance man, huh?"
"Shut up," Giovanna hissed. "And you, you're supposed to defend me!" she snapped at Cameron, who was laughing right along with Michelle and Carla.
"I couldn't help it; come on, that *was* kind of funny."
The four traded banters on the drive to Giovanna's parents' house in Cape May. Cameron immediately felt at ease; if the rest of the family was as easy-going as these two were, he had no doubts that he would be able to enjoy himself.
The drive was not very long, and they were at the house within an hour. Cameron was amazed; the house was huge and located on a decent expanse of land. There were some folks in a field playing football, but the majority of the family was inside. Cameron met Kevin, Giovanna's brother, and her other sister Keisha, and all of the various spouses and children, many of whom were around his age. He learned that Giovanna was the youngest of seven, with Gloria due to arrive in town on Thanksgiving Day, and her oldest brother Jeffrey having died in Desert Storm.
Eventually Cameron came face to face with the patriarch of the family. Giovanna gave her father a hug and introduced the two of them. Very few people could keep their heads level and look Cameron in the eye, but Papa Lawson was one of them. He was 6'6", perhaps 6'7", and just plain big. Not 'fat' big, but 'built' big, like he made a living at manual labor over the years. They shook hands and Cameron felt his powerful grip, most likely a sign of who at least *he* felt the true man in his daughter's life was.
Eventually everyone came inside and sat down to eat dinner. Everyone's attention seemed to be keyed on Cameron, especially Carla. "So, maintenance man, what kind-"
"My name is Cameron," he said with more than a slight sneer.
"I'm sorry, Cameron," Carla continued, "what kind of work does my sister have you doing?"
"Just some general home repairs and upgrades... nothing too deep yet."
"Really? Any pipe work?"
The innuendo was not lost on Cam, who shot back with "Why, are you hiring too?"
A collective gasp went up around the table as the two sparring partners glared at each other. Wit was certainly not one of Cameron's weak points. "But, in order to clear everybody's collective minds, we are not sleeping together. Giovanna and I are just friends, and plan to stay that way." His last comment was made with a subtle hint of emphasis, which Giovanna quickly picked up and co-signed on.
"Well, let me ask you this, Vonni," Keisha asked, "why bring a man home to meet the family if he's 'just a friend?'"
Giovanna opened her mouth to answer, but Cameron cut her off rather brusquely: "That leads into a story I would rather not tell at the moment." Keisha insisted yet again, and Cameron was now becoming more than a little agitated. "Like I said, that is something I don't feel like talking about." With that he excused himself and went outside. Giovanna waited a few moments then followed after him, the snickers of her relatives ringing in her ears.
She found Cameron outside on the porch, and she put an arm around him. "You OK?"
"I will be." He let out a deep sigh. "I'm coming off a bad chapter in my life that I would rather close the book on. It doesn't help when people keep asking about it."
"Well, have you ever tried talking to anybody about it?"
"What the... I just said I don't *want* to talk about it," he snapped.
"I see... well, I'm never too far away if you change your mind."
