The walk back home felt too long. I did look carefully where I stepped, and I was so excited to tell Juno and Seth about everything that had happened, that I didn't seem to get fast enough.

I arrived twenty minutes later. My lips quirked as I saw our house and I hurried to get to the front stairs. The door opened and my brother came out squealing like a little girl. I almost burst out laughing at him.

"Did you get in! Did you get in!"

"Kind of. I'll explain inside."

Exasperated, Seth grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me to the front hall. "Ouch Seth!" I rubbed my arm as he closed the door.

"Well?" He started tapping his left foot impatiently.

He looked so much like Mom. He had inherited her chestnut hair and the hazel eyes. The only thing that reminded me of our father were his dimples when he smiled.

"Jess!" He raised his arms in exasperation.

I rolled my eyes. I wanted to tell him and Juno at the same time. I glanced around. The house felt quiet. Too quiet. I also noticed the red roses in the living room.

Wait. Red roses?

I gestured at the flowers. "Where's Juno? Who brought them?"

In that moment, I wished I had a secret admirer. However, my love life was null. I never had time to date since I was working all the time.

"Sheesh... Jess how do you keep a job? You're such a daydreamer!" Seth whined annoyed.

If only he knew. Apparently, I couldn't.

The smell of fresh baked chocolate deliciousness hit my nostrils. Juno made brownies! They were easily, the best brownies in the whole wide world. It didn't matter that she baked them every week. Seth and I still fought over them.

The aroma led me to the kitchen and Seth followed behind me. This room never failed to make you feel warm and homey. It was painted in a light yellow lemon. A rustic wooden table for four stood in the middle of the room. The highlight of the kitchen was the bright blue kitchenaid that I had gotten Juno for Christmas.

It had been a huge sacrifice to afford it. I had to work my ass for the previous eight months and pretty much save more than half of my paycheck, but the huge smile on her face when she opened the large box was priceless.

Seth hopped on the counter it as he watched me amused.

"Salivating over today's brownies, huh?"

I walked to the refrigerator to get something to drink. "Where did you say, she was?" I took out the iced tea pitcher and poured myself a glass.

Seth shrugged. "On a date."

I spat peach tea all over the place, even Seth, who jumped off the counter and glared at me as he tried to clean himself up with the kitchen towel that was hanging over the sink.

"What!" My eyes widened.

"This is so gross!" Seth complained, "You're cleaning this up, you know?"

"Oh. Shut it!" I snatched the towel from his hands and started to wipe angrily at my mess.

My grandmother was on a date? When did that happen?

"Who's the guy?" I asked still cleaning the table.

"Mr. Gomez."

I stopped with the rag mid-air, "The butcher?" I blinked at him.

Seth nodded. "I hope we get discount on rib-eye or something." He shook his head. "That's better than stupid roses."

I threw the kitchen towel straight to Seth's head. "You're such a moron, Seth, seriously."

"At least I'm not jealous of her!" he retorted before throwing the towel back at me.

I stomped on my feet like a three-year-old. "I am so not jealous!" He burst out laughing, which only made my blood boil. "Don't you have something to do? I don't know, like homework!"

Seth rolled his eyes, "I already made it." Placing both hands on his hips he narrowed his eyes. "Did you get in or not?"

Exhausted, I plopped on a chair by the kitchen table. I leaned both arms on the table, resting my head on them. "I'm not saying anything until─"

"Wait! I want to hear it too!" Juno walked through the kitchen door looking extremely happy.

"How's my favorite girl?" She beamed at me. I shook my head and grinned back at her. She wasn't wearing a dress, but she had a flowery ruffled blouse and khaki flared pants. Her salt and pepper hair was down, sleek and straight.

"How was your date?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

"It was really good. Carlos is a great man! I can't believe that it took me months to say yes to him." Her grey eyes sparkled mischievously before adding, "and boy did I say yes more than once."

Oh. My. God.

Seth and I shared a look. We were both wide eyed and quite panicked. Those were the kind of things that you didn't expect hearing from your grandmother, but then again, Juno was eccentric. Seth gagged, and I clapped my ears. "We do not want to hear about it!"

Juno laughed at us. She opened the fridge and started to take out some meat, carrots and potatoes to start dinner. "You kids are such prudes!" she shook her head as she started to wash the carrots.

I glanced at the paper bag on the counter. "He brought you roses and meat? How charming."

"I thought so," she smiled at me.

"So!" Seth stared at me, "What the fuck happened?"

Juno signaled at him with the tip of her knife. "No swearing on the table, young man."

His gaze was flat as he placed a hand on the countertop. "I'm not even near the table."

Juno's grey eyes glanced at him. She shrugged. "Fair enough."

My family was so unconventional. I loved it.

Still, I played the responsible adult part by glaring at my little brother. "Sit down, Seth."

"Oh, come on!" He whined and raised his hands in exasperation, yet he stood up and took a seat in front of me.

I smiled as he did so. Pain burst in my shin as he kicked me under the table. Swallowing the curse, I kicked him back. Hard. Ha! Seth jumped off the chair rubbing his leg and glaring at me.

Juno ignored the cursing that was going through my little brother's mouth as she kept cooking dinner for us. "So, how did it go, sweetie?"

"It went well, I suppose." Seth was now lying on the floor being ignored by both of us. "I got a job, too!"

"Well, thank you, dear family, for being concerned over me!" Seth finally pulled up grabbed the chair and glaring at me, placed it over the door. As he sat, he made a sign that said: I'm watching you.

"Stop messing with your sister, love." Juno said to him. "She always wins."

Seth scowled, and I bit the inside of my cheek trying not to laugh at him.

God. I love my family.

"Was Chef Simmons there?" Juno asked with eyes that sparkled like a little girl's in Christmas Eve.

Smiling, I nodded. "Yes. He's not at all like in TV."

"How can you say that!" Juno gasped, appalled at my words.

I recounted every little detail of the interview. Seth placed the table, listening intently at my story. When I finished, the table was already set, and the kitchen smelled delicious.

We were right in the middle of dinner when Juno cleared her throat. She drank some tea before saying, "Your former boss called."

My hand froze in mid-air. "Huh?"

She took a spoonful of stew and after a painful minute or so, she added, "She was furious, to say the least." She looked up. "Care to tell me what happened?"

Seth snickered by my side. I tried to kick him again, but this time he was ready, so it wasn't as hard as before. "I... uhmmm..." I stammered, "Well, you see, she was being like, well, a bitch. And it sort of slipped my mouth," I scrunched up my nose, "At rush hour. In front of everyone."

"Uh." Juno nodded. "Seth, pass me the salt, please."

It was the first time in a long time that I felt like I was in trouble. Since I was submerged at school or work, I never misbehaved. However, I'd seen Juno angry, and it wasn't pretty.

I took a deep breath and left my spoon leaned on the edge of my plate. I knew what was coming. She was going to give me the talk. Seth didn't show any sign of sympathy as he kept digging on his own plate with a stupid smirk on his lips. Let's see who stands up for you when you are in trouble, dude.

The time seemed too slow as Juno chewed her last piece of meat. When she finished, she looked at me and calmly said, "I told her to shove it down her big ass, too." Seth chocked on his food as I grinned at Juno. "It was about time you stood up for yourself."

"That's so not fair! It's the first-time Jessica screws up and you let her go without any kind of punishment!" Seth whined.

"Exactly Seth." Juno turned to him, "You said it. First time."

I couldn't hide the smile off my face as I took my glass of water. Seth scowled all the rest of dinner and as soon as it was over, he left to his room sulking.

As usual, I helped Juno clean up. Setting the table was Seth's chore. Mine was washing dishes after. Juno stayed with me while she baked another order of brownies. The heavenly smell of chocolate invaded the room as I finished.

"So, who's that Bryan character?" Juno asked curious.

I shrugged. "I don't know, but he seems like a jerk."

Juno gave me the spoon she used to mix the brownies, with a warm grin perched on her lips. She didn't have to ask twice. I love brownie batter.

"Is he handsome?" she tilted her head.

"I guess..."

She sent me a glare before raising an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. He is very handsome. The most handsome guy I've ever met.... Grandma."

Her eyes narrowed. She scowled and snatched the spoon out of my hands "No more batter for you."

I shook my head as I left the kitchen to get some well-deserved sleep.

My new job started tomorrow, and I had a feeling that this Bryan guy was going to make hell for me. I wasn't deterred. Nobody would stand in my way to learn the proper role of a chef.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY WORK!