Chapter 26

The front door opened and a man hurried out. "Larry, you bugger, you don't come around enough." He said as he came up to them. They grasped hands and pulled each other close. They patted each other on the back.

They separated. "Jake this is my girlfriend, Rebecca. Rebecca, this is Jake."

"Nice to meet you." Rebecca said as she held out her hand.

Jake pulled her into an embrace and hugged her for a moment. "I'm a hugger. I'm glad Larry finally found someone that can stand him."

Larry playfully punched Jake in the arm. "Hey, where's your better half?"

"She's in the house." Jake said. He put his arm around Larry's and Rebecca's shoulders. They walked up to the house. "I am so glad you could visit." He said as they went into the house. He let them go when they got inside.

Larry took the Rebecca's hand and led her into the house. They followed Jake back to the kitchen. "Hi Jamie," Larry said.

"It's about time you came to visit."

"Jamie, this is my girlfriend Rebecca. Rebecca, this is Jake's better half, Jamie."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too. Make yourselves comfortable."

"We can go out back. What are you drinking?" Jake said to Larry.

"Some iced tea would be nice," Larry said. "It's a little too early for anything else."

"It's five o'clock somewhere." Jake said.

"But not here." Jamie said. "You men go outside," she said. "Let us women talk."

"You heard the boss." Jake said then kissed his wife on the cheek.

Larry kissed Rebecca on the cheek. "Relax." He whispered in her ear. He followed Jake out the back door.

"Can I help with anything?" Rebecca asked.

"No. You are our guest." Jamie said. "So, where did you two meets?"

"We first met at the diner, then again at the hospital."

"I hope it wasn't serious."

"Actually it was, but I made it through it and ended up falling for Larry."

"That's great. Larry is a good guy except for not taking time off."

"I'm working on that."

"Good. He works too much."

"I know, but hopefully I can get him to slow down." Rebecca said as she sat down at the counter. "How long have you known Larry?"

"We all went to high school together." Jamie said.

"So, you've known him for a long time, then."

"I knew of him in high school, but it wasn't until a few years ago that we got to know each other more. That's when me and Jake got together."

"Oh. I've only known him for a couple of weeks," Rebecca said.

"I don't know much about him, but what I do know is that he's a good man."

"He doesn't let much show through. He's done so much for me. I want to do something for him, but he can buy anything he wants."

"Even though Larry has money, he's actually a pretty simple person. It's the little things that mean the most."

"Thanks," Rebecca said. "Are you sure you don't want any help? You are going through all this trouble for us."

"This isn't much trouble and I would do more if he would have given me more time." Jamie said. "He helped me when I needed it. I cook for him because I know he doesn't get a lot of home cooking. Do you cook?"

"I can cook, but my desserts are better."

"Well, that's something you can do for him."

"Thanks. I will keep that in mind."

"Do you make your desserts from scratch?"

"Yes and some of them I don't need a recipe."

"I don't bake much, but if you want to look, you can use what I have."

"I wouldn't want to mess up your kitchen."

"I don't mind. Besides, if I cook, the men clean up."

"Let's see what we have to work with." Rebecca said then got up and walked around the counter. She looked through the cabinets and the refrigerator. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, go ahead."

"Thanks. I need a mixing bowl," Rebecca said.

Jamie pulled out a mixing bowl.

Rebecca mixed up dessert and put it in the oven. They poured iced tea then walked outside with Larry and Jake. Rebecca handed Larry a glass and sat down next to him.

"So, Rebecca, Larry tells me you're a reporter."

"Well, I was. I'm not sure I'm going to do that again. It got me in trouble."

"Yes Larry was telling me about that. I am glad you're surviving that."

"Thanks. Larry has a lot to do with that."

"He also told me about your advertisement brochure you're doing."

"That's going good. I should be done with that soon," Rebecca said.

"She takes amazing pictures."

"I wish I had the talent and patience to do that." Jamie said.

"What do you do for a living, Jamie?" Rebecca asked.

"I am a secretary." Jamie said. "But I am taking classes from a paralegal."

"That's good. I'm not sure what I want to pursue next."

"There's no hurry for that, though," Larry said. "You deserve time off after what you went through."

"I know. You keep telling me that."

"And I will," Larry said.

"Why hurry if you don't have to? I know I wouldn't after losing my memory." Jake said. "It's great that it all came back."

"There's still a few things that are fuzzy and some I wish I couldn't remember, but I am dealing with it with Larry's help."

"That's Larry. He'll be there to help when he can." Jake said. "We all know he will do that."

"Jake, you can start the grill any time you're ready." Jamie said.

"All right." Jake said.

Jake started the grill a few minutes later. The four of them talked, then ate and talked more.

Later in the afternoon, Rebecca and Jamie brought out the dessert.

"Rebecca whipped this up while we were talking earlier. I have to say, I can't believe it came from my kitchen." Jamie said.

Larry took a bite. "This is incredible," he said.

"You have to give Jamie the recipe." Jake said.

"I tried to write it down as she went, but she didn't measure much. She just added what she could find."

"That's how my grandma taught me. I will send you some recipes when I get my stuff."

"I will be waiting for them."

"I hope you have more recipes like this," Larry said.

"I have a lot more where this came from," Rebecca said. "Then you'll be needing more time in the gym."

"That's fine with me," Larry said.

"If you don't want to be a reporter anymore, you can become a baker." Jake said.

"I enjoy baking, but not that much to do it for a living," Rebecca said.

They sat around talking for a while longer. Around six, Larry and Rebecca got ready to go. They got in the car and pulled out.

Larry parked his car in the garage around seven thirty. They got their bags out of the car and walked over to the elevator. They pushed the button and waited. The elevator came and they got on.

"Welcome back, Mr. Newman, Miss Chandler."

"Thanks. Carl. Straight to the top, please."

"Yes sir." Carl said. "Duane is waiting for you."

"Thank you." Larry said then smiled at Rebecca.

"Do you have work to do?"

"There's just a couple of things I need to discuss with Duane. It can wait until after we get inside."

"All right," Rebecca said.

The elevator opened and they stepped out. Duane opened the door for them. "Thank you, Duane," Larry said. "We can talk in a few minutes."