"Okay, Laura, you might as well make yourself comfortable. She's going to be in and out like this for a couple of hours. If you need anything, let the nurse know, or call Jess or myself, all right?" I say, as my hand grazes over Joy’s hair. "Thanks for being here for her."
"I've been here for her since she was twelve, Matthew. This will never change," she pointed out, leaning forward over Joy's bed, making sure she's comfortable. I have to smile at the love she is giving to her friend.
"Well, thank you anyway. Call the nurse if you need anything, and I'll be back as soon as I write my report." After kissing Joy's warm lips, I take her temperature just to ease my mind. It's slightly elevated, but nothing to worry about. I kiss her again before leaving. Stopping at the door for one last look and Laura has Joy's hand in hers while she whispers something to her. I smile and turn to head toward my office.
After observing Joy for a few hours, I've determined it's best to have her spend the night and take her home tomorrow. She’s having difficulties staying awake, and with her temperature elevated, I want her observed a little longer.
"I'm going to keep her here overnight," I say to Laura and panic sets in on her face so I quickly calm her nerves. "She's fine. She's fine. I just don't want to take her home with her still so heavily sedated. It’s only a precaution. The anesthesia still has hold of her."
"Can I spend the night here with her, Matthew?" I watch as she continues to stroke Joy's forehead, and I don't have the heart to say no, especially since I had planned to stay with her myself.
"Absolutely. I'll have a cot brought in for you." Looking around the room, I determine there isn't room for a second cot for me, so I settle on my office.
It's going to be a long night.
~.~
Taking her home today, Laura walks ahead of me, opening the doors, so I can carry our patient inside. After carefully maneuvering the stairs, I enter my bedroom and gently lay my patient on the bed. Since she’s already dressed in her yoga pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt, I remove the blankets I wrapped around her at the hospital and tuck her in under the comforter. After changing into more comfortable clothes, I take her vitals.
Laura enters the room, waving a note in her hand. "It looks like Rebecca made a pot of chicken soup for dinner with homemade bread. Let me know when you get hungry, and I'll get it for you," Laura says, sitting on the edge of the bed, watching Joy.
"Thanks, I'm starving."
Checking Joy's temperature again for the millionth time, I check to see when her next dose of medication is due. Setting her prescriptions on the nightstand, I place my medical bag on the floor next to the bed, in case of an emergency. Standing back, I take a mental inventory of everything I think I’ll need. While Laura warms the soup for us, I get myself comfortable on the bed next to my girl.
"Hey there," I say quietly when she begins to wake.
“Hey,” she replies groggily.
"Once the last of the anesthesia is out of your system, you'll feel much better."
"I feel okay, I guess. I have a headache, though," she moans, moving up on the pillows to make herself more comfortable.
I lay my cheek against hers to feel her warmth. "Here, let me help you. Laura’s bringing us some dinner. You need to get something in your stomach." She just lays there motionless for a little bit, not wanting to move.
After Laura arrives with a tray containing a tureen of soup and bowls, she sees that Joy’s awake.
"Hey, sweetie," she says, running her hand over Joy's brow. "How are you feeling?” Laura and I grin upon hearing Joy’s low growl of annoyance.
"Come on, let's have some of Rebecca's chicken soup."
After we get her propped up against some over-stuffed pillows, Laura shares a bowl of soup with her. I leave the two of them and sit in my recliner across the room with a bowl of my own while I log in to the clinic's website to review a few critical patient files.
Laura escorts Joy to the bathroom after dinner, and then takes her back to the bed where she brushes her hair before plaiting it. Laura then takes a warm washcloth and washes Joy’s face, being careful around the eye shield and tape. It’s then that I realize what a truly incredible friend Laura is. She takes care of Joy in every sense of the word and my heart swells as I watch her look at all the medicines, educating herself on dosing schedules.
"She can have one of the codeine now," I say, startling her. She looks over at me, smiles and opens the bottle before dropping a pill into her hand.
"Here, take this, sweetie."
Laura places the pill on Joy's tongue and raises the water bottle to her lips. Afterward, she takes off her shoes and climbs in the bed, lowering herself next to Joy. They both drift off to sleep, and I place a lap blanket over both of them. After making sure Joy is comfortable, I go back to my recliner and take a nap of my own, and when I wake up, the process of taking care of Joy will start over again.
~.~
"Hey, Joy, look what I made you," Maddie says, bounding into the room, plopping herself down on the bed. She places a box in her hand, and Joy slowly opens it. Once she lifts the lid of the small box, she pulls out a disk and begins to examine it, feeling every detail of what’s in her hand.
"What the …" I watch as Joy runs her fingers over it, turning it over and then flips it back again. "What the heck is this, Maddie?"
"I … I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of decorating a new eye shield for you. You know, for the ball," Maddie answers.
"Whoa! You should see it, Joy. It's really beautiful. It matches your dress perfectly," Laura explains. "As you can feel, all the stones are the same shape and size. There are smaller ones along the rim, which are intermittently spaced with deep blue and light green and then blue-green stones cover the rest of the shield. It has the exact same shades of blue and green that's in your dress. It's very well done, Maddie."
Maddie takes the shield, holding it up to Joy’s eye, and looks back at me. "It's perfect, Maddie. Thank you." Bending down, I place an affectionate kiss on top of my sister’s head.
"I was a little worried about how I was going to cover my eye. I didn't want to wear a black one that would make me look like a pirate." Joy bends forward to give Maddie a hug. "Thank you so much, Maddie."
"Well, with only one week to the ball, Matthew said you couldn't remove your shield yet, so I thought we could replace it for the night. Matthew also said the hospital has special glue that we can use to hold the shield in place, so you won't have tape covering the stones," Maddie explains.
"Wow, you've thought of everything, haven't you?" Joy asks, running her fingers over the small stones.
"Your dress arrived, yesterday, as well," Laura chimes in. "I have it here, so we need to get it fitted. Do you feel up to it today? I can get Felix over here to get it done, if you do."
"Yeah, sure. Let me clean up first. Matthew, can we take a shower?" I smile when she says "we" because we've been showering together so that I can help her protect her eye. It's been difficult for me, though, since we've had to abstain while she's recovering. I hope that after I examine her eye tomorrow, she will be all right for some of the more strenuous physical activities, but the slightest pressure to the blood vessels in her eyes could be harmful.
"Absolutely," I answer.
"Laura, I'll be ready in about an hour," Joy says excitedly, getting up from the bed.
After we shower, I carry her downstairs, which probably wasn't necessary, but I'm not taking any chances. When we reach the bottom of the stairs, Felix is there waiting for her. I take this opportunity to go to the clinic to check on my patients since Joy has an entourage in the house right now. After kissing her goodbye, I let her know that I'll be back in a few hours.
"Take care of my girl, Laura," I call from the door, shutting it behind me.
“Always,” she replies.
~,~
"Why don't you change in Matthew's office, Joy? Come, I'll help you," Maddie suggests, taking my hand. I can hear the rustl
ing of the garment bag in her other hand. I’m actually excited to try it on.
"Okay, here we are. Let me help you, so that you don't pull your shield off your eye." When I raise my T-shirt over my face, Maddie guides my shirt, so it doesn't catch on the tape, and I’m ready for the dress.
Once she zips it, I can feel its weight. It feels sleek and comfortable. I don't know what material it is, but it's heavy and flowing. It lies nicely against me.
"Oh, Joy. I don't think you need to do anything other than hem it a little bit. It fits you perfectly," Maddie squeals, smoothing down the draped collar. "Let's go show Laura."
When we get to the living room, everyone agrees with Maddie and I'm glad, because that means I won't have to worry about it being ready by next Saturday. After a few adjustments and suggestions here and there, I remove the dress, hand it over to Felix, and he leaves to begin his alterations. The girls and I sit and gossip for the rest of the afternoon.
We are all excited for the ball, and in preparation, Maddie is going to make us appointments for a day at the spa to get scrubbed and buffed. I suggest to Maddie that her mother joins us too. Judging by Maddie’s squeal, I think she’ll like that.
~.~
Arriving at the airport to pick up my parents, Maddie squeals upon seeing them.
“Matthew, it's so good to see you," my mother says, hugging me tightly.
“Dad,” I say, embracing him next. I let go of him so that Maddie can get her hugs as well.
After we arrive home, Conrad gets over-excited at all the people in the house and I call him over to my side.
"Dad, Mom, I want you to finally meet Brian. This is my mother, Lillian,” my sister says before moving on to our father. Brian shakes my dad's hand, thanking him for the books he sends him on a regular basis. He then turns toward Mom and gives her a hug.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Brian," Mom says while hugging him. "Maddie talks about you incessantly."
I can’t help but notice my mother sneaking peeks at Joy while Maddie does her introduction. But true to decorum, my mother is always on point and waits until Maddie is done.
"Yeah, well, you know Maddie — she's rarely quiet," he says fondly of my sister. "It's one of the things I love about her." I smile when I see the love in his eyes as he looks into hers.
"Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Joy. Joy, these are my parents, Lillian and Leland." I pull her out from her hiding spot behind me and guide her forward toward my parents.
"Joy, dear, I'm so happy to meet you," Mom says, taking Joy's hand, gently pulling her in for a hug.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mrs. Davis."
"Dad?" I say, taking Joy to him.
"Joy, you are more beautiful than Matthew said you were. It's a pleasure to meet you, young lady." My father takes her by the shoulders and places a kiss on each cheek. Her blush couldn't be more radiant.
"Very European, Dad," I say with a chuckle. Taking Joy by the hand, I escort her into the living room. Everyone takes a seat, and I play bartender while Brian hands out the drinks.
"So, how’s your eye doing, Joy? Matthew says you're ahead of your recovery schedule and you look like you’re doing well," Mom asks while holding Joy's hand in hers. I can see my mother has already formed an attachment to her.
"I'm doing very well, thank you, Mrs. Davis," Joy answers politely.
My mother leans in and quietly tells Joy to call them Leland and Lillian, forcing another pink blush from her.
"Yes, ma'am."
I give her shoulder a light squeeze when I see her blush.
"So, how long are you in town?" I ask, taking a sip of my Chivas. I glance at Joy as she takes a drink of her soda and lime, which makes her cringe.
"Sorry, baby, you're on meds, and I didn't think you would want to be drinking right now," I whisper in her ear.
"You don't miss a beat, do you?" she giggles, taking another sip.
"I try not to where your health and safety are concerned. Anyway, Mom? Sorry … how long are you here?" I ask again.
"Well, through the ball, of course, and I was thinking, if you didn’t mind, we could stay at your Bainbridge house until after the holidays seeing as we're already here. With Christmas coming up, we could stick around and do Christmas dinner. Everyone could come to the Island for the festivities."
"Dad, what have you done with my mother? Mother wouldn't take off over Thanksgiving and Christmas. Where is she? Tell me now," I tease, eliciting a giggle from my mom.
"Well, Mattie," she says, knowing I hate that name, "I'll have you know that I've decided to start slowing down. With you and Maddie having someone in your lives now, I want to be around to enjoy that. I want to spend more time getting to know them, especially if there are plans for anyone becoming my son or daughter." I think my mother actually blushed just then. I know Joy did, but it doesn't take much for her. I quickly glance at Brian, recalling the conversation we had during our jog and his mentioning of marrying my sister. He lowers his head and takes a drink of his beer.
"Joy, Matthew says you work for Radiant Audio, and that you transcribe books to audio?" my father asks, making an effort to get to know Joy.
"Yes, sir. Um, I work out of my home. It's not too far from Matthew's clinic actually," she explains.
"I met her at the café that's across the street from her apartment and a few blocks from the clinic." I jump in and complete the story of how we met.
"That's so sweet, Matthew," Mom says exuberantly. “They met over coffee.” Her excitement for her children’s love lives is blatantly obvious.
"Mom, stop. You're embarrassing Joy," I chuckle and get up for another drink. "Anyone need a refill?"
After another round of drinks, we head out for dinner, where the girls talk non-stop about the ball, and Joy invites my mother to their spa day festivities. I make a mental note to call the spa to have the bill sent to me and include a few extra treats for my girl. I want Joy totally relaxed and feeling every bit as beautiful as she is.
After dinner, Brian and Maddie leave to go home, and Joy insists that I take her back to her place. She keeps saying she doesn't want to impose on my time with my parents.
"No, I want you here with me, all right?" I sound like I'm whining, and I chuckle at myself.
"Oh, no, Joy. You shouldn't be alone, dear. I would really prefer if you stay with Matthew while we're here. I really want to get to know you, and it would please me to have your company. Besides, while Matthew is at the office, I can stay and take care of you. I would really love that. Did Matthew tell you I'm a doctor, too?"
“Geez, Mom, how can anyone say no to that?”
"Um … well, if you want me to, but I really don't want to intrude on your visit." I take her hand and pull her close to me.
"Joy, don't you know? Don't you know how much I love you and want you with me? I hate it when you aren't here," I whisper in her ear, before raising her chin so her mouth meets mine. Giving her a warm, chaste kiss, is innocent enough in case my parents are watching, but with enough meaning so that she understands.
"I love you too, Matthew."
"Okay, good. No more talk about going home then, okay?"
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
After Matthew and his parents convince me to stay rather than going home to my own place, Leland and Lillian call it a night and head toward their bedroom. Matthew lets Conrad out, and once I put the cocktail glasses in the kitchen sink, we head for bed. Slipping under the covers, I exhale when Matthew wraps his body around mine in a warm and safe cocoon.
"I miss you, baby," he whispers quietly in my ear.
"I miss you too," I return, nuzzling my hips into his feeling his full erection press against me. I can’t help but sigh at the feel of it. It's been so long since we've made love, and I miss the closeness.
"Please, Matthew?" I plead. "We can go slow and easy. I just need to feel you." I bury my face into his neck, raising my body up so that his
hardness slips between my thighs, very close to my throbbing entrance. Closing my legs tight, I trap him and begin to move along his thick length.
His breath shudders, and then he rolls me onto my back, lowering his lips to mine. "I need you," he groans into my mouth.
When I part my lips, he wastes no time in showing me through that single kiss just how much he wants me. I feel the tingling begin when his legs part mine, spreading me, and when I feel his hand graze down my torso, finally landing where I need him to touch me the most, I smile knowing what’s to come. His long, gentle fingers slip inside me, and I instinctively constrict around them, throwing my arms around his neck, using his shoulders for support as well as comfort.
"Aw baby, so wet and ready," he purrs next to my ear, and then he finds my mouth again in one of our most passionate kisses yet.
Because of our powerful need for one another, we both find our release in record time, laughing at the world record we may have set.
Afterward, we lie in each other's arms and then he tilts his head to kiss my forehead.
"Thank you, baby. God, I needed that. Do you know hard it's been for me to keep my hands off of you?"
"Me too, Matthew." I say, folding myself into his arms, draping my leg over his hip and snuggling in, ready to drift off to sleep. That is until Conrad whines and barks outside the door.
"There's something wrong. He's trying to telling me something." Jumping up, I slip into my sleep pants that I left on the floor near the bed. I can hear that Matthew's already in his jeans when he opens the bedroom door. As I make my way to the doorway, I hear him open the door downstairs and Conrad runs out, barking intently and ferociously. That's when I hear the screeching of tires and a car's engine as it zooms away.
"What is it, Matthew?" Leland shouts from down the hall.
"I'm not sure, but Conrad took care of it. Scared them away, didn't you, boy?” Matthew rewards Conrad, thanking him for being a good guard dog.
After everything settles down and we all go back to bed, I ask Matthew who he thought it might be. I have my own suspicions, but I want to hear it confirmed.
I'll Be Seeing You Page 26