I'll Be Seeing You

  It doesn't take long for the bloodwork. "Let's go to the O.R., and I'll show you around, all right?" I ask, looking down at her. I can see the apprehension on her face, and I try to keep the conversation as upbeat as I can.

  "Okay, here we are. There's not much to it. You will be under general anesthesia for this surgery and after you wake, you will spend a few hours in recovery. Afterward, I will drive you to my place where I will take care of you until you are up and about. My guess is you can go home around Monday. What about your job? Are they aware of what's going on?" When she nods, I notice how quiet she is and can see the fear on her face. I pull her in for a hug and wrap my arms around her, holding her head to my chest.

  "Don't you worry about a thing. If I had any questions or concerns whatsoever, I wouldn't be doing this. That's a promise. There is nothing to worry about, all right?" I feel her head nod under my hand. "Let's go check your labs," I say, kissing her warm lips.

  "I trust you, Matthew," she says, kissing me again.

  "Are you sure, Joy? You are being awfully quiet, and if you have any questions, we can talk about them now if you want."

  "It's true, I don't want to do this, but I trust that you will remove whatever it is that is making me sick. I just have this aversion to any more surgeries, and I just want to get this over with." She offers a faint smile, and I hold her to me tightly.

  "Okay, baby, this will be over before you know it. Let's go check on your results, all right."

  "All right," she says, reaching up to kiss me. I can tell she's trying to appease me by lightening her mood, but I know what's going on in that pretty little head of hers … pure apprehension and fear.

  "Hello, Dr. Davis," Nurse Murphy says, blocking our path.

  "Hello, Ms. Murphy. Is everything going okay here today?" I ask, giving her a knowing grin. I know she wants to meet Joy and be the first to know the details.

  "Yes. Well, Mr. Jackson had a rough night last night, but he seems to be doing better today," she says, looking at Joy, then back at me.

  "That's good to hear. Keep him hydrated and let me know if there are any other issues. I know he hates to drink water, but make sure he does. If he still refuses, put him on a drip." Her eyes barely leaving Joy’s, I raise my eyebrow. She gives me that look that says 'Introduce me, dipshit.'

  "Joy, I would like to introduce you to Ms. Murphy. She's our head nurse in the Neuro Department. She's been staring at you, dying for an introduction, haven't you, Carol?"

  I watch her fidget and her cheeks turn brighter than Joy's. "Oh, you, Dr. Davis. Stop teasing me. Hello, Joy, I'm Carol. It's nice to meet you. We've heard a lot about you,” she says, taking Joy's hand and shaking it between both of hers.

  "It's nice to meet you, Carol," Joy replies politely.

  "Let's get you to the lab," I say, giving Carol a scowl. "Now, you go tell the others that this is Joy Johnson, and she's my girl. That's all you get, all right?" I say, giving just enough information for them to chew on. I'm curious to hear what the gossip will be by the time I return to my office. Krista will have all the details by the time we get there.

  Once we reach the lab, the nurse hands me the test results — she's clean and I breathe a sigh of relief.

  "We're good to go, Joy. Your results are all negative," I inform her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. "Okay, now that that's done, I need to make my rounds. Do you want to go to my office and hang out with Krista while I do that and then go to lunch after I'm done?"

  "Sounds good. I'm craving Julia's cheeseburger," she giggles. "Is it all right if I invite Laura and Jessie to join us?"

  "Sure," I say as I escort her to my office.

  Once we get off the elevator on the tenth floor, Krista meets us and she looks very anxious. She looks at me, then to Joy, then back at me, raising her eyebrow in question. I nod my head yes.

  "Joy, I would like to introduce you to my right arm, Krista."

  "Oh, Joy, it is such a pleasure to meet you. I thought he would never bring you around," she says, excitedly.

  "It's good to meet you as well, Krista. Matthew says very nice things about you," Joy responds.

  "I suspect it's because of you I've had the endless delivery of Honeysuckle in my home?"

  "I'm sure I have no idea what you are talking about," Krista says sarcastically then giggles.

  "I'm going down to make my rounds, and then Joy and I are heading out for lunch. Can I leave her here with you until I get back?"

  "Absolutely. We'll go to the cafeteria and have a cup of tea. It will get me away from the phones, because there is someone that keeps calling that will not believe me when I say that you aren’t in the office."

  My body freezes. My eyes flash to Krista's, and I look down at the large stack of pink message slips she's handing me. When I take them from her, they all say the same thing. "Emma".

  "Is it Emma, Matthew?" Joy asks, placing her hand on my bicep.

  "Yes. I don't know why she's calling," I say absentmindedly, thumbing through all the messages.

  "Maybe you should call her and find out. Clearly, she needs to talk to you. Maybe, if you do that, you’ll put an end to it," Joy says.

  "Maybe you're right," I reply, kissing her forehead. "I'll call her back after rounds. I'll be back as soon as I can. Krista, please protect her from the gossips, would you?"

  "I'll do my best, but everyone wants to see the woman that stole the elusive Dr. Davis's heart," she says, taking Joy's hand and placing it on her elbow, walking her toward the elevator.

  "Come, Joy. Let me tell you all about that scoundrel." Krista glances at me over her shoulder, wiggling her eyebrows at me. I smile at the two of them as they enter the elevator. Slipping into my office to replace my suit coat with my lab coat, I head out to do my rounds. When I return to my office an hour later, the girls aren't back yet, so I take the opportunity to call Emma.

  "Mattie, baby, I'm so glad you returned my call," she whines. "I was beginning to give up hope."

  "Well, I wish you would. I regret calling as soon as I did then. What could you possibly want from me, Emma?" I say, sitting back in my chair, spinning it around to face the window.

  "Well, several things actually. First, I want us to meet for dinner. We have so much to talk about that we can't discuss over the phone," she suggests, pausing for my answer.

  "Emma, there isn't anything you could possibly say to me that would make me want to meet you for a glass of water, let alone dinner. I don't know what you are up to, but I want no part of it, do you understand? You had your chance with me ten years ago. I have someone else in my life now, and there is certainly no room for you in it. I hope I have made myself perfectly clear." I sit up straight and turn my chair back around and see Joy and Krista standing in the doorway. I motion for Krista to bring Joy to me.

  "Mattie, I've been trying to get an invitation to your ball, but the tickets are sold out. Would you get me one?"

  When Joy reaches me, I take her hand and sit her on my lap. She wraps her arms around my neck and lays her head on my shoulder. This is what I need — my girl close to me. I look up and see Krista with tears in her eyes and her hands over her heart. She sighs deeply and leaves my office, shutting the door behind her.

  "Emma, as you have been told, the tickets are sold out, that means there aren't anymore. Maybe you can sleep your way into an invite," I suggest, coldly.

  "You are never going to forgive me for that, are you?"

  "Nope," I say, popping the 'p'.

  "That was a long time ago, Mattie," she snaps. Is she actually going to feign crying?

  "I don't care, Emma. You fucked me when you fucked the board. Now, if there’s nothing else, I want you to quit calling me. Don't call my cell, don't call my office, and do not even try to enter my building. I promise you, if you don’t quit calling, I will get a restraining order against you for harassment. You certainly don't want that affecting your imperfect little reputation, would you? Not that anyone knows how you took down Johns
Hopkins," I say, rubbing the salt into the wound.

  "Matthew, that's cold, but let me warn you," she says in a low, threatening tone, "If you keep this up, I will do it again, and next time I will be successful."

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  My phone takes the brunt of my anger as I slam it down on my desk. I look at it to make sure I didn't break the screen and let out a breath when I didn't.

  "Matthew?" I snap out of my irritation at the sound of her voice.

  "Hey, baby. I'm sorry about that. My call with Emma didn’t go well. Come on, I'm starving," I say, lifting her from my lap and pulling her in for a hug. I can’t help but relax feeling her arms wrap around me as she runs her soothing hands up and down my back.

  "Is everything all right? I mean with Emma?" she asks, resting her hands against my chest.

  "She wants tickets to the ball," I tell her, closing my eyes when her hands roam around to my back then down across my glutes.

  "What's going on there, baby?" I ask, kissing the top of her head. "You having naughty thoughts?"

  "Yes," she says simply, squeezing me to her tighter. I smile and moan again.

  "I'll take care of you tonight, all right?" I promise, putting my arm over her shoulder, guiding her toward the door. "Let's go eat. What about Laura and Jess? Are they joining us?"

  "Yes, we’re meeting them there, and they’ll get a table for us," she replies.

  "Krista, I'm taking my girl to lunch. I'll see you at two o'clock."

  "Okay, Doctor. It was nice meeting you, Joy," Krista says, getting up and coming around from behind her desk. She places her arm around Joy's shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze.

  "Same here, Krista. Maybe we can meet for coffee soon?" she suggests. At that moment, I know the two of them will become friends. Joy doesn't ask just anyone to meet for coffee. She has a very close-knit group of friends, and they’re the only ones she trusts. I like it that two of my favorite women have bonded.

  I smile at Krista over my shoulder as I direct Joy down the hall toward the elevator. Once inside, I corner her and give her the attention she needs, loving the feel of her soft, full lips on mine. When she parts her mouth for me, I barely touch her tongue with mine, waiting for her to take that control. It doesn't take long for her to press herself against me and kiss me with everything she has. Unfortunately, the elevator stops on the fourth floor, picking up three more people. Joy's lips will have to wait.

  "They're here already," I say to Joy, escorting her through the front door of the diner and toward our table. She scoots over, allowing me to slide in beside her.

  "Hi, Laura. Hi, Jessie," she greets our friends as she settles in to her seat.

  "Hiya, Joy," Jessie responds, stuffing his mouth with a piece of bread.

  "So, what's the verdict?" Laura asks about Joy’s test results.

  "She's clean, and we'll be doing the surgery on Thursday," I answer, draping my arm over Joy's shoulder, giving her a little comforting squeeze.

  "Do you want me there with you? I can take the day off, if you want," Laura volunteers. "I mean, Matthew is going to be busy getting ready for the surgery and all, so if you just need to have someone sitting there with you, I'm your girl."

  Joy's face lights up. "I would like that, thank you. You know I hate the idea of the surgery anyway, but having you there will make it a lot easier," Joy confesses, reaching her hand out to her friend who takes it in hers.

  "She’ll be spending the night at my house the night before and I'll take her to the clinic around eight o'clock. If you want to meet her there, Laura, I'll make sure they let you in.”

  "All right — that’s great, I'll be there at eight," Laura agrees, giving Joy’s hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

  "Okay, I'm starving. I want Julia's Avocado Burger," Joy announces, folding her hands on the table, waiting for everyone else to decide.

  Once we finish lunch, I need to get back to the office, so I pay the check and let Joy know that I’ll be over after work.

  Walking her to the corner, I unabashedly kiss her, and then whisper in her ear.

  "I need you, baby. Bad."

  Looking down at her face, her telling blush is present for everyone to see. She sweetly kisses my lips and nods with a beautiful smile.

  "Tonight," she says with a gentle sigh.

  "I'll see you later then." I watch as both Joy and Laura walk away, arm-in-arm.

  ~.~

  After lunch, Laura and I go to my place to begin the daunting task of selecting ball gowns. On the walk back to my apartment, we talk about what style and color I want as well as cost.

  "Joy, don’t be upset, but Matthew gave me his credit card to order your gown, shoes, bag, and anything else you'll need. He said that I’m to take care of you. I just wanted you to know that price isn’t an issue when we select your dress," she says, stopping me in my tracks.

  "He … he what?" I stammer.

  "Come on,” Laura says, tugging on my arm. “Jessie did the same for me. I have some sites for designer dresses. If you find one you like, then we’ll order it and have it fitted. Do you want a full skirt or an A-line? Do you want strapless or full sleeve? What color? Although Matthew did say he was partial to royal blue on you." Laura lists all the things we need to consider when selecting my gown, making my head spin. I've still not recovered from her saying Matthew gave her his credit card.

  This is how we spend our afternoon. I listen to Laura describe countless gowns for me, and if I think it sounds pretty and she doesn't, she makes fake puking sounds.

  "I think I like the one by Steve McQueen the best. Can we move on to shoes now?" I ask, exasperated and ready to call it a day. Exhaustion overwhelms me and we haven't even left my apartment. Laura starts laughing so hard, she gets up and walks around my apartment as she cackles.

  "What?" I demand, becoming angrier that she won’t stop laughing at me.

  "Sss … Ssst … Steve …" she says through her raucous laughter. She's no longer on her feet.

  "Laura, are you seriously rolling on the floor laughing your ass off?" I giggle at my own joke but start to get a little pissed that she's still laughing at me and not sharing.

  "What the hell, Laura? Will you please stop?"

  "It's Alexander McQueen, Joy, not Steve McQueen, who was an actor by the way," she explains. It actually is kind of funny, and I give in to a giggle.

  After a lengthy process, we decide on a form fitting, A-line dress that has a deep draping neckline with short, cap sleeves. The back is very low, ending just past mid-back. “Simple, yet elegant,” Laura says. “They don’t have it in the royal blue that Matthew requested, but they do have it in a blue-green that I think he will like just as well.”

  "Whatever. Just order me the damn dress so we can get this over and done with. We need to get the shoe shopping out of the way before Thursday because, after that, I'll be out of commission until the ball."

  "Okay," Laura says, letting another giggle slip out. "We'll go tomorrow. Right now, let's take your measurements, and I'll order the gown for you. I need to get going after that. I need to put in an appearance at the office. I think they're starting to wonder if I still work there. I've spent a lot of time with Jessie these past few weeks."

  "Yeah, I've neglected my books, too. I need to get back to work on that, so Mr. White doesn't think I've abandoned him." I was going to tell her that Peter has been asking about her, but decide against it. She and Jessie are doing so well.

  "Okay, I'll be by around two o'clock tomorrow. I know just the store so it won't take long."

  After we take my measurements, Laura enters the information into the site. "There," she says. "I've just ordered your dress to be express shipped to the store. Once it arrives, I'll have Felix, one of our store tailors, come here to fit it for you."

  "Laura, you're the best, you know that?" I pull her in for a hug. "You and Brian have always taken care of me, and I love you for it. Thank you."

  "We love you, too, babe."

>   "All right, I need to get a couple of chapters done. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon," I say, walking her to the door, locking it behind her. Once I feed Conrad, I head down the hall toward my office to get to work … finally.

  ~.~

  Sitting at Matthew’s dining table enjoying Chinese, he explains the surgery again. I don’t have the heart to tell him he’s gone over it a million times already, but if it makes him feel better, I will listen as many times as it takes.

  "This will be a piece of cake, Joy. After I perform the Vitrectomy, the nurse will wheel you into recovery while you come out of anesthesia. You'll be monitored for several hours, and then I'll take you home and nurse you," he says, kissing my lips firmly but chastely.

  "I hate this, Matthew. I want you to know that. This is it. No more after this, thank God."

  "I know, baby. You’ll feel so much better in the end. Just think — no more fevers to put you in the hospital," he says, bending down to nuzzle my neck.

  "Just don't screw up and poke my eye out." I can’t help but snicker when he bursts out laughing because that's exactly what he'll be doing during the surgery.

  "I promise, baby. I only know one thing I want to poke right now." I laugh and shake my head at his bad pun.

  "Did you arrange for Brian to come by your house and let Conrad out tomorrow?"

  "Yep. He's going to come by at noon, then after work he'll come by, pick him up and bring him to me,” I say.

  “Good. Now, let’s go to bed. I made you a promise today and I plan to honor it.”

  ~.~

  "Joy? Joy, honey? Time to wake up now," I say, smoothing her brow, making sure the tape over her eye shield is secure. I smile as she tries to come out of the anesthesia.

  "Hey, baby. How are you feeling, besides like shit?" I kiss her lips when she tries to smile, failing miserably. "Everything went fine, and Laura is right here. If you need anything, you just let her know. I've instructed Nurse Ratchet to take care of you and to get you anything you want, all right?" Pressing her cheek against mine, I feel her nod in understanding. Then she's out again.