It doesn't work nearly as well as it did in the park, he has to lean over a little, but it works better than he'd thought it would. And then they can do math cozy up next to each other! 

The best way to do math. 💖

John really likes how she likes the math so much!! And he's an even bigger fan of how she likes him so much. Leaning up cozy next to Rosy is extremely good, and doing math at the same time (with her all excited about it as they learn about quantifiers and things) is great. He's glad they ended up doing this in the first place. 

The math is so fun and exciting and the boy is so comfy and good to lean on!!

And Rosy is cozy and the math is fun! 

Eventually, they're interrupted by John's mother entering the room. "Okay, boys and girls, it's almost..." She pauses, taking in the scene in front of her. "...I see. And you're doing advanced math." She peers over at the notebook to confirm. "Brian said, but I could hardly believe it. Treat her right, John, she's a keeper."

John sighs. "Did you need anything, Mom?" he asks. 

"Oh! Yes! Supper is almost ready, so finish up what you're doing and go wash up. And use soap! You know," she says, turning to Rosy, "for the longest time, he would just wet and dry his hands before supper, as though that would keep the germs away. Silly boy."

"I was ten, Mom," he says, embarrassed. He admittedly still doesn't fully see the point of washing his hands before eating, he's using a knife and fork after all, and it feels like a waste of time, but, well, if it makes mom happy. But all of that pales in comparison to the fact that mom is telling his girlfriend about his hand-washing habits. "She won't stop bringing that up," he says to Rosy. "It's been a long time since then." 

"My family does not have this tradition! Seems reasonable, though." She pats John's arm. "Just wait till my mother invites you to one of the big family dinners. The embarrassing childhood stories will be flying from all directions."

"If you say so." He squirms a little in his chair, still feeling embarrassed. The fact that things might even out aren't changing how he feels at the moment. "We'll go wash up, thanks for the warning, Mom." 

"I'm going to go set the table, so don't dally too long!" she says, and bustles out of the room. "And bring your appetite!" she adds behind her. 

John sighs. "Do you want to finish up whatever problem you're working on first? Or should we just go wash up and sit down?" 

"I'll see if I can finish up reasonably fast." She applies herself to her notes.

"Okay," he says. Would it be sensible to sneak a kiss onto the back of her head? He sneaks a kiss onto the back of her head. (More of the side, really, but close enough.)

Oh!! Tiny wiggle!!

No. She must be strong. She must do MATH.

He wants to kiss her again but she seems so focused. (Even though it's cute when she reacts to him kissing her. It's also cute what she's currently doing. That just makes him want to kiss her again, though, because of her cuteness, but he too must be strong.) So instead he resists the urge to turn the pages and read ahead, and waits, fiddling with his pencil. 

"There!"

She puts down her pencil and turns around and kisses him on the cheek.

"Let's go."

He grins happily at the kiss. 

"Let's go!" he agrees. 

To the bathroom to wash up (ugh) but he does an extra good job because there's someone just outside watching him (probably with adoration, again) and then, to the dinner table! 

Someone (probably dad) has pulled an extra chair from somewhere else in the house, there is now an extra chair next to him, for Rosy presumably. There places are set, and there are several bowls on the table, with various foods. One has spaghetti, one has steaming meatballs in sauce, and one is a casserole dish with some sort of zucchini and mushroom and breadcrumbs situation for vegetable. It looks edible, at least. There's also a store bought canister of parmesan cheese for sprinkling. 

"It looks good, Mom," John says, sitting down in his chair and indicating that Rosy should sit in hers. His parents are already sitting. 

"Well, see how it tastes, first. Up bup bup!" his mom adds, as John reaches for the pasta bowl. "Let your girlfriend serve herself, first. She's the guest." She turns to Rosy. "Feel free to take as much as you'd like, hon, I've made more than enough for leftovers too."

"My goodness," she says. "All right."

She serves herself a generous but reasonable portion of each component, putting the meatballs on top of the pasta but leaving the Vegetable Situation off to the side of her plate. And a light sprinkle of parmesan, too, why not.

The rest of the family serve themselves; John does similarly to Rosy but dribbles some tomato sauce over the vegetables (despite the look from his mother) to improve the situation. And when everyone is served, they eat. 

"It is very good, Mom," he says, after swallowing a mouthful of meatball. It's tasty! Mom does good pasta. The vegetables are also probably fine, but he'll get to those in a moment. Or two. 

"I'm glad you think so," she says. "Rosy? Everything to your liking?" 

"Mhm!" She has not chosen to improve her Vegetable Situation and is trying it unadorned.

It's pretty ok!  There's nothing special to it, just sliced mushrooms and zucchini topped with breadcrumbs and left in the oven for a bit. A bit mushy and bland, but it's vegetables. 

"I'm glad," John's mother says, and wipes a bit of sauce from her lip, and says, "so, Rosy, what can you tell us about yourself? John hasn't really told us very much, so I'd love to hear it from you." She takes another bite of food and chews, watching her and awaiting an answer. 

"I like math and romance novels and trying new things. I strive every day to make the world a more adorable place."

"A more adorable place?" she asks. (John hides a little in embarrassment; it's not that he dislikes this fact about his girlfriend (quite the contrary in fact), but he's not sure his mother will take it the right way.) "How so?" 

"Being cute is fun and makes people happy! So I wear cute clothes and put cute buttons on my backpack and maintain a positive attitude as much as I can. And I optimized my handwriting to be as cute and pretty as possible without sacrificing legibility."

"Well, if it makes you happy," John's mother says. "But what do you intend to do with yourself in life? John's doing mathematics, he's loved it ever since he was little, and he's going to get some sort of academic position, I'm sure, even if he says he isn't, but what sort of thing are you planning on doing with yourself? More math, like John? Or are you going to get into politics, like the rest of your family?"

"I'm hoping to get out of politics, actually. And I think deciding the course of your entire life before you're old enough to vote is a fundamentally misguided approach. I want to get out and see the world and try a lot of things so I can figure out which ones call to me."

"Huh, my mother always said it's better to get an early start on your life plans, so you can get an earlier start on your life. Worked out for me, even if they weren't quite the plans she had in mind. But I suppose if you come from a family like the Blakes, you can afford to take a few years off to try things." She sounds happy and polite, but John can hear the disapproval in her voice from years of experience. "Do you know where you're planning to go, then?" 

"I haven't decided yet!"