To Love, Honor and Cherish Read online

  Chapter 3

  On Sunday afternoon, November 4th, Joe telephoned Mrs. Rogers and asked if it was a good time for him to visit. Betty invited Joe over for dinner. She had used some of the money she got from Joe, to stock her refrigerator and pantry with food and she was planning a big Sunday dinner.

  When Joe arrived at the apartment, all six of Betty’s children greeted him at the door. As he entered the apartment, Mrs. Rogers walked into the living room from the kitchen. When Joe extended his hand, Betty pushed it aside and gave him a big hug. She thanked him for helping her children at the diner and for the money, he had given her. Joe handed her some flowers that he had picked from his garden and Mary took them into the kitchen to put them in a vase.

  After a few minutes of small talk, Betty told Joe to make himself comfortable while she finished making dinner. Mary and Matt gave Joe a tour of the apartment.

  When they returned to the living room, all of the kids were excited and they all started talking at once. Joe suggested that they could all play a game, if they were quiet. When Betty returned to check on her kids, she saw them quietly playing a game with Joe. They were laughing and smiling and no one was arguing or fighting. For a moment, Betty thought she was in the wrong house.

  When Betty called everyone to the dinner table, Joe pulled out the chair for Betty. Matt saw him do it and he quickly pulled out the chair for Mary, and seated her. When everyone was seated, Matt started reaching for the potatoes. He stopped when Joe asked “Shouldn’t we thank God for this wonderful meal?”

  After they said grace, Betty was amazed at what she saw. Joe put his napkin in his lap and then Betty watched as Mary, Matt, Mark Luke and John did the same thing. They were trying to use good manners like Joe. When Luke tried to say something to Joe with his mouth full of food, Joe said, “I’m sorry Luke. I could not understand you. Why don’t you finish chewing and swallowing the food in your mouth and then say it again.”

  As they were finishing dessert, Joe said, “This meal was good as the ones my mom used to cook. Thank you very much.”

  Mrs. Rogers smiled a big smile and started to get up to clear the table. Joe told her “Mrs. Rogers, you cooked this great meal. Why don’t you just relax, while we clear the table and clean the kitchen?” So, Joe, Mary, Matt and Mark cleared the table, washed and dried the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, while Betty got Luke, John and Paul into their pajamas.

  By the time everything was clean, it was eight o’clock. Mrs. Rogers told the older children to take showers and get ready for bed. They started to argue with her. They wanted to stay up longer and talk to Joe. Joe told them that if they did what they were told, that he might be able to come over again. They stopped arguing and went to their rooms to get ready for bed.

  Before they went to bed, they went into the living room to hug their mom good night and to say goodnight to Joe. John and Paul were the last to say good night and after they hugged their mother good night, they ran up to Joe and hugged him as well. “I hope you can come over again Joe,” said John. Then, he and Paul ran upstairs to their beds.

  After the children had gone to bed, Joe and Betty talked for a couple more hours. Joe talked about his parents, and the accident and he told Betty how comfortable he felt with her family. When he got up to leave, Betty told him “I don’t know if it’s the way my kids look up to you, or if it’s my maternal instinct kicking in, but I see that you are a very decent young man and you set a good example for my children. Feel free to come around here more often. Joe thanked her and then he drove home.