Indelible Love Jake's Story

by D. W. Cee

  “Emily, when do you want to take…” I stopped my question when I noticed she was soundly asleep. Wrapping the blanket around her, I kissed her lips one last time and slept in Nick’s uncomfortable bed.

  The next morning, Emily wasn’t in our room again. She was probably downstairs making breakfast for me. I got dressed as quickly as possible thinking she might allow me to have my way with her again before I left for work. Looking irresistible in her apron I waltzed into the kitchen and showered her with love till I got rudely interrupted.

  “Ahem! Hello, nephew. Don’t I get a good morning kiss?”

  “What are you doing here, Chief?” As if I didn’t see my uncle enough at work, he was in my kitchen interrupting my cuddle time with Emily. “Hi Aunt Babs. Good to see you.” I reached over the island and gave her a peck on the cheek.

  Uncle Henry explained he needed a ride to work and while I noshed on my crepes Emily gave me a rundown of all that needed to be accomplished today. I chimed in and asked her to go to the bank and get her name on all my accounts. She sweetly recited the name on her ATM card that read Emily Reid and smiled.

  “Emi, can you deposit my paychecks into our checking account while you’re at the bank?”

  Instead of a simple yes I got a shocked, “do you really get paid this much? Is this a monthly or every other monthly paycheck?”

  “Emi, this is a two week paycheck. You do know that I save lives by operating on hearts, daily. Sometimes it’s multiple hearts. Anyhow, we need my paychecks if we’re going to enjoy trips like Paris. We probably spent at least one paycheck in Paris.”

  “Are you kidding me? We spend that much money there? We cannot vacation like that anymore.”

  “It shouldn’t be as bad next time since we won’t have to get two rooms.”

  I attempted to kiss her again when Aunt Babs interfered this time.

  “Why did you have two rooms at the Ritz?”

  “Don’t ask. I got into big trouble for telling Gram that Emily’s a virgin.”

  Aargh! I shouldn’t have said that. Emily’s head went down and she gave me that shooting daggers look again. Just when I thought I’d paid for my mistake in London, she would be upset with me again for a while.

  “You mean you’re not pregnant?” The Chief yelled out. “That’s not why we’re having this shot gun wedding?”

  Crap! Only the Chief would come up with such asinine ideas to get me into more trouble. I looked over at Emily and couldn’t help but laugh. She was mortified at the accusation of being pregnant when she hadn’t been anywhere near sex. While everyone at the table apologized for their major faux pas I took my flustered fiancée upstairs to make sure she wasn’t too upset.

  “You okay? I gently pushed her against the wall and undid the tie on the apron.

  “I’m fine.” She once again flashed her trooper smile.

  “I’m guessing,” my mouth was all over her ear, “you won’t let me,” my hands went under her shirt, “finish where we,” I unhooked her bra, “left off last night?”

  “You’re guessing correct.” She answered but left my hands and lips alone. “Jake?”

  “Hmmm?” I couldn’t talk. My mouth was busy.

  “Can I come visit you at the hospital and have lunch with you today?”

  “I’d love that, Emi. My colleagues keep asking when you’re going to stop by. When do you want to come?” Her news was exciting enough to make me stop what I was doing.

  “Maybe around 1:00? Will you be done with morning surgery? I’ll make you something yummy for lunch.”

  “I should be. If I’m not done, wait for me in my office and I’ll meet you there.”

  “Okay. You should go before Uncle Henry calls for you.”

  Too late. He yelled my name but I left only after giving my future bride another round of passion.

  The Chief and I went our separate ways after surgery and I ran to my office eager to see my bride.

  “Emily?” I walked in to find her asleep on my couch. I knelt down and kissed her lips till she woke up. After calling Uncle Henry to the cafeteria, I introduced my beautiful bride to everyone. All the nurses greeted her warmly – well almost all of them did. And Emily charmed my fellow doctors with her looks as well as her wit.

  “Ms. Logan!” We heard as we entered the cafeteria.

  Emily gave me a who’s that, look.

  “Ms. Logan, do you remember me? I’m Jeffery.”

  “Umm…”

  “Jeffery from the ER, genius young doctor?”

  “Oh. I remember you. It’s so nice to see you again.” Emily unnecessarily greeted him kindly. “You’re not in the ER anymore, Dr…. What should I call you?”

  “Just Jeffrey is fine,” Jeffery answered first trying to get Emily to be on friendlier terms with him.

  “Dr. Collins,” I answered soon after trying to separate any niceties between my fiancée and my subordinate.

  “Dr. Collins, have you been well?”

  “I turned 21 so now we could go get that glass of wine if you like.”

  “That’s really sweet. After the wedding we’ll have you over for dinner and we can have that glass of wine, then. Would you like to join us for lunch?”

  Before Jeffery got too excited I told Emily he needed to get back to work and shoved him out the door.

  “That wasn’t very nice, Dr. Reid.” She reprimanded.

  “And that wasn’t very nice of you to get his hopes up. He’s a young kid. His heart is probably racing at the thought of having dinner and a glass of wine with you.”

  “With us, Dr. Reid. I don’t think he misconstrued my words like you did. Did you call Uncle Henry?”

  “He sure did. What’s for lunch, Niece?” The Chief walked in as we grabbed our table.

  “Sushi!” She answered.

  Emily proceeded to lay out large round boxes filled with food. One box had all tempura, another had an array of sushi, another had salad and pickled sides, and there was also a box with only sashimi and the last had all kinds of fruit with cream. My bride outdid herself.

  “Thank you, Sweetheart. This looks amazing.” I thanked her with a kiss. “Emi, what fish is this? I’ve never seen it before.”

  “Oh, it’s my new favorite fish. I discovered it when I was in Japan. It’s called Kinmedai. I think it’s a cross between a red snapper and a sea bream.”

  “What did you do to it? It has a delicious smoky taste to it.”

  “You’re supposed to either take off the skin or sear it. I used the pastry torch I bought in Paris and torched the skin. Isn’t it yummy?”

  The way her eyes lit up… I could never compete with this joy, though I believed now I came a very close second to food.

  “It’s all excellent, Emily.” The Chief complemented while stuffing his face.

  “Thank you, Uncle Henry.”

  “Emi, have you thought of what you want to do after the wedding?” I asked her.

  “What do you mean? I’ll enjoy married life till school begins mid-August.”

  “Would you consider quitting school and going to culinary school? We have a top notch culinary academy five minutes from our home. Why don’t you enroll there in the fall?” I wanted to realize this dream for her immediately. She didn’t need to wait till the kids were gone and we were retired. If this was one of her dreams, she could have it now.

  After doubting her desires, her ability and even our finances, she promised to consider this option. An amazing lunch gone, I went back to a full day. The Chief and Aunt Babs found me on my way to their dinner.

  “Don’t you look beautiful, Aunt Babs.”

  “Thank you, Jake. Am I almost as beautiful as your fiancée?”

  “Not even close.” I said with a smile.

  “Did you two enjoy your lunch today? Sandy, Bobby and I were also treated to a wonderful lunch. Jake, you did really well with that bride of yours. She’s kind and pretty and she can cook. I hope Doug will find somebody just as sweet.”

  “
Thank you for the nice words. Now would you put in a good word for me with your husband so I can go home to my Emily before midnight?”

  “Henry, if the hospital isn’t too busy, let Jake go home early. Emily was moping around the house this afternoon after seeing Jake at the hospital. That girl has no interest in the wedding. She just wants to say I do and be married to our nephew. If it weren’t for the family, I could see her agreeing to elope and be married tomorrow.”

  “That’s how I feel. How’d you figure out Emily so easily?”

  “It doesn’t take much to read her. I don’t know how she stayed away from you for so long. She is very much in love with you.”

  “I love her even more, Aunt Babs.”

  “Okay, enough with the love… you can go home if there isn’t much else going on,” the Chief pretended to be exasperated.

  “Thanks, Aunt Babs.” I gave her a wink.

  Grabbing the flower arrangement I picked out during my dinner break I broke every traffic law again and raced home. I walked in the door to find Sarah walking out.

  “Hi Sarah,” I gave her a peck on the cheek. “How was the honeymoon?”

  “It was wonderful. Thank you for the fabulous wedding gift. Charlie and I use the cappuccino maker every morning.”

  “My pleasure. I’m glad it finally reached you.”

  “You sent them a wedding gift?” Emily asked.

  “Of course I did. I gave it to Max when I saw him at the hospital right before I came to find you in Japan. I would have gotten them something even nicer if Sarah had let me know sooner where you were hiding.” I tried to give her a mean smile.

  “I think it’s time for me to go.”

  “You’re leaving already? Stick around.”

  “Look at Emily. Does she look like she wants me to stick around? I have to go. My hubby is waiting for me. See you soon.”

  “Bye.” Emily answered quickly and shooed her out the door.

  I picked up my delighted fiancée again and hoping for a repeat of last night, kissed her all the way up to our bedroom. Rather than fulfilling my fantasies, she jumped down and had me sit so we could talk wedding.

  “I thought I deferred all the decisions to you.” This was my way of getting out of talking about the wedding.

  “You did, and I gave your mom our proxy but there are a few matters I’d like for us to decide. First, where are we going for our honeymoon?”

  “I don’t care. What do you prefer?”

  After a back and forth on city vs. island honeymoon, we compromised on five days on an island, then the next week all throughout Japan.

  “Okay, what’s next?” I got up from my designated corner trying to get closer but no such luck.

  “Dinner menu… what do you want to eat?”

  This one was an easy one as we could hire chefs from our favorite restaurants to come cook at our wedding. The doubting Emily look resurfaced but I convinced her this was the best way to go. Of course she agreed and I lunged at her with thoughts of frolicking with her on this sofa. She held me off again.

  “I need to talk to you about… Never mind. I’ll talk to Mom tomorrow about it.”

  “Emily. Speak now or we’re done talking for the night. I didn’t come home early just to talk.”

  “Okay.” She answered as her face flushed. “What do we do about birth control? Do you want to have a baby right away?”

  Finally. “Are we actually talking sex?” A conversation I was interested in.

  “Yes, we’re talking about sex. What do you want to do?”

  I told her I was okay with any decision she made. My preference would be to start tonight but she wouldn’t go for it. Instead I promised to make an appointment for her with the OB at the hospital.

  “Are we done now?” Wanting to get back to last night’s passion, I hurried the conversation along.

  “I need to talk to you about Max.”

  Max, himself, didn’t bother me anymore but whenever Emily brought him up, it bothered me. She told me he was upset she was marrying someone other than him and I told her he would soon forget her and find another girl. This truth irritated Emily, though she didn’t express it.

  “He can’t ever forget me.” She shot back at my statement.

  “Does that mean you can’t ever forget him as well?” I’d see how she’d get herself out of this one.

  “No,” she began to stutter. “It just means that… well, you should know… it’s not easy to forget me.” Her laughter echoed loudly in our room till I covered her lips with mine and carried her onto our bed. To my dismay, she didn’t let me get too far and kicked me out of bed.

  Saturday came I made reservations at Urasawa for us, Jane, Nick, Sarah, Charlie, Peter and Max. While Emily, Jane, Nick and Sarah left for wedding shopping, I went back to the hospital. Undoubtedly, it would be another busy day. Hurrying home, I showered and drove into Beverly Hills eager to see my bride.

  Emily entered minutes after I sat and greeted Hiro and she hastened over to a seat next to me. We embraced amidst many unnecessary comments from my siblings. As everyone sat down, our courses began. Charlie sat on the other side of me and told me about his latest project. Emily and Sarah chatted about the wedding and Peter and Nick got along famously talking about their undergrad years.

  To my delight, I noticed Jane and Max absorbed in each other. They noticed no one else at the bar. Comically, I could tell my fiancée was not happy with this situation. She and Sarah whispered about the new couple and all I could hear was Sarah saying, “Be nice.” I rubbed Emily’s back and she turned to glance at me.

  “Everything alright?” I knew it wasn’t but thought I’d ask anyway.

  “Uh-huh.” With a curt answer, she turned to face Sarah again. I held back a laugh.

  After a four-hour dinner Emily and I got into my car and drove out of the garage. With good foresight, I had brought my two- seater, so Jane caught a ride home with Max. By the looks on both their faces, they were glad to have more time with one another. The only unhappy person was my bride.

  “What are you laughing at?” She asked very annoyed.

  “You sound a bit agitated.” I couldn’t help the guffaw that came with the answer. “I don’t think you have to worry about Max. He obviously isn’t as devastated as you think he is about losing you.”

  She didn’t appreciate my comment and gave me the silent treatment the rest of the way home. Once home, I noticed Emily not so nonchalantly looking to see if Jane was home. I picked her up and told her, “She’s not home yet. We don’t do bed checks in this house.”

  Now Emily was really irked and she got down from my arms and took her pillow upstairs to the guest room. I made fun of her a bit more against my better judgment. After much mockery, I ran upstairs and grabbed Emily from the bed and put her over my shoulders like a little child. Once we got into bed, I went about my business as though Emily had given me consent for my every move.

  “Jake?” She called me with very little force.

  “Hmm?” I knew she’d give in if I pushed her just a little more.

  “If you are planning on sleeping here tonight with me, you need to behave.” She sounded so unconvincing.

  “Can I sleep here?” I was only too happy to have her in my arms tonight.

  “You can if you promise to behave. My wall of defense is crumbling by the day. You need to help me at this point, okay?”

  Here it was again – reverse psychology. With two weeks left till the wedding, I decided to honor her request. Although… my hands had a mind of their own and went exploring without either one of our permission.

  I woke up sometime in the late morning to find Emily still asleep. She jostled around then pushed herself closer into my body and fell back into a deep sleep. Putting my arms around her I realized my presence was really her Ambien. Lazily, I too decided to sleep some more.

  “Good morning.” She smiled when I woke up.

  “Good morning. What time is it?”

  “I
think it’s almost noon.” She stretched out her arms. “I feel so good right now. Finally, I’m caught up on sleep.”

  “If you let me in your bed from now on, I’ll help you sleep well every night.”

  “Yeah, if only we could just sleep together. It wouldn’t be like your hands or lips would go on parts of my body in the middle of the night without my permission.” She kidded.

  “You’re practically my wife. Do I need permission?”

  She didn’t answer me.

  “Do you want me to bring up something to eat?”

  She shook her head yes and I went down in my pajamas surprised to find Max in our kitchen.

  “Hey, Max. Did you spend the night here?”

  Max and Jane looked at me horrified.

  “What?” Their aghast look caused me to laugh.

  “No, Jake. He’s here to take me to the airport. Where’s Emily? I want to say goodbye.”

  “Why don’t you call her later? She’s finds this situation” I pointed back and forth to Jane and Max “a little weird. I’ll tell her you left already when she asks about you.”

  “Is she okay?” Jane and Max asked simultaneously.

  “She’s fine. Don’t worry about Emily. I’ll take care of her. You two enjoy yourselves.”

  Both parties blushed and left without saying much other than goodbye. While fixing breakfast I called Tony, a dance instructor, to come and give us ballroom dance lessons today. There were still way too many items left on Emily’s bucket list.

  Emily was dressed and ready for the day when I brought up a hodge podge of food.

  “I called a dance instructor to come and teach us ballroom dancing for later today.”

  Looking up from the computer, there was excitement in her eyes. “Thank you, Honey. That’ll be a lot of fun.”

  “Is that the doorbell?” I asked getting off my seat.

  “I’ll get it. You finish eating.” Emily suggested.

  She came back up with Sarah and Charlie and we enjoyed their company until Emily kicked them out promising to meet them for dinner and a movie later.

  “I can’t believe you and Charlie today.” She complained about us talking about private matters such as our sleeping arrangements.