Chapter 16
It did not take long for Naoml to get someone to cover her shift at all. She always remained on good. terms with her colleagues, and so after briefly Informing them about her situation, they all agreed to help cover for her.
She worked with them for so long that most of her colleagues treated Naomi like their daughter. Not only that but every time something came up, Naomi would always offer her sincerest help, so naturally they did not mind returning this favor.
In the meantime, Charles too, managed to request a day off and confirmed the timing with her for their trip to Ditch County–upcoming Saturday morning.
The next few days seemed to fly by and before Naomi knew it, it was already Friday.
When she returned home from work that night, her mother Donna already had dinner prepared, and even her father Dean was waiting for her to return. The store operated until about 10 at night, and with the other employees around, Dean was able to kick back and relax for a few hours. However, he would have to return after dinner to close up shop.
Dean was so fond of the art of wood carving that he did not even seem to mind spending hours and hours in the shop. Naomi inherited the same passion for woodcraft as her father.
“What perfect timing! Dinner’s ready, come sit down,” Donna announced as she finished setting the table. Dean and Naomi both washed their hands and got into their seats.
“Naomi, what time are you leaving tomorrow with that friend of yours? Why don’t I make you two some breakfast so you won’t get hungry on the road?” Donna asked.
Naomi already mentioned her upcoming trip to Ditch County to her parents. The parents trusted her with their whole hearts and usually refrained from sticking their noses into her business. Therefore, even after explaining her intention to visit Ditch County, Dean, and Donna supported her decision fully.
For the most part, they trusted their daughter very much, and they knew she was not the kind of person to act irrationally.
Naomi took a sip of her soup and replied, “Well, we wanted to leave at 7 a.m. tomorrow to avoid the morning traffic.”
Horizon City was a fairly busy town despite its size. Naomi’s house was about an hour away from the
city center, and perhaps even longer with traffic. Considering that charts lived in the city center, it
would take at least 50 minutes for him to arrive at Naomi’s place. Then, after picking her up, they would need to travel to Ditch County together, which could take a considerable amount of time.
This was why Naomi asked him where he lived.
“7 a.m.? That’s rather early. You said your friend lives in the city center right? That means he’ll be up by 5 a.m. just to get ready. I’m certain he won’t have any time to eat at all on his way here! Why don’t
you invite him to stay for breakfast tomorrow? It’ll take only half an hour tops–surely it wouldn’t affect your journey that much,” Donna explained, glancing meaningfully at Dean and signaling him
to say something.
The moment Naomi told them she was visiting Ditch County with a male friend, Dean, and Donna knew immediately what was going on. Naomi was newly divorced, and no man would attempt to build a friendship with her unless he was interested in her. However, Naomi seemed oblivious to this fact, which was not new to Dean and Donna. Naomi was always rather slow in picking up other people’s signals.
The truth was, that Dean and Donna wanted nothing more than for Naomi to move on from her last marriage as soon as she could. If anything, they hoped their daughter would be able to settle down with a smart, sensible man, and now that one was knocking right on their door, they knew they had to nudge Naomi in the right direction.
However, before that, they wanted to meet this mysterious admirer first and evaluate him themselves lest he turn out to be just like Scott. This was why Donna was trying to convince Naomi to invite him to breakfast. Belongs to © n0velDrama.Org.