Taking Chances (5 page)

They were at the sea lion exhibit and some obnoxious people causing a ruckus. That had gotten her nervous. Then when they walked further to see the penguins (which he knew she loved from the many stuffed penguins she had in her home) while she was enjoying watching the beautiful birds some kids where there and they were just too loud and there was too much of a crowd.  She started shivering, her heart was racing and she was looking everywhere but at the birds.  Tyler who had been holding her hand the whole time and felt her stiffen.  He squeezed her hand and led her to the zoo exit.  

Thinking now how she apologized and Tyler just held her face in his strong hand and kissed her lightly told her not to worry.  His only concern was her feeling safe.  He was so good to her that made her feel safe which was a huge thing for her.

Even though Tyler told her he didn’t expect her to go on cleaning his home Jenna was in his apartment today, she cleaned real quick then headed to the kitchen.  She had learned from Dean that he loved Greek food.  So tonight she was making him a classic Greek salad with some spanakopita and thought they could spend a nice quiet night in and watch a movie.  She heard the front door open and was shocked to not see Tyler.  Wiping her hands she walked into the living room.

There was an older couple and a younger couple.  The older woman walked up to Jenna and handed her coat to her.  

“You must be the new housekeeper Tyler is raving about.  I’m Mrs. Johnson dear.  This is my husband Alfred and over there is my son Bryan and his wife Veronica.  Would you please let Tyler know we are here, thank you dear?”

“Umm yes ma’am.  My name is Jenna and Tyler isn’t here right now, he had a late meeting at work and should be here any moment.”  She took the pile of jackets she was now in possession of and took them to the closet and hung them up.

Smiling at the group of people she went into the kitchen to finish cooking when Bryan stopped her.  “I’ll have a cup of coffee, and my wife will have some sparkling water, mother is there something you would like?”

“You know I always have the same thing dear.  We will have some tea Jenna thank you.”  The group started a conversation and shut Jenna out.

A bit shaken by the abruptness of how they just treated her Jenna made her way to the kitchen.  She made a pot of coffee and another of tea and put a slice of lemon in the sparkling water.  Finding a tray in one cabinet she put everything she needed on it and carried it out.

 Tyler walked in just as she was serv
ing his family.
Shocked to see his family and even more so to see Jenna serving him Tyler walked in and looked around.

“Hello mother, father.  What a surprise to see you here I didn’t know you were in town.  Bryan, Veronica I didn’t even know you were in the country.”  Kissing his mother and Veronica on the cheek he shook the hand of his brother and father.   

He walked over to Jenna and took the now empty tray from her hands.  Placing his arm protectively around her waist and holding her securely at his side.

“Mother I believe I told you about Jenna last time we talked.”  Placing a quick kiss on her temple he led her to the other couch in the room and sat next to her, his hand on her knee.

Smiling uncomfortably Julia Johnson looked at her son, “Why yes you did Ty, you mentioned her”

Jenna felt as if she was being scrutinized by everyone in the room.  She felt her heart start to race.  Standing up she headed for the kitchen.

 “I am going to check on dinner.  It’s lucky I made extra now that the whole family is here.  I will just set the table and then be on my way so you can all catch up; I mean you must have a lot to talk about if you made a trip all the way from London.”  Laughing nervously she disappeared to the safety of the kitchen; she grabbed the extra ingredients and made the salad larger.  She busied herself gathering plates and silverware and getting the table in the dining room set for five.

Back in the living room Tyler confronted his family.  “I know I have told all of you how I feel about Jenna.  That she isn’t a housekeeper anymore.  She is someone very special to me.”  Standing he walked over to his mother.  “Don’t make that face mother she is a good person she is kind and generous and funny and everything I want for myself.”

Jenna was just about to head into the living room when she heard Tyler’s brother add his two cents to the conversation.  “Tyler if you want to have fun with that woman than go ahead, but come on man isn’t it time you settled down?  You need to find yourself a woman who can be part of our family.”  Placing his hand on his wife’s knee Bryan smiled as his mother took over.

“Ty, darling she has colored hair and I saw a tattoo.  Not to mention the fact that she is the hired help.  This Jenna girl may be fun for now but she is not one of us.  Could you imagine taking her to a gathering with our friends, the poor girl would just stand out like a sore thumb, and how would you take her around colleagues
?
 Alfred don’t you have anything to add about your son wasting his life on this girl and others like her.”  Looking at the older man and waiting for him to answer Julia took a sip of her tea.

“I think you need to back off the boy Julia dear.  Tyler i
s a bright and independent man. I like her so far she looks like someone who could add some color and fun to this family. But aren’t we getting a little ahead of ourselves? He hasn’t mentioned marriage and it has only a short while stop pushing the boy Julia.
We have known for a long time he is not like his brother he is not like you.  He could care less what people think of him.  You have thrown all the “appropriate” women you know at him and he doesn’t care for one of them.  Leave the boy alone.”

Making a face of displeasure Julia turned to Tyler.  “Well I don’t think it’s right.  What will people think?  I mean what will I say?  My son is dating the maid?  How horrible.”

Hurt by what she has heard Jenna gathers her things and heads into the living room.  Putting her hand on Tyler’s arm and giving him a weak kiss on the cheek.

“I have to be going, I’m sure you all have so much to talk about since you made such long trips here to see Ty.  I have put dinner on the table for everyone and I hope you enjoy.”  Jenna headed for the door she didn’t even stop when Tyler calls her name.  Seeing the pain and fear in her eyes and tries to go after her but his brother stops him.

“Come Tyler we have a lot to talk about. “  Taking his wife’s hand the man leads everyone to the dining room.

Tyler stared at the closed door torn between going after her or
confronting his family on their behavior. Grabbing his cell phone out of his pocket he texted her that he would be at her house later and to not pay attention to the comments of his family. Pocketing his phone he marched into the dining room.

“I do not appreciate the way you treated Jenna! You know damn well what I have told you about her and how I have said I feel about her.”
Standing behind his chair while his family sat around the table.

“Now Tyler don’t be so upset.
I’m simply telling you how it is. The girl is odd, not the kind of person you would take to a dinner party with our friends. She has tattoos and pink highlights in her hair. I mean could you imagine taking her to the opera or a show how about the yearly fundraising gala at the museum? I know how you think you feel about this girl but you need to stop it son. You need to settle
down and stop your daredevil live or the moment kind of life.” Julia Johnson looked around the table and noticed her son shaking his head in agreement and his wife sitting quietly at his side.

Alfred Johnson added his opinion to this conversation. “Tyler sit
down and join us for this nice dinner the dear girl fixed. While we eat you will tell us all about her. I think your mother is being a snob.” Placing his hand on his wife’s hand on the table he patted it. “Dear you have to stop this. You helped Bryan and Veronica find each other and it worked out fine, but you know very well that Tyler is not like Bryan. Ty is independent he is strong and he is wise enough to make his own life choices.”

Tyler smiled at his father and sat down at the table, looking around he noted that Jenna had put the work in and made one of his favorite Greek dishes. While they ate he told his family all about how he met Jenna. He touched a little on the tragedy in her life. How her parents had perished in a car accident when she was small, how she had to spend time in foster care until she met her aunt. Tyler told them about Emma and her studies in cooking he even mentioned the beautiful café.

Looking his mother square in the eyes he told her with a tone that challenged her to go against him. “Tomorrow I will take you all to the café and we can all sit and get to know one another.”

The meal continued pleasantly and later after his family left to stay at the hotel Tyler grabbed his coat and headed over to Jenna’s house.

Chapter seven

The whole way home Jenna’s mind raced.
Her mind was: berating her for
believing things with Tyler would be easy, laughing at her for believing he could fall for a girl with her baggage and yelling at her because she can’t do anything right. These thoughts racing through her mind brought on a full on panic attack. She was sure everyone on the bus was looking at her, staring at her and judging her. The bus stopped at the top of her block and she hurried off. Her heart was pounding so hard it was going to break out of her chest. There was a dizziness that was making her sway a bit on her feet and she knew she had to get home before something terrible happened.

Going in her front door she slammed the door shut and locked it, Oscar ran up to greet her and she slid to the floor leaning on the door. Holding the little dog close Jenna just sat there staring into space. This was terrible she hadn’t felt this way since Emma died. After who knows how long Jenna got up taking off her coat and tossing it aside. She walked into the living room she couldn’t even think, it was as if she were in a deep fog and nothing was getting through. She thought she heard a knocking sound but she just ignored it and sat on the couch hugging her knees and staring into nothingness.

Tyler knocked for about five minutes. He knew Jenna was in there he saw the lights on and heard Oscar barking from the living room instead of at the door like he does when nobody is there with him. After waiting and not getting an answer he went next door to Sara’s and hoped she had a key to get into Jenna’s home.

“Hey Ty what’s up?” Sara held open her door so he could come in.

“My family is in town. They dropped by unannounced and.” Running his hand through his hair and sighing he continued. “You know them I love them but god my mom and brother are snobs. They weren’t awful but they weren’t the nicest, and with the way Jenna’s mind works and her own doubts I’m
just afraid they scared her off. I tried knocking but she isn’t answering the door.”

Sara cringed at the thought of an unprepared Jenna facing off against his family. Ty’s dad was awesome and everyone loved him but his mom and brother thought nobody was good enough for their family. Getting the spare key Jenna gave her out of the bas
ket on the table by the front door and handed them to him.

“Be careful Ty, if she is having a panic attack she’s very fragile right now.” Watching her friend leave she hoped he could fix this. Jenna’s mind had a way of making her think things are worse than they were.

~~~~

“Jenna? Baby
are
you in here?” Walking into Jenna’s home Tyler saw her jacket thrown and her bag in the middle of the floor. Turning to the right he found her in the living room sitting on the couch hugging her knees
to her chest with her chin resting on them. He walked over and dropped to his knees in front of her. “Baby look at me, are you ok hun
?”
Placing his hand on her cheek and caressing her with his thumb he moved to sit next to her.

Gathering her in his arms he kissed the top of her head. “Don’t let my mother freak you out.
She’s a handful but she means well.
She just doesn’t know you. Once she sees what a
beautiful
caring person you are she will love you. As far as Bryan and Veronica are concerned they just care a little too much
what others think. They are nice people, especially Veronica she is so sweet.” He made her look at him and he saw her eyes start to focus in on him.

“What if she’s right Tyler?
What if colleagues look at me and think you can do better what if they think the “bad choices” of your personal live will roll over into your business decisions.
”
She
sobbed a little and wiped a tear from her eye.

“Don’t think that way Jenna. She was just trying to rattle you. I told her how I feel about you and her old snobby ways just always shine through. She really isn’t that bad she is just stuck in her ways.” Kissing her head again he rubbed his hand reassuringly up and down her arm.

“My grandmother was a very stern woman who believed having money means you need
to be respected and revered. Some of that rubbed off on my mom, dad pulls her down off her high horse when she gets
too
bad though.” Laughing as he thought of how his dad was the only person who could tell his mom to shut up and be nice.