In Your Dreams

Chapter 18 - A Crumb For Your Thoughts

"Hi Mrs. Leery." Jen smiled waving her over to the table.

"Hi Jen, was everything ok?" she asked politely. "Sorry I couldn't come out before, I was busy helping re arranging a few
things in the kitchen." she finished ing ing down across from her in the booth.

"Oh it's ok, and yes everything was excellent, the fried shrimp were delicious and that new waiter Seth took good care
of me, he's definitely a keeper," Jen said sucking off some excess tartar sauce from her index finger.

"Yeah, with all of the waiters I went through to find him I'm hoping to keep him here as long as he's willing to stay,
and is it just me or does he not only have charm, but also some very bruting muscleshe lhe laughed squeezing her upper
arm with her eye widening. "Now obviously that boy could call me Mom if he wanted to, but...what do you think, I heard
through the cooking vine that he's single," she said laughing a little and winking at Jen.

"Seth is a cutie and he's got the charm thing working for him also, but I don't know, right now I'm not really looking for
anyone and it's nothing personal to him, I'm sure he's a great guy but he's just not for me at the moment..." Jen said
sighing and looking down at the table, she saw a small batter crumb on the table and began messing with it and rolling it
from side to side.

"You know, I'm not a mind reader but it seems to me you have some things on your mind and I am more than willing to take a
break from the hell going on back in the kitchen to listen if you want to talk," Mrs. Leery said in a soft whisper,
leaning across the table. Jen looked up and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'm alright."

"Are you sure?"

"No."

"Jen, the best thing to do is to talk about it and get it out of your system." Mrs. Leery urged nicely.

"Th jus just it, I can't get her out of my system." Jen said. She realized that she had used the wrong word, instead of
`it' she used `her', which she knew must be leading to one hundred questions forming in Mrs. Leery's head at that moment.

"Her?" Mrs. Leery said a little taken back.

"Andie." Jen mumbled.

"Ok, let's back for just a second...you can't get Andie out of your system...what exactly do you mean by that?
Did you girls get into a fight and now you don't want anything to do with her or is she just bugging you in some way or..."
Mrs. Leery thinking face quickly change into realization. "Or am I so stupid that I completely blew by what's really
going on here," she smiled and touched Jen's hand.

"I know, a big fat shocker isn't it," Jen said showing signs of a small smile.

"Not really." Mrs. Leery casually replied. Jen looked freakishly surprised.

"Explain why not," she said in a still surprised tone.
"Jen, all throughout the summer, I saw you and Andie together...you guys were here at least three times a week to
hang out with Dawson or to eat and it was plain to see...." Mrs. Leery leaned over the table again to whisper.
"The way she looked at you when you weren't looking said it all, her eyes made it seem like no one else was in the room.
Then there's you, I noticed that you have a different laugh when you're around her, it's a more high spirited and
lustful laugh, the kind I had when Mitch and I started dating. I still to this day remember how he was the only one out
there that could have me literally in tears from laughing so hard, you and her always had the same thing going and I
just knew." Mrs. Leery finished smiling and taking Jen's hand. "Don't worry sweetie, just take my advice...you only live
once and you love who you love, all other things aside, when you're in love and you're happy nothing else matters."
She shook her head back and fourth on her last words and smiled.

"Mrs. Leery," Jen started wiping away a small tear in the corner of her eye.

"Yeah sweetie," she said softly.

"You're more of a Mom to me than my own and I can't thank you enough for everything you just said..."
Jen got up along with Mrs. Leery and they hugged tightly. They released and Mrs. Leery wiped a tear from her own eye.

"Aw sweetie, anytime...I'm always here," Mrs. Leery pushed a lock of bl hai hair out of Jen's face.

"I hate to go, but I have a study date in just under thirty minutes, so I gotta head home," Jen smiled and hugged her again.
Mrs. Leery smiled and motioned with her thumb to the door.

"Go on, get to it...." she said with a smile and a laugh. Jen giggled and started out the door, just as she reached the
exit she realized that she had yet to pay the check.

"Oh, the check..." she started moving back towards the table.

"Free of charge." Mrs. Leery called to her motioning for her to go.

"The best!" Jen pointed at her and turned back towards the door. Mrs. Leery sighed sweetly and walked around to the bar to
grab a white apron hanging over the stool. As she worked her way back into the kitchen, Dawson emerged from behind the bar
with a wet rag and a spray bottle.

"Hey Mom," he smiled walking over to a vacated table and wiping it down.

"How long have you been back there?" she asked a little concerned.

"Where? Behind the bar? About a minute, just enough to here Jen say you are more of a Mom to her than her own...what's that
all about, not that I don't believe it," he smiled. "But I'm just curious." he finished spraying the table for the last
time.

"Just some typical girl talk, nothing you'd be interested in.." she finished smiling at her son and walking back through
the kitchen doors leaving him alone. Since it was almost nine and only one lonesome man sat sipping coffee in the
restaurant, Dawson went over to the door and turned the open sign over to the close, seeing as they'd be closing in an
hour anyway. Turning back towards the kitchen doors he saw his Mom through the oval shaped glass on both sides.

"Weird." he shrugged and went back to wiping down the rest of the vacated tables.