by Cee, DW
While we were enjoying our dinner, Gram called and asked to talk to her favorite grandchild.
I gladly answered the call. “Hi, Gram!”
“Jakey, is Emily there?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“What about me?” I asked, but she insisted on talking to Emily. “She wants to talk to you,” I said, handing over the phone.
Emily quietly asked, “You have a grandmother?”
I nodded yes.
“Why didn’t you tell me? How shall I address her?”
“I forgot and you can call her Gram.”
Emily got on the phone and proceeded to have a long conversation with Gram.
“Hello, Gram, this is Emily. It’s very nice to meet you.”
A frantic look appeared on Emily’s face as she answered, “I’m very sorry, Gram, but Jake never told me I was supposed to call you. But I’m thrilled to meet you! I lived with my grandmother since I was thirteen. Talking to you makes me miss her very much.”
Gram must have asked if Emily’s maternal grandma was still alive, because the tears flickered as she answered, “No. She passed away a few years ago. Gram, why aren’t you here with the family? I wish I could have met you too.”
What kind words my girlfriend shared with Gram. I was sure Gram liked Emily a lot. I went back to eating my prime rib when all of a sudden Emily gave me a horrified look.
“Oh, Gram.” She sounded so sweet. “Jake can be silly at times. How can he possibly think he loves anyone more than his grandmother? Plus, I’m not that pretty. It’s only in Jake’s eyes.”
Women—no matter how old or young—their feelings got hurt so easily. Gram must have been complaining about the remark I made at Uncle Dave’s birthday. I turned to talk to the chief about a patient when all of a sudden I heard Emily say, “He was treating me very well till this morning. He was mean to me, and he made me cry.”
That sounded an awful lot like her telling my entire family I had made her cry today. Clank, clank, clank…every forked dropped and all eyes glared at me.
“Oh my gosh, Emily! I can’t believe you just told everyone I made you cry this morning.”
“But you did,” she answered sadly. I didn’t realize I was dating an actress. Laughter was in her eyes but melancholy choked her voice.
While Emily talked away with Gram, I defended myself against the women. They all ganged up on me and took Emily’s side.
“How can you take the word of a person you just met tonight over your own flesh and blood? I promise, it was me who should have been crying, not her. Ask her.”
I turned to Emily for some help. She shrugged her shoulders, winked, and mouthed “I love you,” before she went back to eating her Chilean sea bass. I would have to get her back for this act of treason.
With the meal over, we all sat around in the living room watching Mom get ready for our white elephant game. Emily sat on the couch with Doug and Nick, noshing on her mini cheesecake square. I tried to squish between them but the sofa wasn’t large enough for the four of us and no one would move.
“Go find your own seat,” Nick told me.
“This love seat is meant for those in love. Why don’t you two get lost? Let me sit here comfortably with my love.”
“Whatever,” Doug answered and didn’t budge.
Refusing to sit on my lap, she offered to sit on the ground so I could sit next to my cousins. I sat on the ground instead as the game began. Emily was in for a treat, as this was the only time the Reid family fought, cheated, and stole from one another.
“What gift did you bring, Emily?” I heard Nick ask.
“I brought a movie gift card. What did you bring?”
“I brought literally a white elephant statue.”
“Eew! Which one is yours so I don’t pick it?”
“I’m not telling.” He started to laugh.
We all picked numbers and both of us got numbers toward the end. We had a good chance of ending up with decent prizes. Doug had the last number. He was excited.
“Do you want to trade numbers, Doug?” I saw Emily try to work her charm.
“Not a chance…well, maybe if you dump my cousin and agree to go on a date with me—then I’d be willing to trade numbers.”
“Not a chance!” she mimicked him. That’s my girl!
The first person to pick was Aunt Babs and she opened up an elaborate box. We all died laughing when we found an 8x10 autographed picture of the chief in that box. Next was Nick and he picked a smaller box. In it was a box of chocolate from Fauchon in Paris. We all envied the gift until Nick followed the “open me” instruction on the box and found that each chocolate had been bitten into. That was another funny gift. Next was Glen. He opened a tiny box, and there he found the golden ticket. There was always a “grand prize” Mom added to the pot, and this year they were two floor seats to a Laker game.
Emily’s eyes lit up. “Honey, can you get that for me? That’s what I want.”
“You like basketball?”
“I love basketball! Help me get those tickets.”
“Of course!” Who knew my girlfriend liked basketball? I guess there were still many things I didn’t know about her.
With the game done, everyone left content with their meal and happy to have spent time with one another. All my aunts and uncles came by to tell me how much they enjoyed meeting Emily, and Emily said good-bye to all the cousins first, then to every aunt and uncle. By now, she knew everyone’s name and had memorized a mini bio of each person.
My immediate family went upstairs tired from Hawaii and tonight’s dinner. Emily was the last one to leave. I still hadn’t come up with a good enough retribution for what she had done to me at dinner. She came to me with her arms open, and purposely I stepped away. Surprised, she couldn’t understand what was going on. I’d never rejected any of her advances.
“I can’t believe you threw me under the bus today. You’re so lucky I didn’t tell my whole family how you chopped up my proposal and my heart into pieces.”
She knew she was in trouble. In her most tempting voice, she snuggled up to me and asked, “What can I do to make things better? I’ll make it up to you.”
Although I knew this was not said in any suggestive way, I thought I’d push my luck. “Stay the night with me.” I demanded. Pause. Pause. Pause. I couldn’t believe it. She didn’t reject my demand.
Before she could change her mind, I picked her up and hurried her up the stairs and into my room. Every room I passed—my parents’ room, Jane’s room, Nick’s room, and even up till I got to my room, I expected Emily to protest and beg me to let her go home. Instead she wrapped both her arms around me and laid her head against my own. Her consent spoke loudly through her silence.
I laid her gently on my bed and looked into her eyes for any sign of hesitation. Without a doubt she desired to be with me tonight. Wanting tonight to be perfect, I didn’t rush anything. I wanted her to remember each kiss, each touch, each moment’s embrace. I wanted tonight to be as memorable for her as it would be for me.
Unbuttoning her dress, I looked into her eyes one more time. She gazed back at me, but this time her thoughts went elsewhere. Her resolved fortitude briefly turned to doubt. I knew I had to stop. She was not ready to give up what she had fought so hard to keep all these years. Thirty years from now when she thought about her first night, I wanted her memories to be filled only with joy—without any regret. My fingers grudgingly placed the buttons back where they belonged.
“Jake?” she quietly called my name. “What’s the matter?”
It pained me to answer her. I wanted to be with her tonight in every way. “Emily, I’m content to just hold you tonight. We don’t have to do anything else.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Sweetheart, as difficult as this is for me, I want to keep you as you are until we get married—and trust me, we will get married,” I
promised her.
She did her best to change my mind but we both knew she was grateful for my decision. Relief marked her face.
“Jake…I’m fine. I want to do this for you…with you. I’d like to be with you tonight.”
I appreciated her efforts to give me what I wanted. I’d made my intentions clear from the onset that I desired to be with her. I loved her for choosing me to give the gift she’s been holding on to all these years. But since this was a gift she could never retrieve, I didn’t want her to ever regret who this gift was given to. Only after she was married would she feel confident she had given this gift to the right person. It was only a matter of time before this gift came to me.
Chapter 12
What Have I Done?
We spent a beautiful night together. I woke up several times watching Emily sleep in my arms and I cherished her more this night than I had our entire two months together. I pulled her in as close to me as possible and hoped for more nights like these to come soon.
Way too early, Emily woke up frantic. She pulled away, telling me she had to go home and pack for her road trip.
“What?” Where was she going without me? I thought. “You’re going somewhere?”
“I’m going to Vegas with my college friends, remember? I have to leave right now.” She tried to get up.
“Don’t go. Stay a little longer. I’ll fly you out to Vegas later today.” This would give me another hour with her before I had to go into the hospital.
She wouldn’t go for it since everyone was supposed to meet at her house. She jumped out of bed the first chance she got and hurried out the door.
“I’ll call you later. I love you,” she whispered and left the house.
Whenever she told me she loved me, it sent shivers down my spine. I couldn’t believe she was finally admitting it. Those precious words lingered long after they were said. I too jumped out of bed and got ready to go see Emily before she left me for three days in Vegas with all her friends and one ex-boyfriend.
“Where are you off to so early? Do you have an early surgery?” Dad asked as I ran straight for the front door without even noticing my parents at the breakfast table.
“I’m off to see Emily before she leaves for Vegas with her college friends. Why are you both up so early? You must be tired from last night. It was a wonderful dinner, Mom. Emily and I enjoyed it very much, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Son. Everyone seemed to enjoy meeting Emily. Compliments were overflowing last night on how sweet she was and how you two made a lovely couple.” Mom’s words were encouraging.
“Gram called not too long ago and told us how pleased she was with Emily as well,” Dad said. “She mentioned Emily sounded lovely and would take good care of her favorite grandson. She told me to make sure you treat her well, and she wants you to bring her to London soon. End of March is too late, she says.”
I’d have to talk to Emily and see if she could take a few days off and go for a long weekend to see Gram in the next month. Once Gram decided she wanted something, it had to be done soon.
“I’ll do what I can, Dad. I’ll talk to Emily today and let her know. We’ll try to go see Gram within the month.”
I drove to pick up breakfast for my love and got to her house right at 6:30. I didn’t see any cars outside so I assumed no one had arrived yet. Perfect. I’d have some alone time with her before she left. Walking up to her house, my phone rang.
“A bit early to be calling me, don’t you think, Chief?”
“Then shall I take back this trip to Paris I was going to offer you and Emily this February?”
“What? What trip to Paris?”
“There’s a conference in Paris I was going to attend but can’t. Since you were kind enough to fill in for me in Atlanta, I thought I’d give you the opportunity to spend a week in Paris with that lovely girlfriend of yours. I can’t believe someone that sweet and beautiful wants to be your girlfriend.” The chief laughed. “Anyhow, I transferred my plane ticket to your name, a hotel has already been booked, and there’s even an expense account for meals for a week. You just need to buy a ticket for Emily.”
“Fantastic! Finally, you’re compensating us for all our interrupted dates. We’ll take it. I’ll let Emily know. I’m about to walk into her house now. Thanks, Chief.”
“You’re welcome. Don’t be late to work.”
This was turning out better than I expected. We could go to Paris for the conference then go see Gram in London. I nearly skipped to Emily’s door. I rang the doorbell and it opened to a surprised Emily. She obviously wasn’t expecting me.
“Good morning, My Love. I wanted to stop by and see your face before you left.” I closed the door and couldn’t part from her lips, knowing we’d be separated for a while. “Love, I’ve never slept as well as I did last night. We’re going to have to have more slumber parties. How did you sleep?”
Taking her breakfast off my hands, Emily slyly grinned. She wouldn’t answer me, but I knew she slept well. I supposed she didn’t have to answer me as I watched her sleep throughout the night. She slept like an angel.
I told her about the conference in Paris and my wish to go with her. She looked reluctant until I told her that Gram wanted to see her sooner than March. Her qualm abandoned, she said she would work it out with her principal to get a week off in February. I took that as a yes and mentally began planning my trip to Europe with my girlfriend. A proposal in Paris was definitely high on the priority list. A month and a half should be plenty of time for her to sort out her feelings.
When it came time for both of us to leave, I took her bag and carried it out for her. As I reached for her hand, I noticed she was wearing the eternity band on her finger—the fourth, ring finger!
“You’re wearing the ring…on your finger?” My spirits were flying high.
“You noticed finally?” She kidded that the ring was too heavy on her neck and that she wanted to see if it would be any better on her finger. Lucky for me, it fit only on her ring finger. Then, she turned to me to reveal, “I am committed to you as your loving girlfriend. When I see us heading toward that last step, you’ll be the first to know.”
I saw cars pull up and her friends get out. I knew this would embarrass Emily, but I couldn’t help myself, especially not after that kind of confession.
“I love you Emily,” I declared before grabbing her and kissing her deeply. I’d never longed to kiss her as much as I did at this moment. Her declaration wasn’t much different than an acceptance to my proposal. Emily joyfully reciprocated till she heard her friends talking in the background. She pulled away and hid herself for a while trying to undo her rosy cheeks.
She let out a sigh for both of us at the thought of being apart. “I love you, Dr. Reid. Now go. Save lives.” She nudged my arms away from her body.
“Hi, Jake,” Sarah greeted me. “Did you have a good Christmas? How was Hawaii?”
“It was fantastic!” I gleamed. “How was your Christmas? You went up to Oxnard?”
“Yeah. It was great. What did you get Emily for Christmas?”
“You’ll have to ask her. I tried to give it to her but she wouldn’t take it. But, I got an unbelievable present from Emily last night.”
I left it at that, knowing Sarah would put Emily through a rigorous question-and-answer session. I looked back at my girlfriend and smiled. She shook her head. I would be in trouble when she got back from Vegas. I’d be happy to be in trouble as long as she got back as soon as possible.
My day at the hospital was as crazy as expected. Being on vacation for almost a week, it was hard to get back into the routine. During a quick respite, I texted Emily.
Last night was even more amazing than our first night in Hawaii. Miss you. Love you.
You just got everyone in this car wondering what happened to us last night. Don’t text personal messages!
Why did you let everyone read my message?
I did
n’t. Charlie stole the phone from me and read it out loud.
Ha! Ha! Ha! I’m OK with you kissing and telling.
I’m not. I hope you don’t go around kissing and telling.
I wouldn’t dare. I’ve got to go. They’re paging me.
Of course they are. Bye.
Nick called to have dinner so I left work and met him and Doug near Nick’s apartment.
“Why are you guys at your apartment during vacation?” I asked. “I’m actually glad you guys called. I need to move my stuff out of my house tonight. I’ll buy dinner if you’ll both help.”
“We figured you’d buy dinner regardless. I can help but where are you moving to?” Doug asked.
“I’m moving back into Mom’s. I want to be closer to Emily. They live near each other.”
“She really doesn’t have a sister?”
“No, Doug. She’s an only child. She actually doesn’t have any family. Her parents passed away.”
“That’s a bummer!” they both replied.
“How sad for sis not to have a family.” Nick seemed really bothered. “I’ll have to be even nicer to her.”
“You do that, Nick. She’ll appreciate it. As it is, she told me how much she likes you. She enjoyed spending time with you in Hawaii.”
“Did she say she likes me too?” Doug eagerly asked.
“No, she thought you were creepy,” I answered laughing at him.
On my way to the house, I called Emily to see what she was up to.
“Hello, Love. What are you doing right now?”
“Hi, Jake!” Her excited voice always made my heart thump a bit harder. “We’re on our way to the stadium. Are you done with work already? How did morning surgery go?”
“I’m exhausted. I was in surgery almost all day. Then I had dinner with Nick and Doug, and now I’m on my way to my house in the Valley. I got Nick and Doug to help me move tonight.”
“You’re moving already?”
“Yeah. I want to be closer to you. Can I move into your house instead of Mom’s?”