Searching For Jenna novel Chapter 50

When Elliot got back out front, his mother and Terry had been moved to a table where they were sitting with Caroline and her parents, Ralph and Valerie. Cara was also there with a beautiful woman close to their age. Elliot felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest with a knife.

Pulling himself up straight, he walked up to the table. "Hi everyone." He leaned down and kissed Caroline on the cheek. "I'm glad you guys could meet us."

"We were glad for a chance to get to see you all," Caroline said. "Darlene looks like she's doing pretty well."

"Getting better every day," Darlene said, noting Elliot's clear discomfort. "Elliot and Terry have been taking excellent care of me."

Elliot sat down between his mother and Caroline. He kissed his mother on the cheek and gave her a half hug. "Which has not been easy because you know nurses make the worst patients."

"True," Caroline and Darlene said at the same time and gave each other a high five behind Elliot's back.

"And who is this lovely lady with you, Cara?" Elliot asked politely.

Cara couldn't meet Elliot's gaze and turned to the woman to her right and put her hand on the woman's shoulder. "This is Bonnie. We met at school this semester," Cara explained.

Elliot nodded at Bonnie, who seemed a little confused about the atmosphere at the table, which was a little cooler than Elliot would have liked. "Bonnie, I'm Elliot. It's very nice to meet you. Has everyone else been introduced?"

"Yes," Cara said meeting Elliot's gaze directly.

Elliot noted the fear in Cara's eyes. He wasn't sure what she thought he was going to do. Did she think he would make a scene because she showed up with a new girlfriend? She'd made it clear at their last meeting that she was not comfortable with who he was now. It hurt him, but he understood. There were not a lot of women on any spectrum in the LGBTQ community who were going to be comfortable being his partner.

"Bonnie," Elliot said, giving the blonde a brilliant smile. "I can promise that everything on the menu is great. I created all these dishes myself."

"Really?" Bonnie said, apparently thinking that Elliot was being a braggart, and maybe he was.

"Yes, he did," Sandy said as she came out with three plates of appetizers. "We have fresh catfish and venison if anyone is interested."

"Venison?" Bonnie asked with a disgusted look on her face.

"I'm going to have the venison," Elliot said. "I want to see how Jason is cooking it."

"I was hoping you would say that," Sandy said. "Jason has put his spin on it that I think you'll enjoy."

Terry voted for a bison burger. Ralph, Valerie, and Caroline ordered catfish. Elliot ordered a light pasta dish for Darlene that he was sure wouldn't mess up her digestion. Besides having trouble with her lungs, the stress from all that had been happening had caused her to develop some stomach troubles, so she had to watch what she ate. Cara ordered one of the simpler chicken and pasta dishes. Bonnie ordered a salad.

Everyone tried to make sure Bonnie was included in the conversations, but she seemed determined to sulk, which Elliot knew would make Cara mad, or, it used to.

"What is your major now, Cara?" Darlene asked.

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