As I'm waiting at the door for my mom to finish getting ready I pull out my phone and load up WebNovel.
I always have a new story loaded up on my phone, so that way when we are in the restaurant I have something to look at on my phone that people wouldn't judge me too harshly for.
I know for a fact that my InstaPics and ClickClocks reels are the most embarrassing things imaginable. I could never watch them in public.
However I really have to commit to a story since most of the covers of the books are kind of sketchy as well. Maybe that is a selfmade problem and really reflects the books I read?
Nah.
It's definitely the fault of the authors using AI girls as covers all the time. Not mine for having read them.
"Alright bud, are you ready to go?"
"Yep." I respond causally, putting my phone back in my pocket.
"Are you driving?"
"Yeah." I do the driving now, except when someone else is in the car.
Why? Because my mom drives like a demon. Zooming around like a little ball of pent up rage and frustration, and the only outlet, driving.
Which would be amusing if my life wasn't flashing before my eyes consistently.
A little white woman who is only 5 foot 2 inches tall, dyed auburn hair, and dresses like an artist.
Wide baggy jeans, a shirt, with a flowing rustic jacket. The most stereotypical artist look, minus the paint marks.
While I in contrast like to dress sharp. My ideal form of street wear is a suit.
We get into the car and start our journey over to my grandparents house to pick my grandmother up.
I understand why we do it because we will be going to her house afterward anyway and it would be nice to ride together. But granny has a bright cherry red car with twin turbos.
Why can't we take her car?
Well, whatever. I will get myself a nice car soon enough anyway.
While driving over we listen to liquid metal, which my mom probably likes more than I do.
I reminisce on what my grandmother's nickname was.
The Velvet Hammer.
Because she was silky smooth and could lay the law down.
She was the principal at a head start school.
Head start is a federal program that provides free early childhood education, health, and nutrition services to low income children and their families.
As the principal, granny had to go into the hood as a little old white lady to find out why impoverished kids weren't going to school.
Everybody knew not to mess with the head start lady.
No matter how tough of a gangbanger you were you didn't talk back to The Velvet Hammer.
…
We eventually pulled up at their house after a 45 minute drive which is fairly normal for this time of the day. Rush hour traffic on a Friday really slows things down.
Mom and I walk up the steps to the porch and knock on the door.
Granny answers pretty quickly, because she is always waiting for us on the couch watching old black and white TV shows. That is until her true crime documentaries come on later at night.
Which both my mom and I find to be quite creepy. A little old lady watching TV about real murders, real crime scene pictures, alone, in the dark, at night.
Yeah. Ok. I'm out.
I have seen how this plays out in movies, and I will not be caught lacking.
"Oh, welcome, welcome." granny greets.
"Hello, mom."
"Hello." I give my greeting then find my place on one of the old style recliners. I know I'll have to wait a few minutes for them to talk and granny to grab her things.
Let's see what granny was watching. Oh the old Andy show, I always liked watching this as a kid.
…
A few minutes later they were ready, we could finally leave.
While we were leaving, locking the door and slowly making our way down the steps. We were deciding where to eat.
After a few choices were thrown out there they decided on going to a nice italian place. One that usually had a full parking lot and a reservation list out the door.
…
When we got there, the parking lot was only about a third full. Which was weird for a Friday at prime dinner time.
After getting out of the car and making our way to the door, we entered. When I saw the environment and what everyone else was wearing I immediately got nervous that we did not fit the dress code.
Well, I did, but my mom and grandmother did not. My mom was wearing a white shirt and jeans and my grandmother was wearing jeans and a light sweater.
However to my relief the waitress didn't even flinch or hesitate and asked, "For how many?"
My mom replied adeptly, "3"
"Would you like to dine outside or inside tonight?"
"Oh! Can we eat outside?"
"Of course you can!"
We made our way across the restaurant to the patio doors.
Once they opened we were greeted with a nice outdoor dining patio. The lighting was nice and moody, they had faint music playing, and the sound of the fountain from the pond was the cherry on top.
My mom immediately made a comment, "Oh my goodness this is great, I can't believe there is no one else out here!"
The server followed up, "I know, it is a beautiful night, perfect for eating outside. But, no one wanted to eat out here."
"I just can't believe that. I don't understand how people would prefer to eat inside on a night like tonight."
"Right? I would absolutely be out here tonight. Anyway, is there anything I can start you off with tonight?"
Both my mom and grandmother ordered the same thing that every southern person gets, a sweet tea.
"I'll just have water, thank you." Unlike most, I usually only drink water.