Biscotti - 11. Chapter 11

I was lost in my books when someone grabbed me. I was startled and jumped. Brad was laughing. I tried to hold him to tickle him for scaring me. It didn’t happen; he grabbed me and kissed me. That did it. I forgot about the tickling as I kissed him back.

“Scott, we need to talk.”

“Ok, sit here,” Once he sat down, I sat in his lap

“I talked to Ronnie. He told me what he did. That wasn’t right. I told him to go and apologize, did he?”

“Yes, we talked the other day. In a way, I understand where he’s coming from. The potential of having a scholarship is a strong motivator. You know I’ll do everything I can to help you get a scholarship.”

“But you need to save for school as well. Football scholarships are inclusive since they are an income source for the school. Your scholarship isn’t, and you need to have a reserve. Ronnie didn’t understand that till I pointed it out to him.”

“Ronnie knows about us.”

“Yes, he asked me after that day we went to lunch. I told him.”

“Are you ok with that?”

“Are you?”

To answer, I kissed him. “We still must be on our guard. Ronnie is a good friend, but not all of them may be accepting.”

“Scott, Brad, dinner is ready.”

“Come on, let’s wash up and see what the Italian offering is tonight.”

“I was trying to tell Mom what we had. I forgot the names.”

“Maybe if you are lucky, you will get another chance to have it again.”

I got a smile and a kiss for that. “Scott, you coming before the food gets cold?”

Coming to the table, they were all seated, waiting for us. I hugged Dad and proceeded to give Dad and Mom a hug. I looked at Brad. He pointed at a chair next to him.

I sat down when Mom brought in a large mixed salad. It looked good. I took a slice of bread and made a sandwich with the portion of salad I took. Brad looked at me. Mom and Dad are used to me doing this. I forgot we had company, but then it was too late. I offered a bite to Brad. He took a bite and smiled. I watched as he took a slice of bread and made a salad sandwich. I thought he’d be in heaven if he had homemade bread.

Mom outdid herself. We had gnocchi instead of potatoes, baked in a cheese sauce. She made stuffed pork chops, one of Dad’s favorite, and fresh green beans from Dad’s small garden. The food was good. I watched Brad eat. I smiled as he was enjoying dinner. “Scott, you need to learn how to make these.”

He was referring to the gnocchi. I didn’t tell him I already knew. For dessert, Mom made an apple pie with a very special crust. I watched Brad as he took his first bite, “Is it good?” He just bobbed his head up and down.

“You need to learn how to do this also.”

“Ok, just for you.” I saw Mom smiling. She knew I already knew how. When I was a kid, Mom taught me to cook. “You never know when you’ll need to know.” Nonna and Pa also taught me when I was there, so I had plenty of teachers.

“You have been invited to Sunday at Nonna and Pa’s. Make sure your mom and dad know.”

“I think I heard your mom say something like that to my dad. Are you sure it’s going to be ok? We aren’t part of the family.”

“You don’t understand what this means do you? This means that my grandparents have accepted you as my boyfriend and future husband. They are telling the rest of the family that they accept you and our relationship.”

“But what if the other families don’t accept me or our relationship.”

“As Pa says, their loss. He would probably ask them not to come back till they accept us.”

“Wow, I can hardly believe that.”

“Nonna talked to Mom after we met for lunch. When I came home from school, Mom was all smiles, and I knew they talked.”

“I love you, and you got to learn how to cook like that.”

“You are crazy. Want to stay the night and go with us?”

“I didn’t bring any clothes for tomorrow. But I will next week.”

The rest of the evening we spent in my room looking at various books. He would pick a book. I would tell him what that book was all about; he would open it and read a few pages. Then I would tell him more about the book and what I learned. We did this between kisses.