Chapter 1940 Nostalgia
Chapter 1940 Nostalgia
Upon hearing what Adrienne said, Jefferson's fury extinguished in an instant. He couldn't help but soften his voice as he said, "You've been working the whole day. You have to eat. Let's just grab a quick bite."
"Let's go to Freddy and Fre..." Adrienne wanted to suggest eating at Freddy's restaurant. However, she remembered that Freya had a murder charge hanging over her head and was detained at the station. Adrienne's cheerfulness immediately drained away.
Jefferson reached over to pat her shoulder and comforted her, "We'll be able to eat at Well Eaten Farm and Restaurant again in a few days."
Adrienne cocked her head sideways and glanced at him. "Did you get your hands on new clues without telling me?"
The hand Jefferson had on the steering wheel trembled slightly before he answered, "What are you talking about?"
Adrienne continued, "You don't seem in a hurry to deal with Freya's case so I'm thinking that you must have found something."
Jefferson replied, "Kind of, but it's not confirmed yet."
"Why haven't I heard anything about it?" Adrienne demanded.
After speaking to Sierra, Jefferson had intended to come clean about the whole affair with Sheridan to Adrienne. However, he had yet to think of a way to explain it to her, so he could only play dumb for the time being. "Adrienne, who's the head of the Paramount Criminal Police Team? You or me?"
Adrienne replied hesitantly, "I..."
Jefferson interrupted her. "All right, all right. You should rest well during your off hours. Let's stop talking about work."
Adrienne fell silent.
That man really deserved a good thrashing. Adrienne swore that she would think of a good way to get back at him one day.
• • •
Soon, Jefferson and Adrienne arrived at a burger place that they often frequented.
Although the shop was small-scale, it had been around forever. There were many customers who came from far and wide just to get a taste of the burgers there.
In the past, Hodge was a frequent customer too.
Whenever there was a long line, he would tell Adrienne how much he respected the people who could turn such a small business around to become that successful.
Adrienne had not visited for a long time. When she was suddenly met with the familiar sign, smell, and tables, it felt like she could see Hodge sitting by the table at the entrance, eating his favorite beef burger right then.
Burgers could be found anywhere else, but Hodge loved the ones there in particular. Adrienne had eaten at that shop before, but she didn't note anything special about the food there. Hodge used to say that she didn't understand and she never understood what it was that she 'didn't understand' in the past.
At this moment, Adrienne finally realized it. Hodge didn't go there for the taste of the burgers but for the nostalgic experience.
"Jeff, Adrienne, long time no see." By that time, rush hour had passed so there was no ridiculously long line there. However, the place was still quite occupied with customers. The middle-aged lady who ran the place looked around and smiled warmly at the familiar faces. She quickly cleared a table by the door for them. "We're all full inside, so this is the best I can do for you two. Hope you guys understand."
"We're fine with it. I like this seat." Adrienne smiled, took a chair from the side, and pulled Jefferson to sit down. "Madam Betty, please give us two of your signature beef burgers."
"No." Jefferson gave Adrienne a fierce look. He knew that she would have a hard time eating meat after coming out of the dissection room. Why would she order a beef burger? Was she dumb? "Madam Betty, please give us one beef burger and one veggie burger."
"Why are you glaring at me? I want a beef burger." Adrienne had already forgotten about all the corpses she was working on earlier. Her mind was full of thoughts of her grandfather. She wanted to sit there, at his favorite seat, and eat his favorite burger. She was hoping that when Hodge looked down from heaven, he would know that she was missing her, and that he would visit her in her dreams later that night.
"I'm really sorry, Adrienne, but we only have one beef burger left." Betty looked embarrassed. "Our veggie burger is good too. I can do one veggie and one beef, how does that sound?"
Since Betty had already taken Jefferson's side, Adrienne had no choice but to nod politely. "Just give us one of each then."
"Okay, coming right up." Betty smiled and glanced at Jefferson before she went into the kitchen.
As soon as Betty left, Adrienne immediately gave Jefferson a look. "I know that you hinted at Madam Betty so that she would say that."
"It isn't a hint if you know about it," Jefferson retorted.
Adrienne sighed to herself.
She would never be able to win against him.
Jefferson patted her head and said, "Listen to me, be a good girl."
Adrienne slapped his hand away. "Why can't you listen to me for once?"
"I'll listen to you from now on. I'll do whatever you say," said Jefferson with a smile.
"I'd really become a little idiot if I believed that, coming from you." Adrienne turned her head away in anger. Her gaze fell on Betty, who was bustling about inside.
She had known Betty for a long time. She used to be quite a chubby lady, but now she was as thin as a rail, all because of the tragedy that happened a year ago.
Her child died in an accident a year ago. Betty was the one who answered the phone when the police called to inform them about the accident. On top of that, she was also the one who went to identify the body of her son. After having a funeral for her son, she asked the police to cooperate with her and keep the whole thing a secret from her husband. She lied to him and told him their son had gone to study abroad.
Just before their son's accident, her husband had just gotten discharged from the hospital. His heart was frail and his blood pressure was high. The doctor repeatedly reminded him to watch his stress levels.
In order for her husband to continue living well, Betty had to make such a seemingly cruel decision.
Over the past year, she silently grieved over her son's death alone. She ran the business and took care of her husband as if nothing had happened. She lived her life to the fullest every day because she knew that her husband would find out the truth sooner or later. Any happiness she had now was temporary and hard to come by.
At that thought, Adrienne glanced at Jefferson. He was looking at her too. The look in his eyes was difficult to decipher, full of complicated emotions. She asked, "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." Jefferson averted his gaze. "I haven't eaten burgers for a while. I want to get another one for myself."
There was clearly something up that he didn't want to tell her. Adrienne decided to use her trump card to sway him. She said, "Jeff..."
All she needed to do was call him by that name and nothing else. In an instant, Jefferson felt like his bones had turned mush. He could only say, "Eat up first. I'll tell you about it when we get home." NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
"Okay." Adrienne nodded and gave him a sweet smile. "I know you're the best, my Jeff."
Adrienne had known him for many years. He always acted like a domineering villain in front of her so that was what she used to perceive him as. All he did was bully her... But now she knew that that wasn't the case at all.